The Lookouts is the brilliant new series from the guys at Penny Arcade, and Cryptozoic Entertainment. It’s been getting loads of attention as a result, and made several ‘Best Of 2012’ lists, however the real stars of the book aren’t the guys at Penny Arcade, they’re writer Ben McCool and artist Robb Mommaerts. Ben is the writer crafting this fantastic rich world of a group of junior lookouts protecting their village from the creatures of the forest and Robb is the brilliant mind who is bringing them to life in stunning detail every issue. We wanted to find out what the secret of The Lookouts was and so got in touch with Ben and Robb to find out exactly what goes on behind the scenes of the Eyrewood forest.

Tell us a bit about how you got involved in The Lookouts? Were you fans of the web comic or did you come to this completely anew?
RM: Well, I have been working for Cryptozoic as one of their illustrators for a year and a half now, but at the time when the project started, I was a freelancer when Cory offered me the opportunity to draw the Lookouts. It was pretty thrilling. I was a fan of Mike and Jerry’s work and was so amazed by the Lookouts concept!

BM: Completely anew! I knew all about Penny Arcade’s abundant popularity, though to be brutally honest wasn’t familiar with Lookouts. But as soon as Cryptozoic approached me with the possibility of working on something PA-related I was immediately intrigued. I checked out the source material (as in, the original web comic) and my imagination started to grind out ideas from there…

The world of The Lookouts is incredibly detailed, and is one of it’s real strengths, how much were you involved in the development of the characters and their look and feel or was it all pretty much established when you got involved?
RM: At first I thought I was going to be drawing the group of boys (originally four of them) from the original web series. I had been practicing drawing them and studying Mike Krahulik’s style. I was pretty surprised when I read Ben’s first amazing script mapping out the characters. I was thinking…”Wow, these aren’t the original kids from the web comic?”. Then I was beyond thrilled when I found out I’d be able to design the new group of kids. I loved Samson’s look a lot, so I was also so happy to know that he would still be the scoutmaster. I really love this new group of kids and what they each bring to the team.

One of the things I most enjoy about working in the Lookouts worlds is developing the “everyday” stuff  like beasts of burden, livestock, weird trophies, trinkets, tools, architecture ect ect. I love drawing the big monsters too, but I try to figure out a reason for having some of these more subtle and specific domestic elements and how they relate to the world they are in.

BM: The original web comic, though very cool and atmospheric, was only a few pages long. But I saw this as a good thing: there was tons of room for world and character building, and once I started doing that (working closely with Mike and Jerry, plus Cory Jones from Cryptozoic) the magic really started to build. We devised some terrific characters that we’re all very proud of, and from there the enchanted Eyrewood forest almost started developing itself; ideas came from nowhere, and things started coming together really quickly. And of course, once Robb Mommaerts’ glorious artwork started to roll in we all totally lost our shit! (In the best possible sense, of course.)

What is your favourite part of the world of Lookouts? Which characters do you enjoy the most and what do you think makes the book work so well?
RM: I’m a big fan of Samson, and I’m really intrigued by the weird tension between him and the village elder. I’m wondering what his back story is and you will see some hints of that.  The village elder seems like a man in power, hiding something too. I’m excited to find out what is going on behind the scenes, or what has happened in the past.

BM: I must say, I’m a huge fan of almost every aspect of the book. As wanky and pretentious as that way sound, it’s absolutely true: I believe we’ve concocted a truly unique and wonderful world filled with imagination and possibility. Shameless pride aside, I’m a big fan of our characters, with Dore probably being my favourite. His sense of adventure is second to none, while his (often ill-advised) bravery creates plenty of conflict for him and the Lookouts to deal with. And of course, there’s more to him than meets the eye: his back story will play an integral part going forward, helping readers understand exactly who he is and where he’s coming from. And for why the book works? I’d say a collected mindset of motivated and enthused creators, all striving to create the best story possible.

Are there any plans to introduce new characters and do you know what the long term future for The Lookout is going to be?
RM: There will definitely be new characters! The kids future I’m not sure about but it is exciting to see how they will change as time goes on!

BM: Yep, but I’ll have to keep my lips sealed for now! Lots of exciting news to come, though.

The Lookouts has been launched digitally via ComiXology rather than in print, are you fans of digital, have you got iPads for reading comics on and if so, what do you think the pros and cons of releasing a book in this way and what digital titles to you read and enjoy?
RM: I JUST got an iPad so I’m new to this. I love both traditional paper and digital. Some titles I really prefer to have physical paper copies of because of collecting, but with digital you save so much space with storage. It is nice to have any of the titles you can read available at any time on your device.The series is actually also available in print and i love having them displayed in my comic book rack at home. 🙂 It would be nice to have both!

BM: I’m a big fan of digital and print books, and enjoy both for different reasons. While the old school comics fan in me appreciates the feel of a “physical” book in my hands, I also admire the new and interesting viewing techniques ComiXology et all have brought to the medium. I’ve got an iPad (that I read comics on) but also purchase comics from stores on a frequent basis.

And BTW, Lookouts is now also available in print! It debuted digitally, but due to (very welcome) demand we also released it in stores, too. Lookouts works beautifully in both formats!

If people enjoy your work on The Lookouts where else can we see your stuff? What is the work you’re most proud of so far in your careers and what can we see you working on next?
RM: I actually do not have a lot of comic book work under my belt. In the past I’ve done a lot of material for younger children including a collection of bilingual children’s books called the “Solomon Raven” series several years back. I drew and wrote a very short story for the Image Comics anthology PopGun Volume 3. I also drew and inked all the covers for the Shrek miniseries that Ape Comics published  when the fourth Shrek movie was in theaters. One of the projects I’m most proud of is the “Food Fight” game produced by Cryptozoic Entertainment. I designed a ton of weird and gross characters for the card game. That was so much fun to do and I loved how the game turned out.

BM: I’ve worked on lots of stuff over the past few years, including Choker with Ben Templesmith, Memoir with Nikki Cook, plus Pigs with Nate Cosby & Breno Tamura (all from Image Comics), and I’ve also worked on Captain America, Superman, The Incredible Hulk… Fun stuff like that. Digitally, I write Dirk Davies for Namco Bandai’s Shiftylook, and have tons of stuff in the pipeline. I’ll be making more announcements about new projects soon!

The Lookouts is published by Cryptozoic Entertainment and is available via ComiXology. For more on Robb check out his RobbVision website and for more on Ben visit his website or follow him on Twitter @benmccool