Believe it or not…The Greatest American Hero is back. AMP Comics is debuting a new 5-issue comic based on the 1981-1984 ABC TV series created by Stephen J. Cannell (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, Riptide), and Cherry the Geek TV met up with the creative team behind the new comic series at Comic-Con International in San Diego to find out all about it. We spoke to AMP Comics CEO Don Handfield who is also the writer of the new comic, as well as Tawnia McKiernan, the daughter of series creator Stephen J. Cannell, and The Greatest American Hero himself–actor William Katt– who played the title character on television and who is a consultant and producer of the new comic book.
CHERRY THE GEEK TV: Don, talk to us about the genesis of the book and how you can onboard as the writer.
DON HANDFIELD: It was co-created by Tawnia and I. Her dad was the OG creator (Stephen J. Cannell) of the show. She’s an accomplished director in the film business and has directed Cobra Kai and Supergirl and a bunch of stuff. I knew her agent and told him about my love for the show and I had some ideas. I had tried to get the rights before with no luck. So I called her agent who put us together and we had a great conversation about the show and our ideas and that led to the genesis of the book.
CHERRY THE GEEK TV: Tawnia, talk to us about your father. Did he ever talk shop at home with you? How did he feel about the show and was there ever any talk from him about trying to bring the show back?
TAWNIA MCKIERNAN: Yes. Well my dad–after he got out of writing television shows he had started writing books. But he had held onto about five shows that he wanted to make feature films from and The Greatest American Hero was one of them. He had actually gave me the script for a feature version that he wrote (She turns to William Katt) (To William Katt: I don’t know if you saw that script). There was a flying pig in it. I said to him “A flying pig?! Really?” He got so mad at me. But I had watched every episode of the show as it came out.
CHERRY THE GEEK TV: William, you are involved as a consultant/producer on the comic. What was your reaction when they came to you and said they wanted to bring it back?
WILLIAM KATT: I said (jokingly) “That old show?” No but seriously, I was thrilled.
CHERRY THE GEEK TV: What was your involvement once the book was confirmed?
WILLIAM KATT: Oh, I send them my notes all the time. I red-line some things. I’m very demanding. (jokingly).
CHERRY THE GEEK TV: What do you think it is about the show that’s made it endure for 40 years?
WILLIAM KATT: Steven’s wonderful writing. I mean–that’s the heart of the show. He had a lot of humanity in it. I think Don and Tawnia have done a great job of making sure that the humanity is integral to the story they’re telling in the comic.
TAWNIA McKIERNAN: The show has endured because of the primary concept. The primary concept was “What would happen to an everyday person if they got a super suit? What would that do to his life?” So I think that idea–for anyone who watches the show or anyone who reads the comic–they go “Well, what if I got a super suit? What would happen there?” So I think that core idea is what made it so popular.
DON HANDFIELD: I think there’s something too about how he approached it, in that suit isn’t just a gift–it’s also kind of a curse, and the fact that the character of Ralph is reluctant about the power which made him more human and relatable.
CHERRY THE GEEK TV: The story of the comic follows the Cobra Kai template, yes? There’s a new young character and Ralph Hinkley plays a mentor role to this new character. No one thought Cobra Kai was going to work on paper, and yet, it turned out to be one of the great shows of the past ten years and is a model for how to incorporate legacy characters into new stories. Is this comic a blueprint for a possible new Greatest American Hero television revival?
TAWNIA McKIERNAN: Not so much a television show, but a movie.
Issue #1 of The Greatest American Hero is now available to buy at your local comic book shop. You can sign up to get notified about the Kickstarter launch for The Greatest American Hero Deluxe Edition Graphic Novel at https://GreatestAmericanHeroComic.com
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