Jim Rugg is the creator (along with writer Brian Maruca) of my favorite small-press comic of the past year, the amazing Street Angel. In the series homeless teen Jesse Sanchez fights crime and battles hunger with the only weapons she has, a skateboard and her fists. It’s chock full of ninjas, martial arts, evil geologists and moments of heartbreaking reality. After doing a review of the book in my
Bum’s Rush column I decided to take a chance and see if Jim would do an interview for Stumblebum to which he graciously agreed. 

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Paul Milligan: What prompted the creation of Street Angel?  What was it about the character that made you and your writing partner, Brian Maruca, want to tell her continuing adventures?

Jim Rugg: We came up with the character, more or less on a whim. We were looking for something to work on, and a light-hearted superhero comic starring a young, punk girl emerged. The more we wrote and brainstormed, the more apparent the character’s flexibility became. With that in mind, we started to challenge each other to push the stories further and further towards the surreal nonsense of the silver age.

PM: How did Street Angel go from a mini-comic to a regular series published by Slave Labor Graphics?

RUGG: After we finished the mini-comic, we found their submission process and sent it, along with a series proposal to Slave Labor Graphics. We had talked about a few companies, like Image in particular, and Slave Labor felt like the best fit. We hoped the book could reach younger, female readers, and I think SLG has had a lot of success finding that audience. Once we started working with them, they kind of exceeded our expectations in terms of support and the overall experience. I have heard so many horror stories about comic book publishers that I approached the whole thing with somewhat low expectations. But Slave Labor has been outstanding.

PM: While doing a little research for this interview I stumbled across a movie called Street Angel from 1928. It was directed by Frank Borzage and starred Janet Gaynor as a woman who ends up penniless and on the streets.  Is there any connection between that movie and your comic?  Or is this the first time you’ve heard of it?

RUGG: I had not heard of it, until after Slave Labor published our book. I was looking for a review or something and came across reviews of the movie. I should really track a copy down. I haven’t seen it yet.

PM: The covers for the series were very striking and eye-catching.  What was the thought process behind those covers and what went into putting them together?

RUGG: Brian and I went to some local comic stores and talked about covers we liked. We wanted to create covers that stood out on the stands and also related to the interior stories. The different title treatments came about because I’m a huge fan of some of the alternative and underground titles that used different, complimentary logos on each issue, like Eightball, Black Hole, Zap, etc. The pink became the common design element for the series.

PM: I'm a big fan of Street Angel’s back covers, each of which was distinctly influenced by a certain style, from Jim Lee to Jhonen Vasquez.  How difficult was it for you to emulate a certain style and were you pleased with the results?

RUGG: I am pleased with the result overall. I think it’s a good use of that space. I think each one pales in comparison with the sources but readers have indicated their amusement, so I’m happy with them. They were a little more difficult than I expected, but they were also rewarding. It made me look very closely at the cartoonists I chose to imitate. In the case of Jhonen’s work, I was familiar with it, but when I decided to do a cover in his style, I sat down and read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. What great comics! I can see why those books are so revered. I had a chance to meet him at San Diego this year. That was interesting too. He seems like a very cool guy.

PM: Are there any plans to do more Street Angel comics?

RUGG: I don’t know. I’m in something of a creative rut. We’ve written some stories and scripts, but there aren’t any concrete plans yet. I expect to make more Street Angel comics, but I have no idea when.

PM: The Street Angel collection was probably one of my favorite trades all year long and certainly one of the best looking.  How has the response to the collection been?

RUGG: It’s been great. I took a stack of them to SPX this year, and this is months after the book came out. Right before I left home, I decided to take an extra 15 copies, just in case. And I ended up selling all of them long before the show ended. Dan Vado, SLG’s publisher, told me the numbers were above average as well in terms of percentage of trades sold versus single issues.

PM: What are you working on now that the first five issues of Street Angel are done?

RUGG: Back to the creative rut thing. Brian and I have been working on Afrodisiac stories. I have a handful of short stories committed to various anthologies. I just finished a 16 page, historical fiction comic for a textbook publisher.

PM: Are there any mainstream characters you’d like to take a crack at writing and/or drawing?

RUGG: Yes. Quite a few of them actually.

PM: What comics (if any) do you read on a regular basis?

RUGG: Eightball, Acme Novelty Library, Stray Bullets, Kane, Hellboy.

PM: Is there a question you’ve always hoped someone would ask in an interview but never have?
 What is the question and more importantly, what’s the answer?

RUGG: I can’t think of any questions in particular. But here are some things that readers have done that are awesome. Did you see the sculpture of Jesse in the pinup section of the Street Angel trade paperback? That was done by a reader, Jesse Farel. He sent me the sculpture, too. It’s incredible. A guy recently sent me photos of his Street Angel tattoo. And a girl sent me photos of herself dressed as Street Angel for Halloween. I find these things so surprising. It’s cool to think I’m not just making these comics for myself.

PM: Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer some questions, Jim!


The first five issues of the series are now available in the Street Angel Vol. 1: Princess of Poverty collection.

To find out more about Street Angel and its creators just visit them at www.streetangelcomics.com.