DF Interview: Tony Fleecs brings a brand new world to life as ‘Uncanny Valley’ spins into its second story arc

By Byron Brewer

Oliver and his family are separated. He's lost in a world he just found out existed while his mom and grandpa are trapped in the real world, trying desperately to get back to him.

This new world looks bright and beautiful but there's a darkness creeping in. Can Oliver learn to tame the darkness?

With issue #7, writer Tony Fleecs and artist Dave Wachter begin a whole new story arc for Uncanny Valley. I spoke with my friend, scribe Tony Fleecs, about what to expect… sans spoilers, as usual.

Byron Brewer: Tony, first, who was the master marketer that scheduled Uncanny Valley #7 to be on sale in shops December 25 – Christmas Day?! With all those merry, mysterious cartoon beings in your book and with kids out everywhere, how cool is that?

Tony Fleecs: Just lucky, I guess. Honestly, I put out a lot of books this year. One was bound to land on Christmas. There was at least one Halloween book. Four on my birthday. It's been a busy, busy year.

Byron: Speaking of being cool, what type of heady triumph is it for you to re-team with artist Dave Wachter to continue Uncanny Valley past its initial six-issue run with a #7 and a new arc?

Tony Fleecs: It's exciting! And also, a huge relief. This story has always been bigger than six issues. We just didn't know whether or not sales would be enough for us to get to do the whole thing.

Byron: For those recently under a rock (and who can blame them?), can you by summary remind us what Uncanny Valley is all about? And for dedicated readers of the comic, are there any story threads from issues #1-6 that might pertain to the coming new arc?

Tony Fleecs: Uncanny Valley is a coming-of-age story about a boy who finds out his long-lost grandfather is a real live cartoon character. And that makes this kid special. Dark forces from the cartoon world are after him, so he and his grandpa have to go on the run. While he's running, he's learning about who he is and where he comes from.

Byron: Introduce readers to Oliver and what makes him… er uh, different. Can you discuss his relationship with his mother and grandfather? How big a part of this second arc coming in issue #7 will his mom and grandpa be?

Tony Fleecs: Oliver's a typical 12-year-old kid who just found out he's part cartoon (on his mother's side). He's already going through this "Who am I? What's my place?" sort of thing that kids go through and then one day he starts to manifest these bizarre cartoon powers.

The first arc was all cartoon characters chasing after Oliver in the real world, so in the second arc… we'll see what happens when a real boy goes exploring in the cartoon world.

Oliver's mom and grandpa are a HUGE part of the second arc. So much of figuring out who we are has to do with learning about who we come from.

Byron: Without spoilers, can you discuss this new world you and Dave are building in which Oliver is trapped? In what type of canvas will readers find themselves come December?

Tony Fleecs: We're trying to make a cartoon world that feels unique to our story. We don't want this to feel like Cool World or like Toon Town or like Acme Acres. We want this place to be its own unique thing while still feeling familiar. So, you're going to see some of the places you've already seen: Pecos Peet's farm, the First's Castle... But then, we're also going to go to a bunch of different places in cartoon world to show how all these cartoons fit in this place together.

Byron: I was so happy to see this extension of your book. You once told me Uncanny Valley “is a big huge story”. Talk a little more about this overview, if you would.

Tony Fleecs: The hope is to make it both huge and really small and personal at the same time. That's what I think people respond to in this book. It has these big crazy set pieces, but for me… I get the biggest charge out of the little moments between Oliver and his mother. Or Margaret and her dad. But yes, it does get huge. There's stuff in the last issue that Dave and I are already working on because we know it's gonna take a little extra time.

Byron: Expound on what artist Dave Wachter brings to this unique table. Why is it fun for you to do this book with this creator?

Tony Fleecs: Well, he's incredibly talented. He knows how to do moments and he draws emotion really well. He's a great storyteller. He's collaborative. And I don't know too many other people who could pull off both the tone of this book AND the cartoon/real world thing. He's just the total package.

Byron: Tony, what other projects do you have coming that you can tell readers about?

Tony Fleecs: First! Issue #6 of Uncanny Valley [out Oct. 30] may be my favorite comic I've ever had my name on. It's a big weird swing. I'm excited to see how readers react.

And then actually, a lot of my books are wrapping up. Army of Darkness Forever, Venom War Wolverine and Local Man are all done for now. So, look for those in TPB or hardcover or whatever. Feral comes out every month from Image Comics. It's Trish Forstner and my follow-up to Stray Dogs. The first TPB just came out. Issue 6 is in stores too. I've got another Marvel thing cooking and another creator-owned Tim Seeley collaboration, but neither of those are announced (or even written) yet.

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Tony Fleecs for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Uncanny Valley #7 with its new story arc from Image Comics is slated to be on sale December 25 – Christmas Day!

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