DF Interview: We Can Never Go Home, but writer Matthew Rosenberg does

By Byron Brewer

It was the massive indie hit of 2015. And now, with a handy $9.99 price trade paperback of the series, along the Image Comics model of a sub-$10 first volume of a series, there is the news that there will be a second volume AND more to come.

Because We Can Never Go Home by Matthew Rosenberg and Josh Hood from Black Mask Studios will return in 2016.

To get all the exclusive answers for readers old and those to come, Dynamic Forces sought out the creator. Here is what Matthew Rosenberg told us.

Dynamic Forces: Matthew, We Can Never Go Home was a big hit this year. Were you surprised at its success?

Matthew Rosenberg: I suppose the cool answer would be “no, not at all” but yeah, of course I am. I write a lot of stuff that feels very personal to me so whenever anyone wants to publish it, carry it in their store, or buy it I am really floored. But the response has been great and I am so thankful for anyone picking the book up.

DF: Tell us about the comic book’s return in 2016.

Matthew Rosenberg: Well, initially I wanted to do a longer series but with the state of the industry now trying to do more than one arc on an indie book shows a lot of hubris. So we scaled it down to a complete story we were all happy with. But when sales hit a certain level we realized that we had the opportunity to keep going and the ideas of what we could do really began to flow. The one thing I can say for certain at this point is that we are going to come back and things will be very different.

DF: Will Josh Hood return to art chores? And if so, tell us why Josh is THE artist for this book.

Matthew Rosenberg: Of course Josh is coming back! Why is Josh the artist for the book? Have you seen his work? Josh breathes all the life into the characters. He is the heart and soul of Duncan and Madison, and all the griminess of their world. Also, Josh is an art machine and is happy doing all of those annoying panel layouts that make other artists angry when they see them.

DF: For the uninitiated, can you explain the need-to-know behind the We Can Never Go Home saga?

Matthew Rosenberg: We Can Never Go Home is about two kids with strange abilities who find themselves in trouble and decide to go on the run, robbing and stealing their way across America. It's sort of a love letter to misfits and outcasts.

DF: Last March, we started off with, if memory serves, “a well-worn mixtape, a stolen convertible, a duffel bag full of cash, a fully loaded .45, and super-powers.” Where does the beginning of this sequel book find us?

Matthew Rosenberg: New people. New powers. New reasons to run.

DF: Was there anything in your life that inspired this runaway super-saga?

Matthew Rosenberg: Without bringing up too much ugly history, yes. I was a weird teenager and at 16 found myself in a lot of trouble because I thought I could help a good friend. What I did was help mess up both of our lives quite a bit. In a lot of ways, this is my apology to her.

DF: Elephant in the Room: Will this perhaps be a trilogy?

Matthew Rosenberg: Who can say? Maybe when we come back, everyone will have stopped caring and we will be lucky to not just be handing out copies on the subway. Trilogies are cool, though.

DF: Matthew, what else can we expect from your keyboard current or near future?

Matthew Rosenberg: I typed while eating cheddar popcorn the other day so I need to clean my keyboard. But in the more metaphorical sense, besides continuing We Can Never Go Home next year, I have a new series at Black Mask early next year called Our Work Fills The Pews. I am also doing another book there later next year that isn't announced but I think fans of We Can Never Go Home will dig it. I am co-writing Archie Meets Ramones at Archie, which is incredibly fun. Other than that, I have four other projects next year that aren't announced. So I am incredibly busy and can't talk about any of it. Stay tuned, I guess?

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Matthew Rosenberg for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. We Can Never Go Home’s sequel is slated to hit stores in mid-2016!

For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

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