Royden Lepp is going back in time… Again. Jurassic Jeff: Race To Warp Speed is now in bookstores everywhere, and it brings back his lovable alien Jeff, Jeff’s dinosaur friends, and brings them on some new adventures in the titular era.
“I don’t want to write preachy stories, but the characters have to grow to be interesting,” Lepp told Comic Book Club over email. “I simply put them in situations that are funny and entertaining and then understand how they’d respond and how they can get through the situation with help from their community. I’m not looking for a moral theme or lesson, I just know that the characters are flat if their trials don’t result in some small character growth.”
To find out more about the book, read on.
Comic Book Club: The concept of this book seems slightly like Invader Zim… But nice. What were your actual influences?
Royden Lepp: Ah, Invader Zim! That’s a nice throwback, I loved that IP though I don’t recall watching any of it. I can’t think of anything specifically that drove the idea of Jurassic Jeff. I love rare mashups that cross genres like fantasy/sci-fi or western/sci-fi kinds of things. I did a drawing of an alien emerging from a spaceship surrounded by puzzled dinosaurs and I thought “Huh, that’s a funny idea I haven’t really seen yet.” And I went home and wrote the pitch. I’m sure I’m subconsciously influenced by all the 1980’s cartoons of my childhood.
Broad question, but what do you think is the eternal appeal of dinosaurs?
They represent the greatest thrilling mystery ever! Giant fantasy creatures that exist only as bones in the dirt! What an amazing thing to think about! What did they look like? How was the world different? They represent the great unknown here on our planet.
What about aliens?
The great unknown outside of our planet! If we don’t even know what’s in our oceans currently or what was wandering around on the earth a long time ago, how can we possibly be sure about what’s out beyond our galaxy? Inside great mystery lies the greatest opportunity for imagination and creativity.
You’ve got some very sweet, earnest humor in here; what’s your take on humor for kids? What’s important to tackle, or not?
I don’t know if I have strong theories. I just wanted to have fun and make kids laugh. I think it’s important not to overanalyze it too much. I start by trying to make myself laugh, hoping that I’m not too strange and then I show some of my jokes to my son to see if he thinks they’re funny. It REALLY helps having a little middle grade boy running around while I write these. I can see into the world where he lives and how he communicates with his friends. Some jokes are references to common modern memes that maybe only adults will fully get, but I don’t think the jokes rely 100% on the meme.
The overall theme seems to be collaboration – whether between dinosaurs and aliens, or otherwise. Why was that the right theme for this book?
I don’t want to write preachy stories, but the characters have to grow to be interesting. I simply put them in situations that are funny and entertaining and then understand how they’d respond and how they can get through the situation with help from their community. I’m not looking for a moral theme or lesson, I just know that the characters are flat if their trials don’t result in some small character growth.
No spoilers, but there’s an open ending here – are we going to see more Jurassic Jeff? Triassic Jeff, perhaps?
You know it! I’m working on the third book right now!
Jurassic Jeff: Race To Warp Speed is in stores everywhere now from Penguin Random House.
