{"id":1750,"date":"2012-12-28T14:32:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-28T22:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/?p=1750"},"modified":"2013-04-11T14:19:37","modified_gmt":"2013-04-11T22:19:37","slug":"exclusive-interview-with-matt-miner-writer-of-new-animal-lib-comic-liberator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/animalliberationpressoffice.org\/NAALPO\/2012\/12\/28\/exclusive-interview-with-matt-miner-writer-of-new-animal-lib-comic-liberator\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Matt Miner, writer of new animal lib comic Liberator"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Press Officer Nicoal R. Sheen interviews Matt Miner, writer and project manager to the new and very much anticipated animal liberation comic Liberator<\/em> — a story of two dedicated yet everyday people who take up the mask and the dark to liberate animals and shut down the industries that exploit them. Support this unique and vital project at Liberator<\/em>‘s Kickstarter page<\/a> by pledging a donation and receiving generous gifts in return for your support.<\/strong><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/mattminer\/liberator-4-issue-comic-series-by-matt-miner-and-j<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

How long have you been an activist? Explain what you do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve been vegan almost a decade and early on I worked on a few campaigns here and there (like Ringling’s and stuff like that) until moving to New York where I got really active in the regular HLS and anti-fur protests.\u00a0 I worked on those campaigns and a few others for years but in the last couple years I’ve been focused on animal rescue.\u00a0 It’s more satisfying for me to actually see and meet the animals that I’m helping.\u00a0 There’s a great feeling when you’re with an animal every step of the way from rescue to rehabilitation to placement in a loving forever home where they’ll live out their lives loved and happy.<\/p>\n

Throughout this time I’ve also been a pretty constant prisoner supporter.\u00a0 Writing a card or a letter takes very little time for me to do and it means a lot to the folks doing time for the animals.<\/p>\n

Where did the idea for Liberator come from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hah, well, from real life of course.\u00a0 I learned about the animal liberation underground almost right away after going vegan.\u00a0 I saw the ALF videos online and thought to myself \u201choly shit, these people are like masked superheroes \u2013 like Batman \u2013 but for animals!\u201d\u00a0 I was so inspired right then and there that this idea formed to do a comic book that accurately portrays these activists as heroes and not the \u201cT\u201d word and has been growing in the back of my mind for almost a decade.\u00a0 It’s about time that these nonviolent direct action heroes are given some positive mainstream portrayals.<\/p>\n

The name \u201cLiberator\u201d is a direct nod to the old ALF Support Group ‘zine and the savvy activist will likely spot a ton of hidden “easter eggs” within the pages.<\/p>\n

Tell us more about your work in animal rescue.\u00a0 Has such work played any part in bringing this project to life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well like I said I’ve been focused on rescue lately and since Hurricane Sandy it’s been even more of a priority in our lives out here in the Rockaways.\u00a0 There are a lot of displaced animals out here \u2013 people ditched their dogs and cats when they evacuated, so in some neighborhoods you have all these wandering house cats and stray dogs in an area where it’s pretty common to find animals beaten to death or set on fire.\u00a0 It’s really nonstop out here \u2013 just today we rescued an emaciated and mangled pit bull puppy who was chained behind a building and abandoned for five days before anyone bothered to let us know.\u00a0 Just heinous stuff.<\/p>\n

The opening sequence of issue one deals with one of our heroes taking direct action against a dog fighting compound and my recent rescue work has definitely played a part in my inspiration there.<\/p>\n

How long have you been working on this project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the time I decided to start writing the script to today it’s been a little over a year.\u00a0 I’ve wanted to do the book for almost a decade and when I decided to actually do it I didn’t want to rush anything, so I took my time, saved money and found a professional art team (which is very expensive) and went back to school to hone my craft.\u00a0 I studied under one of the most accomplished modern comics writers and that instruction really helped me bring the project to the next level.\u00a0 People are going to be happy with the story that’s in store for them.<\/p>\n