We chat with the comic creator about his latest Kickstarter project and how cursing can save your life.
Welcome to our Creator Corner, our new reoccurring interview series, where we chat with the coolest and most thought-provoking creators in the comics industry. In this entry, we're conversing with Steve Urena about Foul Mouth. Listen to the unedited audio HERE.
Steve Urena is back! You remember our last chat with the creator, discussing his violently romantic comic, Zombie Date Night. Well, he's upping the ante regarding addictive high-concepts with Foul Mouth! His latest collaboration, this time with artist Sarah Anderson, is a savagely ridiculous superhero satire about a young woman who gains magic abilities after pairing with a demon.
Teenager Faye Flik's little friend weaponizes her potty mouth. The more vulgar the curse, the more powerful the result. Think about what Green Lantern could do with an F-Bomb, and you start to get the idea.
Foul Mouth is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. CLICK HERE to check it out. The comic is done, you will be getting it, but you'll be helping with shipping costs and securing more Steve Urena comics in your future. This creator always delivers.
Also, when you're done devouring our chat, you can continue this conversation with Steve Urena by visiting his Twitter, Instagram, and Gumroad.
Brad: Yeah, so - Foul Mouth. She's a superhero who gains her powers through swearing? What's the deal, exactly?
Steve Urena: Think of it as a mix between Venom and Green Lantern. The more cursing, the more creative her cursing gets, the more animated it gets. So if she calls somebody a bitch-made light bulb, the light bulb will appear and she can hit people with it.
Brad: The F-bomb and how clever that F-Bomb can be will then manifest in a really clever physical fuck.
Steve Urena: Absolutely I mean it basically is an F-Bomb. If she really wanted to make an F-Bomb she can do it? So yes, the more creative the better it gets. And the the best thing is that the art is Sarah Davidson. You know I have these crazy ideas, I put them on page, and and she really did a great job of making it come to life.
Lisa: It looks super cute. It looks very fun and I think it's interesting that Faye Flik, the cursing crusader, gets their powers through a demon. It makes me wonder what was your relationship to swearing growing up. Were you raised not to swear?
Steve Urena: Yes, actually my parents were very proper. They didn't start cursing until we were done with - I would say college. They curse a lot more now, but they always wanted us to have a really good - you know sense of language and you know talking in a better way than just cursing. We just didn't talk like that. So, when I got to high school, I was like what is this? But my parents didn't really curse until until later on, until we were already corrupted.
Lisa: And was it like an extension of like - it's just not polite, or are were you under the impression that it was bad or it was evil to swear?
Steve Urena: Not so much evil, I think. More out of politeness, and not trying to be rude. I think that's the best way to put it for them.
Brad: I had a similar experience to Steve's, where we were not allowed to swear in my house and it was seen as being rude or unkind. My parents took no swearing all the way down to you can't say "dumb" and you can't call people "stupid." If I called my cousin "stupid," I might as well have called him a "fuckface.
Lisa: I was raised religious. So like, there is blasphemy, and blasphemy is a specific sin. There were other ones that were just not polite or whatever, or they put evil thoughts in somebody else's head, I guess. It made me fascinated with the boundaries of language. Are there tiers for Faye? If she says "fuck," it's like a huge reaction, where if she says "fudge" with a little bit of juice to it, it's less powerful?
Steve Urena: Yes, I would say there's tiers. I would say that it's within her. So, like the demon possesses her and understands where she's coming from. If she's yelling out "fuck" like it'll come out of her. You know it'll come out into the real world as opposed to - you know, "gee willikers" or as you were saying like "gosh golly gee" or something like that. The demon is connected with Faye and they share a bond, and from the bond they're able to you know, figure out. The level of cursing and the level of curses that are being said.
Lisa: I heard about this study that was done where they would have people stick their bare hands into freezing ice water and then they would have one group that could swear, one group couldn't say anything, and one group could say innocuous words, like "Windowsill!" The people who could swear could withstand the cold longer. To me, that says that taboo words are an evolutionary advantage that we have. The second we lose taboo words, we're going to lose access to that superpower. We're just going to have to come up with a more extreme vocabulary.
Steve Urena: I do wonder if we'll ever see a new curse in our lifetime.
Brad: That's not necessarily a slur. Just a new "Fuck."
Steve Urena: Yeah, that's hard.
Brad: If anyone can figure it out, you can.
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