First Comics News: How did “Stabbity Bunny” end up being picked up by Scout Comics?
Richard Rivera: A good friend of mine and fellow convention warrior, James Haick, was picked up by Scout Comics first. He suggested I talk to them and also put in a good word for me. I was very impressed by everyone I met from Scout, as conventions overlapped and I had the opportunity to spend some time with individuals from this amazing team.
1st: Do you think the description Nightmare on Elm Street and Sesame Street meet describes this comic?
Richard: I think we nuanced it just a little to say that it could take place somewhere near the intersection. We wanted to avoid confusion since it doesn’t resemble either property except the core of their essences. Nightmare and Sesame, to me, one represents innocence, hope, and empathy while the other is a world immersed in horror and the sinister, driven by a malicious evil. Stabbity Bunny is a world of contrasts and both these two things exist side by side. Someone giving away a favorite possession to save one butterfly with a broken wing on one page and someone else stealing the soul of a ninety-year-old man on another. These worlds will meet, but they will not blend.
1st: What is the basic storyline of “Stabbity Bunny”?
Richard: A lot of the full story is buried in layers of mystery and reveals. I can tell you what it appears to be right now. A supernatural force has been pursuing a family for generations. In issue one, it has found them and the consequences will drive the first 12-issue arc. This family has many secrets and we find out the plush bunny passed down within this family for nearly 100 years has mysteries of his own. Each arc has a midpoint season finale, but each concludes very decisively with issue twelve.
1st: What is the relationship between Grace and Stabbity?
Richard: Stabbity is a plush toy passed from mother to daughter for generations. As far as we can see, Stabbity is an inanimate toy, loved and cherished as a plush companion.
1st: Who are a few of the other characters we will be seeing in “Stabbity Bunny”?
Richard: Amanda, Grace’s mom, a children’s book author with an arsenal hidden behind her canned foods. Lena, Grace’s Nana, a well-meaning woman who makes a terrible mistake. Glyph, currently our main bad guy, has studied the mystical arts for more than a century and turned the darkness in his soul into a physical tattoo ink that swims beneath his skin. He can use this to draw glyphs on his body and others for various effects. I feel bad picking a few, but there are so many populating the series that it’s probably for the best.
1st: How was the name Stabbity thought of for the bunny as its name?
Richard: In the book, he was known as Hanzi his entire time with the family, until last year, when Grace renamed him. In this reality, I named him Stabbity Bunny, again the obsession with contrasts, the cutest form of the word rabbit paired with a very pointedly violent word.
1st: You wrote “Storm Pirates” why was this a good comic to pick up?
Richard: Storm Pirates is awesome and on hiatus. Drew Moss is incredible. We really clicked on the creation of this comic. I want to have a little more in the inventory of issues done before I talk too much about Storm Pirates.
1st: “Wild Bull & Chipper!” had you and Dwayne Biddix together so was this a fun comic to work on?
Richard: WBC is amazingly fun to work on. Dwayne’s character designs perfectly captured the characters I conceived. Dwayne is a true talent and I feel so lucky to be working with him. We have two issues done, but I have the first 6-issue arc mapped out and we have covers done for the first five. When this book gets more attention, Dwayne and I will be busy working on two series, lol.
1st: Why do you enjoy writing?
Richard: Creating a world and telling a story … to reach out to readers hoping someone might enjoy it, think about something old in a new way, be touched or entertained, find something they can share with a friend … any of these things, all of these things. I’ve had conversations with fans of some of our series and they shared their insights or expressed eagerness to read the next issue. Nothing is
better than that for the writer in me.
1st: What is next after “Stabbity Bunny”?
Richard: Honestly, I’m hoping I can tell the whole trilogy of storylines in Stabbity. Each arc feels like a “next”.
1st: What character in “Stabbity Bunny” is the most like you?
Richard: I think I have scattered pieces of myself through several characters. Some of the things Grace does in the book are drawn from my own experiences, minus the magic. Emmet looks like me, cosplay bonus, and approaches life as I do now.
1st: Did you have a stuffed animal when you were a child?
Richard: Yes, a rabbit and a warthog.
1st: What non-comic book thing do you enjoy doing?
Richard: I enjoy photography, time with friends doing various outdoor and indoor activities, I had to quit video gaming, I become way too obsessed.
1st: Any final words for all the Stabbity fans?
Richard: Thank you. I’m so happy we have fans, readers who enjoy the series. I can’t thank you enough and I hope the storyline will surprise and entertain you. The whole team on Stabbity Bunny: Dwayne, Liezl, Jaymes, Wayne and I do this for you.
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