Vito Delsante talks about THE FOX: FAMILY VALUES

Vito Delsante of Stray fame is going to be writing one of the stories in the all-new Fox one shot from Archie Comics this May. Victo stopped by First Comics News to catch our readers up on the Fox.

First Comics News: Vito, we have talked a few times about Stray, now you are working on the Fox. How did you end up at Archie?

Vito Delsante: I don’t know that you could call it “ending up at Archie” unless they offer me a full-time writing gig WHICH I WILL HAPPILY ACCEPT! but this isn’t the first time I’ve worked for Archie. I wrote a Black Hood story a few years ago with ChrisCross that ended up in an all-digital Mighty Crusaders collection (THE LOST CRUSADE) and I was tapped to do a Stan Lee series (Stan Lee and the Mighty Seven). So, I was on their radar for some time, but this was just a matter of me pestering [Archie Comics Editorial Director] Jamie Rotante at the right time.

1^st: Were you a fan of the Mighty Crusaders before this assignment?

Vito: Oh God yes. I troll eBay trying to get those Remco figures all the time!

1^st: What do you like best about the Fox?

Vito: I said it in another interview, but the thing that makes the Fox unique is his ability to morph into whatever story you need him to tell. You could tell a noir Fox story, a goofy comedy, or even a straight-up superhero story. In my case, I wanted to play with a Rube Goldberg-ish prop.

1^st: When does your story take place?

Vito: The night before (you could even say hours before) Paul and Mae get married. So, it’s in the past…about 20 years ago, depending on how old Shinji is.

1^st: Does Mae know Paul is the Fox yet?

Vito: I treat it like she does, but she could have found out just before the story begins, off screen.

1^st: How did she find out about Paul’s secret identity?

Vito: Like I just mentioned, probably right before the story opens, but Paul is such an earnest, compassionate person, I can’t see him keeping it a secret from his love.

1^st: How does she feel about marrying a superhero?

Vito: We never really delve into that in the story, but I think she’s just like anyone who marries a police officer or a firefighter; she’s proud of Paul’s contributions to the world at large, but also worried for his safety.

1^st: Dean’s run is noted for numerous classic and underused MLJ heroes and villains. Will you be following suit?

Vito: I pulled the Hyena out of obscurity for this one.

1^st: What makes Richard Ortiz the right partner for this project?

Vito: Ric is just…his art is really clean, really gorgeous lines. He has a kind of Alan Davis smoothness but coupled with a pencil weight of George Perez or Phil Jimenez. Ric makes the beautiful beautiful and the evil monstrous.

1^st: Is this one and done or are you doing more with the Mighty Crusaders in the future?

Vito: This is just a one-time deal, but as I said earlier, I am totally ready to jump into this world further!

About Author

Rik Offenberger

Rik Offenberger has worked in the comic field as a retailer, distributor, reporter, public relations coordinator, writer and publisher since 1990. He owns and operates the e-mail bases Super Hero News service, and his published works in print can be seen in The Comics Buyers Guide, Comic Retailer, Borderline Magazine, and Comics International. On the internet he has worked as a writer and/or editor for Silver Bullet Comicbooks, Comic Book Resources, Newsarama and First Comics News. He was the Public Relations Coordinator at Archie Comics for a decade. He is currently the Editor-In-Chief at G-Man Comics. For TwoMorrows Publications, Rik co-wrote The MLJ Companion with Paul Castiglia and Jon B. Cooke, charting the history of Archie’s superheroes, and for Gemstone Publishing wrote chapters of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide to Lost Universes.

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