Interview: Jeff Rougvie on Image’s Gunning For Hits

Gunning For Hits #1

Gunning For Hits #1


Jeff Rougvie has been in the music business for decades and has worked in varying capacities for artists including David Bowie, Big Star, Elvis Costello, Devo, Bob Mould and Sugar, The Replacements, They Might Be Giants, and many others. He brings his expertise in the world of music to comics with Gunning For Hits, a new series from Image with artist Moritat. Rougvie tells Westfield’s Roger Ash more about this exciting new series.

Westfield: How did Gunning For Hits come about?

Jeff Rougvie: I’ve been in the music business all my life, and I still run a label. The idea for the story we’re telling in the first six issues came about when I started working with David Bowie. He was a brilliant artist and I got to know him as a wonderful person, but he was at a low-point, career-wise and artistically. I started thinking; what will happen if he doesn’t turn his career around? When you have an artist of his magnitude in that situation, how would he and the record company deal with it?

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 1

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 1


Westfield: How much did you draw on your own experiences for the book?

Rougvie: Music fiction tends to fall into the same old clichés. It’s one of the reasons I set the book in the ‘80s – most writers run to the ‘60s or ‘70s, but the ‘80s was when things really got crazy in the business. This book isn’t going to be yuppies hoovering up vast quantities of nose candy or taking advantage of groupies. We’re trying to turn boring conventions sideways. There’s quite a bit of my experience in there, and stories I heard from others, but those are springboards for completely fictional scenarios. So while my character Brian Slade might seem Bowie-esque, he’s evil, and David was not. That’s what makes it fun!

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 2

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 2


Westfield: What can you tell us about Martin Mills?

Rougvie: He’s a talent scout (A&R person) in the ‘80s NYC music business with a string of hits and a  mysterious background. He’s a narcissist, but in service of music. He believes in the power of the perfect pop song, and little else – with good reason. When I started to write the book, I plotted out Martin’s entire life – even his death – and I have about a hundred Martin Mills stories to tell. We join his story a couple of years into his music business career, but there are hints throughout about his past and readers can follow a twitter account of Martin’s Journal excerpts @MartinMillsHits to fill in more blanks. He’s the main character, and maybe the guy you’re rooting for, but Martin’s no hero.

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 3

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 3


Westfield: Who are some of the other characters readers will meet?

Rougvie: Brian Slade, Martin’s favorite classic rock artist, who is considered washed-up. Martin is convinced he can make Brian a huge star again. Then there’s Billy, the main creative force of Stunted Growth, a band Martin is aggressively trying to sign in the first issue, and Billy’s manager / girlfriend Diane, who both get entangled with Slade. And, of course, Melch who is one of my favorites to write. He’s Martin’s only friend, and cuts off a co-worker’s finger.

Westfield: Will there be any real venues and people in the comic or is it strictly fiction?

Rougvie: We’ll refer to plenty of real people, places and events in the story. For instance, we talk about Iggy Pop in the first issue, but he’s not doing a walk-on! There’s also a Gunning For Hits Spotify playlist that of course features real musicians, all of whom exist in Martin’s world. I look at the world of the comic the same way Tarantino sees his films; every story he tells happens in his world, but some of them are real events and others are actually movies shown in the Tarantino-verse.

Westfield: What can readers look forward to in the story?

Rougvie: I pitched the book as a revenge fantasy for every song that should’ve been number one. It’s called Gunning For Hits for a reason, so in the first issue readers will learn a lot about how the music business works, which I think we’ve tackled in an entertaining way. We also see how Martin uniquely beats the odds. Later on, you’ll meet Brian Slade, who ensnares many characters in his web, creating all sorts of problems for pretty much everyone – except Melch, who is happy if the bar is well-stocked. And it is.

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 4

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 4


Westfield: You’re working with the artist Moritat on Gunning For Hits. What can you say about your collaboration?

Rougvie: I’m really lucky to have him on the book – we’ve been having a blast! His art and layouts are ingenious, and he’s really captured the character of 1980s New York. Comics have been an obsession all my life, but I’m a first time comic writer, so Moritat’s been super-helpful in navigating the world of comics. I was a fan of his before Eric Stephenson introduced us – his work at DC on The Spirit and Jonah Hex blew me away, and he’s really pushing himself here – people who’ve seen the book are loving his art. And Casey Silver is invaluable too, coloring and doing letters.

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 5

Gunning For Hits #1 preview page 5


Westfield: Any closing comments?

Rougvie: TV shows like Madmen, The Sopranos, The Wire and The Newsroom have taken deep dives into the inner workings of various industries (yes, I consider crime an industry), so it’s surprising to me that comics haven’t followed suit, because people are clearly interested. Some of the most popular TV shows ever are about music, and Bohemian Rhapsody was just the number one movie, so clearly music and the music industry remain a source of fascination. I think comic readers have been underserved in this arena and I hope they find new and compelling comic / music stories in Gunning For Hits. I have to thank Image for their enthusiasm for Gunning For Hits. It’s a testament to their commitment to trying new things, which is why they’re the most interesting publisher in comics.

 

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