Exterminators Exclusive Wrap Up Party

WRAP UP PARTY

I live about five minutes away from Tony Moore, so a lot of the time when I'd pop over to raid his fridge or steal his comics, I'd find him working on The Exterminators. And during those visits, I'd usually see some of the most disgusting sights I'd ever witnessed in a comic. I remember just him telling me about some of the stuff from issue #24 freaked me out for days on end. So that's why I don't go over to Tony's house anymore. But I never stopped reading The Exterminators. And really I can't remember the last comic series that made me laugh and cringe and check my peripheral vision for giant killer cockroaches as much as The Exterminators did. Bravo to Simon and Tony and everyone involved for such a great run.

I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to work on such a unique title as The Exterminators. Not only was it a lot of fun, it also happened to be my first work for Vertigo. Being my first crack at the big leagues, it's definitely a landmark in my career.
When I found out I got the fill-in issue, I was really excited to take a crack at some gross-out stuff or swarms of bugs. Of course, my issue was gross-out free and almost entirely bugless, but it was such a nice character piece, I can't imagine it any other way. Simon spun a wonderful yarn over these past few years, and I'm glad I could've been attached to it, if only for an issue.
The Exterminators will be sorely missed. Thanks so much Simon, Tony, Jon, all the folks who came in to pinch-hit on the book in Tony's stead and all you discerning readers out there.

You can't out-gross The Exterminators. Believe me, I've
tried. But nobody does projectile slapstick better than Simon.

The Exterminators should not be getting cancelled. It just shouldn't. It has everything in it to be successful, with the exception of Tony Moore's absences. Of course, his absence lead to my presence on the book, and I truly enjoyed Simon Oliver's scripts and getting to collaborate with Simon. Way back when the team was getting put together, I was offered The Exterminators at the same time I had just gone exclusive with Marvel, so I had to pass. I'm only glad that I did, because Tony's stuff was such a great fit to follow Philip Bond's rockin' and creative covers that I relied upon the tones for the characters that he set. This series was funny, challenging, well drawn and smart.
Someone tell me again: Why is this book getting cancelled?

The day after the last Exterminators issue came out, I was sitting at my kitchen table minding my own business. My wife came in to say something, but just as she was about to speak, her mouth dropped open and her expression changed to one of instinctive, deep-rooted horror.
"What the Fuck" was all she could say, as her finger rose to guide me to the windows just behind my head. Slowly I turned to find house flies, literally fucking thousands of house flies, quietly and stealthy crawling around on the inside of the windows only inches from where I sat.
Despite their large numbers they hardly made a sound, and more were arriving, their numbers slowly swelling. I don't know if my wife had interrupted a sneak attack, but we didn't wait to find out.
Working swiftly we set up a cluster of sugar water fly traps, took our two young children and left.
When we returned three days later, the smell of death was heavy in the air and the traps strained under the weight of fly corpses.
I don't know if this incident was tied in to my work on The Exterminators or how the flies would have known. I just wished they'd each brought the fucking monthlies.

The Exterminatorsmay be gone for now, but the threat lives on.

Working on this series was one of those kinds of treats that an artist who leads a life much more charmed than mine might get once or twice in his lifetime. As much as it was an honor to work for Vertigo, a house I'd revered since high school, it was also a thrill to meet and work with Simon Oliver. He's smart, hilarious, and perverted, all of which he put into scripts that played well to my personal strengths and affinities. Exploding guts and gore, bizarre creepy-crawlies, and the dregs of humanity... that's pretty much what I do best.
Pinning down my favorite moment would be a hard task. I was especially proud of the way issue #24 came out. It had a bit of everything in it, and I had a blast getting to draw all kinds of perversion and a guy whose head had turned mushy and burst open with tons of butterflies.
Seriously, picking a favorite moment would be like choosing a favorite child, and I'm proud to say that our children have been some of the most vile things printed in comics, all of which made me laugh out loud to draw.
I've been a lucky man to get to work on a book like this. Hopefully the collected volumes will help the series continue posthumously to find an audience. Getting to work with Simon, our editors, and all our brothers in arms on the book was a thrill and an true honor, and a chance I'll always be thankful I received.

AFTER-PARTY