BARRICADE BRIGADE - a DIY Punk Debut from CHRIS STALL and KRIS MENDOZA
- Luis Godoy II
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
We're back with Luis Godoy II, who has brought Chris Stall and Kris Mendoza by for a chat about their recent Kickstarter campaign for Barricade Brigade #0.
COMIC BOOK YETI: So Chris and Kris, welcome to the Yeti Cave! When I look at the word, "punk," it brings to mind bands such as Rancid, Black Flag and the Misfits. What I never fully understood is that it can also mean a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset, and a DIY mindset definitely fits in the indie comics community. Without that type of mindset, indie comics probably would not exist. And your upcoming comic, Barricade Brigade would not exist.
So Chris and Kris, what brings each of you to comics as readers and now creators?
CHRIS STALL: My comic love started as a kid, picking up X-Men, Savage Dragon and Shadowman. I found myself in the weirdness of the mutants. Fast forward to being an adult, and discovering writers like Matt Kindt and Jeff Lemire writing emotionally charged, character driven stories. These non-Big-Two creators showed me the world of what was possible in comics. I think my journey for creating my own started when I really got involved going to and volunteering at conventions. Talking to creators, I remember thinking how cool it would be to be on the other side of the table. I’ve always been a writer, but making the shift to comic writing was pushed into high gear after a local indie con and being encouraged to just start making them.
KRIS MENDOZA: My journey as a reader is really similar to Chris’s. I started with TMNT and X-Men, finding that I could recognize me in the outcasts I loved watching be heroes of their world. I had a huge gap in time of not reading, but in that gap I went to engineering school and learned I have a taste for tearing things down to see how they work, and making things that suited me when they didn’t exist.
CBY: Why is Barricade Brigade the first comic each of you wanted to make together?
CS: Honestly? I don’t know that this was ever intended to be the FIRST… I just knew when Kris contacted me about making a comic, it HAD to be about a punk band. Because we are both crusty punks.
KM: For me it isn’t the first comic I’ve made. But, I am really glad that it is the first one that Chris and I have worked together on. It felt right to build a world that we could both slip into and really dive into how the characters work in a situation that we’d both appreciate.
CBY: What influences or other comics did you want Barricade Brigade to feel like?
KM: I think the biggest influence beyond the ethos of punk rock and the community behind it would be a heavy influence from the X-Men. Identifying as one of a group of social outcasts that can take a swing at the world despite the odds means a lot to us and this story.
CS: Don’t forget our monsters! Because we are both horror fans too, so we had to work that in as well.
CBY: What is the “logline” or “X meets Y” of Barricade Brigade?
CS: Punk band Hot Watermelon fight back against a corporate suit to defend their turf. Did they bite off more than they can chew?
KM: ⬆️
CBY: What is Barricade Brigade about?
KM: Barricade Brigade is essentially about Hot Watermelon and their desire to tour, meet people, and have a community that is safe for them and everyone else that wants to be there. The problem is that they end up doing what they always do in protecting their community, and it ends up way way worse than they’ve ever seen before.
CS: ☝️, but with monsters.
CBY: Without spoiling anything (unless you want to spoil things), how would you describe each of the characters' backstories or looks?
CS: It was very important to me to have some of my family’s heritage represented in this book, so I wanted at least one character to be a part of the Abenaki tribe of Indigenous Peoples (Ed. - an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy in what is now known as New England and Eastern Canada). Tolba (named after the Abenaki word for ‘turtle’) is our band’s drummer, leaning on his pow-wow roots to pound out the rhythm. Sara represents the badass women in the punk scene. She is a take-no-shit person, who is ready to stand with her bandmates against all odds. She is loyal and outspoken. Plus she plays the bass like a groovemaster.
KM: Mick is the guitarist of the band, and like me is Latino. His past is a dark one that has been built, and will come out in the story later on. He is newest to town but jumped into the community and band with both feet and never looked back. 5 is the band’s friend and roadie. He’s driving them around, playing mix tapes for them, and filming what he can of the fun they’re having together. While doing this, he has a long history of secrets that he’s kept from the band.
CBY: The Kickstarter went live June 4th, correct? It has since successfully reached its target, but runs through July 5th. Can you describe the campaign? What goals, rewards, and add-ons people may expect to see?
CS: Yep! June 4th was our launch! We wanted to keep the campaign as lean as possible so we could keep a low entry for new readers, since everyone who backs is a new reader to our world. We have limited reward tiers, digital, physical, a variant cover by me, a commission tier, and my personal favorite: Be our WOO punk! Where backers can be drawn into the first full chapter!
KM: Yeah, and we’ve got some fun add-ons this go round too! We’re going to have sketch cards by both of us, small commissions, guitar picks, and some other fun extras that could come out!
CS: Custom guitar picks!
CBY: Splitting off from the comic for a moment, what are some of your favorite bands that are still active that you think people should be listening to?
KM: Alex Kasznel & the Board of Directors, Frank Turner, Harley Poe, Amigo the Devil, Joyce Manor
CS: Codefendants, Monte, 1876, Yard Work, & Streetlight Manifesto
CBY: Sounds great! Thank you for stopping by to chat, Chris and Kris. Can you share any links to any social media where our audience can see more of what you do?
CS: Find me on Threads/IG/Bluesky @LongBoxPunk Also, check out my show (Long Box Punk) where I talk to indie creators (Like Luis!) on Youtube and all the popular podcasting platforms!
KM: I’m punkrockkris on instagram, threads, and Bluesky. I don’t use twitter anymore, and Facebook doesn’t seem worth it unless you want to see my dogs, and a lot more politics. 😂
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