Dutch Bros. Freedom Fighters - Jeff Egli

If you've been anywhere in Oregon, you probably are familiar with Dutch Bros. coffee.  Down here it's all about the Dutch, and "that other brand" is almost a curse word.  What you might not know, is that they have a brand new comic series that just premiered this past week, and is available for FREE at any Dutch Bros. stand.  The comic represents a collaboration between two great local businesses here in Grants Pass, Dutch Bros. and Iguana Comics.  If you've been following my blog for any length of time you know how much I love Iguana Comics, so I was really excited to hear about this project.  Double bonus is that the comic is actually illustrated by all around great guy, and co-owner of Iguana Comics, Jeff Egli.  Over the past couple of months I've got to know Jeff a little bit, and recently he was kind enough to sit down and answer a few questions about the project, comics, and life in general.  Here's what he had to say...

How did you get involved in the Dutch Bros. comic project?  

Jeff:   Waaaay back in 1992 when I originally opened Iguana and Dutch Bros started up (they seem to have been a bit more successful with their business) my twelfth box subscriber was a skinny twelve-year-old kid named Brant Boersma.  I believe he signed up for X-Men adventures.  Fast forward to 2010 after re-opening Iguana after a 12-year hiatus, Brant comes in, all grown up, asked for his original box number and approached me with the idea. 

Comic books are quickly moving out of geek culture and into mainstream society. Why should someone unfamiliar with comics consider taking notice?

Jeff:  The main reason is that the majority of comic books are written by amazing writers with mature, well thought out and gripping storylines aimed at mature, smart, and witty readers...they're not just for kids these days.  The scripts are so good, they continue for years, sometimes with the same writer, the same artist, and then get developed into TV series and movies.  If you take the world's best writer and they collaborate with the world's best artist what you would get is the world's best comic book.  Now days, you see something like this happening, you have writers like Stephen King, Joe Hill, Bill Willingham, Robert Kirkman teaming up with artists with 20, 30 years of experience, they make amazing books!

What other projects can we look forward to seeing from you in the future? (Any more local collaborations?)

Jeff:   I just finished a kid's book with a local writing team, it should be available for purchase at Iguana on April 9th as well as online.  (You can see a bit more at Inaripress.com).  I am also working on a creator-owned project, as well as a few collaborations with other local talent.  Keep an eye at the web page and Iguana.  I have also been told there will be several more Dutch Bros comics.

What advice can you give to aspiring artists/comic writers?

Jeff:  If you truly want to break into the comic book world, simply write or draw as much as you're able.  The best advice I ever heard was:  Writers write, artists draw!

 If you could stop being Jeff Egli, and take on the identity of one character from the comic world, who would you be? Why?

 Jeff:  Superman...the father of all superheros.  He is one of the most powerful heroes of all time, plus, I would love to be able to fly!  Spiderman is one of my favorite superheroes to read, but it would be a lot easier to save people from a burning building as Superman.

What's the best thing about owning/running/being a part of Iguana Comics?

Jeff:  Our Customers!  Every week we see some of the most well-read, insightful, and downright fun people in the valley — that just plain rocks!

Any other amazing information you would like my readers to know?

Jeff:  Our one-year Anniversary party for Iguana will be April 9th, we'll have all kinds of great stuff going on at the shop including creator signings for the Dutch Bros book.  Don't forget to come by the shop for Free Comic Book day on May 7th plus....we're in the process of opening a second Iguana location in Medford, we will be opening on May 4th - Woot!

Thanks again Jeff for taking the time to answer my questions!  Congratulations on a great project, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future!  

To all my readers, be sure to visit Iguana Comics here in Grants Pass.  It really is an awesome business, full of wonderful people.  Iguana also has a monthly comic book club that I am part of, and it's a great way to get introduced to some of the amazing books that are out there.  You can visit them at 329 NE 6th Street Grants Pass OR 97526, or online at their Facebook page!