Steve Murray, a.k.a. Chip Zdarsky, on writing ‘Jughead’ and ‘Howard the Duck’

TORONTO – As a kid in Barrie, Ont., cartoonist Steve Murray had an affinity for Archie Comics wry guy Jughead Jones, Marvel’s anthropomorphic Howard the Duck and, of course, “Star Wars.”

Now the writer-artist is a part of those very worlds, thanks to a skyrocketing comic book career that has him so busy, he jokes: “It’s not a good move.”

“It’s not good for my health, it’s not good for my relationship, it’s not good for anyone, really,” Murray, who goes by the pseudonym Chip Zdarsky, said with a laugh in a recent phone interview from his Toronto home.

Indeed, the former National Post illustrator and columnist has enough projects on the go to even rattle the seemingly unflappable Jughead.

He’s writing the rebooted “Jughead” series for Archie Comics, which launched in October, as well as a new “Howard the Duck” Marvel Comics book series that kicked off in March.

He’s also penning what he described as “a sci-fi ‘Wizard of Oz’ saga” for Image Comics called “Kaptara,” with the first issue due out Dec. 23.

Meanwhile, he continues to illustrate his hit series “Sex Criminals,” which won a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award and has been optioned for a TV pilot by Universal Television.

And he recently drew a variant cover for issue No. 1 of Marvel’s “Star Wars: Vader Down” comic.

The rare cover, featuring Darth Vader and Jaxxon the green rabbit, went gangbusters on the auction circuit: one copy recently sold on eBay for about US$3,700 and another sold for $4,000 during an online auction set up by Canada Cares. The latter sale will help support a Syrian refugee family’s journey to Toronto.

The Edmonton-born artist, whose other comics include “Prison Funnies” and “Monster Cops,” developed a passion for drawing as a child.

“I didn’t do too well in art in high school, I think just because I always wanted to draw comics,” said Murray, “so anything else I tried to turn into a comic book and the teacher would get upset with me.”

While studying art at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ont., he had to do a 3-D recreation of a 2-D work of art. He built a comic frame around himself, had a speech balloon pointed at his head and impersonated Jughead.

“I recreated a panel from a Jughead comic just because of my affinity for the character,” he said. “I think I got a C-plus. I don’t think the teacher quite considered Jughead ‘art.'”

An ironic notion now, given the fame the easygoing, burger-loving character has brought Murray on the convention circuit.

Murray said Archie Comics felt he was a good fit for “Jughead” because of his Chip Zdarsky online persona as well as some comical banter he had on Facebook with his hometown Applebee’s restaurant that went viral last year.

“The Archie crew saw that as a very Jughead-style thing,” he said, “and in my youth I kind of looked more like Jughead — but the burgers catch up to you.”

In the new series, Murray has kept Jughead’s smarts and asexual nature but amped up his sarcasm.

“Part of the comic is teaching Jughead that there’s more to the world than his narrow view of it,” he said.

Murray’s involvement with “Howard the Duck” also harkens back to his childhood.

“‘Howard’ the book I loved as a kid, so it was pretty easy to come up with ideas for the pitch,” he said.

“Whenever I’d go to my uncle’s house I’d go through his collection and read them all.”

He said he’s had fun playing with the connectivity between the characters in the Marvel Universe.

“I think in my first issue of ‘Howard,’ I threw She-Hulk and Spider-Man in just to say that I’ve written Spider-Man and She-Hulk. And now I see Howard popping up in other people’s books, my version of him, and that’s also just such a thrill, because you become part of a larger thing.”