Your local comic shop is about to get a little more jawsome.
No, wait. Your local comic shop is about to get a little more fin-tastic.
No, WAIT. Your local comic shop is about to enter a cartil-age undreamt of.
Because shark skeletons are made of cartilage.
BOOM. Nailed it.
Actually, not BOOM. IDW.
Mattel and IDW last month announced a five-issue Street Sharks series, reviving the characters from the cartoon that ran from 1994 to 1997 and accompanying toy line.
Debuting in September, the series follows the four Bolton brothers — half-shark, half-human heroes and crime fighters — as they protect Fission City from a range of “gene-slammed” threats, including super-strong and monstrous lobsters and squids, and diabolical mad scientists that transform into vicious piranha monsters.
Writer Stephanie Williams (Nubia and the Amazons) and artist Ariel Medel (TMNT vs. Street Fighter) will bring the Street Sharks to the page as they ride motorcycles, eat lots of burgers and metal, and swim through the city’s concrete to take down the bad guys. Y’know, normal shark stuff.
As part of our continuing Shark Watch coverage, ComicsXF chatted with Williams this week about all things Street Sharks.
ComicsXF: The 1990s were awash in “extreme” animal-themed action cartoon characters, but we’re not here to talk about martial arts terrapins or toads that do battle or mice on motorcycles or bulls that are cowboys. What makes the Street Sharks unique?
Stephanie Williams: The Street Sharks have always stood out to me because of their distinct personalities. You have the eldest in Ripster, who is trying his best to keep his brothers on task. You have Streex, who is fun and brings enough energy for himself and everyone else. There’s Jab, who can be moody and often tries to prove himself by trying too hard. Even though most would instantly think of him as a hothead, he does have the capacity to show a range of emotions. Lastly, there’s Big Slammu, the baby of the group. He looks up to his brothers, but he is also actively trying to figure out who he is and what he can contribute to the world. You either know a Ripster, Streex, Jab or Slammu. Or you may be one of them or all of them at any given time. The distinct personalities of the Bolton brothers, in my opinion, are what make them so relatable, which lends to their uniqueness.
CXF: We’re exchanging emails during Comic-Con week. What kind of Street Sharks-themed promo will you be doing in San Diego?
Stephanie: I’ll be signing Street Sharks #1 ashcans at the IDW booth, and I’m looking forward to it!
CXF: How did this opportunity come about?
Stephanie: I recently learned that I have IDW editor Heather Antos to thank for suggesting me for the project. She felt like it was a Stephanie Williams thing without even knowing that I was a massive fan of the series when I was younger. Like, I still have some of the toys my brother and I got from KB Toys somewhere in my parents’ garage.
CXF: What was rewatching the cartoon like 30 years later?
Stephanie: It was quite the trip down memory lane. Funny enough, I remembered far more than I thought I would.
CXF: Have you shown the Street Sharks to your son, and if so, what did he think?
Stephanie: My son instantly made me feel old because he hit me with the “So this is what you were watching in the 1900s?” He was a big fan of the sharks’ design and the villain being just a flat-out bad guy with minions.
CXF: Before they’re transformed on the original cartoon, the Bolton brothers look like random encounters in a sidescrolling arcade beat-em-up. Did you and artist Ariel Medel discuss fashion updates?
Stephanie: We didn’t since we asked to keep them on model. I think their wardrobe is an extension of their distinct personalities, which makes their looks timeless.
CXF: If you were to take the Cosmo “What Street Shark Are You” quiz, would you be a Ripster, a Jab, a Streex or a Slammu?
Stephanie: I’m most definitely a Ripster. I’m the second oldest, but I’m the only daughter, which made me the oldest and the most responsible.
CXF: Without spoiling the story, have you been encouraged, either by IDW or Mattel, to use more or fewer shark puns in your scripts?
Stephanie: I’ll put it this way. Before I even began outlining the series, I created a running document of shark puns all on my own without any prompting. It’s Street Sharks. There should always be an abundance of shark/sea life puns.
CXF: Now that you understand the mind and physiology of a Street Shark, how will you carry that information into how you write sharks and shark-themed characters in your Big Two work?
Stephanie: I think how I write any character, honestly. I always strive to make a character relatable, regardless of the character’s appearance. Sure, there are aspects of their personality that can be emphasized to complement their outer appearance, but that’s a slippery slope to a character becoming one-dimensional.
CXF: What kind of music do you listen to while you’re making this comic, and why is the only correct answer LL Cool J’s “Deepest Bluest (Shark’s Fin)” from the 1999 movie Deep Blue Sea?
Stephanie: LOL! I did listen to that song, but it didn’t make my playlist cut. I mostly listened to anything I would consider upbeat and high energy. Sometimes it was house music, other times it was alternative rock, electronic, punk, pop or rap.
Street Sharks #1 is out Sept. 17 from IDW. Look for more of Williams’ writing in the new DC GO! webcomic Warriors and a Wee Wonder, available now on DC Comics Infinite, as well as Temporal, coming in September from Mad Cave Studios, and Roots of Madness, coming soon from Ignition Press.
Dan Grote is the editor and publisher of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Paul Winston Wisdom. Follow him @danielpgrote.bsky.social.
