The Lawrence Brothers Dish On Their Detective Agency Graphic Novel

‘The Lawrence Brothers: Detective Agency’

Courtesy of Z2 Comics

It takes a village to make a graphic novel. Or, in the case of The Lawrence Brothers: Detective Agency, two sets of siblings.

That’d be ‘90s acting icons Joey (Blossom), Matthew (Mrs. Doubtfire), and Andrew Lawrence (Recess), who have partnered up with The Writer’s Ben and Max Berkowitz, as well as Brian Yuran and Eisner-nominated illustrator Sean Von Gorman, for a star-studded mystery adventure fueled by millennial nostalgia.

“The Writer was very much a love letter to the Jews who pioneered the comic book industry. But with this, we’re turning the page to what we’re calling ‘new-stalgia,’” Ben explains. “It’s not a vanity project. It’s a celebration of the people who helped raise us. Episode by episode, it’s about the heartfelt lessons that were buried in the ‘90s shows, the ones that made us laugh and cry. [This comic is] really a celebration of those. We’re tapping into that love of Scooby-Doo and the satirical nature of BoJack Horseman.”

“It’s amazing to me there hasn’t really been an adult Scooby-Doo or anything like that,” echoes Joey. “So for us to tap into that world, is just exciting to all of us.”

Now in its final week of raising money on Kickstarter, the hundred-page graphic novel from publisher Z2 Comics is a longtime passion project for the Lawrence brothers — all three of whom have dreamt of telling a detective story ever since a diamond went missing from the villa of an exclusive resort during one of their family vacations.

“We were like, ‘Oh my gosh, how funny would this be if the whole scenario was a graphic novel and we were three detectives that had to solve this crime? And what if we somehow pull it off, even though we kind of stumble through it?’” remembers Matthew. “We were coming up with all these little bits and jokes, [but]

never thought anything would come of it. And then, many years later, we got paired up with another set of brothers, and they were like, ‘Hey guys, what about a detective agency?’ And we were like, ‘Wait! Stop!’ Then it really started to snowball from there.”

The crowdfunding campaign, which seeks an end goal of $50,000, offers up a number of backer incentives, including the opportunity to appear as a fourth Lawrence brother in the story (that exclusive tier will only set you back a meager $5,000).

“When you have generations that grow up with you, and then they pass it on to the next generation, and the next generation after that, they really do feel like they know you, because they do know you,” Joey says of the decision to go directly to the fans. “We have a community that has supported us in so many different ways. I’ve, come out with records, we’ve all done movies together, we had different TV shows, we’ve done animation. Then they supported the [Brotherly Love]

podcast, and that was very successful. So to venture into this next world, we just thought, ‘Well, it would be nothing more than apropos to bring them in from the ground level.’”

“From the very start, they’re going to get their hands into this project,” agrees Ben. “Our goal is to take this as far as it will go.”

If the desire is there, the creative team hopes to spin the graphic novel out into a weekly animated series or even a potential feature film. “We’ll see what the heavens above give us, man,” Joey adds. “But whatever they give us, we will take it.”

While plot details are sparse at the moment, the Kickstarter page does teases a noir-like narrative that imagines the three Lawrence siblings as “reluctant heroes battling a conspiracy that’s warping the very fabric of fame” against the backdrop of a “surreal backdrop of a corrupted Hollywood.”

Ben gives up a bit more info, stating: “We’re tying in four smaller stories that are all interconnected. There’s one big bad who connects all of these different mysteries.”

And just like the The New Scooby-Doo Movies of the early ‘70s, the comic will feature plenty of guest appearances from other celebrities who came up in the 1990s like Raven-Symoné (Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper), Chilli (TLC), Thomas Ian Nicholas (A Kid in King Arthur’s Court), Will Friedle (Batman Beyond), and more.

“[It’s] more exciting about how boundless, crazy, and zany the world can be,” says Andrew. “We can really push the envelope and again, we’ve met our match with these Berkowitz brothers. We’re all cut from the same cloth. We all have the same sense of humor. We’re just very excited to crack the story and bring it to life.”

“We’re not confined by studio budgets or a room full of marketing executives that know nothing about the creative process, but all think they know how to sell to a certain group or capitalize on this trend,” Joey concludes. “We are unabridged with our creativity and we’ve got super creative minds here. We’re just really thankful to be in partnership with them and looking forward to creating a world that will take us wherever our minds allow us to go.”

The Lawrence Brothers: Detective Agency is currently slated for release on May 24, 2026, which just so happens to be National Brother’s Day.