<\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section> \n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section> \n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section> \n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Alek Shrader","post_excerpt":"Carmen: The Graphic Novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-alek-shrader","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:21:31","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:21:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207681","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207663,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman attended Dublin Comic-Con on Saturday 11<sup>th<\/sup> this year. She got a chance to interview some of the guests attending the event; she caught up with the actors Kevin McNally, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207666\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/dublincomiccon2022_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"dublincomiccon2022_1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kevin McNally is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daniel and Luis Moncada are Honduran-American actors and brothers known for their role as \"The Cousins\" Leonel and Marco Salamanca on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2010) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2016; 2018\u2013present).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section> \n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Phil Mucci","post_excerpt":"Professor\u00a0Dario Bava","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-phil-mucci","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:07:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:07:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207757","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207738,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-22 15:04:49","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-22 14:04:49","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of his new graphic novel,<em>\u00a0Retroactive\u00a0<\/em>next week on April 26th from Humanoids. We are delighted to be joined by Eisner nominated artist and writer Ibrahim Moustafa. He is best know for his work on\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0<em>James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's been really wonderful. People have been incredibly supportive of the book, and I'm so grateful for it. It was added to the Young Adult Library Services Association 2022 list of Great Graphic Novels For Teens, and as of yesterday we were nominated for an Ignyte Award from Fiyah Literary Magazine, which highlights the work of marginalized creators. And hopefully more folks will be discovering it with the release of RetroActive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207742\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive28-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive28\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe the\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In short it's \u201cJames Bond x Groundhog Day\u201d. RetroActive is a time travel story with lots of heart and relatable human experiences to ground the more fantastical elements. With this book I set out to not only do a story in a genre that is fairly unique to comics, but I really tried to take full advantage of what the medium can do to tell a story like this. And just like the circular nature of time travel and time loops, my hope is that those elements will give people a lot of reasons to go back and experience the book over again.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He's an idealist when we first meet him, and over time we see how the job of being a time-traveling spy affects him and his view of things. All the while, he's trying to care for him mother with dementia by himself. So, he has this real dilemma of being \u201con-call\u201d in both his job and his personal life, and there are really high stakes for both.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207743\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive29-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive29\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Brad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0<em>Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just an absolute pleasure. Brad and Hass are two of the very best in the business, and to get to collaborate with them again is the best. I hope to keep them as a forever-team if they'll have me. We have a really great, intuitive flow when working together.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's essentially the CIA of time travel in the world of the book. They are one of five agencies in the world that act as an intelligence and counter-intelligence outfit, running operations throughout the past to avert terror attacks and thwart attempts from hostile nations to change the US's past for their own benefit.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207744\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive30-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive30\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I did. I love a good WWII era story, and there's a lot of aesthetics to appreciate about midcentury America, so it was really fun to get to put those into the book.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Who is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lucia is a new trainee at the BTA, and sort of our eyes and ears as we learn the ins-and-outs of time travel from Tarik, who is giving her an orientation briefing. She's very dedicated to being a good agent, and as Tarik starts slipping, she has to call him out on his shortcomings.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you started to work on<em>\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Not initially. First came the pitch document with the broad strokes, then I had to tighten that up into an outline and really make sure the time travel stuff was as airtight as time travel can be. Then came the full script.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207745\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive31-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive31\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The best. Rob is the best editor I've ever worked with. He's always on top of things, he replies quickly to emails, and he really keeps the trains rolling on time. And he's a great person to boot.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overall not too bad. There were a lot of threads to keep track of, but I didn't want to overstuff the plot because the story itself is the important part. So I set rules for it early on and stuck with them and it was pretty smooth sailing.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207746\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive32-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive32\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Has it been a challenge working on\u00a0<em>Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">RetroActive is a story that is all about the cyclical, repetitious nature of time, and as such, it's made in a way that multiple readings will reward folks with stuff they may have missed the first time. I hope they enjoy it!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, <em>Retroactive<\/em> releasing on April 26th from Humanoids.<\/span>","post_title":"Talking With Ibrahim Moustafa","post_excerpt":"Retroactive\u00a0","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"talking-with-ibrahim-moustafa","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:09:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:09:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207738","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207719,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-13 13:58:41","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-13 12:58:41","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for\u00a0<em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>,\u00a0we are delighted to be joined today by\u00a0storyboard artist Richard Bennett.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Richard, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">My name is Richard Bennett, I\u2019m a storyboard artist working in the film industry since 2003. Prior to that I worked in the\u00a0Comic Book industry between 1990 and 2000.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I started working at Neal Adams\u2019 Continuity, with \u2018CyberRad,\u2019 I was doing pencils & inks over Neal\u2019s layouts on that title.\u00a0Then I worked at Marvel on several X-Men books; Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force and a special project the \u2018X-Men Survival Guide to the Mansion.\u2019 Following that, I got called by Jim Lee at Wildstorm\/Image, and there I co-created the character \u2018Brass\u2019, for which I wrote, and did all the artwork on the mini-series. Besides that I worked there on the \u2019Wildcats,\u2019 \u2018Stormwatch,\u2019 \u2018Divine Right.\u2019 Also did a special, \u2018Gen 13: Wired\u2019 with Mike Heisler, which I\u2019m particularly proud of.\u00a0 During those years I also worked a bit with Marc Silvestri\u2019s Top Cow, on \u2018The Darkness,\u2019 \u2018Tales of the Witchblade.\u2019 I\u2019d say, though, the top project during that decade was the original \u201cBrass\u201d mini series.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you tell us about the origins of<em>\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>\u00a0book?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019ve approached Clover Press with the idea of publishing a book with my storyboard work. At that time I had other\u00a0movies in mind since I already had the authorization to use the material done for those.\u00a0Ted and Robbie at Clover loved the coffee book compilation idea; however, they came back with the suggestion to use the work from the\u00a0three Legendary Monsterverse films exclusively on one volume. I thought the concept was brilliant, so we started working on that. Hank Kanalz from Clover was amazing working\u00a0with Legendary and Toho in order to get the greenlight to publish the boards.\u00a0So, here we are!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207723\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong1-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It depends greatly on the type of project. High budget blockbusters like these three involved many months of drawing during\u00a0pre-production, and even after principal photography, when called back to draw for re-shoots.\u00a0On smaller projects, either lower budget or independent films, then yes, the average is less time. Either a couple of months or even\u00a0a few weeks.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite scene from\u00a0Godzilla vs. Kong?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For sure, I\u2019d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong\u2019s lead. Very trippy scene.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, it\u2019s far more personal in a way. So I appreciate immensely every one single pledger wanting to get the book.\u00a0It feels similar to the interaction we had with fans at the artist alley\u2019s booths during comic book conventions. I\u2019ve been thoroughly going through the material, adjusting things to make sure the fans get the best possible presentation on the volume.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207724\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong2-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Probably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I hope they will get the book and enjoy it as much as I did while working on the films. I invested myself in those movies\u2019 work in a big way both emotionally and work wise, and it\u2019s my goal they\u2019ll be able to perceive that through the printed storyboard sequences in this beautiful volume! So, I\u2019d like to send a big Thank You to all of them!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Richard for talking to us about his new book. We would like to wish Richard the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/cloverpress\/godzilla-and-kong-storyboard-artbook?ref=894mol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em> on Kickstarter<\/a>.\n<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Richard Bennett","post_excerpt":"Godzilla & Kong","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-richard-bennett","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:12:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:12:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207719","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207691,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-04 13:56:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-04 12:56:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of\u00a0<em>Nottingham #6<\/em> this week from Mad Cave Studios, we are delighted to be joined by writer David Hazan, artist Shane Connery Volk, and colourist Luca Romano.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hello David, Shane and Luca, we are so delighted to have you all here with us today. It's great that we chat with you all about your comic\u00a0Nottingham.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207696\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Robin Hood legend has been used in a variety of different media over the years. Do you have a favourite from these versions?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: My favourite would have to be the BBC TV version. It's fun and campy in all the right ways, but doesn't forget to tell an intriguing story and it gives the characters in the legend a lot of layers and nuance.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: SCV- The Disney animated version is my favourite! I watched it so much as a kid and it\u2019s still so good!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Hard to pick between the classic Disney and Mel brook's version! Nostalgia wise I'll have to go with the latter because back in my teens I could quote all the Italian dub by heart. Now that I think about it, I should check out the original! Maybe the 6th, to celebrate the release day?<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207697\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone who has missed the first few issues of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>, what can you tell us about the series so far?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our series takes the Robin Hood mythos and turns it on his head. We follow the Sheriff of Nottingham as he hunts down a serial killer who has been murdering Nottinghamshire's tax collectors. Power plays, treachery, blood and anguish follow until finally the identity of the leader of the brutal Merry Men, previously only known as \"Hood\", is revealed. The usual suspects, like Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet and Alan a Dale are all there...but they're not quite as you remember them.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: Get ready for big action, and unexpected twists! <\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207698\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, as a writer, what is it about the Robin Hood legend that makes you want to write about these characters in this world?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The characters are so flexible and dynamic, and are really very fun to write. They fit into a noir so easily, really. Beyond that, the mythos itself has a universality that's stood the test of time. The jolly green hero has been adapted more times than I can count and it's been an honour to count myself as one of those that people have so wholeheartedly embraced.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, artistically has it been a challenge to illustrate\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Absolutely! This series is everything I\u2019ve wanted as a new comic book artist. It never gives me time to coast. David\u2019s story is always challenging me and stretching me to my limits. The whole team has also allowed me to go places and try new things with my art which is so amazing. Nothing about this series is ever playing it safe and I absolutely love it!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207700\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, what has it been like working on the series so far, and how long does it take you to complete an issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Truly a treat! David and Shane are both a pleasure and honor to work with: I've always been very outspoken in my appreciation for their skills because they damn deserve it. Also, I've been given full reign on the color choices since day 1, so I've been able to pour my heart into these pages with unbridled joy. Bless Brian and Mad Cave for this trust, that I hope was rewarded by the final outcome. As for how long an issue takes: about a month. I'm not a fast painter to start with, and when you add to that the amount of detail on the pages and the rendering style it quickly escalates.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, what had the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic, which is beyond our wildest expectations for a first book. After selling out so many printings and having people fighting to get hold of our books...I'm really hoping we can really live up to the hype and give the people a satisfying second arc that they will be equally as excited for.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207701\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, as <em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is an indie comic, how important is pre-ordering and word of mouth for any indie comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s incredibly important. Not only to ensure that we get enough orders to keep making issues, but in the case of Nottingham, it\u2019s been selling out so fast that you need to pre-order to make sure you don\u2019t miss out! We have been so fortunate with the response to the series and can\u2019t thank our fans enough!!\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, do you have a favourite\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0cover; that you worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I kinda want to cheat the question and pick all volume 2 covers as they form a veritable tapestry from #6 to #10. Shane really knocked it off the park with that idea, that's absolutely going to be displayed in my studio as a single 133x40cm pvc panel. It's glorious. If we're going for single issues: #1 original is too iconic to pass, with\u00a0#4 variant with our mean boy Little John being a close second!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207702\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Issue six of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is coming out on April 6th; what can you tell us about the issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our second arc finds our\u00a0Sheriff once again mired in between the clashing political forces of 12th Century England. King Richard has been kidnapped and the Sheriff has been strongarmed into delivering the ransom to Rome, on pain of death. Prince John and King Phillip of France will stop at nothing to undermine the mission, so the Sheriff must join forces with the one man he knows will ensure the Lionheart's safety at any cost...Robin Hood. Meanwhile, at home in Nottingham, Marian seizes an opportunity while the Sheriff is away...<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: We\u2019ve given Vol. 2 everything we\u2019ve got!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207694\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: To those of you who have picked up Nottingham - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To those who are thinking of it, preorder now! We don't want you to miss out and that seemed to be the theme of last year.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Bring a raincoat, and don't step on the pools of blood.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to David, Shane and Luca for sitting and chatting with us.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Nottingham Team","post_excerpt":"David Hazan, Shane Connery Volk and Luca Roman","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-nottingham-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:19:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:19:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207691","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207681,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-30 13:44:32","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-30 12:44:32","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for Carmen: The Graphic Novel, we are delighted to be joined today; by opera singer, writer and director Alek Shrader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi! Thanks for reading this. I'm Alek Shrader, opera singer and director, and now a first-time comic creator. I'm a lifelong comics fan and collector, and I still have my childhood collection, worn out and a few covers missing. It's very fulfilling to be a part of the collision of these two worlds of opera and comics. As my legendary collaborator P. CRAIG freaking RUSSELL would attest, opera has excellent stories worth telling in this format. And just wait til you see what ANEKE has done with CARMEN... she knocked my socks all the way off. ARIZONA OPERA has produced this project, and I think it's just swell for an opera company to publish a comic book. Much love to you all!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Arizona Opera?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Arizona Opera has been presenting opera since 1971 to the Phoenix and Tucson regions of Arizona, and after over 200 concerts and opera productions, they continue to seek innovative ways to expand the reach of opera as an art form. They are dedicated to their local communities, including educational outreach and Spanish-language groups, which highlights their strong value of service, in combination with musical artistry and stewardship. I like them so very much. They're led by Joseph Specter, President and General Director. Cassie Robel took the lead on our CARMEN project and was later joined by Courtney Clark. Their enthusiasm and support of this graphic novel has been unfailing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207684\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo1.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo1\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This project was created for the Arizona Opera OnPitch Challenge, which was essentially Shark Tank for opera. AZO was searching for an innovative means of potential revenue which was anything but donations from wealthy patrons (which is how most American opera is funded). My sister sent me the link and we brainstormed a few ideas (of which we have many). We agreed a comic book would be great for school and new audiences while also being financially and logistically achievable for an opera company. So, I did a ton of Googling and put together a business plan. Then I submitted my pitch with a now-infamous video featuring my extensive comic collection, and I was chosen as a winner. We had a short list of potential operas to adapt, all of which were coming up in AZO's season. CARMEN was the obvious choice, as it is among the most famous operas ever created and lacked a recent graphic adaptation. Then it was up to me to find artists... which was daunting, as I had zero contacts in the comics industry. But gratefully, nearly everyone I reached out to on socials or via websites responded! The comics industry is good and generous! I mean, I asked P. Craig Russell for advice and he offered to do the layouts! Amazing!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207685\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo2.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo2\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone unfamiliar with <em>Carmen<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CARMEN is a story about a young woman who faces challenges to her autonomy from society, misogyny, and men who won't take \"no\" for an answer. All she wants is freedom, and yet outside forces seek to control her. She is objectified and vilified. She has strong emotions and sometimes gets into trouble. She wants to live her life her way, and so she'll let Fate decide. It's very timely, to say the least. Bizet's music is gorgeous (and you have heard it before, even if you don't know it's from this opera). The art of P. Craig Russell and Aneke is equally ravishing. CARMEN is an icon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did P. Craig Russell, Aneke and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Honestly, I just reached out on social media! When Craig wrote back, I couldn't believe it. I thought of a ton of questions so I could pick his brain until he decided to hang up on me... but what actually happened was we talked about OPERA and then he offered to do the layouts himself! I did not expect that to happen, and I was absolutely ecstatic. With Aneke (as with our guest artists providing art prints for the Kickstarter), I simply sent a polite DM, and promised to pay her full rate! As a performer with a rate, I know that one must not muck with rates. You can either afford to work with an artist or you can't-- don't lowball, it's insulting. Aneke is the *perfect* artist for this book-- her art, her colors, and her VOICE are vital to how CARMEN'S story is told. And I got lucky with Hass! I am a longtime subscriber to his industry mag PanelxPanel, and I follow him on twitter. One day, he put out an open call for projects, and I responded immediately! The dream team had been assembled!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207687\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenericahenderson-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenericahenderson\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What it is about <em>Carmen<\/em>; that made you want to adapt it into a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Among the opera crowd, CARMEN is a household name. And yet, there are some people out there who would love this opera-- they just haven't been invited in the right way. Graphic adaptations now exist for anything in prose, and that already huge readership is continually growing. I have Slaughterhouse Five, the graphic novel. Romeo and Juliet, the graphic novel. Annie, a Marvel Movie Special. Etc etc. Why not opera? If opera doesn't want to continue to be thought of as exclusive or old and dusty, we have to reach out in *other ways* to communicate our stories. Nothing will ever replace a live opera performance, but comics can serve as a gateway-- give these readers the story in the way they prefer to consume it, and maybe they'll be curious enough to come to the opera house to see the show. CARMEN has remained a favorite and most popular opera for over 150 years for good reasons. The music is gorgeous, the story is dramatic and engaging, and I think the character of Carmen still speaks directly to modern audiences. We are all enriched by this story, this OPERA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Was it a challenge to write <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It was! I consider myself a writer, but this was a totally new thing. I bought *literally* every how-to book I could find, which was great for technical education. But I learned the most by working with P. Craig Russell. His notes on my scripts were blunt and direct, and very actionable to make adjustments! (I actually threw out the first draft and started over from scratch!) Initially, I thought there might be a connection between the duration of a musical moment in the opera and space on the page. That formula might exist, but I never really cracked it... Next time, baby! Eventually, we had to dedicate our limited page space to the dramatic story beats and pacing, and Craig is a master there. I would have loved more pages to expand, but working in somewhat restrictive parameters can cause brilliant solutions!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207688\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenmargueritesauvage-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenmargueritesauvage\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that there are several Kickstarter-exclusive prints available. What can you tell us about these prints?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We have SIX exclusive OPERA art prints from seven phenomenal artists, and each one is STUNNING. ERICA HENDERSON, COLLEEN DORAN, and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE have created images of CARMEN. NATACHA BUSTOS has created an image of ARIADNE (from ARIADNE AUF NAXOS). ERICA D'URSO & MARISSA LOUISE have created an image of TOSCA (from TOSCA). ANA MIRALLES has created an image of THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (from THE MAGIC FLUTE). Absolutely incredible!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can I choose amongst my children? I will PROUDLY add to my collection a signed copy of CARMEN, and EACH of the art prints. And then I'll look at that wall every single day and marvel that such art exists. And I'll be happier for it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207686\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schraderalek.jpeg\" alt=\"schraderalek\" width=\"638\" height=\"478\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thank you for reading and letting me explore outside my comfort zone! This is a dream-come-true. It's wish fulfillment. I hope that you'll check out our book, and I hope you'll check out the opera, too!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Alek for talking to us about his new graphic novel. We would like to wish the whole team of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/arizonaopera\/carmen-the-graphic-novel?ref=7juthx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmen on Kickstarter<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<br><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Alek Shrader","post_excerpt":"Carmen: The Graphic Novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-alek-shrader","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:21:31","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:21:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207681","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207663,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman attended Dublin Comic-Con on Saturday 11<sup>th<\/sup> this year. She got a chance to interview some of the guests attending the event; she caught up with the actors Kevin McNally, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207666\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/dublincomiccon2022_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"dublincomiccon2022_1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kevin McNally is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daniel and Luis Moncada are Honduran-American actors and brothers known for their role as \"The Cousins\" Leonel and Marco Salamanca on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2010) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2016; 2018\u2013present).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section> \n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Samuel Sattin","post_excerpt":"Unico: Awakening","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-samuel-sattin","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 20:41:32","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 19:41:32","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207818","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207757,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-29 15:24:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-29 14:24:07","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With <em>Professor\u00a0Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>\u00a0releasing on May 11th. We are delighted to be joined by the multi-talented Phil Mucci.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hi Phil, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As some of our readers may not be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Phil Mucci: filmmaker, graphic novelist, and creative gypsy. I\u2019ve been making art and writing since I was a kid. I had the dubious honor of being the only artist in my high school to have their art stolen from local shows\u2014three times! I studied writing and photo illustration in college, then hustled as a photo-assistant in NYC before striking out on my own. It was the early days of Photoshop, so a lot of my work was special effects heavy, comic book, sci-fi and animation inspired stuff. I did lots of advertising and music photography for magazines and record labels \u2014Ludacris <em>Chicken and Beer<\/em> is probably my most famous album cover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From photography I moved into writing and directing short films and music videos for bands like Metallica, Monster Magnet, Disturbed, Opeth, High on Fire, etc. A lot of heavy metal since my sensibilities are steeped in horror and sci-fi stuff. The character, Professor Dario Bava, originally appeared in a music video for the band Huntress called \u201cSorrow\u201d. We loved Ian Mackay\u2019s performance so much, we knew we had to do more with that character, which is how the animated teaser and the first graphic novel, <em>Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em> came about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207759\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_1-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_1\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although Professor Dario Bava (PDB) made his first appearance in Huntress \u201cSorrow and the ideas for Orgy Of The Blood Freaks had been kicking around for years. The same for Gringo Loco, which started out as a western, then became a sci-fi story, then back to a western! I tend to let ideas ferment for a while in the back of my mind. They usually take off when a missing piece of the puzzle falls into place, or I start writing them to see what I can find.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Orgy Of The Blood Freaks<\/em> originally came from my love for the sexy European horror flicks of the \u201970s, and their comic book equivalents in the Warren comics of the same period\u2014<em>Eerie<\/em>, <em>Creepy<\/em>, <em>Vampirella<\/em>, etc.<em> Gringo Loco<\/em> came from my love for the dark and violent Italian spaghetti westerns of the \u201960s and \u201970s, and the desire to take those types of stories into new <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">horror realms. I\u2019ve always wanted to create my own monster along the lines of Frankenstein\u2019s or more modern equivalents like <em>RoboCop<\/em> or <em>Tetsuo<\/em>, so <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> became that for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em> is going to be published by Diabolik; what can you tell us about Diabolik?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Diabolik is a company we originally started to handle our film and video productions, and we just started branching out from there. Now we\u2019re doing graphic novels, coloring books, apparel, collectibles, all kinds of sick stuff! It\u2019s basically just 3 of us, me, Ian Mackay (PDB in \u201cSorrow\u201d), and Dan Simpson, plus a team of incredible artists we work with to help make everything happen. We all share a love for crazy genre storytelling, so it\u2019s been exciting to work together and see what we can come up with. Being a part of Diabolik gives me a huge variety of creative outlets\u2014writing and coloring graphic novels one day, shooting a video the next, designing apparel, then switching back to a screenplay\u2014it\u2019s an incredible luxury for someone as restless as myself, so I feel really fortunate that Diabolik has my back!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207760\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_2-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_2\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How would you describe <em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For me, this book is like a drive-in double feature. Not many drive-ins left, I know, but when I was a kid we used to sneak through the graveyard, down the train tracks, and through a broken chain link fence into the old drive-in that played horror movies from dusk till dawn. This Diabolik Double Feature represents exactly the kind of flicks we\u2019d risk zombie mutilation and locomotive obliteration to see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We\u2019d already released a <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> graphic novel, <em>Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em>, so the thought was we\u2019d introduce <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> in the same volume\u2014like the second feature on a double bill. It made sense too, since a movie poster for <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> actually appeared in<em> Murder Vibes<\/em>\u2014like I said, these ideas have been fermenting for years!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207761\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_3-782x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_3\" width=\"782\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Who is Professor Dario Bava?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Professor Dario Bava is an ex-Vatican exorcist, who tuned in, turned on, and dropped out to fight monsters with Future Chick, time-traveling super hippie from a heavy tomorrow, and Major Bitch, far out freedom fighter and yeti-slayer, in swinging Rome, 1967. Cocky but lovable, he now refers to himself as a \u201cparanormal playboy\u201d, devoted as much to free love as he is to fighting the evils of The Man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Extremely. You need to constantly promote to new people, but word of mouth\u2014especially from trusted sources\u2014is what gets people to take a chance on something new.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207762\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What can you tell us about <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Gringo Loco<\/em> is darker in tone; at its core is the mystery of who or what he is. We meet him after he\u2019s been sentenced to \u201chang until dead\u201d, which as the sheriff informs a gang of bounty hunters, \u201cis taking a speck longer than usual.\u201d He appears to be stitched together from the pieces of many men, but he is not a man. He\u2019s a hideous freak, a monster, an outcast forever hunted by the ghosts of his past crimes\u2014and he\u2019s our hero!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can\u2019t say too much more without ruining it, but it\u2019s a gritty and violent western that should appeal to horror fans as much as spaghetti western fans; and as a writer, it\u2019s probably one of the most interesting and personal stories I\u2019ve done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are not only the writer but the colourist and the letterer; how long have you been working on this comic?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All together it took about 15 months (on and off) to finish 62 pages of the story and the rest of the 80 page double issue. <em>Orgy of the Blood Freaks<\/em> was finished first, so our backers got the digital version back in October 2021, right in time for Halloween. <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> was finished at the end of February this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Did you always want to do a double feature flip for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well I always love books that encourage you to engage with them in a physical way\u2014<em>Murder Vibes<\/em> featured a foldout back cover and book flaps, and the <em>PDB Occult Activity Book (and Spirit Board!)<\/em> had all kinds of interactive pages and instructions on how to destroy the book to use the Spirit Board. We all read so much digitally now that we\u2019ve forgotten a lot of the simple joys of physical media, so as much as possible, we try to bring that back. In this case, the flip book just seemed the perfect way to give readers two different stories, with two different covers, in one convenient volume loaded with extras. It\u2019s also just way more fun that way!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207763\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_1-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_1\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Artists Mike Dubisch and Vicente Alc\u00e1zar are part of the team; what made them the right artists for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mike and I have worked together on the two previous <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> books, so he\u2019s as much a part of that world as I am as the writer and colorist. It\u2019s a challenging project for an artist: massive scope, a bunch of recurring characters, and just about every type of monster you can imagine\u2014that\u2019s why Mike\u2019s style is so perfect for it. He works traditionally, with pencils and inks (no digital) which gives that tactile, retro aesthetic for PDB, while also making it seem like all these wildly different elements actually BELONG together in this world. We work back and forth on very detailed layouts, thumbnails, and references before he starts, but it never ceases to amaze me how seamlessly it all comes together in the end. It\u2019s impossible for me to imagine PDB without seeing Mike\u2019s art in my mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vicente Alc\u00e1zar was a huge coup for us! We knew his work from all those \u201970s and \u201980s Warren comics, plus <em>Jonah Hex<\/em>, <em>Conan<\/em>, <em>Heavy Metal<\/em>\u2014too many titles to mention. Old pros like that are hard to come by these days, so when Dan discovered he was still working and interested, we leapt at the chance. Once he read the script and the backstory, he was very excited and complimentary (swoon), and started work instantly\u2014before I could even get him any thumbnails or layouts! Once we locked in the \u201clook\u201d of Gringo Loco, Nightshade Mary, and a few other characters, he just took off at full speed. It was incredible to watch the pages come in, following the script but bringing his seasoned artistic instincts to every aspect of the story. We were all blown away. <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> is a more complex world to envision, but with <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>, Vicente seemed to know what was around every corner like he\u2019d been there before. It\u2019s an honor to be working with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207764\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_2-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_2\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We have to talk about the covers by Emanuele Taglietti and Dave Kendall; can you tell us all about them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Emanuele Taglietti is another legend Dan contacted for us back before we even started on <em>Murder Vibes<\/em> <em>From The Monster Dimension<\/em>. Fans of the sexy Italian horror comics (\u201cfumettis\u201d) know his famous covers \u2014 and new fans are piling on every day thanks to the release of <em>Sex and Horror: The Art Of Emanuele Taglietti<\/em>, a gorgeous collection of his work, which sold out immediately and is now in its second printing. Based on the story, origins, and setting of PDB, there\u2019s no better artist to bring it to life. He\u2019s been doing it for decades! And as a former set designer for Fellini, he has a real appreciation for the cinema craft that informs a lot of the Professor\u2019s world. On top of all that - he\u2019s a tremendously kind and generous guy - and his partner Katia shoots excellent behind the scenes videos of his process for us as well!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dave Kendall was someone Dan had his eye on for a while, though he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be right for <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>. We discussed other artists who worked more in the western genre, but I was convinced Dave could really bring out the \u201chorror\u201d aspect of the story. He has a really unique, nightmarish vision that almost evokes a physical reaction of creepiness and disgust \u2014 which I loved for this cover!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207765\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_3-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_3\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can our readers get a copy of Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019ll be in a few select shops around the US on May 11th, but you can order it directly from us at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.professordariobava.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.ProfessorDarioBava.com<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to get the full Diabolik packaging effect!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks to all of you who\u2019ve supported us in the past\u2014we can\u2019t do any of this without you! And if you\u2019re new to our Diabolik deeds, do not be afraid: we\u2019re weird monster-loving freaks just like you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Phil for chatting with us. We wish him and his team all the best for his new comic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Phil Mucci","post_excerpt":"Professor\u00a0Dario Bava","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-phil-mucci","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:07:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:07:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207757","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207738,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-22 15:04:49","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-22 14:04:49","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of his new graphic novel,<em>\u00a0Retroactive\u00a0<\/em>next week on April 26th from Humanoids. We are delighted to be joined by Eisner nominated artist and writer Ibrahim Moustafa. He is best know for his work on\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0<em>James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's been really wonderful. People have been incredibly supportive of the book, and I'm so grateful for it. It was added to the Young Adult Library Services Association 2022 list of Great Graphic Novels For Teens, and as of yesterday we were nominated for an Ignyte Award from Fiyah Literary Magazine, which highlights the work of marginalized creators. And hopefully more folks will be discovering it with the release of RetroActive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207742\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive28-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive28\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe the\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In short it's \u201cJames Bond x Groundhog Day\u201d. RetroActive is a time travel story with lots of heart and relatable human experiences to ground the more fantastical elements. With this book I set out to not only do a story in a genre that is fairly unique to comics, but I really tried to take full advantage of what the medium can do to tell a story like this. And just like the circular nature of time travel and time loops, my hope is that those elements will give people a lot of reasons to go back and experience the book over again.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He's an idealist when we first meet him, and over time we see how the job of being a time-traveling spy affects him and his view of things. All the while, he's trying to care for him mother with dementia by himself. So, he has this real dilemma of being \u201con-call\u201d in both his job and his personal life, and there are really high stakes for both.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207743\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive29-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive29\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Brad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0<em>Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just an absolute pleasure. Brad and Hass are two of the very best in the business, and to get to collaborate with them again is the best. I hope to keep them as a forever-team if they'll have me. We have a really great, intuitive flow when working together.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's essentially the CIA of time travel in the world of the book. They are one of five agencies in the world that act as an intelligence and counter-intelligence outfit, running operations throughout the past to avert terror attacks and thwart attempts from hostile nations to change the US's past for their own benefit.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207744\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive30-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive30\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I did. I love a good WWII era story, and there's a lot of aesthetics to appreciate about midcentury America, so it was really fun to get to put those into the book.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Who is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lucia is a new trainee at the BTA, and sort of our eyes and ears as we learn the ins-and-outs of time travel from Tarik, who is giving her an orientation briefing. She's very dedicated to being a good agent, and as Tarik starts slipping, she has to call him out on his shortcomings.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you started to work on<em>\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Not initially. First came the pitch document with the broad strokes, then I had to tighten that up into an outline and really make sure the time travel stuff was as airtight as time travel can be. Then came the full script.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207745\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive31-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive31\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The best. Rob is the best editor I've ever worked with. He's always on top of things, he replies quickly to emails, and he really keeps the trains rolling on time. And he's a great person to boot.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overall not too bad. There were a lot of threads to keep track of, but I didn't want to overstuff the plot because the story itself is the important part. So I set rules for it early on and stuck with them and it was pretty smooth sailing.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207746\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive32-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive32\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Has it been a challenge working on\u00a0<em>Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">RetroActive is a story that is all about the cyclical, repetitious nature of time, and as such, it's made in a way that multiple readings will reward folks with stuff they may have missed the first time. I hope they enjoy it!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, <em>Retroactive<\/em> releasing on April 26th from Humanoids.<\/span>","post_title":"Talking With Ibrahim Moustafa","post_excerpt":"Retroactive\u00a0","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"talking-with-ibrahim-moustafa","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:09:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:09:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207738","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207719,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-13 13:58:41","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-13 12:58:41","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for\u00a0<em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>,\u00a0we are delighted to be joined today by\u00a0storyboard artist Richard Bennett.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Richard, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">My name is Richard Bennett, I\u2019m a storyboard artist working in the film industry since 2003. Prior to that I worked in the\u00a0Comic Book industry between 1990 and 2000.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I started working at Neal Adams\u2019 Continuity, with \u2018CyberRad,\u2019 I was doing pencils & inks over Neal\u2019s layouts on that title.\u00a0Then I worked at Marvel on several X-Men books; Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force and a special project the \u2018X-Men Survival Guide to the Mansion.\u2019 Following that, I got called by Jim Lee at Wildstorm\/Image, and there I co-created the character \u2018Brass\u2019, for which I wrote, and did all the artwork on the mini-series. Besides that I worked there on the \u2019Wildcats,\u2019 \u2018Stormwatch,\u2019 \u2018Divine Right.\u2019 Also did a special, \u2018Gen 13: Wired\u2019 with Mike Heisler, which I\u2019m particularly proud of.\u00a0 During those years I also worked a bit with Marc Silvestri\u2019s Top Cow, on \u2018The Darkness,\u2019 \u2018Tales of the Witchblade.\u2019 I\u2019d say, though, the top project during that decade was the original \u201cBrass\u201d mini series.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you tell us about the origins of<em>\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>\u00a0book?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019ve approached Clover Press with the idea of publishing a book with my storyboard work. At that time I had other\u00a0movies in mind since I already had the authorization to use the material done for those.\u00a0Ted and Robbie at Clover loved the coffee book compilation idea; however, they came back with the suggestion to use the work from the\u00a0three Legendary Monsterverse films exclusively on one volume. I thought the concept was brilliant, so we started working on that. Hank Kanalz from Clover was amazing working\u00a0with Legendary and Toho in order to get the greenlight to publish the boards.\u00a0So, here we are!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207723\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong1-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It depends greatly on the type of project. High budget blockbusters like these three involved many months of drawing during\u00a0pre-production, and even after principal photography, when called back to draw for re-shoots.\u00a0On smaller projects, either lower budget or independent films, then yes, the average is less time. Either a couple of months or even\u00a0a few weeks.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite scene from\u00a0Godzilla vs. Kong?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For sure, I\u2019d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong\u2019s lead. Very trippy scene.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, it\u2019s far more personal in a way. So I appreciate immensely every one single pledger wanting to get the book.\u00a0It feels similar to the interaction we had with fans at the artist alley\u2019s booths during comic book conventions. I\u2019ve been thoroughly going through the material, adjusting things to make sure the fans get the best possible presentation on the volume.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207724\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong2-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Probably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I hope they will get the book and enjoy it as much as I did while working on the films. I invested myself in those movies\u2019 work in a big way both emotionally and work wise, and it\u2019s my goal they\u2019ll be able to perceive that through the printed storyboard sequences in this beautiful volume! So, I\u2019d like to send a big Thank You to all of them!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Richard for talking to us about his new book. We would like to wish Richard the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/cloverpress\/godzilla-and-kong-storyboard-artbook?ref=894mol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em> on Kickstarter<\/a>.\n<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Richard Bennett","post_excerpt":"Godzilla & Kong","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-richard-bennett","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:12:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:12:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207719","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207691,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-04 13:56:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-04 12:56:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of\u00a0<em>Nottingham #6<\/em> this week from Mad Cave Studios, we are delighted to be joined by writer David Hazan, artist Shane Connery Volk, and colourist Luca Romano.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hello David, Shane and Luca, we are so delighted to have you all here with us today. It's great that we chat with you all about your comic\u00a0Nottingham.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207696\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Robin Hood legend has been used in a variety of different media over the years. Do you have a favourite from these versions?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: My favourite would have to be the BBC TV version. It's fun and campy in all the right ways, but doesn't forget to tell an intriguing story and it gives the characters in the legend a lot of layers and nuance.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: SCV- The Disney animated version is my favourite! I watched it so much as a kid and it\u2019s still so good!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Hard to pick between the classic Disney and Mel brook's version! Nostalgia wise I'll have to go with the latter because back in my teens I could quote all the Italian dub by heart. Now that I think about it, I should check out the original! Maybe the 6th, to celebrate the release day?<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207697\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone who has missed the first few issues of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>, what can you tell us about the series so far?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our series takes the Robin Hood mythos and turns it on his head. We follow the Sheriff of Nottingham as he hunts down a serial killer who has been murdering Nottinghamshire's tax collectors. Power plays, treachery, blood and anguish follow until finally the identity of the leader of the brutal Merry Men, previously only known as \"Hood\", is revealed. The usual suspects, like Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet and Alan a Dale are all there...but they're not quite as you remember them.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: Get ready for big action, and unexpected twists! <\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207698\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, as a writer, what is it about the Robin Hood legend that makes you want to write about these characters in this world?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The characters are so flexible and dynamic, and are really very fun to write. They fit into a noir so easily, really. Beyond that, the mythos itself has a universality that's stood the test of time. The jolly green hero has been adapted more times than I can count and it's been an honour to count myself as one of those that people have so wholeheartedly embraced.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, artistically has it been a challenge to illustrate\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Absolutely! This series is everything I\u2019ve wanted as a new comic book artist. It never gives me time to coast. David\u2019s story is always challenging me and stretching me to my limits. The whole team has also allowed me to go places and try new things with my art which is so amazing. Nothing about this series is ever playing it safe and I absolutely love it!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207700\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, what has it been like working on the series so far, and how long does it take you to complete an issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Truly a treat! David and Shane are both a pleasure and honor to work with: I've always been very outspoken in my appreciation for their skills because they damn deserve it. Also, I've been given full reign on the color choices since day 1, so I've been able to pour my heart into these pages with unbridled joy. Bless Brian and Mad Cave for this trust, that I hope was rewarded by the final outcome. As for how long an issue takes: about a month. I'm not a fast painter to start with, and when you add to that the amount of detail on the pages and the rendering style it quickly escalates.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, what had the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic, which is beyond our wildest expectations for a first book. After selling out so many printings and having people fighting to get hold of our books...I'm really hoping we can really live up to the hype and give the people a satisfying second arc that they will be equally as excited for.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207701\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, as <em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is an indie comic, how important is pre-ordering and word of mouth for any indie comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s incredibly important. Not only to ensure that we get enough orders to keep making issues, but in the case of Nottingham, it\u2019s been selling out so fast that you need to pre-order to make sure you don\u2019t miss out! We have been so fortunate with the response to the series and can\u2019t thank our fans enough!!\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, do you have a favourite\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0cover; that you worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I kinda want to cheat the question and pick all volume 2 covers as they form a veritable tapestry from #6 to #10. Shane really knocked it off the park with that idea, that's absolutely going to be displayed in my studio as a single 133x40cm pvc panel. It's glorious. If we're going for single issues: #1 original is too iconic to pass, with\u00a0#4 variant with our mean boy Little John being a close second!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207702\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Issue six of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is coming out on April 6th; what can you tell us about the issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our second arc finds our\u00a0Sheriff once again mired in between the clashing political forces of 12th Century England. King Richard has been kidnapped and the Sheriff has been strongarmed into delivering the ransom to Rome, on pain of death. Prince John and King Phillip of France will stop at nothing to undermine the mission, so the Sheriff must join forces with the one man he knows will ensure the Lionheart's safety at any cost...Robin Hood. Meanwhile, at home in Nottingham, Marian seizes an opportunity while the Sheriff is away...<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: We\u2019ve given Vol. 2 everything we\u2019ve got!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207694\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: To those of you who have picked up Nottingham - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To those who are thinking of it, preorder now! We don't want you to miss out and that seemed to be the theme of last year.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Bring a raincoat, and don't step on the pools of blood.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to David, Shane and Luca for sitting and chatting with us.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Nottingham Team","post_excerpt":"David Hazan, Shane Connery Volk and Luca Roman","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-nottingham-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:19:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:19:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207691","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207681,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-30 13:44:32","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-30 12:44:32","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for Carmen: The Graphic Novel, we are delighted to be joined today; by opera singer, writer and director Alek Shrader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi! Thanks for reading this. I'm Alek Shrader, opera singer and director, and now a first-time comic creator. I'm a lifelong comics fan and collector, and I still have my childhood collection, worn out and a few covers missing. It's very fulfilling to be a part of the collision of these two worlds of opera and comics. As my legendary collaborator P. CRAIG freaking RUSSELL would attest, opera has excellent stories worth telling in this format. And just wait til you see what ANEKE has done with CARMEN... she knocked my socks all the way off. ARIZONA OPERA has produced this project, and I think it's just swell for an opera company to publish a comic book. Much love to you all!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Arizona Opera?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Arizona Opera has been presenting opera since 1971 to the Phoenix and Tucson regions of Arizona, and after over 200 concerts and opera productions, they continue to seek innovative ways to expand the reach of opera as an art form. They are dedicated to their local communities, including educational outreach and Spanish-language groups, which highlights their strong value of service, in combination with musical artistry and stewardship. I like them so very much. They're led by Joseph Specter, President and General Director. Cassie Robel took the lead on our CARMEN project and was later joined by Courtney Clark. Their enthusiasm and support of this graphic novel has been unfailing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207684\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo1.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo1\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This project was created for the Arizona Opera OnPitch Challenge, which was essentially Shark Tank for opera. AZO was searching for an innovative means of potential revenue which was anything but donations from wealthy patrons (which is how most American opera is funded). My sister sent me the link and we brainstormed a few ideas (of which we have many). We agreed a comic book would be great for school and new audiences while also being financially and logistically achievable for an opera company. So, I did a ton of Googling and put together a business plan. Then I submitted my pitch with a now-infamous video featuring my extensive comic collection, and I was chosen as a winner. We had a short list of potential operas to adapt, all of which were coming up in AZO's season. CARMEN was the obvious choice, as it is among the most famous operas ever created and lacked a recent graphic adaptation. Then it was up to me to find artists... which was daunting, as I had zero contacts in the comics industry. But gratefully, nearly everyone I reached out to on socials or via websites responded! The comics industry is good and generous! I mean, I asked P. Craig Russell for advice and he offered to do the layouts! Amazing!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207685\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo2.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo2\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone unfamiliar with <em>Carmen<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CARMEN is a story about a young woman who faces challenges to her autonomy from society, misogyny, and men who won't take \"no\" for an answer. All she wants is freedom, and yet outside forces seek to control her. She is objectified and vilified. She has strong emotions and sometimes gets into trouble. She wants to live her life her way, and so she'll let Fate decide. It's very timely, to say the least. Bizet's music is gorgeous (and you have heard it before, even if you don't know it's from this opera). The art of P. Craig Russell and Aneke is equally ravishing. CARMEN is an icon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did P. Craig Russell, Aneke and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Honestly, I just reached out on social media! When Craig wrote back, I couldn't believe it. I thought of a ton of questions so I could pick his brain until he decided to hang up on me... but what actually happened was we talked about OPERA and then he offered to do the layouts himself! I did not expect that to happen, and I was absolutely ecstatic. With Aneke (as with our guest artists providing art prints for the Kickstarter), I simply sent a polite DM, and promised to pay her full rate! As a performer with a rate, I know that one must not muck with rates. You can either afford to work with an artist or you can't-- don't lowball, it's insulting. Aneke is the *perfect* artist for this book-- her art, her colors, and her VOICE are vital to how CARMEN'S story is told. And I got lucky with Hass! I am a longtime subscriber to his industry mag PanelxPanel, and I follow him on twitter. One day, he put out an open call for projects, and I responded immediately! The dream team had been assembled!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207687\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenericahenderson-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenericahenderson\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What it is about <em>Carmen<\/em>; that made you want to adapt it into a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Among the opera crowd, CARMEN is a household name. And yet, there are some people out there who would love this opera-- they just haven't been invited in the right way. Graphic adaptations now exist for anything in prose, and that already huge readership is continually growing. I have Slaughterhouse Five, the graphic novel. Romeo and Juliet, the graphic novel. Annie, a Marvel Movie Special. Etc etc. Why not opera? If opera doesn't want to continue to be thought of as exclusive or old and dusty, we have to reach out in *other ways* to communicate our stories. Nothing will ever replace a live opera performance, but comics can serve as a gateway-- give these readers the story in the way they prefer to consume it, and maybe they'll be curious enough to come to the opera house to see the show. CARMEN has remained a favorite and most popular opera for over 150 years for good reasons. The music is gorgeous, the story is dramatic and engaging, and I think the character of Carmen still speaks directly to modern audiences. We are all enriched by this story, this OPERA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Was it a challenge to write <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It was! I consider myself a writer, but this was a totally new thing. I bought *literally* every how-to book I could find, which was great for technical education. But I learned the most by working with P. Craig Russell. His notes on my scripts were blunt and direct, and very actionable to make adjustments! (I actually threw out the first draft and started over from scratch!) Initially, I thought there might be a connection between the duration of a musical moment in the opera and space on the page. That formula might exist, but I never really cracked it... Next time, baby! Eventually, we had to dedicate our limited page space to the dramatic story beats and pacing, and Craig is a master there. I would have loved more pages to expand, but working in somewhat restrictive parameters can cause brilliant solutions!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207688\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenmargueritesauvage-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenmargueritesauvage\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that there are several Kickstarter-exclusive prints available. What can you tell us about these prints?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We have SIX exclusive OPERA art prints from seven phenomenal artists, and each one is STUNNING. ERICA HENDERSON, COLLEEN DORAN, and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE have created images of CARMEN. NATACHA BUSTOS has created an image of ARIADNE (from ARIADNE AUF NAXOS). ERICA D'URSO & MARISSA LOUISE have created an image of TOSCA (from TOSCA). ANA MIRALLES has created an image of THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (from THE MAGIC FLUTE). Absolutely incredible!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can I choose amongst my children? I will PROUDLY add to my collection a signed copy of CARMEN, and EACH of the art prints. And then I'll look at that wall every single day and marvel that such art exists. And I'll be happier for it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207686\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schraderalek.jpeg\" alt=\"schraderalek\" width=\"638\" height=\"478\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thank you for reading and letting me explore outside my comfort zone! This is a dream-come-true. It's wish fulfillment. I hope that you'll check out our book, and I hope you'll check out the opera, too!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Alek for talking to us about his new graphic novel. We would like to wish the whole team of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/arizonaopera\/carmen-the-graphic-novel?ref=7juthx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmen on Kickstarter<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<br><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Alek Shrader","post_excerpt":"Carmen: The Graphic Novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-alek-shrader","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:21:31","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:21:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207681","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207663,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman attended Dublin Comic-Con on Saturday 11<sup>th<\/sup> this year. She got a chance to interview some of the guests attending the event; she caught up with the actors Kevin McNally, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207666\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/dublincomiccon2022_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"dublincomiccon2022_1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kevin McNally is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daniel and Luis Moncada are Honduran-American actors and brothers known for their role as \"The Cousins\" Leonel and Marco Salamanca on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2010) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2016; 2018\u2013present).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section> \n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Jason Starr","post_excerpt":"The Next Time I Die","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-jason-starr","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 16:58:47","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 15:58:47","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207882","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207835,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-06 14:54:35","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-06 13:54:35","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> <em>#1<\/em> this week, we are delighted to be joined by the co-writers and artists Ben Clarkson and Matt Bors. Matt is the founder of<em> The Nib<\/em>, and Ben is an illustrator and filmmaker.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hi Ben and Matt, it's so wonderful to have you both here with us today.<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Could you please introduce yourselves to our readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: Hi, I am Ben Clarkson. I am a cartoonist and animator based out of Montreal.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: I mostly run The Nib, a comics publication for political and nonfiction cartooning. I\u2019m recently \u201cretired\u201d from almost two decades of political cartooning, and moving into writing and drawing comics like<em> Justice Warriors<\/em>.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207838\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1_1-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1_1\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: I have this concept that you can only have three creative ideas at a time, and to free up a slot you have to make one of your ideas. <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> has been taking up one of those creative slots in my brain for nearly a decade. It just kept getting bigger and bigger until I finally broke down, had an existential crisis and set about doing whatever was necessary to make it a reality. I loved Matt\u2019s work and I harassed him online until he joined me.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: Ben was developing this for many years and it evolved into the dystopian cop satire you see today. He approached me in the summer of 2020 to write and produce for it as an animated show and we immediately hit it off. I was looking to create some comics outside of editorial cartooning and <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> was the perfect kind of genre work I\u2019d love to see more of in the world. So we settled on approaching it as a comic book first, which seemed easier to accomplish, and here we are.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ben, yourself and Matt are co-writers on <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>; how does that dynamic work?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: Super well. Matt and I work together easily. It\u2019s pretty frictionless building stories. We are both focussed on different aspects of the story at different times, and we\u2019ll talk out any disagreements. If things ever get bad, they haven\u2019t, we\u2019ve agreed to let our editor Tom Peyer referee the boxing match.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s a breeze working with Matt and it leaves us a lot of bandwidth to go back and forth twelve times over the word \u201cslup\u201d or when to use \u201cvibe\u201d.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207839\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1b-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1b\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matt, yourself and Ben are involved in the art process on Justice Warriors; can you tell us more about that?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: It\u2019s been a really deeply collaborative effort where we both threw in on layouts and colors for the 8 page pitch we sent to publishers. Luckily we added Felipe Sobreiro to colors for the series\u2014he\u2019s really brought the world alive in a spectacular way\u2014and I\u2019m on lettering with a font I\u2019ve developed as a bit of a throwback to 90s action comics.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ben\u2019s the artist but since we\u2019re co-writing and throwing so many ideas around it\u2019s comfortable enough that I might draw edits on sketches and we\u2019ll work together on larger elements of the series. For instance, the design of the Bubble City Police Station took a while, with both of us sending each other sketches and trying to get something that looks iconic, can appear in this series forever, and had some deeper architectural themes that spoke to the world we\u2019re building.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How would you describe <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: <em>Ghost in the Shell<\/em> meets <em>the Simpsons <\/em>meets<em> the Wire<\/em>. It\u2019s a zany, gritty, sociological farce with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: <em>Starship Troopers <\/em>meets <em>Judge Dredd<\/em> meets <em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em>. It\u2019s a wild, violent, satire with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207840\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1_2-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1_2\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matt, what can you tell us about Swamp Cop and Schitt?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: After losing his partner to a self-driving bus, Swamp Cop becomes a veteran of the force and increasingly psychologically disturbed over the course of the series. This mutant is not well, but his hallucinations seem to give him an insight into larger events unfolding in the world. Schitt on the other hand is the more naive rookie, a literal poop mutant from the sanitation sector, and a young family man. He\u2019s also a coward and morally unhinged in his own way. He\u2019s a cop after all. We put them both through the ringer as they encounter increasingly bizarre forms of crime and societal upheaval.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ben, how did Felipe Sobreiro join the team?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: We traded his CIA handler a kilo for him. He\u2019s ours now.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In all seriousness he was on a list for consideration. When I realized he colored <em>Silver Surfer Black<\/em> I insisted on working with him. <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> is, in my mind, a work of psychedelic art, and I needed his chops and color sense on our book.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207841\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1c-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1c\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Was<em> Justice Warriors<\/em> conceived as a comic book?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: This my first comic. I originally envisioned <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> as an animated series because I made animation. Matt and I realized that to ever get this crazy thing made into a TV show or a mega budget blockbuster we needed to show people how incredible the world was, and how it could capture the imagination. We needed to tell stories in Bubble City, and quickly. Comics were the perfect medium since Matt knew everything about them and they were something we could execute with our manpower.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: Ideally, <em>Justice Warriors <\/em>becomes a recurring comic series and animated series. That\u2019s the goal and we have enough story ideas already to last years.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matt, how important is pre-ordering for an independent comic?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: I\u2019m new to direct market books, so I\u2019m no expert here but it seems important with creator-owned books to signal support to retailers, just like pre-ordering books helps give online and brick-and-mortar outlets signals as to what people are ordering and how books might fare on the shelves. For the avoidance of doubt, call your comic shop and demand Justice Warriors!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ben, how did you pick the artists for the alternative covers for the series?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: I decided Matt could draw a bunch of covers, as a treat. Ben Passmore\u2019s work is fabulous and so he was high on the list and a clear ask.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207842\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1_3-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1_3\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How did AHOY Comics get involved with <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>, and what made them the right publisher for <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: We kidnapped Captain Ginger and sent severed whiskers to Hart Seely until we had our deal.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: Tom Peyer, Ahoy\u2019s Editor in Chief, is a Pisces. They are known as the most sympathetic of the zodiac signs and they will go to great lengths to ensure the happiness of those around them. So naturally we leaned on him during negotiations.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: This is the launch of a new creator-owned series that can go really far if we get reader support.<em> Justice Warriors <\/em>is a world where we intend to keep telling weird stories about social media, elections, gentri\ufb01cation, sports, drugs, and the mysterious terrorists of Starfish City.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: The series gets wild. People are crushed by money fresh from the printers. Ants get independent thoughts. The police chief cuts someone apart with a judo chop. It\u2019s a wild wild book.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A big thank you to Ben and Matt for chatting with us; we wish them and the rest of the team, the best of luck with <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Justice Warriors Team","post_excerpt":"Ben Clarkson and Matt Bors","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-justice-warriors-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 20:37:54","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 19:37:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207835","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207818,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-01 14:41:05","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-01 13:41:05","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for Unico: Awakening, we are delighted to be joined today; by writer Samuel Sattin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Samuel, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thank you for having me! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019m Samuel Sattin, a writer who lives in Oakland, California. I talk to my cats a lot, but when I\u2019m not doing that, I\u2019m typically working on some kind of book-related project. I adapted the Cartoon Saloon film, WolfWalkers, to graphic novel format, and I\u2019ll be adapting their other two films, Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells, as well. I\u2019m also the writer behind UNICO: AWAKENING, a Kickstarter campaign that\u2019s live for just a couple more days. There\u2019s more, but I think that covers most things happening right now. I also like to make dioramas. I\u2019ve taken a hiatus for a few months since I\u2019ve been a bit too busy to work on them, but hopefully I can resume later this year. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207823\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoakirahimekawa.jpg\" alt=\"unicoakirahimekawa\" width=\"680\" height=\"998\"><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone unfamiliar with Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico, how would you describe Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unico has the natural ability to spread unrivaled love and kindness. The more he is cared for, the greater his powers grow, imbuing him with incredible magical abilities. Because of this, he draws the ire of the gods, in particular the goddess of love and beauty herself, Venus. Out of jealousy, she has him banished from the heavens, and dragged through space and time until he forgets everything he once was. The servitor tasked to do this, the West Wind, takes pity on Unico, thus saving him from being completely destroyed. To keep him safe, she brings him from place to place across time, erasing his memory whenever he grows too powerful, to keep him from being discovered by the gods. It\u2019s a tragic, beautiful story about a character whose kindness is rewarded with a curse. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207822\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbyjunkomizuno.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbyjunkomizuno\" width=\"680\" height=\"913\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When did you first discover Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I saw the films when I was a kid, and like most, was traumatized accordingly as a result. I didn\u2019t encounter the manga itself until I was an adult. I visited the Osamu Tezuka Museum in Takarazuka in 2017, and became fascinated with the character, whose presence was far more diffuse in Japan than in the US. I read and re-read the English translation that had been put out, and was hooked. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207824\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicotarotcard.jpg\" alt=\"unicotarotcard\" width=\"680\" height=\"952\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unico: Awakening will be available in English and Japanese. Was making <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em> available to a large readership an important factor of this project?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes, and it was one of the main reasons why we approached the project through crowdfunding, but not just because we wanted to grow the size of the readership. We wanted Unico: Awakening to become a celebration of both the character and Osamu Tezuka\u2019s work, and it was also very important to us that we made sure both the book and project overall would be accessible to a Japanese audience, as opposed to just a Western one. Osamu Tezuka himself believed that comics were a kind of international language, and I think the best thing we can do to recognize the brilliance of that idea is to try and follow in his footsteps. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207821\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoart.jpg\" alt=\"unicoart\" width=\"1000\" height=\"707\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are collaborating with the Gurihiru artist team; what makes them the right team for <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For me, the question would have to be \u201cwhat doesn\u2019t make them right?\u201d I say this because they are truly the perfect artist team and creative partner for this project. Not only are they fantastically talented, but they are able to blend Japanese and Western comics art styles in an incredibly novel fashion. They\u2019re incredible visual storytellers, and they have a distinct vision for Unico: Awakening that I simply know readers will be delighted by. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207825\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbykamomeshirahama.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbykamomeshirahama\" width=\"636\" height=\"893\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are reinventing Unico, a character created by Osamu Tezuka; does that add more pressure on you as a writer?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Absolutely! Though as I have mentioned to others who have asked, I think the pressure is more self-enforced, rather than something that\u2019s been put upon me by others. Tezuka Productions has been wonderful to work with, and have been incredibly encouraging and supportive of the ideas I\u2019ve brought forward. I was able to meet with members of the team in Tokyo recently, and was really thrilled to hear that, for them, doing a project like this was about taking the core ideas of the God of Manga, and building them out in new ways, for new generations to enjoy. Hearing this honestly made me emotional. I will do my very best to realize such a vision. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207826\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintpeach1.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintpeach1\" width=\"680\" height=\"1011\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As you are crowdfunding Unico: Awakening and dealing directly with consumers, does that make <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em> more special for you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Doing this project through crowdfunding has been wonderful because you do indeed get to interact directly with a wider community. It\u2019s also wonderful because we get the opportunity to fold in an array of incredible rewards, like 16 x 24 inch prints from renowned international artists, and print items called Artifacts from talented American cartoonists. This turns the process of creating Unico: Awakening into a kind of celebration, which is exactly what we hoped it would become. I personally love seeing how everyone has reacted to this in real time. It feels like we\u2019ve found and\/or are building a community around this project, which is a special thing to behold. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207827\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbytommmoore.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbytommmoore\" width=\"680\" height=\"907\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with Tezuka Productions?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I touched on this a bit earlier, but it\u2019s been a really wonderful experience. They\u2019ve provided us a lot of room to express our own ideas, and have been great partners in bringing the campaign to life. Also, we\u2019ve had the luck of working with Aki Yanagi, a comics professional who represents a good few Japanese artists working in American comics. He helped facilitate a great deal of this as well, and I\u2019m grateful to him. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207828\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbytokitotokoro.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbytokitotokoro\" width=\"680\" height=\"982\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unico: Awakening draws from a story in the original manga called The Cat and the Broomstick. Without getting into too many details, The Cat and the Broomstick is about a young, abandoned cat that wants to become a human being. Unico grants her the (limited) ability to do so, and this leads to her catching the eye of a sadistic hunter with supernatural powers. It\u2019s a story about identity, and the consequences of disrespecting nature. Unico: Awakening takes this story and builds upon it, creating larger roles for characters than they had originally, and providing a larger backdrop plot that expands upon the Unico universe. This is why we call it a reimagining, as opposed to an adaptation. Our hope is to bring the story of Unico to a new generation of readers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207829\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbykatielongua.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbykatielongua\" width=\"680\" height=\"1015\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Oh my, I can\u2019t say that I do! But only because I truly have love for all of the rewards across the spectrum. Thankfully, we do offer a tier where you can receive everything, which includes 10 incredible prints, 5 Artifacts, the book, and t-shirt from Junko Mizuno. That\u2019s the one I would choose. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207830\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicovertical.jpg\" alt=\"unicovertical\" width=\"680\" height=\"962\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Firstly, thank you so much for reading. It means a lot to me. And secondly, please support Unico: Awakening! There are so many wonderful rewards to nab that are exclusive to the Kickstarter, and near-every additional dollar goes to paying the artists, translators, and others who made this project remotely possible. Thank you again for your time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Samuel for talking to us about his manga. We would like to wish the whole team of <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/1803389958\/unico-awakening-manga-by-gurihiru-and-samuel-sattin?ref=8hkuaq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Unico: Awakening<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Samuel Sattin","post_excerpt":"Unico: Awakening","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-samuel-sattin","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 20:41:32","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 19:41:32","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207818","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207757,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-29 15:24:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-29 14:24:07","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With <em>Professor\u00a0Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>\u00a0releasing on May 11th. We are delighted to be joined by the multi-talented Phil Mucci.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hi Phil, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As some of our readers may not be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Phil Mucci: filmmaker, graphic novelist, and creative gypsy. I\u2019ve been making art and writing since I was a kid. I had the dubious honor of being the only artist in my high school to have their art stolen from local shows\u2014three times! I studied writing and photo illustration in college, then hustled as a photo-assistant in NYC before striking out on my own. It was the early days of Photoshop, so a lot of my work was special effects heavy, comic book, sci-fi and animation inspired stuff. I did lots of advertising and music photography for magazines and record labels \u2014Ludacris <em>Chicken and Beer<\/em> is probably my most famous album cover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From photography I moved into writing and directing short films and music videos for bands like Metallica, Monster Magnet, Disturbed, Opeth, High on Fire, etc. A lot of heavy metal since my sensibilities are steeped in horror and sci-fi stuff. The character, Professor Dario Bava, originally appeared in a music video for the band Huntress called \u201cSorrow\u201d. We loved Ian Mackay\u2019s performance so much, we knew we had to do more with that character, which is how the animated teaser and the first graphic novel, <em>Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em> came about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207759\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_1-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_1\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although Professor Dario Bava (PDB) made his first appearance in Huntress \u201cSorrow and the ideas for Orgy Of The Blood Freaks had been kicking around for years. The same for Gringo Loco, which started out as a western, then became a sci-fi story, then back to a western! I tend to let ideas ferment for a while in the back of my mind. They usually take off when a missing piece of the puzzle falls into place, or I start writing them to see what I can find.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Orgy Of The Blood Freaks<\/em> originally came from my love for the sexy European horror flicks of the \u201970s, and their comic book equivalents in the Warren comics of the same period\u2014<em>Eerie<\/em>, <em>Creepy<\/em>, <em>Vampirella<\/em>, etc.<em> Gringo Loco<\/em> came from my love for the dark and violent Italian spaghetti westerns of the \u201960s and \u201970s, and the desire to take those types of stories into new <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">horror realms. I\u2019ve always wanted to create my own monster along the lines of Frankenstein\u2019s or more modern equivalents like <em>RoboCop<\/em> or <em>Tetsuo<\/em>, so <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> became that for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em> is going to be published by Diabolik; what can you tell us about Diabolik?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Diabolik is a company we originally started to handle our film and video productions, and we just started branching out from there. Now we\u2019re doing graphic novels, coloring books, apparel, collectibles, all kinds of sick stuff! It\u2019s basically just 3 of us, me, Ian Mackay (PDB in \u201cSorrow\u201d), and Dan Simpson, plus a team of incredible artists we work with to help make everything happen. We all share a love for crazy genre storytelling, so it\u2019s been exciting to work together and see what we can come up with. Being a part of Diabolik gives me a huge variety of creative outlets\u2014writing and coloring graphic novels one day, shooting a video the next, designing apparel, then switching back to a screenplay\u2014it\u2019s an incredible luxury for someone as restless as myself, so I feel really fortunate that Diabolik has my back!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207760\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_2-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_2\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How would you describe <em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For me, this book is like a drive-in double feature. Not many drive-ins left, I know, but when I was a kid we used to sneak through the graveyard, down the train tracks, and through a broken chain link fence into the old drive-in that played horror movies from dusk till dawn. This Diabolik Double Feature represents exactly the kind of flicks we\u2019d risk zombie mutilation and locomotive obliteration to see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We\u2019d already released a <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> graphic novel, <em>Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em>, so the thought was we\u2019d introduce <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> in the same volume\u2014like the second feature on a double bill. It made sense too, since a movie poster for <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> actually appeared in<em> Murder Vibes<\/em>\u2014like I said, these ideas have been fermenting for years!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207761\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_3-782x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_3\" width=\"782\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Who is Professor Dario Bava?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Professor Dario Bava is an ex-Vatican exorcist, who tuned in, turned on, and dropped out to fight monsters with Future Chick, time-traveling super hippie from a heavy tomorrow, and Major Bitch, far out freedom fighter and yeti-slayer, in swinging Rome, 1967. Cocky but lovable, he now refers to himself as a \u201cparanormal playboy\u201d, devoted as much to free love as he is to fighting the evils of The Man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Extremely. You need to constantly promote to new people, but word of mouth\u2014especially from trusted sources\u2014is what gets people to take a chance on something new.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207762\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What can you tell us about <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Gringo Loco<\/em> is darker in tone; at its core is the mystery of who or what he is. We meet him after he\u2019s been sentenced to \u201chang until dead\u201d, which as the sheriff informs a gang of bounty hunters, \u201cis taking a speck longer than usual.\u201d He appears to be stitched together from the pieces of many men, but he is not a man. He\u2019s a hideous freak, a monster, an outcast forever hunted by the ghosts of his past crimes\u2014and he\u2019s our hero!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can\u2019t say too much more without ruining it, but it\u2019s a gritty and violent western that should appeal to horror fans as much as spaghetti western fans; and as a writer, it\u2019s probably one of the most interesting and personal stories I\u2019ve done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are not only the writer but the colourist and the letterer; how long have you been working on this comic?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All together it took about 15 months (on and off) to finish 62 pages of the story and the rest of the 80 page double issue. <em>Orgy of the Blood Freaks<\/em> was finished first, so our backers got the digital version back in October 2021, right in time for Halloween. <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> was finished at the end of February this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Did you always want to do a double feature flip for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well I always love books that encourage you to engage with them in a physical way\u2014<em>Murder Vibes<\/em> featured a foldout back cover and book flaps, and the <em>PDB Occult Activity Book (and Spirit Board!)<\/em> had all kinds of interactive pages and instructions on how to destroy the book to use the Spirit Board. We all read so much digitally now that we\u2019ve forgotten a lot of the simple joys of physical media, so as much as possible, we try to bring that back. In this case, the flip book just seemed the perfect way to give readers two different stories, with two different covers, in one convenient volume loaded with extras. It\u2019s also just way more fun that way!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207763\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_1-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_1\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Artists Mike Dubisch and Vicente Alc\u00e1zar are part of the team; what made them the right artists for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mike and I have worked together on the two previous <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> books, so he\u2019s as much a part of that world as I am as the writer and colorist. It\u2019s a challenging project for an artist: massive scope, a bunch of recurring characters, and just about every type of monster you can imagine\u2014that\u2019s why Mike\u2019s style is so perfect for it. He works traditionally, with pencils and inks (no digital) which gives that tactile, retro aesthetic for PDB, while also making it seem like all these wildly different elements actually BELONG together in this world. We work back and forth on very detailed layouts, thumbnails, and references before he starts, but it never ceases to amaze me how seamlessly it all comes together in the end. It\u2019s impossible for me to imagine PDB without seeing Mike\u2019s art in my mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vicente Alc\u00e1zar was a huge coup for us! We knew his work from all those \u201970s and \u201980s Warren comics, plus <em>Jonah Hex<\/em>, <em>Conan<\/em>, <em>Heavy Metal<\/em>\u2014too many titles to mention. Old pros like that are hard to come by these days, so when Dan discovered he was still working and interested, we leapt at the chance. Once he read the script and the backstory, he was very excited and complimentary (swoon), and started work instantly\u2014before I could even get him any thumbnails or layouts! Once we locked in the \u201clook\u201d of Gringo Loco, Nightshade Mary, and a few other characters, he just took off at full speed. It was incredible to watch the pages come in, following the script but bringing his seasoned artistic instincts to every aspect of the story. We were all blown away. <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> is a more complex world to envision, but with <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>, Vicente seemed to know what was around every corner like he\u2019d been there before. It\u2019s an honor to be working with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207764\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_2-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_2\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We have to talk about the covers by Emanuele Taglietti and Dave Kendall; can you tell us all about them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Emanuele Taglietti is another legend Dan contacted for us back before we even started on <em>Murder Vibes<\/em> <em>From The Monster Dimension<\/em>. Fans of the sexy Italian horror comics (\u201cfumettis\u201d) know his famous covers \u2014 and new fans are piling on every day thanks to the release of <em>Sex and Horror: The Art Of Emanuele Taglietti<\/em>, a gorgeous collection of his work, which sold out immediately and is now in its second printing. Based on the story, origins, and setting of PDB, there\u2019s no better artist to bring it to life. He\u2019s been doing it for decades! And as a former set designer for Fellini, he has a real appreciation for the cinema craft that informs a lot of the Professor\u2019s world. On top of all that - he\u2019s a tremendously kind and generous guy - and his partner Katia shoots excellent behind the scenes videos of his process for us as well!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dave Kendall was someone Dan had his eye on for a while, though he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be right for <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>. We discussed other artists who worked more in the western genre, but I was convinced Dave could really bring out the \u201chorror\u201d aspect of the story. He has a really unique, nightmarish vision that almost evokes a physical reaction of creepiness and disgust \u2014 which I loved for this cover!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207765\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_3-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_3\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can our readers get a copy of Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019ll be in a few select shops around the US on May 11th, but you can order it directly from us at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.professordariobava.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.ProfessorDarioBava.com<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to get the full Diabolik packaging effect!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks to all of you who\u2019ve supported us in the past\u2014we can\u2019t do any of this without you! And if you\u2019re new to our Diabolik deeds, do not be afraid: we\u2019re weird monster-loving freaks just like you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Phil for chatting with us. We wish him and his team all the best for his new comic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Phil Mucci","post_excerpt":"Professor\u00a0Dario Bava","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-phil-mucci","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:07:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:07:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207757","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207738,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-22 15:04:49","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-22 14:04:49","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of his new graphic novel,<em>\u00a0Retroactive\u00a0<\/em>next week on April 26th from Humanoids. We are delighted to be joined by Eisner nominated artist and writer Ibrahim Moustafa. He is best know for his work on\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0<em>James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's been really wonderful. People have been incredibly supportive of the book, and I'm so grateful for it. It was added to the Young Adult Library Services Association 2022 list of Great Graphic Novels For Teens, and as of yesterday we were nominated for an Ignyte Award from Fiyah Literary Magazine, which highlights the work of marginalized creators. And hopefully more folks will be discovering it with the release of RetroActive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207742\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive28-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive28\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe the\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In short it's \u201cJames Bond x Groundhog Day\u201d. RetroActive is a time travel story with lots of heart and relatable human experiences to ground the more fantastical elements. With this book I set out to not only do a story in a genre that is fairly unique to comics, but I really tried to take full advantage of what the medium can do to tell a story like this. And just like the circular nature of time travel and time loops, my hope is that those elements will give people a lot of reasons to go back and experience the book over again.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He's an idealist when we first meet him, and over time we see how the job of being a time-traveling spy affects him and his view of things. All the while, he's trying to care for him mother with dementia by himself. So, he has this real dilemma of being \u201con-call\u201d in both his job and his personal life, and there are really high stakes for both.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207743\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive29-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive29\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Brad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0<em>Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just an absolute pleasure. Brad and Hass are two of the very best in the business, and to get to collaborate with them again is the best. I hope to keep them as a forever-team if they'll have me. We have a really great, intuitive flow when working together.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's essentially the CIA of time travel in the world of the book. They are one of five agencies in the world that act as an intelligence and counter-intelligence outfit, running operations throughout the past to avert terror attacks and thwart attempts from hostile nations to change the US's past for their own benefit.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207744\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive30-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive30\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I did. I love a good WWII era story, and there's a lot of aesthetics to appreciate about midcentury America, so it was really fun to get to put those into the book.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Who is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lucia is a new trainee at the BTA, and sort of our eyes and ears as we learn the ins-and-outs of time travel from Tarik, who is giving her an orientation briefing. She's very dedicated to being a good agent, and as Tarik starts slipping, she has to call him out on his shortcomings.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you started to work on<em>\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Not initially. First came the pitch document with the broad strokes, then I had to tighten that up into an outline and really make sure the time travel stuff was as airtight as time travel can be. Then came the full script.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207745\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive31-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive31\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The best. Rob is the best editor I've ever worked with. He's always on top of things, he replies quickly to emails, and he really keeps the trains rolling on time. And he's a great person to boot.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overall not too bad. There were a lot of threads to keep track of, but I didn't want to overstuff the plot because the story itself is the important part. So I set rules for it early on and stuck with them and it was pretty smooth sailing.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207746\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive32-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive32\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Has it been a challenge working on\u00a0<em>Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">RetroActive is a story that is all about the cyclical, repetitious nature of time, and as such, it's made in a way that multiple readings will reward folks with stuff they may have missed the first time. I hope they enjoy it!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, <em>Retroactive<\/em> releasing on April 26th from Humanoids.<\/span>","post_title":"Talking With Ibrahim Moustafa","post_excerpt":"Retroactive\u00a0","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"talking-with-ibrahim-moustafa","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:09:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:09:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207738","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207719,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-13 13:58:41","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-13 12:58:41","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for\u00a0<em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>,\u00a0we are delighted to be joined today by\u00a0storyboard artist Richard Bennett.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Richard, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">My name is Richard Bennett, I\u2019m a storyboard artist working in the film industry since 2003. Prior to that I worked in the\u00a0Comic Book industry between 1990 and 2000.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I started working at Neal Adams\u2019 Continuity, with \u2018CyberRad,\u2019 I was doing pencils & inks over Neal\u2019s layouts on that title.\u00a0Then I worked at Marvel on several X-Men books; Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force and a special project the \u2018X-Men Survival Guide to the Mansion.\u2019 Following that, I got called by Jim Lee at Wildstorm\/Image, and there I co-created the character \u2018Brass\u2019, for which I wrote, and did all the artwork on the mini-series. Besides that I worked there on the \u2019Wildcats,\u2019 \u2018Stormwatch,\u2019 \u2018Divine Right.\u2019 Also did a special, \u2018Gen 13: Wired\u2019 with Mike Heisler, which I\u2019m particularly proud of.\u00a0 During those years I also worked a bit with Marc Silvestri\u2019s Top Cow, on \u2018The Darkness,\u2019 \u2018Tales of the Witchblade.\u2019 I\u2019d say, though, the top project during that decade was the original \u201cBrass\u201d mini series.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you tell us about the origins of<em>\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>\u00a0book?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019ve approached Clover Press with the idea of publishing a book with my storyboard work. At that time I had other\u00a0movies in mind since I already had the authorization to use the material done for those.\u00a0Ted and Robbie at Clover loved the coffee book compilation idea; however, they came back with the suggestion to use the work from the\u00a0three Legendary Monsterverse films exclusively on one volume. I thought the concept was brilliant, so we started working on that. Hank Kanalz from Clover was amazing working\u00a0with Legendary and Toho in order to get the greenlight to publish the boards.\u00a0So, here we are!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207723\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong1-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It depends greatly on the type of project. High budget blockbusters like these three involved many months of drawing during\u00a0pre-production, and even after principal photography, when called back to draw for re-shoots.\u00a0On smaller projects, either lower budget or independent films, then yes, the average is less time. Either a couple of months or even\u00a0a few weeks.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite scene from\u00a0Godzilla vs. Kong?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For sure, I\u2019d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong\u2019s lead. Very trippy scene.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, it\u2019s far more personal in a way. So I appreciate immensely every one single pledger wanting to get the book.\u00a0It feels similar to the interaction we had with fans at the artist alley\u2019s booths during comic book conventions. I\u2019ve been thoroughly going through the material, adjusting things to make sure the fans get the best possible presentation on the volume.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207724\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong2-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Probably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I hope they will get the book and enjoy it as much as I did while working on the films. I invested myself in those movies\u2019 work in a big way both emotionally and work wise, and it\u2019s my goal they\u2019ll be able to perceive that through the printed storyboard sequences in this beautiful volume! So, I\u2019d like to send a big Thank You to all of them!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Richard for talking to us about his new book. We would like to wish Richard the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/cloverpress\/godzilla-and-kong-storyboard-artbook?ref=894mol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em> on Kickstarter<\/a>.\n<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Richard Bennett","post_excerpt":"Godzilla & Kong","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-richard-bennett","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:12:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:12:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207719","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207691,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-04 13:56:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-04 12:56:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of\u00a0<em>Nottingham #6<\/em> this week from Mad Cave Studios, we are delighted to be joined by writer David Hazan, artist Shane Connery Volk, and colourist Luca Romano.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hello David, Shane and Luca, we are so delighted to have you all here with us today. It's great that we chat with you all about your comic\u00a0Nottingham.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207696\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Robin Hood legend has been used in a variety of different media over the years. Do you have a favourite from these versions?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: My favourite would have to be the BBC TV version. It's fun and campy in all the right ways, but doesn't forget to tell an intriguing story and it gives the characters in the legend a lot of layers and nuance.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: SCV- The Disney animated version is my favourite! I watched it so much as a kid and it\u2019s still so good!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Hard to pick between the classic Disney and Mel brook's version! Nostalgia wise I'll have to go with the latter because back in my teens I could quote all the Italian dub by heart. Now that I think about it, I should check out the original! Maybe the 6th, to celebrate the release day?<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207697\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone who has missed the first few issues of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>, what can you tell us about the series so far?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our series takes the Robin Hood mythos and turns it on his head. We follow the Sheriff of Nottingham as he hunts down a serial killer who has been murdering Nottinghamshire's tax collectors. Power plays, treachery, blood and anguish follow until finally the identity of the leader of the brutal Merry Men, previously only known as \"Hood\", is revealed. The usual suspects, like Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet and Alan a Dale are all there...but they're not quite as you remember them.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: Get ready for big action, and unexpected twists! <\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207698\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, as a writer, what is it about the Robin Hood legend that makes you want to write about these characters in this world?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The characters are so flexible and dynamic, and are really very fun to write. They fit into a noir so easily, really. Beyond that, the mythos itself has a universality that's stood the test of time. The jolly green hero has been adapted more times than I can count and it's been an honour to count myself as one of those that people have so wholeheartedly embraced.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, artistically has it been a challenge to illustrate\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Absolutely! This series is everything I\u2019ve wanted as a new comic book artist. It never gives me time to coast. David\u2019s story is always challenging me and stretching me to my limits. The whole team has also allowed me to go places and try new things with my art which is so amazing. Nothing about this series is ever playing it safe and I absolutely love it!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207700\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, what has it been like working on the series so far, and how long does it take you to complete an issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Truly a treat! David and Shane are both a pleasure and honor to work with: I've always been very outspoken in my appreciation for their skills because they damn deserve it. Also, I've been given full reign on the color choices since day 1, so I've been able to pour my heart into these pages with unbridled joy. Bless Brian and Mad Cave for this trust, that I hope was rewarded by the final outcome. As for how long an issue takes: about a month. I'm not a fast painter to start with, and when you add to that the amount of detail on the pages and the rendering style it quickly escalates.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, what had the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic, which is beyond our wildest expectations for a first book. After selling out so many printings and having people fighting to get hold of our books...I'm really hoping we can really live up to the hype and give the people a satisfying second arc that they will be equally as excited for.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207701\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, as <em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is an indie comic, how important is pre-ordering and word of mouth for any indie comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s incredibly important. Not only to ensure that we get enough orders to keep making issues, but in the case of Nottingham, it\u2019s been selling out so fast that you need to pre-order to make sure you don\u2019t miss out! We have been so fortunate with the response to the series and can\u2019t thank our fans enough!!\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, do you have a favourite\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0cover; that you worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I kinda want to cheat the question and pick all volume 2 covers as they form a veritable tapestry from #6 to #10. Shane really knocked it off the park with that idea, that's absolutely going to be displayed in my studio as a single 133x40cm pvc panel. It's glorious. If we're going for single issues: #1 original is too iconic to pass, with\u00a0#4 variant with our mean boy Little John being a close second!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207702\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Issue six of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is coming out on April 6th; what can you tell us about the issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our second arc finds our\u00a0Sheriff once again mired in between the clashing political forces of 12th Century England. King Richard has been kidnapped and the Sheriff has been strongarmed into delivering the ransom to Rome, on pain of death. Prince John and King Phillip of France will stop at nothing to undermine the mission, so the Sheriff must join forces with the one man he knows will ensure the Lionheart's safety at any cost...Robin Hood. Meanwhile, at home in Nottingham, Marian seizes an opportunity while the Sheriff is away...<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: We\u2019ve given Vol. 2 everything we\u2019ve got!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207694\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: To those of you who have picked up Nottingham - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To those who are thinking of it, preorder now! We don't want you to miss out and that seemed to be the theme of last year.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Bring a raincoat, and don't step on the pools of blood.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to David, Shane and Luca for sitting and chatting with us.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Nottingham Team","post_excerpt":"David Hazan, Shane Connery Volk and Luca Roman","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-nottingham-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:19:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:19:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207691","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207681,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-30 13:44:32","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-30 12:44:32","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for Carmen: The Graphic Novel, we are delighted to be joined today; by opera singer, writer and director Alek Shrader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi! Thanks for reading this. I'm Alek Shrader, opera singer and director, and now a first-time comic creator. I'm a lifelong comics fan and collector, and I still have my childhood collection, worn out and a few covers missing. It's very fulfilling to be a part of the collision of these two worlds of opera and comics. As my legendary collaborator P. CRAIG freaking RUSSELL would attest, opera has excellent stories worth telling in this format. And just wait til you see what ANEKE has done with CARMEN... she knocked my socks all the way off. ARIZONA OPERA has produced this project, and I think it's just swell for an opera company to publish a comic book. Much love to you all!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Arizona Opera?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Arizona Opera has been presenting opera since 1971 to the Phoenix and Tucson regions of Arizona, and after over 200 concerts and opera productions, they continue to seek innovative ways to expand the reach of opera as an art form. They are dedicated to their local communities, including educational outreach and Spanish-language groups, which highlights their strong value of service, in combination with musical artistry and stewardship. I like them so very much. They're led by Joseph Specter, President and General Director. Cassie Robel took the lead on our CARMEN project and was later joined by Courtney Clark. Their enthusiasm and support of this graphic novel has been unfailing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207684\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo1.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo1\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This project was created for the Arizona Opera OnPitch Challenge, which was essentially Shark Tank for opera. AZO was searching for an innovative means of potential revenue which was anything but donations from wealthy patrons (which is how most American opera is funded). My sister sent me the link and we brainstormed a few ideas (of which we have many). We agreed a comic book would be great for school and new audiences while also being financially and logistically achievable for an opera company. So, I did a ton of Googling and put together a business plan. Then I submitted my pitch with a now-infamous video featuring my extensive comic collection, and I was chosen as a winner. We had a short list of potential operas to adapt, all of which were coming up in AZO's season. CARMEN was the obvious choice, as it is among the most famous operas ever created and lacked a recent graphic adaptation. Then it was up to me to find artists... which was daunting, as I had zero contacts in the comics industry. But gratefully, nearly everyone I reached out to on socials or via websites responded! The comics industry is good and generous! I mean, I asked P. Craig Russell for advice and he offered to do the layouts! Amazing!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207685\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo2.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo2\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone unfamiliar with <em>Carmen<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CARMEN is a story about a young woman who faces challenges to her autonomy from society, misogyny, and men who won't take \"no\" for an answer. All she wants is freedom, and yet outside forces seek to control her. She is objectified and vilified. She has strong emotions and sometimes gets into trouble. She wants to live her life her way, and so she'll let Fate decide. It's very timely, to say the least. Bizet's music is gorgeous (and you have heard it before, even if you don't know it's from this opera). The art of P. Craig Russell and Aneke is equally ravishing. CARMEN is an icon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did P. Craig Russell, Aneke and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Honestly, I just reached out on social media! When Craig wrote back, I couldn't believe it. I thought of a ton of questions so I could pick his brain until he decided to hang up on me... but what actually happened was we talked about OPERA and then he offered to do the layouts himself! I did not expect that to happen, and I was absolutely ecstatic. With Aneke (as with our guest artists providing art prints for the Kickstarter), I simply sent a polite DM, and promised to pay her full rate! As a performer with a rate, I know that one must not muck with rates. You can either afford to work with an artist or you can't-- don't lowball, it's insulting. Aneke is the *perfect* artist for this book-- her art, her colors, and her VOICE are vital to how CARMEN'S story is told. And I got lucky with Hass! I am a longtime subscriber to his industry mag PanelxPanel, and I follow him on twitter. One day, he put out an open call for projects, and I responded immediately! The dream team had been assembled!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207687\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenericahenderson-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenericahenderson\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What it is about <em>Carmen<\/em>; that made you want to adapt it into a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Among the opera crowd, CARMEN is a household name. And yet, there are some people out there who would love this opera-- they just haven't been invited in the right way. Graphic adaptations now exist for anything in prose, and that already huge readership is continually growing. I have Slaughterhouse Five, the graphic novel. Romeo and Juliet, the graphic novel. Annie, a Marvel Movie Special. Etc etc. Why not opera? If opera doesn't want to continue to be thought of as exclusive or old and dusty, we have to reach out in *other ways* to communicate our stories. Nothing will ever replace a live opera performance, but comics can serve as a gateway-- give these readers the story in the way they prefer to consume it, and maybe they'll be curious enough to come to the opera house to see the show. CARMEN has remained a favorite and most popular opera for over 150 years for good reasons. The music is gorgeous, the story is dramatic and engaging, and I think the character of Carmen still speaks directly to modern audiences. We are all enriched by this story, this OPERA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Was it a challenge to write <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It was! I consider myself a writer, but this was a totally new thing. I bought *literally* every how-to book I could find, which was great for technical education. But I learned the most by working with P. Craig Russell. His notes on my scripts were blunt and direct, and very actionable to make adjustments! (I actually threw out the first draft and started over from scratch!) Initially, I thought there might be a connection between the duration of a musical moment in the opera and space on the page. That formula might exist, but I never really cracked it... Next time, baby! Eventually, we had to dedicate our limited page space to the dramatic story beats and pacing, and Craig is a master there. I would have loved more pages to expand, but working in somewhat restrictive parameters can cause brilliant solutions!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207688\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenmargueritesauvage-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenmargueritesauvage\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that there are several Kickstarter-exclusive prints available. What can you tell us about these prints?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We have SIX exclusive OPERA art prints from seven phenomenal artists, and each one is STUNNING. ERICA HENDERSON, COLLEEN DORAN, and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE have created images of CARMEN. NATACHA BUSTOS has created an image of ARIADNE (from ARIADNE AUF NAXOS). ERICA D'URSO & MARISSA LOUISE have created an image of TOSCA (from TOSCA). ANA MIRALLES has created an image of THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (from THE MAGIC FLUTE). Absolutely incredible!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can I choose amongst my children? I will PROUDLY add to my collection a signed copy of CARMEN, and EACH of the art prints. And then I'll look at that wall every single day and marvel that such art exists. And I'll be happier for it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207686\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schraderalek.jpeg\" alt=\"schraderalek\" width=\"638\" height=\"478\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thank you for reading and letting me explore outside my comfort zone! This is a dream-come-true. It's wish fulfillment. I hope that you'll check out our book, and I hope you'll check out the opera, too!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Alek for talking to us about his new graphic novel. We would like to wish the whole team of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/arizonaopera\/carmen-the-graphic-novel?ref=7juthx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmen on Kickstarter<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<br><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Alek Shrader","post_excerpt":"Carmen: The Graphic Novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-alek-shrader","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:21:31","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:21:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207681","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207663,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman attended Dublin Comic-Con on Saturday 11<sup>th<\/sup> this year. She got a chance to interview some of the guests attending the event; she caught up with the actors Kevin McNally, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207666\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/dublincomiccon2022_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"dublincomiccon2022_1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kevin McNally is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daniel and Luis Moncada are Honduran-American actors and brothers known for their role as \"The Cousins\" Leonel and Marco Salamanca on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2010) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2016; 2018\u2013present).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script></div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a class="page_nav prev" data-id="14" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/"><span class="navtext">Previous</span></a> <a class='page_number' data-id='1' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/'>1</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='14' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/14/'>14</a> <span class='page_number active'>15</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='16' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/'>16</a> <span class="page_number dots">…</span> <a class='page_number' data-id='32' href='https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/32/'>32</a> <a class="page_nav next" data-id="16" href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/page/16/"><span class="navtext">Next</span></a></div></div></div></div></div></div></section><section class="elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e72a154 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default" data-id="e72a154" data-element_type="section" data-e-type="section"><div class="elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default"><div class="elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d9c0fdc" data-id="d9c0fdc" data-element_type="column" data-e-type="column"><div class="elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated"><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-bca8cd7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_title_elementor" data-id="bca8cd7" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_title_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class='jeg_archive_title_wrapper '><h1 class="jeg_archive_title">Featured</h1></div></div></div></div></div></div></section><section class="elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e811e5b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default" data-id="e811e5b" data-element_type="section" data-e-type="section"><div class="elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default"><div class="elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-072159f" data-id="072159f" data-element_type="column" data-e-type="column"><div class="elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated"><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-dc995a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_block_elementor" data-id="dc995a5" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_block_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_postblock_22 jeg_postblock jeg_module_hook jeg_pagination_disable jeg_col_2o3 epic_module_212019_2_69b4e4200b71c " data-unique="epic_module_212019_2_69b4e4200b71c"><div class="jeg_block_container"><div class="jeg_posts_wrap"><div class="jeg_posts jeg_load_more_flag"><article class="jeg_post jeg_pl_md_5 post-207882 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-featured category-interview tag-awa-studios tag-cold-caller tag-dc-comics tag-hard-case-crime tag-hard-feelings tag-interview-2 tag-jason-starr tag-marvel-comics tag-novel tag-the-next-time-i-die tag-twisted-city"><div class="jeg_thumb"> <a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-jason-starr/"><div class="thumbnail-container animate-lazy size-715 "><img width="156" height="250" src="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/plugins/epic-news-element/assets/img/jeg-empty.png" class="attachment-epic-350x250 size-epic-350x250 lazyload wp-post-image" alt="thenexttimeidie" decoding="async" data-src="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/thenexttimeidie.jpg" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/thenexttimeidie.jpg 800w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/thenexttimeidie-640x1024.jpg 640w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/thenexttimeidie-768x1229.jpg 768w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/thenexttimeidie-610x976.jpg 610w" data-expand="700" /></div></a><div class="jeg_post_category"> <span><a href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/" class="category-featured">Featured</a></span></div></div><div class="jeg_postblock_content"><h3 class="jeg_post_title"> <a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-jason-starr/">ComicBuzz Chats With Jason Starr</a></h3><div class="jeg_post_meta"><div class="jeg_meta_date"><a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-jason-starr/" ><i class="fa fa-clock-o"></i> October 7, 2022</a></div></div></div></article><article class="jeg_post jeg_pl_md_5 post-207835 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-featured category-interview tag-ahoy-comics tag-ben-clarkson tag-comedy tag-dark tag-interview-2 tag-justice-warriors tag-matt-bors tag-schitt tag-swamp-cop tag-the-nib"><div class="jeg_thumb"> <a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-the-justice-warriors-team/"><div class="thumbnail-container animate-lazy size-715 "><img width="164" height="250" src="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/plugins/epic-news-element/assets/img/jeg-empty.png" class="attachment-epic-350x250 size-epic-350x250 lazyload wp-post-image" alt="justicewarriors1a" decoding="async" data-src="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/justicewarriors1a.jpg" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/justicewarriors1a.jpg 800w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/justicewarriors1a-670x1024.jpg 670w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/justicewarriors1a-768x1173.jpg 768w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/justicewarriors1a-610x932.jpg 610w" data-expand="700" /></div></a><div class="jeg_post_category"> <span><a href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/" class="category-featured">Featured</a></span></div></div><div class="jeg_postblock_content"><h3 class="jeg_post_title"> <a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-the-justice-warriors-team/">ComicBuzz Chats With The Justice Warriors Team</a></h3><div class="jeg_post_meta"><div class="jeg_meta_date"><a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-the-justice-warriors-team/" ><i class="fa fa-clock-o"></i> October 7, 2022</a></div></div></div></article><article class="jeg_post jeg_pl_md_5 post-207818 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-featured category-interview tag-gurihiru tag-interview-2 tag-junko-mizuno tag-kickstarter tag-manga tag-osamu-tezuka tag-samuel-sattin tag-tezuka-productions tag-the-cat-and-the-broomstick tag-unico tag-unico-awakening"><div class="jeg_thumb"> <a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-samuel-sattin/"><div class="thumbnail-container animate-lazy size-715 "><img loading="lazy" width="167" height="250" src="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/plugins/epic-news-element/assets/img/jeg-empty.png" class="attachment-epic-350x250 size-epic-350x250 lazyload wp-post-image" alt="unico" decoding="async" data-src="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/unico.jpg" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/unico.jpg 1000w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/unico-683x1024.jpg 683w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/unico-768x1151.jpg 768w, https://comicbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/unico-610x914.jpg 610w" data-expand="700" /></div></a><div class="jeg_post_category"> <span><a href="https://comicbuzz.com/category/featured/" class="category-featured">Featured</a></span></div></div><div class="jeg_postblock_content"><h3 class="jeg_post_title"> <a href="https://comicbuzz.com/comicbuzz-chats-with-samuel-sattin/">ComicBuzz Chats With Samuel Sattin</a></h3><div class="jeg_post_meta"><div class="jeg_meta_date"><a 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14:51:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-28 13:51:45","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of his latest novel,<em> The Next Time I Die<\/em>, released today from Hard Case Crime. We are delighted to be joined by author Jason Starr. Jason has written many novels, including Twisted City, Hard Feelings and Cold Caller. Jason has also written numerous comics for different publishers, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics and AWA Studios.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Jason, thank you for being here with us. We are so excited to be able to chat with you today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019m a novelist and comics writer from New York City. I\u2019ve written comics for Marvel, the best known is probably the Wolverine Max series. I\u2019ve also written for DC, Boom, AWA and others. My latest AWA creator-owned graphic novels are <em>Red Border <\/em>and <em>Casual Fling<\/em>. My new novel\u2014and my first ever sci-fi novel is <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em>, out on June 28th from Hard Case Crime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">While I\u2019ve done some sci-fi in my comics and the novels I wrote based on the TV shows, most of my original novels have been crime novels and psychological thrillers. So I wanted to write a sci-fi\/crime novel. One of my favorite sci-fi novelists is Philip K. Dick. While his books have complex themes, they\u2019re also grounded and accessible. That\u2019s the vibe I was going for with <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe<em> The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A defense attorney, Steven Blitz, tries to break up an assault on a woman, and winds up getting stabbed in the gut. He should\u2019ve died, but instead he ends up in a new reality, somewhere between Philip K. Dick and <em>The Twilight Zone<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Steven Blitz?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we meet Steven he\u2019s very driven in his career as a lawyer and he\u2019s working on the case of a lifetime, about to begin a high profile murder trial. He believes he\u2019s a good guy stuck in a bad situation. I think at his core he\u2019s an optimis. He looks at the positive side of situations, perhaps to a fault. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You have written numerous comics; what is it about the comic book medium that you enjoy?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The collaboration. When I started writing, I wrote plays mainly and actually have an MFA degree in playwriting. Comics remind me a lot of theater\u2014multiple working together, trying to create something great. I love writing novels, but it\u2019s nice to mix things up. I love working with artists and comics editors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207885\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/thenexttimeidiech1_1.jpg\" alt=\"thenexttimeidiech1_1\" width=\"604\" height=\"904\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did Hard Case Crime get involved with <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hard Case Crime has published some of my previous novels\u2014several that I co-wrote with Irish crime writer, Ken Bruen, and <em>my crime novel<\/em>, <em>Fake I.D. <\/em> Because <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em> has a sci-fi twist, it\u2019s different from the sort of crime fiction they usually publish, although Hard Case has occasionally published fantasy and sci-fi, in books by Ray Bradbury, Michael Crichton and Stephen King. I think this novel could\u2019ve been published by a crime publisher like Hard Case, or a sci-fi publisher, but I\u2019m really happy to be doing it with Hard Case. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How long have you been working on <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I began writing it in late 2019 and 2020. The action of the book starts in late February 2020, a date that was in the future while I was writing the book. When late February arrived the pandemic began, so this \u201cstart date\u201d took on a much greater importance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Was it a challenge to write <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em> compared to the other novels that you have written?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes, definitely. The plot may seem very tight, but it took me several drafts to get there. There is a lot of world building in this book, which is different from most of my previous books. There was a lot of pacing around my apartment and scribbling plot notes in the middle of the night.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Has <em>The Next Time I Die <\/em>changed in any significant way since the first draft? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes, I made some pretty significant changes from draft to draft. Even small changes affected what came later on. There was a lot to keep track of.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207884\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/thenexttimeidie-640x1024.jpg\" alt=\"thenexttimeidie\" width=\"640\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with Charles Ardai and the rest of the team at Hard Case Crime?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s always great working with Charles and Titan Books. I\u2019ve known Charles for a long time, since around the time Hard Case Crime was formed. He\u2019s a great editor and, maybe because we\u2019ve known each other so long, editing is always a seamless process with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What comics are you currently reading?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I usually have at least a few going at a time. <em>Hotell <\/em>by John Lees, <em>Killadelphia<\/em> by Rodney Barnes, the <em>Reckless <\/em>books by Ed Brubaker.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I love to hear from readers, let me know what you think of <em>The Next Time I Die<\/em>. You can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram: @JasonStarrBooks and at <a href=\"http:\/\/jasonstarr.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">jasonstarr.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say a big thank you to Jason for chatting with us. We wish him the best of luck with<em> The Next Time I Die<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Jason Starr","post_excerpt":"The Next Time I Die","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-jason-starr","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 16:58:47","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 15:58:47","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207882","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207835,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-06 14:54:35","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-06 13:54:35","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> <em>#1<\/em> this week, we are delighted to be joined by the co-writers and artists Ben Clarkson and Matt Bors. Matt is the founder of<em> The Nib<\/em>, and Ben is an illustrator and filmmaker.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hi Ben and Matt, it's so wonderful to have you both here with us today.<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Could you please introduce yourselves to our readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: Hi, I am Ben Clarkson. I am a cartoonist and animator based out of Montreal.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: I mostly run The Nib, a comics publication for political and nonfiction cartooning. I\u2019m recently \u201cretired\u201d from almost two decades of political cartooning, and moving into writing and drawing comics like<em> Justice Warriors<\/em>.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207838\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1_1-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1_1\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: I have this concept that you can only have three creative ideas at a time, and to free up a slot you have to make one of your ideas. <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> has been taking up one of those creative slots in my brain for nearly a decade. It just kept getting bigger and bigger until I finally broke down, had an existential crisis and set about doing whatever was necessary to make it a reality. I loved Matt\u2019s work and I harassed him online until he joined me.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: Ben was developing this for many years and it evolved into the dystopian cop satire you see today. He approached me in the summer of 2020 to write and produce for it as an animated show and we immediately hit it off. I was looking to create some comics outside of editorial cartooning and <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> was the perfect kind of genre work I\u2019d love to see more of in the world. So we settled on approaching it as a comic book first, which seemed easier to accomplish, and here we are.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ben, yourself and Matt are co-writers on <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>; how does that dynamic work?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: Super well. Matt and I work together easily. It\u2019s pretty frictionless building stories. We are both focussed on different aspects of the story at different times, and we\u2019ll talk out any disagreements. If things ever get bad, they haven\u2019t, we\u2019ve agreed to let our editor Tom Peyer referee the boxing match.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s a breeze working with Matt and it leaves us a lot of bandwidth to go back and forth twelve times over the word \u201cslup\u201d or when to use \u201cvibe\u201d.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207839\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1b-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1b\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matt, yourself and Ben are involved in the art process on Justice Warriors; can you tell us more about that?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: It\u2019s been a really deeply collaborative effort where we both threw in on layouts and colors for the 8 page pitch we sent to publishers. Luckily we added Felipe Sobreiro to colors for the series\u2014he\u2019s really brought the world alive in a spectacular way\u2014and I\u2019m on lettering with a font I\u2019ve developed as a bit of a throwback to 90s action comics.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ben\u2019s the artist but since we\u2019re co-writing and throwing so many ideas around it\u2019s comfortable enough that I might draw edits on sketches and we\u2019ll work together on larger elements of the series. For instance, the design of the Bubble City Police Station took a while, with both of us sending each other sketches and trying to get something that looks iconic, can appear in this series forever, and had some deeper architectural themes that spoke to the world we\u2019re building.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How would you describe <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: <em>Ghost in the Shell<\/em> meets <em>the Simpsons <\/em>meets<em> the Wire<\/em>. It\u2019s a zany, gritty, sociological farce with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: <em>Starship Troopers <\/em>meets <em>Judge Dredd<\/em> meets <em>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em>. It\u2019s a wild, violent, satire with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207840\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1_2-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1_2\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matt, what can you tell us about Swamp Cop and Schitt?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: After losing his partner to a self-driving bus, Swamp Cop becomes a veteran of the force and increasingly psychologically disturbed over the course of the series. This mutant is not well, but his hallucinations seem to give him an insight into larger events unfolding in the world. Schitt on the other hand is the more naive rookie, a literal poop mutant from the sanitation sector, and a young family man. He\u2019s also a coward and morally unhinged in his own way. He\u2019s a cop after all. We put them both through the ringer as they encounter increasingly bizarre forms of crime and societal upheaval.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ben, how did Felipe Sobreiro join the team?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: We traded his CIA handler a kilo for him. He\u2019s ours now.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In all seriousness he was on a list for consideration. When I realized he colored <em>Silver Surfer Black<\/em> I insisted on working with him. <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> is, in my mind, a work of psychedelic art, and I needed his chops and color sense on our book.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207841\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1c-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1c\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Was<em> Justice Warriors<\/em> conceived as a comic book?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: This my first comic. I originally envisioned <em>Justice Warriors<\/em> as an animated series because I made animation. Matt and I realized that to ever get this crazy thing made into a TV show or a mega budget blockbuster we needed to show people how incredible the world was, and how it could capture the imagination. We needed to tell stories in Bubble City, and quickly. Comics were the perfect medium since Matt knew everything about them and they were something we could execute with our manpower.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: Ideally, <em>Justice Warriors <\/em>becomes a recurring comic series and animated series. That\u2019s the goal and we have enough story ideas already to last years.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Matt, how important is pre-ordering for an independent comic?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: I\u2019m new to direct market books, so I\u2019m no expert here but it seems important with creator-owned books to signal support to retailers, just like pre-ordering books helps give online and brick-and-mortar outlets signals as to what people are ordering and how books might fare on the shelves. For the avoidance of doubt, call your comic shop and demand Justice Warriors!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Ben, how did you pick the artists for the alternative covers for the series?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: I decided Matt could draw a bunch of covers, as a treat. Ben Passmore\u2019s work is fabulous and so he was high on the list and a clear ask.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207842\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/justicewarriors1_3-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"justicewarriors1_3\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How did AHOY Comics get involved with <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>, and what made them the right publisher for <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: We kidnapped Captain Ginger and sent severed whiskers to Hart Seely until we had our deal.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: Tom Peyer, Ahoy\u2019s Editor in Chief, is a Pisces. They are known as the most sympathetic of the zodiac signs and they will go to great lengths to ensure the happiness of those around them. So naturally we leaned on him during negotiations.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">MATT: This is the launch of a new creator-owned series that can go really far if we get reader support.<em> Justice Warriors <\/em>is a world where we intend to keep telling weird stories about social media, elections, gentri\ufb01cation, sports, drugs, and the mysterious terrorists of Starfish City.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">BEN: The series gets wild. People are crushed by money fresh from the printers. Ants get independent thoughts. The police chief cuts someone apart with a judo chop. It\u2019s a wild wild book.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A big thank you to Ben and Matt for chatting with us; we wish them and the rest of the team, the best of luck with <em>Justice Warriors<\/em>.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Justice Warriors Team","post_excerpt":"Ben Clarkson and Matt Bors","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-justice-warriors-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 20:37:54","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 19:37:54","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207835","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207818,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-01 14:41:05","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-01 13:41:05","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for Unico: Awakening, we are delighted to be joined today; by writer Samuel Sattin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Samuel, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thank you for having me! <\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019m Samuel Sattin, a writer who lives in Oakland, California. I talk to my cats a lot, but when I\u2019m not doing that, I\u2019m typically working on some kind of book-related project. I adapted the Cartoon Saloon film, WolfWalkers, to graphic novel format, and I\u2019ll be adapting their other two films, Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells, as well. I\u2019m also the writer behind UNICO: AWAKENING, a Kickstarter campaign that\u2019s live for just a couple more days. There\u2019s more, but I think that covers most things happening right now. I also like to make dioramas. I\u2019ve taken a hiatus for a few months since I\u2019ve been a bit too busy to work on them, but hopefully I can resume later this year. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207823\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoakirahimekawa.jpg\" alt=\"unicoakirahimekawa\" width=\"680\" height=\"998\"><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone unfamiliar with Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico, how would you describe Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unico has the natural ability to spread unrivaled love and kindness. The more he is cared for, the greater his powers grow, imbuing him with incredible magical abilities. Because of this, he draws the ire of the gods, in particular the goddess of love and beauty herself, Venus. Out of jealousy, she has him banished from the heavens, and dragged through space and time until he forgets everything he once was. The servitor tasked to do this, the West Wind, takes pity on Unico, thus saving him from being completely destroyed. To keep him safe, she brings him from place to place across time, erasing his memory whenever he grows too powerful, to keep him from being discovered by the gods. It\u2019s a tragic, beautiful story about a character whose kindness is rewarded with a curse. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207822\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbyjunkomizuno.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbyjunkomizuno\" width=\"680\" height=\"913\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When did you first discover Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I saw the films when I was a kid, and like most, was traumatized accordingly as a result. I didn\u2019t encounter the manga itself until I was an adult. I visited the Osamu Tezuka Museum in Takarazuka in 2017, and became fascinated with the character, whose presence was far more diffuse in Japan than in the US. I read and re-read the English translation that had been put out, and was hooked. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207824\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicotarotcard.jpg\" alt=\"unicotarotcard\" width=\"680\" height=\"952\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unico: Awakening will be available in English and Japanese. Was making <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em> available to a large readership an important factor of this project?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes, and it was one of the main reasons why we approached the project through crowdfunding, but not just because we wanted to grow the size of the readership. We wanted Unico: Awakening to become a celebration of both the character and Osamu Tezuka\u2019s work, and it was also very important to us that we made sure both the book and project overall would be accessible to a Japanese audience, as opposed to just a Western one. Osamu Tezuka himself believed that comics were a kind of international language, and I think the best thing we can do to recognize the brilliance of that idea is to try and follow in his footsteps. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207821\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoart.jpg\" alt=\"unicoart\" width=\"1000\" height=\"707\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are collaborating with the Gurihiru artist team; what makes them the right team for <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For me, the question would have to be \u201cwhat doesn\u2019t make them right?\u201d I say this because they are truly the perfect artist team and creative partner for this project. Not only are they fantastically talented, but they are able to blend Japanese and Western comics art styles in an incredibly novel fashion. They\u2019re incredible visual storytellers, and they have a distinct vision for Unico: Awakening that I simply know readers will be delighted by. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207825\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbykamomeshirahama.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbykamomeshirahama\" width=\"636\" height=\"893\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are reinventing Unico, a character created by Osamu Tezuka; does that add more pressure on you as a writer?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Absolutely! Though as I have mentioned to others who have asked, I think the pressure is more self-enforced, rather than something that\u2019s been put upon me by others. Tezuka Productions has been wonderful to work with, and have been incredibly encouraging and supportive of the ideas I\u2019ve brought forward. I was able to meet with members of the team in Tokyo recently, and was really thrilled to hear that, for them, doing a project like this was about taking the core ideas of the God of Manga, and building them out in new ways, for new generations to enjoy. Hearing this honestly made me emotional. I will do my very best to realize such a vision. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207826\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintpeach1.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintpeach1\" width=\"680\" height=\"1011\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As you are crowdfunding Unico: Awakening and dealing directly with consumers, does that make <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em> more special for you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Doing this project through crowdfunding has been wonderful because you do indeed get to interact directly with a wider community. It\u2019s also wonderful because we get the opportunity to fold in an array of incredible rewards, like 16 x 24 inch prints from renowned international artists, and print items called Artifacts from talented American cartoonists. This turns the process of creating Unico: Awakening into a kind of celebration, which is exactly what we hoped it would become. I personally love seeing how everyone has reacted to this in real time. It feels like we\u2019ve found and\/or are building a community around this project, which is a special thing to behold. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207827\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbytommmoore.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbytommmoore\" width=\"680\" height=\"907\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with Tezuka Productions?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I touched on this a bit earlier, but it\u2019s been a really wonderful experience. They\u2019ve provided us a lot of room to express our own ideas, and have been great partners in bringing the campaign to life. Also, we\u2019ve had the luck of working with Aki Yanagi, a comics professional who represents a good few Japanese artists working in American comics. He helped facilitate a great deal of this as well, and I\u2019m grateful to him. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207828\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbytokitotokoro.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbytokitotokoro\" width=\"680\" height=\"982\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Unico: Awakening draws from a story in the original manga called The Cat and the Broomstick. Without getting into too many details, The Cat and the Broomstick is about a young, abandoned cat that wants to become a human being. Unico grants her the (limited) ability to do so, and this leads to her catching the eye of a sadistic hunter with supernatural powers. It\u2019s a story about identity, and the consequences of disrespecting nature. Unico: Awakening takes this story and builds upon it, creating larger roles for characters than they had originally, and providing a larger backdrop plot that expands upon the Unico universe. This is why we call it a reimagining, as opposed to an adaptation. Our hope is to bring the story of Unico to a new generation of readers. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207829\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicoprintbykatielongua.jpg\" alt=\"unicoprintbykatielongua\" width=\"680\" height=\"1015\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Oh my, I can\u2019t say that I do! But only because I truly have love for all of the rewards across the spectrum. Thankfully, we do offer a tier where you can receive everything, which includes 10 incredible prints, 5 Artifacts, the book, and t-shirt from Junko Mizuno. That\u2019s the one I would choose. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207830\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/unicovertical.jpg\" alt=\"unicovertical\" width=\"680\" height=\"962\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Firstly, thank you so much for reading. It means a lot to me. And secondly, please support Unico: Awakening! There are so many wonderful rewards to nab that are exclusive to the Kickstarter, and near-every additional dollar goes to paying the artists, translators, and others who made this project remotely possible. Thank you again for your time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Samuel for talking to us about his manga. We would like to wish the whole team of <em>Unico: Awakening<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/1803389958\/unico-awakening-manga-by-gurihiru-and-samuel-sattin?ref=8hkuaq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Unico: Awakening<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Samuel Sattin","post_excerpt":"Unico: Awakening","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-samuel-sattin","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 20:41:32","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 19:41:32","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207818","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207757,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-29 15:24:07","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-29 14:24:07","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With <em>Professor\u00a0Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>\u00a0releasing on May 11th. We are delighted to be joined by the multi-talented Phil Mucci.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Hi Phil, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As some of our readers may not be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Phil Mucci: filmmaker, graphic novelist, and creative gypsy. I\u2019ve been making art and writing since I was a kid. I had the dubious honor of being the only artist in my high school to have their art stolen from local shows\u2014three times! I studied writing and photo illustration in college, then hustled as a photo-assistant in NYC before striking out on my own. It was the early days of Photoshop, so a lot of my work was special effects heavy, comic book, sci-fi and animation inspired stuff. I did lots of advertising and music photography for magazines and record labels \u2014Ludacris <em>Chicken and Beer<\/em> is probably my most famous album cover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">From photography I moved into writing and directing short films and music videos for bands like Metallica, Monster Magnet, Disturbed, Opeth, High on Fire, etc. A lot of heavy metal since my sensibilities are steeped in horror and sci-fi stuff. The character, Professor Dario Bava, originally appeared in a music video for the band Huntress called \u201cSorrow\u201d. We loved Ian Mackay\u2019s performance so much, we knew we had to do more with that character, which is how the animated teaser and the first graphic novel, <em>Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em> came about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207759\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_1-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_1\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although Professor Dario Bava (PDB) made his first appearance in Huntress \u201cSorrow and the ideas for Orgy Of The Blood Freaks had been kicking around for years. The same for Gringo Loco, which started out as a western, then became a sci-fi story, then back to a western! I tend to let ideas ferment for a while in the back of my mind. They usually take off when a missing piece of the puzzle falls into place, or I start writing them to see what I can find.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Orgy Of The Blood Freaks<\/em> originally came from my love for the sexy European horror flicks of the \u201970s, and their comic book equivalents in the Warren comics of the same period\u2014<em>Eerie<\/em>, <em>Creepy<\/em>, <em>Vampirella<\/em>, etc.<em> Gringo Loco<\/em> came from my love for the dark and violent Italian spaghetti westerns of the \u201960s and \u201970s, and the desire to take those types of stories into new <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">horror realms. I\u2019ve always wanted to create my own monster along the lines of Frankenstein\u2019s or more modern equivalents like <em>RoboCop<\/em> or <em>Tetsuo<\/em>, so <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> became that for me.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em> is going to be published by Diabolik; what can you tell us about Diabolik?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Diabolik is a company we originally started to handle our film and video productions, and we just started branching out from there. Now we\u2019re doing graphic novels, coloring books, apparel, collectibles, all kinds of sick stuff! It\u2019s basically just 3 of us, me, Ian Mackay (PDB in \u201cSorrow\u201d), and Dan Simpson, plus a team of incredible artists we work with to help make everything happen. We all share a love for crazy genre storytelling, so it\u2019s been exciting to work together and see what we can come up with. Being a part of Diabolik gives me a huge variety of creative outlets\u2014writing and coloring graphic novels one day, shooting a video the next, designing apparel, then switching back to a screenplay\u2014it\u2019s an incredible luxury for someone as restless as myself, so I feel really fortunate that Diabolik has my back!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207760\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_2-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_2\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How would you describe <em>Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For me, this book is like a drive-in double feature. Not many drive-ins left, I know, but when I was a kid we used to sneak through the graveyard, down the train tracks, and through a broken chain link fence into the old drive-in that played horror movies from dusk till dawn. This Diabolik Double Feature represents exactly the kind of flicks we\u2019d risk zombie mutilation and locomotive obliteration to see.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We\u2019d already released a <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> graphic novel, <em>Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em>, so the thought was we\u2019d introduce <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> in the same volume\u2014like the second feature on a double bill. It made sense too, since a movie poster for <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> actually appeared in<em> Murder Vibes<\/em>\u2014like I said, these ideas have been fermenting for years!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207761\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/pdb_orgy_3-782x1024.jpg\" alt=\"pdb_orgy_3\" width=\"782\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Who is Professor Dario Bava?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Professor Dario Bava is an ex-Vatican exorcist, who tuned in, turned on, and dropped out to fight monsters with Future Chick, time-traveling super hippie from a heavy tomorrow, and Major Bitch, far out freedom fighter and yeti-slayer, in swinging Rome, 1967. Cocky but lovable, he now refers to himself as a \u201cparanormal playboy\u201d, devoted as much to free love as he is to fighting the evils of The Man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Extremely. You need to constantly promote to new people, but word of mouth\u2014especially from trusted sources\u2014is what gets people to take a chance on something new.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207762\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What can you tell us about <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Gringo Loco<\/em> is darker in tone; at its core is the mystery of who or what he is. We meet him after he\u2019s been sentenced to \u201chang until dead\u201d, which as the sheriff informs a gang of bounty hunters, \u201cis taking a speck longer than usual.\u201d He appears to be stitched together from the pieces of many men, but he is not a man. He\u2019s a hideous freak, a monster, an outcast forever hunted by the ghosts of his past crimes\u2014and he\u2019s our hero!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can\u2019t say too much more without ruining it, but it\u2019s a gritty and violent western that should appeal to horror fans as much as spaghetti western fans; and as a writer, it\u2019s probably one of the most interesting and personal stories I\u2019ve done.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You are not only the writer but the colourist and the letterer; how long have you been working on this comic?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">All together it took about 15 months (on and off) to finish 62 pages of the story and the rest of the 80 page double issue. <em>Orgy of the Blood Freaks<\/em> was finished first, so our backers got the digital version back in October 2021, right in time for Halloween. <em>Gringo Loco<\/em> was finished at the end of February this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Did you always want to do a double feature flip for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well I always love books that encourage you to engage with them in a physical way\u2014<em>Murder Vibes<\/em> featured a foldout back cover and book flaps, and the <em>PDB Occult Activity Book (and Spirit Board!)<\/em> had all kinds of interactive pages and instructions on how to destroy the book to use the Spirit Board. We all read so much digitally now that we\u2019ve forgotten a lot of the simple joys of physical media, so as much as possible, we try to bring that back. In this case, the flip book just seemed the perfect way to give readers two different stories, with two different covers, in one convenient volume loaded with extras. It\u2019s also just way more fun that way!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207763\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_1-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_1\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Artists Mike Dubisch and Vicente Alc\u00e1zar are part of the team; what made them the right artists for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Mike and I have worked together on the two previous <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> books, so he\u2019s as much a part of that world as I am as the writer and colorist. It\u2019s a challenging project for an artist: massive scope, a bunch of recurring characters, and just about every type of monster you can imagine\u2014that\u2019s why Mike\u2019s style is so perfect for it. He works traditionally, with pencils and inks (no digital) which gives that tactile, retro aesthetic for PDB, while also making it seem like all these wildly different elements actually BELONG together in this world. We work back and forth on very detailed layouts, thumbnails, and references before he starts, but it never ceases to amaze me how seamlessly it all comes together in the end. It\u2019s impossible for me to imagine PDB without seeing Mike\u2019s art in my mind.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vicente Alc\u00e1zar was a huge coup for us! We knew his work from all those \u201970s and \u201980s Warren comics, plus <em>Jonah Hex<\/em>, <em>Conan<\/em>, <em>Heavy Metal<\/em>\u2014too many titles to mention. Old pros like that are hard to come by these days, so when Dan discovered he was still working and interested, we leapt at the chance. Once he read the script and the backstory, he was very excited and complimentary (swoon), and started work instantly\u2014before I could even get him any thumbnails or layouts! Once we locked in the \u201clook\u201d of Gringo Loco, Nightshade Mary, and a few other characters, he just took off at full speed. It was incredible to watch the pages come in, following the script but bringing his seasoned artistic instincts to every aspect of the story. We were all blown away. <em>Professor Dario Bava<\/em> is a more complex world to envision, but with <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>, Vicente seemed to know what was around every corner like he\u2019d been there before. It\u2019s an honor to be working with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207764\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_2-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_2\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>We have to talk about the covers by Emanuele Taglietti and Dave Kendall; can you tell us all about them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Emanuele Taglietti is another legend Dan contacted for us back before we even started on <em>Murder Vibes<\/em> <em>From The Monster Dimension<\/em>. Fans of the sexy Italian horror comics (\u201cfumettis\u201d) know his famous covers \u2014 and new fans are piling on every day thanks to the release of <em>Sex and Horror: The Art Of Emanuele Taglietti<\/em>, a gorgeous collection of his work, which sold out immediately and is now in its second printing. Based on the story, origins, and setting of PDB, there\u2019s no better artist to bring it to life. He\u2019s been doing it for decades! And as a former set designer for Fellini, he has a real appreciation for the cinema craft that informs a lot of the Professor\u2019s world. On top of all that - he\u2019s a tremendously kind and generous guy - and his partner Katia shoots excellent behind the scenes videos of his process for us as well!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Dave Kendall was someone Dan had his eye on for a while, though he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be right for <em>Gringo Loco<\/em>. We discussed other artists who worked more in the western genre, but I was convinced Dave could really bring out the \u201chorror\u201d aspect of the story. He has a really unique, nightmarish vision that almost evokes a physical reaction of creepiness and disgust \u2014 which I loved for this cover!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207765\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/gringo_loco_3-786x1024.jpg\" alt=\"gringo_loco_3\" width=\"786\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can our readers get a copy of Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019ll be in a few select shops around the US on May 11th, but you can order it directly from us at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.professordariobava.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">www.ProfessorDarioBava.com<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> to get the full Diabolik packaging effect!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks to all of you who\u2019ve supported us in the past\u2014we can\u2019t do any of this without you! And if you\u2019re new to our Diabolik deeds, do not be afraid: we\u2019re weird monster-loving freaks just like you!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Phil for chatting with us. We wish him and his team all the best for his new comic.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Phil Mucci","post_excerpt":"Professor\u00a0Dario Bava","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-phil-mucci","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:07:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:07:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207757","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207738,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-22 15:04:49","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-22 14:04:49","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of his new graphic novel,<em>\u00a0Retroactive\u00a0<\/em>next week on April 26th from Humanoids. We are delighted to be joined by Eisner nominated artist and writer Ibrahim Moustafa. He is best know for his work on\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0<em>James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's been really wonderful. People have been incredibly supportive of the book, and I'm so grateful for it. It was added to the Young Adult Library Services Association 2022 list of Great Graphic Novels For Teens, and as of yesterday we were nominated for an Ignyte Award from Fiyah Literary Magazine, which highlights the work of marginalized creators. And hopefully more folks will be discovering it with the release of RetroActive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207742\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive28-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive28\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How would you describe the\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In short it's \u201cJames Bond x Groundhog Day\u201d. RetroActive is a time travel story with lots of heart and relatable human experiences to ground the more fantastical elements. With this book I set out to not only do a story in a genre that is fairly unique to comics, but I really tried to take full advantage of what the medium can do to tell a story like this. And just like the circular nature of time travel and time loops, my hope is that those elements will give people a lot of reasons to go back and experience the book over again.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">He's an idealist when we first meet him, and over time we see how the job of being a time-traveling spy affects him and his view of things. All the while, he's trying to care for him mother with dementia by himself. So, he has this real dilemma of being \u201con-call\u201d in both his job and his personal life, and there are really high stakes for both.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207743\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive29-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive29\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Brad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0<em>Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Just an absolute pleasure. Brad and Hass are two of the very best in the business, and to get to collaborate with them again is the best. I hope to keep them as a forever-team if they'll have me. We have a really great, intuitive flow when working together.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It's essentially the CIA of time travel in the world of the book. They are one of five agencies in the world that act as an intelligence and counter-intelligence outfit, running operations throughout the past to avert terror attacks and thwart attempts from hostile nations to change the US's past for their own benefit.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207744\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive30-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive30\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I did. I love a good WWII era story, and there's a lot of aesthetics to appreciate about midcentury America, so it was really fun to get to put those into the book.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Who is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lucia is a new trainee at the BTA, and sort of our eyes and ears as we learn the ins-and-outs of time travel from Tarik, who is giving her an orientation briefing. She's very dedicated to being a good agent, and as Tarik starts slipping, she has to call him out on his shortcomings.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When you started to work on<em>\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Not initially. First came the pitch document with the broad strokes, then I had to tighten that up into an outline and really make sure the time travel stuff was as airtight as time travel can be. Then came the full script.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207745\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive31-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive31\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The best. Rob is the best editor I've ever worked with. He's always on top of things, he replies quickly to emails, and he really keeps the trains rolling on time. And he's a great person to boot.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As\u00a0<em>Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overall not too bad. There were a lot of threads to keep track of, but I didn't want to overstuff the plot because the story itself is the important part. So I set rules for it early on and stuck with them and it was pretty smooth sailing.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207746\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/retroactive32-688x1024.jpg\" alt=\"retroactive32\" width=\"688\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Has it been a challenge working on\u00a0<em>Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">A little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">RetroActive is a story that is all about the cyclical, repetitious nature of time, and as such, it's made in a way that multiple readings will reward folks with stuff they may have missed the first time. I hope they enjoy it!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, <em>Retroactive<\/em> releasing on April 26th from Humanoids.<\/span>","post_title":"Talking With Ibrahim Moustafa","post_excerpt":"Retroactive\u00a0","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"talking-with-ibrahim-moustafa","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:09:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:09:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207738","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207719,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-13 13:58:41","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-13 12:58:41","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for\u00a0<em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>,\u00a0we are delighted to be joined today by\u00a0storyboard artist Richard Bennett.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Richard, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">My name is Richard Bennett, I\u2019m a storyboard artist working in the film industry since 2003. Prior to that I worked in the\u00a0Comic Book industry between 1990 and 2000.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I started working at Neal Adams\u2019 Continuity, with \u2018CyberRad,\u2019 I was doing pencils & inks over Neal\u2019s layouts on that title.\u00a0Then I worked at Marvel on several X-Men books; Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force and a special project the \u2018X-Men Survival Guide to the Mansion.\u2019 Following that, I got called by Jim Lee at Wildstorm\/Image, and there I co-created the character \u2018Brass\u2019, for which I wrote, and did all the artwork on the mini-series. Besides that I worked there on the \u2019Wildcats,\u2019 \u2018Stormwatch,\u2019 \u2018Divine Right.\u2019 Also did a special, \u2018Gen 13: Wired\u2019 with Mike Heisler, which I\u2019m particularly proud of.\u00a0 During those years I also worked a bit with Marc Silvestri\u2019s Top Cow, on \u2018The Darkness,\u2019 \u2018Tales of the Witchblade.\u2019 I\u2019d say, though, the top project during that decade was the original \u201cBrass\u201d mini series.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you tell us about the origins of<em>\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>\u00a0book?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I\u2019ve approached Clover Press with the idea of publishing a book with my storyboard work. At that time I had other\u00a0movies in mind since I already had the authorization to use the material done for those.\u00a0Ted and Robbie at Clover loved the coffee book compilation idea; however, they came back with the suggestion to use the work from the\u00a0three Legendary Monsterverse films exclusively on one volume. I thought the concept was brilliant, so we started working on that. Hank Kanalz from Clover was amazing working\u00a0with Legendary and Toho in order to get the greenlight to publish the boards.\u00a0So, here we are!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207723\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong1-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It depends greatly on the type of project. High budget blockbusters like these three involved many months of drawing during\u00a0pre-production, and even after principal photography, when called back to draw for re-shoots.\u00a0On smaller projects, either lower budget or independent films, then yes, the average is less time. Either a couple of months or even\u00a0a few weeks.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite scene from\u00a0Godzilla vs. Kong?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For sure, I\u2019d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong\u2019s lead. Very trippy scene.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Of course, it\u2019s far more personal in a way. So I appreciate immensely every one single pledger wanting to get the book.\u00a0It feels similar to the interaction we had with fans at the artist alley\u2019s booths during comic book conventions. I\u2019ve been thoroughly going through the material, adjusting things to make sure the fans get the best possible presentation on the volume.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207724\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/godzillakong2-1024x386.jpg\" alt=\"godzillakong2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"386\" \/>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Probably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I hope they will get the book and enjoy it as much as I did while working on the films. I invested myself in those movies\u2019 work in a big way both emotionally and work wise, and it\u2019s my goal they\u2019ll be able to perceive that through the printed storyboard sequences in this beautiful volume! So, I\u2019d like to send a big Thank You to all of them!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Richard for talking to us about his new book. We would like to wish Richard the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/cloverpress\/godzilla-and-kong-storyboard-artbook?ref=894mol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em> on Kickstarter<\/a>.\n<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Richard Bennett","post_excerpt":"Godzilla & Kong","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-richard-bennett","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:12:23","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:12:23","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207719","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207691,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-04 13:56:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-04 12:56:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of\u00a0<em>Nottingham #6<\/em> this week from Mad Cave Studios, we are delighted to be joined by writer David Hazan, artist Shane Connery Volk, and colourist Luca Romano.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hello David, Shane and Luca, we are so delighted to have you all here with us today. It's great that we chat with you all about your comic\u00a0Nottingham.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207696\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Robin Hood legend has been used in a variety of different media over the years. Do you have a favourite from these versions?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: My favourite would have to be the BBC TV version. It's fun and campy in all the right ways, but doesn't forget to tell an intriguing story and it gives the characters in the legend a lot of layers and nuance.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: SCV- The Disney animated version is my favourite! I watched it so much as a kid and it\u2019s still so good!<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Hard to pick between the classic Disney and Mel brook's version! Nostalgia wise I'll have to go with the latter because back in my teens I could quote all the Italian dub by heart. Now that I think about it, I should check out the original! Maybe the 6th, to celebrate the release day?<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207697\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone who has missed the first few issues of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>, what can you tell us about the series so far?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our series takes the Robin Hood mythos and turns it on his head. We follow the Sheriff of Nottingham as he hunts down a serial killer who has been murdering Nottinghamshire's tax collectors. Power plays, treachery, blood and anguish follow until finally the identity of the leader of the brutal Merry Men, previously only known as \"Hood\", is revealed. The usual suspects, like Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, Little John, Will Scarlet and Alan a Dale are all there...but they're not quite as you remember them.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: Get ready for big action, and unexpected twists! <\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207698\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham6_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham6_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, as a writer, what is it about the Robin Hood legend that makes you want to write about these characters in this world?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The characters are so flexible and dynamic, and are really very fun to write. They fit into a noir so easily, really. Beyond that, the mythos itself has a universality that's stood the test of time. The jolly green hero has been adapted more times than I can count and it's been an honour to count myself as one of those that people have so wholeheartedly embraced.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, artistically has it been a challenge to illustrate\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Absolutely! This series is everything I\u2019ve wanted as a new comic book artist. It never gives me time to coast. David\u2019s story is always challenging me and stretching me to my limits. The whole team has also allowed me to go places and try new things with my art which is so amazing. Nothing about this series is ever playing it safe and I absolutely love it!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207700\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_1-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_1\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, what has it been like working on the series so far, and how long does it take you to complete an issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Truly a treat! David and Shane are both a pleasure and honor to work with: I've always been very outspoken in my appreciation for their skills because they damn deserve it. Also, I've been given full reign on the color choices since day 1, so I've been able to pour my heart into these pages with unbridled joy. Bless Brian and Mad Cave for this trust, that I hope was rewarded by the final outcome. As for how long an issue takes: about a month. I'm not a fast painter to start with, and when you add to that the amount of detail on the pages and the rendering style it quickly escalates.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">David, what had the feedback been like for\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic, which is beyond our wildest expectations for a first book. After selling out so many printings and having people fighting to get hold of our books...I'm really hoping we can really live up to the hype and give the people a satisfying second arc that they will be equally as excited for.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207701\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_2-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_2\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane, as <em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is an indie comic, how important is pre-ordering and word of mouth for any indie comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">It\u2019s incredibly important. Not only to ensure that we get enough orders to keep making issues, but in the case of Nottingham, it\u2019s been selling out so fast that you need to pre-order to make sure you don\u2019t miss out! We have been so fortunate with the response to the series and can\u2019t thank our fans enough!!\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca, do you have a favourite\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0cover; that you worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I kinda want to cheat the question and pick all volume 2 covers as they form a veritable tapestry from #6 to #10. Shane really knocked it off the park with that idea, that's absolutely going to be displayed in my studio as a single 133x40cm pvc panel. It's glorious. If we're going for single issues: #1 original is too iconic to pass, with\u00a0#4 variant with our mean boy Little John being a close second!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207702\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7_3-791x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7_3\" width=\"791\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Issue six of\u00a0<em>Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is coming out on April 6th; what can you tell us about the issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: Our second arc finds our\u00a0Sheriff once again mired in between the clashing political forces of 12th Century England. King Richard has been kidnapped and the Sheriff has been strongarmed into delivering the ransom to Rome, on pain of death. Prince John and King Phillip of France will stop at nothing to undermine the mission, so the Sheriff must join forces with the one man he knows will ensure the Lionheart's safety at any cost...Robin Hood. Meanwhile, at home in Nottingham, Marian seizes an opportunity while the Sheriff is away...<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Shane: We\u2019ve given Vol. 2 everything we\u2019ve got!<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207694\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nottingham7-670x1024.jpg\" alt=\"nottingham7\" width=\"670\" height=\"1024\" \/>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">David: To those of you who have picked up Nottingham - thank you from the bottom of our hearts. To those who are thinking of it, preorder now! We don't want you to miss out and that seemed to be the theme of last year.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Luca: Bring a raincoat, and don't step on the pools of blood.\u00a0<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to David, Shane and Luca for sitting and chatting with us.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Nottingham Team","post_excerpt":"David Hazan, Shane Connery Volk and Luca Roman","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-nottingham-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:19:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:19:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207691","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207681,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-30 13:44:32","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-30 12:44:32","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With the release of the Kickstarter for Carmen: The Graphic Novel, we are delighted to be joined today; by opera singer, writer and director Alek Shrader.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi! Thanks for reading this. I'm Alek Shrader, opera singer and director, and now a first-time comic creator. I'm a lifelong comics fan and collector, and I still have my childhood collection, worn out and a few covers missing. It's very fulfilling to be a part of the collision of these two worlds of opera and comics. As my legendary collaborator P. CRAIG freaking RUSSELL would attest, opera has excellent stories worth telling in this format. And just wait til you see what ANEKE has done with CARMEN... she knocked my socks all the way off. ARIZONA OPERA has produced this project, and I think it's just swell for an opera company to publish a comic book. Much love to you all!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What can you tell us about Arizona Opera?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Arizona Opera has been presenting opera since 1971 to the Phoenix and Tucson regions of Arizona, and after over 200 concerts and opera productions, they continue to seek innovative ways to expand the reach of opera as an art form. They are dedicated to their local communities, including educational outreach and Spanish-language groups, which highlights their strong value of service, in combination with musical artistry and stewardship. I like them so very much. They're led by Joseph Specter, President and General Director. Cassie Robel took the lead on our CARMEN project and was later joined by Courtney Clark. Their enthusiasm and support of this graphic novel has been unfailing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207684\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo1.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo1\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the origins of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This project was created for the Arizona Opera OnPitch Challenge, which was essentially Shark Tank for opera. AZO was searching for an innovative means of potential revenue which was anything but donations from wealthy patrons (which is how most American opera is funded). My sister sent me the link and we brainstormed a few ideas (of which we have many). We agreed a comic book would be great for school and new audiences while also being financially and logistically achievable for an opera company. So, I did a ton of Googling and put together a business plan. Then I submitted my pitch with a now-infamous video featuring my extensive comic collection, and I was chosen as a winner. We had a short list of potential operas to adapt, all of which were coming up in AZO's season. CARMEN was the obvious choice, as it is among the most famous operas ever created and lacked a recent graphic adaptation. Then it was up to me to find artists... which was daunting, as I had zero contacts in the comics industry. But gratefully, nearly everyone I reached out to on socials or via websites responded! The comics industry is good and generous! I mean, I asked P. Craig Russell for advice and he offered to do the layouts! Amazing!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207685\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenpromo2.jpg\" alt=\"carmenpromo2\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For anyone unfamiliar with <em>Carmen<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">CARMEN is a story about a young woman who faces challenges to her autonomy from society, misogyny, and men who won't take \"no\" for an answer. All she wants is freedom, and yet outside forces seek to control her. She is objectified and vilified. She has strong emotions and sometimes gets into trouble. She wants to live her life her way, and so she'll let Fate decide. It's very timely, to say the least. Bizet's music is gorgeous (and you have heard it before, even if you don't know it's from this opera). The art of P. Craig Russell and Aneke is equally ravishing. CARMEN is an icon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did P. Craig Russell, Aneke and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Honestly, I just reached out on social media! When Craig wrote back, I couldn't believe it. I thought of a ton of questions so I could pick his brain until he decided to hang up on me... but what actually happened was we talked about OPERA and then he offered to do the layouts himself! I did not expect that to happen, and I was absolutely ecstatic. With Aneke (as with our guest artists providing art prints for the Kickstarter), I simply sent a polite DM, and promised to pay her full rate! As a performer with a rate, I know that one must not muck with rates. You can either afford to work with an artist or you can't-- don't lowball, it's insulting. Aneke is the *perfect* artist for this book-- her art, her colors, and her VOICE are vital to how CARMEN'S story is told. And I got lucky with Hass! I am a longtime subscriber to his industry mag PanelxPanel, and I follow him on twitter. One day, he put out an open call for projects, and I responded immediately! The dream team had been assembled!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207687\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenericahenderson-675x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenericahenderson\" width=\"675\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What it is about <em>Carmen<\/em>; that made you want to adapt it into a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Among the opera crowd, CARMEN is a household name. And yet, there are some people out there who would love this opera-- they just haven't been invited in the right way. Graphic adaptations now exist for anything in prose, and that already huge readership is continually growing. I have Slaughterhouse Five, the graphic novel. Romeo and Juliet, the graphic novel. Annie, a Marvel Movie Special. Etc etc. Why not opera? If opera doesn't want to continue to be thought of as exclusive or old and dusty, we have to reach out in *other ways* to communicate our stories. Nothing will ever replace a live opera performance, but comics can serve as a gateway-- give these readers the story in the way they prefer to consume it, and maybe they'll be curious enough to come to the opera house to see the show. CARMEN has remained a favorite and most popular opera for over 150 years for good reasons. The music is gorgeous, the story is dramatic and engaging, and I think the character of Carmen still speaks directly to modern audiences. We are all enriched by this story, this OPERA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Was it a challenge to write <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It was! I consider myself a writer, but this was a totally new thing. I bought *literally* every how-to book I could find, which was great for technical education. But I learned the most by working with P. Craig Russell. His notes on my scripts were blunt and direct, and very actionable to make adjustments! (I actually threw out the first draft and started over from scratch!) Initially, I thought there might be a connection between the duration of a musical moment in the opera and space on the page. That formula might exist, but I never really cracked it... Next time, baby! Eventually, we had to dedicate our limited page space to the dramatic story beats and pacing, and Craig is a master there. I would have loved more pages to expand, but working in somewhat restrictive parameters can cause brilliant solutions!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207688\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/carmenmargueritesauvage-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"carmenmargueritesauvage\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that there are several Kickstarter-exclusive prints available. What can you tell us about these prints?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We have SIX exclusive OPERA art prints from seven phenomenal artists, and each one is STUNNING. ERICA HENDERSON, COLLEEN DORAN, and MARGUERITE SAUVAGE have created images of CARMEN. NATACHA BUSTOS has created an image of ARIADNE (from ARIADNE AUF NAXOS). ERICA D'URSO & MARISSA LOUISE have created an image of TOSCA (from TOSCA). ANA MIRALLES has created an image of THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (from THE MAGIC FLUTE). Absolutely incredible!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How can I choose amongst my children? I will PROUDLY add to my collection a signed copy of CARMEN, and EACH of the art prints. And then I'll look at that wall every single day and marvel that such art exists. And I'll be happier for it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207686\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/schraderalek.jpeg\" alt=\"schraderalek\" width=\"638\" height=\"478\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Thank you for reading and letting me explore outside my comfort zone! This is a dream-come-true. It's wish fulfillment. I hope that you'll check out our book, and I hope you'll check out the opera, too!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Alek for talking to us about his new graphic novel. We would like to wish the whole team of <em>Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/arizonaopera\/carmen-the-graphic-novel?ref=7juthx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmen on Kickstarter<\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<br><\/span><\/p>\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Alek Shrader","post_excerpt":"Carmen: The Graphic Novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-alek-shrader","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:21:31","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:21:31","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207681","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207663,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-21 14:47:13","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman attended Dublin Comic-Con on Saturday 11<sup>th<\/sup> this year. She got a chance to interview some of the guests attending the event; she caught up with the actors Kevin McNally, Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207666\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/dublincomiccon2022_1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"dublincomiccon2022_1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Kevin McNally is an English actor and writer. He is known for portraying Joshamee Gibbs in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Daniel and Luis Moncada are Honduran-American actors and brothers known for their role as \"The Cousins\" Leonel and Marco Salamanca on the AMC crime drama series Breaking Bad (2010) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2016; 2018\u2013present).<\/span><\/p>\n\n<!-- wp:html -->\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n<!-- \/wp:html -->\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-Dublin-Comic-Con-2022-e1g1euc<\/a><\/p>\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p><\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->","post_title":"Interviews from Dublin Comic-Con 2022","post_excerpt":"English actor and writer","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-dublin-comic-con-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:26:07","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:26:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207663","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207656,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 15:39:27","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For our last red carpet interview at Diff, our very own Paula Wiseman got a chance to interview director Jono Mcleod and cast member Alan Cumming from the My Old School movie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207658\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 1993, 16-year-old Brandon Lee enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years became the stuff of legend.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<!-- wp:html -->\r\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\r\n<!-- \/wp:html -->\r\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-Gala-screening-of-My-Old-School-e1fteu0<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p> <\/p>\r\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207657\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/myoldschool-631x1024.jpg\" alt=\"myoldschool\" width=\"631\" height=\"1024\" \/><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i><b>My Old School<\/b><\/i> is a documentary directed by Jono McLeod on the subject of the Brandon Lee scandal.<\/span><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish Gala screening of My Old School","post_excerpt":"Alan Cumming","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-gala-screening-of-my-old-school","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2023-08-31 14:26:45","post_modified_gmt":"2023-08-31 13:26:45","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207656","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207638,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-17 14:06:06","post_content":"<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We are so happy to be joined by Josh O'Neill today. Josh is publisher and co-founder of Beehive Books. As Beehive Books have launched a Kickstarter this week for the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly, we got a chance to sit down and chat with the editor of the graphic novel.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hi Josh, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Could you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about Beehive Books? Hello! I'm the publisher and co-founder of Beehive, a small-press graphic arts outfit based out of Philadelphia. We sometimes describe our project as an exercise in the possible -- we want to test the boundaries of what a book can be, and what kind of creative work we can produce. With inventive formats, visionary art and writing, and an utterly obsessive approach to design, we aim to build paper worlds. We have titles from Brecht Evens, Mike Mignola, Yuko Shimizu, Jim Woodring, Paul Pope, Bill Sienkiewicz, Ronald Wimberly, Rebekka Dunlap, Kent Williams and more. GratNin is our fourth project with Ronald.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How did this collaboration between Ronald Wimberly and Beehive Books come about? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I've worked with Ron several times as a contributor to books for my previous publishing venture, Locust Moon Press. So when Ma\u00eblle Doliveux and I launched Beehive in 2016, I knew Ron personally, and admired his work to no end. When Ma\u00eblle and I began approaching authors, our basic pitch was: what's a project that you think no publisher would take on? Ron, who for my money is one of the true visionary working artists of the 21st century, was literally the first person we approached. The answer then was LAAB Magazine, an experimental broadsheet art newspaper powered by the radical imagination -- we've since released three annual issues of LAAB. Now it's GratNin, this crazy accordion-folded story scroll, the next step of our ongoing work together (and part of the sort of nascent LAAB imprint). Ron has become more than an author, to us -- he's a friend and a partner, and his work is part of the DNA of Beehive.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207641\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin2.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin2\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When and how did you discover<em> GratNin<\/em>? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">I just read it as a passionate follower of Ron's work. I'll read anything and everything he puts out. When I finally sat down to read the whole thing through several years ago, I just fell in -- it's full of such humor, excitement, suspense, humanity, love for its source material, love for its characters. And it has this wonderful feeling of being a huge world to roam around in. We follow the characters we follow, but there's this feeling that more intrigue is down every alleyway. It's just an outstanding comic and we're so excited to be publishing it. <\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Can you tell us about the Kickstarter for the <em>GratNin <\/em>graphic novel? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">GratNin presented an exciting and singular problem -- how to present this pageless digital comic in a print format. As per our usual ideological commitments in Beehive, we came up with the least practical, most exciting solution -- to present these remarkable stories on a series of unbroken accordion-folded scrolls, turning the downward-swiping digital read into a thrillingly physical experience. You track down four hundred feet of narrow page-space, in a format that brings to mind skyscrapers, alleyways, subway tunnels -- all the long verticals iconically representing this fantastical vision of New York. And we filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience, skulking around New York with then Namba clan.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What have been some of the hurdles that you have had to overcome to get the project up to this point?<\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">The biggest one was just figuring out how to present this story in a readable way. It's this pageless comic that goes down and down and down. How do you do it in print? That was the problem that we faced. It's the kind of problem that our team, and especially LAAB and GratNin designer Chloe Scheffe, find most delicious. I think it's been solved beautifully here.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207642\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin3.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin3\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We understand that the graphic novel will be an accordion style with folded pages; was this feature something that you wanted to do right from the beginning? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">No -- we started with the problem. We didn't know the best solution. We thought about doing it as a scroll, as a giant folding map, as a long vertical book with a spine at the top. The accordion seemed the most elegant solution, especially for something so long -- we're talking about 600 pages, printed on three pieces of paper. It's the best at replicating and reinventing that feeling of falling down into this crazy thrilling world that you get from reading GratNin digitally.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beehive Books is releasing the <em>GratNin<\/em> graphic novel as a box set; can you tell us about the box set? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We took the next step, when designing GratNin as a fully formed reading experience -- we created a little miniature space to explore. We filled the box with ephemera from this alternate reality -- metrocards and maps and furoshikis and trading cards, making up a whole enveloping experience. A world for you to crawl into a skulk around. We didn\u2019t want to just present a print version of Ron\u2019s wonderful web comic \u2013 we wanted to work with him to reinvent it, and to build out his world.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207644\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin5.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin5\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>As you are crowdfunding the graphic novel and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the project more special for you?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Well, we crowdfund most of our projects, so it's not any different from what we usually do. But yes -- crowdfunding does mean a much deeper-than-average engagement with your audience, and we conceive of Beehive as something other than a producer of goods with a base of customers. We see our readership as a vital community, the backbone of this whole operation. They're keeping the garden cared for and the soil tilled, so we can grow the things we grow. Our practice of building books out of an engaged community of readers makes all of our projects feel a bit more special to me.<\/span>\n\n<img class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-207643\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/gratnin4.jpg\" alt=\"gratnin4\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\">\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beyond the comic itself, I really love the printed cotton-cloth furoshiki wrap! I know I'll get a lot of use out of that... just a beautiful and useful object, which is all we ever really aim to make.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Any message for the ComicBuzz readers? <\/span><\/strong>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be kind to yourself. And buy GratNin! (These two go together quite nicely.)<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to say thank you to Josh for chatting to us about <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>GratNin. <\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We would like to wish the whole team of <em>GratNin<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span>\n\n<strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Feel free to check out the<\/span><\/strong><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong> campaign<\/strong>:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/beehivebooks\/gratnin?ref=6h1h34\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GranNin at<\/a><\/span><\/span><span id=\"m_7575243172665136202m_-5586963427961842238m_-1801198417747872339gmail-m_7825086762430624028gmail-docs-internal-guid-c790f527-7fff-1bae-6c3b-23754f6d28aa\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"_wp_link_placeholder\"> Kickstater<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Josh O'Neill","post_excerpt":"GratNin\u00a0graphic novel","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-josh-oneill","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:32:04","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:32:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207638","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207631,"post_author":"3","post_date":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-16 18:10:08","post_content":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Our very own Paula Wiseman is still covering what\u2019s going on at Diff. This time she got a chance to interview the director and cast members of Wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207633\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf2-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"wolf2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Natalie Biancheri - Director<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">George Mackay - Jacob<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Fionn O'Shea - Rufus<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lola Petticrew - Judith<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Believing he's a wolf trapped in a man's body, Jacob eats, sleeps and lives like one -- much to the shock of his family. When he's sent to a clinic, Jacob and his animal-bound peers are forced to undergo increasingly extreme forms of curative therapies. However, once he meets the mysterious Wildcat,\u00a0their friendship blossoms into an undeniable infatuation, and Jacob must decide whether to renounce his true self for love.<\/span><\/p>\n\n<!-- wp:html -->\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/comicbuzz\/embed\/episodes\/Interviews-from-the-Irish-premiere-of-Wolf-e1fqghn\" scrolling=\"no\" width=\"400px\" height=\"102px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n<!-- \/wp:html -->\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/anchor.fm\/dashboard\/episode\/e1fqghn<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-207636\" src=\"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/wolf3-707x1024.jpg\" alt=\"wolf3\" width=\"707\" height=\"1024\"><\/p>","post_title":"Interviews from the Irish premiere of Wolf","post_excerpt":"George Mackay","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"interviews-from-the-irish-premiere-of-wolf","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 21:33:52","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 20:33:52","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207631","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":15},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};</script> </div></div></div><div class="elementor-element elementor-element-4e19fa1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-epic_archive_pagination_elementor" data-id="4e19fa1" data-element_type="widget" data-e-type="widget" data-widget_type="epic_archive_pagination_elementor.default"><div class="elementor-widget-container"><div class="jeg_navigation jeg_pagination jeg_pagenav_1 jeg_aligncenter no_pageinfo"> <span class="page_info">Page 15 of 32</span> <a 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