<\/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":"With the release of Justice Warriors<\/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 The Nib<\/em>, and Ben is an illustrator and filmmaker.<\/span>\n\nHi Ben and Matt, it's so wonderful to have you both here with us today.<\/strong><\/span>\n\nCould you please introduce yourselves to our readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: Hi, I am Ben Clarkson. I am a cartoonist and animator based out of Montreal.<\/span>\n\nMATT: 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 Justice Warriors<\/em>.<\/span>\n\n\n\nCan you tell us about the origins of Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nBEN: 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. 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\nMATT: 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 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\nBen, yourself and Matt are co-writers on Justice Warriors<\/em>; how does that dynamic work?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: 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\nIt\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\n\nMatt, yourself and Ben are involved in the art process on Justice Warriors; can you tell us more about that?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nBen\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\nHow would you describe Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: Ghost in the Shell<\/em> meets the Simpsons <\/em>meets the Wire<\/em>. It\u2019s a zany, gritty, sociological farce with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\nMATT: Starship Troopers <\/em>meets Judge Dredd<\/em> meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em>. It\u2019s a wild, violent, satire with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\n\n\nMatt, what can you tell us about Swamp Cop and Schitt?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nBen, how did Felipe Sobreiro join the team?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: We traded his CIA handler a kilo for him. He\u2019s ours now.<\/span>\n\nIn all seriousness he was on a list for consideration. When I realized he colored Silver Surfer Black<\/em> I insisted on working with him. 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\n\nWas Justice Warriors<\/em> conceived as a comic book?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: This my first comic. I originally envisioned 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\nMATT: Ideally, 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\nMatt, how important is pre-ordering for an independent comic?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nBen, how did you pick the artists for the alternative covers for the series?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: 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\n\nHow did AHOY Comics get involved with Justice Warriors<\/em>, and what made them the right publisher for Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: We kidnapped Captain Ginger and sent severed whiskers to Hart Seely until we had our deal.<\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: This is the launch of a new creator-owned series that can go really far if we get reader support. 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\nBEN: 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\nA 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 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":"

With the release of the Kickstarter for Unico: Awakening, we are delighted to be joined today; by writer Samuel Sattin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hi Samuel, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for having me! <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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>\n

<\/p>\n

For anyone unfamiliar with Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico, how would you describe Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

When did you first discover Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Unico: Awakening will be available in English and Japanese. Was making Unico: Awakening<\/em> available to a large readership an important factor of this project?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

You are collaborating with the Gurihiru artist team; what makes them the right team for Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

You are reinventing Unico, a character created by Osamu Tezuka; does that add more pressure on you as a writer?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

As you are crowdfunding Unico: Awakening and dealing directly with consumers, does that make Unico: Awakening<\/em> more special for you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What has it been like working with Tezuka Productions?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

How would you describe Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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 Unico: Awakening<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: Unico: Awakening<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/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":"

With 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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hi Phil, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As some of our readers may not be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n

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 Chicken and Beer<\/em> is probably my most famous album cover.<\/span><\/p>\n

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, Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em> came about.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Can you tell us about the origins of Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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\u2014Eerie<\/em>, Creepy<\/em>, Vampirella<\/em>, etc. 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>horror realms. I\u2019ve always wanted to create my own monster along the lines of Frankenstein\u2019s or more modern equivalents like RoboCop<\/em> or Tetsuo<\/em>, so Gringo Loco<\/em> became that for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

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>\n

How would you describe Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

We\u2019d already released a Professor Dario Bava<\/em> graphic novel, Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em>, so the thought was we\u2019d introduce Gringo Loco<\/em> in the same volume\u2014like the second feature on a double bill. It made sense too, since a movie poster for Gringo Loco<\/em> actually appeared in Murder Vibes<\/em>\u2014like I said, these ideas have been fermenting for years!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who is Professor Dario Bava?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What can you tell us about Gringo Loco<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

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. 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. Gringo Loco<\/em> was finished at the end of February this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did you always want to do a double feature flip for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Well I always love books that encourage you to engage with them in a physical way\u2014Murder Vibes<\/em> featured a foldout back cover and book flaps, and the 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>\n

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

Mike and I have worked together on the two previous 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

Vicente Alc\u00e1zar was a huge coup for us! We knew his work from all those \u201970s and \u201980s Warren comics, plus Jonah Hex<\/em>, Conan<\/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. Professor Dario Bava<\/em> is a more complex world to envision, but with 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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We have to talk about the covers by Emanuele Taglietti and Dave Kendall; can you tell us all about them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Emanuele Taglietti is another legend Dan contacted for us back before we even started on Murder Vibes<\/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 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

Dave Kendall was someone Dan had his eye on for a while, though he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be right for 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>\n

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

It\u2019ll be in a few select shops around the US on May 11th, but you can order it directly from us at <\/span>www.ProfessorDarioBava.com<\/a> to get the full Diabolik packaging effect!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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>\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":"With the release of his new graphic novel,\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\u00a0Count<\/em>,\u00a0Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nHi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\nWhen we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt'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\n\nHow would you describe the\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIn 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\nWhat can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHe'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\n\nBrad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nJust 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\nWhat is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt'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\n\nDid you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI 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\nWho is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLucia 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\nWhen you started to work on\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nNot 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\n\nWhat has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThe 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\nAs\u00a0Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOverall 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\n\nHas it been a challenge working on\u00a0Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\nA little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nRetroActive 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\nWe would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, 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":"With the release of the Kickstarter for\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>,\u00a0we are delighted to be joined today by\u00a0storyboard artist Richard Bennett.<\/span>\n\nHi Richard, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span>\n\nCould you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nMy 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\nYou have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI 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\nCould you tell us about the origins of\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>\u00a0book?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI\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\n\nOn average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt 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\nDo you have a favourite scene from\u00a0Godzilla vs. Kong?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nFor sure, I\u2019d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong\u2019s lead. Very trippy scene.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nAs you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOf 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\n\nDo you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nProbably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nI 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\nWe 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\nFeel free to check out the Kickstarter: 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":"With the release of\u00a0Nottingham #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\nHello 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\n\nThe 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\nDavid: 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\nShane: SCV- The Disney animated version is my favourite! I watched it so much as a kid and it\u2019s still so good!<\/span>\n\nLuca: 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\n\nFor anyone who has missed the first few issues of\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>, what can you tell us about the series so far?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDavid: 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\nShane: Get ready for big action, and unexpected twists! <\/span>\n\n\n\nDavid, 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\nThe 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\nShane, artistically has it been a challenge to illustrate\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nAbsolutely! 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\n\nLuca, 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\nTruly 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\nDavid, what had the feedback been like for\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOverwhelmingly 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\n\nShane, as Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is an indie comic, how important is pre-ordering and word of mouth for any indie comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt\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\nLuca, do you have a favourite\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0cover; that you worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI 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\n\nIssue six of\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is coming out on April 6th; what can you tell us about the issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDavid: 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\nShane: We\u2019ve given Vol. 2 everything we\u2019ve got!<\/span>\n\n\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDavid: 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\nLuca: Bring a raincoat, and don't step on the pools of blood.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nWe 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":"

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>\n

Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What can you tell us about Arizona Opera?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Can you tell us about the origins of Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

For anyone unfamiliar with Carmen<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

How did P. Craig Russell, Aneke and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What it is about Carmen<\/em>; that made you want to adapt it into a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Was it a challenge to write Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n

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>\n

We understand that there are several Kickstarter-exclusive prints available. What can you tell us about these prints?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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 Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <\/span>Carmen on Kickstarter<\/a>.
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/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"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":2},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};

\n

<\/p>\n","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With James Babineau","post_excerpt":"The Lost Gardens","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-james-babineau","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-06 16:35:29","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-06 15:35:29","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=208046","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":208033,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-08-24 16:52:28","post_date_gmt":"2022-08-24 15:52:28","post_content":"With the launch of his new comic,\u00a0New America<\/em> #1, this week from Comixology Originals, we got a chance to sit down and chat with writer and producer Curt Pires. His works include\u00a0Youth<\/em>, Lost Falls<\/em>, Memoria<\/em> and WYRD<\/em>.<\/span>\n\nCould you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/strong> <\/span>\n\nThanks for having me. I\u2019m Curt Pires a writer \/ producer \/ creative who makes and loves comics and I\u2019m excited to be talking to be here today.<\/span>\n\nCan you tell us about the origins of New America<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI had the kernel of this idea late 2016 following the presidential election. Worked on it for a couple years and had an early version of the book almost picked up in 2018 for publication. That fell apart, and so we sort of went back to square one. It was one idea I kept coming back to and wanting to work on so I kept hammering away at it. Eventually refining and bringing on Luca for the version you see today.<\/span>\n\n\n\nWhat can you tell us about Wyatt Walker?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nWyatt is a soldier. He\u2019s also the brother of Corey Walker, the sitting president of New America. When we meet Wyatt he\u2019s just returned to New America for the first time in years. He\u2019s been presumed missing even considered dead by some, so this sets up the big central mystery of the book regarding where he\u2019s been and why he\u2019s back.<\/span>\n\nWhat made Luca Casalanguida the right artist for New America<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI mean, just look at the pages. He\u2019s brilliant. And his Bond stuff and work on Lost Soldiers made me realize he could do the action as well as the character \/ political stuff.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow did Mark Dale and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI\u2019ve worked with them on other projects and they\u2019re both immensely talented and easy to work with, so it was a no brainer.<\/span>\n\nHow would you describe\u00a0New America<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI\u2019d describe it as sort of The West Wing meets DMZ meets Sicario. It\u2019s a near future political thriller about a secessionist state and the sometimes violent trials and tribulations of the people living and leading there.<\/span>\n\n\n\nThe single issues of New America<\/em>\u00a0are all going to be oversized. Why did you make that choice?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThere was just too much story for the smaller sized issues. Also the oversized issues give it more of a prestige feel, and allow for more cinematic style pacing. \u00a0<\/span>\n\nHow long have you been working on\u00a0New America<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nTwo years since we started production in earnest. 4 or 5 years since I first had the idea. It takes a longtime for comics to come to life sometimes.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSo important! I don\u2019t have the marketing budget of a DC or MARVEL although most of my books rival or surpass there\u2019s in terms of quality--so we need people to shout about the books when they like em\u2019! If you don\u2019t like em\u2019, please just shut up and keep it to yourself. (that\u2019s a joke, maybe.)<\/span>\n\nNew America<\/em> is releasing from\u00a0Comixology via their Comixology Originals series. Your previous releases,\u00a0Youth<\/em>,\u00a0Lost<\/em> Falls<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Memoria<\/em>, were released via\u00a0Comixology. Can you tell us more about your working relationship with Comixology?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI have a great relationship with Comixology. I love what Chip Mosher and David Steinberger built over there. And I love what Bryce Gold is building now that the torch has been passed to him.<\/span>\n\n\n\nYouth<\/em>\u00a0is available in paperback from Dark Horse Books; as a writer, is it important to you that your works are available in physical format?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSo important. I love the accessibility of the Comixology Originals program and how anyone with Prime or Comixology \/ Kindle Unlimited can read for free, but it\u2019s really important to me that Local Comic Shops and Bookstores be able to sell my work. I\u2019m a Wednesday Warrior and go to my shop every week, so everything I do eventually needs to reach the comic shop.<\/span>\n\n\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nCheck out New America or any of the other amazing books we\u2019ve done with Comixology Originals. And sign up for our newsletter to keep up with all our releases: https:\/\/tecc.substack.com\/<\/a><\/span>\n\nA big thank you to Curt for chatting with us; we wish him and\u00a0the rest of the team, the best of luck with their\u00a0New America<\/em>\u00a0series.<\/span>\n\nComixology Originals titles are available at no additional cost for members of Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, and comixology Unlimited.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Curt Pires","post_excerpt":"\u00a0New America","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-curt-pires","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-06 16:37:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-06 15:37:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=208033","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207996,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-08-15 14:51:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-08-15 13:51:19","post_content":"With the release of\u00a0TRVE KVLT\u00a0<\/em>#1 (August 17th)\u00a0this week from IDW Publishing,\u00a0we are delighted to be\u00a0joined by the writer Scott Bryan Wilson and artist Liana Kangas. Scott has written many comics, including\u00a0Pennyworth<\/em>, Batman Gotham Nights<\/em>, Altered Carbon OGN<\/em>, Divinity: The Complete Trilogy<\/em>, and Star Trek: Waypoint<\/em>. Liana has worked on many comics, including Star Wars Adventures<\/em>, Razorblades<\/em>, East Side Saints<\/em>, She Said Destroy<\/em>, Joan Jett<\/em> and Devil\u2019s Dye<\/em>.<\/span>\n\nHi, Liana and Scott, it's so wonderful to have you both here with us today.<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK:<\/strong> Thanks for having us! And may you have it the Burger Lord way!<\/span>\n\nCould you please introduce yourselves to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK:<\/strong> Hey there! I\u2019m Liana\u2014a full-time comic creator and artist. I\u2019ve drawn a ton of stuff, such as books like Star Wars Adventures<\/em>, Vault\u2019s She Said Destroy<\/em>, Razorblades<\/em>, Z2\u2019s Joan Jett<\/em> and The Black Hearts<\/em>, and, of course, TRVE KVLT<\/em>! I\u2019ve illustrated a ton of cover work for publishers like Vault, Image, Oni, IDW, and Ahoy. I\u2019ve also written or co-written stories like Seeds of Eden <\/em>for TKO, Dagger Dagger Vol 2<\/em>, and Deadbeats: London Calling<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> And I\u2019m Scott, and I write comics, including the Pennyworth <\/em>series and a bit of Batman<\/em> stuff for DC, Savage Tales<\/em>, Elvira, Altered Carbon<\/em> for Dynamite, plus work for Valiant, IDW, and lots of anthologies. Upcoming\u2014along with Trve Kvlt<\/em>\u2014is more from DC, more Savage Tales<\/em>, an adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves\u2019 InterWorld<\/em> for HarperCollins, as well as a bunch of unannounced stuff, including another creator-owned series.<\/span>\n\n\n\nScott, can you tell us about the origins of TRVE KVLT<\/em>?\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> In the early days of my career, when I was sitting around waiting for the phone to ring with work-for-hire jobs, I kept from going crazy by creating pitches. Most of them were awful, but this is one that just kept tugging at me. I love crime fiction and heist movies, and I wanted to do something like Heat<\/em> that had this big, exciting heist scene at its center. But heists have been done a million times, most of them way better than anything I could think of, so I started trying to think about what would be a \u201clittle\u201d heist that a normal person could get away with, and I thought about robbing a strip mall, store by store. I thought if you watched it all the time, you might find the rhythms and figure out how to do it if you timed it right. Who would watch a strip mall, though? Then I hit on the idea of someone at the ubiquitous fast food places that are always in strip mall parking lots, and I had it.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nLiana, when you first heard the pitch for TRVE KVLT, what did you think?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK:<\/strong> I think Scott is a genius and tends to dig into the things that most people often don\u2019t pay any attention to. He does it a lot with both foreshadowing, dialogue, minute details in environments that play to plot points, and so on. So, I absolutely dug it. My favorite movie is Ocean's 11<\/em>, which I had mentioned for the heist aspect alone, and when I read the pitch, I was like \u201cOh this is reminiscent of Fargo<\/em>, but a band of kids in real life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow would you describe TRVE KVLT<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK:<\/strong> TRVE KVLT is the one book you least expect\u2014and the one you will definitely want to read. (and certainly the one I wanted to create the most).<\/span>\n\nScott, what can you tell us about Marty?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> I always like fiction that has losers as main characters\u2014Jeff \u201cThe Dude\u201d Lebowski, George Costanza, etc\u2014and always wanted to really dig into that as a writer. Having people\u2019s flaws be central to their character but also keep them not only likable, but someone you actually root for, was something I wanted to explore. Our guy is a career fast-food employee who fully embraces his role at work and doesn\u2019t have many interests aside from hair metal and low-budget movies (which he enjoys non-ironically). We\u2019ve all worked with overenthusiastic people\u2014Marty is that overenthusiastic coworker whose excitement is only starting to fade, long after it\u2019s died out for everyone else.<\/span>\n\n\n\nLiana, has it been a challenge to create the world of TRVE KVLT<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK: I\u2019m lucky in that if I have any creative blocks or stumped on what to do in TRVE KVLT, I can pull from personal experiences, or ask anyone on the team what kind of input they\u2019d have. Our team (Jazzlyn, Gab, Jimmy, and DC) is just as excited about the book as Scott and I are. I mean, when else will I get to design the entire\u00a0 look and branding of fast food restaurants? This has been a labor of love and I think it shows in terms of world-building for sure.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nHow long have you been working on TRVE KVLT<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> Liana and I started emailing about the book in October 2018, but I\u2019d been working on the pitch since January 2017. So that puts it at 5.5 years from pitch to first issue being on comic shops\u2019 shelves. My pitch was rejected by a few publishers before Liana was on board, so I can\u2019t say enough about her partnership on this project and what she brings to the book\u2014it wouldn\u2019t exist without her.<\/span>\n\nLK: <\/strong>YOU ARE TOO KIND. Don\u2019t mess up the bun order.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow important is preordering for any independent comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK:<\/strong> I used to work in a comic shop, so I am probably on a soap box here, but preordering any comic, specifically any series not Big 2, is going to need all of the support it can get in the direct market. Ordering often dictates printing numbers, so if you can preorder and call your shop up to try and get every issue available, it ensures you\u2019ve secured yourself a copy, as well as notifying the shop that this might be a good read for others as well and could entice them to order more copies. Single issue comics are a chaotic and perfect way to read comics in my opinion, but just know that a lot of work goes into that little issue from all of the creators to the incredible teams at the publisher that are hitting your shop\u2019s shelves every month. That one call or click to preorder could mean the world in terms of the success of any book.<\/span>\n\nScott, how did Gab Contreras, Jimmy Savage and DC Hopkins join the team?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> Jimmy and Gab had worked with Liana for a long time; I think I met both of them through this book. DC was someone I had worked with a lot on other projects and was my first choice on this one.<\/span>\n\n\n\nLiana, you are creating the art for the comic. What part of that process do you enjoy the most, penciling or inking?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLK:<\/strong> A lot of my creator-owned books I actually pencil and ink at the same time since I work digitally for most of my interiors. (It\u2019s a lot of different layers and moving things around, probably a very weird thing to watch, I bet.) I personally love inking, though, because I get to, in this case for TRVE KVLT, shade a lot of shadows and pull some weird light tricks for Gab to play with, which is always fun. It seems to all come to life at the end with everyone\u2019s expressions and the weird details and logos I can put in for food, fast food interiors, etc.<\/span>\n\nHow did IDW get involved with TRVE KVLT<\/em>, and what made them the right publisher for TRVE KVLT<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> We originally published the first version of TRVE KVLT <\/em>through Kickstarter at the beginning of the pandemic; we\u2019d had some publishers interested, but when the pandemic hit, the industry was a mess for a while and we realized we didn\u2019t want to wait and just started making the book and doing it our way. Someone at IDW had seen the pre-pandemic pitch, and they got in touch with us the day we launched the Kickstarter. From those first text messages it felt like a great fit. IDW kept in touch with us over the year or so it took us to make and publish the first version of the book, and before we were done we had started talking contract terms. We were really excited because the Kickstarter saw issue 1 printed, and the rest digital, and people had been asking from the beginning for print issues, so this was our chance to get the book out in front of a huge audience\u2014in print, too\u2014from a company that really supported us and the book.<\/span>\n\nLK:<\/strong> All I have to say is, I adore IDW so much\u2014and this book has had such an incredible journey with them already and (as of right now when we say this) we\u2019re not even in print yet!\u00a0<\/span>\n\n\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSBW:<\/strong> Keep reading comics.<\/span>\n\nLK: <\/strong>Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and pick up TRVE KVLT #1 on August 17!<\/span>\n\nA big thank you to Scott and Liana for chatting with us; we wish them and the rest of the team, the best of luck with TRVE KVLT.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With The Trve Kvlt Team","post_excerpt":"TRVE KVLT\u00a0#1","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-the-trve-kvlt-team","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-06 16:47:58","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-06 15:47:58","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207996","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207890,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-29 15:00:55","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-29 14:00:55","post_content":"With the launch of his new imprint Flux House next month with Dark Horse, we got a chance to sit down and chat with writer and artist Matt Kindt. His works include MIND MGMT<\/em>, BRZRKR<\/em>, Eniac<\/em>, Revolver<\/em>, 3 Story<\/em>, Super Spy<\/em>, 2 Sisters<\/em>, Pistolwhip<\/em> and Dept H<\/em>. <\/span>\n\nHi Matt, we are so excited to have you here with us. We have to say congratulations to you on your new imprint Flux House.<\/span>\n\nYour Flux House imprint is launching in July; can you tell us about the origins of Flux House?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI saw Salvador Dali\u2019s lobster phone at the museum. If you haven\u2019t seen it, it\u2019s exactly what you\u2019d imagine. I was looking at that phone and I saw an artist who was constantly having ideas or \u201cnotions.\u201d The ideas weren\u2019t always painting. Probably always surreal. But most importantly \u2013 I saw an artist having fun. It\u2019s ridiculous. Fun. Looks cool. That idea came from someone who\u2019d been doing what he was doing so long that he was just having a great time making things. <\/span>\n\nThat\u2019s this. So now, imagine that the lobster phone actually had an interesting narrative attached to it. Back story. Characters you care about. And imagine that that story told in comic book form. But the book is a little odd, Bigger. Smaller. Maybe covered in hair because that story is about an evil reincarnated Egyptian cat. Or maybe the book is about spies so the cover is a paper grocery bag so it can be \u201cdisguised\u201d on the shelf at your local comic shop. That\u2019s Flux House. It\u2019s a dash of the absurd and the fun \u2013 but connected to narrative that has heart and soul. Not just art for art\u2019s sake \u2013 even though on the surface it might seem it. <\/span>\n\n\n\nYou have been working with Dark Horse since 2010; what is it about Dark Horse that you enjoy working with them?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThey published 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man<\/em> years ago \u2013 and have supported me ever since. Mike Richardson is running things and he just has this rare pure love of comics. He\u2019s been a champion of my stuff for as long as I\u2019ve known him. And he and all the staff at Dark Horse have supported and believed in me over the years to the point they\u2019re trusting me to push comics as far as they can go\u2026or at least as far as I can get them. I want to make books that you don\u2019t just have on your shelf \u2013 but when your friends come over \u2013 that book is the one they pick up and ask \u201cwhat\u2019s this?\u201d<\/span>\n\n\n\nFor anyone unfamiliar with MIND MGMT<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nShort answer is \u201cspies with mind powers.\u201d But now imagine reading a book about that \u2014 but the book you\u2019re reading is actually a recruiting tool that is trying to get you to become a secret agent. A book that is literally trying to tap into the abilities and thoughts you have\u2026and exploit them. That\u2019s kind of what it\u2019s like. It\u2019s a book, a story, a single issue that is always going to be more than it seems. There are hidden messages. Subliminal messages. And a fun spy\/action\/mind-bender of a story.<\/span>\n\n\n\nWhat can you tell us about MIND MGMT: BOOTLEG<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt has the worlds\u2019 most dense 50-panel comic-book page ever created. The script for that one page is 4 typed pages long. So there\u2019s that. It\u2019s also genuinely a good jumping on point if you\u2019ve never read MIND MGMT. You can start here. In fact \u2013 this series is a recruitment device designed for you to be indoctrinated into the world MIND MGMT. After that, there is the original 36 issue series and a board game. It\u2019s a lot \u2013 but this is the best place to start. Dip your toes in\u2026we\u2019ll let you know if you\u2019re right for it. (laughs)<\/span>\n\n\n\nWhat is the ethos of Flux House?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI wrote a letter to the entire team at Dark Horse that kind of went like this: If it\u2019s fun, let\u2019s do it. If we\u2019ve always done it that way? Let\u2019s try it a different way. If we do it that way because all the other ways are a disaster then\u2026well, let\u2019s do it in the way that isn\u2019t a disaster. But however we do it \u2013 when we\u2019re doing it \u2013 let\u2019s not be bored. Do not be bored with the work! Let\u2019s do things that make us nervous \u2013 that might fail \u2013 but if they don\u2019t \u2013 will be super cool. <\/span>\n\nWhen you were conceiving MIND MGMT: BOOTLEG<\/em>, did you always have the idea of it; being illustrated by other artists?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDefinitely. I want the series to feel like maybe I didn\u2019t approve of it. Bootleg. Like it got hijacked by some punk artists that didn\u2019t ask me permission. Like those Mexican Spider-Man comics \u2013 that have completely different storylines. It\u2019s Peter Parker but\u2026something is completely different. I want old-readers of the series to be uncomfortable and a little worried and new readers to be\u2026well, uncomfortable and a little worried as well.<\/span>\n\n\n\nHow did you select the artists working on MIND MGMT: BOOTLEG<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nA lot of factors went into it. First \u2013 I\u2019m fans of all of them \u2013 and I\u2019ve worked with them all in the past to a greater or lesser degree. So after that \u2013 it was really just introducing a new character in every issue \u2013 and casting the artist with that character\/story point \u2013 so the art would complement the new character. So the art style and feel of that issue would reflect the character and their unique POV. It was not something I\u2019d ever done before and I think it ended up being great than the sum of parts\u2026it\u2019s crazy in the best way.<\/span>\n\nYou are a writer and an artist; what do you enjoy being more, a writer or an artist?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI don\u2019t really separate the two. It\u2019s all idea driven. Words and pictures working together. When I\u2019m not drawing it\u2019s more like playing in a band where we complement each other to create this thing where we\u2019re playing separate parts of the same thing. And on my own \u2013 it allows me to really punish myself. 50 panel pages. Extra text on the page edges. See-through covers. Pages designed to be burned, cut, or torn. One of my favorite signings I ever did was with David Rubin when Ether came out \u2013 and he was drawing and signing and then I was drawing a little extra thing on or around his drawing and reacting to it \u2013 every one was different \u2013 and we had these little mini-conversations through art and on the fly\u2026all while he was serving little shots of some coffee liqueur to everyone that showed up. That\u2019s a little microcosm of how books should be made.<\/span>\n\nWhat has it been like collaborating with Farel Dalrymple, Jill Thompson, David Rub\u00edn, and Matt Lesniewski on MIND MGMT: Bootleg?<\/span>\n\nLike sitting at a signing where we all draw on someone\u2019s book and David serves us coffee liqueur. (laughs) \u2013 but not much different. I know I had fun \u2013 and I hope they did \u2013 at least to my face they\u2019ll say it. I realize my scripts for MIND MGMT are\u2026a lot sometimes. But at the end of the day \u2013 we have a series like no other. And I\u2019m still on speaking terms with everyone and I\u2019m still a huge fan of each one of them. I consider that a success. <\/span>\n\n\n\nWe understand there is a version of MIND MGMT: BOOTLEG <\/em>that comes with a playing card; can you tell us more about this playing card?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nEach issue will have a special MIND MGMT playing card. This is the 53rd card. Designed to work with any deck of standard cards. Ideally \u2013 you get all four and put them into your deck. On the face is all new art \u2013 but also new rules that will make, break, distort, and\/or warp ANY card game you play. I collaborated with the designers that I worked on the MIND MGMT board game with (Jay Cormier and Sen-Foong Lim) and they wrote rules that will work with (or against) almost any game you play.<\/span>\n\nThe beauty of the cards is, they\u2019re art \u2013 you can use them as a bookmark. Or you can put them in a normal deck of cards. When you draw the card \u2013 your opponent(s) will know you have one of the 4 special cards. But they won\u2019t know which one. Paranoia ensues. Are you going to play it? Which one is it? It\u2019s an extra game outside the game. MIND MGMT for real. <\/span>\n\nCan you give us any teasers about future titles releasing from Flux House?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nSure. This is what I have planned for the next two years\u2026without spoiling the titles: <\/span>A \u201csuper\u201d spy, a hulking detective, an evil (maybe) cat, a reporter stranded on a cosmic planet, 1,000 teenage superheroes, a barbarian, and a universe-hopping villain\/hero.<\/span>\n\nA big thank you to Matt for chatting with us; we wish him and <\/span>the rest of the team, the best of luck with Flux House and MIND MGMT: BOOTLEG<\/em>.<\/span>","post_title":"ComicBuzz Chats With Matt Kindt","post_excerpt":"Flux House","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"comicbuzz-chats-with-matt-kindt","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-10-07 16:56:47","post_modified_gmt":"2022-10-07 15:56:47","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/comicbuzz.com\/?p=207890","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":207882,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-06-28 14:51:45","post_date_gmt":"2022-06-28 13:51:45","post_content":"

With the release of his latest novel, 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>\n

Hi Jason, thank you for being here with us. We are so excited to be able to chat with you today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 Red Border <\/em>and Casual Fling<\/em>. My new novel\u2014and my first ever sci-fi novel is The Next Time I Die<\/em>, out on June 28th from Hard Case Crime.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Can you tell us about the origins of The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 The Next Time I Die<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How would you describe The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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 The Twilight Zone<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What can you tell us about Steven Blitz?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

You have written numerous comics; what is it about the comic book medium that you enjoy?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

How did Hard Case Crime get involved with The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hard Case Crime has published some of my previous novels\u2014several that I co-wrote with Irish crime writer, Ken Bruen, and my crime novel<\/em>, Fake I.D. <\/em> Because 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>\n

How long have you been working on The Next Time I Die<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Was it a challenge to write The Next Time I Die<\/em> compared to the other novels that you have written?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Has The Next Time I Die <\/em>changed in any significant way since the first draft? <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What has it been like working with Charles Ardai and the rest of the team at Hard Case Crime?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

What comics are you currently reading?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I usually have at least a few going at a time. Hotell <\/em>by John Lees, Killadelphia<\/em> by Rodney Barnes, the Reckless <\/em>books by Ed Brubaker.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I love to hear from readers, let me know what you think of The Next Time I Die<\/em>. You can connect with me on Twitter and Instagram: @JasonStarrBooks and at jasonstarr.com<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We would like to say a big thank you to Jason for chatting with us. We wish him the best of luck with The Next Time I Die<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/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":"With the release of Justice Warriors<\/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 The Nib<\/em>, and Ben is an illustrator and filmmaker.<\/span>\n\nHi Ben and Matt, it's so wonderful to have you both here with us today.<\/strong><\/span>\n\nCould you please introduce yourselves to our readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: Hi, I am Ben Clarkson. I am a cartoonist and animator based out of Montreal.<\/span>\n\nMATT: 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 Justice Warriors<\/em>.<\/span>\n\n\n\nCan you tell us about the origins of Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nBEN: 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. 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\nMATT: 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 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\nBen, yourself and Matt are co-writers on Justice Warriors<\/em>; how does that dynamic work?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: 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\nIt\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\n\nMatt, yourself and Ben are involved in the art process on Justice Warriors; can you tell us more about that?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nBen\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\nHow would you describe Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: Ghost in the Shell<\/em> meets the Simpsons <\/em>meets the Wire<\/em>. It\u2019s a zany, gritty, sociological farce with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\nMATT: Starship Troopers <\/em>meets Judge Dredd<\/em> meets Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles<\/em>. It\u2019s a wild, violent, satire with big ideas under the surface.<\/span>\n\n\n\nMatt, what can you tell us about Swamp Cop and Schitt?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nBen, how did Felipe Sobreiro join the team?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: We traded his CIA handler a kilo for him. He\u2019s ours now.<\/span>\n\nIn all seriousness he was on a list for consideration. When I realized he colored Silver Surfer Black<\/em> I insisted on working with him. 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\n\nWas Justice Warriors<\/em> conceived as a comic book?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: This my first comic. I originally envisioned 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\nMATT: Ideally, 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\nMatt, how important is pre-ordering for an independent comic?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nBen, how did you pick the artists for the alternative covers for the series?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: 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\n\nHow did AHOY Comics get involved with Justice Warriors<\/em>, and what made them the right publisher for Justice Warriors<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nBEN: We kidnapped Captain Ginger and sent severed whiskers to Hart Seely until we had our deal.<\/span>\n\nMATT: 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\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nMATT: This is the launch of a new creator-owned series that can go really far if we get reader support. 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\nBEN: 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\nA 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 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":"

With the release of the Kickstarter for Unico: Awakening, we are delighted to be joined today; by writer Samuel Sattin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hi Samuel, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for having me! <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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>\n

<\/p>\n

For anyone unfamiliar with Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico, how would you describe Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

When did you first discover Osamu Tezuka\u2019s Unico?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Unico: Awakening will be available in English and Japanese. Was making Unico: Awakening<\/em> available to a large readership an important factor of this project?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

You are collaborating with the Gurihiru artist team; what makes them the right team for Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

You are reinventing Unico, a character created by Osamu Tezuka; does that add more pressure on you as a writer?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

As you are crowdfunding Unico: Awakening and dealing directly with consumers, does that make Unico: Awakening<\/em> more special for you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What has it been like working with Tezuka Productions?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

How would you describe Unico: Awakening<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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 Unico: Awakening<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: Unico: Awakening<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/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":"

With 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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hi Phil, it's so wonderful to have you here with us.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

As some of our readers may not be familiar with your work, could you please tell us a bit about yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n

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 Chicken and Beer<\/em> is probably my most famous album cover.<\/span><\/p>\n

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, Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em> came about.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Can you tell us about the origins of Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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\u2014Eerie<\/em>, Creepy<\/em>, Vampirella<\/em>, etc. 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>horror realms. I\u2019ve always wanted to create my own monster along the lines of Frankenstein\u2019s or more modern equivalents like RoboCop<\/em> or Tetsuo<\/em>, so Gringo Loco<\/em> became that for me.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

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>\n

How would you describe Professor Dario Bava: Orgy of the Blood Freaks #1\/Gringo Loco: Dead Late And A Dollar Short<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

We\u2019d already released a Professor Dario Bava<\/em> graphic novel, Murder Vibes From The Monster Dimension<\/em>, so the thought was we\u2019d introduce Gringo Loco<\/em> in the same volume\u2014like the second feature on a double bill. It made sense too, since a movie poster for Gringo Loco<\/em> actually appeared in Murder Vibes<\/em>\u2014like I said, these ideas have been fermenting for years!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who is Professor Dario Bava?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How important is word of mouth for any indie project?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What can you tell us about Gringo Loco<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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

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. 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. Gringo Loco<\/em> was finished at the end of February this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did you always want to do a double feature flip for this comic?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Well I always love books that encourage you to engage with them in a physical way\u2014Murder Vibes<\/em> featured a foldout back cover and book flaps, and the 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>\n

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

Mike and I have worked together on the two previous 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

Vicente Alc\u00e1zar was a huge coup for us! We knew his work from all those \u201970s and \u201980s Warren comics, plus Jonah Hex<\/em>, Conan<\/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. Professor Dario Bava<\/em> is a more complex world to envision, but with 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

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We have to talk about the covers by Emanuele Taglietti and Dave Kendall; can you tell us all about them?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Emanuele Taglietti is another legend Dan contacted for us back before we even started on Murder Vibes<\/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 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

Dave Kendall was someone Dan had his eye on for a while, though he wasn\u2019t sure if he\u2019d be right for 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>\n

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

It\u2019ll be in a few select shops around the US on May 11th, but you can order it directly from us at <\/span>www.ProfessorDarioBava.com<\/a> to get the full Diabolik packaging effect!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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>\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":"With the release of his new graphic novel,\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\u00a0Count<\/em>,\u00a0Jaeger<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0High Crimes<\/em>.\u00a0He has worked on numerous titles such as\u00a0James Bond<\/em>,\u00a0Mother Panic<\/em>,\u00a0Moon Knight<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nHi Ibrahim, we are delighted to have you here with us again.<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThanks so much for having me, I really appreciate it.<\/span>\n\nWhen we last chatted, your graphic novel\u00a0Count<\/em>\u00a0had just been released. What has the feedback been like for\u00a0Count<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt'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\n\nHow would you describe the\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>\u00a0graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIn 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\nWhat can you tell us about Tarik Abdelnasser?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nHe'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\n\nBrad Simpson and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; both join you again after working with you on the\u00a0Count\u00a0<\/em>graphic novel. What was it like working with them again?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nJust 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\nWhat is the Bureau of Temporal Affairs?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt'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\n\nDid you enjoy creating the visuals for the different time periods?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI 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\nWho is Lucia Olmos?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nLucia 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\nWhen you started to work on\u00a0Retroactive<\/em>, did you write a full script?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nNot 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\n\nWhat has it been like working with editor Rob Levin?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nThe 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\nAs\u00a0Retroactive<\/em> involves\u00a0time travel, how difficult was it to keep track of the time travel logic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOverall 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\n\nHas it been a challenge working on\u00a0Retroactive?<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n\nA little! But I feel like I thrive with a challenge.<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nRetroActive 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\nWe would like to say thank you to Ibrahim for chatting with us. We wish him all the best for his new graphic novel, 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":"With the release of the Kickstarter for\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>,\u00a0we are delighted to be joined today by\u00a0storyboard artist Richard Bennett.<\/span>\n\nHi Richard, it's a pleasure to have you here with us.<\/span>\n\nCould you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nMy 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\nYou have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI 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\nCould you tell us about the origins of\u00a0Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett<\/em>\u00a0book?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI\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\n\nOn average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt 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\nDo you have a favourite scene from\u00a0Godzilla vs. Kong?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nFor sure, I\u2019d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong\u2019s lead. Very trippy scene.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nAs you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOf 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\n\nDo you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nProbably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/strong><\/span>\n\nI 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\nWe 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\nFeel free to check out the Kickstarter: 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":"With the release of\u00a0Nottingham #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\nHello 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\n\nThe 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\nDavid: 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\nShane: SCV- The Disney animated version is my favourite! I watched it so much as a kid and it\u2019s still so good!<\/span>\n\nLuca: 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\n\nFor anyone who has missed the first few issues of\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>, what can you tell us about the series so far?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDavid: 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\nShane: Get ready for big action, and unexpected twists! <\/span>\n\n\n\nDavid, 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\nThe 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\nShane, artistically has it been a challenge to illustrate\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nAbsolutely! 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\n\nLuca, 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\nTruly 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\nDavid, what had the feedback been like for\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nOverwhelmingly 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\n\nShane, as Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is an indie comic, how important is pre-ordering and word of mouth for any indie comic?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nIt\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\nLuca, do you have a favourite\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0cover; that you worked on?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nI 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\n\nIssue six of\u00a0Nottingham<\/em>\u00a0is coming out on April 6th; what can you tell us about the issue?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDavid: 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\nShane: We\u2019ve given Vol. 2 everything we\u2019ve got!<\/span>\n\n\n\nAny message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong>\n\nDavid: 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\nLuca: Bring a raincoat, and don't step on the pools of blood.\u00a0<\/span>\n\nWe 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":"

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>\n

Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What can you tell us about Arizona Opera?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Can you tell us about the origins of Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

For anyone unfamiliar with Carmen<\/em>, how would you describe it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

How did P. Craig Russell, Aneke and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou join the team?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

What it is about Carmen<\/em>; that made you want to adapt it into a graphic novel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Was it a challenge to write Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em>?<\/span><\/p>\n

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>\n

We understand that there are several Kickstarter-exclusive prints available. What can you tell us about these prints?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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>\n

Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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

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 Carmen: The Graphic Novel<\/em> the best of luck.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: <\/span>Carmen on Kickstarter<\/a>.
<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/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"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":2},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_22"};

Page 2 of 10 Previous 1 2 3 … 10 Next

Interview

Column

ComicBuzz Chats With James Babineau

October 6, 2022

Column

ComicBuzz Chats With Curt Pires

October 6, 2022

Column

ComicBuzz Chats With The Trve Kvlt Team

October 6, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With Matt Kindt

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With Jason Starr

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With The Justice Warriors Team

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With Samuel Sattin

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With Phil Mucci

October 7, 2022

Featured

Talking With Ibrahim Moustafa

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With Richard Bennett

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With The Nottingham Team

October 7, 2022

Featured

ComicBuzz Chats With Alek Shrader

October 7, 2022

Page 2 of 10 Previous 1 2 3 … 10 Next

Scroll to Top