|
ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
|
|
| << December25, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 503.06 |
December25, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 503.10 >> |
|
***************** Interview with: Brian Augustyn, Writer of Barbarossa & the Lost Corsairs! Interviewed by: Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher - Jazma Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com/ Question: Tell us something personal about yourself. Your family life. Schools you attended. Heck, maybe something about your first girlfriend! Answer: Um, I was born and raised in Chicago, now live in Connecticut. I'm married and have two beautiful daughters. I went to St. Gall grammar school, Gurdon S. Hubard High School and the Chicago Academy of Fine Art. My first official girl friend was Mary Vincent, when I was in 8th grade...and my wife will probably kill me for being able to remember. Question: What were some of the comic books you used to read when you were a kid? A: I devoured the DC super-heroes; Flash, Green Lantern, JLA, Batman. For some reason, it wasn't easy to get Marvels in Chicago in the mid-sixties, but I loved Daredevil and Spider-Man when I finally found 'em. Question: Please brief us about Barbarossa & the Lost Corsairs? A: There actually was an historical "pirate" named Barbarossa (which means "red-beard" in Greek, I think). In fact there were two brothers who went by that name in the middle-ages. They were the scourge of the Mediterranean, routing ships from so-called Christian countries on behalf of Saladin, the ruler of the Arabic nations. The Barbarossa brothers were brutal, but in that they acted under a national flag, they weren't technically pirates; they were privateers. Anyway, our book takes the younger, more dashing Barbarossa brother, Hizir, and romanticizes the heck out of him. In our book he's an adventurous, dashing gentleman; a freebooter. He's a rogue with a heart of gold, as capable of heroism as he is of being a scoundrel. At the beginning of this adventure he and his crew are swept up in a mysterious sea-storm and are mystically transported to a new and bizarre realm, where the vast seas are filled with deadly sea creatures and the land with even more deadly human enemies. Question: Who are some of the main characters of this comic book? A: Chief among Barbarossa's crew is his long-time friend, Lucius, a physician and scientist--the genius responsible for the "Greek Fire" weapon that Barbarossa, a scorching stream of liquid fire that even the ocean can not quench. Also aboard is the Lady Julia Gonzaga, the Contessa of Fondi--a supposed captive who insisted on being brought along at the point of her sword. Beautiful, aristocratic and starving for adventure. The crew includes: Turgut, the gloomy first mate, a long-suffering hater of excitement and spontaneity--he'd rather follow maps and plans, but his beloved Captain never uses either. Said, the second fastest sword on ship, after Barbarossa--maybe third, now that Julia is aboard too. Daniel, a captive Crusader from Britain, he proves himself loyal and more than capable in a fight when the time comes. Question: Who came up with the concept of Barbarossa? A: I did. Plucked it right out of the blue, from whence all good ideas come. Question: Who is the artist on Barbarossa? A: A supremely talented master artist by the name of H.S. Park. I'm told he's a long-time veteran of the Korean comics scene. His stuff is phenomenal, really, really exciting and dynamic! It's a real pleasure to see the script rendered so terrifically--he makes the stories better! Question: What else will be coming out from Kandora Publishing? A: My second book is called Jade Fire, a sort of ancient - martial-arts-super-hero book. Set in a long forgotten city in ancient Asia, the book tells of the coming of evil to this near- paradise, and of the power for good that rises to stop it. That power picks a human champion to wield a magic sword and fight the evil to save the city. The sword is called 'Jade fire' and so is the woman who takes up the blade. Question: Tell us about the creative staff at Kandora Publishing? A: I'm a bit distant from them, since most of them are in Korea, but the artists and colorists are amazingly talented folks who make the stories come alive. Stateside, Ken Choi, the publisher, is a very talented guy himself, and a great pleasure to work with as is Jae Lee, Ken's management guru. Of course, Ian Feller is doing a terrific job on our promotions and marketing too. Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? A: I love comics, and so, I think, does everyone who works in the business. As an industry, it has its regular ups and downs, and plenty of midway times when nothing makes much sense, but we've always survived, probably because we love the form and, thank God, so do many fans. After 75 years, the colorful little pamphlets are still around and going strong. Question: What is the website address of Kandora Publishing? www.kandorapublishing.com Question: How can someone contact you? A: I would guess you could do so through the website. My wife frowns on my handing out my phone number to everyone. Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring and why? 1. The Complete Peanuts, by Charles Shulz, because I never tire of reading this genius comic strip. 2. The Bible, because where else can you get inspiration and uplift...and sex and violence and humor all between just two covers? 3 Diet Pepsi, because I NEED Diet Pepsi all the time! Question: What recreational activities do you enjoy? A: I read a lot, novels mostly, but plenty of biography and history too. I watch a lot of TV and films on DVD. And recreational eating is pretty big on my schedule. Question: What books do you read or have read? A: Ever? I've read like a bazillion books since 'Goodnight Moon" back when I was 5. I'm reading an amazing novel by Marilynne Robinson, called "Gilead." Next up is Michael Chabon's "The Final Solution." Question: What comic books do you read now? A: I read a huge bunch of stuff, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Flash, Spider-Man, Savage Dragon, Invincible, Hellboy, Powers, Acme Comics Library and on and on... And The Complete Peanuts. Question: What movies, cartoons, TV shows do you enjoy? Loved 'The Incredibles,' looking forward to "A Series of Unfortunate Events." On TV, I never miss 'Lost,' the original 'CSI,' and 'Cold Case.' I still like the 'West Wing' pretty much too. No other cartoon compares with The Simpsons, which is still amazing after all these years. Question: What kind of hobbies do you have? A; Sleeping. Question: If Barbarossa was made into a movie, who would play the character parts and why? A: Well, Errol Flyn is long gone, of course, but Obed fehr, who played Ardeth Bey in the Brenden Frazier 'Mummy' films would be a good Barbarossa, I think. When I created the series, I pictured Catherine Zeta Jones as Julia, but a younger actress would make more sense, since Julia is in her early twenties. Emmy Rossum who's about to star in 'Andrew Lloyd Webber's' Phantom of the Opera,' would do a fine job. Question: End of interview, any last words of wisdom? A: I didn't have any FIRST words of wisdom. Why blow a perfect track record? How about: "Read Kandora comics!" ************** Interview with Ronald Hall of Dead Dog Publishing Interviewed by Paul Dale Roberts, Publisher - www.jazmaonline.com Question: Tell us something personal about yourself, your family life, schools you attended. Heck, maybe something about your first girlfriend! I'm 30 years old and married with two children, Holden and Chloe. I attended the University of Kentucky where I studied film, creative writing, (and) literature. After going to Wizard World Chicago this year, my wife, Amy, gave me one year to break into comics, with no strings attached. I got really lucky and broke in a few months later. Question: What were some of the comic books you used to read when you were a kid? The first comic I ever read was a Batman Special written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by the great Michael Golden. I knew, right away, I wanted to be involved in comics. It's one of the finest Batman tales ever produced. I was big into G. I. Joe and The Transformers too. I also loved Matt Wagner's Demon Mini series as a kid. Question: Please brief us about Dead Dog Publishing and the line of comic books that we will see coming out of this company? Our Publisher, Chazz DeMoss wants to bring back the fun of collecting comics. The best way to do that is limiting our print runs with no overprinting, so when they are gone they are gone until we print the graphic novel. Also, we want to take these movie properties and take them into a different direction than most fans would expect. We don't want to rehash the same old stories from the movies. Most of us are the type of guys who go into a film and go: Yeah, that was cool, but what if this happened? Chazz likes to call what we are doing, "An EC way with a DC style." There are a lot of big titles coming out this year, like The Howling: Curse of the Blood Clan, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Tom Sullivan's Book of the Dead, and Night of the Living Dead: Barbara's Zombie Chronicles will continue. The Horror Show and our Creatures of the Night Series are also going to be popular with fans. Question: Since Dead Dog Publishing is putting out comics like The Howling, Leatherface, Evil Dead, Tom Sullivan's Book of the Dead, will we see any crossovers with the characters? Definitely! Keep an eye out in Night of the Living Dead: Barbara's Zombie Chronicles for a very special appearance that you'll just have to wait to find our who exactly. Question: What will we find in the anthology: The Horror Show? The cool thing about the first installment of The Horror Show is you are getting prequels to a lot of the new series coming out at Dead Dog. There is a Howling story by Mark Kidwell, A Book of the Dead story by Tom Sullivan and Josh Medors, and a Texas Chainsaw Massacre story by Mark Kidwell with art by Bill Hauser. Question: You are writing Frankenstein for Dead Dog. Is this the Frankenstein from the old Universal films starring Boris Karloff? No, this is an original take on Frankenstein's Monster. He is an interesting character. He's been portrayed so many times as a mindless killing machine, but really he is much more calculating than that. The book deals a lot with The Monster's relationship with Dr. Frankenstein. You'll get to see what happens when the Monster really unleashes his rage onto the world. Question: Tell us about the creative staff at Dead Dog Publishing? Chazz DeMoss is our Publisher and Creative Director, he is the driving force behind Dead Dog. He is always out there looking for new properties and guiding the direction of the Company. Joel Mojo Moen is the Editor and resident Inker, he checks and double checks everything and still finds time to fit some inking into his schedule. Nick Kaufman is our Art Director and coordinator he keeps everything running on time. Mark Kidwell is both a writer and artist at Dead Dog. He is an amazing talent and his Howling: Curse of the Blood Clan promises to be one of the biggest horror events of the year. Scott Kester runs 12:21 coloring and is the reason our zombies look so cool and the blood runs so red. There is me. I handle all the PR at Dead Dog and I am writing quite a few new projects for Dead Dog. Bill Hauser is another Dead Dog artist, he'll be working on the 8 page Texas Chainsaw Massacre story in The Horror Show We also have a lot of outside talent coming into the Dog Pound. Jerry (Something Wicked) Beck, Wilson Jr., Josh Medors, and the great Tom Sullivan. His Book of the Dead is gonna turn some heads. Question: What cons will you be attending? First up we have the FX Show in Orlando, that's January. Kansas City Planet Con, Comicon International in San Diego and Wizard World Chicago. There will be a lot more we will attend, but those are definite. Question: Your thoughts on the comic industry? You hear it a lot, but the glut of the early nineties really hurt the industry. A lot of low quality books got turned out in mass quantities. I see a positive upswing coming from the massive talent that is flowing into the industry today. If we can keep that momentum going and really explore new school approaches to our old school medium, people will stand up and take notice. Scott McCloud really laid all this out in Understanding Comics and I think he reached many of the high profile creators working today. Question: What is the website address of Dead Dog Publishing? www.deaddogent.com, everyone come over and stop by our message board and say hi. Question: How can someone contact you? You can get in touch with me through the Dead Dog Entertainment site, or just catch me on the Dead Dog Message board. I post there under the name ripdead. Question: If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 things would you bring and why? Since I have all that access to free fish I guess I would need a Sushi knife, some rice and some soy sauce. Question: What recreational activities do you enjoy? I like to paint, mainly acrylics. Writing screenplays. Going to movies. Playing poker with Dead Dog artist Mark Kidwell. Question: What books do you read or have read? George R. R. Martin writes some great books, so does Bentley Little. Stephen King is great (one of the first books I ever read cover to cover was Pet Cemetery) In college I got turned on to Edmund Spenser's The Fairie Queene which includes some real lynchpins of fantasy and horror. Tolkien took a lot of Fairie Queene for The Lord of the Rings. The book that made me decide to try and break into comics is Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. It is a fable about finding the thing you love to do and sticking to it til the end. Question: What comic books do you read now? Warren Ellis' Planetary is fantastic, as is his take on Ultimate Fantastic Four. I love his, hey cool I'm a superhero I can do whatever I want, approach to comics. Anything Alan Moore writes is up there on my list. I think Eric Powell's The Goon is one of the best Horror books that we don't put out. I really wish Marvel would bring back Werewolf by Night though. I loved those books! Question: What movies, cartoons, TV shows do you enjoy? Movies: I love em all my favorites would have to be The Godfather, Citizen Kane, So I married an Ax Murderer, The Princess Bride (William Goldman is a genius) and Ted Demme's Beautiful Girls. As far as cartoons go you can't go wrong with the classic Warner Brothers stuff by Chuck Jones. TV: Scrubs, Lost, and Alias, which I think is one of the most underrated shows on television. Question: What kind of hobbies do you have? I collect original comic art and vintage animation art. One of my favorite pieces is a Chuck Jones watercolor he did of Sam the Sheep Dog and Ralph Wolf. Question: End of interview, any last words of wisdom? If you are a true horror fan, you owe it to yourself to check out Dead Dog, we make horror comics for horror fans, by horror fans just like you. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [6] Interviews Richard Vasseur richardv@sympatico.ca Eric Adams creator/writer/artist on Lackluster World from Eric Publishing interviewed by Richard Vasseur Vice President - Jazma Online! www.jazmaonline.com Richard: Can you tell us a little about your upbringing? Eric: My family was fairly tame and for the most part they didn't intervene with my decisions as a child unless it became necessary. I was an awkward loner of sorts. My "education" was the real killer. For thirteen years (K-12) I suffered through Catholic school. I was very open about being non-religious, and a large portion of the students and faculty did not approve of my presence in their system. Not everyone was "out to get me" of course, and I did have some great friends that included some of the teachers. I just felt like I often had to look over my shoulder. Other than all that, my life has been pretty keen. Things have always worked out for me in the end. Richard: What first got you interested in drawing? Eric: I was 4 or 5 years old when I did my first real piece of artwork. I sat down and convinced myself to "make something special." I spent an entire day at a table in my room, carefully examining plastic dinosaur toys, trying to translate them on paper. Once that drawing was complete, I stood back, excited as hell that such things were possible. Since that day I wanted to be an "artist" in one form or another. I still have that drawing. Richard: How did you come up with the idea for Lackluster World? Eric: Well, my ideas come from everywhere really. LW is an exaggerated combination of funny stories, things that have really happened to others and myself, and just general quirky weirdness that pops into my brain. The specific ideas for LW came randomly...one day I just thought, "Hmm, I think I'll make a comic." I had no characters, no story and didn't know a thing about making comics. I just liked writing and drawing, had a little skill at both and somehow thought to put them together. I spent months writing down miscellaneous thoughts and concept sketches. Sometimes, I would go through the thesaurus and just write down words that were interesting to me. "Lackluster" was one of those words and that's how I came up with the title. Once I filled a notebook, I went through all of it again and tried to put all these ideas together like a puzzle. After a while, LW was there on paper and I was left thinking "Huh. The story is finished!" Several of my real life horrors ended up in the story at some level, but not literally. In some ways, Fahrenheit's behavior reminds me of my teenage years - he's angry, hateful, impulsive, close-minded and not willing to fight back often enough. Conversely, he has a lot of traits that I highly admire -he's clever, ambitious and well spoken. Once I graduated college, my friends and I started to drift apart. I felt estranged, like I wanted something larger out of life. Cog is my manifestation of this. He feels there is more out there for him, yet does not understand that in order to find it. He has to remove from his life the very thing that is holding him back - his "friends". The most obvious real life experience for me is the religion aspect. Kelvin & Celsius are my way of personifying "religion" as I've seen it used. Celsius is the unquestioning sheep that blindly follows Kelvin's lead while Kelvin tells her and the rest of the world what they should be and just how wrong they are for not being it. And that, my friends, is how you make a baby. Richard: Are any of characters based on you or people you know? Eric: None of the main characters are (Fahrenheit, Kelvin, Celsius, Cog, Mr. Mittans). They are based more on concepts and are influenced by groups of people I have known - not specific individuals. However, some of my good friends have made it in as smaller background characters and I hope to continue inflicting this upon them. Richard: Why make Fahrenheit Monahan an albino? Eric: While developing the story, I needed a reason for Fahrenheit to be bitter towards "the world". As an albino, he has been ridiculed all his life and grown up to become defensive about most everything. More importantly, it is sweet irony for him to believe that he is the only "colorful" person in The City when he is in fact colorless. It also makes him unique and hard for readers to forget - I couldn't think of any other stories that feature a hero/antihero with albinism. Richard: Is this comic about religion at all? Eric: Overall, LW is a story about change and each of the characters are trying to find their respective places in the world...if they have one. This idea of "finding your place" is challenged by all the forces that try to "find your place" for you. Religion is one of the best examples of these cultural powers that try to convert you or tell you what you should be. Commercialism/Consumerism would rank right up there with it. In the aspect that it uses the idea of religion to push characters from one place to another, then yes it might be about religion. If you think of it as "soul searching" of "finding your faith" then no, not at all. LW is on a bigger scale than the confined world of one belief system. I hope no one takes offense to any of that. I'm perfectly okay with whatever anyone believes so long as they don't try to make me believe it too. Richard: So how did you decide to self publish your own comic? Eric: At first, I submitted to a handful of publishers. After a three to six month wait, I received some very positive letters but sadly was rejected by all. I made some drastic changes to the book thanks to the advice in those letters and instead of going through the whole submission process again, I decided to just do it myself. LW was something I wanted to do no matter what. Self-publishing also gave me complete control over my work, how it is promoted and cute out a lot of the middlemen. Granted, a publisher could take a lot of weight off my back, but I kind of like the sense of accomplishment I get by knowing I took it all from start to finish. All of the aside, I might be willing to talk with any publisher that might approach me. Richard: Who has helped you the most in your career? Eric: Friends and family have always been supportive, but I don't know if anyone "helped" my career. I did have some great art instructors that helped me refine my illustration skills, and I suppose that I've had the helping hand of many along the way. I don't think there is one person or persons that has stood by me all this time or that really pointed me in the right direction. I always end up in a leadership role and I guess I'm just good at making my own decisions. Richard: Where do you see your comic in 5 years from now? Eric: Complete! LW is a mini-series of seven (possible eight) issues that are being released quarterly. On the current schedule the remainder of the series will be out in about 1.5 years. I'm often pressured by peers to move LW to some form of animation front and I'm open to the idea, but I don't have any real big hopes of that happening. I have started the groundwork on a new project, which I will begin artwork on immediately after LW. I have a title, a story and some characters, but it is still top secret right now. Richard: Do you have any pets? Any like Mr. Mittens? Eric: None. I like pets but Mr. Landlord doesn't allow them. Someday I'll move and get some hissing cockroaches. Richard: What comic books do you read now? Eric: The horrible truth is that I don't read many comics. I do have a handful that I enjoy (Eightball, Black Hole) but in a way, I try not to over-influence myself. Staying naive keeps my work more original. I think some of the best comics are the weird, obscure ones you can find at small press shows. Most of my inspiration comes from "real" books and film. With LW, I tend to think through the flow of each issue as if it were live-action with camera-motion and cut scenes, etc. Richard: If you were not making comics what would you like to be doing? Eric: Something creative. I worked as the art director of an advertising agency before I went into self-publishing. I still do a great deal of freelance - web design, print design, Flash/ multimedia and illustration. After four years of working in the "real world," I needed to focus on more of my own work. At one point, I almost went to school for film & television, but I knew my skills were stronger in design and illustration so I took that route. It is still my secret wish that I can use creating comics as a back door towards being a screenwriter/creator/producer for TV and film someday. Richard: How can someone contact you? Eric: Anyone and everyone can e-mail me through my site. I do my best to reply to everyone, but sometimes it takes some patience on your part. I also recommend checking out the Forum on my site - I go out of my way to read new posts daily and if you just have a general question, it will be answered more quickly there. www.lacklusterworld.com Snail mail is always appreciated too: Eric Adams c/o Gen: Eric Publishing P.O. Box 12368 Cincinnati, OH 45212 Richard: Any last words of wisdom? Eric: Never run with scissors...don't try to pick up pennies with the vacuum cleaner...and always wear a shirt when cooking bacon... The first six pages of Lackluster World # 2 have just been posted on my web site: www.lacklusterworld.com Go check it out and reserve a copy through your comic retailer. Lackluster World # 2 is in December '04 Previews! Diamond Order Code: DEC04 2656 You can catch up on the story by reading the first half of Lackluster World # 1 - also on my site. If you are pleased, you can buy a complete copy of it online. However, if you want to simplify things for yourself, that too can be reserved through your comic retailer. Diamond Order Code: SEP04 2738 _________________________________________________________________ ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/bGIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. Send Email comments to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Material for inclusion in the Emag - press releases, solicitations, column submissions, Letters to the Editor, guesses for the trivia contest should be sent to ComicBkNet@aol.com The EDITOR, not the submitter, has final approval and edit rights on ALL material. Printed comic books and advanced copies for review in the Emag should be sent via US Mail or UPS to David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 TO Subscribe send a message FROM the intended address to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com TO Unsubscribe send a message FROM the address to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com You may also unsubscribe from the Egroups Web page at the short cut below. Shortcut URL to the Egroup page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag All contents COPYRIGHT 2004 The Comic Book Network. This messages may be reproduced only in its original form, and in its entirety for non-commercial purposes. Contact the original author(s) or the Editor for permission to use individual items. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ |
|
| << December25, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 503.06 |
December25, 2004 - [ComicBooknet E-Mag] CBEM 503.10 >> |
|
ComicBookNetworkEmag Archives Index
|
|
|
Archives powered by Zinester's Mailing List Service
Details on ComicBookNetworkEmag |
Browse for more newsletters at Zinester's Ezine Directory
Managed by Zinester's Mailing List Management |