Eldritch #1

Back in April of 2010, writer Aaron Alexovich and artist Drew Rausch’s Eldritch! battled nine other webcomics to win the monthly competition held by DC Comics’ Zuda imprint. It was a hard-fought battle, and Eldritch! would ultimately earn the distinction of becoming the last Zuda winner, as DC shut down the competitions and ultimately the entire imprint soon after.

Eldritch! never had the opportunity to begin its run on the Zuda site, but that didn’t stop Rausch and Alexovich from pushing forward. A little more than a year after their victory, their comic is finally being released by the duo in various digital formats, including through Graphicly, comiXology and via the comic’s website.

The duo was kind enough to answer a few questions about and share some artwork from the new book. You can see even a longer preview on their site.

JK: Let’s start with a question about how this project initially came together. What made you guys decide to enter the monthly Zuda contest? And how did you guys know each other before all of this?

Drew: I was aware of Aaron’s existence from reading Serenity Rose way back when it was in single issues. I remember thinking “Man, this guy can write!” Seriously, each issue was a sequential novel. And I liked that. It had substance, wit and charm what with the “spooky” cute art. Eventually, I ended up asking Aaron to do a pin up for the second volume of my creator book Sullengrey. He and I just started chatting after that and found we both had a lot of similar tastes.

As far as entering the Zuda competition, that was a spur of the moment thing. David Gallaher, who was successfully writing High Moon for Zuda sort of planted the seed in my head. He basically sold it as the cool place where all the talented creators that mainstream comics didn’t know what to do with go. Around that time, Aaron had shown me some of the pitch work for a book he was going to do with DC’s MINX line before it got cancelled. What I saw was the perfect blend of Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone, which is right up my alley. I’m Drew Rausch and I have a tentacular addiction. Just can’t quit the stuff. I asked Aaron if he would want to rework it a bit with me and submit it to Zuda. That story eventually became Eldritch!

I’m not sure he has forgiven me yet for that.

Eldritch

JK: You guys were chosen as one of the 10 contenders by the Zuda folks, and go on to put in a lot of time and effort into the competition. You end up winning, but before you can enjoy the fruits of your labors, Zuda shuts down its competitions and, ultimately, DC shuts down the whole imprint. Did you guys feel slighted that you got the victory but not the spoils?

Aaron: Oh sure, I’d be lying if I said that didn’t feel like a knife to the gut. Not just for us, but for all the fans who really threw themselves into promoting the book, as well. There’s was a lot of RIGHTEOUS FURY out there for a while. But at the same time, I understand DC’s position. Big companies like that have stockholders to answer to, so if something doesn’t make sense financially, their hands are pretty much tied. The Zuda people did everything they could to keep us happy, though, by letting go of the rights with no fuss, giving us a little money, etc. I really appreciate that. I think what I learned from it all is that I’m much happier in the small, underground, vaguely disreputable world of indie comic-making. It’s just more comfortable here.

JK: Once Zuda shut down, they gave you guys the full rights back. What did you guys do at that point?

Drew: We had already started a good amount of the work for the first issue which we didn’t want to just throw away. Eldritch! had been received well by fans, I mean it had the highest amount of votes and unique page views in Zuda’s two year run, so there was a market for it. There were emails, Facebook and Twitter messages from fans bummed about the whole Zuda thing wondering if we were going to finish. Right after DC announced it wasn’t continuing with ZUDA, we were in contact with digital comic juggernauts Graphicly and comiXology and a few other publishers, wanting to pick up Eldritch!. Other former Zuda winners went the self publishing route, so Aaron and I thought we would help them build the tracks into uncharted digital territory.

Aaron: JUGGERNAUT TRACKS.

JK: Initially you guys created a webcomic for Zuda, but are now releasing it as a digital comic on the various platforms that are available nowadays, including your own website as a download. Did you have to do anything differently from a storytelling standpoint to switch from one format to the other?

Aaron: Nah, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between what we had planned and what we’re doing. I guess the Zuda thing was supposed to be two pages a week, as opposed to the “24-page comic every six weeks” thing we’re doing now, but we’re not approaching anything differently, story-wise. I mean, yeah, if you’re only putting out one or two pages a week, you might feel like every one of them has to end on a cliffhanger to keep people coming back, but I sort of write that way anyway. I always try to end each page with a moment that keeps pages flipping.

Eldritch

JK: So for those who missed it the first time around, what is Eldritch! about?

Aaron: Eldritch! is a horror book. A dark, brutal, MESSY horror book, but with a lot of humor built in… The story’s about Anya Sobczek, an angry punk-rock science major who discovers her teenage occultist brother is full of black tentacles and ancient, awful powers. There’s a lot of Lovecraft in it, obviously… Lots of monsters, lots of gruesome images, lots of peculiar behavior. I wanted something with a bit of that cool odd Sam Raimi/John Carpenter feel, where you’d have genuinely horrifying images and a real sense of THREAT, but you’re still laughing at the absurdity of it all. I love that kind of thing. It’s a hard balance to pull off, but I think Drew’s nailing it.

You know that scene in The Thing where the guy’s head tears loose and goes scuttling out of the room on spider legs? The “You’ve got to be fucking kidding” scene? Eldritch! is more or less “You’ve Got To Be Fucking Kidding: The Book.”

JK: What are some of your personal favorite horror comics?

Drew: Wow. Not shying away from the tough questions, are we? So many to choose from. I have a rekindled love for the old EC Tales from the Crypt comics. And I’m really glad that Dark Horse has been reprinting them. They’re a fun read and there is some stunning artwork in there. Some real gems. I appreciate the amount of gruesome scenes they got away with considering the time period.

Eldritch

I’ll tell you the first horror comic I bought was a Nightmare on Elm Street comic that I found in a cigarette shop, which was where I bought my comics as a kid. It was one of those over-sized magazine books that Marvel put out. I must have been 10 or so. It had this fully painted cover and all this detailed black and white interior. The last page was this splash of two girls sinking into Freddy’s steaming brain. I’m sure they were trying to make this overly sexual image but it was the ridiculousness that stuck with me.

One of my more personal favorites though has to be Charles Burns’ Black Hole. Never has a comic made me feel more uneasy after closing the cover then that book. Particularly due to his use of shadows and the way he drew expressions. The people ended up being more ugly then actual gory stuff.

These days, I look out for more of the obscure weird stuff. Not horror per se, but the weirder the better.

Aaron: Oh definitely, Black Hole is a masterpiece. His new one, X’ed Out, is pretty impressive so far, too. Just eerie and uncomfortable in all the right ways. I love being put off balance like that. And, obviously, I have to agree with Drew about the EC stuff. Jack Davis was a HUGE influence on me as a kid, and still is. It goes back to that balance between humor and genuine awfulness I mentioned before. Creepy and Eerie did some memorably disturbing stuff, too, especially when Bernie Wrightson was involved. I think my FAVORITE horror comic of the past few years, though, is Beasts of Burden by Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin. That story about the ghost puppies is seriously one of the most unsettling things I’ve ever read. It’s brilliant.

Eldritch!

JK: What else are you guys working on?

Aaron: Serenity Rose Volume 3. It’s a comic I’ve been doing off and on since 2002, about a massively social-phobic witch who lives in this kind of supernatural tourist trap. It has a lot of the same feel as Eldritch!, but it’s a bit looser. More about building interesting characters than plot, I guess. This new one is a love story: “Break Your Stupid Heart.” Probably good to get outside my horror/monster comfort zone once in a while.

Drew: There’s a couple projects that I have in the works that are kind of exciting, and I’m hashing out the plot details for the third volume of Sullengrey with writer Jocelyn Gajeway. But right now, I’m mostly focused on Eldritch! and making the coolest looking book we can. Hopefully if it goes well, we’ll get to do more!

Aaron: Yep! Got at least two more Eldritch! books in mind. We WILL make those, one way or another. I’ve already picked out a nice, secure basement prison to keep Drew confined. Not too dirty!

JK: Is the story open-ended, or do you guys have a specific ending planned?

Aaron: I think these first six issues make for a pretty satisfying single story. If it ends there, I’ll be happy. There will definitely be some mysteries left unsolved, though… Enough to explore for another three or four books, I think. Should probably share some of those story ideas with Drew at some point.

Eldritch #1

Last year Drew Rausch and Aaron Alexovich’s Eldritch! was the winner of the final Zuda webcomics competition, but before the strip could begin its run, DC Comics shut down the site and imprint.

That might have slowed Rausch and Alexovich down, but it certainly didn’t stop them, as they plan to release Eldritch! “to every digital device known to God, Man, and Shoggoth alike, including your desktop, iPad/iPod/iPhone, Android, Nook, Kindle, and eNecronomicon (pending).” That includes Graphicly and comiXology, as well as directly from their website as a PDF.

The comic will debut on June 15 for 99 cents, and the first nine pages are available to preview now ontheir website.

You can find the press release, which is kind of a fun one as far as press releases go, after the jump.

*****

ELDRITCH! Shocked Back to Life THIS JUNE

ANYA SOBCZEK is a snarling science major with an arm full of Darwin tattoos. Her brother OWEN is a sensitive young thing in a coven of teenage occultists. The Sobczek sibs have always been brutally competitive, but now that Owen’s blood has started BUBBLING with ancient tentacled abominations, their rivalry’s about to enter a vast new dimension of cosmic terror…

2010: Artists Drew Rausch and Aaron Alexovich hurled their infectious horror/comedy hybrid ELDRITCH! into blazing combat in DC Comics’ final Zuda webcomic competition. After several centuries it emerged, dazed and confused, with the word WINNER indelibly etched on its forehead.

It was promptly buried in an unmarked grave.

This June, ELDRITCH! will be shocked back to life.

Starting JUNE 15th, 2011, ELDRITCH! will be released in six 24-page installments every sixth week to every digital device known to God, Man, and Shoggoth alike, including your desktop, iPad/iPod/iPhone, Android, Nook, Kindle, and eNecronomicon (pending). The issues will be priced at $0.99 each, and the first nine pages are available for FREE DOWNLOAD right now.

ELDRITCH! will be available not only through the fearsome Graphic.ly and comiXology apps, but direct from the artists in pdf format at the official ELDRITCH! site: http://www.heartshapedskull.com/ELDRITCH/

You have waited long enough, Elder Things. Thank you to everyone who helped push ELDRITCH! to victory in 2010, and we hope to drive you all to gibbering madness in 2011. By all means, help spread the infection!

from D.O.G.S. of Mars

Johnny Zito and Tony Trov, writers of Black Cherry Bombshells and Moon Girl, along with Christian Weiser and artist Paul Maybury (Aqua Leung, Party Bear), are teaming up with High Treason Pictures to tell the story of Zoe, “the swashbuckling captain of Earth’s first Martian colony. Isolated on the farthest frontier of civilization, order breaks down when unfamiliar hostiles invade. Zoe faces mutiny, death and dishonor; she must sacrifice her humanity if she hopes to survive.”

I spoke with Paul, Johnny and Tony about the new project, D.O.G.S. of Mars, due later this month. Like Zito and Trov’s Moon Girl, the comic will be released digitally via comiXology, with plans for a film down the line. Thanks to Paul for an exclusive look at some pages from the project; for more, check out this video he created.

JK: What is D.O.G.S. of Mars about?

Johnny: It’s about astronauts marooned on Mars and hunted by monsters. It’s like Lord of The Flies and Star Trek.

Paul: So far it’s about surviving as far as I know. This might sound stupid but I haven’t read the script past what I’ve drawn. This is less an action packed Monster book than a study of the character’s humanity in my opinion. I know roughly that characters die, but it’s more interesting to draw them scene to scene not knowing their fates. I feel like this creates an honesty and an interest in each character as I draw them that I might not have if I know they happen to be a throw away character that gets killed three pages later. Like I said, that probably sounds pretty stupid.

Tony: We like to describe the project as being in the genre of space-ploitation.

from D.O.G.S. of Mars

JK: Can you tell us more about the main characters?

Johnny: Zoe is the swashbuckling captain of Earth’s first Martian colony. Turk is her brash XO who second guesses every order. Emit is Zoe’s husband, an arrogant physicist who bites off more than he can chew. It’s an ensemble cast of average, “blue collar” folks, who just so happen to work in outer space.

Tony: Exactly. Space-plotation.

JK: I’m assuming D.O.G.S. Is an acronym … What does it stand for?

Johnny: Division of Global Surveyors… Which is kind of a play on the real life Division of Planetary Science and NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor.

JK: How did you guys come together for this project?

Paul: I was living in Austin working at Hot Topic at the Barton Creek Mall for 6 months. It was a bad time to be a comic book creator out of work, and it was the only job I could get on short notice. Literally my two choices were Hot Topic, and Forever 21. I think I picked the lesser of two evils? Any ways, while I was zoning out at the register, we carried copies of Kill Audio by Sheldon Vella and Claudio Sanchez. Travel back in time to 2008 I was signing copies of Aqua Leung in NY next to Claudio, and in Popgun with Sheldon. It kind of got me down thinking about how through various deals falling through I was where I was at. At that point Party Bear, a half completed graphic novel had been turned down three times over… Sort of magically Sheldon and I started chatting on DeviantArt about this and that and when he asked me what I was working on I said nothing. Apparently he passed this project along to me and here I am drawing a comic that’s going to see the light of day.

Johnny: We all got to hang out at SDCC last year and things clicked. We talked about Asian gore movies, Alien comics, the interior lighting on a submarine, wilderness survival and country western music; turns out we have a lot of the same influences. Paul really understood the themes of isolation and claustrophobia we were trying to get across in this story. It’s been really exciting working with him.

from D.O.G.S. of Mars

Were you familiar with each other’s previous work before you met?

Tony: Yes, Zito and I were very familiar with Paul’s work before we met. We were all Zuda Comics kids.

Paul: Yeah, I remember they were winners and I was a winner in my mind with Maxy J. Millionaire. Zuda invited me back for a best of rematch with Gabriel Hardman’s Crooked Man and others, but I declined. If you can believe it, Gabriel Hardman lost again, so there was little chance of me hanging with Zuda. I’m no Zito and Trov.

JK: And how did you guys hook up with High Treason Pictures?

Tony: I was working in the art department for High Treason’s last film, The Best and The Brightest, as the set dresser. We had just managed to get LaMorte Sisters picked up at Zuda Comics. The producers heard about our good fortune and invited Zito and I to pitch.

Johnny: They’ve been awesome and very supportive. Christian Weiser, one of the producers, has been very involved with developing the project from the very beginning. The comic is part of the film’s development as far as they’re concerned.

JK: What are some of the influences you’re bringing to the artwork, Paul?

Paul: If you asked me what I wanted to draw, it probably wouldn’t be space werewolves or scenes of ping pong, but they’re all in the script. Part of what I’ve been telling myself and trying to live by is if I can’t make drawing something fun, I’m doing it wrong. I decided to just draw whatever fell out of my head, despite some of the different directions the script had to offer. This isn’t Johnny and Tony’s fault, I’m just difficult and sensitive about my art. Most of all I’m just a pain in the ass. I started pulling from a lot of horror Manga, and staring at Yoshiharu Tsuge and Yoshihiro Tatsumi. I got really inspired after reading Black Blizzard, and learning how how quickly it was created sort of compelled me to draw DoM as fast as I possibly could, and sort of let go and let it be raw. Because I’m sort of a one man band in the art department (I do have two interns Ricky and Katy who erase, scan etc. <3) the colors are sort of a playful limited palette that I try to invert and squeeze as many variations as I can out of it. Other than that it’s just me dusting off the cobwebs and drawing long term sequential stories again.

from D.O.G.S. of Mars

JK: We’ve been asking folks about how they see digital affecting their work in 2011, but since you guys are already firmly entrenched in that side of the business, instead I’ll ask — are their plans for this to be seen in print someday?

Paul: Hopefully, since I’m not doing the digital covers, I’ve requested to draw the print covers. Plus I’ve always wanted to draw something that comes out in issues. I didn’t really get to come into comics before the graphic novel became so tempting.

Tony: We want D.O.G.S. of Mars to be available in multiple platforms. Print is something we are definitely interested in and we’re currently looking into finding a publisher.

Johnny: Until then, it will be available on Comixology. The comic is also going to be available in Spanish, thanks to all star letterer Gabe Bautista.

JK: What else do each of you have planned for 2011?

Paul: I drew a 7 page Clock story that’s been in limbo for about a year. I’ve heard rumors that Image will release it in Crack Comics early 2011.

from D.O.G.S. of Mars

Aside from that Charlyne Yi (Paper Heart) and I are discussing a new project and trying to find a publisher for it. I’m also working on a new project with Josh Tierney that has anthology aspects to it with great creators like Nathan Fox, Guy Davis, Toby Cypress, Sheldon Vella, Travel Foreman and more attached to contribute. I probably just jinxed it but whatever happens happens. I would like some publisher to pick up Party Bear so I can pay myself just enough to finish the last 40 pages. I also have a short Savage Dragon story that I wrote that Giannis Milonogiannis will be drawing.

Other than that I have about three graphic novels I’m writing, and I plan to just keep creating and owning my career.

Johnny: We are wrapping up a comic book donation drive, all of which is going to Reading Is Fundamental. We’ve had a great turn out.

Tony: We just started selling T-shirts though our online store and our other Comixology title, Moon Girl, is going to print through Red 5 this spring. We’re pretty pumped.

Brigid: First of all, the most important question in an interview like this is: What is the comic about?

Mike: In Maps & Legends is about a young woman caught between this world and another, and her attempts to save them both. It starts off as a contemporary fantasy, as our hero Kaitlin Grayson and her friends get caught in the web of a mysterious man named Bartamus who shows up at Kait’s place one night. Bartamus tells Kait she’s the only one who can save his dying world. As you can guess from the title, cartography, history, and stories play a key role in the unfolding mystery of our comic.

Brigid: How long do you plan it to be?

Mike: This first story arc is ten issues. I can see a lot more stories in this series, but we’re starting with this arc to see if it sparks interest in readers who’d like to read more.
 
Brigid: Why did you choose to enter it in the Zuda competition?
 
Mike: It’s all Niki’s fault! She put out a call for writers via Twitter, and I sent her half a dozen ideas, and this is the one that stuck. I’d never heard of Zuda before, but when I found out it was an imprint of DC, I sat down and started reading all the comics available at the site. All of it great stuff, and while I felt a bit daunted by the quality of the other contest winners at the site, I thought ours added a new take, a strong female protagonist, and a great cape-and-tights-free story.

Niki: As Mike said, I’d been musing “aloud” on Twitter about entering the Zuda competition last fall—a few writers tossed out ideas, but I really liked Mike’s—it had the most potential *visually*, I thought. A map carved into the walls of a room? There was definitely potential to show something Zuda readers hadn’t seen.

Brigid: What was that experience like? Are you glad you did it?

Mike: The month of the competition, November 2009, was pretty heinous. Lots of checking and double-checking of our numbers, and the twice-weekly ranking updates were particularly nerve-wracking. And spamming everyone we knew to get them to vote! Though we led all month, I was convinced by the last day of November that we’d lost. But we didn’t, and I’m really glad we did it, in spite of all the chaos of the year since. It was a crash course in marketing, what to do to get the word out and what not to do. Plus, getting contracts and checks with the DC logo on it? Priceless!

Niki: Stress. My wife made me promise I would never submit again. It was a tight race start to finish. You can’t just sit back and hope people like you—you have to get the word out and bring in new readers. Comics are always in need of new readers!

Brigid: How did working for Zuda shape the way you made the concept—the format, the storytelling, the pacing? Is there anything you would do differently?
 
Mike: I think Niki would agree with me that we’d adjust the size and orientation of the page—Zuda used a horizontal format, which is great for reading online, but not so great for reading on a Kindle or Nook or iPad. And so many comic distributors are set up for vertical, not horizontal, that we’ve had to do some jury-rigging to make our comic fit at certain sites. But I’m not sure I’d change anything else, and I actually like the horizontal aspect.

Niki: I don’t know if I would go standard comic vertical, actually. Horizontal works perfectly for screens; you just have to rotate how you hold it. We may have tried to squeeze less action onto each page, though, if we had originally intended it for the smaller screens of phones and ereaders. Pacing-wise, Zuda’s deal is always for a “season” of 60 pages—and conveniently enough, that’s exactly where we are now! One year to the day from winning Zuda, we’ve released the third issue, and those who have read it will know just how much of a cliffhanger our Zuda season would have ended on—with no definite say on whether or not it would continue! Releasing In Maps & Legends independently means we can tell the full 10-issue story without our readers having to worry they’ll never get to see the end.

Brigid: How did you find out that Zuda was shutting down, and what was your immediate reaction?
 
Mike: I got an email from Zuda, and then sat back in shock for a while. Then I watched the twittersphere blow up as other creators reacted to the end of Zuda. I wasn’t completely blindsided, as there were rumors flying already, and I had a bad feeling about it in my trick knee, but still… it stung. I got on IM immediately to chat with Niki and commiserate.

Niki: All Zuda creators got the same form email, with not a lot of information. We had no way of knowing who was cut free and who they’d decided to continue—or where and how they would survive. So far at least one other ex-Zuda series (War of the Woods) has released independently on Comixology, and I hear a few others have plans, but by now I think many have simply moved on to their next projects. It’s a shame, because I’d enjoyed following their series on Zuda.

Brigid: Why did you decide to present your story on so many platforms?
 
Mike: It didn’t make sense to limit ourselves to just one distributor (though it would’ve been a lot easier on us!).  There still isn’t one distributor that hits ALL the various platforms and devices (some are getting closer and closer, however). Also, people are going to start choosing their favorite app for getting their comics—I know I don’t want to go through five or six different comic apps on my iPhone or computer to get to the comics I want to read. So we figured the best route was to do some research and find the big players as well as the smaller players that we felt had lots of potential and reach, and get on board with all of them.

Niki: Digital reading devices are growing so fast it’s hard to keep up. The iPad was released something like 6 months ago, and a wave of tablets are soon to come—all running on different operating systems and needing different programming. There’s no single distributor available on all of the platforms we’re on. We have a different partnership for Kindle, for Nook, for Android phones, iPhones, Windows phones… the list goes on. By limiting ourselves to one distributor exclusively, we would have cut out a huge percentage of our readers. EReader sales actually make up the majority!
 
Brigid: How do you handle the nuts and bolts of formatting it for all these different apps?
 
Mike: Niki does a lot of the behind-the-scenes work, and I’ve got notes and spreadsheets for the different issues and all the distributors. We’re still fine-tuning the process, but it’s getting better with each issue. Thank goodness for the wonders of Dropbox, which helps Niki and keep our files synced up between North Carolina and Ohio.

Niki: I do a lot of Photoshop work. Kindle and Nook take longest because their smaller screens means all the lettering needs to be made larger and more legible. For the “guided view” panel-to-panel stuff for iPhone and Android, the distributors handle that.

Brigid: Do you plan a print edition?

Mike: A print edition is definitely in the plans. We’re considering a couple different publishers, but haven’t settled on anyone just yet. I’m looking forward to it.

Niki: We plan on querying a few publishers soon, but the hard-core print thinking may come closer to the end of the 10-issue run.
 
Brigid: What have you learned since leaving Zuda?
 
Mike: I think I have a pretty good feeling of what it’s like to own your own business! I went from scripting 3 issues a year (with Zuda) and doing some minor marketing for each new page (Zuda did 1 page a week, while we’re doing 22 pages every six weeks) to running what’s essentially a small digital publisher. I’ve gotten really good at reading contracts. I think I’m getting better at writing press releases. And I’ve learned that you get exactly out of creating a comic what you put into it. It’s been a rush.

Niki: Agreed. Time management is huge. I’m drawing, inking, coloring, lettering, formatting 22 pages in 6 weeks… it’s exhausting but I’m actually getting the hang of it!

Brigid: Do you like being independent comics producers, or would you prefer to be working for a publisher?
 
Mike: As I said above, it’s a lot of work, and the marketing side of it can be really draining, especially when I’m trying to get an issue scripted and keep in touch with our distributors and discuss the art with Niki. Ideally, I’d love to have it both ways—work on indie comics as well as work with a publisher.

Niki: I’m still actively trying to find a publisher for a few graphic novel projects of my own, so in the end I would say I’m probably inclined to lean that way. There’s no safety net when you go independent—no advance, no page rate, just your own meager skills as an artist and marketer. I would also love to work with a good editor, particularly on the comics I write.

Brigid: What’s next once this comic is done?
 
Mike: With seven issues to go, it’s hard to see that far ahead at times, but I’d love to do another graphic novel or maybe a shorter one-shot kind of comic, and then do another story arc for Maps. I also have some non-graphic novels out there to publishers, and if those get picked up I’d love to get a series going there for one of my novels. My five-year-old son and I just finished the most recent Wimpy Kid novel, and I think there are a ton of stories waiting to be told for that audience, especially for boys ages 5-12—we loved the mix of stories and line art in those books, and as my wife would attest, I haven’t completely left behind my junior-high-school mentality…

Niki: I actually just won a grant to work on a graphic novel I’ve been writing for the past few years, so I’m hoping something comes out of that! It’s a story I would love to get out there, and it’s MUCH different from IM&L in both style and tone.

High Moon

All this month, the creative team of High Moon has been celebrating its third anniversary of entertaining folks. Robot 666 is joining in the celebratory fun today by interviewing artist Steve Ellis. In this email info exchange we delve into the series moving away from ZUDA and growing its audiences through different digital platforms. While he was unable to go into details, I think fans of High Moon will be happy to learn there will some more Western horror in the High Moon creative team’s future.

If you’ve not read High Moon, at their blog the creators posted where to find High Moon: “The first three chapters of High Moon were collected last October by DC Comics. You can order the print collection through your local area comic book shop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Borders.

The entire series is also available digitally through Comixology’ Comics or DC Comics apps for the iPhone and iPad Operating System. You can also download the issues from here – and read them on your computer or import them them into your ipad or iphone. The first issue is free — and every additional issue is just 99 cents!

And finally, for those of you savvy comic reading gamers our there — HIGH MOON is also available through the DIGITAL COMICS store on the Playstation Network for your PSP.”

Added bonus at the end of this interview, instead of answering a question, Ellis asks the readers a question.

Tim O’Shea: This month marks the third anniversary of High Moon. Looking back at the past three years, what have been some of the high points for you?

Steve Ellis: The first high point was meeting David at NYCC and starting the whole process of collaboration and building the working friendship that we’ve built. The rewards of working in comics come in different forms, but the collaborative process is one of the greatest parts of it.

Other highlights include winning the first competition, which while everyone else seems to say was a foregone conclusion didn’t feel that way while we wee in the thick of it. The third major high point is getting to know the fans, building a visual style all my own and really finding an audience that responds to that vision.

Last but not least, being nominated and winning the Harvey Awards. There is nothing more flattering than to be acknowledged by your peers for the work you’ve been dong. So often comic artists work in a vacuum, only interacting with the biz on Wednesday when you go to the shop. Having your work chosen for an award by your peers is an excellent reward, and makes all the studio work even more worthwhile.

O’Shea: How daunting is it for the series to be moving on, with the end of ZUDA as an entity?

Ellis: I don’t know if I would describe it as daunting, it’s really exciting. Watching how well High Moon has done with the new audiences it’s found on the iPhone and PSP has given me more belief in the digital format these digital format and that when we come back with the new material we’ll have an even bigger audience waiting for it. I will miss Zuda for its community of fans though. I think that was one of the highlights of that format. The direct interaction with the fans. It seemed that every day people were coming to the site, reading and commenting and having conversations about the story points, giving their opinions on the weekly events in the comic and really being a part of the series. I think Zuda fostered a wonderful group of fans and contributors and I think in some ways the comics industry is a bit less for its end.

O’Shea: Did you know Drawbridge was going to post some interpretations of the HIGH MOON characters or was that a complete surprise?

Ellis: That was truly awesome. Simon Fraser, who arranges the drawbridge blog, dropped it on me the day they were going to do that as the topic. They put out a new topic everyday on Drawbridge and most days I can’t get my head together to do a piece for it. By the time I figure out a piece I want to do, it’s already the next day. So when Simon told me they were doing High Moon, I found out that morning. It was all I could do to get a piece in there. I have a couple of Drawbridge sketches sitting in my drawer because I was too busy to get them done.

The Drawbridge guys and girls are a fantastic bunch of creators, and it’s really an honor that they’ve asked me to contribute.

O’Shea: What else are you working on?

Ellis: Well, David, Scott and I are still producing the thriller comic, BOX 13, and after some interesting meetings we had at NYCC 20, it seems we’re going to have a lot of new and interesting projects with High Moon coming up.

Plus, there looks like there will some more Western horror in our future very soon.

O’Shea: In a recent tweet of yours, you acknowledged that films sometimes serve as inspiration for your comics. What films influenced High Moon?

Ellis: Oh wow … the first season of High Moon was influenced by Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. Films like The Good, the Bad & The Ugly, High Plains Drifter, The Italian version of Django is also great visual influence on High Moon especially for Mac’s tartan. The widescreen format of High Moon was made for the western. You can get those nice long “pans” across that mimic those long epic shots in Leone films. Not to use pretentious film words, but with High Moon I really tried to keep the same sense of mise en scène from the Leone world.

As the comics have been moving forward, Conroy has moved across the ocean to Victorian England and new influences have come in to play. For visual style I’ve been looking at films like the recent Frankenstein (by Kenneth Branagh, not my favorite film, but the set designs are great), as well as The Prestige, From Hell and other films of that era.

Strangely enough, I haven’t really delved into many monster films for this one, mostly because I don’t want my monsters to be too influenced by other peoples work.

O’Shea: In what ways have you and collaborator David Gallaher helped each other to evolve/improve as storytellers?

Ellis: David and I have spent countless hours sitting in my studio, or in the local coffee shops going over our projects panel-by-panel, page-to-page. It’s a very different work relationship than the traditional comic model. We both have a lot of say in what the other guy is doing. David will sometimes have a very specific vision for how he wants a scene to visually play out and I will have changes or additions to story points and storytelling.

I’ve really learned a lot about story structure and developing character and putting characters through their paces. When we begin working we tend to start with a solid outline, but as the story builds and as we develop pages and the drawing/writing process has begun, there is a lot of back and forth, and frequently the stories take on a life of their own. The final product still has the themes and high points of the outline but the details have often changed somewhat. Usually, when I’m done with a season, I have to immediately go back and read it again because I feel like every season is a journey and by the time I’ve gotten to the end I’ve forgotten where I began.

O’Shea: How has the 31 Days of High Moon gone so far?

Ellis: It’s been great, we’ve been talking to a lot of fans and putting up new art and things from the series and the repines has been fantastic. It’s great to see the outpouring of support we’ve gotten for the book and the continuation of the series.

O’Shea: Were you able to generate a great deal of interest and fun with the High Moon print you all offered at NYCC?

Ellis: The print was a great success. Every one who saw it was really excited about it. I haven’t worked on High Moon in a while, so pulling out The High Moon color palette and going crazy with the ink was great fun. I’m really looking forward to sinking my teeth into the next storyline.

O’Shea: When did you first realize how much enjoyment you got out of drawing monsters (as evidenced by High Moon, as well as your How-To book, Scream)?

Ellis: I’ve always been the “scary” kid, though, I think I really figured out that I was good at drawing monsters when I started working for White Wolf games on their Vampire the Masquerade line.

Monsters are just a blast to draw. I went to the morgue and studied anatomy in college and would come home after drawing cadavers and twist the anatomy into weird freaks of nature in my sketchbooks. Also, I love to look through books of animals and those crazy deep-sea creatures for inspiration. There’s nothing like big teeth, claws, fangs and weird anatomy to excite the imagination.

Monsters have always been a great way to deal with often real issues in a fun, scary, but not “real” way. I think Monsters often personify something we don’t like about ourselves or the world around us and play on our primal instincts. In movies and comics in the past monsters have been used as metaphors for social issues and personal fears. Just look at the way George Romero uses zombies to deal with race, religion and consumerism. The Werewolves in High Moon represent different things to the different characters that interact with or are them. For Mac, the Werewolf inside him represents his fear of losing control, whereas Conroy is more at home with his monster within. He accepts it and uses it, rather than trying to suppress it. For Bell, the monster he becomes is a dark reflection of his gentlemanly self.

Writing and illustrating Scream: Draw Classic Vampires, Werewolves, Zombies, Monsters and More, was a fantastic way to share my love of monsters with students who like to draw. Drawing monsters well can be tough, because you need to be able to draw the real world and represent that well enough so that when you twist the world into a monster, its still as realistic and well drawn as when you draw “real life” things.

O’Shea: You’ve been answering all these questions, now you get a chance: What would you like to ask your fans?

Ellis: I want to do a special High Moon piece for the end of the month; so, I guess I’d like to ask them what monster they want Conroy to be confronting on that piece.

Also, I’d like to thank all the fans of High Moon who supported us through the competition and really became a part of what made High Moon great for us and to let them know that more is coming.

Before his I Rule the Night strip was picked up by the now-defunct Zuda Comics, Kevin Colden entered a strip called Strange/Switch for consideration into the competition. It was about “a schizophrenic musician named Geoff finds a guitar that gives him the power to kill people and was essentially a take on Faust,” but it never went anywhere.

With the launch of a new art blog, Colden has posted the eight-page story; go check it out.

Gallaher occupies a unique role as a creator whose popularity is based primarily on his online comics output, with his print work coming to catch up. The writer has a long history with the online work, going back to interning at Marvel’s interactive department in the late 1990s and being a advertising copywriter for several years. While his comics come out on the bleeding edge of comics formats, his instincts owe more to comics’ pulpy roots.

Chris Arrant: Let’s do an easy one, first – what are you working on today?

David Gallaher: This morning, I’m laying out the rest of Box 13: The Pandora Process, which is being illustrated by Steve Ellis and is being published digitally by comiXology. Steve and I also have another project we’re working on that we’re really excited about. It’s got what I refer to as the “new project smell.” Like  High Moon, it plays to our pulp roots – and I think it’ll be equally as vast.

And at some point this week, we’ll start our preparation for the New York Comic Con and discuss what’s next for High Moon.

Arrant: Although you’ve been doing comics for several years, it was your online work like High Moon at Zuda and Box 13 at comiXology that really put you on the map. What do you think of how the Internet changed your career like that?

Gallaher: What do I think? Well, I think it’s kinda great, honestly. I mean, technically, I started my professional career in digital comics with Marvel Interactive in ’99, so I think going back to those roots was really a huge part of why I am where I am today. You are right – I did have several years of traditional print comics under my belt – and while I don’t want to say that I struggled in that market, I did find it a difficult place to attract the sort of audience I was interested in reaching. So, I looked for different places to experiment a bit – places like Zuda and comiXology – and so far those have been great avenues for my work. Moving forward, I hope to develop more projects that move in that direction.

Arrant: Over at Marvel you’ve done two stories, both focused on the Russian superhero team the Winter Guard. Why are you drawn to them so much? Is it the characters, or their country?

Gallaher: Actually, it’s the creator. While he didn’t technically create the Winter Guard, the team was directly inspired by the work Bill Mantlo did with the Soviet Super-Soldiers in the ’80s. I have always been a big fan of his work – and wanted to create a project that played around with some obscure characters while raising awareness of Bill’s current condition, which I talk about a little on my website. Beyond that, though, it was a great opportunity to move these characters out of the faded shadow of Communism and into a bold, more heroic future. I’m enthralled by Russia and by the incredible array of Russian characters in the Marvel Universe – Kraven, Rhino, Chameleon, Black Widow, Omega Red – and I wanted to shine a light on that side of the world. And it was a blast! I got to use the Agents of Atlas, I had Ursa Major punch an undead dinosaur in the face, and I brought back the Dire Wraiths – that to me was a lot of fun. But, at the end of the day, the book was really for Bill Mantlo and everything he inspired in me.

I also owe a big thanks to Jeph Loeb, who brought these characters out of obscurity.

Arrant: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Gallaher: If you had asked me that question five years ago, I certainly wouldn’t have said that I expected to be writing comics full-time. In April of 2005, my body was breaking down at a severe pace – where I was having eight to nine seizures a week – and where literally every day, I was wondering if it’d be my last. So, five years ago, I certainly didn’t think I’d be where I am today.

With that in mind, I have no idea where I’ll be in five years. The key for me is to keep moving forward. I want to keep my creative team employed telling the kind of stories that we want to tell with as much creative freedom as possible. Basically, the goal is to keep writing comics and new projects until I can’t write anymore.

Arrant: For years, you worked as a copywriter for an advertising agency. How did your work there affect your writing?

Gallaher: Some of my favorite writers worked as advertising copywriters – Terry Gilliam, for instance. And, having spent the years working in that field myself I can tell you firsthand that it fundamentally changed the way I felt about writing. No longer was I writing when I “felt inspired” — now I was obligated to write every day for 50 hours a week, whether it was excellent or excrement. It gave me the discipline I needed to go further with my career. Of course, I also learned something else critically important and that’s “simplicity sells” – and that’s the one lesson I try to keep in mind when I’m writing any project.

Arrant: Prior to all that you interned at Marvel in the late ’90s. What was it like then?

Gallaher: Interning at Marvel was an amazing experience. I could spend hours talking about how that experience shaped me as a comics creator. I met amazing people, did some work I’m still very proud of, and I learned firsthand how awesome comics could be. Conversely, I also learned how wretched the industry could be, too. At the time, Marvel was undergoing some dramatic changes, doing their best to crawl out of the hole that their bankruptcy left them in. There was a great deal of confusion about what role Interactive should play in Marvel’s development. I saw friends get let go, fired, and whole departments get restructured. It was a challenging time, but, as I said, I learned a lot. It was a tremendous experience that opened a lot of doors for me and my career.

Arrant: What’s the big comic you want to do next?

Gallaher: When you say BIG comic, what do you mean? I mean, I certainly want to do more Winter Guard comics – and maybe one day a neo-noir Dan Garrett Blue Beetle series, but in terms of Batman, Wolverine, or Superman? I’m not sure. I don’t really think that way. I mean, I love those characters — but they seemed pretty locked up for a while. In the meantime, I’m going to keep developing new content, exploring new formats, finding new models of collaboration, working with innovative publishers, and pushing new ideas forward. If nothing else — it will certainly be an adventure.

DC Entertainment

As many as 80 employees will be fired or relocated in the restructuring of DC Entertainment that will see part of the company’s operations move from New York City to Burbank, Calif., according to a notice filed Wednesday with the New York State Department of Labor and reported by Bloomberg.

That amounts to nearly a third of DC’s estimated 250 employees. The filing doesn’t specify how many of those positions will be firings, and how many will be moved cross-country. The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week that about 20 percent of the company’s staff “will lose their jobs as part of the shift,” a statement challenged by DC.

A Warner Bros. spokesman wouldn’t comment to Bloomberg on the specifics of the layoffs.

Announced on Tuesday, the reorganization leaves DC’s comics-publishing division in New York City while relocating the company’s administrative and digital and multimedia operations — including, presumably, the WildStorm offices now based in La Jolla, Calif. — to a Warner Bros.-managed property in Burbank. It was subsequently revealed that the WildStorm and Zuda imprints will close as part of the shakeup.

The labor department filing states that layoffs will begin on Dec. 27, and continue through Aug. 27, 2011, presumably the date when the move is expected to be complete.

DC executives are in the process of meeting individually with staff members to discuss their positions. “… There’s a spectrum of things that are happening for various employees – there are promotions, there are offers of relocation and unfortunately there are some layoffs to come,” DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson told Comic Book Resources on Tuesday. “Until that’s all sorted and people have had time to consider their individual opportunities and we confirm all that, which will take us a few weeks, we aren’t going to be able to discuss specifics.”

DC Comics

DC Entertainment’s twin announcements on Tuesday — the division of operations between Burbank and New York, and the end of the WildStorm and Zuda imprints — was followed by a round of interviews that provides us with a fairly good picture of what the moves mean. Here’s what we know:

DC Entertainment’s “bi-coastal realignment strategy”: Despite the silly corporate-speak, this aspect of the DC announcements is, at least on the surface, the simplest to break down. The company’s operations related to business/administration, as well as multimedia and digital content, will relocate to “a Warner Bros.-managed property” in Burbank, Calif., while the publishing division will remain in New York City. The move is expected to be complete by the end of next year.

From there, however, the details get a little murky. Although the initial press release specifically mentions “consumer products” will be part of the move, neither DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson nor DC Comics Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee would say whether that was a reference to DC Direct, DC Comics’ collectibles division.

“I’m not sure what that would be referring to, exactly,” Nelson told Comic Book Resources, “but Warner Bros. obviously has a meaningful consumer products division and the part of DC that works closely with Warner Bros.’ consumer products are likely to be in the Los Angeles office, but you may be referring to DC Direct and you may be referring to other licensing initiatives and unfortunately right now I can’t get in to the specifics of that. I do think it would be fair to say that we’re looking for every opportunity to work more closely with the Warner Bros. businesses, consumer products is just one, and we are going to work more closely with them.”

Diane Nelson

Nelson also wouldn’t offer specifics about which departments are covered by the press-release term “administrative functions” — it’s a “catch-all phrase for a lot of departments that we’re still talking with,” she tells Publishers Weekly — or whether marketing and sales or publicity will be involved in the move.

In addition, there remains the question of the fate of the WildStorm offices in La Jolla, California. Between the end of the imprint (more on that below), the overall restructuring and the reported end of the lease in December, it seems likely any remaining functions will shift to Burbank and New York.

Lee, who launched WildStorm in 1992 before selling the company to DC in 1999, told IGN.com he’ll return to California today and Thursday to talk to the La Jolla staff: “… we have to be sensitive to the fact that we’re meeting with them one-on-one over the next couple days to inform them what’s going on. For them to find out further through interviews online wouldn’t really make sense.”

Layoffs: Although Nelson has confirmed the restructuring will involve layoffs, there’s a dispute over the Los Angeles Times report that “about 20% of DC’s roughly 250 staffers will lose their jobs.” A DC Comics spokesman challenged the statement, noting it didn’t come from Nelson. Indeed, it seems the company doesn’t yet have a clear picture of which employees will relocate and what positions will be cut.

When asked Tuesday by CBR how many jobs will be relocated or eliminated, Nelson said: “Unfortunately or fortunately I can’t go through that with you because what we’re beginning today is a pretty unique process of talking with all of our employees personally, one-on-one, over the course of the next few days to work with them on each of their individual positions. So there’s a spectrum of things that are happening for various employees – there are promotions, there are offers of relocation and unfortunately there are some layoffs to come. Until that’s all sorted and people have had time to consider their individual opportunities and we confirm all that, which will take us a few weeks, we aren’t going to be able to discuss specifics.”

Farewell, WildStorm and Zuda: On the heels of the restructuring news, DC announced the end of its Zuda and WildStorm imprints, one much sooner than the other.

WildStorm, whose star has faded in recent years, will come to a close in December as current versions of “classic” titles like WildCats, The Authority and Gen 13 conclude their runs. Miniseries like DV8 and Welcome to Tranquility will wrap up under the DC banner, which will also be home to the licensed video-game and kids’ comics.

Jim Lee

“I’m a glass-half-full kind of guy,” Lee told IGN. “I’m very proud of the 18 years we’ve been publishing comics. We had a lot of great concepts and a lot of great books. We created a lot of cutting edge material that defined trends for a long time. I think we definitely hit a rough patch and I think taking a break and reexamining the characters and concepts, and applying some fresh inspiration, would do the WildStorm characters a lot of good.”

The WildStorm characters will return, however — after a substantial break — as Lee, DiDio and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns have “a lot of exciting plans” for them.

“It’s a ways off,” Lee told Newsarama. “I don’t want to mislead any WildStorm fans. At the same time, honestly, I think taking a bit of a breather on them and then re-energizing them with some new focus and direction will be very good for those characters. I feel very confident, as co-creator on a lot of those properties and characters, that this is a very good creative move for them.”

Zuda, DC’s three-year-old digital initiative, will be shuttered after this week, which doesn’t come as a surprise, given that its online presence closed down in July. No new material will be produced, but any titles that were set to be published this year by Zuda will be released under the DC banner.

So, what’s the status of Vertigo? “Six months ago, I was more worried about Vertigo than WildStorm,” Warren Ellis wrote. “Shows what I know.”

It’s likely a common sentiment, as plenty of people predicted the imminent demise of the 17-year-old mature-readers imprint in February, following the announcement of the company’s new executive team, and again over the summer with the editorial fiat calling for the return of DC Universe-originating characters like Swamp Thing. Yet here we are, with Vertigo as the Last Imprint Standing. That appears to be, in large part, due to brand recognition.

Dan DiDio

“One of the things [...] is that we realized DC Comics is the most recognizable name,” DiDio told Comics Alliance, “but we also have a lot of strength in regards to the Vertigo [brand] and MAD magazine. When you say Vertigo and you said MAD, you clearly understand what each other brands and imprints stands for. And we’d rather build each of those to be even stronger, with a stronger message.”

Lee and DiDio suggested that non-superhero concepts, or those like the recently concluded Ex Machina that don’t fit the traditional superhero mold, could find a home at Vertigo.

“We’re going to be sitting down with [Vertigo Executive Editor] Karen Berger, because she’s so important to the voice of Vertigo and the direction of Vertigo,” DiDio told Newsarama. “So we want to sit down and talk about what works best for the imprint, and move in that direction.”

What about creator-owned WildStorm titles? As we noted yesterday, writer Kurt Busiek, whose Astro City was among the last creator-owned comics being published by WildStorm, didn’t know what the end of the imprint will mean to his book.

Lee told CBR that DC is in discussions with Busiek about the future of Astro City: “It’s a creator-owned book, so his input is invaluable and essential. Until we have finished that dialogue — and of course we weren’t able to share all this with him before the announcement — we won’t be able to have an official statement on that.”

Warner Bros.’ superhero plans: Contrary to earlier reports, Nelson said the studio won’t be announcing its movie strategy for DC’s superhero properties within the next month.

“First, [Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer], by his own admission, was misquoted,” Nelson told CBR, “so we’re not going to be making that announcement in the next month, but we will be discussing a lot of our content plans before the end of the year. It won’t necessarily be exhaustive, and it will not be limited to a theatrical slate, but at the same time that we’ve been looking carefully at the organization, everyone’s been working very hard to keep the business moving in the direction we want – everyone in particular being Geoff Johns who has a lot of great stuff with our divisions. So, you will hear more about that before the end of the year.”

A lingering question: Seven months after DiDio’s promotion to co-publisher, there’s still no mention of who will succeed him as executive editor of the DC Universe imprint. Do these latest announcements make the position obsolete or more necessary than before?

Meanwhile, in a separate post on DC’s Source blog, DC Comics Co-Publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee announced the company will cease to publish comics under the WildStorm banner as of December. The imprint’s WildStorm Universe titles will end (though its characters are promised to return), its licensed and kids’ titles will instead be released as part of DC proper, and its editorial team will be restructured and folded into the Burbank-based DC Comics Digital wing. Finally, the struggling Zuda imprint, which already saw its foundational website shuttered in July, will cease to exist after this week, its future titles to be released under the DC banner.

Stay tuned to Comic Book Resources and Robot 6 for much more on these developments.

Photographed by Seth Kushner

This has been a year of ups and downs for Dean Haspiel.

He’s riding high after last week’s win at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. He, along with the crew of the HBO series Bored To Death, won for outstanding main title design, and Haspiel returned to his native New York City to continue the promotional blitz for his upcoming graphic novel Cuba: My Revolution with artist and family friend Inverna Lockpez. He just had a short feature published in Marvel’s Deadpool #1000 and has more work on the way for the House of Ideas. But this was also the year his friend and longtime collaborator Harvey Pekar passed away.

Throughout it all, Haspiel has become one of the strongest independent voices of comics (or “comix,” as he would say). His years of networking and socializing in the New York City comics scene came to fruition in 2006 with the inception of the ACT-I-VATE collective, resulting in several series making the jump from web to print in IDW Publishing’s ACT-I-VATE Primer. He continues to be a driving force in webcomics, with the third installment of his semi-autobiographical series Street Code just out from Zuda‘s newly transplanted home on Apple’s mobile-phone platform.

Today, he has a girlfriend, a studio full of friends dubbed DEEP6, a Sept. 15 signing at Midtown Comics, and new work appearing later this month in the second season of Bored To Death. On a recent morning, I talked to Dean by phone before he rode his bike to his nearby studio.

Chris Arrant: Let’s start with an easy one, Dean – What are you working on today?

Dean Haspiel: Today I’m going to the studio to work on the final page of Street Code. It’s a semi-auto-bio comic about the transition of moving between Manhattan and Brooklyn. While it takes place during a certain era in my life – around when I turned 30 to recent events – the latitude of semi-auto-bio allows me to crunch time and tell certain kinds of stories. The themes of Street Code are about my avatar, Jack, and how he interacts with his new neighbors, and how they interact wit him. I use stories that have happened to me. Street Code recently transitioned from being a Zuda webcomic to being on the ComiXology and the DC Digital app.

The particular story I’m working on now is called “Beef with Tomato,” which is my love letter to New York City and a slight homage to Charles Bukowski’s Ham On Rye. This will end up being the sixth “issue” of Street Code on the digital app but, fingers crossed, if the transition to digital is popular for Street Code then it’s possible it could yield more stories in the future.

Then what I’m working on next is a backup feature to Marvel’s upcoming Spider-Girl #1 – written by Paul Tobin, who’s writing the regular series as well. And it features a young version of Spider-Girl before she became Spider-Girl; her father was a reporter, and she goes with him on a visit to the Baxter Building to interview Sue Storm. It gives me a chance to draw the lumpy version of the Thing. It’s a wink at the old Stan Lee/Jack Kirby stories. It’s probably why I got hired, because Marvel is paying attention to how much I love Kirby and old Marvel comics.

It’s not too retro … It’s not me getting my Mad Men on and drawing Sue Storm as January Jones, but it will be a lot of fun.

Arrant: Are you doing just the first issue, or is this an ongoing backup?

Haspiel: This is just for the first issue; who knows if I’ll get another gig. It’s possible that, by the end of the year, I’ll have scored another long-form gig.

And coming in December we’ll finally see the release of the Woodgod story I did for Marvel in Strange Tales #3. My Woodgod story is my Marvel Two-in-One homage; it features the Celestials and the Thing.

I finished my art for the original graphic novel Cuba: My Revolution last December, and I reunited with Jonathan Ames to do some things for the second season of Bored To Death, which starts Sept. 26. It was a lot of work. Jonathan and I cobbled together some of the artwork for Season 2 and designed a Super-Ray minicomic to promote the show at the current comic cons. At San Diego, they hired people to dress up as Zack’s Super-Ray character to pass out the minicomic. I was also passing them out at my table at last weekend’s con in Baltimore, and I’ll also have them at SPX and the New York Comic-Con.

Arrant: That’s a lot, but like you said you’re wrapping up – or have already wrapped up – most of these. What’s your big project in the future you’d like to work on?

Haspiel: I’m always trying to pitch my next big book. I’m used to working on one major project throughout the year, and then fitting in smaller projects, like things on ACT-I-VATE or the Deadpool story I just did for Marvel. I love those challenges, but I also like the security of having a 120- to 140-page graphic novel to work on throughout the year while taking these small jobs. But I don’t have that large job right now. I’ve been pitching some long-form stories, and collaborating with different writers I like to work with. The trajectory I’m aiming for is to be able to write more. I hope that’ll happen at some point.

Super Ray minicomic for HBO series 'Bored To Death'

Arrant: After all the work you’ve done at Vertigo with other writers while also writing your own stories in a smaller clip, the next step for you is your own graphic novel there writing and drawing.

Haspiel: Yeah, I have my ideas. I made my hay doing memoirs and semi-auto-bio comix, but my passion is doing superheroes, psychedelic romance and science-fiction noir.

Arrant: I know we’re jumping around here, but how was your first day back at work after winning an Emmy for the title design on Bored To Death?

Haspiel: I got in at 1 a.m. off the flight back from California, placed my Emmy on my dresser, caught about six hours sleep then had to finish a gig inking a cover of an upcoming series at Marvel. I went right back to work.

Arrant: So no rest, huh?

Haspiel: Not much, but this is the kind of work I’ve been itching to do. Right now I’m doing what I can do the best I can so editors will shine a light on me and see where I stand at Marvel. This is what I think: There are segments of the superhero books that are “blockbuster” comics; the regular titles are ones where I wouldn’t necessarily fit with in terms of the ideology or the look or feel of it. But there are also titles, like the ones Nathan Cosby edits, and the ones Paul Tobin writes, that are more cartoony and allow for a Silver Age feel. As long as they keep producing those comics, I’ll have a potential place there professionally.

But at the same time, you don’t need to be working at Marvel or DC to make a living in comics. For me, it’s a choice and a desire to work on franchise comics because that’s what I grew up reading.

Arrant: I understand what you’re saying about those “blockbuster” comics, the top-tier books. I’d hate to see you try to alter your style to fit into that mold.

Haspiel: Don’t take me wrong, I don’t think there’s a house style, per se, but there’s a perception amongst editors of what the audience wants. There seems to be a polarization between the comics I grew up with, the comics I draw and like, and then the comics today that are the neo-realistic Hollywood blockbusters of comics.

I will tell you this, though – one guy I really admire because he dances between cartoony and stylized is Stuart Immonen.

Arrant: Yeah, I’m interviewing him later this week for Robot 6.

Haspiel: He’s great. I wish I had half his talent. That guy really creates a great balance; I see him as an artist at the crossroads, acknowledging the tradition of Marvel Comics in the older style, while also standing shoulder-to-shoulder with what’s currently being published in the franchise.

Arrant: Did you see the recent book he and Kathryn [Immonen] did at Top Shelf, Moving Pictures?

Haspiel: It’s beautiful. He’s a master storyteller and draftsman. He gets it.

Arrant: Jumping back to Bored to Death before we descend into more comics, what exactly did you do for the new season? Did you do new title credits?

Haspiel: The title credits are the same. This time I did more artwork for the Ray Hueston character played by Zack Galifianakis. In Season 2 we get to see more of his life, his studio and art table – and that’s my artwork he’s doing. And a particular comic book he draws in the show, we see some of that. The season is going to be eight episodes, and in the season finale it culminates in a comic convention in which I make a cameo, as well as other Brooklynite cartoonists.

Arrant: Has that been filmed yet?

Haspiel: Yeah, it’s already been shot, but I don’t know what’s going to make it out of the editing room and into the final scene. It was shot at the Brooklyn Lyceum where King Con is held.

Cuba: My Revolution (DC/Vertigo)

Arrant: From King Con to Cuba, your next big release is Cuba: My Revolution from Vertigo. I just received a press copy, and although I haven’t read it yet, I keep coming back to your artwork and José’s [Villarrubia] colors. How do you normally handle things with a colorist?

Haspiel: Well, the major works I’ve done have been in black & white  — The Quitter and The Alcoholic. For those toned works, I trusted Lee Loughridge to know what to do. I see pages as they come in and give notes on a few alterations, but basically it’s just a matter of adding a couple greytones to help shape some of the pages. With José and Cuba: My Revolution, he’s a master artist and painter himself. I handpicked him because I love what he does. He comes from outside of comics, and teaches art in Baltimore. So with him on board, so much more has been added to this project. Plus I wanted someone Spanish to help me realize this view of Cuba. Although he’s from Madrid, Spain, and not Cuba proper, he adds that Spanish flavor to the book.

I knew going in I wanted a limited color palette because I love the simple two-color treatment like I did on Billy Dogma, which I felt was needed for this. I don’t like to use color as color but as a tone. I knew that if I could get José on-board to color it as adding tones, and get him to bring his A-game, explore and experiment with the limited gamut, then this would look great. Our aim was to evoke an era from the late 50s and early 60s; I wanted this to look like a cross between a Preston Sturges film and I Love Lucy, even though the content of the book is very severe and dramatic.  Most of the book is black and white with gray tones, but the introduction of the passionate color of red gives you a multitude of variations: pink, salmon, blood, communism, romance and revolution. I knew that when we settled on this color scheme I was excited what José was going to do with it.

Arrant: So how would the coloring process work?

Haspiel: José would do a first pass on a page, then me, the writer, Inverna Lockpez, and editor, Joan Hilty, would make notes and send it back to José to finally arrive at what is published. With a limited palette, you may not believe it but it’s harder to decide what to assign colors to. Orchestrating the color palette, choosing the paper stock, as well as the design of the book, all came together into something I’m very proud of. I’ve described the book as something you might find if you dug a shovel into the sand of Cuba; when you pull out that dirt, you’ll find Cuba: My Revolution. That dirt gives you a sense of time and place you couldn’t otherwise document.

Arrant: Did you go, or at least think about, trying to make it in to Cuba for research on the book?

Haspiel: I would have loved to go to Cuba during the making of the book, but I never figured out a way to do it. I would like for it to be translated into Spanish; that was one of my first notes towards the publisher. I’m excited to see what the reaction will be to Cubans, but also a little scared. If you’ve ever met a Cuban who has lived in Castro’s Cuba, the ideology there polarizes people. It’s a very black-and-white subject for Cubans from Cuba, and while some people believe in Castro’s ideology and fight for it, others are vehemently against it. I know you haven’t read the book yet, but the majority of it is in support of Castro’s Cuba from the eyes of the protagonist because she buys into the ideas at an early age, joins the militia and becomes a surgeon. But slowly, with evidence from family and friends beginning to leave, she herself is betrayed by the regime and is tortured by sharing the ideology. With most of her friends and family gone, she’s the last one to break and leave. It’s about the story of Sonya, this woman who, when she finally emerges as an artist, can’t express herself freely in her own home and country and has to leave and come to America to tell her story. It took Inverna a long while to tell her story – a good fifty years.

Arrant: And this project came about from you knowing Inverna and pitching it to Vertigo. I’ve always known you as one of those people who knows everyone. You gave a film producer the idea to do a movie based on Harvey Pekar’s work, you created the personal webcomics collective ACT-I-VATE.com, wrangled your Gowanus, Brooklyn, studio DEEP6, and you’ve been close with Jonathan Ames in comics and now with the HBO show. I know working on comics can be a solitary experience sometimes, but how does the socializing part of things affect you?

Haspiel: For Harvey’s American Splendor film, it all started when I was an assistant to Ted Hope. While I was working at his house, I uncovered a script for American Splendor written years and years ago, as well as – believe this – a script for “Ed the Happy Clown” from Chester Brown’s Yummy Fur. I told Ted, “Wow man, I didn’t realize you had these things!” I had just finished a comic with Harvey and I told Ted how cool an American Splendor film would be. Ted liked the idea, so I talked to Harvey about it. Harvey was initially hesitant about it because he’d heard this kind of story before and how it backfired, but Harvey said he’d talk to Ted. So Ted and Harvey talked, and a year and a half later this amazing movie came out. It was an award-winning, incredibly innovative film.

I also just saw a rough cut of James Gunn’s upcoming film Super, produced by Ted Hope, starring Rainn Wilson, Kevin Bacon and Liv Tyler; that’s another low-budget film coming out to watch for. The only way I can describe it is that it’s like a cross between Taxi Driver and Dan Clowes.

For ACT-I-VATE, it all started out by just talking to people. It seemed to scratch a certain itch that I couldn’t find elsewhere. That kind of thing sometimes gets me in trouble, in terms of not making my own work because I’m matching people up and helping getting balls rolling. Plus there’s the fact that since we live in a world of artists, writers and creators, we spend 50 percent of the day branding ourselves with social networking and such. Today, you can’t rely on a publisher to market you; it’s actually gotten harder to market because of the Internet. I spend at least 50 percent of my day hyping, and cobbling together things for other people. Maybe these concentrated efforts will yield me a position as an editor or organizer of a publishing imprint. I only have so many stories in me that I want to show and tell in comics, and my attention gets distracted by working with other truly talented people who create wonderful content, perpetuating the comics form, and doing other kinds of storytelling.

Arrant: Do you think the socializing and networking helps you when you sit down to do comics?

Haspiel: Absolutely. Of course. I know people who can’t or won’t do it, and that’s fine. Maybe it’s a focus issue or they can’t deal with distraction; I respect that. But I can’t move a pencil eight hours in a row; I’m getting older. Drawing is my least-favorite part of making comics. I enjoy doing layouts, conjuring ideas and working on dialogue. It’s the actual execution and craft of comics that’s the doldrums for me. To make it fun, I work around like-minded people like the crew at DEEP6. Sure there’ll be lulls and the ebbs and flows, fights and such –- it has its pros and cons like any office environment. Then you remind yourself you’re sitting among a bunch of folks doing what you love, and although we sure can complain like the best of them, it’s a fantastic thing to be able to spend each day writing and drawing comics. That’s what I like to do, and that’s what we do. I’ve become unemployable otherwise.

But, in this day and age, I wouldn’t know how to get a job outside of the comics and film industries. Sure, I sit at my art table eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich a lot more than I’d like to. I work until midnight most nights, six days a week, and there’s an irony to that. Sometimes I look out the window and wish I was at the beach, or could stop and watch a movie and eat dinner with my girlfriend. I guess I let my ego get in the way, because I think I’m creating a testament to my life here. I draw other people’s stories, too, because I believe I’m a good collaborator and I like working with people, but I would also like to experience life more, outside of my work, so, when I do write and draw, I can report my life and allow for hindsight to be expressed like how I do with my work on Street Code and Billy Dogma, both very emotional auto-bio comix.

Arrant: What’s it like having these avatars of you floating around: Billy in Billy Dogma, Jack in Street Code and Ray in Bored to Death?

Haspiel: The character in Bored to Death is only very loosely based on me; I don’t consider it to be me at all. There are some background story elements we share to help fill out the character – but Zack and Jonathan have fully realized the Ray Hueston character on their own.

But on the subject of avatars, I think that if you buy into the concept of “write what you know,” then I can’t help but include variations of myself. I think my personal works are like variations on those Russian dolls where they are different-sized versions of the exact same thing.

Arrant: Does it ever sneak into your non-auto-bio comix?

Haspiel: I just wrote and drew a story for Deadpool #1000, and I put a version of myself, a conflict I know very well, in that job. In the Woodgod tale for Strange Tales v2 #3, that’s all me. It’s rare that I get to write franchise characters but, ultimately, I write what I know. In Cuba: My Revolution, I cast myself as one of Sonya’s torturers. The writer, Inverna, was having emotional trouble embracing her story as visualized, as it dug up buried memories. So, in a weird and bizarre solution to help counteract her troubles, I elected to cast myself as one of the torturers to be there for her. In a twisted way I was protecting her. Comforting her.

Arrant: Do you find yourself drawn to franchise characters like the Thing and Woodgod because you see yourself in there somewhere?

Haspiel: Definitely. I love the Thing. He’s a tragic monster. Not that I’m walking around like Ben Grimm, but there’s also a bit of romance in his depiction that I respond to. Even though he’s sold as “the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing,” I understand his main story to be that of a tragic, creature romance comic. We all hurt, feel pain, and that’s one of the universal things we can latch onto – our vulnerability. One of the reasons Jonathan Ames has been so successful is that he understands you have to be vulnerable to tell a powerful story; it’s about showing that you’re vulnerable, or you become vulnerable. There’s nothing you can do when you’re standing before a knight in shining armor; the heroes I like to tackle are the flawed ones, the one who have problems, who make mistakes and learn. We all make mistakes, and we’re always learning.

Arrant: Do you mind if we talk about Harvey and his passing?

Haspiel: Sure, it’s okay.

Arrant: Now that some time has passed since Harvey Pekar’s death, are you at peace with it? Do you ever forget he’s gone and want to give him a call, or expect a phone call from him?

Haspiel: Yeah, I can’t believe he’s dead – bottom line.

I don’t even know how to answer. I hope he’s at peace. Not that he lived an especially hard life, but he lived a small life, a common life, and was somehow able to exploit that artistically, which was great; not many people can do that. Yet, if you want to learn about Harvey Pekar, it’s all out there in his comics. You know, I think maybe his death was poetic. Sometimes people will die and it seems like they were taken away far too soon. Yeah, seventy is a young age to die at, but I think it’s okay. And it’s a shame he didn’t get to tell his last story – you don’t get to do that with autobiography. That’s his wife’s job, or maybe his many collaborators.

Harvey Pekar was a consistent, like a smoke signal, observing what was around him and reporting on it. Because of the storytelling medium he worked in, the oracle of Harvey Pekar will always be around for us to read and ponder.

And it’s encouraging to me that his stories encourage you to tell your own story. It was Harvey Pekar’s work that I read as a teenager that showed me that comics didn’t have to be just superheroes or genre-oriented work. He convinced me of that.

Arrant: Where do you see yourself in five years, Dean?

Haspiel: Well, there’s the cynical part of me that sees it one way and then there’s where I hope I’ll be. Where I hope to see myself in five years is writing and drawing my own stories, my own comic books, and also working in television and movies. I’d like to create a show, and write and possibly direct it. That’s what I’d like to do. In my early years, I went to SUNY Purchase to study filmmaking. I love music, and sound. I don’t get to do that in comics, and I’m not satisfied by animation except for PIXAR. I think what they do is brilliant, but I’m not interested in working in that medium. For me, its either static images like comics or working with live actors in film.

Arrant: Have you taken any steps towards these film ambitions?

Jonathan Ames, Stephanie Davis, Vanja Cernjul, Dean Haspiel, Jennifer Ferguson

Haspiel: I’m working up a couple of screenplays I wrote years ago, dusting them off and pitching them as graphic novels. But I’d love for them to go their original intended direction and become films. I’ve always thought in terms of movies; a ninety-minute/two-hour story, but because I’ve been working with Jonathan Ames on Bored to Death I’m rethinking that. There are some great shows out there – Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood, 30 Rock. I’m really looking forward to The Walking Dead TV series. I think television has become a great way to tell a story. With movies you tell one story and it’s finished, but with television it’s episodic and you’re given the latitude to advance characters and situations and story arcs. You’d think that I’d have a good grasp with episodic storytelling since I work in comics, but with television the minute you start dealing with real money it’s a whole new ballgame. The great thing about comics is that you can truly experiment with new ideas on a page, and because there’s no budget on what you can draw on a page, it can do pretty much anything. It doesn’t cost that much to produce and print a comic – but that’s kind of a crime, because in comics there are many creators out there coming up with fantastic ideas and trying out new things, to only get poached by other more expensive mediums that pay better. And you know, it’s tough to make a buck in comics even when you’re at your most successful.

Look at me, I won an Emmy and I have a book coming out that people are excited about that could entice the literary crowd and be made into a movie. It might also tickle the fancy of superhero readers – you never know – because fans are hungry for a wide range of stories. But with all that, I don’t have health insurance; I eat cheap; I live small. It’s not to say I’m a great storyteller that deserves more because there are a lot of great storytellers out there in my same situation. Jack Kirby alone came up with half the ideas being done today in our culture. Comics have become some kind of IP farm for savvier businessmen to reap.

Zatanna pitch by Cameron Stewart

Cameron said that “After a lot of thought I settled on Zatanna, in a kind of Buffy/Twilight-style story aimed at teen girls.”

Mister Miracle and Big Barda pitch by Ramon Perez

Ramon said “we were given free reign as to who to choose from … so i naturally chose my favourite dynamic duo of mr. miracle and big barda! if we had been given the green light i would have been weaving tales on a weekly basis starring perhaps my all time favourite kirby creations! the stories would have been short arcs outside of continuity.”

While both creators said that ultimately their pitches were “shot down” and  unlikely to be revived due to Zuda’s change of focus away from webcomics and do mobile comics, Ramon at least encouraged fans who enjoy these ideas to petition DC Co-Publisher Jim Lee via Twitter.

Speaking on my own here, it brings up a very interesting train of thought. First, the Zuda imprint asked for these pitches, so some thought had gone into putting DC’s heroes online prior to the push toward mobile apps. Second is that they sought out creators who work online — although both Perez and Stewart have racked up significant print credit, especially in DC’s own titles.

Leaving the realm of fact and going into speculation and conjecture, who are some other viable pairings up you’d like to see? What jumps to mind for me is a Wildcat series by Dean Haspiel and Vito Delsante, a Wonder Woman series by Hope Larson and Tintin Pantoja, Dean Trippe’s take on Superman, and Karl Kerschl taking his Flash stories from Wednesday Comics on the road.

All the details are here, but briefly, the comic will be available as a downloadable PDF from several distributors as well as on Kindle, and a dedicated website will go live on Sept. 1.

They are currently negotiating with ComiXology, Robot Comics (distributors for Droid phones), Graphic.ly, and Wowio, which covers a lot of bases. It sounds like a complicated process, but good for them for making their comic available on every possible platform—it will be interesting to see which one works the best for them.

Back when Zuda, DC’s webcomics contest site, was still kinda fresh and new, Dean Haspiel pitched a couple of comics and the editors picked his semi-autobiographical Street Code as an instant winner. Haspiel, as he himself points out in the Zuda blog, shows his work in a lot of venues, most notably online as a founder of the Act-I-Vate webcomics collective. But when Zuda folded its tent, rather abruptly, a few months ago, the comics hosted there were left homeless.

Now Street Code has joined the migration of Zuda comics to the ComiXology platform. As Haspiel says in his blog post, “my stuff tends to serpentine around what’s popular for general comic book audiences,” but he draws an interesting analogy as to why ComiXology is a good fit:

if Vertigo, my bread and butter publisher the last few years, has been dubbed “the HBO of comics,” then I posit that Zuda is “the IFC of comics,” where, like ACT-I-VATE, alternative concepts are refined online with the distinct intent to expose and develop fresh voices that could otherwise be lost in the gutters.

An interesting theory, although it may be hard for Zuda to keep an independent identity when its comics are simply lumped in with all the others at ComiXology.

"Bayou," from Zuda

Publishing | David Harper gathers reactions from a handful of Zuda creators to the closing of the website and the continuation of select titles through comiXology and the PlayStation Network. Chris Bolton, Sean Kleefeld, Crash Landen and Rich Lovatt have commentary. “From my vantage point,” Kleefeld writes, “the split between DC and Zuda (emotionally and philosophically) was about the same as can be seen between newspaper cartoonists and webcomic creators. There were these old school print guys who, for the life of them, could not wrap their head around free digital comic distribution.” [Zuda Comics]

Publishing | At Anime Expo in Los Angeles, Digital Manga Publishing announced it has acquired 10 new licenses. In addition, Wedding Peach artist Nao Yazawa will create a new series specifically for DMP’s eManga website. [Anime News Network]

Banners! Banners! Banners!

Publishing | Chris Eckert picks at DC Comics’ multitude of cover banners: “Banners are approaching the abused status that colons suffered during the dark period of Countdown Presents: The Challengers of the Beyond: The Search for Ray Palmer: Wildstorm though I pray DC finds help before they hit that low.” [Funnybook Babylon]

History | Ken Quattro unearths Will Eisner’s testimony from a 1939 lawsuit brought by DC Comics against Victor Fox involving a Superman clone named Wonder Man. It’s a fascinating read. [The Comics Detective, via The Beat]

Libraries | The Toronto Public Library’s Word Out! 2010 summer reading list for teens features Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe, Tory Woollcott’s Mirror Mind, Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Vol. 1, Hope Larson’s Mercury, Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuente’s Patsy Walker: Hellcat, Olivier Ka’s Why I Killed Peter, Inio Asano’s What a Wonderful World, and Nagaru Tanigawa’s The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumia, Vol. 1. [Toronto Public Library, via Kathryn Immonen]

Captain America #601

Creators | Gene Colan is selling original pages from Captain America #601. [via Mark Evanier]

Creators | Reyhan Harmanci spotlights Mark Bode, son of the late underground cartoonist Vaughn Bode. [The New York Times]

Creators | Tucker Stone continues his lengthy profile of artist Cliff Chiang. [comiXology]

Creators | Writer Ian Brill discusses BOOM! Studios’ new Darkwing Duck series. [4thletter!]

Comics | Eric Diaz counts down “the 10 lamest superhero costume changes ever.”  [Ranker]

Music | U.K. band Marvel decides it’s time for a name change. [BBC News]

End of the Road

DC Comics sent out a press release today saying that they are shutting down the Zuda Comics website and will offer some of the titles from the imprint on the iPad and the PSP through their recently announced digital initiative. The site is still live as I type this, ironically sporting an ad for the Zuda Comic End of the Road, but the release says it won’t last the day.

(Update: it looks like the site is now being redirected to the Zuda blog).

The move comes a couple of months after Zuda announced they’d be ending their monthly competitions and moving to a different submissions model. Zuda chief Ron Perazza adds a bit more detail at the Zuda blog (which will live on):

The submissions question is simple: It is the new DC Co-Publishers’ plan to expand submissions beyond just Zuda Comics and the Online group into a larger, more comprehensive system that covers all of DC Comics’ wide variety of needs, skills and interests. Jim and Dan are very excited about bringing in and developing new talent so look for more information about that from them as plans develop.

As for the site, from here on out, Zuda Comics will be folded into DC Comics’ exciting, new Digital Publishing initiative. Expect more Zuda series to be released through the DC Comics and comiXology Apps, the Sony PSP and on both the comiXology website and, eventually, the main DC Comics website as well. You’ll be able to read all of your digital editions and manage your entire library in one place, whether DCU, Vertigo, WildStorm or Zuda. The goal there is convergence of technology and convergence of editorial.

Both Bayou and High Moon are available on comiXology’ and the DC Comics app, and the release promises that we’ll see “John Zito and Tony Trov’s Black Cherry Bombshells, Dan Govar’s Azure, Andy Belanger’s Bottle of Awesome, Sheldon Vella’s Supertron, and Adam Atherton’s Lily of the Valley” on the iPad and the PSP in the future. However, some creators are confirming that their strips will not make the jump, including Drew Rausch, the last winner of the monthly Zuda contest.

“Zuda will be no more today, and with it ELDRITCH!. For those of you supported us, hang in there, we’ll figure something out,” he tweeted this morning. Rich Johnston has a round-up of tweets from other Zuda creators.

Zuda launched back in 2007, with the first contest going live in November of that year.

Developing, as they say …

I Rule the Night

When this interview first began with Kevin Colden, his Zuda (Mature Content) project, I Rule the Night (ITRN), had been on hiatus for around 10 months. So the initial round of our email discussion focused on his non-IRTN projects, including his two upcoming IDW projects (Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper and Grimm’s Fairy Tales) as well as the recent Seth Kushner-directed music video that he was part of with his band, Heads Up Display (Colden is the band’s drummer). But fortunately (for fans of ITRN and for the sake of this interview) ITRN came out off of hiatus and hit the Internet metaphorical ground running. My thanks to Colden for two rounds of an interview.

Tim O’Shea: Was Zuda waiting for the big transition (dropping the monthly competition) until they brought back I Rule the Night (ITRN)? How agonizing has it been waiting for the news to drop?

Kevin Colden: We had originally planned to bring back I Rule the Night as the first mature readers series, but needed to wait until we got the mature filter in place. It was in the works for a long time, and got caught up in changes at DC that had nothing directly to do with Zuda per se. It just so happened that everything came together at the same time. I wouldn’t say the wait was agonizing for me so much as inconvenient for the readers. Time flies in my world, so I only noticed when I looked at the calendar. The bright side is that now there’s less of a wait to read it.

O’Shea: Were you glad to see the monthly competitions go by the wayside?

Colden: I have mixed feelings about that. IRTN was an instant win, but I was in the competition once before, and it really is hellish on the competitors. The competition became more about electioneering than good comics, as competitions of this sort usually do. All of the strips on the site are stellar, but there were a few cases where the best strip of the month didn’t win. Still the egalitarian ideal of the competition was good, and there are a lot of great creators who have come out of it, so I’m hoping that DC comes up with a similar way to find and develop new talent.

O’Shea: Now that the series has a mature content label, does that mean you will be ramping up any element of the mature content, or does the label change have no bearing on your approach?

Colden: I think they made the label so that I could do the comic I originally pitched to them! Actually the mature filter was planned from the get-go, and we always knew that I was going to need that to continue. We had hoped it would time out to be in place some time last year. I haven’t changed anything at all, except for adding obscenities back into some of the earlier pages. But those were scripted and censored for the all-ages readership.

O’Shea: In a recent tweet, you wrote: “I’m hoping to get some serious cred for IRTN season 2 when it drops, because drawing it is like birthing a 10-yr-old sideways.” What’s the biggest challenge to this birthing process?

Colden: The stylistic difference between the present day and flashback sequences gets ramped up to an alarming degree in season 2. The pages I’m working on right now incorporate graphic design and book design into the narrative to an extent that I haven’t seen yet in comics. I wrote that comment as I was penciling a particularly intense page and trying to figure out how the hell I’m going to finish it. I’m stating for the record right now that the guy who writes I Rule the Night is an asshole. If another writer asked me to do the things I ask of myself, I would quit.

O’Shea: You’re definitely making up for lost time, given that you have enough of a backlog to offer “9 pages a week until July, Mon-Wed-Fri updates”. How happy are you to be able to provide that much new content and that quickly?

Colden: Oh, I’m very stoked. That schedule would never have happened without the hiatus, and I’ve always been of the mind that this story would work best when read as completely possible. In fact, it will be a whole different book when read in print.

O’Shea: Care to tease folks with what’s ahead with IRTN?

Colden: I’ll just say that there will be a lot more crazy going on. We’ll be seeing a lot more of Lainey Lord’s early life, and she tends to see things… differently from time to time. It’ll be an adventure.

O’Shea: How did the idea to use puppets come about in the Heads Up Display video of Formula vs. Perfume? Were you involved in the design of the puppets?

Colden: The idea for the video came about because our singer/guitarist Josh Dillard used to intern at Sesame Workshop. We all have a fascination with the muppets going back to childhood, so I drew up a band flyer with us as muppets for fun. We talked idly about how great it would be to do a video like that until we finally started making the puppets, which took a almost a year. I did the initial concept art and helped sew them, but Josh is the man with the real building skills.

O’Shea: The video was directed by Seth Kushner, but you also have directed some videos (if I’m not mistaken). Were you involved in making the video?

Colden: I’ve done production design and art direction for a few films, and wrote the script and storyboarded the video, but Seth and Carlos Molina did the hard work of executing the filmmaking. I did gofering and some puppeteering; there’s a great shot of me on facebook with my arm in a toilet and my hand up my own (puppet) ass.

O’Shea: Some of the locations where the video was made were interesting. Did the crew have to get a permit to shoot on the subway? What comic book store was used for the video?

Colden: We went gonzo for the whole shoot. In New York you have about 10,000 film students every day shooting something on the street so people just took photos or ignored us. We shot at Bergen Street Comics in Park Slope, which seems to be a hotspot for filming lately. We’re blessed with a number of great shops in the NYC, and when one of our locations fell through, we put in an emergency call to owners Tom and Amy Adams and they let us come in and take over the store for an hour. They even hosted a premiere party for us.

O’Shea: As both a musician and an artist, I’m curious–which medium comes closest to giving you some form of (almost) instant gratification in terms of allowing you to express yourself?

Colden: Honestly, the music is a lot more instant because there’s an audience physically in front of your face reacting. It’s more immediate, and it’s more of a shared experience. Any form of art is communication, and sometimes it’s more gratifying to do that face to face. Sometimes.

O’Shea: You have a long-standing relationship with IDW, dating back to Fishtown. But how did you end up on the Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper project?

Colden: I had been talking with IDW off and on about projects since Fishtown. IDW and I had been talking about a different project and I was offered a script from Joe Lansdale for Robert Bloch’s Yours Truly Jack the Ripper. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would turn that down. So I dove right in and have been swimming around in 1943 for the last half-year or so.

O’Shea: In working on Ripper, did you try to reference the original 1940s Robert Bloch story–or did you intentionally avoid it?

Colden: I read the story when I was a kid, but in the interest of being as original and as true to the script as possible, I avoided rereading the original or any other adaptations. My brain is like a food processor; it takes things in and spits them right back out, so I try to be careful not to accidentally rehash other people’s ideas.

O’Shea: What else is on the horizon creatively/or would you like to discuss other topics that I neglected to ask

Colden: I have an illustrated edition of Grimm’s Fairy Tales coming out from IDW later this year, and some still in negotiations projects for various publishers.

O’Shea: How many of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales did you tackle?

Colden: The Grimm’s Fairy Tales looks like it’s going to be two volumes, totaling about 50 stories. It will be the original text, with spot illustrations by me.

Those who responded include:

• Robert Burke Richardson, Absolute Magnitude
• Aaron Alexovich, Eldritch
• Sam Little, The Hammer
• David Gallaher, High Moon
• Dwight L. MacPherson, Sidewise
• Johnny Zito and Tony Trov, Black Cherry Bombshells and LaMorte Sisters
• Matthew Petz, War of the Woods

And here’s what they had to say ….

Robert Burke Richardson: Martin Morazzo and I were in the Zuda competition twice — once in January 2008 (Urbis Faerie) and again in August 2009 (Absolute Magnitude). We know what it’s like to lose the competition, and we know what it’s like to win.

It was my understanding, at least in the early days, that the folks behind the Zuda site were very open to change. There had been hints, for instance, that the format of the contests might change — that they might start having theme months where only strips in a particular genre would compete, or that they might even start asking for standard-formatted comics (instead of landscape). These changes never appeared, and some of us started thinking about the contests as unchangeable — but perhaps they never were.

If Zuda is simply moving on to a new iteration, a new method of delivering great webcomics (as Ron’s message suggests), then I think it is potentially a really good thing. The contests were imperfect, but far more successful than unsuccessful, and I think they’ll be remembered fondly. As the people who brought me strips like Bayou, Street Code and Bottle of Awesome, the Zuda team have earned a certain amount of faith, so I can’t wait to see what they do next!

Aaron Alexovich: I have mixed feelings about the death of Zuda competitions… On the one hand, I wouldn’t wish that kind of gut-churning experience on ANY artist. I’ve always been more of a “make good stuff and people will find it” kind of an artist, so all of the heavy, hard-core promotion we did made me feel physically sick all month. On the other hand, the amount of support we got as a result of all that promotion was just incredibly gratifying to see. Our readers were INTENSE. I think the “competition” structure motivated people to step out of the shadows and work HARD for us, which was really humbling to see. Future Zuda artists won’t have exactly the same experience. Honestly, seeing people come out for us that way made the whole 30-day gut-twist worth the horror.

(Also: If Zuda is going to switch to a straight-up “buy what we like” system, the first one on their list should be Mr. Trildok Sings the Blues. Those guys fought HARD, man, and they deserve a contract as much as anyone.)

Sam Little: Zuda has been a fantastic experience for me both as a creator and fan. Just an amazing opportunity to have your work seen and reviewed by comics professionals and exposure to a vast internet sea of readers. I loved the competitions. Like being on a massive adrenaline kick for a whole month. I even liked the drama and the virtual fistfights on occasion. That stuff is just funny to me. The key to enjoying the competitions I think was to take the work seriously but not yourself. I will miss them. That said, I’m still very much invested in Zuda as a reader and once and future contributor. I’ll be click-click-clicking the home page every 15 minutes to see what bold new vision the zudacrew has in store for us huddled internet masses. High hopes!

*****

JK: What were the positives and negatives about the competition, from your perspective?

David Gallaher: I could go on forever about this, really … but I’ll try to keep it short.

I think the best aspect about the competition was that everyone who participated got compensated by DC Comics. All participants got a $500 check from DC Comics – regardless of being a professional, a novice, or a newbie. For many of the creators, this was their first check from a mainstream comics company – and if they are anything like me – they photocopied and framed that very first check. it was a very cool feeling getting that check.

The competition also increased my awareness of of talents like Gabriel Hardman, Sheldon Vella, Adam Atherton, Trov and Zito, Daniel Govar, Wes Molebash, Amy Pearson, and many others. Granted, not all of these creators won, but they all did outstanding work that I may have otherwise missed if it weren’t for the competition.

The negatives? Well, while I appreciate the aspect of crowdsourcing to gauge success – as the first competitor I can assure you that the whole process was rough. Remember, that first month I was competing against many of my peers – including Pop Mahn, TS3, and Corey Lewis – super amazing and talented people, whose work I respect and enjoy. That was tough. Month in and month out, there was only room for “one winner,” so many other talented creators and amazing strips lost out, including THE CROOKED MAN by Gabriel Hardman and Corinna Sara Bechko.

Look, I think a competition model certainly has merit — the success of shows like Top Chef – apply that model successfully. And if Zuda aired on Bravo, I think things would be very different.

Dwight L. MacPherson: I would say that the positives definitely outweigh the negatives from a creator’s standpoint. The greatest positive about the competition–in my opinion– is that it is a wonderful opportunity to get your work out there. As a writer, my greatest desire is to have people read my work. Zuda has been a great platform to draw in new readers and it has allowed me to reach more readers than the average webcomic collective.

The only negative I can see from a creator’s standpoint is that there were months when–in my opinion–inferior webcomics won the competition simply because their creators’ “marketing mojo” was superior to another creator’s. He who draws the most readers wins the prize, and this resulted in several amazing webcomics losing the competition.

Matthew Petz: Well for me it was really positive and fun each time I was in the competition. Yes, it was at times literally a month long 24/hr marathon trying to get as many eyes on the comic. But it was always exciting and in the end, entirely worth it.

Johnny Zito: We’re big fans of the contest and all the new comics that premier on Zuda every month. It’s responsible for an amazing community of creators.

Tony Trov: Not enough physical challenges. Maybe some feats of strength or marshmallow eating contest should have been a wild card factor.

JK: What did you learn during this process, in terms of engaging fans, marketing yourself and your comic, etc.?

David Gallaher: Nobody is going to read your comic if they don’t know it exists. A great comic with crappy marketing doesn’t help readership. A crappy comic with great marketing doesn’t help anyone.

Dwight L. MacPherson: Thankfully, I had enough prior experience in comic books to realize that marketing and PR for oneself and one’s comic projects is hard work. Damn hard work. The Zuda competition was really an opportunity to apply what I learned over the years to win the competition. Of course, I could never have won without the fans. I have the most amazing, encouraging, supportive fans in the world. They really came through for me and I can’t thank them enough. Producing SIDEWISE at Zuda and working with Ron Perazza and the Zuda editorial staff has been an extremely rewarding experience.

Matthew Petz: Very rarely will anyone simply pluck you from obscurity. You need to work hard. No one’s gonna do it for you. Embracing social media is a must. At the end of the day though, you have to be real. Only way to earn an audience is by being honest with them.

Tony Trov: I learned that people love pink buttons.

Johnny Zito: And I discovered just how many days in a row I could go without sleep.

JK: Ultimately do you think it’s a good move for Zuda to stop the contests and use a different submissions model?

David Gallaher: Yes. I’m looking forward to what happens next.

Dwight L. MacPherson: From a creator’s viewpoint, I’m sad to see the competition go because it gave many creators a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talents on a large stage. Even if they did not win, their work was seen by thousands of viewers.

Ultimately, this was a business decision. Zuda and Ron Perazza know what they’re doing, so I’m certain the changes in the submission process will be beneficial to them as a publisher.

Matthew Petz: I never saw the competition as the defining aspect to what Zuda is. For me Zuda is about looking towards the future. When you look at the landscape of comics, Zuda has been finding amazing new creators who are making some of the most original and exciting comics anywhere… I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Johnny Zito: The contest will be missed, but I’m excited for tomorrow.

Tony Trov: I think it was great for launching the site; the future is now.

Greendale

Happy day-after-Free Comic Book Day to everyone, and welcome to another edition of What are you reading? Our guest this week is Rick Marshall, editor of MTV’s Splash Page blog. To see what Rick and the rest of the Robot 6 crew have been reading this week, read on …

*****

Tim O’Shea

Starman Omnibus

There’s an underlying current of disappointment when I read most of James Robinson’s writing these days (the recent Blackest Night Starman 81, being a noticeable exception). My disappointment was reinforced even more when rereading the early days of Starman, thanks to Starman Ominbus Volume 1.”Talking with David, ’95″ is just an amazing example of how well Tony Harris and James Robinson worked together. Robinson put it perfectly when he wrote in this volume’s intro: “In my time working month after month with Tony Harris, our personalities were never quite on the same page, yet our differences combined to make something far more interesting that either of us, at that time, could have done on our own. (Do you think I would have had one pirate reference, if Tony hadn’t been on board? His version of Grundy–thin, gentle Grundy–led to me revising/explaining Grundy’s various incarnations/personalities to the point that that’s become a part of DC lore. Grundy would have been a one-appearance villain if Tony hadn’t ‘gotten all creative on me’–but again to the betterment of the opus as a whole.)” Harris has gone on to other strong storytelling successes (for example, Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan and Harris), but if he can spare the time, Robinson might benefit by collaborating with Harris again.

Kudos to DC for running Mike Carlin’s editorial this month about the late Dick Giordano under his classic Meanwhile… banner. Read the piece, it’s a good one.

I don’t know if Roger Stern and Lee Weeks would be willing to become one of the regular Spidey writers in the rotating lineup the book sports, but it would be a delight if they were. I know there’s a retro vibe to their work, in a sense (Weeks even does the half Spidey face bit [when Pete's in civilian mode], a bit I always liked), but for my money Stern and Weeks are as contemporary as any of the other comics creators on the Spider-Man books. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that over the coming issues (starting in Spider-Man 634) Stan Lee will be doing a two-page multi-issue tale with artist Marcos Martin. Interesting choices that Spider-Man editors are making these days, choices that make an old fanboy like me happy.

I continue to enjoy Mark Waid’s Incorruptible series at BOOM!, but as much as I appreciate the company’s effort to deliver on time every month, this issue suffered due to the absence of regular series artist Jean Diaz. Guest artist Horacio Domingues, at one point, is called upon to do a pivotal scene reaction shot with Max, and Domingues gives us a virtual Shaggy/Scooby Doo Yoinks! campy facial expression (a scene that Diaz would have handled quite, quite differently and less cartoonishly). In other BOOM comics, Incredibles 8 shines the spotlight on Elastigirl and brings back a character that has not been seen (unless I’m mistaken) since the actual film. I appreciate an all ages book like Incredibles that tries to expand the continuity as this series has to date.

Sean T. Collins

The Arrival

I’m back, back in the reviewing groove! Over the past couple weeks I’ve finally started reading and reviewing comics en masse on my personal blog after a month or two “prose break.” (Seriously, everyone, go read George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels.) Here’s the first half-dozen comics I took a crack at:

The Arrival by Shaun Tan: Can we please mail a copy of this awe-some look at the immigrant experience to every single resident of Arizona?

Young Lions by Blaise Larmee: A Xeric-winning slice-of-lifer that’s a thing of beauty for the Tumblr generation.

Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki: Subtle and gutsy teen angst for the young-adult market.

Keeping Two by Jordan Crane: A lush and painful look at loss from one of comics’ best draftsmen, now available as a webcomic.

Death Trap by Lane Milburn: Another Xeric winner–a mutant Texas Chain Saw homage, with some really powerful cartooning.

Tales Designed to Thrizzle #6 by Michael Kupperman: After five unimpeachably funny issues, a let-down!

JK Parkin

I picked up several free comics yesterday, but due to company coming into town I’ve only gotten to read one, Marvel’s Iron Man/Thor team-up to save the world from … the moon? Written by Matt Fraction and drawn by the incomparable duo of John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson, the two Avengers team up to save the world from a series of natural disasters being caused by a group of “multibillionaires” using old Stark technology to terraform the moon into a place they can build expensive condos and eat caviar while the rest of the world dies off. I was pleased to see JR Jr.’s take on Thor and Iron Man again, and there were some nice disaster pages (some caused by the moon, some caused by Thor).

Also, Iron Man? Kind of a smug jerk in this story. “Hey Tony, one of your inventions is causing tidal waves and what have you across the globe.” “Oh, that old thing?”

Up next: more free comics, including the first issue of The Sixth Gun, the other Iron Man comic, War of the Supermen, Love & Capes #13 and something I’m forgetting …

Rick Marshall

The Losers

With Splash Page’s focus on the area in which comics overlap with other media, my reading habits have shifted a bit toward titles that have been optioned for big- or small-screen adaptation or have some connection to the mainstream media world by virtue of subject matter, author, or any number of other factors.

That being the case, I often find myself mentally assigning what I read into one of three categories: work-related reading, personal reading with work-related potential, and purely personal reading.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for multitasking, and compartmentalizing all of it helps me keep all of the competing narratives separate in my head.

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

Work-Related: I recently finished Greendale, Joshua Dysart and Cliff Chiang’s Vertigo graphic novel based on the Neil Young album. I’m a big fan of all three of the creative minds involved in this one, and though it fell a little short in the end, it was a really fun read. It reminded me a lot of a smaller, simpler version of Stephen King’s The Stand, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It hits shelves in June.

I’ve also been catching up on The Losers and 100 Bullets, two series I was into early on but lost track of somewhere along their run. I sort of rediscovered the former series due to the movie hitting theaters this month, and the latter because it’s only a matter of time before it gets picked up somewhere. Brian Azzarello hinted to me in an interview last year that an option was likely at some point soon, so now’s as good a time as any to get caught up, right?

Personal/Work: Anyone who knows me is probably aware of my unhealthy obsession with all things Doctor Who. I’ve been devouring IDW’s Doctor Who comics as they hit shelves, especially during the drought between the last season and the current one. Tony Lee is doing an amazing job with the series, and it’s great to see what happens when you have someone writing a series like this who’s both a big fan and a supremely talented writer.

I’ve also been re-reading some of my favorite webcomics that were collected in print over the last year. In particular, Jon Rosenberg’s Goats collections feel like new material with all of the polish they received during the transition to paper. The publisher of the series, Del Rey, did a bang-up job freshening everything up and making the strips really jump off the page. Similarly, some of DC’s print collections of Zuda Comics have really impressed the heck out of me — especially High Moon and Bayou. To be honest, Zuda had never really been on my radar until I started reading some of the print collections of the series published there, but I’m glad that’s changed.

Finally, I just finished reading through all four books in Top Shelf’s “Swedish Invasion” line. All four are great reads, but Hey Princess and 120 Days of Simon were really good. The former felt like a Swedish version of a Jeffrey Brown or James Kochalka bio-comic, while the latter was an experience all its own. The author, Simon Gardenfors, is a popular Swedish rapper who travels around the country at the whim of fans who signed up on his website to feed him and let him crash with them. It’s a wild, wild story.

Personal: I usually read a novel as a counterpoint to all of the comics — a constant narrative that I can keep coming back to between issues and such. I’m currently about halfway through Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, but I’ve been reading a novel between each Wheel of Time chapter so I don’t overload on the sword-and-sorcery stuff. This time around, it’s Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy (I have them all collected in a single novel), a sci-fi classic I’d been meaning to read for ages but finally got around to recently. My copy of the book is a fairly old and was sitting on my bookshelf for years before I finally took the plunge. It’s a great reminder of why Asimov is such a big player in the sci-fi world, and given how much of today’s sci-fi is all shiny metal killer robots, it’s also a reminder of what can happen when science was just as important as the fiction. It’s a true classic, and I can’t recommend it enough.

So, there you have it! That’s what I’m reading these days — or trying to, at least.

Zito's great giveaway

Zuda cartoonists Johnny Zito and Tony Trov emailed me yesterday to let me (and presumably, everyone else) know that they recently donated their entire comic book collections to RiF, better known as Reading is Fundamental. “That’s how committed to the digital revolution we are,” Zito wrote.

Zito added that the roughly 10,000 comics they donated to the organization’s after school programs around the country.  “This promotes literacy and hopefully expands the comic book reading audience to a new generation,” he said.

The really good news is that RiF will be accepting donations for the rest of the school year and possibly onward as Zito and Trov look to make this a permanent operation. In the meantime, interested parties can send their comic book donations to:

Beth Pettit
RiF Comic Book Donation Drive
St. Aloysius Education Clinic
219 West 132nd Street
New York, NY 10027

So if you got an underread (and age-appropriate) graphic novel gathering dust on your shelves, now you know where to send it to.