Q & A with Ian Healy

Ian Healy has brought us a number of cool superhero novels in his Just Cause universe. He's coming out with a new one in april, JACKRABBIT. I interviewed him about the book.

Tell us - what is 'Jackrabbit' about?
Jackrabbit is a tale about how the fate of the entire world rests on the shoulders of a couple of seventeen-year-old kids and how they respond to an unimaginable threat. When a nonhuman god and his minions from beyond the realm of human imagination invades both the dimension known as Gods' Home and the Earth, it violates the most basic, sacred laws of the deities. It falls to the only two gods who still have the ability to summon Heralds, the God of Rabbits and the Goddess of Bluebirds, to select their Heralds and send them off to save the world. If they fail, it means the end of not only the Earth, but of the domain of human gods as well.

To readers of what comics will it appeal?
Jackrabbit certainly has some very cosmic qualities to it that would appeal to readers of Thor or the New Gods. On the other hand, the lop-eared hero himself is very grounded and almost self-aware that he's a character in a story. For people who like the goofy fun of the Amazing Spider-Man, or Blue Beetle, Jackrabbit will seem familiar and comforting to them.

Where can we find the book? 
Jackrabbit will be on sale at all online retailers in both ebook and print formats on April 1, 2014. Before then, you can sign up for the Goodreads Giveaway for a chance to win one of three signed ARCs https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/81665-jackrabbit or you can preorder the ebook editions from Kobo http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/jackrabbit and Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/406990

How do you think superheroes work out in prose, and why did you decide to take a stab at it? 
I think superheroes work just fine in prose, because the stories have to be about real, believable characters. Just because they happen to have superpowers doesn't mean the stories have to lack in other aspects of reality. I strive to make my superhero tales about people first and foremost, and their powers are just special effects or tools. Most of my stories could be re-edited to happen entirely without any kind of powers and still work.
I've wanted to write superheroes since I was a kid. Now, at least, I have an idea of what I'm doing.

Who is your favourite comic book hero, and who's your favourite creator?
I think my favorite hero of all time has to be The Question (DC), who wasn't defined by his lack of powers so much as he was by his insatiable curiosity. A close second would be the Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (Ted Kord version) partnership. Those guys had the best friendship I've ever seen in comics, and the sheer wackiness of the situations they got into never failed to bring a smile to my face.
My favorite creator is Alan Moore, because with Watchmen, he showed me that comic books could be about far more than just heroes punching bad guys. He made me want to write stories that were as powerful as his.

What is it about superheroes that appeals to people so much and why are there so many comic book movies now?
Superheroes are the contemporary equivalents of the legendary heroes of old like Hercules, John Henry, Paul Bunyan, and Wild Bill Hickock. Humans always dream of characters far more powerful than we are. It gives us something to strive toward.
The main reason there are so many comic book movies now is because the first few made mad money. Studios only care about the bottom line. If Christopher Nolan's Batman movies had tanked, or the Avengers had tanked, I promise you there would be virtually no superheroes on the big screen now. Eventually the wave will crest, like it did in the '90s with the Joel Schumacher Batman films, and then superheroes will be absent for awhile (Until somebody of influence picks up a copy of Just Cause and realizes that it would be a phenomenal movie!).

For more information about Ian Healy go to:

 Twitter (http://twitter.com/ianthealy), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/authorianthomashealy), Scenic http://www.ianthealy.com, and  Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/author/ianhealy)

Q & A with Nick Ahlhelm

Nick Ahlhelm has been a comic book fan forever and publishes some pretty cool stuff via Meta-Human Press. Now he has a new Kickstarter project going that sounds just fantastic. I was eager to ask him some questions...

Tell us - what is 'Lightweight' about?
Lightweight is the tale of a young man named Kevin Mathis that learns he has the ability to control the gravity of any non-living object. This quickly leads him into danger against a robot named Titan, sent after him by a mysterious group that does not have best interests at heart. But even as he faces more and more danger, he gains a growing compulsion to wear the costume of Lightweight, even as it threatens to drive a rift between him and his friends.

Why Kickstarter?
 Two reasons. The obvious one is that I’ve hired Brent Sprecher to design work on the series and the covers. An artist the caliber of Brent needs to be paid and much of the money raised will go to pay him. The second reason is proof of concept. Lightweight is the first ever ongoing monthly super powered prose serial. I chose this format because I feel it is the best way to tell Kevin’s continuing tale over the months and years to come. But I also need to know that this is a format that can sustain Kevin and company. If I can raise $900 or more before the concept comes to fruition, I know I have something people will read.

To readers of what comics will it appeal?
 Much of my inspiration comes from favorite comics of the 80s and 90s. Spider-Man fans will certainly find something to love in Kevin, but I would say my main two influences would be Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon and both Roger Stern and James Robinson’s versions of Starman. Larsen’s real time style narrative will be a feature in Lightweight while Stern’s tale of a young awkward hero and Robinson’s intricately plotted build-ups are all part of Lightweight’s DNA. Finally, Robert Kirkman’s Invincible is a major influence on how to make a large scale independent superhero and their universe work for years and years of storytelling.

Where can we find the book?
Right now, the only place to find information about the book is at its Kickstarter page: If the Kickstarter proves successful, the ebook edition will be available through Amazon, Smashwords and my site SuperPoweredFiction.com. The print editions will be available through Createspace and Amazon.

 How do you think superheroes work out in prose, and why did you decide to take a stab at it?
Much like any other genre, moving superheroes into prose offers advantages and disadvantages. Obviously prose cannot be as action drive as comics or film. But it does also allow a depth of plot and character that is almost impossible in either.

Who is your favourite comic book hero, and who's your favourite creator?
 My favorite superhero will probably always be a toss-up between Hawkeye and Firestorm. West Coast Avengers and the John Ostrander Firestorm were two of the first comics I regularly read at Marvel and DC. I’ve always had a fondness for both characters because of them. As to creators, I could list a dozen. Robert Kirkman, Neil Gaiman, Steve Englehart, James Robinson, Erik Larsen, Tom DeFalco, Billy Tucci, Joshua Williamson and on and on. But I always like to specifically mention Mark Gruenwald, perhaps the favorite author of my younger years. Gruenwald told compelling stories without ever contradicting a massive continuity that he seemed to feel a personal quest to keep straight. If I could be half as good as he is at keeping my timeline so perfect, I’ll have a very successful career ahead of me.

 What is it about superheroes that appeals to people so much and why are there so many comic book movies now?
I think as people continue to stretch the boundaries of their own body and technology makes science fiction shows seem terribly out of date, society looks for something larger than life in their heroes. A being with super powers in our modern world is something we can only ever dream about, but the adventures they can have can wow us in ways other forms of fictional narrative just cannot.

Q & A with Andrez Bergen

Andrez Bergen is a talented writer who recently wrote a pretty cool novel, Who's Killing the Great Capes of Heropa,  mixing noir fiction with superheroes. An interesting person to interview of course....

 

Tell us - what is 'Heropa' about?

Ostensibly? The novel is about escape, in particular from dystopian future Melbourne, Australia — the last city on Earth. It's a place polluted, dangerous and divided; decay, filth and death stain the streets as this city wilts beneath ceaseless acid rainfall.

The escape is to a better place, Heropa, a bustling, lively metropolis with clear skies and a monumental skyline, its architecture early 20th-century art deco and the gleaming boulevards patrolled by superheroes known as Capes, chief among these the group known as the Equalizers.

New recruit Southern Cross — without his mask a spitting image of Jack Kirby's sketches for Steve Rogers (a.k.a. Captain America) in the 1960s — is the latest refugee from Melbourne, looking for a place not only to hang his hat and mask but also to find solace away from a world disfigured.

But as the tides turn, the Capes are assassinated by persons unknown and the body count begins to accrue, Cross we figure out that the novel is far less about escape or tights than standing up to defend what one believes in

To readers of what comics will it appeal?

I think any comic book buff would appreciate this, but in particular fans of the Marvel Bullpen in New York in the 1960s, when Stan Lee and Roy Thomas got to play with artists like Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Buscema, Jim Steranko and Barry Windsor-Smith and brilliant super-group titles were created: Fantastic Four, Avengers, X-Men.

Golden Age comics from the 1940s are also an essential backdrop here, and I was heavily influenced by later writers and artists like Frank Miller, John Byrne, Chris Claremont, so they've had impact as well.

But you know what? International comic books like Tintin, 2000 AD; The Phantom, Barbarella and That Bulletproof Kid also get a tip of the fedora.

This novel comprises 473 pages, and it's a dual homage to (as I say) the 1960s Marvel age of comic books as well as '40s detective noir — decanted into a blend of sci-fi, dystopia, and other ingredients. Plus there are 35 comic book illustrations by an array of international artists.

This makes the package a little pricey in physical form, but it's worth this for the artwork alone.

Where can we find the book?

The official release date for bookshops is 27th September, but the book is currently available in paperback or Kindle versions bright and early from Amazon USA (http://www.amazon.com/Who-Killing-Great-Capes-Heropa/dp/178279235X) and Amazon UK (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Who-Killing-Great-Capes-Heropa/dp/178279235X).

  

How do you think superheroes work out in prose, and why did you decide to take a stab at it?  I think they work just fine, but this is nothing revolutionary.

Pulp crime fighters like The Shadow and Doc Savage were being pushed through in written text in the 1930s and Zorro wore a mask but first appeared in 1919 thanks to a manual typewriter rather than an easel.

All three were influences on my childhood, particularly Zorro, just as much as the hand-me-down 1960s Marvel Comics I got from my much older half-brother.

But I'm equally influenced by cinema, and I write the way I perceive situations visually — put this down to both comic books and old movies. Since I'm not the best artist myself, I tend to write the scenarios down in groups of words, and have been doing that even for sequential art stories since high school.

And for me, when I do comic books, I think superheroes. This novel was therefore always on the cards. The design for the costume of key character Southern Cross was first put together when I was 16.

Who is your favourite comic book hero, and who's your favourite creator?

I found this a tough question, since at various times I've adored the Beast from the early issues of X-Men, Wolverine as conjured up by John Byrne with Chris Claremont in 1979-80, and the Flash when he was still Barry Allen. I always had a soft spot for Hergé's kid-reporter Tintin and the violent justice dished up by Judge Dredd in 2000 AD. If we include Japanese manga, Major Motoko Kusanagi (Ghost in the Shell) would be right up there as well. I loved what Frank Miller did with Daredevil in 1981 and Batman in the mid '80s.

But there're still two that stand out and tussle for dominance: Captain America, especially how he was visually defined by Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko in the late 1960s, and the Thing from Fantastic Four — again Kirby's vision of the orange rock-hewn hero, in tandem with inker Joe Sinnott.

So I guess that also answers your question about favourite creator. Jack Kirby. The novel is dedicated to the King.

What is it about superheroes that appeals to people so much and why are there so many comic book movies now?

I'll start at the end of the query this time — superhero movies are the flavour of the month, and flavours of any calendar month usually mean big bucks for the studios involved. I say usually, because they still need to make good films. The Avengers was good, as was Captain America. Green Lantern was poor. Then again, I never was into that character. I think the timing's also right as the SFX are at their best in making these costumed people with insane powers look... well... bona fide.

Getting back to the beginning, what is it about superheroes? For me the obvious answer is escapism — these people have the mojo to change lives, worlds, entire galaxies. But the best comic book yarns ground these blessings in the humdrum reality of daily life, explore the bickering side of the relationships these Capes share, and pitch good against bad — punching through the grey area between the two. They're morality tales, hopefully without too much preaching.

And they're fun to explore.

Q & A with Dan Sehn (Argo 5)

1. Tell us what Argo 5 is about?
Argo 5 is a super-team that handles threats from alien invasions to subterranean menaces but the core of the book is actually the social interactions. The book is a bit more focused on the character's personal lives than just fighting the bad guys. Instead of just the threat of the month or continuous misdirection, Argo Comics strives to tell good entertaining stories that are a bit less convoluted than most mainstream comics.
2. To readers of what comics will it appeal?
It would probably appeal to long time readers of the big 2 that might find ia change of pace refreshing. Coke and Pepsi are great but sometimes you need a Dr. Pepper.
3. Where can we find it?
The books can be found here: http://indyplanet.com/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=4417 and digitally here: http://indyplanet.com/digital/index.php?manufacturers_id=4417
4. Any advice for other people wanting to publish independent superhero stories?
I would say remaining focused is important. Many have their own heroes and get diverted into getting endless commissions of their character and build web sites devoted to their characters but no effort is put towards putting together the actual comic. I'd also say to strive for originality. Publishing a book similar to the ones you enjoy from the larger companies is a mistake in that there are already many of those books with characters people are already fond of. Indie superheroes must strive towards originality to give people a new experience.

5. Who is your favorite comic book hero and who your favorite creator?
My favorite character would have to be the Pre-New 52 Superman. I'm hoping he'll return someday. My favorite creator is a bit tougher. The short list of writers would have to be Will Eisner, The Hernandez Brothers, and Alan Moore. Artists are much tougher as there is no short list. Art Adams, Adam Hughes, George Perez, Rick Mays, Bill Maus, Tom Raney, Mike McKone, Kevin Maguire, Franchesco!, Brad Green, Chris Cross, Terry Dodson, Frank Cho, Steve McNiven, Nick Bradshaw, Paul Pelletier, Brandon Peterson, Fred Perry, Todd McFarlane, Dale Keown and Sarah Pichelli are a few of my favorites that come to mind.

 6. What is it about superheroes that appeals to people so much and why are there so many comic book movies now?
Superheroes probably appeal to many who enjoy the escapism aspect of the genre. Most would like the more extraordinary lives exemplified by the adventures of those with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man. Those stories have almost a universal appeal and thus the popularity of the movies. Film does not suffer the stigma of being purely juvenile entertainment so they thrive where the comic industry struggles.

Q & A with Joe Martino (Mighty Titan)

Talented Joe Martin has a really cool series going with Mighty Titan so I thought it would be cool to ask him a few questions...

1. Tell us what Mighty Titan is about?
The Mighty Titan is a story about an invulnerable hero who finds out that his alter-ego has a potentially terminal disease. Titan's alter-ego has cancer.

 

2. To readers of what comics will it appeal?
If you like Superman or Captain Marvel, you will love The Mighty Titan. 

 

3. Where can we find it?
Right now you can get issue 1 at my webstore. www.jgmcomics.ecrater.com. 

 

4. Who is your favorite comic book hero and who your favorite creator?
Superman, bar none. I don't have a favorite creator but I am very into the mid to late 80's artists. John Byrne, George Perez, Jack Kirby. 

 

5. What is it about superheroes that appeals to people so much and why are there so many comic book movies now?
I don't know what took so long! Most of the people reading comics are my age and I think that we are making superheroes accessible again. I used to say that I create superhero comics for people who still believe in superheroes. Looks like they are back with a vengeance!

Q & A with Scott Rogers (Bedbug)

I enjoyed reading Bedbug # 1 a lot, so decided to do a short interview with its creator, Scott Rogers...

1. Tell us what Bedbug is about?
Bedbug sprung from the brain of Scott Rogers - veteran video game designer (God of War, Maximo series, Pac-Man World among others) and author (Level Up! The Guide to Great Game Design, Swipe This! The Guide to Great Touchscreen Design) - when he found modern superheroes to be violent, depressing and not relatable. Taking inspiration from his young children, Scott created Bedbug for Shooting Star Comics Anthology (2002-2005). He wanted to launch the single-father superhero into his own title and finally got the opportunity after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2013. Scott used his recovery to write, draw and publish Bedbug #1 - with the help of a few friends; including Erik Burnham (IDW’s Ghostbusters) and Chad Jones (Bluewater’s Wrath of the Titans). Bedbug is ready to battle the forces of evil in Silicon City… when he’s not taking care of his young daughter, Elvira. He's a hero who balances fighting crime with family time!

2. To readers of what comics will it appeal?

Bedbug is a superhero adventure suitable for all-ages - especially Dads with kids who are starting to get into superhero comics!

3. Where can we find it?

Bedbug #1 is available at select comic stores around Los Angeles or by mail-order at http://www.mightybedbug.com

4. Is his secret identity named after Batman artist Dick Sprang?

Very observant of you! Dick Sprang is my all-time favorite Batman artist. My favorite story by him is "The Joker's Utility Belt" from Batman 73. Check it out.

5. Who is your favorite comic book hero and who your favorite creator?

Well, it might be obvious that my favorite is Batman, but I have a fondness for Spider-Man, Blue Beetle and Jack Knight Starman. I have many favorite creators but apart from Dick Sprang, I really like John Byrne, Steve Ditko and Marshall Rogers.

6. What is it about superheroes that appeals to people so much and why are there so many comic book movies now?

Why there are so many superhero movies, I think modern moviegoers want the escapism the fantasy/superhero genre provides - the modern world has a lot of scary things in it and fantasizing that we are one of these heroes who can overcome these things gives us hope. The best superheroes are the ones we want to be like.We might not have super-strength, heat-vision or be able to fly, but still superheroes can inspire us to be the best we can be. A good super hero is someone we can look up to, someone who inspires us to do what is right and help others when in need. These are the traits I try to give to Bedbug and I hope he inspires his readers as much as the superheroes I grew up with inspired me.