Stephen, thanks for sharing your notes with the readers. I understand that you dabbled in movie making before. With your having hit so many different genres in comics, did any of the books or characters begin life intended originally for film? Or are your creations medium-specific?
Other than that, the comic characters have pretty much stayed separate from the film characters, and I think the main reason is that independent filmmaking is very, very limiting. You're constantly held in check by budgetary constraints. So something may seem really cool when you're writing a screenplay, but if you plan to make that film yourself, you're always thinking "I'll never be able to afford this, or to even find a creative (and cheap) way around it. So I guess I'd better scrap it." And eventually that thinking becomes so ingrained that those cooler elements don't even make it into your scripts. Comics, on the other hand, are limited only by your imagination. You can do ANYTHING! As a writer, it's very freeing, and you still get that rush of seeing your creation come to life. Only instead of actors breathing that life into your characters, it's an artist doing it. I love that!
What was your first published comic book work? And what were the circumstances that led up to it?
My first published work was the anthology Jesus Hates Zombies: Those Slack-Jaw Blues.
I was originally doing a serious zombie survival drama called After the Rising which had started life as a screenplay, then an abandoned novel. Once I decided I wanted to make comics, I began taking what I'd written as a novel and adapting it for comics. But about mid-way through the first script I discovered The Walking Dead and realized that zombie survival drama comics had hit their peak- it just doesn't get better than The Walking Dead. So I decided I better switch gears.
Looking over the zombie comics at the time, none of them had really gone the comedy route. Most were gore-fests with little else going on. So I knew I wanted to make mine a comedy. And being a fan of old B Movies, the first thing I wanted to come up with was a really killer B Movie title. That's when Jesus Hates Zombies popped into my head. It literally made me laugh out loud, but I didn't know if it would end up being a one-note joke. So I started writing it and realized it had some legs. The only problem was, when you're a nobody writer who can't afford to pay page rates, getting an artist on board for a full book is really, really hard. BUT, if you can find talented artists who are hungry to get their work shown, convincing them to do a five page story ISN'T as hard. So that's what I did. I networked online on a site called comicspace.com telling every artist who would listen about this anthology I was putting together. And to my surprise, a bunch of them were into it! So the stories were being written, the artists were sending me pages, and it was awesome! That was such an exciting, creative time! Every day felt like Christmas when I would check my email and find new pages pouring in from artists all over the world!! That was when I started my daily regiment of heavy online promotions. I went onto as many comics, horror, and zombie-related bulletin boards as I could find and talked up the book. And it was working! People were into it! At that point I was planning on self-publishing the thing by taking pre-orders and paying for the printing with them. And I did that for the first fifty books. It was at that point that I started talking to Alterna Comics. They were into the book, but a little apprehensive at first. It didn't take long for them to just say "To hell with it! Let's see how this thing does if we put it out!" And the rest, as they say, it history.
Long story short, I hit comicspace at the right time with a catchy idea that a lot of really talented artists were into...I got lucky as hell!
And that has lead you to more Jesus Hates Zombies stories, as well as other collaborations with those collaborators. With so many projects going at once, do you see an end to your Jesus Hates Zombies series? And has there really been that much negativity thrown at you because of the content?
The 'Zombie' portion of Jesus Hates Zombies is coming to an end with the publication of Volume 4 in May. But that doesn't mean that the adventures of Jesus and Lincoln won't be continuing on! And, to be honest, I haven't really caught any flak over the series. I think the reason is that I'm still indie enough to fly below the radar of any groups that would get a real hate on for the books. So I've dodged that bullet thus far. Not that I wouldn't mind a little controversy or a nice theological discussion about the books! Hell, I was an altar boy for several years back in my Catholic School days! I can dish the religious with the best of 'em!
Oh, I was raised so Roman Catholic we only attended Latin masses until I was in my early teens or so. So I can relate. But thankfully folks have been giving you a chance, at least enough for you to have all of these other books in effect. The webcomics you host at your site alone- where do you find the time? Has it gotten easier for you to wear so many hats, or is there still a struggle, in getting your work out there and finding audiences for it?
The popularity of Jesus Hates Zombies has definitely made it easier to find an audience for my other work. But along with that comes an obligation to make that work the highest quality I can. Getting people to check something out is one thing. Getting them to stick with it is another thing entirely! Personally, I think I do my best work when I've got several projects going at once. It helps all of them feel fresh. If I was only working on one book, I think I'd get bored with it. But when I've got several books and three webcomics going at the same time, it's much easier for me to stay interested in all of them! And I've gotten better over the last few years of knowing when I've hit my limit. If I take on too many projects at once, then the work can suffer. So there's a balance to it. When I hit that sweet number of projects to juggle, that's when things really click!
You have collaborated the most with artists Lauren Monardo and Daniel Thollin, each on JHZ as well as The Slightly Askew Adventures Of Inspector Ham And Eggs with Lauren, and Happy Panda Funtime Show and Vaempir Testament with Daniel. In your experience, is there a fine line between business arrangement and all-out creative alliance? And as an experienced creator, do you prefer now these longer-term collaborations, or does it rely entirely on the individual?
I think you go into each project hoping for an all-out creative alliance. But sometimes it just doesn't progress beyond being a business arrangement. I've been very lucky to work with such amazingly talented people like Lauren and Daniel, and now also Jim McMunn and Dave Myers.
What happens when, as a writer, you click with an artist is that aside from simply the joy you get from working with them, a very high degree of trust evolves. And when that trust is a two way street, then the all-out creative alliance is formed. So when I'm writing something for Lauren, Daniel, Jim or Dave, I know they're going to totally get what I'm trying to do. I know that they're going to send me back work that exceeds the meager words I've put down on the page. I never have to worry about whether they're going to 'get it'. And I think, conversely, they know that I'm going to write to their strengths and that I have complete faith that they're going to do what best serves the story. I'm not the type of writer who insists 100% that an artist follows my panel layouts or scene descriptions. If the artist feels that a page would be better served with five panels instead of seven and they can combine a few to make it flow better, I'm all for it! But the freedom for them to do that and to know that I'm going to be totally cool with it comes from that built up trust. And when you've got it between you...making comics can be one of the most fun experiences on the planet!
Nowadays, small press and indie writers really do need to multi-task, like producers. You yourself have done a bit of lettering and packaging. Were these things that were difficult for you to get into, or does it just add to the overall fun, the immersion into the work?
Getting into the lettering was actually fairly easy. I love having that final pass at the writing that lettering affords me. And, I often tweak dialogue based on the art. So yeah, it definitely adds to the fun and immersion into the work. The other things, like packaging and logo creation come from the fact that I'm a graphic designer by day. So again, it was a fairly easy thing for me to get into.
You actually designed and maintain your own proper website as well, right?
Yes. I'm not exactly a whiz when it comes to the back-end workings of web development, but I do know HTML and would rather have that level of control over my sites than to use a template or a service. It just allows me to do whatever I want to do without any constraints.
So how do you kill your free time? What beyond funny books interests you?
Free time? What the hell is that! Aside for working and comics, I'm married and I have two kids. So the time not spent working in one form or another is usually spent with my family. But I'm also a total movie buff. I love all manner of flicks, so I'll watch just about anything. And I read as much as I can, too. Oh, and I'm also working on my first novel which will be published in Spain sometime next year (hopefully it'll be published in the US at some point as well).
Congratulations on the novel! What other projects do you have coming up, other than the aforementioned webcomics in progress?
Jim McMunn and I have the first issue of a 4 issue mini series coming out in May called "The Devil's Trail". It's a supernatural Western and new publisher Creators Edge is putting it out. Dave Myers and I (along with colorist Freddy Lopez) are currently shopping around an all-ages book called "Warriors of the Dharuk". That one is along the lines of a Mice Templar or Mouse Guard, and it's about a young koala who's a warrior in training that ends up in the midst of a fight to save his entire clan. I'm also working on a horror book with artist Michael Montenat called "The Tipper Ripper". It's a fairly psychotic book that's loads of fun!
The Devil's Trail especially sounds like a boatload of fun. Any final words you'd like to share, before I let you jump back ever so eagerly into the salt mines- for readers or fellow creators?
For fellow creators, just keep doing what you're doing! With the wave of digital comics growing bigger and bigger, it's a terrific time for all of us to carve out our niche. There's plenty of room on the shelves, the internet, mobile devices and in whatever comes along next for all of us. It's not about competing, it's about community. We can all grow as storytellers if we all stick together!
And for the readers, you've all got my most heartfelt thanks. Without you, I wouldn't be realizing a dream by doing this!
Follow Stephen's work on comicspace, facebook, myspace, and twitter, but especially via his own website, captions and balloons.
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