Jan Duursema's Hexer Dusk interview with me!
Here's the Hexer Dusk interview as it was published. I'm trying to get the link to show, sorry! Try outrightgeekery.com!
From my interview, Jan had this to share on moving from Star Wars to her own publishing venture:
JD: Somewhere inside most comic book pros is the idea of a doing something indie and creator owned. I'd approached doing something partly creator owned with other companies, but each time the course of the company changed direction and the project fell through. That's why I think that Kickstater and Indiegogo are so important to the pros in the comic book industry. They give creators a platform to put those indie projects out there for the fans and readers to decide on. What I like most about what I am seeing on Kickstarter is that most of the comics looking for funding are outside of the mainstream--you'll see Western, Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Comedy or a mashup of different genres. It's a creative candy store! I think that the ability to be able to create something different was the thing that appealed most to me about doing something indie.
For a long time, John and I were able to call the Star Wars comic universe at Dark Horse our home. When Disney took the franchise to Marvel, they brought their own teams onto the books. Totally understand that--and we got to play in the GFFA for far longer than most creators ever do--so I'm happy with my time there and with what we accomplished. When I think about all of the characters we created for Star Wars Legacy, Republic and Dawn of the Jedi that fans still love, it's a very gratifying thing! Seeing someone at a convention dressed as Darth Talon, Cade Skywalker, Darth Krayt, Darth Nihl, Darth Maladi, Deliah Blue, Bantha Rawk, Nyna Calixte/Morrigan Corde, Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura--nothing beats that! I am awed by the time and attention that the costumers give to their creations. It's a love of what you've created that comes back to you. It's confirmation of a job well done!
At the same time, the franchise changing hands was a bit of a wake up call. John and I spent over 10 years creating for Star Wars, but when it was over--there was, of course, no ownership of any of the characters--no way to take them on further adventures. When something like that happens you can feel a bit lost creatively My take-away from that is that you have to re-make yourself as an artist, writer--and creator. You have to find a new home where you can create new characters whose stories you are burning to tell. I'd initially gotten the idea for Hexer Dusk back in 2013, sketched it out a bit--and John and I talked about it, added to the characters and story--plotting out the first graphic novel--both agreeing that this would be great for that indie project we'd always promised ourselves we would do 'someday'/ Would we talk to some companies about it? What about ownership? What's the best way to bring this book to fans and readers to READ? That's the most important thing about creating comics--getting the book out there so people can read it. Otherwise what good is telling a story? John and I both did lots of thinking about what we wanted to do. Other projects came along for both of us, but Hexer Dusk was always on my mind.
Fast forward to the New Year 2016. Creating Hexer Dusk is still at the front of my mind. I'm tired of looking wistfully into the drawer of art I've produced for this book and closing that drawer and waiting. I've got so many sketches, characters and storylines and 13 pages of storytelling nearly done. The plot is written and waiting for me. It's time to make Hexer Dusk happen. So Kickstarter--which is doing well thanks to all of the amazing backers who have shown their support so far! We're funded for the basics like printing, postage, Kickstarter fees, manufacturing, the art rewards and perks. But I'd love to bring Hexer Dusk to a lot more readers. I know that fans of John's and my Star Wars comics will enjoy this story and these characters very much. I also think that fans of our Hawkman series will dig the art and story of Hexer Dusk. Right now, we're working on Stretch Goals--and as these levels are achieved backers of the project get even more rewards added to the reward they pledged--like a Black and White unwrapped version of Hexer Dusk as well as more story pages added to the graphic novel.
JD: Somewhere inside most comic book pros is the idea of a doing something indie and creator owned. I'd approached doing something partly creator owned with other companies, but each time the course of the company changed direction and the project fell through. That's why I think that Kickstater and Indiegogo are so important to the pros in the comic book industry. They give creators a platform to put those indie projects out there for the fans and readers to decide on. What I like most about what I am seeing on Kickstarter is that most of the comics looking for funding are outside of the mainstream--you'll see Western, Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Comedy or a mashup of different genres. It's a creative candy store! I think that the ability to be able to create something different was the thing that appealed most to me about doing something indie.
For a long time, John and I were able to call the Star Wars comic universe at Dark Horse our home. When Disney took the franchise to Marvel, they brought their own teams onto the books. Totally understand that--and we got to play in the GFFA for far longer than most creators ever do--so I'm happy with my time there and with what we accomplished. When I think about all of the characters we created for Star Wars Legacy, Republic and Dawn of the Jedi that fans still love, it's a very gratifying thing! Seeing someone at a convention dressed as Darth Talon, Cade Skywalker, Darth Krayt, Darth Nihl, Darth Maladi, Deliah Blue, Bantha Rawk, Nyna Calixte/Morrigan Corde, Quinlan Vos, Aayla Secura--nothing beats that! I am awed by the time and attention that the costumers give to their creations. It's a love of what you've created that comes back to you. It's confirmation of a job well done!
At the same time, the franchise changing hands was a bit of a wake up call. John and I spent over 10 years creating for Star Wars, but when it was over--there was, of course, no ownership of any of the characters--no way to take them on further adventures. When something like that happens you can feel a bit lost creatively My take-away from that is that you have to re-make yourself as an artist, writer--and creator. You have to find a new home where you can create new characters whose stories you are burning to tell. I'd initially gotten the idea for Hexer Dusk back in 2013, sketched it out a bit--and John and I talked about it, added to the characters and story--plotting out the first graphic novel--both agreeing that this would be great for that indie project we'd always promised ourselves we would do 'someday'/ Would we talk to some companies about it? What about ownership? What's the best way to bring this book to fans and readers to READ? That's the most important thing about creating comics--getting the book out there so people can read it. Otherwise what good is telling a story? John and I both did lots of thinking about what we wanted to do. Other projects came along for both of us, but Hexer Dusk was always on my mind.
Fast forward to the New Year 2016. Creating Hexer Dusk is still at the front of my mind. I'm tired of looking wistfully into the drawer of art I've produced for this book and closing that drawer and waiting. I've got so many sketches, characters and storylines and 13 pages of storytelling nearly done. The plot is written and waiting for me. It's time to make Hexer Dusk happen. So Kickstarter--which is doing well thanks to all of the amazing backers who have shown their support so far! We're funded for the basics like printing, postage, Kickstarter fees, manufacturing, the art rewards and perks. But I'd love to bring Hexer Dusk to a lot more readers. I know that fans of John's and my Star Wars comics will enjoy this story and these characters very much. I also think that fans of our Hawkman series will dig the art and story of Hexer Dusk. Right now, we're working on Stretch Goals--and as these levels are achieved backers of the project get even more rewards added to the reward they pledged--like a Black and White unwrapped version of Hexer Dusk as well as more story pages added to the graphic novel.
Comments
Post a Comment