W/I C: You live in a very small community, would you say this has helped or hindered your success?
Watson: Neither. Though I have sold product to local people I am not actively involved in the community I live in. So it neither hinders, nor helps my career.
W/I C: Can you tell us what it was like to meet your first fan?
Watson: I honestly can’t say who my first fan was but I do recall a guy at an early show I did who asked if he could get images from GA tattooed on him. It felt very surreal but at the same time overwhelmingly cool. And for the first time gave me the confidence booster I needed to allow my mind to think I could actually go somewhere with this.
By the way if you are reading this send me a pic of that tat!
W/I C: Since then you‘ve run into fans in odd places. Can you tell us about the gas station?
Watson: (Laughs.) On my way to a show in Olympia and because the way I dress [the attendant] asked if I was going somewhere to play in a band. But I told him I was a comic creator. He asked what I had done. When I said Ghost Assassin I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he had an autographed copy in his bedroom.
W/I C: How cool was that?
Watson: Very cool. In fact I tell Ty [Wakefield (Alternate Reality Comics)] and Alan [Bennett (Johnny Vega)] all the time that’s the success they need.
W/I C: Do you consider yourself a Rock Star?
Watson: No, not by any means. But I would like to be remembered as the most brutal comic creator of all time!
W/I C: You even had a fan come to a con just for your next book.
Watson: Yes, in fact I did. She’s a hardcore fan who has all the books Darkslinger has put out and constantly pesters me when the new issues will come out. Still hard to believe she paid an eight dollar entrance fee for a three dollar book.
W/I C: Speaking of cons, how many do you average in a year?
Watson: Last year I did 47 shows and signings. This year I knocked it back to twelve. However, next year I will do thirty plus.
W/I C: Why so many? Has it helped to spread the word about your work?
Watson: It is the number one way I’ve spread the word of my work and why I’ve done so many. Same reason a band tours non stop for a year.
W/I C: For people not familiar with your work how would you describe it?
Watson: It’s different for every comic I do. Ghost Assassin is about a hit man who can see ghosts. It is my action-drama comic. The Pauper is my 90’s gritty superhero comic. The Chronicles of Van Helsing is a comic about a family of vampire hunters, and my up coming web comic is the best comic about a cow I’ve ever written!
W/I C: 2010 is a big year for Darkslinger Comics. You have three artists working on three new titles. Could you enlighten us on these projects?
Watson: Actually 4 currently set to be released [in 2010]. El Bovine Muerte, which we’ve discussed; The Pauper, currently being worked on by Herb Richardson; The Chronicles of Van Helsing, a ninety-eight page graphic novel illustrated by uber-talented Tony Morgan (The Chicken Leg Bone Boy); a Ghost Assassin/Johnny Vega crossover book that Darkslinger is co-producing with Black Box Comics and of course 2010 will see the release of a new volume of our very popular sketch book series.
W/I C: Lets start with The Chronicles of Van Helsing. Why did you choose Bram Stoker’s version of the vampire over the more popular sexy-brooding-“now with more sparkles”-blood-sucking-yet-guilt-ridden-vamp?
Watson: If only I had a steak to shove into the heart of every sparkly vampire. My vampires borrow from several old lore’s, not just Stoker. But in my opinion he wrote the bible for what a vampire should be like and how it should act. The only writer I really feel improved on this was Kim Newman. He had Stoker as a character in his book if that tells you anything. Fuckin’ sparkly vampires! (Laughs)
W/I C: What first inspired the Van Helsing story?
Watson: Originally I conceived of the idea for a writing contest I was entering and when I didn’t win I thought it was to good an idea to let go so I reworked it until I was happy with it.
W/I C: Why did you choose the graphic novel format over a series of comics?
Watson: It was the way it was written I thought the story would lend it self better to that format as a graphic novel as opposed to four or five comics. I am all about experimentation there is no one right way to do something and to that end I will tell a story in whatever medium I feel is best for it.
W/I C: With that said do you plan on ever writing, “The Great American Novel”?
Watson: I might potential release a novel in the same world as one of my comics but at this point I get a lot more joy form sequential art then prose format.
W/I C: When do you expect The Chronicles of Van Helsing to be released?
Watson: I am hoping for a May or June release but I am a quality not quantity guy and however long the story takes, the story takes I don’t set deadlines.
W/I C: When do we get a sample of this delicious tale?
Watson: With any luck I’ll have a preview book out either by Emerald City Comic Convention or Stumptown [Portland, OR].
W/I C: Tony Morgan is your artist for The Chronicles of Van Helsing. How did you meet him and why did you choose him for this project?
Watson: If you’ve seen Tony’s art work then the question is already answered.
W/I C: I first met him at Stumptown two years ago I believe it was the first show he had done, though I ay be wrong on that. I went up to his table because of his metal skull key chains and was pleasantly surprised to see how great his comic work was. I quickly fell in love with his Chicken Leg Bone Boy graphic novel. It remains on of my favorite indie graphic novels of all time.
W/I C: You released The Pauper #1 in 2007, but it wasn’t finished, why?
Watson: That’s not quite a true statement. It was released as a “rough cut” in 2007. Although it was released after Ghost Assassin it was completed before. After completing it I felt it could be better. So I rewrote it. It suffered from a lot of first timer mistakes I believe; artist/writer mistakes. Mainly first time mistakes but I feel the writing could have been stronger. It included things that should have been cut and was lacking elements that would have made it a more cohesive story.
W/I C: You now have a fantastic new artist on the book. Who is he and will he be drawing the whole story?
Watson: Herb Richardson, a brilliantly talented artist from North Carolina and yes as long as he is willing he will be in for the duration.
W/I C: How many issues will The Pauper be?
Watson: Six issues but The Pauper story may not end there or should I say didn’t being there.
W/I C: Oooo.
Watson: That’s called for shadowing, bitches! (Laughs)
W/I C: Why is this the most difficult book to write?
Watson: For some reason The Pauper doesn’t come as naturally as the other books. I actually don’t know why it doesn’t come as easy. Sometimes a book like Ghost Assassin just flows out of you, sometimes…
W/I C: Marvel revamped their films Hulk and Punisher and made drastic changes to the history of their long established iconic character in the comics, I have to ask is that what inspired you to do a full overhaul of the book?
Watson: There will never, I repeat NEVER be a Red Pauper nor will he be huntin' any demons in the near future. Also, David (Ghost Assassin) will not go through a severe character change were he trades in his yellow spandex for a leather vest with no shirt underneath!
W/I C: I re-read Ghost Assassin last night and felt the same attraction to the story I’m sure all your fans feel. You took a very different approach to this story than one traditionally would. Told only through dialogue, there are no captions, no thought bubbles and only a few SFX, yet it is still a complex emotional dram all wrapped up in a neatly packed twelve page book.
Why did you write in this fashion and why do you think you pulled it off so well?
Watson: Wow, that’s a complex question. If you tell believable dialogue do you really need a thought bubble ala Todd’s head or a caption stating David goes through a door? I think… sequential story telling has been bogged down by over use of these devices for so long most have forgotten to tell a story with out them. Personally I only use them when I feel they are absolutely necessary.
Do you really need a “BOOM!” when a grenade goes off? If the art is clear enough your mind should be able to tell what noise this makes.
W/I C: In an interview online you mention an upcoming Ghost Assassin mini series called, The Dig. Can you tell us a little about it and why it hasn’t come out yet?
Watson: Haven’t had the capital to do it yet. The Dig is still very much in the works. Although it may have another title by the time it comes out. It’s more just an issue of putting the funding together for it.
W/I C: Will it be a standard mini-series?
Watson: Currently it is planned as a two, twenty-eight page [series]. Though I may bump it up to as many as four [issues]. But then again I have to have the funding to do that.
W/I C: Page one, panel four in Ghost Assassin Prelude, there is a female ghost. Many have speculated on who she is. Could you fill us in?
Watson: You’ve already seen her in Origin. She is the girl who Brad -David’s father- brutally executes in front of police officers.
W/I C: Where did you come up with the idea for El Bovine Muerte?
Watson: I came up with it while in the shower. I was singing Nacho Libre songs when the idea of doing a comic involving cheese stuck in my head.
Adam then goes into a riff impersonating the cow, “They thought they were making the perfect cheese but instead they got Meeeee!”
(Laughs)
W/I C: Have all your best ideas come to you when you are in the shower?
Watson: (Laughs) Either in the shower or while driving down the road.
W/I C: When will we get to see this comic?
Watson: This is my first web comic. The very talented Nick Larsen is currently handling art chores so hopefully we’ll have something to go by early 2010.
W/I C: You brought an exclusive to our metaphorical table for our readers. Tell us a bit about it.
Watson: These are the basic character designs for three of the main characters which will be appearing in El Bovine Muerte. All I can tell ya without giving to much away is, one is a cow, one is the Doctor and one is a cute lil’ red headed girl… or is she?
No comments:
Post a Comment