Damian Couceiro and Ed Brisson knew one another before Damian became artist on The Orchard for Acts of Violence. In this interview, Damian talks about The Orchard, his other collaboration with Ed, and how he does what he does.

Rumor has it you and Ed knew one another before you worked on The Orchard. Is that correct? 
 
Yes, I had known Ed for a few years before working together on The Orchard. I contacted him when he was looking for an artist to work on a project of his called The Division. We worked on it for a couple years and it is still waiting to be finished. It took longer time than expected, mainly it was due to me because I like taking time with each page when I can so I can make a more detailed and rich work. I really enjoyed working on The Division and I really grew as an artist during the process. So when Ed came up with The Orchard I accepted immediately.

When you received the script for The Orchard what was your initial reaction?

I was completely thrilled. The story hooked me from the very beginning and I was excited with what I could do on the art. I love dramatic stories where I can work on the character expressions, looking to show their feelings through facial expression and body gestures as well as the composition and lighting of each frame. And this script was right for it. As well as a great crime story.

How did you go about planning and / or establishing the visual style for The Orchard?

Well, my art style is realistic and I use lots of black shadows and I thought that suited the story pretty well. For me, the focus of the story was on the interaction between the two characters and how they manage the situation, so I focus on their faces, trying to catch the right expression of their feelings. I also used more shadows on their faces than I usually do. I thought that gave it the dramatic mood I was looking for.

To what extent was Ed involved in that process?

He didn’t get involved much on deciding the visual style. I think since he knew me he already knew how it would look and this was what he was looking for. Anyway, he did get  involved during the work on the pages. I showed him rough layouts of the pages first and then the pencil page and finally the inks. He made a few changes or suggestions on some pages and sometimes he sent me reference photos of what he had in mind for the settings, which was really helpful. I think interaction between artist and writer is very important. But he was never too invasive. He let me do my job freely. I really enjoyed working with him and hope we can work together again in the future.

Tell us about your creative process– what you use to draw, where you do it, when, etc, specific to The Orchard.

I always use 2B pencils to draw, and ink mostly with a nº2 brush and dip pen. I work almost through the whole day, but I hardly work early in the morning– I´m more a night worker. On The Orchard I used more reference photos than usual, especially for expressions and casting shadows.

What other creative endeavours have you been involved in?

One of my first professional gigs was the graphic novel Full Moon Feverpublished by AIT Planetlar. For a time, I worked with different writers on projects they had, like The Division with Ed. Lately, I worked on the mini-series NOLA for Boom! Studios.

And what’s up next?

Currently, I’m working on a comic adaptation of a Robert E. Howard story called Hawks of Outremer. I’m very happy with it because it is a change from what I’ve been doing lately. It’s an epic story with a lot of action, set during The Crusades.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Toren Atkinson is the artist of Reggie-Town, but also front-man of the rock band The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, and a veteren illustrator for various RPGs. In the following interview, Toren talks about all these things.

Rumor has it you, Kevin and Todd knew one another before you worked on Reggie-Town. Is that correct? 
 
I had just taken Steve Rolston’s “Introduction to Comic Book Production” course and I was at one of the local comic cons. Kevin was staffing the Critical Hit Comics booth and recognized me as the lead singer of the H.P. Lovecraft inspired rock band, The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets (as seen on Rock Band 2 the video game). I told him that I was branching out from illustration (having done spot illos for many games such as Dungeons & Dragons for about a decade) and getting into comics. He mentioned that the series they were producing at the time, Outnumbered, needed some cover artwork, so I submitted. They liked it enough that they asked me to do it again for the next issue. 
 
Despite the relationship, you still had to “tryout” for the gig. Tell us what that involved.
 
With that background, they pitched the Reggie-Town gig to me. As this was a more gritty kind of a story than what I’d done for them previously I guess they wanted to make sure I could capture the dark, grungy mood. Basically, they picked a single page out of the story and I drew and inked it. That page was #4 for those interested. As it turns out by the time we started working on the whole thing I knew I would have to go back and make some adjustments to that page, so what you see in the book isn’t quite the audition page, but it’s close. 
 
 When you did receive the script for Reggie-Town what was your initial reaction?
 
Excitement! Knowing that Kevin & Todd don’t pull any punches, I was looking forward to matching my drawing style with their intense writing. 
 
 How did you go about planning and establishing the visual style for Reggie-Town?

I knew that it was going to be dark and sketchy, so there was a learning process in loosening up and not getting caught up in being overly precise & detailed. The roughs were actually my proving ground to myself. I had to find a way to make the finals look ‘unpolished’ without seeming incomplete. I did a lot of research and went back and forth with the writers on the characters and locations in the script: what does Reggie’s bedroom look like; what kind of a barn does he take the baby to, that sort of thing. 
 
To what extent were Todd and Kevin involved in that process?
 
They watched me like hawks! Actually, we would have progress meetings every few weeks. They were very open to my interpretation of the script but when something wasn’t working for them on the art board they were on top of it. They have very specific visions for some segments and so did I. There were only a couple of panels they nitpicked, and it was probably in retaliation for the nitpicking I did with their script. 
 
Tell us about your creative process– what you use to draw, where you do it, when, etc, specific to Reggie-Town.
 
I ended up using a friend as a model for Reggie, even though I promised myself I wouldn’t do photo-reference when I took the job, but I’m glad I did because it worked out great. Doing so allowed me to focus on page balance and other complicated factors when working in sequential art that I am still very much learning, and less about making sure Reggie’s eyes were the proper distance apart in every panel, and every artist’s time-suck: perspective. But I approached the photo session in the same way I approached the drawing style – quick and dirty. When I took the photos I didn’t worry about lighting or even, as it turns out, focus! So that forced me to work out light, shadow, and distance on the page rather than use the photo reference excessively as a crutch. I’ve seen lots of comics that look like photographs with a high contrast filter with Photoshop on them, and I wanted to steer clear of that. I did everything on paper, with a pencil, brush pen and a marker. For the most part I eschewed rulers even for cars and buildings to maintain that rough, broken look that pervades Reggie’s world. 
 
 What other creative endeavours have you been involved in?
 
My aforementioned study under Steve Rolsten had me create four pages of Spaceship Zero which is based on my band’s album and tabletop roleplaying game of the same name. The comic story is a prequel to the storyline established in these other mediums, and I polished it off for publication in Cloudscape Comics‘ anthology Exploded View which came out just before Acts of Violence. 
 
 And what’s up next?
 
Presently, I’m working on the polar opposite of Reggie-Town, my own creation called The World Wildlife Federation of Justice. This tells the various tales of superheroes and villains in a world populated strictly by anthropomorphic ‘funny animals’ in the same milieu as Captain Carrot & His Amazing Zoo Crew, Mighty Mouse, and Supergoof. I’ve already told “The Ominous Origin of Rhinosferatu” in the anthology Historyonics, and had Go-Rilla face off with Elk Diablo in Funday Sunnies (both published by Cloudscape Comics), and as of May 2010 you can read up on Hypnopotamus, Enormouse, Shockatiel and a host of other ridiculous characters in a supplement for the award-winning superhero roleplaying game Mutants & Masterminds, published by Atomic Overmind Press.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Manoel Magalhaes is the artist who brought The Three Princes to visual life. Working from Rio de Janeiro, Manoel has started to amass a number of impressive credits. He’s an artist on the rise, but managed to find some time in his busy schedule to reflect on his work for Acts of Violence.

How did you come to be the artist on The Three Princes?

I came to know Chad Boudreau, writer of the story, through the Internet. I answered his ad at Digital Webbing, did a test-page for him, he liked it and that was it.
 
What was your initial reaction to the script?

First of all, I’m a huge fan of this kind of story. Something in that period of history interests me a lot. I love to draw people wearing those suits and the tommy-guns, but then I got a little nervous and started wondering if I was capable of achieving the level of work that Chad needed. I think that anyone who reads a comic book pays a lot of attention on the illustrations– at least I do–  so I knew I had to do my best.
 
To what degree was Chad involved in the visuals of The Three Princes? For example, did he provide you with reference photos, research material, etc? 

Chad did a terrific job with the research part of the project. You’re right; he provided lots of reference photos, showing exactly how he imagined places, cars, the interior of the buildings. He even sent me photos of how he imagined the characters should look like. In my opinion, a very thorough and exhausting task which made MY job a lot easier. But what helped the project the most was our numerous emails, where we discussed many scenes and angles for the pages. Chad seemed to have every detail in his mind already, like a movie director.
 
What was the most difficult scene to draw?

Drawing comics is a work that demands patience and attention to detail. I think that´s the fun, but if I had to choose one page that took me longer to produce I´d say it was the first page. It was a very important page. It should make an impact on the reader and give him an idea of what waits for him in the story.
 
What was the scene that was the most fun to draw?

Many of them! I love to draw those old cars, action scenes. People firing their machine guns, near the end of the story, was my favorite!
 
Do you draw on a computer or on board? And tell us a little bit about how you work.

I think all this computer stuff that shows up everyday is a little difficult to learn. Whenever we learn to use a program, a new one is created, and then it starts all over again. I grew up drawing using paper, pencils and ink. I love Hal Foster, Al Williamson, Moebius– those guys are beyond any comparison! I´m always researching via the Internet, looking for artists all over the world.

My way of working is very simple. I start drawing the roughs with a more clear pencil, then make a final version with a darker one. Then I send the writer the complete layout. When the page is approved, I ink it, sometimes with a pen, sometimes using the brush. The only thing I do in a computer are those lines around each panel.
 
Now tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from and what experience do you have?

I was born in Brazil, and live in Rio de Janeiro. As most illustrators, I’ve always wanted to draw, and since I was a kid I wanted to do comic books. For some time I worked in animation, but I confess that comics is my passion.

I had two graphic novels published here, but in Brazil we don’t have a strong market as in the USA or France, so I started to search the Internet and started to pitch my projects. I´ve been rejected many many times, but never gave up. I started doing some short stories for indie publishers, even in the UK. There´s a new POPGUN edition with some work of mine, and a webcomic I´m working on right now called BICYCLE COP DAVE, writen by noir writer Gary Phillips.
 
Lastly, what’s up next for Manoel?

A lot of things are coming up! My sci-fi graphic novel COLONEL is coming out online through Blackline Comics on Free Comic Book Day (http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=ebook&id=25443), and hopefully on paper soon, who knows? I drew threestories for Bluewater Productions´ Vincent Price Presents series, one of them is coming out in July. Last, I´m finishing my other sci-fi project called SYNCHRONICITY, with my friend Chad Boudreau as co-writer. For those interested in checking out all this, please take a look at my blog: www.blogmanoel.blogspot.com.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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The first interview we ran was with Ed Brisson, the brainchild of Acts of Violence. In that article, we learned how the project was conceived, planned, and executed. Now Ed is back to tell us about his comic contribution, The Orchard, and about how one man can be a writer, letterer and publisher.
 
The pacing in The Orchard is excellent. It doesn’t build and build its tension. From the very beginning the tension exists and it remains steady, even after the climax. In effect, there is no release for the reader. Was that your intent from the very beginning or did that pace come to be as you wrote the actual script?

My rationale was that I wanted to drop people right into the middle of a situation. Rather than building to what was to come, I’d rather start out full-tilt and give back story as needed, when needed. In this case, I felt that it was also important write it with that same sense of dread and confusion that Charles would be feeling throughout the night in which the story takes place. 
 
How did you hook up with Damian Couceiro and why was he the right artist for the job?

Damian and I have been working on a series called The Division which will be out someday from Arcana. I really enjoyed his artwork when I first saw it and he’s just been improving by leaps and bounds in the nearly four years that we’ve been putting this other project together. (It’s not an intense project, it’s taking four years due to a lot of ass dragging on my end).

Since I already had a relationship with Damian and enjoyed his work so much, he was the most logical artist to bring in. He was the right guy for the job because he’s a kick ass artist.

Ed, you’re a triple threat: Writer, letterer and publisher. Tell us a little bit about each, including some examples of recent works in each field.

Well, as a writer, I’ve been plugging away for a few years. I used to do a fairly popular webcomic under a pen name, but have since given that up. It was a humor strip and quite different than the stuff I’m working on now. I used to draw it as well, but had to bring on an artist for the last 40 or 50 strips because I got so busy with life (day job, family and freelance work).

Now that I’m staring down the barrel of 35, I find I’ve shifted in to high gear. It’s time to make shit happen. No more screwing around.

Lettering is something I kind of fell into accidentally back in 2006. I’d already had experience doing it with my webcomic, which had been going for about two years at that time. I also had a lot of print production experience by then, which is something that plays pretty heavily into a lot of lettering gigs. A friend was telling me about his gig lettering for a manga publisher and I thought it sounded great. Luckily, the publisher was hiring. I sent off anything I had lettered and was sent a lettering test which I passed. I’m still not sure how I passed, as I’d never read a manga title previous to that and had no idea about a lot of their own lettering conventions.

Since that time, I’ve been able to keep going and have been building a huge portfolio. The most recent gig was lettering The Sky Pirates of Neo Terra for Image Comics. I also lettered one of the stories in their Free Comic Book Day titles Fractured Fairytales.

As for publishing. I started New Reliable Press back in 2005 (actually, 2004, but didn’t publish until 2005). Originally it was just going to be to publish the anthology You Ain’t No Dancer. I really didn’t have many plans beyond that. But then, after that book came out, I started to look around for other things to publish and have just been pushing on since.

Most recently, we published Horribleville Vol. 1, which is a collection of KC Green comics. Last year we released True Loves Vol. 2 by Jason Turner and Manien Bothma, and the Joe Shuster Award nominated Jan’s Atomic Heart by Simon Roy. (www.newreliable.com).

You were responsible for the design of Acts of Violence– layout, the inside title pages for each story, etc. Book design is probably something a lot of creators don’t think much about so give us some insight into why book design is important and what creators should keep in mind when laying out their books.

Well, just so there’s no confusion. The cover art was all Fiona Staples. The only input I had in that was to make the figure a full wrap around. Fiona did an amazing job. People see that cover from across the aisle at a Con and they’re just pulled in by it. She knocked it out of the park.

The cover was something talked about going in. It had to be striking and had to somehow speak to all the stories and let the reader know what they’re about to get into.

Book design is something I think a lot of self and indie publishers really don’t put enough thought into. They rely too heavily on hoping the content will sell the book and forget that people really do judge a book by its cover. You really do need something that’s going to pull the reader in– especially a reader who has no idea about you or the book.

There is no doubt the comics industry is a tough one to get into and do well in. How do you measure success in each of your fields (writing, lettering, publishing)?

For writing, I measure my success by how people react to it. If people get it, then I’m happy. If people hate it, or are indifferent, I worry. So far, the reaction to The Orchard has been overwhelmingly positive.

Obviously, I’m hoping to progress and get to the point where someone else is paying me for my writing, rather than me having to shoulder all the costs.

Success in lettering is just getting work. The money I make from lettering is the money I use to pay for my own projects. So, being a successful letterer is what’s helping me in my goal of becoming a successful writer. Also, this is not something mentioned often, but lettering a comic really helps you become a more solid writer. You need to know what works in a panel and how you need to be thrifty with your words. Every writer should letter at least one comic.

Success in publishing is just putting out good books. With New Reliable Press, the goal has always been to only publish books that I would buy. That’s why after 5 years of publishing there are only 8 books in the catalog. I’m not looking to expand the catalog with books that I don’t think are up to par, just so I can have a larger catalog. Every book has to be gold, and I think that so far, I’ve been able to maintain that. Success, for me, is publishing a book that I’m proud to hold in my hands.

What’s up next for Ed the writer, Ed the letterer, and Ed the publisher?

For Ed the Writer, it’s more crime. I have short story that I’ve written and Simon Roy (artist of Jan’s Atomic Heart) is currently illustrating. That will likely go online and then maybe get collected into a collection of short stories down the line. I’ve got a pitch that I’m writing right now, and I’ll be sending that to other publishers. I’ve got a few other crime stories outlined and even a Twilight Zone-style short horror story.

For Ed the Letterer, who’s to say. I’m always working on a million things for others. I’ve got a manga title I need to finish in the next few days. An indie book I’m lettering for a self-publishing writer; a couple shorter and pitch projects and one title that I’m not allowed to talk about (it’s exciting though)!

As for Ed the Publisher, we will see. I’ve got a few books in the hopper and another venture that’s early enough in development that I really don’t have enough details nailed down that I can say anything.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Chad Boudreau changes genres like some people change hair color. His first graphic novel was psychological horror. His second project was filled with kung-fu action, and his ongoing work at bohemian-zen.com is riddled with absurd humor. For Acts of Violence, he wrote The Three Princes, in which three young friends grow up on the tough streets of Prohibition era America. Chad reveals what attracted him to the project and what inspired his story.

Was there anything that initially drew you to the project?

The crime comics genre is what initially drew me to the project. Crime comics had been (and are still) enjoying a resurgence so the timing was right. More importantly, the types of stories told in the genre are very appealing to me, including straight-up tales of hardened criminals, but also the stories in which people that are neither “good” or “evil” are faced with situations that will test their morals.

Do you have an interest in crime comics from before starting on this project, or did you see the idea of writing crime as a challenge?

I am an avid reader of many genres so, yes, I did have an interest in crime comics. I was most familiar with modern crime comics like Criminal, 100 Bullets, and Brian Michael Bendis’ early work in the genre. I also have a love for old heist films and noir, so I felt I had a solid foundation of knowledge upon which to build my own story.

Writing in the genre was going to be a challenge because I had never attempted it before, but I never shy away from a challenge when it comes to writing.

How was the editorial process different from what you’ve dealt with in the past and how did you feel about it?

I had never been involved in a project of this nature. I’m not just talking about the genre. The way Ed had structured the project was, in my opinion, well planned and designed for success. (Read the interview with Ed Brisson to learn more about how the Acts of Violence project was structured.) All that was required were committed and talented writers, and a roster of hard-working and skilled artists.

What Ed lined out to me in our first conversations was very exciting to me. I had no problem putting money into the project because I could tell Ed was not only committed, but also experienced with projects of this nature. I strongly feel the best way for a project to succeed is if the creators (in this case the writers) have a vested financial interest. I treat every project like a business investment and was very happy to find like-minded creators in Ed, Dino, Kevin and Todd.

What made you decide to go back to the 20s for The Three Princes?

My favorite crime and noir films are set in the past (mostly because many of the greats were made in the past). I also have an interest in history in general, especially periods of great change or crisis, which includes times of war, but also periods like The Great Depression and Prohibition.

I knew I wanted to tell a story about kids growing up in a criminal environment. I was inspired by stories my dad used to tell me of he and his brothers growing up in the 50s and stories he told about his father and brother growing up. My dad didn’t grow up surrounded by criminals, but the camaraderie that existed between he and his brothers is something I wanted to channel. My grandfather and great-uncle on the other hand, were involved in all sorts of shenanigans on the East Coast of Canada, including rum-running. My great uncle claims to have been a lookout when Chinese immigrants were brought off the boats and hidden in tunnels beneath the city, and he once told me a story in which he dealt cards at poker games attended by certain prominent individuals because the men didn’t trust each other to deal cards.

The actual setting and the three main characters were inspired by photos I found on shorpy.com.

You do a lot of research prior to writing. How much does that dictate the direction of your story? Is your story already mostly formed, and you’re looking to fill in details, or do you have basic ideas laid out and take ques from history/research?

I do indeed do a lot of research. My writing process starts in my notebooks, with scribbled ideas that eventually form the basis for a story. Once I have a loose idea, which includes the characters and setting, I do research to flesh out the idea. I do some amount of research for every project, but The Three Princes required more than most because I wanted it to feel authentic. I researched architecture, clothing, slang, and criminal activity in the 1920s. Much of what you read in The Three Princes is inspired by facts I uncovered in my research, which included offline and online reading.

I also researched crime comics, which had their heyday in the 40s and 50s. (Check out this article written by Chad.) I even ordered a copy of The Mammoth Book of Crime Comics, which is an impressive collection of infamous crime comics from the past.

The Three Princes covers an impressive 16 year period in 30 pages. If you were to revisit these characters, as you mentioned you may, would you be telling stories from within that period, or will it all be after the end of the first part?

I think The Three Princesstands on its own and I wrote it that way, but after the story was finished and the artwork started to come in from Manoel, I found myself falling in love with many of the characters. The more I thought about them the more I realized that the way I wrote The Three Princes leaves a lot of room for more stories to be told. And the more I thought about THAT the more I realized I wanted to tell more stories. And so I turned to my notebooks once again, filling up pages with potential story arcs.

Any hints as to what future tales might include?

The most obvious is to explain why Grady had to hide out in the tunnels beneath the city, which is an event alluded to in The Three Princes. I mapped out the “why” just a few weeks ago in my notebooks. But the story I might tell next is about The Frenchman, starting with the end of World War I and his coming to America, where he meets Henry and Paddy Duke on the docks of the city in which The Three Princes takes place. Other tales might not be so obvious but would be exciting to explore, such as the story of Grady’s two sisters, and Michael’s mom.

My plan is to put more focus on developing these stories in the coming months.

You seem to be popping up all over the place lately. You’ve written Black Salt, Thunderchickens and others. How much do you have out already and how much do you currently have in the works?

I started writing comics three years ago and have been very pleased with the progress I’ve made. I self-published my first graphic novel (Psychosis) in 2007, developed a number of projects in 2008, which then saw the light of day in 2009. A short horror comic called Cutter’s Reward appeared in the anthology IF-X, and I had a short story published in A Thousand Faces, a quarterly journal of superhero fiction. I also had short comics and short fiction published at www.bohemian-zen.com throughout 2009. And, yes, there is Black Salt(a six-part series published by Blackline Comics), and The Thunderchickens, the latter of which was a Zuda contest entry (we didn’t win) which is now being redeveloped for future print publication.

2010 is going to be even bigger for me. There is more Black Salt planned (issue #3 is in the artwork stage, and I anticipate writing the final three issues this year), and lots of attention for Acts of Violence. I hope to have a big Thunderchickens announcement before the end of the year, and I just learned a short horror comic I wrote (Dark Art) has been accepted for a 2010 issue of the horror anthology Tales of the Supernatural. I also have two BIG projects well under way but you’ll have to stay tuned to my blog to learn more about those in the near future.

You seem to write a lot of different types of comics: horror, crime, superhero and martial arts. Is being part of such a diverse array of comics important to you? Is that intentional, or just the way things played out?

It is intentional. I think at this early, critical period of my writing “career” it is important for me to write in as many genres as possible. I have my favorites, but by diversifying my writing I strengthen not only my portfolio but also my skills as a writer.

You self published a graphic novel in 2007 (Psychosis). What can you tell us about that book? How was the experience of putting that together on your own?

Choosing to do a 98-page graphic novel as my first comic project was ambitious to say the least, not what someone might consider a wise choice for a first project. But what I wanted to do was prove to myself and future collaborators that I could commit to and see a sizable project through to completion. I wrote it, hired the creative team out of my own pocket, and self-published it. I knew I would never make a profit on that project but that wasn’t the goal. The goal was to use that graphic novel to open doors. And it did, so I have no complaints nor regrets.

Where do you hope to be two years from now?

I want to grow my portfolio each year, and I want to grow my network of skilled, trusted and committed comic professionals (people like those involved in Acts of Violence). I’d love to do another volume of Acts of Violence. And since Black Salt will have finished by 2012, I’d like to be involved in another miniseries or even an ongoing series. I also want to write more short fiction this year and in the coming years, which I think is practice for my eventual attempt at writing a novel (which isn’t going to happen in two years time). In general, I want to be a stronger writer in two years time, with more partners to work with, and more credits to my name.

What was the first comic you remember reading?
The very first comic I remember is one that my dad had. I don’t remember him having many comics, but for some reason he had two issues of this one. It was a kung-fu comic, and not from DC or Marvel. Anyway, there was kung-fu action that (in my memory) was rather violent. The setting and style has stuck in my mind. Around this same period of time (ages 4 – 6) I saw a bunch of comics at my grandparents house– old 60s and 70s stuff that included Sgt. Rock, Green Arrow, Superman, and other DC titles. I know this because those eventually ended up in my possession. Most of them had torn covers and yellowed pages, but I remember flipping through them often, especially the ones that had a lot of fighting or “horror” elements.

What are you reading these days?

DC’s Vertigo line, in my opinion, is still where the greatest mainstream comics can be found. Y: The Last Man is my all-time favorite completed series right now. 100 Bullets is another solid series that is now finished. Fables, Scalped and Unwritten are also from Vertigo and are stellar reads. I also read The Walking Dead, The Goon, Hellboy, BPRDand almost anything Rick Remender and Doug Tennapel create.

I tend to stay away from superhero stuff. I used to follow some DC titles but the long-running crossovers and “events” that occur in the DC and Marvel universes have soured me on superhero titles. In general, I seek out great, character driven stories across a variety of genres and publishers. I think to truly experience the storytelling potential of comics you need to look beyond mainstream superhero comics.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Todd Ireland and Kevin Leeson’s writing partnership began with motion picture screenplays, but for Acts of Violence they crafted Reggie-Town, in which a drug addicted young man seeks to break free of the miserable cycles of his life. The out, however, is a depraved, criminal act. Kevin and Todd shed some light on the creative process that brought Reggie-Town to life.

What interests you most about crime stories, whether they be in comic form or prose?

Tough characters making tough choices. The anti-hero is more prevalent in this genre than most others. The characters are allowed to be flawed which makes them seem more real.

What about an anthology appeals to you ?

More freedom as a writer because the stories have room to breathe and explore different shades of grey. Probably helped in large part due to the fact that your protagonist is just as likely to be a criminal as a cop. In a good anthology, the stories can complement each other through their contrast in style and tone and subject matter.

Your creative and personal relationship with Ed Brisson goes back a few years. Tell us about that and then tell us how you got involved in Acts of Violence.

Kevin: I met Ed when we were both founding members of a film collective called Cinema Fabulon. We shot a bunch of short films, and it eventually fell apart, but Ed and I stayed in touch because we were both self-publishing comics on the side as well.

Todd: I met Ed through Kevin. Kevin and I met each other on the set of Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever, as we both work in the film industry.

You two and Ed were at Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle and reported that the response to the anthology was excellent and that more copies were sold than expected. Tell us about the Con experience from a creator’s point of view.

Emerald City Comic-Con is a great convention for indie creators. We’ve been going there for years, ever since we released our first title Outnumbered, and we have always felt very welcome there.

Ed credits your salesmanship for the number of copies sold. What’s your response to that?

The one thing we’ve learned the last couple of years, never assume you know who your audience is. We never look at someone and think that we know if they are interested in our story or not. We give everyone the benefit of our sales pitch, and we’ve been surprised by the response more times than we can count. Besides, it’s a lot easier to sell a product that we believe in as much as we believe in Acts of Violence.

Reggie-Town and your previous work, Outnumbered, are both told from a street level perspective– not cops, not the wealthy, not even experienced criminals or “heroes”. What appeals to you about street level storytelling?

What we think you’ll find is that both our stories are about delving into flawed characters, and the geography is incidental. None of our “heroes” are perfect, and maybe our “villains” aren’t pure evil, and it’s exploring that which appeals to us. Maybe Outnumbered is set in the city which we both moved to in our early adulthood, while Reggie-Town is probably more along the lines of telling a story from the perspective of the places that we came from.

Both Reggie-Town and Outnumbered also feature drugs and drug use and depicts the high lows of addiction. Would you say this is a result of living in a big city like Vancouver where drug use is visible and a problem in certain areas?

That is definitely true in Outnumbered, and its well-documented downtown eastside problems. Reggie-Town, however, we simply found it difficult to conceive of a modern crime story without drug use playing at least a small part. It seems so woven into the fabric of modern society.

You two are writing partners. Tell us about how that collaboration works, specifically in regards to Reggie-Town.

We have made several passes at screenplays before we started writing for comics, so we have an established method, forged in flames of contention. In short, we outline the complete story, so we know we’re heading in the same direction. Then, we split the story up into sections and write separate from one another, then when complete we give our section to the other. We both have unlimited editorial prerogative over the other’s section, and finally when we’ve assembled the newly edited sections, then do a single pass together for a final edit. That’s how the magic happens.

Now let’s talk about art. How did you hook up with Toren and why was he the right artist for the job?

Toren is the lead singer of a band I’m a fan of, the Darkest of the Hillside Thickets, and he came to a show where Todd and I were on a panel to discuss self-publishing and asked a bunch of questions. We talked after the show, and he did two covers for us on Outnumbered, and it was pretty clear he was a talented guy, so when he did a test page for Reggie-Town there was no question he was the right guy for the job.

When did you start writing comics– and why did you get started? 

Started in 2005, when we wrote Outnumbered for a screenplay competition. Our goal was to never let the story gather dust on our shelf, so we decided to publish it ourselves and put our money where our mouth was.

There is no doubt the comics industry is a tough one to get into and do well in. How do you measure success in your own comics writing endeavours?

By the quality of the story, and the feedback from the people who have bought our books. That being said, if your goal is to become a mainstream comic superstar, then, yes, there are a lot of barriers to achieving that kind of goal. However, if you’re a guy or girl who simply has a story to tell, there isn’t really any “breaking in”. You just have to make a comic and get it out there (and keep your day job).

What’s up next for the writing duo of Todd / Kevin?

We’re going to keep creating cutting edge comic books for a discerning audience, and based on the reaction so far, it will be hard to resist writing a sequel to Reggie-Town. We have a sitcom pilot we’ve been working on, as well as several new ideas for some feature-length scripts. In short, spreading ourselves as thin as we can manage.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Acts of Violence: An Anthology of Crime Comics was cooked up by British Columbia based writer, letterer and publisher Ed Brisson. Like a criminal from the pages of the old pulps that inspired the stories within the anthology, Ed’s motives were selfish.

“I had the script for ‘The Orchard’ complete and knew I wanted to put it together as a single issue story,” says Ed. ”I didn’t want to force the story into something longer and I didn’t think that putting out a one-shot would be financially viable. I wanted a better way to deliver my story– a way that would be easier to get it into the hands of potential readers.

“At the same time, I was frustrated how difficult it was for writers to get their work out– how expensive it was for them to hire an artist and publish a book–  should they go the self publishing route. From personal experience, I know the cost difference between printing a 32-page book versus a 128-page book is not that great. So, I thought, what if I found other writers with similar goals and we joined forces in order to get our writing out there? The idea of an anthology that contained only a few stories, all single issue length or longer, was very appealing to me.”

With that goal in mind, he hit the online comics communities– places like Digital Webbing and Pencil Jack– and looked for other writers interested in the crime genre. Many writers responded but only a handful met Ed’s high standards.

All the writers involved would have to submit their stories to the group of writers for editorial review. The stories would not proceed until everyone felt they were up to snuff. This meant the writers not only had to be excellent storytellers, but also experienced proofreaders and editors, with an eye for what makes compelling crime fiction. Also, the writers would need to be able to take constructive criticism from their peers.

Second, everyone would have to hire an artist, and that artist had to be approved by the rest of the group first.

“I didn’t want to see these great stories killed by mediocre art,” admits Ed. “I read submissions from others and am hired to letter pitch projects on a regular basis and I’ve seen good stories killed by poor art too often. The script and art need to work together and neither should have to carry the other. The art, however, is what the reader is first going to see when she picks the book up. If it’s not up to par, they’re going to put the book down and your story will never get read.”

Next, those involved had to be able to front the cash for their own artist, and cover their even share of the cost of the cover art and printing.  Speaking honestly, Ed says this was the part with which most respondents had difficulty.

Even if a writer was willing and able to commit to Ed’s process, the deal was not sealed. Ed read published works by the writers, and engaged them in conversation to get a feel for how serious they were and how well they would be able to hit deadlines and deliver top quality work.

Ed ended up with four writers– Dino Caruso, Chad Boudreau, and the writing team of Todd Ireland and Kevin Leeson.

Acts of Violence was more than a year in the making. The writers were assembled by the summer of 2008, scripts turned in, reviewed, edited and approved by the end of the year. The majority of the art was developed throughout 2009. There was also a lot of discussion to be had on print options, the development of a marketing strategy, whether or not to seek distribution through Diamond, and a title for the anthology. “Acts of Violence” was among the first set of titles to be suggested in August 2008, but it would be many months later that the name was approved.

Acts of Violence debuted at the Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle in March 2010. Ed, Todd Ireland and Kevin Leeson were at the Con. The three writers describe the response to the anthology as “overwhelming”.

“We sold twice as many books as I’d expected to and I definitely left that Con feeling good about myself and the book,” says Ed. ”People seemed to really be into it, and you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Ed credits Todd and Kevin for many of those sales. “They know how to talk to customers and how to move books off the table,” says Ed proudly. “I’m ever grateful for having them on board.”

The Emerald City appearance was the first of several stops for the Acts of Violencecrew. Ed, Kevin and Todd were also at the Vancouver Con at the end of March; Dino Caruso was at the Wizard World Toronto Comic-Con; and Chad Boudreau is attending the Central Canadian Comic-Con in October. The writers have some appearances and events lined up in their hometowns, and other appearances will announced at actsofviolencecomic.com as details are finalized.

The writers have been energized by the early positive response. Ed wouldn’t say if there was a second volume in the works, but he did admit the great reaction to Acts of Violence has him working on new material in the crime genre.

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Acts of Violence: A Crime Comics Anthology is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035. Head to your local comic shop and ask them to order you a copy.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.
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Acts of Violence: An Anthology of Crime Comics is listed in the April edition of Previews on page 299 under New Reliable Press. The order code is APR101035.

Mike Carey, writer of The Unwritten, Hellblazer, and Lucifer, had this to say about Acts of Violence: “A dark, rich anthology. There are acts of violence in profusion: also addictions, betrayals, uneasy consciences, moral ambiguities, bad choices and inadequate redemptions. Most importantly of all, there are strong creative voices, using the comics medium to do ambitious things.”

Featuring the talents of Toren Atkinson, Ed Brisson, Chad Boudreau, Dino Caruso, Damian Couceiro, Todd Ireland, Kevin Leeson, Manoel Magalhaes, and Marvin Mann and cover art by Fiona Staples, Acts of Violence unveils a roster of new voices in hard-boiled crime comics.

Check out a 20-page preview of Acts of Violence.

128 pages for only $9.95us.

CLICK HERE for a PDF that you can print and bring to your local comic shop to let them know you’d like to order the book. The PDF contains all the info that your retailer will need for Acts Of Violence.

Thomas Jane (The Punisher, The Mist, Hung) poses with his own signed copy of Acts of Violence.

Emerald City is a con that myself, Todd and Kevin have been doing for about 6 or 7 years and every year it just gets better and better. This year was the busiest I’ve ever seen it! We were on our feet for the entire con and, by the end of the second day, barely had our voices left.

The reaction to the book was overwhelmingly positive. We sold far more copies than expected (thankfully we brought down plenty) and left the con on a super high, feeling good about the world. We’re so proud of this book and are thrilled that people seem to be meeting it with the same enthusiasm that we feel for it.

Thanks to all who stopped by and offered up their feedback. You all rule!

If you’re in the Vancouver area, you can meet Kevin, Todd and I at Vancouver Comicon this Sunday, March 21st from 11am until 5pm.

Click on the Vancouver Comicon logo for more details on that show (we’ll be at the New Reliable Press table).

For upcoming appearances, including Dino’s appearance at Wizard World Toronto (March 26-28), check out our Appearances page.