The Man that Started It All: An Interview with Ed Brisson
- Ed Brisson. Writer. Letterer. Publisher.
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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Tags: Acts of Violence, Chad Boudreau, crime comics, Dino Caruso, Ed Brisson, Kevin Leeson, Todd Ireland