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.

=======================
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.
=======================

Todd Ireland and Kevin Leeson

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.

=======================
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.
=======================

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.

=======================
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.
=======================