Heroes Con 2011: Interviews Part 1

Today is the second part of our Heroes Con recaps. Yesterday was Nat Jones talking about ‘68. Today are interviews with Jeremy Haun, Jeff Johnson, and Declan Shalvey. The interviews will continue tomorrow and then Flash Friday will be an interview with Scott Kolins.

Jeremy Haun

K: What current projects are you working on?

JH: I am currently working on the Top Cow event Artifacts. I’m doing issues 9 through 12 of that. Nine is in the can and should be out next month; with the other three issues following closely behind. After that I’m going to be taking over the Darkness and I’m going to be on there for the duration of my time at Top Cow, a couple years maybe.

K: I know you have written before, like the excellent Narcoleptic Sunday, are you planning on writing more?

JH: Actually I am. I’m in the process doing the final draft on an upcoming Pilot Season book for Top Cow. It’s going to be coming out in the fall. We’re going to be doing a big preview of it in San Diego.

K: Moving on to games, are you a gamer of any type?

JH: I play a lot of video games. I play a lot of games with my kid. We’re playing Lego Indiana Jones 2. I play through them and then we play through them together. I am getting back into Red Dead Redemption. I had played like 12 hours of that and then had to stop and that I needed to work. I quite literally think it was a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon where I had played for six hours. I can’t do that and have a career. I love games like that, that you can immerse yourself in; but when I’m working and I’m on a tight deadline I play games that I can play in 30 minute increments.

When I work I use the Pomodoro Technique. Basically you work in 25 minute increments; you do a task and at the end of the 25 minute period you stop, reset, and do another task. It’s a way to maximize your time and output across a number of things.

K: What is your drink of choice?

JH: If they can make them I like mojitos a lot. I make pretty amazing mojitos myself, so it is pretty hard to beat what I do. But I like wine, I like rum drinks.

Jeff Johnson

K: What current projects are you working on?

JJ: Sadly I don’t too much comic book stuff, I mostly do animation, but Dave (Johnson) , Dan (Panosian) , and I are coming out with a book called Skullkey. It’s basically a Twilight Zone comic book, each writer/artist is going to do their own take on the McGuffin of the Skullkey. So that’s going to be an anthology book that will be coming out next year.

K: Is there anything in animation that you can talk about right now?

JJ: Right now I’m working on Transformers Prime. I can’t tell you anything that happens in it, but I can tell you that it is a really cool show. I just finished a season on Young Justice and that is a really cool show too. I mean the characters are beautifully designed, the stories are really interesting, and the take on the characters is really cool. Having said that, as much as I like Young Justice when I got to Transformers the first week I was there they had me watch the first season. I got to watch the episodes that were finished and then I got to watch the animatics. It was the most awesome cartoon I’ve seen in a long time. It takes all the Transformers stuff and completely takes it to the next 6 or 7 levels. Some of the stuff we’re doing is outrageous.

K: I know a lot of fans are very dedicated to the G1 era of the Transformers, are you getting a lot of good feedback?

JJ: Apparently every that sees it loves it. I know a lot of people were reticent and a little bit wary when it comes to the CG side. But the CG is so well done and the studio that does it in Japan really just works their asses off. It’s gorgeous.

K: Do you play games? Are you a gamer?

JJ: I’m embarrassed to say that the last game I played was probably Adventures of Zelda on the 64. I take that back, the last game I played was Resident Evil 1. I think that was the last one I had time for. I love them; the art being done in games is remarkable but I don’t have the time, I barely sleep.

K: An easy question for someone involved in Drink and Draw. What’s the first thing you order going into a bar?

JJ: The first thing I order is a Guinness

Declan Shalvey

K: What current projects are you working on?

DS: Basically it’s all Thunderbolts at the moment for Marvel. I have about four issues coming out of a four issues run. That will all be coming out this summer; it’s a Fear Itself tie-in. I also have a story in trade paperback coming out called Fear Itself: The Worthy. Which is all short stores about The Worthy. It doesn’t seem like much, but that’s a lot of work coming out this summer. The last year an awful lot of 28 Days Later trades came out, so I have a lot of stuff out there on the stands.

K: Do you game at all?

DS: I don’t. I had to give it up. I used to arse around on Spiderman 2 and Grand Theft Auto and that. I liked messing around on games but I was getting nothing done. To be serious about comics I had to give up video games. I haven’t regretted it but every once in a while people are like, “have you played this game,” and I have to tell them no. That’s kind of my answer these days.

K: What is your favorite drink?

DS: My favorite drink is pretty much my only drink, which is cider. Cider is pretty much my drink of choice. Unfortunately here it is kinda hard to get in some places. In New York it’s not too bad; there are various Irish Pubs where you can get it. But if you go to hotels and stuff like that it is more of a rarity. I switched to a Jameson and Ginger. My Mum took me to a pub when I was 16 and had me try every drink at the bar. Cider was the one I liked and that’s the one I drank ever since. Thanks Mum.



Thanks again to all the artists who took the time to do a short interview. Make sure you come back tomorrow to check out the next batch.

Heroes Convention 2011: Nat Jones and '68

The Heroes Convention in Charlotte has ended yesterday I made the sad plane ride back home.  The convention was fantastic as always.  I managed to pick up some great sketches, hard to find toys, and some incredible interviews for the site.  Wednesday and Thursday I’m going to have all of the shorter interviews.  For Flash Friday I’ll be posting an interview with Scott Kolins.  Today though, is all about Nat Jones and his comic ’68.  Nat has previously worked on Death Dealer and the wrestling/70s Horror masterpiece, The Nail; so you know the book is going to look fantastic.  

K: What are you telling people who are unfamiliar with ’68?

NJ: The basic premise of ’68 is that it’s the year 1968 right in the middle of the Vietnam War. Hell on earth, and the dead start rising.  The original Night of the Living Dead came out in 1968 as political commentary on the Vietnam War and we took a look at that.  That movie is really the basis for the cannibalistic zombie that people look to as the zombie that is the phenomenal that’s happening today in entertainment.  We took that idea and said, “What was happening when the original Night of the Living Dead came out?” and the biggest thing happening was Vietnam.  No one has really taken those two things and put them together.  That’s probably the most common comment we get is, “I can’t believe no one has thought of that.” 

We’ve taken those two things and thrown them together in a really well researched Vietnam.  We really try to keep the authenticity and really explore what that era really was.  Between the iconic imagery, the war itself, and the different personalities that were there.  We look at everything from Richard Nixon, Jane Fonda, to the soldiers themselves out in the battlefield.  We’re really exploring a lot of new territory with zombies.  There are a lot of zombie books out there on the market right now; we really think we have something completely new and completely different.  It’s a new approach to the entire genre and all the reviews have been saying the same thing. Give it a try and I’m pretty sure you’re going to love it.

K: ’68 is from Image; is it an on going or a min-series?

NJ: The original story started in 2006, we did a one-shot comic.  Then all of the creators went their separate ways.  I went to Frazetta comics to work on Death Dealer.  Time eventually came where we were like, “Okay it’s time to get back and get back to that story.”  All of our schedules came together.  Right now we are in the middle of a four issue mini-series.  After that will be three or four one-shots and then back into another mini-series.  So it will be on-going in arcs.  

K: What can people expect out of the series?

NJ: They can expect a wide spread look at the entire world of the Vietnam era.  We start off the story in Vietnam, in campaign.  Then we swing the camera around to Cambodia and then we go all the way to Berkley, California to see the protests that are happening.  So we see the era explored and you’re going to see the world of that time deals with the fact that time pretty much stops when you’re dealing with the undead.

So a big thank you to Nat for taking the time to talk ’68 with me.  Besides just being an all around fantastic person to talk to, Nat has some seriously cool things in store for ’68, so check it out the next time you hit your local shop.  Come back tomorrow as 3 other creators answer or normal Comics, Games, and Booze questions.

Viva Las Vegas

So I am back from Vegas, also it is my birthday. What does that mean for you? Well I am going to talk shit about Sin City and tell a story related to birthdays and chest boxes.

Vegas. I don't get it. I understand the concept and see how it could be a blast. However I just can't get into it. From what I can see Vegas is all about gambling, drinking alot, trying to get laid, and shows. I don't gamble because I have an addictive personality and I know that gambling would be pretty bad for me. I do enjoy drinking, but my power slamming of alcohol days are long past me. I am more of a marathon drinker than a sprinter. I also prefer to imbibe with friends in a welcoming atmosphere rather than being surrounded by the frat boy mentality of Vegas. That same frat boy mentality goes into the getting laid part. Of course that is why you get hit with all those hooker cards on the strip. The shows part looks like the part I would enjoy the most, however the one show I wanted to see - Penn & Teller - was sold out. In the end the part I enjoyed most was my hotel room view.


Not many mountains here in Texas.
Also this picture made me laugh for a while...it's the little things I guess.



Because apparently you CAN put Baby in a corner. Also there is a Dirty Dancing slot machine. That's good shit.

On to Storytime with the Cake Fucker.

This happened at DragonCon yet again, a magical place and the birthplace of many a nerd story. A large group of us were in the Rebel Legion at the time, and were doing a Rebel Pilot day. Well during the dinner hour a bunch of us Warhawks decided to head down to a little frequented (at the time, I guess in the intervening years this place has changed owners and blown up during the con) pub a few blocks from the hotels. We walk in and sit at a large high top that served as the middle of the room. At the bar was a young lady and an older gentlemen, and in the back room area was another few folks. As we are all ordering food and drinks the young lady (henceforth known as "Bunny") yells out, "It's my birthday!!!" at the top of her lungs. We all politely acknowledge her and tell her happy birthday. As the evening wears on Bunny begins to get more and more boisterous (and trashed), and comes over to our table. She makes her way up and down the group messing with all the guys. Then she gets to me. Apparently in her drunken state, I was the one that she latches on to. She proceeds to grind on me and have her self a good ol' time - basically giving me a lap dance. At the time I was in my B-Wing fighter pilot costume that has a rather large chest box. (this is were Glen makes a cameo to demonstrate!)


So as a nerd the entire time this not unattractive lady is grinding on me I am thinking "Damn I hope she does not break my chest box...". The whole time this is going on she is screaming, "IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!". When she was done with me she moved on to a friend of ours known as Mini (with some not so subtle coaxing on our part). Mini is less than thrilled with this turn of events. After some more grinding the bartender tells Bunny that she needs to settle down. She then returns to the bar...for about 2 minutes. She then comes back over to me, pulls her shirt up, shoves my face in her chest, and gets her self thrown out. All in all an interesting night and a fun story. There are many more details, but that is the crux of the tale. So from then on whenever the anniversary of ones arrival into this world happens someone invariably yells out "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!".


Ken will be here tomorrow to begin his Heroes odyssey, so come on back to hear of a much more interesting weekend than I had.


Reading this week - "Beastslayer" by William King

Flash Friday: Flash #1

Happy Flash Friday! The news has dropped, after Flashpoint we are going to see just about everything relaunched with a new shiny #1 issue. There aren’t a whole lot of details at this point so I won’t really speculate on what the new series may or not bring. Since I’m currently away at Heroes, I thought a fun “light” column for today would be to take a look at the covers of the other Flash #1s out there. There are a number of issues I’m not listing here; I’m just looking at the covers with a big number 1 on them.

The originals; Flash Comics (1940) and All Flash Quarterly (1941). Here are the ones that started it all.

Flash (1987), Flash Annual (1987), and Flash 80-Page Giant (1998). So begins the Wally West era. We didn’t skip Barry; he didn’t start with a number 1 issue.

Flash Fastest Man Alive (2006), All-Flash (2007), and Countdown Special Flash (2007). Starting with Bart’s run on the Flash and the series all about the aftermath of it. Poor Bart, I actually was liking his move to California before everything went oh, so wrong.

Flash Rebirth (2009), Blackest Night Flash (2009), and Flash (2010). The return of Barry Allen and all the series involving him.

I’ve obviously left out some number 1s; I didn’t include either Flashpoint series for some reason. I left out the first 80-Page Giant too, just because of the lack of a number 1 on the cover. Come back next week for the full Hero Con report.  I think I'm going to take Saturday off, so there most likely won't be an update tomorrow.

Hangover Thursday: My Drunk Kitchen Interview

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? As this is (hopefully) updating; I’m on a plane going to Charlotte for Heroes. Last week we featured videos from the series My Drunk Kitchen. If you haven’t watched them, I highly advise that you do so now and then come back here. I’ll wait.

Okay, everyone back now? Excellent, now that everyone is caught up on the awesomeness we can move forward onto our next big helping of awesomeness. I was able to interview Hannah Hart, the creator and star of My Drunk Kitchen.

KO: The first video seemed pretty impromptu. What is the story behind it?

HH: Basically, I was cat-sitting for my sister...and then I found a bottle of wine and claimed it as my own.

KO: How much planning goes into your newer videos?

HH: Little to zero. I'm far too lazy to plan.

KO: I'm guessing you film with your webcam. What do you use to record and edit your video?

HH: My macbook! And iMovie.

KO: I came home trashed one night and melted a spatula while cooking bacon and eggs. Have you done anything similar?

HH: YES. I destroyed the precious skin of my forearm just last week. :(

KO: Have you accidentally destroyed any cooking implements?

HH: I've gone through more oven mitts than I'd like to admit.

KO: You've mentioned roommates in your videos. What do your roommates think of your videos?

HH: They are all busy New Yorkers, so I think they care very little to be honest. Most haven't even watched them!

KO: Can you tease the next video?

HH: Si. <--- That's the tease. ;)

So a big thank you goes out the Harto for taking the time to answer some questions for us. Not only is she fantastic, but she was our first non-comicbook interview on the site!

Max is Back!!

Lately comic related announcements have filled me with more dread then excitement. Not this time though, because there is good news about one of my favorite web comics. Max is back!! We have talked about Max Overacts before. Besides just talking about the comic; we’ve also sang the praises of Max’s creator, Caanan Grall numerous times. He is the artist responsible for designing our mascot Punch, so that totally makes him an honorary member of Team F’ing Monkey in my book.

If you’ve been reading Max Overacts you already know that the comic went on a hiatus on March 16th. Then, like a shining ray of hope the site popped up that Max was returning on June 1st. The wait was excruciatingly long, but Max has finally returned! If you’ve never read the Eisner nominated strip before, get ready for a wonderful story of a young boy who takes things to the extreme. Amazing art is joined together with a story that can be funny, sad, or heart warming.

As excited as I am about the strip’s return, I totally understand Caanan’s break on it. Making monies sadly gets in the way of the fun stuff we want to do. So go to occasionalcomics.com and check out the new Max strip but while you’re there remember that Caanan has an excellent Etsy store that sells his awesomeness in paper and ink form.

Updates

This is the last one of these for a bit, I promise. Tomorrow we get back to normal. Thursday morning there will be a Hangover Thursday like normal, but while the site is updating I’ll be on a flight to Charlotte for Heroes. There should still be updates on Friday and Saturday, so for the reader nothing should really be changing.

While I’ll have laptop access this weekend, expect the actual Heroes update on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. If you read our Megacon report, it is going to be very similar. If you’re going to be at the con, look for the bald guy in the F’ing Monkey T-shirt and say hello. Speaking of shirts, they are for sale. The button on the left goes to our new store. I will have some at the con, but if you want to make sure I have your size it would be best to email me before.

And then there is this….