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The Rival Angels interview with Alan Evans (a.k.a Albone) continues…

Click here if you’ve yet to read The Rival Angels Interview – Part 1.

Q6: Fight scenes require challenging poses – do you use models or other referance material? Are they moves genuine wresting moves?

A6: Yes, they are 100% real and accurate moves and holds. I do also use a ton of reference, both from my own library and google. My own library consists of many years of attending wrestling shows and taking a ton of pictures.

Q7: Who or what has been the biggest influence upon your art style?

A7: The Image guys of the ‘90’s were big in my early drawing style, especially Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane, and Marc Silvestri to a degree. They all drew super powerful poses and some of the very best looking images ever. Recently, I’ve been Lora Innes’s (The Dreamer, Paperwings Podcast, To Appomattox) apprentice and every aspect of my art has improved from drawing to composition. She also puts the ‘fun’ in fundamentals. XD

Q8: What where you doing before you started ‘Rival Angels’?

A8: I was mainly spinning my wheels, trying to figure out what to do next with a comic project. I was finishing up ‘Worldwide Solutions,’ which was Fringe meets Heroes, which was a lot of fun but I was struggling to find an audience. I knew that wasn’t my future and I’m very happy that the inspiration for Rival Angels came to me.

Q9: What is the future of ‘Rival Angels’?

A9: The literal answer is, ‘Season 2,’ which just started 10 pages ago. The first season was 520 pages long so Season 2 could be that long as well and I do have a Season 3 in store. I want to spread the word about Rival Angels so people can see what a fun read it is, whether you like big action or girl drama. I’ve been looking into what a live-action short might entail and I think that would be a lot of fun for everyone.

Q10: Okay this is the last question and it isn’t really a question. This is open mic – Your chance to say anything else you want to say about ‘Rival Angels’.

A10: Rival Angels is the #1 wrestling webcomic but it’s way more than just action in the ring. The series depicts the differences between relationship and friendship and seeing the characters evolve personally, professionally and spiritually. One of the more intense moments in the comic and for the readers was when Sabrina and Sun had a HUGE falling out and was much more severe than just ‘Team Sabrina vs Team Sun.’ The readers went crazy! Of course, that made Sun and Sabrina’s reconciliation that much sweeter. Rival Angels is action-drama with comedy relief, so if that sounds like something for you, we’d love to have you stop by.

You can pick up the books at RivalAngels.com, which I will personally sign and ship. I’ll also be at comic conventions C2E2, Anime Central, Otakon, Wizard World Chicago and Mid-Ohio Con if you feel like stopping by and saying HI.

Thankyou for the interview Albone and good luck with Rival Angels and the many comic conventions you are attending this year!

Alan Evans (a.k.a Albone) creator of the webcomic Rival Angels takes the hot seat…

Q1: What is ‘Rival Angels’ about?

A1: Rival Angels is about four girls trying to make it in professional wrestling and find that surviving their battles with each as room-mates is a completely different matter. The four girls in question are Ultragirl Sabrina Mancini, Lil Dragon Sun Wong, The Definition of Technician Krystin Moline, and self-proclaimed Miss Rival Angels, Aphrodite Brooke Lennox.

Q2: What’s so attractive about female wrestling? Besides to obvious!

A2: Female wrestling is niche-y. That niche brings the passionate fans of female wrestling and intrigues those that may not be fans of pro wrestling. Personally for me as a storyteller, I knew it would be much more interesting to tell the story of several female wrestlers than male ones. If you are aware of pro wrestling, you already know that 85% of the exposure is on the male side. This is my chance to explore that under-served segment.

Q3: How realistically does ‘Rival Angels’ reflect the sport of female wrestling?

A3: Rival Angels reflects pro wrestling in that it’s very loud and showy in the wrestling aspects. The over-the-top characters and the larger than life characters. However, one huge difference is that the matches are real, like in Mixed Martial Arts. None of the matches are pre-determined, so obviously that’s a huge difference.

Q4: Strong female role-models or gratuitous T&A? Which is it?

A4: Strong female role-models in the mold of the characters that Joss Whedon tends to write, like in Buffy or Firefly. The girls are very real, with real problems, fears, hopes and desires that readers can identify with and also with such broad appeal that readers of any age can appreciate.

Q5: How do the characters real life challenges compare to their challenges in the ring?

A5: Sometimes the challenges, like living together as room-mates, is the greater challenge! These four young women share a space with 1 bedroom and 2 baths so tensions can get high. Plus, they’re all essentially going for the same job and there’s not guarantee that they’ll all make it into the pro ranks of Rival Angels. As anyone will tell you, supporting friendships and maintaining relationships is a tough act but throw in a combat sport like this and the problems begin to mount up quick.

CLICK HERE TO READ PART 2 of THE RIVAL ANGELS INTERVIEW.

The Drunken Fools interview with Antoine Gagnon continues…

Click here if you haven’t read The Drunken Fools Interview – Part 1

Q6: Do you think ‘The Drunken Fools’ encourages or discourages excessive drinking and alcoholism?

A6: Neither of them. The target audience is obviously adults and I believe each one of us has to make their own minds in life.

Q7: Parlez-vous français? What’s it like having a bilingual webcomic and why isn’t it in other languages?

A7: That’s a great question (the 2nd part I mean)

Oui je parle Français. French is my primary language. I actually speak 3 languages: French, English and Drunk… ok, just kidding for the 3rd one

Having a bilingual comic is actually a pain in the neck at times. You can’t simply translate a script from one language to another, you have to adapt it. There are jokes, expressions, sentences that are very hard to translate/adapt due to the context on the story. And this adds more workload: need to write a script in both language and need to letter two pages instead of one (well, 2 separate Layers since I am lettering with a Digital Font) but still a lot of work.

The perfect example I always used is in the Movie “Airplane” where Lloyd Bridges says ” The shit will hit the fan” then, there’s a fan in a background receiving a nice poop… Well, that expression doesn’t exist in french and the first time I saw the movie (as a kid) they literally translated that in french word to word…. didn’t make sense at all! At least, seeing shit hitting a fan was funny as hell (poop jokes rule)!

And even sometimes it gets harder as some text is part of the art (like a Bar’s name, Company Name, Gas station, etc…). I have to be very careful in writing to avoid these as much as possible in order to avoid adding extra work for me.

And please Any Translation Tools on the internet are NO GOOD for full sentences, so please stop thinking you (you as everyone reading this) are so cool by sending french sentences that have been translated through an online tool!

And finally why isn’t there other languages for my comic? Well, I don’t speak any other language!

Q8: If I wanted to draw like you how would I go about it?

A8: Why in hell someone would like to draw like me?

Well, if you are that desperate, I do have a drawing process and part of it is being extremely lazy. So lazy that that I don’t want to write about it BUT, you can read the entire process here: http://www.webcomicalliance.com/helpful-hints/sketch-ink-scan-the-drunken-way/

Q9: What’s your involvement with the ‘Webcomic Alliance’?

A9: SHHHHHH! Don’t mention them too loud, keep your voice down! I believe they are part of the Warriors mounted on Electrical Zippers I mentioned earlier!!! They have inserted probe in my brain (an somewhere else I think) and I don’t know what they want with me.

[Translation: I'm one of the five founding members of the Webcomic Alliance and still part of it (I can't believe they kept me that long). The Alliance is the best thing that happened to me as far as learning about comics (creating, writing, business, etc... The Webcomic Alliance is there to help the Webcomic creators, new and old, in any aspect of it. We are the proof you don't need to be an extremely successful webcomic creator to provide tips, tutorials and good content to the world

The Webcomic Alliance is also the living proof that you can make real life friends on the internet! And we are bringing more COWBell to the world!]

Q10: You’ve moved from the world of Webcomics to that of Small Press (publishing your own ‘Drunken Fools Book). How does a comic in the ‘real world’ compare to one on the net?

A10: That’s actually very hard to answer. It’s two different world, different ball game, a beer and a scotch.

I did put my first 5 Chapters in a book (available here (shameless plug) :http://www.thedrunkenfools.com/drunken-store/) last year in order to provide the comic to people outside the webcomic world and mainly because 2011 was a year of Convention Experiment (EPIC FAIL!!) for me. But let’s put that aside, shall we?

But on the other hand, I’m wondering when we will start considering the internet as being part of the “real world”? Even when publishing a book, the Internet is the best medium today to spread the word about it, to market it. Amazon is the perfect example, who reading this interview right now never used Amazon? Today, in 2012, a book is part of the digital world now, the Real World IMO. So it is easy for webcomic creators to publish a book nowadays (just a LOT of work)

I don’t think I really answer that question, but it is so hard to answer in only a few lines.

Q11: Okay this is the last question and it isn’t really a question. This is open mic – Your chance to say anything else you want to say about ‘The Drunken Fools’.

A11: You know how some people tend to buy a motorcycle or a sport car when reaching the mid-life crisis? Well, my mid-life crisis made me buy pens, pencils, art supplies, etc… and I decided I wanted to learn how to draw. It’s funny how I take my book and tell people: This is my mid-life crisis! They would usually say, on the story you mean? And I would answer, no, drawing is my mid-life crisis!

So, The Drunken Fools are my mid-life crisis! It could have been a totally different story/world/characters. But as I mentioned when I first started this interview: We always write about what we know best!

Cheers!

[Translation: Beware of the Warriors Mounted on Electrical Zippers, they are mean and ugly! ]

Thankyou for the interview Antoine and good luck with The Drunken Fools especially it’s new direction: Drunken Heroes.

If you enjoyed this interview why not follow @amuletts on twitter?

Or do you have a webcomic? Interested in being interviewed? Get in touch.

Antoine Gagnon takes the hot seat to answer questions about his humour webcomic ‘The Drunken Fools!‘

Q1: What is ‘The Drunken Fools’ about?

A1: The Drunken Fools is a webcomic where sobriety is overrated.

It all started with four friends in their mid-thirties, refusing to give up their college years of partying and boozing. But, it doesn’t end there for these guys. One of them, Spike, has been assigned a very Guardian Angel called Stubby to right his ways… it just happens to be a very powerful skunk.

Boozing jokes with a bit of fantasy… fiction or reality?

Q2: What’s so funny about being drunk?

A2: Dunno, don’t remember!

Q3: Are you an off the wagon, on the sauce, fully paid up member of the Blackout Brigade and perminent resident at the Hooch Hotel or what?
[Translation: Are you a boozer or does you inspiration come from another sauce... erm, source?]

A3: I am actually a member of the Former Kidnapped Kids League (FKKL). Our group is a bunch of people who suffered kidnapping and tortured by the Trolololo Song; these tortures were done by a group of Warriors mounted on Electrical Zippers. After a riot we finally escaped and since then we are asking for retaliation. Rumor says these warriors are being funded by the Bobana Corporation.

[Translation: They say we always write what we know best. In fact, one of the character, Billy, was based on me while the three others (Spike, Steve & Regis) were based on real life friends. So you could say I was a boozer back in the days and funny enough, getting older and reducing the amount of alcohol are making me rethink what I want to write about while trying to keep the "Drunken Fools" brand.]

Note: While writing the first part of my answer, I actually just got an idea for a potential chapter. Damn I love creativity!

Q4: So you’ve had a rethink? What have you rethunk?

A4: Well, it’s complicated (at least in my head) and a bit long. I started to draw only in September 2008 and the Drunken Fools was my first comic ever. Instead of drawing in the dark, I decided to launch the webcomic right away. I never had a plan at the beginning, the characters were me and my friends and the original chapter was a true story (a bit exaggerated). But I had zero writing experience, same with drawing. I was drawing as the idea was popping in my head.

Then I brought the Guardian Angel idea where an entity would be protecting Spike (the real drunk of the guys) but at this point, I wasn’t sure if that guardian angel would be real or a simple drunken hallucination. Then after the guardian appeared i different forms (a coffee mug, a pink elephant, etc..) I decided to run a contest to give an official name to that “angel”. Kurt Sasso (TGTmedia.com) participated and came up with Stubby the skunk. But he didn’t just provided a name, he actually provided a background story (Special Powers, Parallel Universe, etc…).

And then all Hell broke loose and Chapter 6 came where Spike became The Incredible Drunk (Hulk parody). Kurt started to write with me and I even have a 60 pages script in development right now (for like 2 years) on Stubby’s life in his own universe.

After Chapter 6, we (Kurt and I) went for a normal Drunken and Hockey story, without Stubby but I quickly realized I would be missing the “Fantasy portion” of the comic and then, decided to stop for a while and try to redefine what I wanted to do. It came as far as letting the Drunken Fools go completely.

That was back in October (great way to celebrate a 3 years anniversary…). Since then I did a Drunk Heroes series (single pages parodying our favorite Super Heroes) and I’ve been enjoying other geek stuff other than making a comic.

I’ve been more in a writing mode for the past two months. With numerous projects (comics) and ideas not related to the Drunken Fools until very recently, when I had a dream with a great idea where I could bring back The Drunken Fools and the Fantasy to their world. Actually, it may go as far as Sci-Fi, History, etc… But this time, I want to do it properly. I want to plan ahead, write, read, re-read, review, re-review, etc… I don’t want to write a page an draw it anymore. Does that make sense? I may not publish any drawing until 6 months, I don’t know. I am drawing in the background, but I’m mostly writing nowadays.

But the key thing is: after asking myself what I wanted to do, I finally found it, and The Drunken Fools will be coming back, but their life will change drastically. I want to add drama to it as well. And the brilliant idea I had will allow me to explore different genre within the same comic and I would even be able to incorporate some ideas I had that may have not been related to the Drunken Fools originally.

And now I think I have said too much already, next thing I’ll know, you’ll be asking for spoilers!

Q5: Eh-heh! Spoilers?

A5: You will have to do better than that if you want me to release any information such as a main character dying!

..

DOH!

CLICK FOR PART 2 OF THIS DRUNKEN FOOLS INTERVIEW

The Wayward Fall Interview with Taversia continues… Click here to go back and read part one.

Q6. What challenges do you face in a Live-Action (photo) comic compared to a cartoon one?

A6. Aside from the obvious health risks involved, such as standard fight choreography and the slave-driving of hungry, sleep-deprived actors who are often much bigger and more menacing than I am, other challenges faced are making sure the script properly aligns with the storyboarding of panels. I am both acting AND directing, so it is a little difficult to be doing that while seeing to it that the photographer is capturing the right angles for certain shots. The last shoot we had, it was a bit of a fight with some faulty equipment coupled with a race against time. We need natural lighting for the best shots, and getting all of the scenes we need in a timely fashion is often a pain when there is a full cast of characters to accommodate for. Eventually, the sun goes down and then it gets to be too dark to take pictures! Beyond that, I have many more hours ahead of me for editing and photoshop work.

Q7. Which Do you prefer?

A7. I definitely prefer to be drawing the pages myself! There’s just soooooo much less stress involved. It is a much more tedious process, but at least then I am relying completely on myself and not on the assistance of so many others! I know what I want, and communicating that to other people involved in this project (in the form of directing) while I am also managing everything else is quite exhausting. I wanted to do this as a nice change of pace, to keep things interesting! At least I’m never bored..

Q8. How has being a Webcomic Artist/Writer impacted on your lifestyle?

A8. Oddly enough… I am far more physically fit. You’d think it would be the other way around, but attending conventions dressed as my own character for promotional purposes has ensured that I have the motivation to keep in top physical shape! Or, at least reasonably so; hehe. That, and I am generally more sociable. It gives me an excuse to power network, and make new friends/acquaintances within the webcomic community. This carries over into my day-to-day life, as well (meeting the writer of Cetiya over a cup of coffee, for instance). Overall, I’m just more productive and active in general.

Q9. What do you know now that you wish you’d known when starting out?

A9. When the comic was first getting off the ground, I wasn’t quite sure about how to set the tone. Wayward Fall opens with a bit of comedic flair that has since dulled, over the course of the storyline. While there are certain amusing elements throughout, the story seems to have evolved into more of a drama than anything else. I feel like it doesn’t flow as well in the beginning, as opposed to where the plot is now. If there’s anything I wish I knew, it would probably be the general “feel” overall.

Q10. Do you think Vampires are blessed or cursed?

A10. That depends on how you look at it. There are obvious benefits to being a vampire, but also so many disadvantages… At least in my own interpretation of what it means to be a vampire in Wayward Fall. The leading lady, Vigana Videl, sees her vampiric affliction as nothing but a curse. She has scorned it since the day she was embraced; granted, the circumstances that lead to her vampirism didn’t exactly set a high note for her. Thus far in the story, it has lightly been touched up on, but more will be revealed later on. She has become quite jaded over the years, a far cry from her cheery disposition as a mortal young woman. I will also be extrapolating upon the mechanics of being a vampire as things progress; least of which being how whenever she cries, her tears come out as an expenditure of blood.

Thankyou for the Interview Taversia and good luck with Wayward Fall, particularly the experimental Live-Action version.

If you enjoyed this interview why not follow @amuletts on twitter?

Or do you have a webcomic? Interested in being interviewed? Get in touch.

Taversia, author and artist for the Vampire webcomic Wayward Fall, takes the hot seat.

Q1. What’s your webcomic ‘Wayward Fall’ about?

A1. Over the course of the past couple of years that Wayward Fall has been online, its storyline has continued to unravel and evolve. I first began the comic with my co-writer, AntiType, in Autumn/Winter of 2008 (it was a transitional period; the first pages were created on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. But the comic itself did not go live until December 17th). It centres around a vampire, Vigana, who grew up in the Dark Ages, now reawakened in the modern era, in an urban underground society. She fell in with the mob, operating the fictitious city of Wayward Falls, and soon came in to working for them as a hit-woman. It outlines her inner struggles, coming to terms with the trials and tribulations of her rather unfortunate life. Although there are many comedic elements within the comic, at its core, Wayward Fall is an ongoing romantic tragedy with a strong fantasy/sci-fi theme. There are also subtle religious undertones abound. As the story continues to develop, it will gradually become much darker. Furthermore, not any one character is safe from at some point, facing destruction at the discretion of the writers (currently, just me).

Q2. Is it true that Wayward Fall is based on Live-Action Role-Play? If so, what system, and do you still play?

A2. Yes, the comic is based on the role-play, and loosely followed the game plotline as well. It has since branched off in a new direction however, and though there is still some close association with the LARP, it has become a story all on its own. Anything that now happens in the game does not affect the comic, and vice-versa. It merely served as a template in the beginning. As for the game itself, we run on a tweaked White Wolf system with no vampiric bloodlines. We continue to gather once a month, and resort to text-based role-play in between games for continual character & plot development. The forums on the comic website are actually in conjunction with the game, and many of the role-play interactions between players can be found there. Non-players are able to join us, if they so choose! Players get extra experience points for any interactions that occur in between games, so those who don’t play but wish to role-play for its own sake actually help us progress along with our characters! On that note, I should also mention that the next chapter of Wayward Fall (Act II: Part III) will be entirely live-action; real actors playing the parts of the comic characters! It should make for an interesting change of pace.

Q3. Do you think Role-Play is a good tool for writers?

A3. Absolutely! Little else gets the imagination flowing as some outside stimulation from like-minded people. It builds a strong foundation for your characters, and gives you a good ‘feel’ for how they would respond differently to certain situations. It is particularly useful for crossover works, as well. Wayward Fall has completed three different completely canon crossovers thus far. To stay true to the characters involved, a fair bit of role-playing went a long way.

Q4. How did you become involved with so many cross-overs? Do you have any tips (now you are oh so experienced) on managing them successfully?

A4. I first contacted Patricia Lupien about her webcomic, ‘Swiftriver’, after reading a good bit into the storyline. I noticed a lot of parallels and similarities; the fantasy theme.. the modern urban setting.. It just made so much sense to me to reach out to her and ask about the possibility of doing a completely canon crossover between our storylines; a side-story, where both our main characters team up with one another. From there, I became kinda hooked. I absolutely LOVE collaborating. Wayward Fall has since collaborated with ‘Lovefeast’, by Senshuu, and ‘Cetiya’, by Mitsukaiten as well. Actually, as it turns out, Mitsukaiten resides an hour’s walk from my house. Small world, huh?? We met for coffee at a local coffee shop and discussed the details of our crossover in person! That being said, communication is key; ironing out every last detail, from dialogue to panel. You need to have good creative chemistry with the person you are working with. That’s the only thing I can really say, in the way of “tips” I could give. I honestly just throw myself at people! “DO THIS WITH ME, OK?” <3 =D If I’m lucky, they will be receptive~!

Q5. Are you modelling for Vigana in the Live-Action version of Wayward Fall?

A5. Yes, actually! I have put together an accurate ensemble, based on outfits Vigana has been seen wearing at different points in the comic. I actually just got done with the first shooting for the live-action chapter, and it was a great success; but very physically demanding! In one of the fight scenes, I had to take a fall and I had two battle Katars sheathed, resting on my hips (as Vigana does, during flashback scenes in the comic). Underneath Vigana’s battle dress I was very lucky to be wearing a corset, because when I fell, one of the Katars actually came loose and pierced through the dress, tearing a gash up the side of it. If I hadn’t been properly armoured, I’m quite certain I’d have been taking a trip to the emergency room.  This is a *classic* case of comic book artiste extraordinaire turned daredevil stunt-woman~!

CLICK FOR PART 2 OF THIS WAYWARD FALL INTERVIEW

The Prepare to Die interview with Michael Dellheim continues, now on the subject of the WAGON Webcomic Battle Card Game.

Click here if you haven’t read the Prepare to Die Interview – Part 1

Do you have any hidden talents?

Oh I have many hidden talents, like… um… actually I can’t think of anything specific. Maybe my hidden talent is the ability to pull things out of nowhere when people least expect it of me. My talents are so hidden that I don’t even know I have them half the time! Like a magician! Or a ninja!! A Ninja Magician!!!

… yeah I’m not buying it either.

In fact you’ve invented your own card game! What is WAGON: Webcomic Battle and how is it played?

THAT is a long question to answer, but here’s the general idea…

The World Alliance of Geeks Online Network (W.A.G.O.N.) was established as an organization that supports independent creative websites across the internet. WAGON Webcomic Battle is a collectable cardgame created to help promote and support the content of webcomics in particular, though we do have a few cards that have come in from other sources of Geekdom.

Using creator-submitted artwork we create cards that translate the essence of a comic’s characters and plot elements into a form that can interact with the cards from other webcomics on the battlefield. This fight of course isn’t just for the fighters… sword-wielding psychos, mad scientists, and even angry videogame playing geeks can all contribute to the battle in their own unique ways. I dare say there ISN’T a comic that we couldn’t somehow integrate into the game system.

The basic breakdown of game play is that you use your Characters to attack your opponent’s Characters in order to eventually destroy their Life Panels. To back up your Characters in battle you have a collection of Plot Devices that can have an endless assortment of effects on the playing field. The first player to get all their Life Panels destroyed loses the game.

How many webcomics are included in the game so far?

The game currently has cards for twenty-two webcomics: Prepare to Die, Stridpartners, Chooken, Roomies, Sarah Zero, The War of Winds, Blue Sky, Union of Heroes, Zortic, Cy-Boar, Autumn Lake, The Best of What’s Left, Cartridge, 67th Avenue, The Apple of Discord, Rune Master: Tales of a Demon Slayer, Kat-Nap, Captain SNES: the Game Masta, Unamused Comics, NSTA: Semper Vigilantis, and several appearances by Jenny Everywhere. We also have several special rare cards that were made for The Action Flick Chick and Yu-Gi-Oh: the Abridged Series.

When our conversion to our new WAGON 2.0 design format is finished, we will begin expanding on the collection even further with new comics and new cards from all.

What will be new in version 2.0?

WAGON v2.0 will provide a much improved card look and layout, updated special abilities and attributes, and a completely re-designed website filled with an array of new resources to help you get your game on. It also allows us the ability to get into some really cool new things like booster packs, themed decks, expansion decks, and shiny foil versions of our rare cards. Not only that, but we will be moving full swing to start getting into a bigger convention presence and start setting up regularly scheduled tournaments. The goal of the new version is to take the game from an amateur to a professional level. Not to worry though for our current players, all v1.0 cards and decks are still fully compatible with the new version.

Thankyou for the Interview Mike and good luck with Prepare to Die and the WAGON Webcomic Battle.

If you enjoyed this interview why not follow @amuletts on twitter?

Or do you have a webcomic? Interested in being interviewed? Get in touch.