The Astonishing Adventures of Alicia Carter and Robot is a brand new comic series by Tristan Vick, with Chris Awayan on art and Mirza Wirawan on colours. The debut issue of Alicia Carter and Robot (ACaR) was Kickstarted in February 2022 and released by Vick’s own publishing imprint, Regolith Comics.
SFW cover for ACaR by Karen Darboe (for preview/thumbnail purposes)
ACaR is described on its Kickstarter campaign as an “action-packed sci-fi adventure” in the vein of classic pulps such as “Northwest Smith, Flash Gordon, and John Carter of Mars” with comedy thrown in. The Edgar Rice Burroughs’ character homage is immediately noticed in Alicia Carter’s last name. The comic shares the sci-fi pulp DNA in the same vein as Star Wars does.
Personal copy of ACaR with NSFW Toshio Maeda-inspired cover by Awayan.
Carter is an infamous space thief whose latest escapade has her stealing a crystal from the reptilian criminal Klaven Skullvek and the two bounty hunters in his employ: the cybernetic Armitage and sniper Kira. While being pursued, Carter crash lands on Junk World, an entire planet converted into a garbage dump by Nova Corp. Amnesic from a head wound during her rough landing, Carter is rescued by Garbage Disposal Unit 3 (GDU-3), a bipedal robot that salvages treasures from the refuse. Together, Carter and GDU-3 team up to evade Skullvek and his henchpeople and escape from Junk World.
Alicia Carter.
Carter as a character is a fun, rogueish heroine in the Han Solo/Star-Lord sense. As a sword and planet character, much like John Carter, she appears to be incredibly agile and able to leap large distances – or at least within the gravity on Junk World. If Carter has any fault it is due to the temporary amnesia she only suffers from for a handful of pages. If anything, this selective amnesia robs her of precious character development as it otherwise doesn’t advance or effect the plot at all. On the other hand, Carter is extremely animated and emotive. She pops off the comic’s pages with gestures and facial expressions that make her both endearing and easy to read, which is definitely in part due to the art and colour work of Awayan and Wirawan respectively.
GDU-3 (The Robot).
GDU-3 is quite fleshed out as a robot character. While he has protocols he must follow, he exhibits numerous human-like traits, such as he collects books and other trinkets for his own collection. His relationship to his parent company, Nova Corp, is very like that of Robocop to OCP – he follows his directives, but with the help of others, is able to overcome some of his programming to be more capable and free.
The art of ACaR is excellent. The Awayan and Wirawan team are able to make the muted, drab garbage planet of Junk World look interesting. All the characters look distinctive, at appropriate times stepping into cartoonish territory, but only for added comedic affect.
No expense was spared on issue one of ACaR. The comic clocks in at thirty-six pages of content including a gallery of all the alternative covers. The back cover of the comic has a bit of texture on it as well. In addition, folks who contributed to the ACaR Kickstarter received a plethora of fantastic loot as part of the campaign’s stretch goals.
Trading cards.
Firstly, there was six trading cards, one for each character. The backs of the cards contain stats (strength, speed, charisma, etc.) along with a biography of the pictured character. Hopefully the trading card trend will continue in successor crowdfunding campaigns. They are fun but they also provided paratextual information to supplement the world and character building in the comic.
Stickers and magnet.
Next, two chibi-styled stickers of Carter and GDU-3 along with a magnet of their ship were part of the stretch goals.
Foil art print by Shikarii.
Finally, a holofoil art print of Carter looking bad ass by artist Shikarii is also part of the package.
The Kickstarter campaign was also an avenue to pre-purchase exclusive cover variants of ACaR done by different artists, with most covers also having a NSFW incarnation. Interestingly, most Kickstarter comic book campaigns that have numerous NSFW covers also have corresponding content that is adult in nature (nudity, sex, and violence). Though ACaR has a handful of risque covers (see personal copy above), the comic proper is fairly PG-13. There’s no nudity and barely any profanity (swear words are replaced: “helios” for “hell,” “frack” for “fuck” and so on). The violence is cartoonish, with only one scene showing blood (on a regenerative character at that).
ACaR is off to a great start. Carter is a fun heroine and GDU-3 a shocking fleshed out, unique character. Unknown if future issues of the series will be episodic in nature, with a different adventure in each comic, or one large arc spanning multiple issues, but the intergalactic antics of Carter and GDU-3 look promising and exciting.
More information about Alicia Carter and Robot and the team behind it can be found at the following locations:
Our first episode of January on New Maps of Dream will go up later today (instead of yesterday). We got two stories we will be examining. Our Transmissions episode will go up as usual at the end of the month and we are interviewing three folks from the anthology. Tune in to that episode when it drops for even more news.
Things in the Well Closing Shop
Small press publisher Things in the Well looks to be closing shop in a few weeks. This means two of their anthologies that I have short stories published in will be going OOP:
Amazon links to buy both books are in the links above. Thank you all who have been curious about my fiction work and who have bought these books. I’ll find a home for these short stories in the future.
Highlander Call for Papers
Michele has an active CFP on the Highlander franchise. She is looking for essays on the Highlander movies, the television show, comics, everything.
If you’re interested, check out the CFP at her website and please share with others. With a possible reboot on the horizon, this is definitely a book you want to be a part of.
Unofficial Emmanuelle / Black Emanuelle CFP
Sometime in the latter half of 2022 (after I am finished with AnnRadCon 2022) I plan on publishing an official CFP calling for essays on Emmanuelle and its sequels and spinoffs, Black Emanuelle and its sequels, and all other Emmanuelle knockoffs. I already have an interested publisher, but I want to present to them a fully laid out TOC for an ambitious collection as this.
Though my CFP will not go live until later 2022, if you have any interest in being a part of this collection, let me know! Send me an email or social media message (see my about me page for contact info) to let me know your interest. If you have an abstract already, even better.
General Neo-Peplum News
Rest in Peplum Mark Forest
Stalwart sword and sandal veteran Mark Forest passed away at the age of 89 (article at Ansa). Along with the likes of Steve Reeves, Alan Steel, Reg Park, and Ed Fury, Forest literally and figuratively carried classic Italian pepla on his back.
He appeared in numerous historic epics:
The Egyptian (1954)
Goliath and the Dragon (1960)
Son of Samson (1960)
Mole Men Against the Son of Hercules (1961)
Colossus of the Arena (1962)
Goliath and the Sins of Babylon (1963)
Hercules Against the Mongols (1963)
Hercules Against the Barbarians (1964)
The Lion of Thebes (1964)
Hercules Against the Sons of the Sun (1964)
The Magnificent Gladiator (1964)
Kindar the Invulnerable (1965)
The Terror of Rome Against the Son of Hercules (1964)
Rest in Peplum Matt Jacobs
I received news that artist and comic book illustrator Matt Jacobs passed away back in December.
Matt holding a drawing he did of Jason Voorhees in Michele’s sketchbook.
I’ve had the honour to know Matt since the early 2010s. He was a staple to the various Los Angeles and surrounding area comic book conventions, typically present at the Fanbase Press booth. He did the illustrations to one of their early comics, The Arcs, which is also his contribution to the neo-peplum genre. He was fun to talk with, especially about gory horror films.
He was a versatile dude, doing projects for Faith No More and Howard Stern. His art can still be seen on his Instagram account. He did this incredible sketch on an Army of Darkness blank cover as a gift to me back in 2014.
Can you spot all the cameos?
I have not seen Matt for a couple years, he kinda feel off the radar and stopped showing up to conventions. I only just found out via Fanbase Press that he passed away. He will be missed.
It’s no secret that I am a fan of G. A. Lungaro’s Isidora comic series (as my prior interviews with him on my website as well as on the H. P. Lovecast Podcast can attest). The series combines the neo-peplum genre with the Lovecraft Mythos with a badass female protagonist – so it checks off many of the boxes of media I am interested in.
Earlier this year Lungaro ran a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of issue two of Isidora and it was a great success. In October, backer rewards began to ship to pledgers and over the weekend I received my copy. What follows is a picture story of unboxing my pledge because it turned out to be some amazing stuff contained in the box. A confession: when I donate to a Kickstarter, I do not pay attention to the stretch goals as I like to be surprised with what I received. And I was certainly surprised with my loot!
To begin with, my backer award came in a handsome cardboard box, sporting some nice artwork (taken from the Jay Espin variant cover) that depictions a R’lyehthian-style city with a hint of Giger.
Upon opening the box I was greeted with a divider/cover with an envelope embedded in.
The envelope contains a thank you card, packaged and presented in the same fashion as the Kickstarter for issue one (see below).
Under the cover that contained the thank you note was three art prints. From left to right they are by:
Samantha Branch – This is a print of one of the variant covers of issue one and I love the antiquity elements to it.
George P. Gatsis – This is my favourite of the three. I love the colours used in this one and the depiction of Isidora. She looks both pinupy and badass.
Deti – This is the artwork used on the edition that combines issue 1 and 2. This one has a very alluring Isidora with overt Lovecraftian imagery.
Under the art print was some stickers and trading cards. Because I love to keep things in mint condition, I did not open the booster pack of cards. Those will forever remain a mystery.
The envelope contained a cute little charm.
The last item in the box was the comic! In this case, I went for the special edition that combines Isidora one and two into one collected edition with a metallic cover! The presentation on this edition is extravagant.
And in one picture, here is the contents of everything in the Isidora #2 box.
And here is everything from both Kickstarters together. What can I say, everything here is above and beyond and of high quality. As an extra bonus, everything fits perfectly into the Isidora #2 box!
Lungaro hope to get started on issue three very soon, so I am excited for that. If you are interested in Isidora, I suggest you follow Lungaro on his social medial channels to see what happens next with his projects.
I did a write up of Catherine McCarthy’s short story collection Mists and Megaliths. The review can be found here.
New Episode of HP Lovecast
First episode for September for HP Lovecast is up! In this episode we discuss the one-shot comic book Lady Lovecraft, written by Mike Shea and art by Don Wilkinson. Episode can be found on our Buzzsprout website or via your podcast app of preference.
S.P.Q.R. is a neo-peplum comic created by Riley Hamilton whose first issue released in early 2021 after a successful Kickstarter campaign. S.P.Q.R. takes a different approach to the subject matter when compared to other indie/crowdfunded peplum comics as of late; it eschews mythology and the more fantastical elements to instead ground itself in historic events. The comic takes places in 69 C.E. during the Year of Four Emperors with the first issue focusing on a band of nomads in the Roman province of Moesia who are trying to survive in the wilderness while also avoiding the attention of the Roman military machine.
Hamilton has graciously allowed an interview about S.P.Q.R.
S.P.Q.R. Logo used with permission from Riley Hamilton
Tell us a bit about yourself and what got you into writing and comics.
I have been writing stories for as long as I can remember. The earliest memory I have of writing was when I was about 6 or 7, when I was writing my own Captain Underpants stories. The first comic book I remember getting and reading was Ultimate Spiderman #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, that I got on Free Comic Book Day, when I was in my [local comic book store] looking for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.
After getting that book, I was completely hooked and started writing and drawing my own comics about a superhero called Energy-Man. The comics were four panels and drawn on printer paper that I took directly out of the printer. I stopped reading comics regularly in junior high and only started getting back into them when I was studying at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. I saw that there was a comic book club on campus and decided to join.
When I joined, I assumed that the club would be talking comics and comics-related media, but they were in the process of making their own series. The series was called Gael Force and was about a superhero team made up of university students from different faculties. They had already written the first issue when I arrived and I helped the club president, now one of my closest friends, Brendan Montgomery, with lettering the first issue. I co-wrote issues 2 and 3 with another club member and helped with some editing, here and there. We completed the series just as I was finishing up my undergraduate degree and leaving Queen’s, so the timing worked out nicely for me.
What was the genesis of S.P.Q.R.?
With Gael Force I got an in-depth look into the process of comic creation and how much planning and effort goes into a single, 24-page floppy. I really enjoyed working on Gael Force and was getting back into reading comics and the thought crossed my mind about writing my own book. I did not start to seriously think about creating the book until I got some feedback from a couple of friends, Brendan being one of them, who thought I had something good and should give it a go.
The main catalyst for the format of the book really took shape after I read Brian Wood’s Northlanders, a historical comic set during the Viking Age. The structure of that series is the blueprint that I want to follow with S.P.Q.R. Rather than follow one set of characters throughout the entire series, which I find incredibly daunting to even think about, each arc followed a different set of characters, in a different location, and time within the 250-year period of what’s considered the Viking Age. One of the small arcs in that series centered around the Viking raid on Lindisfarne and crafted an entire story about a real historical event that is not well understood.
What sort of research did you do prior to creating S.P.Q.R.?
I was reading Tacitus for a paper and came across a passage about Legio III Gallica massacring 6,000 Roxolani horsemen in Moesia in 69 CE. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but once I read Northlanders that short passage immediately jumped back into my mind.
Apart from that I read a few books on the Roman legions and on their prisoner-taking practices. Legion by Stephen Dando Collins was a massive help, especially simplifying the convoluted history and organization of the legions. I also read a few research papers such as Dr. Jason Wickham’s PhD thesis “The Enslavement of War Captives by the Romans to 146 BC.”
Standard cover of issue #1. Photo used with permission from Riley Hamilton.
What were some of the main obstacles you encountered while producing S.P.Q.R.?
I had been playing around with the idea of writing a historical comic since I had read Northlanders in 2016. I also knew, speaking to some artist friends, that I wanted to be able to pay anyone who I worked with, so I did not have the means to make the book when I first came up with the idea, so I sat on it for a couple of years. By November 2019, I felt that I had saved enough and had a feasible plan in place to pay for the production myself and then went looking for artists.
One interesting note was the title, which was originally going to be Pax Romana, which I really liked as a title. However, it turns out that Jonathan Hickman had released his own miniseries, through Image, with that exact title. His story was completely different, about a group of commandos who time travel to 312 CE on a mission from the Vatican, but I did not want to tempt fate, or Image’s legal team, so I changed it to S.P.Q.R.
One option would have been to launch a Kickstarter to cover the production costs of the book and deliver it to backers a year later when it would have been finished. I spoke to a friend who had done this for his book but had his artist ghost him and disappear, leaving him with no artist and backers waiting for their books. I did not want to have something like that happen to me and have to deal with that kind of stress, so I decided the fund the production out of my own pocket and use Kickstarter to cover the printing and shipping.
The production of the book ended up being incredibly smooth sailing and I’m grateful to my penciller, Samrat Das, inker, Rowel Roque, and colourist, Lucas Aparicio, for making the experience a pleasant one. There was a hiccup in printing that was my own fault for not checking a layer on the variant cover properly, but it was a learning experience, and hopefully the next one goes smoother.
What are your favourite sword and sandal texts?
It seems the catalyst for a lot of people that I’ve talked to about their interest in Classics, whether other creators or people I went to university with, is Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. I didn’t see Gladiator until I was in my 20s and was already a sword and sandal fan.
My introduction to the genre was through video games, and Creative Assembly’s Rome: Total War. I loved that game as a kid and even though I can look back on it and see its many flaws, I still love to boot it up and play for hours when I get the urge. I loved playing as one of the patrician families and growing the empire before turning on the Senate and fighting a brutal civil war. It blended the turn-based games that I loved like Axis and Allies and mixed it with real-time battles like Age of Empires and StarCraft, without all the tedious base-building and resource gathering.
I’ve also sunk many hours into its sequel and have looking forward to the remastered edition which is coming out at the end of the month (April 29). In high school I got the boxed sets of HBO’s Rome and watched them religiously, I liked the performances from Ciaran Hinds, Kevin McKidd, and I really loved James Purefoy as Mark Antony. I also checked out the new German series Barbarians, which was a fun retelling of Arminius’s story and the battle of the Teutoburg Forest. My enjoyment of the series may have been influenced by the fact that I’m a sucker for the Roman characters speaking Latin.
What are your general thoughts about the present-day state of sword and sandal media?
I can honestly say that I am not up to date on the happenings in the genre. If I stumble across something, new or old, I will check it out but most of the stuff I’ve seen and read has been enjoyable. I still feel that the genre does not have the same grasp on the public’s imagination that the World Wars or the Cold War have in popular media. I think the reason for that is largely because people has a direct connection to those events, whether they lived through them themselves or have close relatives who did.
The sword and sandal genre seems more abstract to people than more modern stories, but I think shows like Game of Thrones, despite being set in a fantasy world, have shown that people love a gripping story with interesting characters. I think that a show set during the Crisis of the Third Century or the Augustan Civil War, or many of the tumultuous events of Antiquity could become a huge hit, if you have the right people working on it.
What do you feel differentiate S.P.Q.R. from other peplum/historic epic comics out there?
I always knew that I wanted to tell a story that was one that was grounded in history and real-world events. Most of the comics I have read that are sent in Antiquity, like Britannia by Peter Milligan and Frank Miller’s 300, have a heavy focus on mythology and fantasy as opposed to being strictly grounded. I knew that I wanted to tell a story that someone could read and learn that these people really did exist and could learn about things in my book without dismissing it as entirely made up.
What is the primary goal you want to accomplish with S.P.Q.R.?
The biggest thing for me was proving to myself that I could write, letter, and successfully self-publish my own book. Launching the Kickstarter was very intimidating and there are moments in the mid-campaign lull where I felt like the Kickstarter was not going to make it. Once we funded and reached our stretch goal, I felt very satisfied, at this point I am just looking to tell an interesting story and hoping people will read it and like it. The Kickstarter also showed me that there is an audience for this genre and that it does not need to be a fantasy series or have a heavy emphasis on mythology to succeed as a comic.
S.P.Q.R. issue #1 variant cover. Used with permission from Riley Hamilton.
What has been the feedback you’ve received on S.P.Q.R. since its release?
I haven’t received much feedback to be perfectly honest but the feedback I have gotten has been positive. As a first-time creator, who has never published my own book before, I had no idea what sort of reception the first issue would get but it’s been good so far. I hope it continues as more people read the book and when issue two comes out.
What are your next big plans?
Right now, issue two is in production and I’ve got some great ideas of where I want to take both Ara’s story and others going forward. I am still working to streamline the work process with my collaborators so we can hopefully start pushing issues out more regularly. I have a few other irons in the fire that I can’t go into too much detail about right now.
Lastly, I am a contributor to Sequential Magazine, a print magazine focusing on the Canadian indie comics scene and Canadian indie creators. We just released our mega-sized March issue in celebration of the 80th anniversary of the first comic book that was made and published in Canada, Better Comics #1. This issue of the magazine covers the history of Canadian comics and contains interviews and chats with creators in every part of Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia. You can order a copy on Sequential’s Gumroad store.
G. A Lungaro is YouTuber and a fantasy author, best known for his Covenant of Souls series. He is also the writer and creator of Isidora and the Immortal Chains, a comic series that combines elements of neo-peplum and the Lovecraft mythos. The first issue of the series was successfully Kickstarted in 2020 and tells the story of Isidora, a super-powered lady from ancient Pompeii, existing in a modern day metropolis, acting as the herald of the King in Yellow. Lungaro has graciously allowed me to interview him about his newest endeavor.
Isidora Logo, used with permission from G. A. Lungaro
How did you get into writing?
I have always had a fascination with writing and creating worlds. My first attempt was a terrible fanfiction of the Nintendo game Metroid back in 1988 when I was 14. I even made a cover, cut it to paperback size, and bound it with glue.
During those teenage years, I also picked up and read my first full length (I should say complete trilogy) fantasy novel, Dragonlance’s Legends trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Those books opened my eyes to a fantastical world and compelled me to want to create my own world. Concurrently I was also a big comic book collector, my mainstay being DC comics.
The love of the fantasy genre prompted me to read Tolkein and GRR Martin’s works that ignited the passion for writing that began with that Metroid fanfiction. My first serious attempt began around 2004 when my wife (at the time) and I were playing an online browser-based RP game, which planted the first seeds for my fantasy novel Souls of Magic’s Dawn. After many re-writes, start overs and hair pulling, I finished it in 2010. It wasn’t until 2018 that I began the publishing process in earnest and hired an editor. Shortly after, I ran a successful Kickstarter campaign.
What was the genesis of Isidora?
With comics and fantasy being two of my biggest passions, I successfully entered the world of fantasy writing. I had still not tried my hand at comic writing, mostly because I had no idea how to get an artist and write in that format in which most, if not all, the exposition is visual.
The indie comics movement and my position as a YouTuber put me in place to start networking and talking to people who are involved with comics. I went on a writer’s stream with Preston Poulter, learned some of the comic writing format basics, and learned online tools to write in that format correctly.
With that, the fun part began. I am a child of Italian immigrants, a first-generation American; this prompted a love and appreciation for Greco-Roman history, art, and mythology. I wanted this character to originate from that time. Fun fact, the name Isidora is a Roman name that is also the lead character’s name in my fantasy novel.
Samantha Branch cover for Isidora #1. Imaged used with permission from G. A. Lungaro.
How did you go about designing the character of Isidora? She is quite progressive for both genres: the peplum genre confines women to bellydancers and damsels unless you’re Xena, Red Sonja, or Kassandra from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, and in Lovecraft’s work, women are practically absent.
Yes! This was of extreme importance to me when creating and writing this character. Being a man, there are experiences, motives, and perspectives of a woman’s life that I will never understand. I have seen those tropes many times. While they can be entertaining on some level, eventually, they become cliché and not very appealing to many readers, especially women. My partner Marie and my daughter Alexandra played a significant role in helping me create this character. My editor is also a woman, and she helped tremendously with the final touches.
Being from ancient Rome, I will show some of the reality women faced in those times. Realities that did indeed make them very strong in their own right. There will also be some devastating truths and events that happen to her because she lives in a very male-dominated world. All of this plays a critical role in her development and the powerful woman she has become as an agent of the Old Ones
Any plans for flashback sequences for Isidora to explore her sword and sandal roots in subsequent issues?
Yes, most definitely. It will be mostly relegated to Isidora’s character development and provided a glimpse of her past that has molded her to what she is today 2000 years later. There are some essential elements in that very short mortal life that she lived that play a significant role in her outlook on the world and her place in it.
How did you get into the writings of H. P. Lovecraft?
I did not discover Lovecraft until my mid-30s. I knew of things like Cthulhu but never really read any of the stories and lore that grew from that world and mythos. I began reading works like The Dunwich Horror, which fostered a curious appreciation for those worlds. It wasn’t until the TV show True Detective mentioned the King in Yellow that my curiosity reached new heights.
I was fascinated with this mystery that popped up on a contemporary TV show. I researched it and discovered more of the Lovecraft mythos and its history going back to Robert W. Chambers’ plays. It was a sandbox I knew I wanted to play in one day but didn’t quite know how until I began dabbling in comic writing.
Since you have your feet in two different genres and fandoms (Lovecraft and pepla), what are your thoughts on the current state of media coming from both camps?
I have to say I have not seen much recently concerning peplum. I loved shows like Spartacus, Rome, and of course movies like Gladiator. I heard about Ridley Scott making a sequel to Gladiator, but I feel that may not live up to the original. Cleopatra coming up with Gal Gadot looks intriguing; however, I wish there was more as it seems to have fallen from popularity recently. As for Lovecraft, it seems to be on a pretty significant upswing. Unlike peplum, Lovecraftian Mythos can be adapted for any time period, locale, and setting and make a story from it, much like the recent Lovecraft Country, which I thought was spectacular.
There are lots of (indie) Lovecraft comics out there. What aspect of Isidora do you think sets this comic out from the rest?
Starting with Isidora and the Immortal Chains #1, I planned to make something as unique as possible and add a new paradigm to the Lovecraft Mythos. I feel this stands out in the Mythos because it is a mashup of multiple elements all put together in a genre I call “The Lovecraftian Dark Heroverse.” I am taking features of the broader horrific Lovecraft Mythos and bringing in elements of classic cosmic and mystical hero comics. Think Lovecraft meets Constantine meets Silver Surfer. She [Isidora] is a herald to the King in Yellow, much like Silver Surfer to Galactus, and weaving in characteristics exhibited by characters like John Constantine, all set in a Lovecraftian world.
The neo-peplum element comes from a few places—my Italian heritage for one and a literary perspective. One of my favorite authors outside the fantasy genre is Anne Rice and her Vampire Chronicles. The ancient vampire Marius, who was born during the Roman Empire, always intrigued me. The idea of an immortal beginning their life in Greco-Roman times like Marius and living through history to end up in the modern day was an interesting perspective I wanted to explore in the pages of this comic.
What was your soundtrack while creating Isidora? Conversely, what is the suggested soundtrack to readers while reading the comic?
I never get asked this question; thank you so much for asking it. I know for many writers, a musical accompaniment helps drive the writing process. Certain verses, tones, and beats can set me on overdrive in the writing process. I am also going to say my soundtrack and the suggested soundtrack are going to be the same.
Anything Evanescence and Within Temptation, specifically “And We Run” by Within Temptation, “Away from Me” by Evanescence, and also “Undeniable” by Seckond Chaynce.
What is the main thing you want to accomplish with Isidora?
In the Lovecraft Mythos, the spotlight and focus are typically on a very human element, madness, and at the end, a hopeless and powerless feeling of powers we cannot understand or comprehend. My goal is to tell a story from the viewpoint of an agent of the Old Ones, who once was human at one time, finding that there can be hope and a way to overcome these powers. I want to display this in a very gritty and real light that does not hold back in a visceral nature and inspires the sense that there can be hope in a world where, even if it is only one person, can stand up to be a hero.
What were the some of the major obstacles you encountered while creating the comic?
Right at the start, the biggest challenge was finding artists that can both share the vision I have and also present it beautifully and accurately. It took a lot of searching and researching, but eventually, I ran across Alper Gecgel, a young artist from Turkey. When I viewed his portfolio I was floored by the haunting beauty of his work. It has a gritty simpleness to it but conveys the feel I want the reader to get while reading it.
The challenge didn’t end there. English is not Alper’s first language, and all of our communication was over Facebook messenger. There were many times I had to make awful sketches to convey what I wanted to see on the pages. The fact he understood and brought those ideas to life is a testament to his dedication and skill.
Aside from those challenges, just attempting to create a crowdfunded, indie project is a daunting task from the start. It was an uphill battle to find that core audience to build a fandom around to get the grassroots effort started. I can’t thank some of my Youtube friends enough for promoting it and extraordinarily loyal and generous subscribers to my channel that supported this project.
Nicholas Diak’s Isidora #1 Kickstarter Loot. Photo by Michele Brittany.
Since its release, what has been the reception of Isidora?
The dreaded feedback all writers fear but also crave as much as life itself. I am always terrified something I create will not be received well by people outside of close friends and family. I suffer from Imposter Syndrome as much as any up-and-coming creative person.
I will say that the reception has been overwhelmingly positive so far from my backers’ word of mouth. I also just ran a survey questionnaire, and currently, it is at about a 4 out 5 average as an overall rating. This is better than I could have ever.
What are your next big plans you’d like to share/promote?
I don’t have anything currently to promote other than my nerdy YouYube channel, The Grey Council. The channel plays an integral part in my social interaction, promoting any new projects I am working on and building a geeky sweaty nerds community who loves things from Star Wars to comics to fantasy. My fantasy novel that I published in February 2020, Souls of Magic’s Dawn, is also available on Amazon.
However, I am currently working on [Isidora] issue #2, which I am about halfway through writing, and hope to launch a crowdfund campaign by this summer.
