By: Nicole D’Andria
This weekend
I’m Kickstarting The Broken Frontier
Anthology which features 27 creator-owned stories from 40 creators located
around the world. The contributors include Cullen Bunn (Deadpool,
The Sixth Gun), Greg Pak (Action Comics, Incredible Hulk), Joshua Hale Fialkov
(The Bunker, I Vampire) and many other
award-winning writers and artists as well as new talent.
The Broken Frontier Anthology is a 250 page graphic
novel. It is larger than the standard graphic novel at 11.2''x7.6''. The cover is drawn by Robbi Rodriquez (Spider-Gwen). A full list of the creators involved in the project
can be found on their Kickstarter page. Expect a variety of
science-fiction and horror stories.
If you
pledge at least $5 you will get BACKER ONLY updates as well as a mention on the
thank you page of the book. You will get a digital copy of the book for $12 and
a physical copy of the hardcover graphic novel for $40 or more. The Kickstarter
will finish on May 23rd, 2015 at 9:00 am EDT. It will be successful
if at least $58,000 is raised. You can pledge to their Kickstarter here.
I spoke
with the editor of the project, Frederik Hautain. I also talked with Tyler Chin-Tanner,
founder of the publisher A Wave Blue World and writer of two stories
in The Broken Frontier Anthology.
 |
| Frederik Hautain |
Me: Who came up with the
idea for this massive anthology?
Frederik Hautain: The initial idea for doing an anthology was
mine, but the execution of the idea is a total group effort, with Tyler and
myself as the main drivers, Tyler as publisher of the book, me as its editor.
We wanted to create a
special project that was in line with what Broken Frontier stands for -
supporting creator-owned and independent comics from creators from all across
the globe - but most importantly, we wanted to give our creators a good deal
for their work. They’re the stars here, not us.
Me: What was the process
of contacting all of these creators to be a part of this project and getting
everyone and everything together to make this anthology a reality?
Hautain: It
was a long process that took quite a number of months, because you’ve got to
make the schedules of over 40 people fall in line at some point.
We also wanted to make
sure that our lineup featured not just established creators or only men or
US-based creators. We really wanted to present a great mix of talent based on
nothing but their storytelling skills and how they interpreted the anthology’s
theme of breaking boundaries and exploring the great unknown.
Me: Can you give us brief
summaries of some of the stories that will be included in the anthology?
Hautain: Phew,
where do I start? We’ve got 27 stories to cover here. [Laughs] I’ll name just a
few, but you can find out more about the stories on the Kickstarter campaign
page, as well as the update section over there, where we’ve posted several
creator videos and spotlights.
 |
| Tom Raney (Outsiders, Stormwatch, Avengers Academy) |
 |
| David Hine (Storm Dogs, Strange Embrace, Spawn) |
So, there’s Phantom Limb Ghostpuncher by Greg Pak and Tom Raney, about a former
soldier who discovers he can see dead people and hit them with his phantom
limb. Also a story about vikings encountering the supernatural by Phil Hester
and Daniel Warren Johnson and ‘Terran Omega’, by PJ Holden about the last human
being in the known universe, dystopian sci-fi by Robert Sammelin, time travel
by Jamie Coe, existential murder mystery by David Hine & Mark Stafford and
on and on!
Me: As the founder and
Editor-in-Chief at Broken Frontier, can you tell me a bit about the news site?
Why did you decide to create the website versus joining an already established
site?
Hautain: Well,
we’ve been around since 2002, which in online terms is like eons ago -- you can
only go back there using the time travel glove from Jamie Coe’s story I think.
[Laughs]
Seriously though, 13
years ago, there were no blogs, no social media, and we were part of a limited
number of dedicated, daily updated comics news sites; the landscape was very
different back then.
We’ve always very much
wanted to do our own thing and that’s covering indie, small press and
creator-owned first, superhero and mainstream second. That primary focus has
only increased since we launched the latest iteration of the site in 2013. I’m
very happy that we’ve got a great team in place to cover all the exciting, rich
and diverse material that fits our bill.
Me: What tips can you give
for editing?
Hautain: The
answer to that question depends on what you’re editing really -- it’s different
if you’re editing a story as opposed to editing a blog article on a website.
That said, my personal
truths are:
1) Have a clear vision. Make sure you’ve got a good idea of what you want the project to be, share that vision with all of your collaborators and make sure you have the buy-in from all of them.
1) Have a clear vision. Make sure you’ve got a good idea of what you want the project to be, share that vision with all of your collaborators and make sure you have the buy-in from all of them.
2) Be transparent.
Creating a story or some form of content for a website is a process. So is
managing a project in its entirety. Be transparent with your collaborators from
start to finish, even when the news you’re sharing isn’t all shiny and fluffy.
3) Empower your
collaborators. This is the most important one of the three. Your collaborators
on your project are your creative partners. Not only should you realise that
you can’t do it without them; you’ll get so much more out of working together
if you give them the creative freedom for them to do what they do best. Not
only will things usually fall in place nicely at the end; you’ve built up a
strong bond between all parties built on trust and respect for one another.
 |
| Tyler Chin-Tanner |
Me: I read that you taught
English before you pursued a career in comics. Why the change in career path?
Tyler Chin-Tanner: Actually, being a comic
book writer was my first dream. As a child I wanted to grow up to be just like
Ann Nocenti, Chris Claremont and Jim Starlin. But I stopped reading comics in
the 90's (this was when I was in high school), but during this time I started
volunteering as a tutor for younger students and discovered how rewarding I
found that. So in college I followed that path.
But shortly into my
teaching career I became disillusioned with the public school system and took
teaching positions abroad, first in Tanzania, Africa and then in Costa Rica. It
was during this time that I not only starting writing again, but drawing as
well. I applied to The Kubert School from a small village in Costa Rica, and
even did my phone interview from the pay phone by the market.
Me: As an attendee of The Kubert School, what did you learn?
Chin-Tanner: Well, art school can’t
really teach you how to draw. That only happens during the countless hours at
your drawing table. What The Kubert School taught me was how to be a
professional and approach drawing like a job. There are a lot of tricks of the
trade that you just have to learn along the way and having so many experienced
artists as teachers was an invaluable resource.
Me: You founded A Wave
Blue World with you wife, Wendy. Can you explain what A Wave Blue World
is?
Chin-Tanner: A Wave Blue World’s
primarily purpose is to allow me to self-publish my own comic projects and
provide some structure when hiring artists, dealing with printers, or setting
up a publisher’s page on ComiXology for instance. Recently, I’ve been taking on
other people’s creator-owned work as well as a way to share with them some of
the knowledge and access I’ve gained. This is where my role with the Broken Frontier Anthology comes into
play.
Me: How did you meet your
wife and discover you both had a passion for similar things?
 |
| Wendy Chin-Tanner |
Chin-Tanner: I was introduced to my
wife by my sister. They were both studying at Cambridge University at the time.
I was in my first year at The Kubert School and had just drawn my first
mini-comic. It was pretty bad, but Wendy liked it and was very encouraging. She
took me back to her parent’s house in New York and showed me her collection of Dazzler
comics and all her old Star Wars toys. It was love at first sight (of her, not
the toys).
Me: How did you come into
contact with the Broken Frontier website and become a writer on the site?
Chin-Tanner: I believe I sent
Frederik a press release about my first comic series, Adrenaline, and he
invited me to write a column on Broken Frontier about my experiences
self-publishing. It was called Delusions of Grandeur: A Small Press Survival
Guide and ran for a couple of years until I got tired of writing about
myself, so I switched to writing interviews and providing coverage for
conventions and various creator appearances.
Me: Can you tell me some
of the details for the story you wrote in the Broken Frontier Anthology?
Chin-Tanner: Actually, I’m writing
two stories for the Broken Frontier anthology. I accidentally fell into that
when I invited Toby Cypress to take part in the anthology. I assumed he would
want to write his own story, but was pleasantly surprised when he asked me to write
it with him. We came up with a story called, The Wall. It’s got a lot of
the subversive political elements which I like, and Toby gets to draw a badass,
female hero with a giant sword riding a futuristic motorcycle.
 |
| Toby Cypress (The White Suits, Rodd Racer) |
My other story is a
collaboration with a very promising young artist, Aysegul Sinav, who is about
to graduate from The Kubert School in May. She was a recipient of the A Wave
Blue World Scholarship and since then I’ve always known I would want to work with
her as soon as she finished school. Our story is a cross between Murder, She
Wrote and Sandman. I’ll just leave it at that.
 |
| Ayşegül Sınav (Legendary Comics Featured Artist) |
Me: What other comic
related projects have you worked on?
Chin-Tanner: My first comic series
out of art school was called Adrenaline. Then I wrote a graphic novel
called American Terrorist about protest and revolution in the U.S. I’m
about to release an art book for Toby Cypress, called Punkrock* Jazz.
That debuts at Heroes Con in June. And I have another anthology due out this
year called Loved & Lost about failed romances. I wrote all nine of
the stories for that while collaborating with a different artist for each one.
Me: What advice would you give
aspiring comic book artist?
Go through the process
of learning how to draw a comic, even if you no desire to be a professional
artist. In order to write comics, you need to fully understand the form and the
techniques for storytelling.
Also, work with the best
artist you can find. A mediocre script drawn by a fantastic artist will always
read better than a fantastic script drawn by mediocre artist.
Me: Thank you for your time and best of luck with your bold
project!
Do you
have a Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have it showcased on
“Kickstart the Week?” Let me know in the comments below or message me on my
personal website www.comicmaven.com.
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“Kickstart the Week” features:
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