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| Brian Schirmer |
By: Nicole D’Andria
A fantasy
western adventure, Black Jack Ketchum is an upcoming Image Comics publication.
I interviewed writer Brian Schirmer (Ultrasylvania)
about the four issue mini-series including his real relationship to the
historical figure Black Jack Ketchum.
Me: You mentioned that you had familial ties to Tom Ketchum. Can
you talk about your connection to him and what he was supposedly like in
real-life and in the comic?
Brian Schirmer: Black Jack Ketchum is a distant relative.
Great-grandmother on my mother's side was a cousin. As such, I'd heard his name
and stories all my life. The real-life Tom Ketchum robbed trains, killed
people, and was ultimately hung for both. The end. Except, when you read more
of the story - and from differing sources - you not only learn the horror that
befell him when he was executed, but also realize that this guy was quite
possibly suffering from some form of mental illness. Whether hearing voices and
conversing with them or beating himself repeatedly for saying something
"stupid", he tended to make more than a few people uncomfortable. Our
Tom Ketchum, the one in the book, he's generally not doing those things. He's
more of an everyman. I mean, he's done some questionable things, but he's
adamant that he hasn't done a fraction of the things this "Black
Jack" has done. He asserts that this is all a case of mistaken identity.
Pity for him that no one is willing to take the time to hear him out.
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| Black Jack Ketchum #1 Cover |
Me: If you could spend the day with Tom Ketchum, what would you
two do?
Schirmer: If
we're talking the historical Tom Ketchum, then I suppose I'd try to keep
him calm, buy him a drink at the local watering hole. There's much in the
historical record to suggest that he was - at best - a squirrely fella, equally
as likely to smack himself upside the head as draw on you in a panic. If
we're talking our Tom Ketchum... I suspect I'd be running just alongside
of him as faceless, unstoppable Terminators-of-the-Old-West chased him down
without a concern for collateral damage. That is... I wouldn't want to be
the collateral damage.
Me: Will we be seeing any other historical figures? Can you tell
us who they are or give us a hint?
Schirmer: Yes.
There's definitely one person who shows up.
I don't want to give it away because it's a rather fun addition to the
story. At least to me. There are other characters who are allusions
to or amalgams of historical figures, a little something that plays into the
conceit of this being a dreamlike universe.
I will say with regard to the one person that it won't be a subtle
reveal. It will be made very clear to
the reader.
Me: How would you describe some of the other characters, such as
Ketchum’s talking sidearm, the gambler and the mute girl with the Winchester?
Schirmer: They're
absolutely meant to be taken with the utmost sincerity. It's a
little known fact that everyone - everyone - in the Wild West had a
talking gun. It's just been glossed over in the history books.
Me: Why did you decide to blend the western and fantasy genres
together in this story?
Schirmer: Honestly,
that aspect came to me in a dream. As I say, I'd known about Black Jack
my whole life, but it was just a couple years ago when I had a random dream
that featured things like the Dusters - our faceless gunmen - and saloons that
basically function like transporters in Star Trek. When I woke up,
I wrote as much of it down as I could and just put it away. Sometime
later, when it became clear I'd be developing a Western, I dug out that
notebook and felt it might be interesting to have Black Jack Ketchum as our
guide through such a messed up universe.
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| Black Jack Ketchum #2 Cover |
Me: What are some of your favorite western and fantasy comics?
Schirmer: The
couple issues of Jonah Hex that are written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin
Gray and illustrated by Darwyn Cooke. I'd turn to those quite a
bit. Especially issue #50. The storytelling is so crisp. It's
actually one of a few dozen single issues that I go back to again and again for
reference and inspiration no matter what I'm working on. Blueberry,
of course. Desperadoes.
"Fantasy" comics is an
incredibly broad category. I mean, if we're talking swords and magic and
that kinda stuff, then I'd have to mention Rat Queens, Conan -
especially the team of Kurt Busiek and Cary Nord - and Bone. If
you want to talk fantasy comics that take those basic tropes and mix them in
with other goodies, then the list is insanely long. I'll mention Saga,
Promethea, The Invisibles, Hellboy, and Casanova...
and I've barely scratched the surface.
Me: What is the tone of Black Jack Ketchum? It sounds
like it could be dark, but at the same time has elements such as a talking
sidearm. Is it more comedic or gritty?
Schirmer: More
than anything I'd call it surreal. What we'd call "weird
things" are happening on almost every page, but to these characters
they're normal. Tom's freaked out because people are convinced he's
someone else and they're trying to kill him. He's not freaked out by the
fact that some of these "people" have no face. The fact that his
gun talks is pretty much the same thing. Though, yeah, you can make the
argument that his sidearm is a bit of the comic relief. He/It operates as
Tom's conscience a lot of the time. Sort of like Jiminy Cricket.
Sort of.
Me: How did you come to work with your cover artist Jeremy Saliba and artist Claudia
Balboni?
Schirmer: Jeremy and I have known each other for many years. We worked
together on the very first anthology that I produced out-of-pocket back in...
2009 I think it was. We've worked together in one capacity or another
ever since. He was the editor and co-creator on Ultrasylvania, a
self-published project that allowed us to get our names out there. It's
safe to say that book led to us getting the gig at Image.
As for Claudia, the
project had received the green light from Image Central late last year, and
then within a matter of weeks our artist had to pull out. I had a couple
hours of panic before I saw this as an opportunity wherein I could potentially
meet some other truly accomplished illustrators while looking for the person
who would truly bring this story to life. Various friends and
acquaintances introduced me to some amazing artists, but ultimately Larry Watts
(Dynamite’s Army of Darkness) showed me Claudia’s work and I was
hooked. After she and I traded emails, she sent me her renditions of a
few pages of Black Jack Ketchum. We showed those pages to Eric
Stephenson and we all agreed that she knocked it out of the park.
Me: How would you describe their art styles in Black Jack
Ketchum?
Schirmer: Better
than anything I could have dreamed. Or, in this case, better than
anything I did dream.
Me: I know your first published work, Ultrasylvania, is
an alternate history taking place in 19th century Europe with
Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster serving as world leaders. How did you come
up with such a unique concept?
Schirmer: I
was traveling Europe in the summer of 2011. Like any good writer, I had
my trusty notebook with me at all times and I was jotting down little bits of
dialogue here, half-baked notions there. One of the latter was something
along the lines of: "What if Dracula hadn't remained shut up in his castle
for centuries and instead decided to become a leader on the world
stage?" I couldn't tell you for certain where I was when I wrote
that down - I think I was in Paris - but it stayed with me. I also
couldn't tell you a single other thing that made it into that notebook. I
suppose sometimes all it takes is having the one good idea spill out of you.
Me: What inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book
writers?
Schirmer: Persistence.
I teach writing for comics at an art university and after five years of doing
so I realized I could boil the whole class down to that one word. You
keep doing it and doing it and doing it. And you keep going back to
people in the industry, showing them that you've done something more, showing
them that you're not going away, and - ideally - showing them that you're
improving with every step. Put in the time. Do the work. Show
the right people. Repeat. Persistence.
Me: Thank you for your time
Brian. Look for the first issue of Black
Jack Ketchum on December 2nd, 2015.
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