By: Nicole D’Andria
The Last Ember is the first series taking
place in the Emberverse universe! Published by Last Ember Press, this is the coming
of age story about the goddess of fire. I interviewed the entire creative team,
which includes several members of Comic Frontline!
Brant
Fowler, the co-founder of Last Ember Press and a Youtuber on Comic Frontline, is the writer and
letterer on the book. His experience as a writer, letterer and flatter includes
co-writing the first superhero title of Last Ember Press, Celestial Falcon, and lettering Action Lab Entertainment’s Super Human Resources. Giulia Lalli is
doing the pencils and cover while the other co-founder of Last Ember Press,
Lisa Moore, will be doing the inks and coloring. Some of Lisa’s coloring work
includes Regular Show and Garfield. The editor for the book will
be Comic Frontline’s own Jay McCathy (Jay El).
Rewards for
The Last Ember include: digital
copies of The Last Ember #0 AND #1
($3) plus their 24-Hour Comics Day project Li’l Ember ($5), a physical copy of The Last Ember #1 ($10), stickers ($15)
and more! The project will be successful if $3,500 is raised by November 18,
2017 at 12:59 AM EST. You can learn more about the project and back it on their Kickstarter page.
Enjoy
interviews with Brant Fowler, Giulia Lalli, Lisa Moore and Jay McCathy that
include an in-depth look into The Last
Ember and advice for their various comic book professions:
 |
| Brant Fowler |
Me: On your Last Ember Press blog, you explain that the
concept for Ember was born out of the logo. Can you tell us more about that?
Brant Fowler: Sure. When we finally
came up with the name, we knew we wanted to include some sort of flame. I
looked at a lot of references and came up with something that I felt was
familiar, but with a little unique flare to it (no pun intended). Once I had
finalized the flame, the first thing Lisa said to me upon looking at it was “It
looks like the silhouette of a girl in the middle of the flame, did you do that
on purpose?” Sadly, I had to admit that no, that was not my intention. She
thought it would have been really clever if I had. Ha ha.
After she
pointed it out and I realized she was right it started the wheels turning. At
that point, everyone involved with LEP had a book they wanted to do… except me.
I mean sure, there are ideas I have, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to focus
on. This happy accident of a girl being in the midst of the flames stood out as
an opportunity. The three of us (Lisa, myself and John, our co-founder) started
brainstorming concepts and landed on what eventually became The Last Ember! It’s kind of a
no-brainer she controls fire, right?
Me: What about Ember made you fall in love with her
and turned her story into such a passion project for you?
Fowler: It’s really hard to pinpoint one moment, idea
or thing about Ember that turned it into a passion project for me. I’d have to
say it was just how it all came together. I never dreamed Last Ember Press
would be a thing, and when it began I didn’t know what I was going to write.
Then Ember leaped out from the flames… it all just dropped into place piece by
piece. It felt right, you know? It felt like this character and this book were
supposed to come into being.
The more
I thought about Ember and the more we fleshed out her personality and her world
the more I fell in love with her as a character. There was something special
about her more than any other character I’ve written. She spoke to me. She felt
real and unique. And when you’re talking about fire-based female comic book
characters that uniqueness is not an easy to come by trait. Ha ha.
Everyone
that knows me knows I love fantasy and swords and sorcery stories. But writing-wise,
my strength, I feel, is in coming of age relatable characters. It’s the kind of
character I was always drawn to growing up, like Spider-Man. Combining those
two fandoms of mine and tossing in a little mythology and heritage into the mix
really made Ember stand out.
Me: Who are some of
the important members of the supporting cast and villains in The Last
Ember?
Fowler: As we kick off The Last Ember #1, in the first few
pages we are introduced to a mysterious cloaked individual who is watching
Ember. This person has a huge role to play going forward, and that will come to
light over the course of the series.
Beyond the mystery figure, we’ve already met some of Ember’s
supporting cast in The Last Ember #0.
Her circle of friends, Gaby, Danny and Kendall will all continue to play a
role. Specifically, we’ll see a lot more of Kendall. He’s got a little crush on
Ember and is always by her side.
We’ve also met some of Ember’s family and we’ll be learning a lot
more about them. Ember has a close, but metered relationship with her mother,
and a complicated one with her father. We’re also going to be meeting Ember’s
grandmother in the near future and she’ll have a role in what’s happening with
Ember.
 |
| The Last Ember #1 Page 1 |
Me: You mention the
comic has “potentially… some cool extras”. Can you name some of these
possibilities?
Fowler: Ha, well, we
might toss in some cool stuff at the end of the book like sketches, the script
for issue #1, and other nice extras like that if funding hits what we’re hoping
for. Maybe we’ll do a director’s cut version of the book, I don’t know. It’s
too early to say. But we will definitely be talking about all of that as we
near the end of the campaign!
Me: The Last Ember is the
beginning of the Emberverse universe. What can you tell us about your future
plans with this universe?
Fowler: I can’t say a
whole lot because I don’t want to give too much away or overhype it before
we’re ready. What I will say is that I have to give credit to John Wilson here.
He had a character with a certain story he wanted to explore. That character’s
story set the groundwork for what would become the Emberverse. We’ll be seeing
that character at some point too.
What I can tell you is that the Emberverse is not a superhero
universe… not really. Yes, there will be people with extraordinary abilities,
but for the most part there are no capes and tights and things like that.
Mythology – both traditional and our unique spin – will play a large part of
the Emberverse, its characters and the threats that they face.
Me: What is the
number one reason people should pledge money to this Kickstarter?
Fowler: Man, this is a
hard one.
Ok, The Last Ember is
the birth of something new, something special. She is the flagship of Last
Ember Press, she’s the central character of the Emberverse. Supporting this
Kickstarter gets you in on the ground floor of this world building journey and
introduces you firsthand to the key character of the universe. If you like
coming of age stories about unassuming heroes discovering themselves and the
world around them, you’ll want to back this Kickstarter. If you like fantasy,
mythology in a real world setting with just a little superhero flare, you’ll
want to back this Kickstarter. And if you like supporting independent comics by
creators passionate both for the medium and the characters they create, you’ll
definitely want to back this Kickstarter!
How’s that?
Me: What
inspirational words do you have for aspiring writers?
Fowler: Never give up.
It’s cliché, maybe a little trite, but it’s true nevertheless. If your passion
is writing, hone your craft and never stop trying to succeed.
Also, I always heard the phrase “write what you know” but never
really understood what that meant for the longest time. I knew wrestling, the
Bible, G.I. Joe… was I supposed to write about these things? I studied computer
science and business, was this my area of expertise to write about? When I
finally understood what that phrase actually meant, projects like The Last Ember came much more naturally
to me.
Basically what it means is take your life experiences, pull from
them and pour them into your writing. If you had a rocky upbringing, but
overcame it and made something of yourself against all odds, or even if you’re
still struggling to do that, write that! That’s basically Peter Parker. If you
can relate to what you’re writing, others will too.
Me: What’s the most
important thing people interested in lettering comics should know?
Fowler: Good lettering
won’t even be noticed. Bad lettering will make a book look terrible. Great
lettering will illuminate the work it’s paired with and at the same time make
you take notice without taking you out of the story. Oh, and learn all the
basics, master them, then break the rules.
 |
| Lisa Moore |
Me: What has been your favorite page to
work on in The Last Ember #1 and why
is it your favorite?
Lisa Moore: Well actually
my favorite "page" so far to work on has been the cover for the
issue. Guilia did such an amazing job on this one, the pose was
amazing. It almost had a religious feel to it for me. Just the
placement of the flame. I had a fun time working out the lighting on that
one.
Me: You are also a co-founder of Last
Ember Press with Brant. How did the idea for this publishing company come to be
and how did you go about putting it into motion?
Moore: At the time
Brant and I were both working exclusively for other publishers. We had
both attempted our own personal projects but hadn't seen any of them reach a
point where we could consistently release anything. So we were just
talking one day about how we wanted to eventually work for ourselves, putting
out projects we were passionate about. After that discussion, we pulled John
Wilson in and decided to have our first book be Pneumatic Cases, which John had written. It was a struggle at
the beginning and still is at times, but we are learning more and more with
each project and I believe we are getting stronger as creators and business
owners. So keep an eye out, much more to come!
 |
| The Last Ember #1 Page 2 |
Me: What is the number one reason people
should pledge money to this Kickstarter?
Moore: I honestly just
love the story. So that is my biggest reason people should pledge. You're
going to love the book! Brant is crafting something here that we are all really
proud of. I'm a sucker for mythology so it's even more intriguing for me,
knowing more and more of that will begin to show up as the story progresses.
Me: What inspirational words do you have
for aspiring artists and colorists?
Moore: I had
absolutely no idea I was going to fall into this career. It just kind of
happened. I didn't have any training, I learned from practice and the kind
people that post tutorials and helpful information online. So don't ever think
this is something you can't do. All you have to do is put in the time to
learn your craft, whatever that may be. Put in the time and you will
succeed.
 |
| Giulia Lalli |
Me: How did you get
involved with The Last Ember?
Giulia Lalli: Brant Fowler and
Lisa Moore found me on DevinatART and they simply ask me if I wanted to try to
do a couple of sample pages for their Last
Ember project, so I tried. It went pretty well and then they hired me as their
penciller.
Me: What has been
your favorite page to work on in The Last Ember #1 and why is
it your favorite?
Lalli: Actually, I don't
have a favorite page. I enjoyed drawing all of them, but of course the last
page was the most important one because it was the proof that I made it within
the deadline terms! XD
 |
| The Last Ember #1 Page 3 |
Me: What is the
number one reason people should pledge money to this Kickstarter?
Lalli: The number one
reason to me is because this project is full of passion from the creators. They
put their own soul in this project and they want to share it with the readers. Last Ember has a fiery soul, you can see
it yourself starting from this Kickstarter!
Me: What
inspirational words do you have for aspiring artists?
Lalli: The only words I
can say to my colleague artists are just... try everything; don't be stuck on
one single drawing style, watch your favorite artists and learn how they do
their job, take inspiration and a working method from them; never stop drawing
and give yourselves time to get better every single day step by step, you don't
need to rush... if you have passion and especially determination, you will make
it!
 |
| Jay McCarthy (Jay El) |
Me: How did you get
involved with The Last Ember?
Jay McCarthy: I have known Brant & Lisa for years now and I
have been talking to Brant for a while about the book because I am also the
PR/Social Media Director of Last Ember Press, so I have been a part of it in
that capacity. Then one day Brant asked me if I could help him out by editing
the book, and I said yes. How could I not? Brant had been talking to me about
the book for while in an official and in a friend capacity, and I loved what I
was hearing about it!
Me: What is the
number one reason people should pledge money to this Kickstarter?
McCarthy: Just one? Ok, then I will skip the fact that
Brant is truly a great guy and stick with the work itself. From writing, to
pencils, to inks, to colors, this book is well done. You can check my
Kickstarter backing history. I am VERY selective with who I back, I have to
personally believe in the project and have an interest in it, and I do with The Last Ember. The story is an amazing
and gripping one that gives you a great mix of a coming of age story, high
action fantasy and mythology. So why should you back it? Because it is an
AMAZING book done by an AMAZING group of people with a true love and passion
for it.
 |
| The Last Ember #1 Page 4 |
Me: What tips do you
have for people when editing comic books?
McCarthy: Don't be distant, know the writer and talk to
them, because that relationship helps you see from their creative point of view
and allows you to edit in a more organic way.
Me: A big thanks to the entire creative team for
taking the time to give us a peak into the world of Emberverse! Check out their
Kickstarter for The Last Ember #1 here.
 |
| The Last Ember #1 Page 5 |
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