By: Nicole D’Andria
Xenoglyphs and its sequel series Separators come together in this graphic
novel collection. A group of heroes commit themselves to keeping the
Xenoglyphs, nine stones with elemental powers, separated to avoid a great
calamity. I spoke with the creative team to learn more about their experience
creating the series and why you should consider backing it.
Omar
Spahi, the founder and CEO of OSSM Comics, is the creator/writer of Xenoglyphs. He has previously worked on Sons
of the Devil, Hadrian's Wall, and Thaniel. He’s also the executive producer of Code 8 and has written for
Entrepreneur, Inman, Bleeding Cool, Clutchpoints, and was featured in The
Wall Street Journal.
PJ
Catacutan is the art director for OSSM Comics. He does the pencils, inks, and
colors for Xenoglyphs. His other work
includes Marvel trading cards through Upper Deck, which were featured at New
York Comic-Con
The Xenoglyphs Kickstarter is trying to
raise $10,000 by March 1, 2018 at 3:11 AM EST. Rewards include the digital ($5)
and physical ($10) remastered first issue, various Twitter shoutouts, an OSSM
Comics keychain ($15) as well as the TPB for the first volume ($20). Fans can
even get 18 issues of the comic plus the remastered issue 1 with variant covers
($60). There are plenty of other reward options going up to $2,500. You can see
the rest of them on their Kickstarter page.
I spoke
in-depth with Omar and PJ about the complete Xenoglyphs series:
 |
| Omar Spahi |
Me: What can you tell us about the
protagonists, Steven James and Dom Jenkins, as well as the villain,
Anubis?
Spahi:
When it comes to Steven, he's got tunnel vision in
the hopes that his parents are still alive. He doesn't talk a lot, but he says
enough. Dom is my favorite character, he's silly, goofy, think of Spider-Man's
quips and sense of humor at every turn.
Anubis believes he can collect all nine stones to
remake the world in his image. He wants to feed his ego, because he believes
his way is the only way.
Me: If you could use only one of the Xenoglyphs in
your everyday life, which one would you choose and how would you use it?
Spahi:
Without a doubt, the Light stone. The Light stone
has the ability to heal people; I would go back and save all the people I could
save and try to make the world a better place by helping whoever I could.
Me: What do you think is the number one reason
people should pledge money to your Kickstarter project?
Spahi:
To support indie comics. I think that most people
have no idea how hard it is to make a comic book come to life from idea,
outline, script, layouts, pencils, inks, colors, lettering and edits. Most people
only see a final product; they don't understand the time and money it takes to
get there.
Me: Can you tell us a bit about why you founded
OSSM Comics and what your company’s mission statement is?
Spahi:
The mission statement has evolved for the next phase
of the company. It's gone from making quality comics to helping others make
quality comics, whenever there's an opportunity to help others’ achieve their
goals and dreams. I take great pride in helping others.
Me: You mention that you want to write for Marvel
or DC Comics someday. If you got the opportunity to write any one title for
them, what title would it be and why? Give us an idea what story you would
pitch to them!
Spahi:
I've always gravitated to the Flash, he's what got
me into comics. If I'm being honest, I would have him outrun the devils (Neron,
Etrigan, Lucifer, Trigon, etc.) on 7 different levels of the hell to save Iris.
There is romance and truth in it, in a way we all have to outrun our demons to
make our relationships work with the ones we love.
Me: What inspirational words do you have for
aspiring comic book writers?
Spahi:
Make great comic books. Stop talking about it, open
up a notepad and start writing and drawing. Make sure you work them and rework
them until they're quality and find a way to get them out.
 |
| PJ Catacutan |
Me: What was your favorite page/panel to draw so
far in Xenoglyphs and why?
PJ Catacutan:
I love
fight scenes. And the first time I ever drew a semi-fight scene for the first
issue (Steven and Dom vs the crowd in Egypt) was a big learning moment for me
as a comic illustrator. I did a bunch of things wrong and while we went further
into the story and the issues, it’s always been a reference point to see how
much I’ve learned since then. I’m so happy I got to remaster the first issue
and got the chance to improve that panel and the whole page really.
Me: Who is your favorite character to draw in the
series and why do they stand out among the others?
Catacutan: I like drawing the girls of XenoGlyphs,
especially Jennifer and Bailey when they’re together. Their scenes demand a lot
of quirky gestures and expressions like when one is annoyed by the other and
stuff, and I love how I get to play with that. Drawing Dom is fun too.
 |
| Page 8 Remastered |
Me: If you could use only one of the Xenoglyphs in
your everyday life, which one would you choose and how would you use it?
Catacutan: My altruistic side says the Light Xenoglyph
because there’s so much suffering in the world that can be ended with that
stone. If I were being selfish, I’d pick the Wind Xenoglyph just so I could
fly.
Me: What do you think is the number one reason
people should pledge money to your Kickstarter project?
Catacutan: The time we’ve spent crafting the Xenoglyphs
series (over five years) shows just how much dedication we have in our story.
We have grown alongside the series and through the years; we’ve been exposed to
a rich and engaging world that we wish to share with everyone.
Me: Working as the art director for OSSM Comics,
what is a typical work day like for you and what is the highlight of your day?
Catacutan: Besides Xenoglyphs, I’ve had my hands on
other projects under OSSM and I’ve designed characters, logos and such for
other titles. These past few weeks as we’ve been busy finishing the series,
I’ve been spending my days in front of my table drawing away. As for the
highlight, it’s when I get a panel or an expression or a look right. Comic book
artists are expected to know how to draw everything the script throws at them
and sometimes it’s a challenge drawing something, like a man staring from
within a cave in space surrounded by time machines, a really rad rec room, a
bedroom, old-timey memorabilia, and a computer system that is yet to be
conceptualized—the highlight comes when I get something like this right.
PS: That
was an actual panel I did for another title. ;)
 |
| Page 11 Remastered |
Me: What inspirational words do you have for
aspiring comic book artists and colorists?
Catacutan: Not really inspirational words but more
like an advice: Never stop practicing. And for colorists, learn coloring
traditionally first and digital coloring won’t be a problem.
Me: Thank you for taking the time to share the
world of Xenoglyphs with me! If
you’re reading this and interested in checking out the project, see their
official Kickstarter here.
Do you
have a Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project
featured on "Kickstart the Week?" Let me know in the comments below
or message me on my website.
Other “Kickstart the Week” features:
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