Hello from other siideeeeeee! Nope, I'm not Adele (I guess.) How have you been guys? I've been working as a slave these days, and the master's is demanding more than what I frist thought; this time, I'm seriously considering to drop out, for personal reasons that don't come to the case today.
What we really care about today is about an interview I had with David Baillie, the author of Red Thorn, one of the comics I've been following this year, and which final issue comes out TOMORROW.
Luck was with me When I wrote Mr. Baillie, as he answered and, as kindly as any other human would, accepted to answer my questions, and that can be translated as "OMG I'm the happiest fanboy ever right now, envy me!" I already did, but want to say a big thank you to the great Mr. David Baillie for taking some of his time to write this.
Along with the answers, you'll find some of the preview pages of the final issue. So, here we wo!
1. Why
did you decided to work in comic books?
Comics light up my brain – they always have. I love coming across a good drawing, but as soon as a word balloon is added, it opens up a whole new world.
Shelly Bond asked me to pitch her
THE story that kept me up at night. So I wrote down all the things which
literally keep my up at night, wrapped it up in a plot, set it in Scotland and
then sent an enormous .doc to Vertigo HQ. The incredible Meghan Hetrick and I
were supposed to be working on another project, which through no fault of our
own ran aground, and so I think it was the obvious option to put us together on
this. And I'm so glad that happened since without Meghan Red Thorn would be
nothing but that pile of words in an ASCII file!
And of course I wanted to have
the Loch Ness Monster feature, but to introduce her in such a way that the
reader wasn't immediately sure who she was. I'm contrary by nature.
5. Would you say there’s something of you in the characters?
It's best to leave the party
before everyone gets bored.
And yeah – writing straight white
males gets very dull, very quickly, so I'd say it's a safe bet that I'll be
writing more LGBT characters.
11. What
are your plans now? Is there a new story you’re already working in?
David Baillie Facebook
Red Thorn Facebook
Red Thorn Twitter
I really hope to see you reading that final issue tomorrow! This has been an amazing story so far, and of course I'll be keeping an eye for new projects this man may have in mind, either reated with Red Thorn or not. You need to do the same!
What we really care about today is about an interview I had with David Baillie, the author of Red Thorn, one of the comics I've been following this year, and which final issue comes out TOMORROW.Luck was with me When I wrote Mr. Baillie, as he answered and, as kindly as any other human would, accepted to answer my questions, and that can be translated as "OMG I'm the happiest fanboy ever right now, envy me!" I already did, but want to say a big thank you to the great Mr. David Baillie for taking some of his time to write this.
Along with the answers, you'll find some of the preview pages of the final issue. So, here we wo!
READ IN SPANISH HERE!
Comics light up my brain – they always have. I love coming across a good drawing, but as soon as a word balloon is added, it opens up a whole new world.
I was talking to a novelist at
last year's NYCC and she told me that while she loved writing comics, prose is,
of course, the purest storytelling hit for a writer. It wasn't until that
conversation that I realised how strongly I disagree with that (widely
accepted) sentiment – for me comics is the primary method of conveying a
narrative. The first choice!
2. Are
there any comics that you consider your principal inspirations?
My initiation into the medium was
British B&W reprints of Stan and Jack Marvel stuff when I was three or
four. I discovered Simon Furman et al's Transformers a few years later, and
then about a decade's worth of 2000AD before, at some point in my mid-teens,
hitting Vertigo. That chunks of comics, that journey, is my canon – without
which I'd be lost.
Also: Everyone should read
Hewligans' haircut, Pulpatoon Pilgrimage and Box Office Poison.
3. How
did it came to you the main idea for Red Thorn? How was it born?
Shelly Bond asked me to pitch her
THE story that kept me up at night. So I wrote down all the things which
literally keep my up at night, wrapped it up in a plot, set it in Scotland and
then sent an enormous .doc to Vertigo HQ. The incredible Meghan Hetrick and I
were supposed to be working on another project, which through no fault of our
own ran aground, and so I think it was the obvious option to put us together on
this. And I'm so glad that happened since without Meghan Red Thorn would be
nothing but that pile of words in an ASCII file!
4. Why
Scottish mythology? Any favorite myth you wanted to explore on this comic?
I think it was largely an attempt
to recapture the sense of wonder I experienced as a child hearing weird and
wonderful myths and stories while growing up in Scotland. I wanted to use those
half-remembered, corrupted, legends rather than cherry-pick sanitised and
approved versions from a compendium.
And rather than have favourite
myths I wanted to explore it was more that I wanted to avoid using anything
with a root in faerie or Arthurian legend. Although the more I dug, the more
tempting it was to throw out that rule. (There are some great Scottish faery stories).
5. Would you say there’s something of you in the characters?
I think there has to be, or at
least there does the way I write. I always try to write away from myself,
deliberately using characteristics and traits that I don't posses, but sooner
or later I usually become aware of putting my own feet into the characters'
shoes.
6. How
has been your experience working in Red Thorn? Was it all as you dreamed it
will be?
Absolutely – bumps in the road,
and all. As creative experiences go I couldn't have asked for better.
I got to work with Meghan, Choon,
Todd Klein, Stev Oliff, Nick Filardi, Steve Pugh and Ryan Kelly. I mean, what a
team – as well as being edited by Shelly Bond, Rowena Yow, Ellie Pye and Jamie
S. Rich.
Someone asked me last week if I
was sad that we're finishing on issue thirteen – and I'm honestly not. This is
the end of the story. I did have other ideas, and stuff I wanted to do – but
the more I think about it the more I believe that it's better the way it is.
Self-contained and done.
It's best to leave the party
before everyone gets bored.
7. You
used the topic of different planes and realities in the comic, do you believe
this is a real fact of our universe?
I'm intrigued by the idea of
multiple universes, branching at the quantum level, but I'm actually probably
more fond of the story of how the theory gained acceptance in the scientific
community. Do you know it was largely the father of E from the Eels who we have
to thank?
As a storytelling tool other
realities, parallel worlds etc. is enormously fun and exciting.
But I reserve the right to
revisit this question if we ever find a way to hop between universes!
8. I saw
a couple of issues ago, a panel with Thorn surrounded by many lovers, male and
female. Does this mean that he is a LGBT character? Are we going to see
something like this in future comics?
Absolutely! One of the few things
I would have done differently is be more obviously about Thorn's pansexuality
from the very beginning. The plan was to have him take both male and female
lovers as the story progressed, but we just ran out of time!
And yeah – writing straight white
males gets very dull, very quickly, so I'd say it's a safe bet that I'll be
writing more LGBT characters.
9. Do
you believe in the supernatural? For example, the Swamp Thing we saw on the
beginning of the story. Would you say there are some strange things in this
world?
There are definitely some strange
things in this world, but I fear that they're mostly depressingly explainable
by science. My trick to preserve magic in life is to just not look too closely.
If it seems like magic, leave it be!
10. Is
issue #13 going to be the end of Red Thorn or there’s something else coming
soon?
The end, I think. Someone
recently suggested a short story collection, to use up all some of ideas I have
left over but I haven't even broached the subject with Vertigo. I think they've
only done that once – and that was with Sandman. So...
11. What
are your plans now? Is there a new story you’re already working in?
The curse of the freelance writer
is that there are always more stories. I have a miniseries / GN coming out
early next year from Dark Horse with superstar artist Conor Boyle (of Hookjaw!
fame), and a bunch of shorter comics over here in the UK. After that – who
knows?
12. Which one will be you advice for aspiring comic writers?
Don't give up. Ever!
13.
Thank you so much for your time! Hope to read that final issue soon!
I really hope you enjoy it.
Thanks, Alan!
David Baillie Facebook
Red Thorn Facebook
Red Thorn Twitter
I really hope to see you reading that final issue tomorrow! This has been an amazing story so far, and of course I'll be keeping an eye for new projects this man may have in mind, either reated with Red Thorn or not. You need to do the same!
¡Un saludo y un abrazo!
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