Post by John Helmer on Jan 3, 2011 0:16:40 GMT -5
www.firstcomicsnews.com/?p=18579
Surprising Comics¡¯ Mark F. Davis
By Phil Latter¨C December 30, 2010
Like most of us, Mark F. Davis grew up reading, enjoying, and revelling in the fictional exploitis of larger-then-life comic book heroes, from his early teens, to the present day.
Unlike most of us, however, Mark F. Davis chose to follow his dreams, of one day working in the comic book industry; and eventually, he did just that!
Phil Latter: To begin, I¡¯d like to start with a few basic questions, such as: When and where were you born, and where did you grow up and go to school?
Mark F. Davis: I was born in a small town in Illinois, many moons ago. My family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, when I was 8, and I¡¯ve mostly lived there, since. This is where I attended school.
PL: Did you grow up as a child, reading or collecting comic books? Where, how and when did that interest or passion start?
M F.D: Although I had read and enjoyed comics on occasion before age 13, that was the age when I really plunged into comic book reading and collecting, wholeheartedly. A friend of the family gave me a stack of Marvel comic books. In that stack was Avengers #100 and Defenders #1, among others.
PL: Barry Windsor Smith had a hand in Avengers # 100, though he was known only as Barry Smith, then. What titles did you buy, read, and/-or collect, and which were your favourite characters?
M F.D: Back then, Marvels were only 20 cents each, and I was able to save my lunch money, and literally buy the entire line Marvel put out.
PL: It¡¯s like the old joke, Mark: ¡°When I have money, I buy books. If there¡¯s any money left over, I buy food, and pay my rent!¡± LOL
M F.D I have definately missed meals on more than one occasion to buy comics. Not lately, though. LOL
M F.D: My favorites were Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. Back then, The Fantastic Four was considered every bit as key a title as Spider-Man was. It doesn¡¯t seem like that book gets much respect, anymore. The stature of The X-Men has increased quite a bit, since those days.
PL: Well, these days, The Amazing Spider- man is sometimes a weekly, and other months, a bi-weekly. What kind of talent can you get, willing to work at that grinding pace? And, quality would just have to go¡right out the window! Myself, I was a child of the 1960¡äs, growing up with ¡®The Marvel Age of Comics¡¯, also known as The Silver Age of comic books. The Fantastic Four, and The Amazing Spider-Man then, were considered the Cream Of The Crop at that time, and The X-Men was actually a money loser, though quite a high-quality and exciting title. And yet, it only lasted 66 issues, until it went all-reprint. It wasn¡¯t until Giant-Size X-Men # 1 and X-Men # 94, with the all new X-Men team, that that title really took off!
M F.D I remember when I first saw Giant-Size X-Men #1, I thought to myself ¡°What¡¯s happening to comics?¡± I loved the original X-Men. I later came around and read the Chris Claremont/ John Byrne/ TerryAustin run. I think you have to include Austin in any conversation about The X-Men, along with Dave Cockrum, of course, on the creators of that great relaunch. I have to admit that it was a good idea, after all, to relaunch the title with a new team, given the quality of creators Marvel had to do it with.
PL: Oh, yeah. The late Dave Cockrum started out strutting his dynamic art style, commencing with X-Men # 94 and Giant Size X-Men # 1, and besides, the original X-Men, or most of them, were also in the first couple of new X-Men issues, when the relaunch started, with those afformentioned two issues, in the 1970¡äs.
Have you had any formal art training, or are you mostly self-taught? If formal art training, where did you attend that academic school, and where?
M F.D: I like to joke that I can¡¯t draw a dot, though that¡¯s not far from the truth. I¡¯ve tried to learn to draw, but I seem entirely unable to do so. I¡¯ve had to rely on writing, plotting, and editing only, in order to be involved in the process of comic book storytelling.
PL: I¡¯m an artist myself, and wanted, when I was young, to be a comic book artist. But, life got in the way. Still, I¡¯ve enjoyed the hobby for 40 plus years, and I like to draw as a hobby, so there you go¡ I¡¯ve done some fiction writing for fanzines and some other publications. But you broke into the industry, and that¡¯s always exciting!
M F.D I¡¯d really like to see some of your art, Phil. I have the utmost respect for every creator I come in contact with, especially those who are as dedicated to the hobby as you are. I¡¯m really doing this for love. I consider it a privilege, working in comics. I particulary enjoy encouraging other creators to advance their stories and ideas, and their abilities in the field.
PL: I¡¯ll be pleased to show you some of my stuff, Mark.
How old were you, when you started writing? Did you take any courses in that field, on learning to write, or was it mainly inspiration, zest, and a natural talent?
M F.D I was interested in writing comics, and I dabbled in it, since my late teens. I took one creative writing class in college. Aside from that, I¡¯ve read some articles and the like on what other writers say about the craft.
PL: How did you get involved with Red Leaf Comics, Mark?
M F.D: The owner of Red Leaf Comics, John Michael Helmer, and I, had worked together at my publishing company, Surprising Comics, prior to his starting Red Leaf Comics. He has been my Senior Editor from the start, and conversely, I¡¯m his Senior Editor at Red Leaf.
John is a prolific writer, having created hundreds of comic book characters, and he has seemingly boundless energy and ability. I truly believe his character ¡®Canada¡¯s Greatest Hero The Leaf¡¯ will end up helping put Red Leaf Comics on the map!
PL: I¡¯m in full agreement with you, Mark. Having ordered previously, and having read and enjoyed both Surprising Comics # 1 and # 2, I also feel that The Leaf is, or are, great characters, both The Golden Age Leaf, and the Present Day Leaf! And further, the character looks incredibly dynamic!
PL: Mark, can you discuss with me, please, some of your writing ideas and/-or plans for storylines regarding the characters upcoming in The Leaf comic book series, as well as any other titles that may be upcoming from Red Leaf Comics?
M F. D: Sure. At the moment, one of the stories I¡¯m focusing on is CFAR: The Clinic For Alien Research. Dr. Gary Witt runs the clinic, which administers to people who have been abducted by aliens, or who have otherwise had traumatic or incredible experiences with aliens. Aside from giving those folks therapy, or otherwise treating them, which could include checking into the clinic, Dr. Witt¡¯s organization also researches the UFO phenomenon. We¡¯ll be taking a look at animal mutilations, visitations, crop circles, and more. We¡¯ll run into the only human who can read crop circles. Paul Moore has been providing outstanding artwork for CFAR!
PL: A character who can ¡®read¡¯ crop circles? LOL Now, that does sound like an interesting, fun story!
M F D: My superhero, ¡®Skyscraper¡¯, has appeared in Surprising Theater issues # 1 and # 2, and we¡¯ll be seeing more of him, down the road. My hero The American Guard will be appearing in a Red Leaf Comics¡¯ issue, and then he will be featured in Surprising Theater #5, which will sport an outstanding cover and interior artwork by Kenneth M. Johnston. The American Guard will appear in The Leaf #2, in a short story I scripted that also features my villain Laughingstock.
PL: Laughingstock? Now, that¡¯s an interesting name for a character. What can you tell us about him, Mark? And how did you come up with him?
M F.D: Laughingstock is a homicidal man with no home. He has certain¡.abnormalities that he¡¯s been unable to cope with. He is a real wild card roaming around in the Surprising Comics and Red Leaf Comics universes.
PL: Mark, where do you get your ideas from?
M F.D: Actually, John Michael Helmer asked me that same question, once. I really don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve always held the philosophy that ideas are free, and if you come up with enough of them, some are bound to be good. LOL
M F. D: Also, my hero The Canadian Guard will appear not only in Surprising Comics, but in Red Leaf Comics, as well. My cohorts and I have many other characters and stories we¡¯re working on, also.
The late Steve Perry, best known for writing Thundercats and creating and writing Time Spirits, wrote a story for me, shortly before his unfortunate passing. It¡¯s a great story, really, and it will be published in Surprising Theater #4, due out in March of 2011.
PL: Steve Perry. Now, that¡¯s a name I haven¡¯t read of nor seen, in many, many years. Although, maybe I¡¯ve been reading the wrong comics. I loved Time Spirits, from Epic/ Marvel.
M F. D: Superb artists Steve Williams and Stuart Berryhill provide art for that gem. Writer Jonathan Gilbert will be bringing Skywald¡¯s The Heap to Surprising Comics.
PL: That¡¯s interesting; I always loved The Heap. Did you know that The Heap was originally a Hillman Periodicals¡¯ swamp creature from The Airboy comic book series, in the 1940¡äs? And, of course, decades later, the character almost certainly inspired Swamp Thing at DC Comics, and Man-Thing at Marvel.
Eclipse Comics later resuscitated The Heap, in the pages of the NEW Airboy adventures, many, many years ago now, in addition to Valkyrie, Sky Wolf, The Flying Fool, The Black Angel, and others. Now, Moonstone is putting out Airfighters, also with NEW adventures of all of those characters; the third issue just came out. Those now Public Domain characters are a lot of fun! It¡¯ll be great to see what adventures The Heap gets into, at Surprising Comics!
Hillman Periodicals in the 1940¡äs also had a Sgt Strike character, also revived by Eclipse Comics, decades later. AC Comics had a character with that name, as well.
It¡¯s such a cool name, that it should be used again!
MF.D: Honestly, a couple of those characters you¡¯ve mentioned here, I¡¯ve never heard of. I¡¯m going to have to check them out!
PL: Two of the characters in your upcoming comics you have told me of thus far, have the names The Canadian Guard, and The American Guard.
Is the similarity in their hero names just a coincidence, in terms of these upcoming storylines, or did these characters, in terms of the fiction of these future comics¡¯ stories, decide themselves to name their hero names to play off each other?
MF.D: The names are similar, intentionally. There¡¯s a coming threat to the world where more Guards are going to be revealed, in addition to The American Guard and The Canadian Guard. Each Guard lives in the region he or she is named for. I don¡¯t want to go into more detail, at the moment. One thing you¡¯ll probably never see me do, is give out the name of one of my characters that hasn¡¯t seen print yet, or isn¡¯t at least at the printer awaiting to be brought to life, through the magic of the printed comic book!
PL: There¡¯s absolutely nothing wrong with that, Mark. To tell us too much, too soon, would probably be a lot like the kid who sneaks downstairs on Christmas eve, after mom and dad have gone off to bed. The kid unwraps all of the presents addressed to him.
The next morning, everyone in the household is incredibly disappointed, including this very naughty little boy! LOL
PL: What, if any, female characters will be in future issues of Surprising Comics, and also Red Leaf Comics? And, what about supporting characters, both male and female? What can you tell us about them?
MF.D: I do have a couple of female superheroes forthcoming, but I can¡¯t say anything about them, as yet. As far as supporting characters goes, I¡¯ve done some fairly extensive developing of some of the characters in CFAR. Ed Travelston is actually the lead character in that series, being driven by an absolutely incredible Close Encounter he had, as a Senior in High School. You¡¯ll get to witness that encounter in the first couple pages of CFAR. That encounter really motivates his entire life, and is the drive behind CFAR. Ed starts the Clinic For Alien Research, hiring a team of elite UFO and Alien researchers, including Dr. Gary Witt, who runs the Clinic.
M F.D: Legendary small press writer Lloyd Smith, who published under his label Blue Moon Comics Group in the nineties, provided a story for Surprising Theater #1 that starred his character, Sgt. Freedom. I really owe quite a debt to Lloyd Smith. It was really amazing what he accomplished with Blue Moon Comics. He showed me this could be done. Also, it was through Blue Moon Comics, that I first got in touch with talented writer Jonathan Gilbert. Plans are in the works for Lloyd Smith to provide more scripts for Surprising Comics, in 2011. And speaking of Lloyd¡¯s old company, Blue Moon Comics, veteran T. Warren Montgomery, who did some work there, has been doing outstanding lettering work for both Surprising Comics and Red Leaf Comics, and he will be providing a pin-up for Surprising Theater #4. And then, he¡¯ll be bringing one of his own characters to Surprising Comics, also.
John Pettus is bringing a story to Surprising Comics in issue 5 of Surprising Theater, and he will also be supplying more stories to Surprising Comics.
Marvel Comics veteran artist Seppo Makinen will have an upcoming story published in our flagship title.
George E. Warner has done great production and lettering work for us.
Randy Valiente has been one of our steadiest, and most talented artists. I¡¯ve really been blessed by the creators who¡¯ve helped me get my comic book publishing company up and running!
PL: Well, it certainly is apparent that, between The Surprising Comics Group, and Red Leaf Comics, that the stables are chock-full of ¡®surprising¡¯ talent! Sounds like some exciting times ahead for both companies, and all the titles they¡¯ll manage to put out between them, from both publishing houses, full of imaginative ideas!
PL: You know, Mark, I¡¯d like to mention something you just reminded me of, in passing. I¡¯ve seen some covers for those 1990¡äs Blue Moon Comics, on websites, but I have never, ever been successful in tracking down any copies ¨C not a single one ¨C to read, enjoy, and add to my collection. Any chance you could put me in touch with Lloyd Smith, after the interview. I¡¯d like to discuss that with him, make an enquiry as to where I can purchase back issues of those¡
M F. D: I¡¯ll absolutely put you in touch with Lloyd, Phil. In fact, he¡¯d make a great interview subject for you!
PL: I just emailed him, thanks to the email address you provided me, and hopefully, he will be willing to be interviewed. I¡¯d like to know all about Blue Moon Comics, and everything that he has done before, during, and since! Hopefully, he¡¯ll bite. Smile.
PL: By the way, I did want to mention one thing that I recommend that you pass on to John Helmer, for me. I¡¯ve noticed that he currently sells issues of Surprising Comics featuring his self-created Canadian-motif heroes, on ebay. I¡¯ve been searching for and buying Canadian-written, illustrated and Canuck-published comic books for my reading pleasure and collecting, for decades. This includes American comic books containing Canadian type heroes, vintage 1940¡äs ¡®Canadian Whites¡¯, and so on. The point is, I search in-depth for vintage Canadian comic books on ebay, constantly. Aside from searching for specific vintage and rare titles, myself and numerous others search for them often, using keywords ¡®Canadian Comics.¡¯
The point is, John Helmer apparently uses keywords ¡®Canada Comics¡¯, to list his published comics containing self-created Canadian heroes, however, not many collectors of these search ebay under those keywords. If you wouldn¡¯t mind, perhaps mention to him to add keyword ¡®Canadian¡® as well, otherwise, a lot of collectors of these will not even find Surprising Comics, The Leaf, or Red Leaf Comics on ebay.
By adding that one keyword for his comics title wares on ebay, ¡®Canadian¡¯, I predict that John Helmer¡¯s sales of these will go up quite a bit!
M F.D I really appreciate that tip, Phil, and I¡¯m sure John will as well, and make those adjustments. Aside from his Canadian hero The Leaf appearing in my company¡¯s title Surprising Theater, within the next few weeks, the first issue of the ongoing series ¡®Canada¡¯s Greatest Hero The Leaf from Red Leaf Comics¡¯, will be hitting the stands, and eBay, as well.
PL: That would certainly be a major step towards putting both Surprising Comics, as well as Red Leaf Comics, ¡®on the map¡¯, a phrase you employed, earlier. And then¡..what comes next? Posters? Action figures? The sky¡¯s the limit-!
Mark, thank you for talking me today!
Phil Latter for FIRST COMICS NEWS!
Surprising Comics¡¯ Mark F. Davis
By Phil Latter¨C December 30, 2010
Like most of us, Mark F. Davis grew up reading, enjoying, and revelling in the fictional exploitis of larger-then-life comic book heroes, from his early teens, to the present day.
Unlike most of us, however, Mark F. Davis chose to follow his dreams, of one day working in the comic book industry; and eventually, he did just that!
Phil Latter: To begin, I¡¯d like to start with a few basic questions, such as: When and where were you born, and where did you grow up and go to school?
Mark F. Davis: I was born in a small town in Illinois, many moons ago. My family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, when I was 8, and I¡¯ve mostly lived there, since. This is where I attended school.
PL: Did you grow up as a child, reading or collecting comic books? Where, how and when did that interest or passion start?
M F.D: Although I had read and enjoyed comics on occasion before age 13, that was the age when I really plunged into comic book reading and collecting, wholeheartedly. A friend of the family gave me a stack of Marvel comic books. In that stack was Avengers #100 and Defenders #1, among others.
PL: Barry Windsor Smith had a hand in Avengers # 100, though he was known only as Barry Smith, then. What titles did you buy, read, and/-or collect, and which were your favourite characters?
M F.D: Back then, Marvels were only 20 cents each, and I was able to save my lunch money, and literally buy the entire line Marvel put out.
PL: It¡¯s like the old joke, Mark: ¡°When I have money, I buy books. If there¡¯s any money left over, I buy food, and pay my rent!¡± LOL
M F.D I have definately missed meals on more than one occasion to buy comics. Not lately, though. LOL
M F.D: My favorites were Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. Back then, The Fantastic Four was considered every bit as key a title as Spider-Man was. It doesn¡¯t seem like that book gets much respect, anymore. The stature of The X-Men has increased quite a bit, since those days.
PL: Well, these days, The Amazing Spider- man is sometimes a weekly, and other months, a bi-weekly. What kind of talent can you get, willing to work at that grinding pace? And, quality would just have to go¡right out the window! Myself, I was a child of the 1960¡äs, growing up with ¡®The Marvel Age of Comics¡¯, also known as The Silver Age of comic books. The Fantastic Four, and The Amazing Spider-Man then, were considered the Cream Of The Crop at that time, and The X-Men was actually a money loser, though quite a high-quality and exciting title. And yet, it only lasted 66 issues, until it went all-reprint. It wasn¡¯t until Giant-Size X-Men # 1 and X-Men # 94, with the all new X-Men team, that that title really took off!
M F.D I remember when I first saw Giant-Size X-Men #1, I thought to myself ¡°What¡¯s happening to comics?¡± I loved the original X-Men. I later came around and read the Chris Claremont/ John Byrne/ TerryAustin run. I think you have to include Austin in any conversation about The X-Men, along with Dave Cockrum, of course, on the creators of that great relaunch. I have to admit that it was a good idea, after all, to relaunch the title with a new team, given the quality of creators Marvel had to do it with.
PL: Oh, yeah. The late Dave Cockrum started out strutting his dynamic art style, commencing with X-Men # 94 and Giant Size X-Men # 1, and besides, the original X-Men, or most of them, were also in the first couple of new X-Men issues, when the relaunch started, with those afformentioned two issues, in the 1970¡äs.
Have you had any formal art training, or are you mostly self-taught? If formal art training, where did you attend that academic school, and where?
M F.D: I like to joke that I can¡¯t draw a dot, though that¡¯s not far from the truth. I¡¯ve tried to learn to draw, but I seem entirely unable to do so. I¡¯ve had to rely on writing, plotting, and editing only, in order to be involved in the process of comic book storytelling.
PL: I¡¯m an artist myself, and wanted, when I was young, to be a comic book artist. But, life got in the way. Still, I¡¯ve enjoyed the hobby for 40 plus years, and I like to draw as a hobby, so there you go¡ I¡¯ve done some fiction writing for fanzines and some other publications. But you broke into the industry, and that¡¯s always exciting!
M F.D I¡¯d really like to see some of your art, Phil. I have the utmost respect for every creator I come in contact with, especially those who are as dedicated to the hobby as you are. I¡¯m really doing this for love. I consider it a privilege, working in comics. I particulary enjoy encouraging other creators to advance their stories and ideas, and their abilities in the field.
PL: I¡¯ll be pleased to show you some of my stuff, Mark.
How old were you, when you started writing? Did you take any courses in that field, on learning to write, or was it mainly inspiration, zest, and a natural talent?
M F.D I was interested in writing comics, and I dabbled in it, since my late teens. I took one creative writing class in college. Aside from that, I¡¯ve read some articles and the like on what other writers say about the craft.
PL: How did you get involved with Red Leaf Comics, Mark?
M F.D: The owner of Red Leaf Comics, John Michael Helmer, and I, had worked together at my publishing company, Surprising Comics, prior to his starting Red Leaf Comics. He has been my Senior Editor from the start, and conversely, I¡¯m his Senior Editor at Red Leaf.
John is a prolific writer, having created hundreds of comic book characters, and he has seemingly boundless energy and ability. I truly believe his character ¡®Canada¡¯s Greatest Hero The Leaf¡¯ will end up helping put Red Leaf Comics on the map!
PL: I¡¯m in full agreement with you, Mark. Having ordered previously, and having read and enjoyed both Surprising Comics # 1 and # 2, I also feel that The Leaf is, or are, great characters, both The Golden Age Leaf, and the Present Day Leaf! And further, the character looks incredibly dynamic!
PL: Mark, can you discuss with me, please, some of your writing ideas and/-or plans for storylines regarding the characters upcoming in The Leaf comic book series, as well as any other titles that may be upcoming from Red Leaf Comics?
M F. D: Sure. At the moment, one of the stories I¡¯m focusing on is CFAR: The Clinic For Alien Research. Dr. Gary Witt runs the clinic, which administers to people who have been abducted by aliens, or who have otherwise had traumatic or incredible experiences with aliens. Aside from giving those folks therapy, or otherwise treating them, which could include checking into the clinic, Dr. Witt¡¯s organization also researches the UFO phenomenon. We¡¯ll be taking a look at animal mutilations, visitations, crop circles, and more. We¡¯ll run into the only human who can read crop circles. Paul Moore has been providing outstanding artwork for CFAR!
PL: A character who can ¡®read¡¯ crop circles? LOL Now, that does sound like an interesting, fun story!
M F D: My superhero, ¡®Skyscraper¡¯, has appeared in Surprising Theater issues # 1 and # 2, and we¡¯ll be seeing more of him, down the road. My hero The American Guard will be appearing in a Red Leaf Comics¡¯ issue, and then he will be featured in Surprising Theater #5, which will sport an outstanding cover and interior artwork by Kenneth M. Johnston. The American Guard will appear in The Leaf #2, in a short story I scripted that also features my villain Laughingstock.
PL: Laughingstock? Now, that¡¯s an interesting name for a character. What can you tell us about him, Mark? And how did you come up with him?
M F.D: Laughingstock is a homicidal man with no home. He has certain¡.abnormalities that he¡¯s been unable to cope with. He is a real wild card roaming around in the Surprising Comics and Red Leaf Comics universes.
PL: Mark, where do you get your ideas from?
M F.D: Actually, John Michael Helmer asked me that same question, once. I really don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve always held the philosophy that ideas are free, and if you come up with enough of them, some are bound to be good. LOL
M F. D: Also, my hero The Canadian Guard will appear not only in Surprising Comics, but in Red Leaf Comics, as well. My cohorts and I have many other characters and stories we¡¯re working on, also.
The late Steve Perry, best known for writing Thundercats and creating and writing Time Spirits, wrote a story for me, shortly before his unfortunate passing. It¡¯s a great story, really, and it will be published in Surprising Theater #4, due out in March of 2011.
PL: Steve Perry. Now, that¡¯s a name I haven¡¯t read of nor seen, in many, many years. Although, maybe I¡¯ve been reading the wrong comics. I loved Time Spirits, from Epic/ Marvel.
M F. D: Superb artists Steve Williams and Stuart Berryhill provide art for that gem. Writer Jonathan Gilbert will be bringing Skywald¡¯s The Heap to Surprising Comics.
PL: That¡¯s interesting; I always loved The Heap. Did you know that The Heap was originally a Hillman Periodicals¡¯ swamp creature from The Airboy comic book series, in the 1940¡äs? And, of course, decades later, the character almost certainly inspired Swamp Thing at DC Comics, and Man-Thing at Marvel.
Eclipse Comics later resuscitated The Heap, in the pages of the NEW Airboy adventures, many, many years ago now, in addition to Valkyrie, Sky Wolf, The Flying Fool, The Black Angel, and others. Now, Moonstone is putting out Airfighters, also with NEW adventures of all of those characters; the third issue just came out. Those now Public Domain characters are a lot of fun! It¡¯ll be great to see what adventures The Heap gets into, at Surprising Comics!
Hillman Periodicals in the 1940¡äs also had a Sgt Strike character, also revived by Eclipse Comics, decades later. AC Comics had a character with that name, as well.
It¡¯s such a cool name, that it should be used again!
MF.D: Honestly, a couple of those characters you¡¯ve mentioned here, I¡¯ve never heard of. I¡¯m going to have to check them out!
PL: Two of the characters in your upcoming comics you have told me of thus far, have the names The Canadian Guard, and The American Guard.
Is the similarity in their hero names just a coincidence, in terms of these upcoming storylines, or did these characters, in terms of the fiction of these future comics¡¯ stories, decide themselves to name their hero names to play off each other?
MF.D: The names are similar, intentionally. There¡¯s a coming threat to the world where more Guards are going to be revealed, in addition to The American Guard and The Canadian Guard. Each Guard lives in the region he or she is named for. I don¡¯t want to go into more detail, at the moment. One thing you¡¯ll probably never see me do, is give out the name of one of my characters that hasn¡¯t seen print yet, or isn¡¯t at least at the printer awaiting to be brought to life, through the magic of the printed comic book!
PL: There¡¯s absolutely nothing wrong with that, Mark. To tell us too much, too soon, would probably be a lot like the kid who sneaks downstairs on Christmas eve, after mom and dad have gone off to bed. The kid unwraps all of the presents addressed to him.
The next morning, everyone in the household is incredibly disappointed, including this very naughty little boy! LOL
PL: What, if any, female characters will be in future issues of Surprising Comics, and also Red Leaf Comics? And, what about supporting characters, both male and female? What can you tell us about them?
MF.D: I do have a couple of female superheroes forthcoming, but I can¡¯t say anything about them, as yet. As far as supporting characters goes, I¡¯ve done some fairly extensive developing of some of the characters in CFAR. Ed Travelston is actually the lead character in that series, being driven by an absolutely incredible Close Encounter he had, as a Senior in High School. You¡¯ll get to witness that encounter in the first couple pages of CFAR. That encounter really motivates his entire life, and is the drive behind CFAR. Ed starts the Clinic For Alien Research, hiring a team of elite UFO and Alien researchers, including Dr. Gary Witt, who runs the Clinic.
M F.D: Legendary small press writer Lloyd Smith, who published under his label Blue Moon Comics Group in the nineties, provided a story for Surprising Theater #1 that starred his character, Sgt. Freedom. I really owe quite a debt to Lloyd Smith. It was really amazing what he accomplished with Blue Moon Comics. He showed me this could be done. Also, it was through Blue Moon Comics, that I first got in touch with talented writer Jonathan Gilbert. Plans are in the works for Lloyd Smith to provide more scripts for Surprising Comics, in 2011. And speaking of Lloyd¡¯s old company, Blue Moon Comics, veteran T. Warren Montgomery, who did some work there, has been doing outstanding lettering work for both Surprising Comics and Red Leaf Comics, and he will be providing a pin-up for Surprising Theater #4. And then, he¡¯ll be bringing one of his own characters to Surprising Comics, also.
John Pettus is bringing a story to Surprising Comics in issue 5 of Surprising Theater, and he will also be supplying more stories to Surprising Comics.
Marvel Comics veteran artist Seppo Makinen will have an upcoming story published in our flagship title.
George E. Warner has done great production and lettering work for us.
Randy Valiente has been one of our steadiest, and most talented artists. I¡¯ve really been blessed by the creators who¡¯ve helped me get my comic book publishing company up and running!
PL: Well, it certainly is apparent that, between The Surprising Comics Group, and Red Leaf Comics, that the stables are chock-full of ¡®surprising¡¯ talent! Sounds like some exciting times ahead for both companies, and all the titles they¡¯ll manage to put out between them, from both publishing houses, full of imaginative ideas!
PL: You know, Mark, I¡¯d like to mention something you just reminded me of, in passing. I¡¯ve seen some covers for those 1990¡äs Blue Moon Comics, on websites, but I have never, ever been successful in tracking down any copies ¨C not a single one ¨C to read, enjoy, and add to my collection. Any chance you could put me in touch with Lloyd Smith, after the interview. I¡¯d like to discuss that with him, make an enquiry as to where I can purchase back issues of those¡
M F. D: I¡¯ll absolutely put you in touch with Lloyd, Phil. In fact, he¡¯d make a great interview subject for you!
PL: I just emailed him, thanks to the email address you provided me, and hopefully, he will be willing to be interviewed. I¡¯d like to know all about Blue Moon Comics, and everything that he has done before, during, and since! Hopefully, he¡¯ll bite. Smile.
PL: By the way, I did want to mention one thing that I recommend that you pass on to John Helmer, for me. I¡¯ve noticed that he currently sells issues of Surprising Comics featuring his self-created Canadian-motif heroes, on ebay. I¡¯ve been searching for and buying Canadian-written, illustrated and Canuck-published comic books for my reading pleasure and collecting, for decades. This includes American comic books containing Canadian type heroes, vintage 1940¡äs ¡®Canadian Whites¡¯, and so on. The point is, I search in-depth for vintage Canadian comic books on ebay, constantly. Aside from searching for specific vintage and rare titles, myself and numerous others search for them often, using keywords ¡®Canadian Comics.¡¯
The point is, John Helmer apparently uses keywords ¡®Canada Comics¡¯, to list his published comics containing self-created Canadian heroes, however, not many collectors of these search ebay under those keywords. If you wouldn¡¯t mind, perhaps mention to him to add keyword ¡®Canadian¡® as well, otherwise, a lot of collectors of these will not even find Surprising Comics, The Leaf, or Red Leaf Comics on ebay.
By adding that one keyword for his comics title wares on ebay, ¡®Canadian¡¯, I predict that John Helmer¡¯s sales of these will go up quite a bit!
M F.D I really appreciate that tip, Phil, and I¡¯m sure John will as well, and make those adjustments. Aside from his Canadian hero The Leaf appearing in my company¡¯s title Surprising Theater, within the next few weeks, the first issue of the ongoing series ¡®Canada¡¯s Greatest Hero The Leaf from Red Leaf Comics¡¯, will be hitting the stands, and eBay, as well.
PL: That would certainly be a major step towards putting both Surprising Comics, as well as Red Leaf Comics, ¡®on the map¡¯, a phrase you employed, earlier. And then¡..what comes next? Posters? Action figures? The sky¡¯s the limit-!
Mark, thank you for talking me today!
Phil Latter for FIRST COMICS NEWS!