Alan: That’s correct. That’s our motto and we’re sticking too
it! Graphic Illusions Comics, better
known as GI Comics to most, is what we like to call an American Manga
publishing house. Not necessarily
because of the way in which our comics are drawn, but more so because of the
approach in which we take when telling our stories and creating our
characters. We’ve tried to make our
stories as character-driven and plot-heavy as possible.
Jose: So in a lot of ways you can think of
GI Comics as an old school creative think tank.
We create. We pull characters and
scenarios out of thin air and mold them into something we think people will
want to read. That is what we do in the
purest sense. We are fans of fiction and
creative storytelling who want to make a contribution to the art. We LOVE telling stories! We LOVE creating characters that people can
care about. “Events” come and go but the
stories and the characters they revolve around are what matters and we LOVE
creating both.
Alan: Not that we don’t
enjoy “events” like those good ‘ol fashion planetary devastation or the
‘destruction of the universe’ style stories; it’s just that, for us, the fun
isn’t in the event in-and-of itself, but in all of the separate character
storylines and motivations that will eventually culminate into that one massive
‘event’. And a surprising amount of time
and effort has been put into, not creating these events, but like Jose said,
into the characters, who in turn, create our events. Our goal, and the creative meaning behind our
motto, is when an event does occur in our universe, we want readers to really
be affected by the repercussions of that event in how it’ll change our universe
(the Second Wave Universe) and the characters within that universe.
Dave: Well said. We are Alan Cole, Jose Loeri, and David
Welcher. Three guys doing their best to
stay on the grind and get great quality, creative stories out there on a
consistent basis. We are committed to
doing that. As to what we do: any and
everything it takes to make that happen.
We want to make sure people understand that we didn’t adopt that as our
motto because we thought those were cool sounding words. I mean that was part of the reason, but the
other, more important part was that we really mean them. That’s the standard we want to hold ourselves
to.
You guys are based
right outside of Washington D.C. You all
are pretty close to our base of operations here in Baltimore. What is the comic book scene like in DC?
Alan: I’m supposing it’s the same as it is anywhere
else, but then, maybe it’s actually growing.
Jose: You know I think
that since the 2013 Awesome Con DC things got pretty interesting. I remember back in the day when you needed to
hire a detective to find the comic shops in the city. Now that we have a major comic book
convention the geeks, me included, feel they have a real voice, a real
identity. I see more people on the
trains and buses reading graphic novels, there’s more chatter about local
talent at clubs and bars, there’s just more of a buzz about the comic scene
overall.
Alan: That’s true and
then the Awesome Con returned this year in a much bigger venue with more
creators, more guests, and more attendees.
So the DMV seems to be moving in the right direction with many, many untapped
potential readers and future fans.
Since 1997, what has
been your main goal as a publishing company and where do you go from here?
Alan: What has been our main goal since 1997? Hmm…I guess I’d have to say, finding our
voice. I mean, really coming to terms
with the type of product that we’re going to produce and with that, how will GI
Comics look in terms of its’ artistic presentation.
Jose: I could see
that. And I think that a large part of
that has been to develop ideas. We have
TONS of ideas and concepts, some connected, others not. We’ve spent a few year fleshing out those
ideas, working out the kinks by trial and error. The majority of that work has been done
behind the scenes but some of it is documented in earlier versions of our stories.
Alan: Here’s a little
history to explain what we mean: this
version of Intrepid is actually our third attempt. The first Intrepid was originally Jose’s baby
only and once it was decided that we were going to undertake the task of
combining our universes (Jose’s with me and David’s) became a slightly
different story. That’s version 1. We then took our current story and we ran it
through an art studio, which took care of everything from the pencils, inks,
lettering, coloring, etc. Now, even though
we weren’t really happy with or proud of what this studio gave us, we took it
and submitted to Diamond. And behold, we
were rejected. And at that point, we
made a decision that if what was suppose to be the industry standard was going
to be turned down, then we’re going to do what makes us happy. That was version 2. We’ve always pictured our Second Wave
Universe line of books being published in black and white first with colors
being added after every 24 issues that could be released as a full color
trade. There were a lot of people that
warned us that doing black and white comics don’t sell in America AND that Diamond would never carry
it. The opposite happened. Diamond loved the new look of Intrepid and
people that have bought the book, after reading it, appreciate the hard-edged
and sharp black and whites.
Jose: In my opinion
all of that time was well spent. We’ve
honed our craft to a reasonable degree, I believe.
Alan: We found our
voice and it makes it a lot easier moving forward, giving us the confidence and
ability to not just enjoy our own products but to know that other people feel
that way also.
Dave: I definitely
think that has been one of our main goals.
Well that and to
put out the best comics we absolutely can on a continuous basis. And I agree with Alan and Jose in that you
have to find your voice as creators by developing ideas in order to do
that. But we truly want to be a place,
that’s right that was me setting up an opportunity to plug our slogan once
again, where creativity meets commitment.
We want to be one of those small press publishers that are sort an
exception to the rule. We want to get
out top quality stories on a regular basis.
We hope that we can nurture and develop a strong fan base for our
product, and that, over time, it grows into something truly special.
Jose: So that’s where
we go from here. We unleash those
concepts, characters, and commitment on the free world. It’s only fair.
Tell us some of your
past projects and where we can get them.
Alan: Luckily for everybody that gives us a try,
this is the jumping on point. We’ve
spent a lot of years trying to hone our craft and we’re just starting to
actively promote our products and our brand.
Intrepid #1 and Shonen Double Feature #1 is pretty much the introduction
to our Second Wave Universe and everything branches out of that. The Intrepid: Heroes & Villains story arc
is available directly from our website at www.gi-comics.com/store.html
and they’re also available for digital download exclusively through Cloud 9
Comix via it’s FREE app on Apple and Android products. Intrepid #1 is available for FREE with #2-6
priced at only .99 cent each. Shonen
Double Feature, a 52 page
book, is available for
$1.99.
Dave: Like Alan said earlier, we have older
iterations of Intrepid, so oddly enough our current project is our past project
as confusing as that is. Hopefully,
though, we were able to burn all evidence it existed. It was very disappointing, and again like
Alan pointed out, it didn’t get us anywhere.
It felt like people just knew we weren’t happy with our own stuff. So why should they be? So we went back to the drawing board and
started from scratch.
Building a Universe…One
Character at a Time… It’s a pretty simple message, but what does it mean to
you?
Jose: To me the statement conveys the thought of
progression. For instance, there were a
lot of ways we could have told the Intrepid story. We could have started the reader off at a
point in the series where the team is established with all members in the
fold. However, we chose to tell the
story progressively. The reader is
introduced to each team member progressively by order of importance. This way you get to see what their importance
is to the unit as well as what they mean to each other. We tell a lot of our stories in a progressive
fashion. We don’t crank out “events” and
big ideas just to prove how smart we are.
We want to get you hooked on our titles “one character at a time.” Our characters come first. They’re the building blocks of our universe
and our stories.
Alan: And that idea of progress has trickled out to
our Second Wave Universe as a whole. We
decided that we’re going to not just promote Intrepid but we’re going to let
people know that we have hundreds of characters and many, many storylines. We want people to know that this isn’t going
to be a fly-by-night organization and if people take a risk and pick up one of
our titles, there’s going to be a lot of excitement to look forward too. Case in point, Ren Tregal was one of our most
well received characters so far
during this campaign. He plays an integral part in our
universe, but doesn’t enter the publishing scene until after Intrepid #24. Starting with Intrepid #18 and running
through #24, with a proper introduction coming with a 6-issue mini-series
entitled, Guardian Supreme: First
Contact. This storyline is one of the
first major ‘events’ to happen within the Second Wave Universe and it
effectively changes its’ landscape and the direction of certain key
characters. A very exciting moment for
us, but we have to get there first and to get there we need people to jump on
board and pick up Intrepid. So
hopefully, by introducing our plethora of characters just a bit early, people
won’t be as hesitant to give us a try.
The state of comic
books is at an all-time high, BUT there are some things that need to be
improved. What would you change about
Marvel Comics? DC Comics?
Dave: Ummm, how much
time do we have?
Alan: If you would’ve asked me this question back
in ’97 or maybe sometime in the early 2000’s, I would’ve given you a laundry
list of complaints and fixes. But that’s
one of the benefits of struggling in the Small Press Industry and actually
combining the practical business aspects of the industry with the pure creative
bliss of self-publishing.
Enlightenment. We all decided at
some point that we could do this better than the professionals, but until you
actually jump in that ring and take a few hits, everything looks easy. I respect what Marvel and DC do, but we can’t
do it their way. It benefits Marvel and
DC to have multiple creators interpreting the same characters over and over and
over. It benefits Marvel and DC to keep
restarting their universes because in a way, their characters are
shackled. Any and everybody can get into
a debate as to the ‘perfect’ Wolverine or the ‘perfect’ Batman. But you can’t do that with our
characters. Batman’s never going to
die. We all know that. We all accept that. Ren Tregal on the other hand, or any of our
characters, can die. Might die. And some even will die. We control our characters and they control
the stories and their stories are finite.
We know the ultimate fate of Ren Tregal.
You and the readers don’t, and there’s not much that can be done to
change his fate. So no matter how
popular he gets or how much money he ends up making us, his story, just like
all of our characters, is finite. Just
like many Japanese stories, take Naruto for example, his story begins, we’re
along for the ride but it’s building toward some finality. I think that makes people connect with us,
our characters and our stories more than anything else.
Dave: Well unlike my
partner here, I’m not going to take the politically correct road. I love DC and Marvel, and like most, they’re
the reason I got into comics. Not to
outdo them, but ultimately to get to a point where I could take a crack at one
of those great characters. However, I
grew up, and my taste evolved. The weird
thing was that those characters I had come to love so much didn’t grow with
me. Like Alan said as I grew I began to
appreciate a sense of finality more. I
think more than it gives an ultimate resolution to whatever book you’re
reading, it serves as an impetus for evolution.
Batman isn’t going to die, but Batman doesn’t necessarily need to die
either for there to be growth. Bruce
Wayne may die or retire, and that’s what should
be fine. Dick Grayson should be able to take on the “cape and
cowl,” and that change should be an allowable evolution of
Batman. It isn’t. Dick Grayson becomes Batman, and you know
somewhere along the way Bruce Wayne will come back to the mantle. Wally West can replace Barry Allen, but who’s
Flash now? Kyle Rayner can be the new
Green Lantern, but how long was it before Hal Jordan came back? Characters remaining virtually unchanged for
over 50 years isn’t progressive. Having
a character in every major title isn’t great either. It’s disrespectful to your other, equally
great characters. Yeah he may be the
“most popular”, but you have a goldmine of awesome characters at your
disposal. Use them. And that finally brings me to those damn
events.
Jose: I got that… Stop
pushing “events” and get back to telling stories. I like DC and Marvel characters but I can’t
stand their stories because they’re not going anywhere. They’re no direction. Everything is static. It’s sickening in a way. Even if you go in a bad direction at least
you’ve made an attempt. That’s why I
can’t get mad at something like “The Clone Sage.” At least it was an honest attempt at moving a
concept forward. Disavowing it was
spineless, in my opinion. There’s too
much bull (crap) in comics right now.
Big announcements about killing characters off just to bringing them
back. Starting story arcs you never
finish. There’s no direction and no
purpose to the stories. It just reminds
you that these characters are nothing but brands that can never change in any
significant way which makes the “creative teams” brand overseers not
creators. So there’s no real reason to
buy into an “event” nowadays. Everything
is nullified and recycled within a two to five year period. I find that pretty
sad. So the major change I would make is
I’d get some editors and writers with guts and tell them to take the characters
somewhere.
Jose: I’m fine… had to
be said.
Dave: My bad, you know
I love Marvel and DC so when I start talking about them, I can get a little
carried away. All I’m trying to say is
that they’re screwing up a good thing and it pisses…
Alan: Why don’t you
save just a little for the next time?
Dave: Fine, but they
did ask.
What does your
comic-con schedule look like this year?
We would love to see you at Underground Comic-Con in November.
Alan: Aside from your Underground Comic-Con, we
aren’t going to be attending any conventions this year, at least not as
exhibitors. Starting 2015, we’ll be
exhibiting at the Awesome Comic Con, the Baltimore Comic Con, the ANS Sci-Fi
and Comic Con, Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con and, if we’re lucky, our
first appearance at the New York Comic Con.
We decided not to exhibit at any conventions this year because we really
wanted to focus on production and until we start bringing in a little bit of
revenue, sadly, it’s always going to be a decision that dictates whether we can
or can not attend shows.
The art you guys put
up is amazing. Tell us about your
artists briefly.
Alan: Our artists are simply AMAZING and we’ve truly been blessed to have had and continue to
have, the opportunity to work with many of them.
Dave: That’s
real. They’ve all been phenomenal.
Alan: To run through
the list: MONTOS’ very sharp and
eclectic style really did Intrepid justice and essentially put us on the map.
Dave: You know what, I
agree with you on that one. Montos’
gritty style is a major selling point for Intrepid: Heroes & Villains and
it lends itself beautifully to the black & white format of the book.
Alan: Luis Arturo Palacios will be taking over the penciling, inking and possibly
lettering duties of Intrepid starting with issue #7 and running through #12,
the Pandora’s Cage story arc.
Dave: And hopefully
beyond.
Alan: Luis has also
done more than a few character designs for us and has also done a few colors
too. He is currently working on a new,
non-Second Wave Universe related project entitled, IV: Armageddon #51 one shot.
That will be available sometime in July and will introduce something a
bit more sinister than anything the SWU has to offer.
Dave: I don’t know
about sinister per se, but I will say that it is definitely darker than the SWU
that’s for sure.
Alan: Well it’s safe
to say that we have much, much more than what you’ve seen. The creative team on that book starting with
issue #50 (it counts backwards) is Robert Spencer doing the pencils, inks and letters
with Timothy Craggette putting everything in beautiful colors. Andrew Froedge has helped us with a multitude
of character designs; Rob Richardson and Jorge Correa Jr. did the artwork for
Shonen Double Feature #1 with Jeremy Treece and Bernardo Moreno wrapping up the
artistic duties on SDF #2. There are a
few more like Caanan White and Jean-Paul Mavinga who have been instrumental in
defining the look and feel of many of our characters and advertisements. And many of our logos, including the GI
Comics logo, and those Wanted Flyers were designed by the very talented graphic
designer and website designer Andrew LoVuolo.
Dave: And we can’t
forget the newest addition to our team, Angela Consol. She is an amazing colorist we just started
working with and everything she’s touched so far has completely blown us away.
We hope to work with
you guys soon. Do you have any
acknowledgements?
Alan: Too many to list here. Some are listed in your previous question but
there are many more people that we’ve interacted with in some form or another
over these past 15 years, and regardless of whether those experiences were
positive or whether they ended up being negative, we’re all the same grateful. Every experience and all lessons learned
stand culminated before you right now and, hopefully, it’s helped us to become
a stronger unit…a better, more successful company.
Jose: Outside of my GI Comics family, Alan and
David, my main acknowledgements have to go to my sister Jovita Loeri-Sebbe, my
older brother Adolf Loeri, my little brother Ernesto Comba and my nephew
Tokunbo Adedeinde. Those are the people
who have encouraged me to create from the womb until this day and I love ‘em
for it!
Dave: I too would like
to acknowledge our wonderful wives who’ve put up with us spending a lot time
trying to make our dreams come true, my amazing kids who have never once
complained about their father being a bigger kid than they are, the family
members that have given their unending support, the friends who’ve lent a hand
whenever they could, and most importantly the fans who have and continue to buy
our books.
Thank you guys for
taking out some time for United Fanboyz, we hope to link up with you soon and
continued success. How can everyone
reach you?
Alan: Either via our website at www.gi-comics.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GIComics. I can also be contacted directly via email
at alancole@gi-comics.com. Our Editor-in-Chief, David Welcher, can be
reached via email at davidwelcher@gi-comics.com
and our Operations Manager, Jose Loeri, can be reached via email at joseloeri@gi-comics.com.
Thank you guys at
United Fanboyz for this wonderful opportunity to give your readers a chance to
get to know us and what GI Comics is all about.
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