Creator Spotlight – Jerome Walford of Forward Comix, Publisher of Nowhere Man!
Peace,
Today’s post highlights an indie creator, artist and publisher, Jerome Walford. I became acquainted with his project, Nowhere Man, when I backed his Kickstarter project. So here is his interview, to all of my writers & creators..Read, Analyze & Adapt! Enjoy!
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ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT
As it relates to your earliest memory as an artist, did Art choose you or did you choose Art? The Art of writing that is, explain. That is a very interesting question. I think it certainly works both ways. In the beginning, I felt a strong desire to pursue the art of storytelling. While there was a strong pull in that direction, at some point it switched. As other opportunities came along and as I met many challenges, I had to make a deliberate ongoing effort to pursue this particular art form and put in the work to make it worthwhile.
Who or what were your earliest inspirations and present influences that that inspired your art/comics/writing?Storytelling in the form of comics is a unique balance between setting up a series of images and text to present something none of the parts could do by themselves. Where the words don’t compete with or detract from the images, and vice versa.
I have been fortunate enough to have read a lot of great literary and comic material that has inspired me. Just a few examples would be “The Killing” Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland, “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. I’ve really enjoyed Joss Whedon’s screen work as well, because in many ways comics work like stills from a movie. I’m spending the lionshare of my time developing, “Nowhere Man”. A gritty crime drama, those examples presently rise to the top for me.
How important is it to study your art and how do you approach keeping your skills sharp? I was a fine art major at Cornell University, and a lot of the Renaissance art I was exposed to, still has an impact on me to this day.
To continue growing as an artist, it is very important to study all kinds of art and to learn from the greats of the past, as well as our contemporaries.
Art is truly a discipline that needs to be exercised everyday. I put in the effort each day. Sometimes it’s a little, sometimes it’s a lot, but after a certain period of time, I can step back and see all the progress I’ve made. The other amazing part of it is, that there is a certain muscle memory that develops. Not only can I work a little faster, but I can also produce better art as a result all those practice hours.
What are some books that are on your personal shelf? My shelf is cluttered with reference books, but I also keep a few literary books and graphic novels close. My small collection includes two copies of “Watch Men”, given to me by two friends on the very same birthday. I keep the copies side by side. I also have: Jack Kirby’s “Fourth World Omnibus”, Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman”, “Truth: Red, White and Black” and some books I’ve gotten through various projects on Kickstarter.
Are there any titles that you are currently reading? I am currently re-reading some of my favorites, which include a few books by Jean Giraud (Moebius) and Neil Gaiman, as well as some anthologies, such as “Flight” and “Comic Book Tattoo”.
WORK/STYLE
Give us a description of your Creative Lab or Studio where you work and how is the environment a co-creator or partner in ultimately what you create? I do most of my work on the computer and occasionally, I pull away and rough something out at the drawing table. I think one’s environment can encourage, shape or even hinder one’s creativity. Having a healthy working environment is very important. I try to keep my workspace as organized as possible, although from time to time the clutter does build up. It is a delicate balance between having reference material within reach and not being able to find what you’re looking for at the moment.
What techniques & tools do you employ to bring ideas to life? Being inspired by a cool idea is only the very first step. There is still 99 percent of the work that needs to happen. For me, working digitally, I can get a lot done in a relatively short period of time. If I’m at work or on the subway, and I get an interesting idea, I jot it down. Then, when I get a moment, I go back and flesh it out with further notes. If I feel attached to a certain idea, but it’s just not flowing in a literary way or in a manner I can translate visually, I try to move on to something else. If that idea was sound enough it will get reshaped in a way I can use at some point.
Step two is setting aside a large block of writing time, where I unplug from everything. I sit in a small café somewhere and just write, script or edit for three to four hours. The key is unplugging from the normal distractions of the day.
If the writing session is for a comic, step three would be to create rough storyboards, key frames or comic spreads of the story.
Slowly, over the course of several months, those roughs are translated into finished comic pages. I incorporate the dialogue and narration from the script, often with little changes that help the text work better with the finished art. Then it’s off to colors and getting additional feedback from editors and friends.
How would you describe your writing style or artistic technique? The process often gets more organic and iterative. Sometimes doing and re-doing various scenes, as well as cutting away certain parts that might bog down the story. I try to keep my eyes on the long term vision and theme that drives the heart of the story.
Some folks would call my style character-driven. I try to maintain a strong plot behind my stories, but I’m more intrigued by how the characters act and react to each other, as well as how they change over the course of the narrative.
SOUL/ART
Jack Macguire
In terms of personal projects, what is the Flagship creative project for your company and how did you come up with the idea for the concept?
The main project I’m working on at the moment is an indie graphic novel series titled “Nowhere Man”. It is being published by Forward Comix, a small publishing brand I started in 2012.
“Nowhere Man” is story of Jack Maguire, a detective based in New York City who has been granted powers through the use of advanced technology. Jack attempts to use those powers secretly on the job to boost his performance, but it comes at a catastrophic price. Jack becomes inhabited by Zade – a mysterious assassin targeting high-ranking criminals trafficking weapons through the city. Zade’s mission of vengeance and pre-emptive attacks threaten to destroy all that Jack has ever cared about.
The series runs in three volumes, each volume is broken into three parts. This provides nine 50-page books over the span of the series.
What I like most about the series is that it is epic, covering large chunks of recent history, stretches during the 1800s, international conflicts and small slices of a future scape. Yet at the core it is about a non-stereotypical, diverse cast of nine people, with Jack as the central figure.
I have been pouring a lot into the series and I truly hope that comes across. The current form of the script has been in development as far back as 2004. Some of the characters are loosely based on a short story I created in high school.
What are some of the most immediate/follow-up projects?
I’m also working on a literary novel series I’ve titled, “Curse of the Griffin”. The first book, “Daniel’s Pride” was published summer of 2013. I’m hoping to spend some time on this series very shortly, because it has a lot of heart.
“Curse of the Griffin” is a re-imagining of vampire mythology that puts vampires in direct conflict with refugees from a fallen mystical kingdom. Daniel Griffin is a starving artist trying to survive life in a bloodsucking town without getting turned. When he earns the scorn a young vampire governor, Daniel is thrust into a social uprising that will test his very understanding of courage, love and family.
I’m also in the early stages of working on a light-hearted all-ages comic series.
Talk about the difficulties of being an independent artist and the hurdles you’ve overcome to produce and publish your own works. I try to focus on the positive. One of the main benefits is that I can determine the schedule that works for me. There isn’t really anyone that can reject my idea regardless of whether it is good or not. No one can force me to go faster than I am physically capable or hold me back when I’m ready to produce. Starting my own label has been tremendously freeing.
However, there were a lot of challenges along the way. Challenges like: learning not to take on too much; finding help from professional editors and input at critical times in the creative process. When you start any kind of small business, you have to learn a lot of things really fast and wear a lot of hats.
One of the main lessons I have taken to heart is, I’m going to make mistakes. I may not be as good as I want to be right now, but if I’m persistent, I can learn from those mistakes and do better the next time around.
What is your preferred medium for your stories; comic book, graphic novel, animation or movie? I think each medium brings something new to the table. I’m committed to finishing “Nowhere Man” as a graphic novel series. I would certainly love to see it translated into live action film or a feature length anime, but not as a strict reboot of sorts. At those instances I would be curious to see how those mediums can bring something new to how the story is told.
Here’s a fun question. Name a mainstream project/character or an independent project and/or character that you’d love to work on or revamp and what would you do to put your twist on it?
If a unique opportunity presents itself to work on an iconic character I would totally consider it. However, right now I have to put all my available energy into finishing the story of Jack Maguire, Zade, Rose Yancey and their friends. If I don’t do it, no one else will. I have to be so singularly focused, that I can’t allow myself that luxury of daydreaming too much about someone else’s iconic intellectual property (IP).
If there is a creative person reading this article right now I would say. Enjoy those products for what they are, many of the standouts have been rewritten so many times and honestly, many of those versions are pretty good as they are. Unless your only desire is to work on a specific IP, your available time is best spent working on developing your own story, or IP. It may not be as shiny and popular as something in the mainstream, but it’s yours.
How has technology affected the way you are able to do business or make progress on your art? Technology has been an amazing double-edged sword for independent artists. We have relatively new ways to produce work and even newer online networks to share and connect. The other side of it is that we now have a million different ways to distract ourselves, lots of background noise that hinder us from producing creative work.
I am extremely grateful for being able to work digitally because I can produce a lot more in a short time frame. Social media has been invaluable in gaining more fans and connecting with fellow independent creators. But I know that if I have a deadline approaching, the best thing to do is unplug as much as possible and put my nose to the grindstone; just me, a chair and a computer. In some cases, just me a chair and a notepad.
What are the conferences that are on your yearly schedule to attend? I try to do five to eight shows a year, along the east coast, mostly from the summer to fall. Shows I try to do include: Black Comix at The Schomburg Museum, ECBAAC, MoCCA and the Brooklyn Book Fair. This year (2014) I’ll be trying Boston Comic Con for the first time. New York Comic Con is a show I try to do bi-annually.
What advice do you give to aspiring artists of all mediums about the importance of events and how do you prepare to maximize your potential at these fairs? In my opinion, especially if you draw your own stories; shows are a great way to connect with potential fans. You are more likely to gain enthusiastic new fans at shows. For most fans, nothing replaces meeting you as the creator of the work, face to face and holding your work in their hands.
Schedule your production wisely. Have all your work: books prints, etc. in hand weeks before the show. This way you aren’t scrambling at the last minute.
You can be cool or edgy, doesn’t really matter in the end. I’m not really any of those things. Just be yourself, fans who truly like your work, will like you even more for being someone approachable.
More importantly, don’t be a jerk. If your writing or art is amazing, but you decide to take out your grief on someone kind enough to stop at your table, nine times out of ten, they will not support your work. Sometimes they will be motivated enough to use their energy and social networks to make your life miserable.
LIFE/EXPRESSION
On the idea of Art Imitates Life or Life Imitates Art, is the role of Art in human existence a catalyst for behavior and community building or is Art a mirror to reflect the world of what was and what is? Wow, I’m not sure I can adequately answer that, but I will just touch on this a little bit. I think it definitely runs both ways. For example, there are a few memes circling social media that compares modern technology innovations to various gadgets found on Star Trek, in some instances decades, before it’s time. In that sense, we create technology (intentionally and unintentionally) inspired by pop culture reference, because it is now part of our collective sensibility of how artful technology should be.
On the other side of the coin, there is always a yearning, especially within minority communities, to see more representation of ourselves in the stories produced. Although, we know it is possible to be a scientist, a great soldier, a leader, or the hero that saves the day, we don’t truly believe it until we see it presented to us on the page, in the music or on the screen.
Due to budget cuts for schools, classes and after-school programs, primarily in black and Latino communities, the youth are not getting exposed or are exposed to very little physical education and the arts. How important do you feel the arts are to the lives of the youth? I believe the arts and physical education are vital parts of developing a balanced personhood, and this starts at the earliest ages. Even though someone may choose a different path in life, both these areas teach invaluable lessons in critical thinking, the important practice and perseverance.
I make most of my living programing websites using HTLM and CSS. This might not sound as glamorous as being an artist. Yet coding has a certain rhythm and creativity to it. To thrive in such challenging times as the one we live, we need to have a strong sense of specialized skill, yet be well rounded enough to draw on a learnedness in the arts, science and physicality – like a renaissance kind of individual.
Now to bridge the gap between your art and the public at large, give the name and address of your sites and forums where people can see your creativity and how people can get in contact with you for commissions and/or to follow your work? The best way to connect with the projects I’m working on is through my website: www.forwardcomix.com. I keep it fairly up-to-date. If you join the newsletter, it gives you a way to see some of the work in progress before other folks do. Sometimes, I send out FREE comics that way too. Join today! Hint. Hint.
I’m also on facebook.com/forwardcomix and twitter.com/forwardcomix
I do take commissions, iconic characters are ok, if my schedule is open but I prefer commission requests for originals of the characters I’m currently developing.
What impact would you like your art to make on the world? The overall impact I would like to make is two-fold. I would like to create a new iconic IP that reflects the ethos of our generation. My vision is to create a storyline that is diverse, non-stereotypical and features a gritty, yet positive, black male lead character. Secondly, I would like to be a part of cultivating originality as the staple of pop culture.
What are your favorite quotes or philosophies of life that help you improve as a person or artist? I find the parable of the talents to be a very compelling way to approach life. We can’t earn salvation, and when we’re gone, we certainly can’t take any of this stuff with us. But life and the talents we have are precious gifts. To waste our lives, gifts and opportunities is perhaps the most spiteful act we could ever do.
I find the parable of the talents to be a very compelling way to approach life. We can’t earn salvation, and when we’re gone, we certainly can’t take any of this stuff with us. But life and the talents we have are precious gifts. To waste our lives, gifts and opportunities is perhaps the most spiteful act we could ever do.
Last Words.
Thanks for the opportunity. This was not an attempt to soapbox or anything but just an attempt to give some honest answers to some very thought provoking questions. I hope some of the things I shared was helpful anyone pursuing a career in the arts.
Please check out my Kickstarter and back it if you like the project. A successful campaign will allow me to spend more time working on the “Nowhere Man” series. Here’s the link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2022302623/nowhere-man-jacked-up
Thanks for reading and all the best.
Jerome
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Thank you to Jerome for the interview!
I hope the readers have enjoyed it! Please go support Jerome and his Kickstarter Campaign as well as his other projects!
Remember Support INDIE Artists and their projects! Until next time, which will be soon, I promise!
Stay Healthy,
Stay Positive,
Stay Creative!
- Ced Pharaoh
