Broken Frontier

As a writer, I am somewhat of an anarchist. I don’t tend to follow hard and fast rules, I rarely write to a defined structure or plan, and I often let my characters develop organically rather than along predetermined and intricately planned arcs.

Some people will see this as a flaw, but for me, this loose, free-flowing structure is critical. By writing to vague guide posts, as opposed to a binding map, I often find that the story and the characters go into places that I least expect.

That is, more often than not, a good thing.

One of the places that I least expected to be going into was the tale of a rogue special forces assassin, a Machiavellian politician, and a black ops soldier who could be America’s greatest hero, if only the government would admit to his existence.

Bear Claw Studios was established in 1993 by Jacob Bear, and the comic known as They & Them is his creation. I am lucky enough to be able to borrow his toys and do basically what I want with them (as long as I follow a few rules!).

Jacob and I met at Rob Liefeld’s forum, and through a series of bizarre circumstances, I ended up the writer for a two issue arc on They & Them (well it wasn’t really that weird...).

So what is They & Them? According to Jacob, “They & Them is a story about a government agency that doesn’t exist, a special operations military unit that answers to no one. They & Them are not governed by rules, they have no boundaries, and their mission is to make sure that everything goes according to plan”.

When a Delta Force commando goes AWOL, turns traitor to his country, and finds himself on the payroll of a South American arms dealer, things are bound to get out of control.

They & Them is my biggest challenge yet. With all of my previous comic book work being set in “fantasy” worlds, or Earth as populated by magical beings and humans with super powers, They & Them is something very different.

These characters operate in the real world, or at least in the shadows of the real world. The weapons these special forces soldiers carry are perhaps five or ten years more advanced that those carried by the average GI, but they have to be realistic.

The story kicks off in Boise, Idaho and then shifts to a US naval base in California. Issue #2 will see a huge fire fight in a South American jungle. I have never been to any of these places, so research is the order of the day.

While researching the location of USA navy installations and the bases of drug dealing guerillas, I have found myself on sites like Special Operations.com and typing search terms like “South American drug cartels” into Google. It is an interesting experience to say the least.

Writing only a handful of pages for the first issue of They & Them took hours, as I had to discover the weaponry used by soldiers of Delta Force or members of the Marines. I searched for reference photos of US Navy helicopters and researched Russian assault rifles. All the while, I was fervently hoping that no Western government intelligence agency was logging my activities.

They & Them is the most difficult story I have written to date. I know where the story starts, I know what needs to happen in the middle, and I have a general idea of where the story ends, I just have to work out how to get there.

Another interesting element of this project is that They & Them marks the first time I have worked with an editor, so I look forward to seeing how Cary Kelly will keep things together, once my scripts roll in and Jacob’s pencils begin to bring the story to life.

They & Them is set to debut from Bear Claw Studios in the second half of the year.

I owe quite a bit to Les and Ernst Dabel of Dabel Brothers Production, better known to the industry as DB Pro. Through DB Pro, I gained my first promotional work in comics (I wrote 6 issues of their fan newsletter), and I also received my first ever work-for-hire contract for a comic book.

The resulting project is Legacy Rebellion, a one-shot comic written by me and set in the fantasy world of Legacy, the first creator-owned book - and the first title - to debut from DB Pro (who were then known as Roaring Studios).

Legacy initially appeared in 2003, and my story is a prequel to the original arc, known as “Shards Of A Broken Kingdom”. In the book’s first issue, we are introduced to Tyrus, a soldier who was captured after a few years on the run resulting from his involvement in a failed rebellion against an evil lord.

This is the untold story of that rebellion.

Legacy is one of my favorite comics from the last few years, and a title that I have a lot of love for. To be offered the chance to craft my own original tale set in that universe is my definition of a fan boy’s wildest dream.

The story is firmly anchored in the world of fantasy, but I have deliberately kept magic to a minimum in this tale. Legacy Rebellion is the story of ordinary men and women who must meet an extraordinary threat. This is a tale of people working out what is right and what is wrong, and deciding to fight to protect the outcome of that deduction.

It could as easily be set in Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia as it is in the fantastic world of Zelandria.

While the book is only a one-shot, I have done my best to cram into 24 pages as much energy, excitement, action and emotion as possible. I have sent the story to the heights of selfless heroism and to the depths of venomous evil. The book is a lot of fun.

Another Jason, Jason Metcalf, is joining me for this uprising, and his artwork is so detailed, rich and kinetic it has to be seen to be believed.

Lastly, Ronin Studios have accepted my pitch for a place in their fantasy anthology set to debut this year. My story, titled Tiki’s Phayrie, is a prelude tale to a larger story I have been working on for a number of years. While this introductory edition is more whimsical and light hearted, the full tale is a deep tragedy recounting the impact of the mistakes made by one generation on the generation that follows.

Putting aside such thoughts for the moment, I have expanded on one scene outlined in issue #1 of the larger tale to recount how a Mayor’s daughter, who is also a thief and a would-be magician, comes into possession of a mischievous, tricky and sneaky Phayrie.

Throw in a mad-as-hell wizard, a cross between a dragon and a pterodactyl and a 100 foot drop from the window of a magical tower, and I hope I have come up with a fun and fast-paced fantasy tale.

Of course, if it wasn’t for William Ward at Ronin Studios, Tiki’s Phayrie would just be another fanboy’s daydream. Also working with me to bring this short story to life are Michael Kassinger, whose wonderful pencils you can see here, Michael Cef on inks, Mike G on colors, and my very good friend Brant W. Fowler on letters.

There is no other story that I have ever worked on that means more to me than Tiki’s Phayrie and the larger tale this snippet falls into. As such, I am eternally grateful to Michael, Michael, Mike and Brant for their work on this project. I am thrilled to see it making its way to the spinner racks...

Of course, Tiki’s Phayrie marks another milestone. Upon publication, this will be the release of my first creator-owned work.

2006 has started off with a mad creative rush. I certainly hope that the pace is sustained. After four or five years of hard work, it is immensely fulfilling to see some of my stories on the way. I am also thankful for the chance to bring other people’s stories to life.

I write to live. I live to create and to write. I am immensely lucky to have fallen so in love with a storytelling genre that provides me an opportunity to do just that.