Broken Frontier

Last week saw the launch of Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan’s take on Conan the Barbarian, adapting one of the greatest Conan tales ever told, The Queen of the Black Coast. It features a young swashbuckling Conan taking to the high seas, finding his first love and a whole load of trouble in his wake.

As you’ve garnered from our spotlight column and review, you’ll no doubt believe me when I say that it is every bit as wonderful as you might imagine. Wood and Cloonan have of course worked together before, teaming up for two volumes of Demo and a short stint on Northlanders. The duo is extremely busy with work inside and outside of comics, so instead of presenting you with an interview with them, I dug deep into my archives and found this interview with Becky about her superb mini-comic Wolves .

So while you are enjoying their company owned work, I implore you to hunt down this mini from Cloonan at a convention, on her website or by any other means possible, it’s completely rad.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Wolves was originally published in Journeys, a Japanese anthology, right?

BECKY CLOONAN: Affirmative! Some friends and I went to Japan in late 2009 for a few weeks, and we hit up Comitia, a convention in Tokyo. We decided to put together an anthology for it, which included artists like Svetlana Chmakova and Queenie Chan -- Wolves was my contribution. We had it printed in Japan, in Japanese of course. I gotta add, if you ever get a chance to check out a con there, it's totally worth it. It's a completely different experience; I hope to go back again one day!

BF: Was it always the plan to distribute it internationally?

CLOONAN: I always had it in mind to reprint WOLVES in English as a mini-comic, but I'm surprised that there's been such a huge interest in it! I didn't really have plans past selling it at cons, but now I'm making an online shop, and talking to retailers. I'm actually going to reprint it in June!

BF: Where did the concept for Wolves originate?

CLOONAN: On the back burner is an epic story I hope to tell before I die, and with WOLVES I wanted to step into that world for a few pages, and just explore the scenery and feeling I want it to have. In a way it was an exercise in setting and atmosphere… Also, I've always wanted to draw a comic about wereWolves .

I was also influenced a lot by the music I was listening to. My favorite bands are ones that tell stories through their music, and at the end of a song you are left thinking of the characters and themes, what happens between the verses and after the music stops. I wanted to evoke the same feelings with Wolves -- the story will only take a few minutes to read, but I hope it sticks in people's minds. I deliberately made the events open to interpretation -- and just like how I listen to my favorite songs over and over, I hope people will re-read this story and wonder more about the characters.

BF: The art is, as always, gorgeous! Would you like to talk a little on your process?

CLOONAN: Thank you! This book came together differently than others, but I guess I always approach new comic in slightly new ways.

I had also lost my English script for the book in a computer crash, so when I decided to print the story I ended up rewriting it, which meant that I saw room for improvement. I added pages and reworked scenes, rearranged panels and cut things I didn't like. I'm a hundred times happier with the new book, with all of the changes I was able to make.

BF: Was it tough settling on the print run/size and format in the end?

CLOONAN: Well, since it was originally published in Japan, the dimensions are a little different. I ended up with a bit more room on the top and bottom of the page, but it wasn't a problem. I had no idea how many to print though. I thought one thousand would be enough, but after TCAF, MCM and Heroes Con I'll be out. Now I'm debating to up my next print run to two thousand!

Really though, I couldn't be more pleased with the way the books came out. WOLVES has a three color silk-screened cover, and the interiors are on 60lb paper. I'm really proud of the production quality!

BF: The themes of loneliness and desperation seem to stalk through the pages. Do you think self-published/creator owned books allow for a greater exploration of personal and difficult themes?

CLOONAN: There's no doubt to me that self-publishing allows for more creative freedom, but I try to put something of myself into everything I work on no matter who the publisher is. But if I want to have absolute control over everything in the book, self-publishing is the way to go.

That said, Wolves is in some ways very personal story, but it's all below the surface. I don't really think anyone would know, because on the surface it's a werewolf story. Some people are comfortable putting themselves in front of an audience, but I don't think I'll ever be one of them. I end up obscuring any personal themes I write about.

BF: Wolves isn’t your first mini-comic or self published book, not by a long shot. What is it about this method of creation and distribution that appeals to you?

CLOONAN: I love all the aspects of making comics, not just drawing and writing, but lettering, designing, printing… I even love things like picking out paper stock! It's also great because I become more in touch with the comic community. I get to know retailers, connect more with readers, and when I see my friends I am so excited to give them a copy of my new book. I know it's silly, but to give someone a book and think "I made this," it brings me back to place I was when I first started making mini-comics. It reminds me of why I draw comics in the first place.

It's hard to find the time between pages of my other books, and I guess it's weird to take a break from drawing comics by drawing more comics, but what can I say? I love it.

BF: Can you talk a little about Orcs, the other mini you’ve been teasing? Do you have plans for any more comics set within the world of Wolves , or is this a one-and-done scenario?

CLOONAN: Orcs is the next book after Wolves . It isn't really a sequel, but it does take place in the same setting. It's much more of a fairy tale in the way the story plays out, and I'm also experimenting with narration. I'm thumb-nailing it right now! It sounds kind of lame too, but it's based on a haiku I wrote a few years ago. An Orc haiku.

BF: There has been a lot of talk recently about creator-owned comics and their importance to the industry – what’s your opinion on the debate?

CLOONAN: Creator-owned books are crucial to a healthy market. That's not to say there isn't a place for licensed books, or the complex, work-for-hire universes of the Big Two, but there is no doubt the industry needs diversity. I don't even think there should be debate on this.

BF: This also seems a good time to bring up Digital Comics. Have you thought about releasing Wolves digitally though a distributor like Comixology or Graphicly, or even through your own site?

CLOONAN: I don't think I'll release Wolves digitally- not yet anyway. I have two more stories planned in the same world, and maybe when I finish them I'll think about releasing them digitally. But right now, I don't think it's ready for something like that yet.

BF: How different is it writing and drawing for yourself as opposed to working on a book like Demo or Northlanders?

CLOONAN: When I work with a writer, I jump into thumbnails after reading the script, but when I write for myself the process changes a lot! First I write down my ideas loosely, and as I start to refine the story I make bullet lists with the events in more detail. Then I start to thumbnail and write dialogue at the same time. I'll draw a lot of thumbnails through this whole process, since it's easier for me to think in pictures than words.

Actually I have a little stage-fright when it comes to writing; I'm much more confident when it comes to my art.

But I want to be more comfortable with writing, and the best way to learn is by doing, right?