Broken Frontier

Out now from Devil's Due is Jason Burns' original graphic novel Curse of the Were-Woman, a tale of supernatural justice that will resonate with anyone who has ever been irked by a certain species of "Alpha Male" , as an odious sexist finds himself transformed into a woman after a disastrous one-night stand. Broken Frontier chatted to Jason about his inspirations for the OGN, poetic comeuppances and just which scene should never be cut if the book were ever to be adapted into a movie...

BROKEN FRONTIER: The first thing I want to, perhaps pedantically, say is that after 30-plus years of seeing Marvel erroneously refer to their character Tigra as a "were-woman" (given "were" means "man" ) it’s refreshing to see someone actually using that term in a strictly accurate sense...

JASON BURNS: Haha. I never even thought about that, but now that you mention it, Tigra is definitely not a were-woman.

BF: For readers unfamiliar with the project can you explain the basic premise of the GN and just which of the darkest parts of your subconscious provided the idea for such an apt example of poetic justice?

JB: It's about a complete pig of a man who uses women as sex objects and then has the tables turned on him by a jilted one night stand, and in the process, learns the true meaning of love. Sounds sappy, I know, but there's plenty of non sappy moments inside, especially considering the fact that he becomes a woman every time the day turns to night.

This kind of story has been done before, particularly in the movies, but I never thought they went over the top enough. For me, I wanted to show this guy's journey of becoming a woman in a totally humorous way, while also having him go through a personality transition. First and foremost though, it's a comedy, so I would just hope that people don't take it too seriously and just enjoy it for a few laughs and giggles, because really... It's just meant for that purpose. I never expected it to win any literary awards. Haha.

In terms of where it came from in my subconscious... I think it was just one of those things that popped into my head, so there wasn't a whole lot of overthinking it. The title came first when I was trying to decide on a comedy to adapt for the graphic novel world, and then I built the story around it.

BF: Your protagonist Patrick Dalton is certainly a fairly unpleasant character when we first meet him. I think we’ve all met a few Patricks in our time and wished a suitably apposite comeuppance for them. I won’t ask if Patrick is based on any one particular individual but is he based on any particular group of individuals you’ve encountered at any time?

JB: I've definitely met guys like Patrick before, and I aways rolled my eyes when I did. The funny thing is, those types of guys are so amusing because they're SOOOO ridiculous, that even if you took out the were-woman aspect, you could still make a comedy based on those types of guys alone. And the best part, is that they don't even know how ridiculous they are. They think they're all man. That's where that first line in the book comes in. "My name is Patrick Dalton and I'm an alpha male." That's how those guys think. They are the leader of the pack, and everyone kneels before them. Everyone learns the lesson eventually that they're not, and for Patrick, he just had to discover it the REALLY hard way. Haha.

BF: Curse of the Were-Woman is a deft mix of social commentary and out and out comedy. How difficult was it to get the balance just right between the two?

JB: I honestly tried not to think about it too much, and I just tried to give the reader a good time. There's definitely social commentary, but I think I was more concerned with the comedy because sometimes comedy can be really hard in written form. And then even if you do get the jokes and timing right, it doesn't mean it's going to appeal to everyone becuase everyone has a different taste in humor and finds different things funny. So, I'd say that the balance was not what worried me, but making sure that the jokes served their purpose and that was getting a laugh, or at the very least, a smile.

BF: Was it a challenge for you as a writer to ensure Patrick was grotesque enough to be disliked by the readers but still ensure they had just enough sympathy with his position that they would still be rooting for his possible redemption?

JB: Very much so. That is always a challenge. If you go too far, then you risk having a protagonist who nobody is rooting for. It's why some Farrelly Brothers' movies work, and why some don't... Same as the Apatow movies. You have these lead characters who are skirting the line, so it's dangerous ground because you need for people to relate to them, but at the same time, you have to start them at a certain level in order to build them up. The question always is, did you start them so far down that nobody cares how far up they climb? With Patrick, I like to think that he wasn't really that guy he said he was... The "alpha male"... But just a self-conscious commitment-phobe who hid his insecurities under his macho behavior. I think we all know people like that, and I hope because of that, people will be able to relate to him and root for his progress.

BF: Is there a single moment in the humor of Patrick’s plight that really sticks out for you in the graphic novel?

JB: When Patrick has his period for the for the first time. I didn't think it would make it into the book, but thankfully, the publisher gave me complete freedom to tell the story I wanted to tell, so it stayed in there and I think, the book is much better off because of it. Haha.

BF: Was there any conscious decision with the book to attempt to appeal to that ever elusive demographic in the comics-reading world... the female reader?

JB: Yes and no. When I write, I don't necessarily write for any one audience or demographic. I just try to write what I think is enjoyable or funny. But, after it was done I definitely worried about that. I wondered if women would be able to find it as amusing as a guy would, and vice versa. It goes back to one of my previous answers... What one person finds funny is not what the next person finds funny, so my hope is that the humor doesn't play to one gender in particular, but to certain tastes across both genders.

BF: Curse of the Were-Woman strikes me as something that would make a great hybrid movie. There's a rather unique potential mix of chick flick and coarse lad's humor in there...

JB: Everyone who has read it has said that it would make a great movie, but my response to any producer who takes it on now or in the future is... JUST KEEP THE PERIOD SCENE! HAHA

BF: Why did you feel the story was best suited to the OGN format rather than as a limited series?

JB: Just seems to be the way the industry is going because they're more cost effective for publishers. I love a good floppy, but I started writing exclusively in graphic novel format back from my days with Viper Comics and just never looked back.

BF: What can you tell us about the art team of Christopher Provencher and Nick Deschenes and what they’ve brought to the project?

JB: Because it was a comedy, I knew I had to work with an artist who could translate that comedy on page, particularly in facial expressions. Chris did a stellar job in that, literally building up jokes and helping with punchlines by giving slick sequentials that followed the beat of the comedy itself. I love the expressions he has given the characters, particularly in the joke heavy moments, because it really fills everything out. As for Nick's work, this was his first coloring job ever, and I couldn't be more proud of him and the work he did. I'm really happy with the final package, and I'm psyched the book is in the can and has hit stores.

BF: Finally, what’s next for Jason M. Burns? What other projects comics-related or otherwise do you have in the pipeline?

JB: I am working with a new company called Outlaw Entertainment, and starting in June, people will be able to get their hands on at least two books that I have written every month for the rest of the year. I've been working like crazy on this latest endeavor and the books that go along with it, so I'm super excited to be able to share the material with people. Previews of the first three books are available at http://beta.outlaw-entertainment.com/.

Curse of the Were-Woman is out now from Devils Due Publishing priced $12.99.