Broken Frontier

Writer Nathan Edmondson drops by BF to give the skinny of the new collected edition of his Image series, Olympus. The unique four issue mini-series focuses on Castor and Pollux, two brothers given eternal life for service to Zeus 300 years ago. Now they strive to find a Greek god hiding on Earth. With dazzling visuals by Christian Ward and action straight from a James Bond film, the series garnered many fans with its modern setting coupled with an intriguing exploration of Greek mythology.

BROKEN FRONTIER: You were fairly new to the comics world when you started Olympus, so what have you learned since then?

NATHAN EDMONDSON: A great deal about the mechanics of the medium, and storytelling and marketing within it.  Also the enterprise of creator-owned storytelling. 

BF: When you first held the Olympus Trade in your hands, what went through your mind?

NE: "I'm sure I've misspelled something, somewhere."

BF: Are there some juicy extras in the Trade?

NE: We indeed have a few things including a forward by myself and one by Harvey Award Winner Bryan J. Glass (of Mice Templar fame).  We've got some excellent art in the back, a backup short story and overall what we all think is a simply beautiful package.  We considered saturating the book with more material but ultimately we're of the opinion that "lots of extras" belong in special editions or later collections, and what is most important in the trade is the collected story--so we worked very hard to pull that together in as attractive a way as possible.  

BF: Can you see yourself as being a comics writer for years and years to come?

NE: I certainly hope so.  The more important question is, can you?

BF: What can you reveal about your future projects, and how did you go about acquiring them?

NE: Well, what's up next is a very gritty, very exciting book I've put together with artist Brett Weldele (of Southland Tales and The Surrogates).  It's called The Light and it's dark, full of action, and hopefully a bit scary.  That one came about when I heard that Brett was "between projects" and of course that was a golden opportunity for me, being a big fan of his work as I am.  And let me tell you--his work on this book, in my opinion, is some of his best.  I have a book slated for next year with Tommy Lee Edwards called  D____________ (yes, you'll have to check back with Broken Frontier for the details!).  I've seen some art from the Talented Mister Edwards for it and I simply can't wait.  As much as I am a fan of Tommy's work, I'm even more a fan of him as a person and so it's nothing short of a pleasure to work with him. More Olympus is to come mid-year, and a few other projects toward the end of the near.  I've also just finished a novel and I've started on the next one; waiting to see what that endeavor yields.  

BF: Who are some writers inside or outside of comics that inspire you?

NE: One of my upcoming projects with [WHOA!  AWESOME ARTIST] represents the writing of Locke, Hobbes, Shakespeare and Hume, so lately I've been reading them as thoroughly as possible.

Also lately I've been pouring through Caroline Gordon's literary criticism works of the 1950s and reading a great deal of Flannery O'Connor's essays and speeches.  So at any time it varies, is the simple answer.  As always, Michael Crichton is an inspiration to me, so I'll continue mentioning that.  

BF: You've been to a few signings in recent weeks. Has the reaction and interest from readers been a great encouragement to you?

NE: It certainly has, as have the relationships I'm building with retailers.  It's no easy time to get a book moving l, but those who like Olympus, love it, and are very encouraging. One thing I do enjoy about this economic climate is that the readers who are sticking around are certainly not fairweather fans; they are passionate and dedicated and even if their number is fewer I enjoy writing for them.  

The Olympus TPB is available now, and if you send  a photo of yourself holding it to olympuscomic@gmail.com you could win the cover art to one of the Olympus issues.