Broken Frontier

After having saved the day from the threat posed by the heinous Samuel Antonetti, the Sire (loser-turned-hero-after-alien-energy-source-bonds-to-his-skin-and-gives-him-costume-and-powers) is clenching his fists, all set to embark on a new adventure. Fans of his first series will find out all about those exploits come June, when The Sire: Revelations kicks off, a new volume that serves as a jumping-on point for new readers.

Michael Dolce, who along with artist Dan Leister formed the creative team on the first mini-series, briefly talked about what revelations will be thrown at the Sire.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Where does Volume 2 pick up compared to where we last saw The Sire?

MICHAEL DOLCE: Volume 2 picks up a few weeks later following the events of issue #3 of the first mini.  It’s essentially a number four story-wise, but also a great jumping on point for new readers.  A lot has changed in the relationship between Sire and JJ (Waterston – ed.)—and Sire with his own costume as well—following the climax of the third issue.

BF: How are you further developing him as a character?

MD: The first volume of the series is essentially a coming of age story for Sire and the Don Wright character.  This volume is more of a call to action for him.  He accepts that he has this costume that forces him to fight other superpowered beings; he accepts that it has some purpose. Now, instead of bitching about his situation, he’s ready to do something about it and try and make sense of it.

BF: What about his supporting cast? Where are you taking them?

MD: The first issue will introduce a new supporting character; someone very, very close to Don and JJ that will invariably throw a monkey wrench into Don’s plans of attracting JJ’s attention.  We’re also going to learn how Don got the job with JJ to begin with. 

Also, we get to further flesh out the newsroom and Don and JJ’s relationship to the other reporters including Jim Watkins, Lila Chang and her boss Walter Mason.  It’s great that the first volume helped set-up the world of the Sire… now I finally get to play in it a little bit.

BF: Is the Sire meeting any new villains?

MD: We have a new villain coming up in the very first issue as well as the reappearance of a familiar face or two.  You’ll have to pick up the issue to find out who they are though!

BF: What are some of the most important lessons learned working on the first volume, both in terms of production and marketing a self-published book?

MD: Oh boy, this one could take a while! [Laughs] Production-wise, I finally have a system in place that speeds everything up, from the coloring to the lettering to the actual layout of the book—m which by the way is often overlooked.  As for the coloring too, I’m a lot more confident using light and shadow to really bring out the best this book can be, so that’s been a big help. 

Marketing-wise, I know who to advertise with and who NOT to advertise with.  I know a few tricks now to getting the word out.  That’s one of the reasons I decided to do a volume two instead of just doing a number four—I feel like I know so much more about how to present this story now that a new number one just felt right.

BF: Talent Caldwell again is illustrating a cover for you. Will he, along with Tyler Kirkham, produce any more covers for the series?

MD: Talent is indeed doing the covers for the foreseeable future.  Tyler did an amazing job on issue three and I’m lucky to count both of these guys as my friends first and colleagues second.  So you will most likely see some Tyler Kirkham Sire covers later on as well.  Both guys are on my short list of folks I trust handling my character.

The Sire: Revelations #1 is featured on page 220 of the April Previews (#APR073305), along with a collectors pack of Volume One (#APR073306). Revelations #1 will hit stores in late June and will be available first at Wizard World Philadelphia and Heroes Con. A special Hero Initiative variant edition of the issue  For more information, visit http://www.mikebooks.com.