Broken Frontier

Debuting this December Com.x's latest original grapic novel 45 takes a very different approach to super-hero storytelling with 45 different artists giving their interpretations of 45 different super-powered characters. Debutant writer Andi Ewington sat down with Broken Frontier to tell us all about his first foray into the comics world.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Before discussing 45 let’s talk a little about Andi Ewington, as this will be your first published comics work. Tell us a little about yourself and the trials and tribulations of being a first-timer coming into the industry?

ANDI EWINGTON: I haven't broken through the writing ranks via one of the more traditional routes, i.e journalism, copyrighting etc. In fact, I consider myself more of an artist than a writer. I've been employed as a graphic designer since 1991, although I've always enjoyed writing, creating stories and developing characters and dialogue - I think a heavy upbringing of Dungeons & Dragons has a lot to answer for!

It wasn't until I reached my mid-twenties that I started writing full manuscripts. 'Limpit Muskin & Company' was my first foray, written with my best friend Dennis Johnson, it was a fantasy comedy crammed with anti-heroes and talking hamsters. It took three years to write and both Dennis and I still consider it unfinished! Even though LM&C remains unpublished we received favourable feedback. Looking back, I think it was too big a story for an untried debut writer to handle - it weighed in at around 250,000 words! I continued to write short stories but never really tried to get them published, they were more for my own satisfaction.

BF: For those reading this who will be unfamiliar with the project how would you describe the central premise of 45?

AE: 45 is a series of transcript interviews instigated by a journalist called James Stanley. James is a soon-to-be-father and, with the imminent birth of his son, he begins asking himself questions such as, "What if my child is born with Superpowers? What can I expect? How will I cope?". In order to find the answers, he sets out to interview a wide spectrum of Superheroes, each with their own experiences to share. He starts with the parents of a recently born baby that has the ability to fly and continues by interviewing a spectrum of other characters with a wide range of different powers, whilst also unearthing a dark, covert organisation called 'XoDOS' along the way.

BF: How did the project end up with the guys at Com.x?

AE: When I moved to my current employer, An.x (a design and advertising agency in London), I found out that my boss (Eddie Deighton) also owned a top indie comics publisher called Com.x with his business partner, Ben Shahrabani. After talking to Eddie & Ben, I realised I this was the perfect opportunity to have one of my stories published. It may seem like a case of nepotism but I can assure you, I had to work twice as hard to prove I was serious about writing and it took a good year of pitching ideas before they agreed to publish 45.

BF: What was the genesis of 45’s basic concept? From structure to presentation it’s a book that certainly sounds like a concerted attempt to push the boundaries of the medium a little.

AE: I guess that's one of my strengths - I'm not exactly a conventional guy when I'm conceptualising. 45 was the same - it grew out of a life-changing experience in my life; the birth of my son, Zack. My world was filled with all kinds of baby-orientated things and my emotions were a roller-coaster of highs and lows. I got thinking about everything from how I'd cope with the birth through to what he would think of me. Then, I started to take my thought processes a little off-track; "What would happen if he had a really cool superpower?'" Not the usual things you immediately think about, but then again that's the way my mind works!

I was also reading World War Z by Max Brooks and I enjoyed the way the narrative was broken into transcript form. With so many characters involved with my story, the WWZ format made perfect sense for 45. I spoke to Com.x about the idea and they loved it, so the next day I began writing my first interview. I wasn't really thinking about pushing boundaries so to speak, just making the idea fit the style of writing I wanted to employ. But the more I bounced the idea off Com.x the more we both realised this was going to be something very different.

BF: Is there any established comics work or are there any creators that have influenced you and been an inspiration for the kind of story you wanted to tell in 45?

AE: As mentioned, World War Z by Max Brooks, but also, Marvels by Kurt Busiek. World War Z allowed the reader to become more involved in the story by using first-hand character experience. This was a writing style that resonated with me. Marvels is also an amazing read, it opened my eyes to a different way of perceiving the Superhero world - I liked the way the main emphasis of the story focussed on an ordinary guy; it just made the whole concept more believable. On a personal level, both Rob Williams and Tony Lee were great to talk to and gave me the confidence to finish what I started.

BF: Who are some of the collaborators working with you on 45? There’s a long list of very diverse artists involved after all...

AE: Wow, where do I begin? There's Jock, Sean Phillips, Liam Sharp, John Higgins, Gary Erskine, Trevor Hairsine, Charlie Adlard, Frazer Irving, Ben Oliver, Carlo Pagulayan, Robert Atkins, TIm Vigil, Matt Timson, Randy Green, Anthony Castrillo, and that's just for starters. There's a real mix of current, old and new artists, and one or two surprises thrown in for good measure!

BF: As a creator you must have felt overly blessed as the individual pages come in. Most writers only get to see their ideas on a comic brought to life by one artist’s interpretation – you'’ve had the best part of fifty! How has that been as an experience?

AE: It's been totally mind-blowing, especially as this is my debut novel. It's hard to describe; I would be working on my day-to-day projects and then out of the blue I'd get an amazing piece of art come in and I'd be on a high for the next few days. Just as I would start to come down from one page, another would come in and the whole feeling would start again. I became addicted to waiting for new art and I'm the first to admit that there was a pang of sadness when I received the forty-fifth piece in my inbox!

BF: Of the contributing artists, (and without necessarily naming names), were there any who really surprised you with their approach to their designated pages?

AE: There were plenty! What's been great about this project is the way each artist has interpreted their chosen page. Each has really tried hard to capture the essence of the respective interview. There are some stunning results, and some really left-field thinking going on, which really pushes artistic boundaries.

BF: Thinking about the logistics of 45 how did you go about choosing and approaching the contributors? Did you try and gear individual pages to certain artist’s styles or did that go against the grain of the philosophy of the project?

AE: Com.x has a good understanding of the industry and has a knack for spotting jaw-dropping potential when it comes to new talent, so we have some great pages from the new guys. Other seasoned contributors came through recommendations; guys like Frazer Irving, John Higgins, Dave Ryan, Jock and Lee Garbett were good enough to put me in touch with the likes of Dan Fraga, Anthony Castrillo, Matt Timson, Fiona Staples and Dom Reardon.

 A few I found through sites like DeviantArt, or by looking over portfolios at conventions - I met Lee Carter, Ross Dearsley and Sean O'Connor at the Bristol Comic Con (UK) this year. As for art styles, after going through a prospective artists portfolio I'd quickly ascertain if their particular style would work with any of the interviews and, as long as I could visualize their work in my story then they would be offered a page; that was the only real control I had with the artists. After that, I pretty much left the choice of character interview to the artists themselves.

BF: Although this appears to be pitched as a standalone project would you be interested in revisiting the world of 45 again and perhaps getting the opportunity to elaborate on the stories of the characters involved?

AE: Totally! I've already been thinking about 45+1 and revisiting the same characters one year on. Also, I'd like to write a prequel that delves into the background behind XoDOS. Com.x and I have even discussed one-shots with one or two of the characters; we've been considering taking the form of an online voting system, whereby the readers of 45 can vote for their favourite interview and the most popular characters get their own special edition one-shot.

BF: Moving on post-45 what else can we look forward to from Andi Ewington? What other projects have you got in the pipeline?

AE: I have managed to write two further scripts that I'm going to pitch to Com.x sometime next year. I've also have around a dozen or so concepts buzzing around that I need to develop further. Who knows - maybe this time next year I'll have a second book out - now that would be something!

45 goes on sale this December from Com.x (Diamond Order Code OCT090823). For more on the project check out the official 45 blog site. The Com.x team will be represented this coming weekend at both the Long Beach Comic Con (say hello to them at Booth #263) and at Birmingham's British International Comics Show 2009.