Broken Frontier

Having spent most of her life on functioning cattle ranches, writer Caryn A. Tate is uniquely positioned to provide a distinctive and authentic voice to her western webcomic series, Red Plains. With a burgeoning back catalogue of material available on a number of digital platforms, Red Plains is a genre comic that avoids the clichés traditionally associated with its subject matter.

Broken Frontier spent some time on the range with Caryn to find out what the future holds for the inhabitants of her fictional western town. 

BROKEN FRONTIER: To begin with, for those unfamiliar with the series, can you give Broken Frontier's readership a quick rundown of Red Plains and its colorful cast of characters?

CARYN A. TATE: Red Plains is a realistic western that features a lot of violence and crime, and we deal with the West as it really was: wild and unpredictable. The story is set in a small town and features a diverse cast, including the wealthy Latino family if the Escovidos; rancher Doug Stevens and his spoiled son, Jackson; struggling father/daughter farmers Isaac and Rose Templeton; and the local politicians, prostitutes, cowboys, and Sheriff Doles and his deputies, who are trying to hold it all together.

We don’t follow any one character or set of characters; instead, we get a little bit of everyone’s story. We look at why these people came out here and what they’re doing here. For some people it’s pure and simple, a better life than the one they left back East. For other folks, it’s a wide-open opportunity to grab power and money. And for yet others, every day is a battle to try to regain what was stolen from them.

BF: One of the very interesting aspects of Red Plains is how your background and upbringing bring an essential part to the strip’s character. Could you tell us a little bit about that and how your life history has informed your storytelling of the comic?

TATE: Sure. I was born into the lifestyle and grew up working on cattle ranches and farms, and hearing those stories and legends, as well as seeing some of it first-hand. When you live something every day, it comes pretty natural to have it inform your creativity. Growing up seeing Hollywood’s version of what I did every day and knowing it’s not even close made me want to tell the truth. I want folks to see the West for what it really is, because there’s so much more to it than the stereotypes.

BF: Digital versus print is a big talking point in the world of comics at the moment. Was the relative structural freedom that webcomics allow something that influenced your decision to utilize the digital format for Red Plains?

TATE: It wasn’t so much the structural freedom of webcomics or digital that appealed to me, but the fact that digital avenues are very friendly to new talent. Because of this, it allows new creators to hone their craft while building an audience, and that’s vital not only to the creators but to the industry.

BF: The historical and social authenticity of the strip is something that’s obviously very important to you and the artists. Which genre clichés are you particularly keen to avoid in the strip?

TATE: Take your pick. Whether it’s cowboys who are never seen on a horse or outside a saloon, gunfighters calling to the marshal for a gunfight at high noon, or only seeing things from the “white settler'” point of view, we’re avoiding them all in Red Plains.

I would never want to add to the enormous pile of trite westerns out there, so in addition to my firsthand experience of the West, I do a ton of research. When we see things like peoples’ clothes, how society viewed class or race, what slang was used at the time and by which group of people, it’s done with an eye toward accuracy. The West was a place filled with all classes and a lot of different races, so why is it that in so many westerns we only see white men? I guess you could argue that they also have women as helpless victims and Native Americans on the rampage, but I don’t see that as diversity or authenticity.

In Red Plains, we have characters like Rand, an African American cowboy who fled a future of coal mining to come out West because the lifestyle called to him from a place where he would primarily be judged for his character, not his skin color; Rose Templeton, who is anything but helpless and is scraping by with what little honest work was available for a woman; Soledad Escovido, an intelligent and capable Mexican noblewoman struggling to be respected and taken seriously by her father and society; and Velasquez, former bodyguard to the Escovidos, who was involved in a town siege and now has to endure the life of an outlaw on the run.

BF: On that point, what examples of the western genre, in any medium, do you think are an accurate reflection of the times they’re set in? Do any of them influence your approach to Red Plains?

TATE: Probably the first accurate western film I saw was Lonesome Dove, and it’s still one of my all-time favorites. Some other greats are Unforgiven, the Clint Eastwood film; No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (the film is phenomenal, too); Hud; Giant was another great one; Sand by Will James; the TV series Rawhide and Have Gun Will Travel, though, they take some liberties with realism, but overall I was impressed by how realistic they were for the time when they were made!

I’m definitely influenced by all of these and more, but honestly, my approach to Red Plains is influenced by a lot more than westerns as well. I have a good amount of crime and noir influences, and some of the biggest are The Hitch-Hiker, DOA, and The Big Sleep. Comics like Lone Wolf and Cub have also greatly influenced me creatively.

Pages from the 'Range War' arc with art by Noel Tuazon and the 'Nice Place to Raise Your Kids Up' storyline illustrated by Larry Watts

BF: You’ve worked with a number of artists on Red Plains, each giving their own take to the characters, albeit in a similarly realistic vein. What can you tell us about what these creators have brought to the visuals?

TATE: It’s a blast working with the wide variety of talented artists that I have. I generally work with different artists on separate storylines. I think it adds a lot of freshness to the series, to see different takes on the world and the characters, but it also maintains consistency because we don't interrupt an arc to bring in a new artist.

Noel Tuazon and Patrick Bezanson were the earliest artists on the series; Noel has a great sketchy, noir style that lent a lot of depth to the “Range War” story, and Patrick provided great expressions and body language for the character-driven “Letters Back Home” and “One of Us” tales. Larry Watts, Gary Fitzgerald, and Butch Mapa came after that—Larry really nailed the explosive action scenes in “Nice Place to Raise Your Kids Up,” and Gary portrayed the gritty reality of everyday life in “Some Kind of Closure,” and the eerie flashback of settlers encountering a Hell-on-Earth situation in “The Scurvy” with stark clarity. Butch has this amazingly contrasted style in “Accidents Will Happen” that just raised that arc to a whole new level.

They've all been a joy to work with. Right now, Patrick and I are finishing up another storyline together called “How Jackson Spent His Summer Vacation,” and later in December you'll be seeing something completely new for the Red Plains world—a holiday tale called “Christmastime is Here,” featuring the great Gary Fitzgerald again. Wait till you see it—just breathtaking. And the story is probably not what you're expecting!

BF: Red Plains is very much an ensemble character piece. Is the feeling of historical soap opera, where no one single character is the lead player, something you were consciously trying to achieve?

TATE: Oh yeah, that was absolutely a conscious decision. I feel like most western tales we see are those that have a “hero vs. villain” type portrayal of the world and its people, and I really wanted to avoid that. It's just so one dimensional in general.

But on top of that, I just try to write the kinds of stories that I personally want to read. And I usually find tales that have an assorted group of characters much more interesting than ones that focus on one or two people. Plus, as a creator, it's so much more fun to get to work on all of the wildly different characters that make up the town of Red Plains. It's really satisfying.

Butch Mapa art from the 'Accidents Will Happen' arc and Patrick Bezanson's visuals from 'One of Us'

BF: Having just read the entire run of Red Plains over a few days, the way you leave seeds for future story threads and interweave the characters’ plotlines has become more apparent as the comic has continued. Has Red Plains been a learning experience for you and do you feel your confidence as a storyteller has grown as the strip has progressed?

TATE: Absolutely, yeah. Not only has my confidence grown, but my skills as a storyteller have too. I make it a priority to always be growing and learning, actively improving my craft. So, when I look back at the earlier Red Plains storylines, I love them and I am still proud of them, but I do see things I would do differently now - but that's a good thing.

Part of the joy of Red Plains is that it's a world full of characters who act, think, and make decisions based on the situations around them and what has come before. Just like real people. So, as I write these stories, I take something or someone in a direction and contemplate what effects it will have on the other people involved, or the town, or both. It's a domino effect; even a seemingly small decision can have a big impact down the road, again, just like real life, and so it's something that continues to build and build as the series progresses.

BF: Red Plains is now being released from the beginning on Graphic.ly. Fill us in on the unique bonus content that’s being included with this digital release.

TATE: It's been a blast releasing these stories digitally! One of the coolest things is that I'm doing audio commentary for every single issue. It's been a lot of fun to sit down and go back over these stories one by one, and just talk to the Red Plains readers out there about my thoughts on a particular installment. I get to relive creating the issue and reading it in its final form. The end result is fantastic—it feels like real-time interaction with the audience. Tons of fun!

On top of audio commentary, we have detailed character information (which changes depending on issue and storyline), script excerpts, and concept art. Another exciting thing is that the first issue of every storyline is free (bonus content included!), and each issue following is 99 cents. It's a great opportunity to gain more insight into the storylines and characters, and to see into the creative process of Red Plains. In addition to Graphic.ly, Red Plains is also being released via MyDigitalComics.com, also with bonus content attached to each issue.

BF: Without spoiling anything, are there any teases for upcoming storylines you can give at this point? Which characters are you intending on shining the spotlight on next?

TATE: After the new year, we'll actually be releasing a really exciting digital exclusive (i.e., Graphic.ly and MyDigitalComics.com) story about Luis Escovido. We'll learn more about how he became the man he is and why he harbors such harsh feelings towards so many folks in the area. In true Red Plains form, it has a ton of violence and cool character moments! Plus, it will feature a brand new artist, Mike D. Kim, whose work is just gorgeous. I can't wait till we get to share it with the world!

At the end of “Accidents Will Happen,” we saw that Jackson Stevens is back in town. Well, the current storyline, “How Jackson Spent His Summer Vacation,” shows us how he got out of jail, and after the first of the year we'll get to see what mischief Jackson is up to now that he's a free man. We'll see a lot of the Escovidos (Soledad and Lupe in particular)—some trouble is brewing on the horizon that may threaten their happy family and cause them to make some tough decisions.

We'll also be focusing on some of the women in town and how they're coping with recent events by taking matters into their own hands. Plus, we'll see sides to several of the lawmen that are unexpected, and their choices may change the environment of the town for good.

BF: Finally, are there any other projects, inside or outside of the comics field, that you would like to draw the BF readership’s attention to?

TATE: Noel Tuazon and I are working on a crime noir graphic novel called Hit and Run that is shaping up to be a lot of fun. It's got some really unusual elements to it, and I'm really excited about its release!

On top of that, my children's books will soon have a digital home as well, so the rest of these picture books, also done with Noel, will be released in the coming months. That's really exciting because this series of books have been in the making for several years now, and Sunny Bear's Rainy Day went over real well with the kids, so I can't wait to put the rest of these books into their hands.

The entire series of Red Plains so far can be read at TopShelfComix here. Red Plains is also available at MyDigitalComics.com and  Graphic.ly. For more on Caryn A. Tate's work, check out her website here.