Broken Frontier

Everybody goes through a dinosaur stage. Seeing the re-assembled skeletons at a local museum is a thrill that is shared by most everyone. The creatures seem so magical and mythical, even though they were so obviously real. Well, what if they still were? And what if they evolved? They’d probably want their planet back. In Antarctic Press and Rod Espinosa’s Dinowars, that’s just what the world must face. Rod sat down with BF to discuss the series and his love of dinosaurs.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Can you describe your book for us?

ROD ESPINOSA: Dinowars is about dinosaurs that evolved intelligence, escaped the ice age by sleeping in deep space, and now have returned to claim the Earth after 65 million years.

BF: Where did the idea for this story come from?

RE: Like most ideas I have, it came from my musings about Alien invasions. I wanted very much to do my own alien invasion story, but I did not know how I was going to approach it. Yet another alien species bent on our destruction would be just another in a long line. So I thought: "What if they were not aliens but dinosaurs who have escaped the ice age?". From there, it took off.

When I presented the idea to the guys at AP, they got pretty excited and we immediately set the ball rolling. 

BF: Are there specific breeds of dinosaurs we'll be seeing, or are these some kind of "evolved" species?

RE: That's a good question. The question of using existing and evolved species came up naturally as my discussions and consultations with my fellow artist Lee Duhig developed over time. In the end, I decided to use existing dinosaurs but redesign them so that they would look slightly bio-engineered. So, you will still see the good ol’ bunch of dinos we have come to love over the decades.

The most evolved species, naturally, would be the smart dinosaurs themselves. In this regard, their final design looks similar to the comical smart monsters of the past, I think. Bipedal and upright with short snouts. I could have designed something really "out there", but I wanted dino designs that would endear themselves to the readers somewhat.

A great deal of the design I did was on their clothing. I wanted their whole civilization to be based on living life forms. Thus, their clothing is somewhat alive and they are symbiotes with their clothes.

BF: Any special personal interest in dinosaurs?

RE: I was a big fan of dinosaurs, as most kids are. One of my favorite TV shows was Land of the Lost . I never could have foreseen I would be doing a dinosaur story.

BF: Are you a fan of the space program?

RE: Ah, yes! It amazes me what we can accomplish when we put our heads together.
Those Mars and Jupiter probes—especially those rovers. At one point, I had the rover written into the plot of Dinowars , but in the end, I decided it was something I could do without. All these ideas about space that I want to put in, but would just bog down the story when all we want to do is see the dinosaurs immediately! Which is what readers of the first issue would really get!

I was thrilled when the first space tourist Dennis Tito went into orbit. When Anouseh Ansari went up for a week, I followed her journey and sort of vicariously lived the adventure, you can say. She not only went up there, but performed regular duties and experiments for her company while in orbit. A working vacation! I hope to be able to do that one of these days too...

BF: You've been working with Antartic Press for quite some time. How has that relationship been going?

RE: I started working full time with AP since 2001 and haven't regretted it ever since.

Antarctic Press is a wonderful company to work with. Joe Dunn is absolutely the best boss you can ever have. I think many of us are loyal to him to the point of taking a bullet for this guy. He's the best CEO you can ever wish for. And the team we have is world-class.

Because we have formed such tight bonds over the years, it's like working with a SEAL team. Everyone knows everyone else's job. This kind of closeness is what often makes our company harder to penetrate than Al Qaeda. In a way, I think the company prides itself in that citadel-like impenetrability.

It's all about gaining the confidence of our EIC, Joe Weltjens and Production Manager Lee Duhig. They can spot a poser miles away. As a result, we don't open our doors to just anyone. An artist has to be truly exceptional to earn notice. And only by working hard and proving themselves can artists and writers enter the "sacred circle" or whatever... it’s cheesy, but true. Heh.

When we see all these new companies sprouting, just by looking at the ads, the stories and their marketing strategies, you can almost set your calendar to predict when their Diamond Previews ads start falling off. First they always start off with 10 or more pages. Over the months, you notice, they haven't come out with the third issues of their books. Their section in Previews gets smaller, and finally, they are down to two pages, then one... then none. Then another company comes up, vowing yet once more to "revolutionize the industry.”

Doing comics with AP is a very demanding but ultimately rewarding job. It's not for the 9-to-5 crowd.

BF: Do you ever feel that AP's "American manga" feel is a limitation?

RE: We do publish works in other styles. In order for us to do so, though, the work has to be of exceptional quality and merit. Our recent publications include The Alamo (by yours truly), Killbox (by Iron Man artist Brian Denham) and Science Fair by Jasen Lex (which ain't American Manga by any stretch of the imagination!). These are all good-looking books not necessarily of the manga mold.

We have also published diverse works such as The History of Web Comics by T. Campbell.

BF: Can you describe your creative process?

RE: I script loosely by typing them out (when there's a PC nearby) or writing out ideas on a sheet of paper. Then I refine my script to the point where I describe each panel I plan to do.
Then, I start the project by storyboarding or thumbnailing the entire first issue. Later on, as I get into the groove, (or run out of time), I drop this stage when I already know what I will draw on the page without storyboarding it first. Sometimes, I want to get the idea fast on paper and just draw directly on paper.

As I learn more computer techniques, my original art is slowly vanishing. I draw less and less coherent pages. Dinowars right now is a motley collection of large and small pieces of paper—pretty much anything I can get my hands on and scribble fast on. Sometimes, a sheet of paper only has one character drawn on it. Other times, a whole panel. When I have all my drawings in, I assemble the pages in Photoshop. It's a very confusing way to draw a comic book and I won't recommend it to anyone but the most experienced.

BF: Do you find it easier having all the creative duties on a title, or do you prefer working with someone else?

RE: Both. With certain projects, I prefer to work with a writer and have the pages "preset" so that I have a framework on which to base my drawings on. With my more personal projects, I like to work alone. More and more now, though, I like collaborating with others.

BF: If a dinosaur was alive today, what do you think it would most like about the world?

RE: That it's getting warmer. I think a dinosaur would like that. And it would have plenty of food—plant or otherwise. [Laughs] But realistically, we are, as whole planetarial species, on our way to shrinking sizes. Everywhere, we see the triumph of the tiny over the large. Just as mammals triumphed over most of the dinosaurs (mammals grow, propagate and move faster in general), I believe we are seeing the dawn of the insect age. There is no doubt that insects are poised to be the next "mammals" to take over the world. We just have to be careful not to end up like the dinosaurs.

As long as we take care of our planet and our home, we need not fear extinction.

BF: Are there any other upcoming titles you'd like to mention at this time?

RE: Aside from Dinowars, I have The Courageous Princess being released by Dark Horse next year. I am also preparing  another long term project like the recent Neotopia series.
In the meantime, I will be busy doing illustrated history books for a client of AP's in the book world.

Be sure to check out the dinosaur war when it begins this December from Antarctic Press. You’ll want to be prepared when the ancient inhabitants return.