Dead@17's JOSH HOWARD
Welcome to a very special Why I Love Comics. In this edition I interview indie creator Josh Howard about Dead@17 and a few other things. I very recently got into Josh's work, so it was fun to get to interview him and learn a bit more about a great artist. So without further ado, the interview!
Eric Ratcliffe: Josh, for readers who don't know, what is Dead@17?
Josh Howard: Dead@17 is about one teenage girl's struggle against the forces of
darkness. It's got drama, action, and horror set against the backdrop of the
coming apocalypse.
Eric: What inspired you to become a comic creator?
Josh: If I had to pinpoint one moment that made me want to get into comics, it
would have to be the 1989 Batman film. I think I was 12 at the time and it
opened up a whole new world for me. Until that point, my experience with comics
had consisted of mainly G.I. Joe and Transformers.
Eric: Nara is an extremely strong supporting female lead. What inspired her
creation and evolution as a character?
Josh: The initial idea for Nara was basically a modern Joan of Arc, hence the
tom boyish looks, Godly visions, etc. I've always found the story of Joan of Arc
fascinating. So much so that even with Nara acting as that sort of archetype, I still ended up putting the actual Joan of Arc in my story. It was sort of
bringing the whole idea full circle.
Eric: Will Noel be returning at any point or is he truly gone from the series?
Josh: Noel will not be in the current series, Afterbirth. But with only 2 more
series until the grand finale, I'm sure he'll be popping up again before it's
all over.
Eric: Dave from TJ's Collectibles wanted to know if you were ever planning on
doing more Black Harvest or the Lost Books of Eve? He is also a very big
follower of your work.
Josh: More Black Harvest? Probably not. Lost Books of Eve, definitely.
I just
don't know how soon. But if you want more Zaya and Eve, check out Dead@17:
Afterbirth.
Eric: Something I was curious about was your overall style and who inspires it?
I really like it.
Josh: Early on, I was influenced by guys like Erik Larson, Jim Lee, Frank
Miller, J. Scott Campbell, Mike Mignola, Art Adams, and Bruce Timm. But I think
I've gotten to the point where my style stands on its own. I'm still learning
and growing of course. I never stop learning!
Eric: Would it be safe to say that you're a pretty big horror fan? Do you like
the cult stuff like the B horror movie type of material?
Josh: Yeah, I tend to prefer horror from 60s and 70s. One of my all time
favorites is Equinox, which I would love to do a straight adaptation of one day.
Eric: How has the response been with the move over to Image?
Josh: Response has been great so far. Some of the newer readers didn't know
quite what to think because it wasn't a reboot and the story just sort of hits
the ground running. You definitely have to have read the previous series to be
able to appreciate what's going on in Afterbirth. Thankfully, Image made that
task easy with the all-in-one Ultimate Edition.
Eric: You also very recently did a special cover for the book
imaginary friends,
how did that come about?
Josh: Jason Burns and I were both at Viper together, and he even wrote a
Dead@17 short story for me a few years ago. When he contacted me about doing the
cover to Imaginary Friends, I was glad to return the favor.
Eric: So what can readers expect coming up for Hazy and Nara?
Josh: 'Afterbirth' will result in major changes for both characters. The ending
represents a big turning point not just for them, but the series as a whole.
Eric: Do you have any other projects coming up Josh?
Josh: I'm in the process of writing a new series now, completely unrelated to
Dead@17. And of course, I hope next year to conclude Dead@17 with the final
2 min-series. There's a lot on my plate, but nothing to officially announce yet.
Thanks again to Josh for taking time out of his schedule to talk with us as here at Comic Related and you can catch Dead@17 monthly at Image. Well, it's a 4-issue mini, but monthly right now.
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Part of the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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