Interview: ICONIC Executive Editor Liam Webb discusses the Comicbook Artists Guild's latest project
Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes and Mark Twain are getting a (oliver) twist.
The Comicbok Artists Guild, a group of comic book creators of varying fame, recently released ICONIC, a 113-page graphic novel retelling legends through the eyes of a grandfather sharing stories with his young grandson and granddaughter.
The book features old and new tales of such icons as Robin Hood, John Henry and even heroes of other cultures, such as the Irish warrior Cuchulainn.
ICONIC Executive Editor Liam Webb recently sat down with the 'Word. This interview was conducted by e-mail.
MIKE: So, what inspired ICONIC?
LIAM: I believe Keith Murphey, Phil Clark, and one or two others started the project. I didn't come on until a couple months in when the first editorial team disbanded.
But to be fair, the inspiration for Iconic came from a group of people who love comics, want to share that love with others, especially kids who may be distracted by other forms of media, by people who wanted to do something nice for others, really. All the work everyone did was on a volunteer basis, in the spirit of doing something good.
MIKE: Who chose the creative teams? Were there any combinations that, seeing the finished product, surprised you?
LIAM: The creative teams in some cases came to us together as a pair, and in some instances we matched people together.
We relied on some people more heavily as time went on, notably Johnny Lowe who really kicked in when asked to do other things. No combinations surprised me, per se.
MIKE: Have you worked with any of these creators before? How has ICONIC further refined their skills?
LIAM: I hadn't worked with anyone in the group directly before this project.
I think ICONIC refined everyone's skills, mine included. I hadn't done a project this large on a volunteer basis before, which is a different animal than a standard job with financial compensation.
I don't know if anyone on the ICONIC editorial team (myself, Chris Buchner, Keith Murphey and Sue Soares) besides Keith Murphey has done something equivalent, but I know that Chris Buchner is already planning "ICONIC 2".
It was a rewarding experience for us all. I think some people learned how much they could do and/or how quick they could do it, some may have sharpened some finer points of their talent (art, writing, lettering), and I believe others got good practice in how to work in a professional environment. Which is part of CAG's job really, to help each other make great work.
MIKE: I'd enjoy hearing about the story you wrote. Why choose Cuchulainn? How closely did you follow the legend? What do you hope readers get from reading your version?
LIAM: I chose Cuchulainn because I'm Irish, I have an Irish Literature certificate from my undergrad days, always loved the story, and believe that nowadays some cultures' mythologies are all but forgotten, and I wanted to help rectify that if I could.
I mean, outside of King Arthur, Thor and some American legends, can anyone but a specialist name European mythology characters anymore? And even in my list, could anyone name Thor if Marvel didn't make the comic book?
I did my best to follow the Cuchulainn legend as closely as I could while tempering it for a younger audience. For instance, in the original legend, the dog is killed and not simply knocked out. I wanted it to be palatable, but not given "the Disney treatment."
I hope that the readers enjoy this version of Cuchulainn enough to want to read more of it, or go further and become interested in other culture's legends, their own hereditary culture or some other culture, whichever they may be. The Monkey King from Chinese literature is good, for instance.
MIKE: And how did Gary Cohn get involved with the book? One could argue that he's somewhat iconic, having co-created Blue Devil and Amethyst ...
LIAM: Gary Cohn became involved with the book because we asked him. He's a nice guy, as are most people in comics, especially the vets like Gary, he has a teaching background which fit well with the spirit of the book, and was kind enough to write an introduction for us.
MIKE: What does a comic like this mean now, when people are looking for inspiration perhaps more than ever?
LIAM: I don't know if I can say for certainty what a comic like this means right now. It can have as many meanings as people reading the book really.
I would hope though, that it gives kids (or even adults) someone to look up to, shows them good examples of how to act. I hope it gives them role models that are literary, because unlike people who lie to fans, cheat on wives or husbands, commit crimes (even though they may be acquitted), or hell, even begin their "careers" by being in an amateur porn, a literary hero can never let you down.
The good ones will always do the right thing, and hopefully get some kids to emulate that behavior, so that society might just one day be what it should be, and not what it is.
MIKE: What did the CAG learn from ICONIC?
LIAM: CAG learned many things from the book.
We learned how we do and do not work together and how to time the ins and outs of those cycles right, we all built our professional relationships, and I think we all learned how incredibly hard it can be to do a serious book project after a full day's work at our day jobs.
And the learning still goes on with the promotional efforts, which by the way, anyone can help with.
One of the beauties of CAG is that any member, even if you joined yesterday, can be on, or even originate and head up, any project they want as long as they've got the follow through. I was only a member for seven months, and one of no real distinction, before joining the project. I just volunteered and then worked very hard.
We've got members with professional credits in comics or out and other members in high school, but if you're serious about the work, be our guest.
CAG is great in that it's non-judgmental; you are worked with based on your attitude and what you're doing today, not who you are, who your cousin is, or where you may or may not have worked before. What do I care if you don't have any professional credits, as long as you do decent work and are a decent person?
MIKE: And what's next for the group?
LIAM: What's next for CAG? Well, what day is it?
Right now, we've got members working on a manga title called WITH HONOR, we have plans for "ICONIC 2", Chris is gathering stories for a prose book of science fiction as yet untitled which I'm writing for but can't edit due to my impending wedding, a zombie book of Keith's, a few other members are doing webcomics, there are always CAG's attendence at comic book conventions, and whatever comes down the line.
Again, if it's a workable idea, and members want to do it, we're up for it.
To get a copy of ICONIC, visit http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4339457.
The Comicbok Artists Guild, a group of comic book creators of varying fame, recently released ICONIC, a 113-page graphic novel retelling legends through the eyes of a grandfather sharing stories with his young grandson and granddaughter.
The book features old and new tales of such icons as Robin Hood, John Henry and even heroes of other cultures, such as the Irish warrior Cuchulainn.
ICONIC Executive Editor Liam Webb recently sat down with the 'Word. This interview was conducted by e-mail.
MIKE: So, what inspired ICONIC?
LIAM: I believe Keith Murphey, Phil Clark, and one or two others started the project. I didn't come on until a couple months in when the first editorial team disbanded.
But to be fair, the inspiration for Iconic came from a group of people who love comics, want to share that love with others, especially kids who may be distracted by other forms of media, by people who wanted to do something nice for others, really. All the work everyone did was on a volunteer basis, in the spirit of doing something good.
MIKE: Who chose the creative teams? Were there any combinations that, seeing the finished product, surprised you?
LIAM: The creative teams in some cases came to us together as a pair, and in some instances we matched people together.
We relied on some people more heavily as time went on, notably Johnny Lowe who really kicked in when asked to do other things. No combinations surprised me, per se.
MIKE: Have you worked with any of these creators before? How has ICONIC further refined their skills?
LIAM: I hadn't worked with anyone in the group directly before this project.
I think ICONIC refined everyone's skills, mine included. I hadn't done a project this large on a volunteer basis before, which is a different animal than a standard job with financial compensation.
I don't know if anyone on the ICONIC editorial team (myself, Chris Buchner, Keith Murphey and Sue Soares) besides Keith Murphey has done something equivalent, but I know that Chris Buchner is already planning "ICONIC 2".
It was a rewarding experience for us all. I think some people learned how much they could do and/or how quick they could do it, some may have sharpened some finer points of their talent (art, writing, lettering), and I believe others got good practice in how to work in a professional environment. Which is part of CAG's job really, to help each other make great work.
MIKE: I'd enjoy hearing about the story you wrote. Why choose Cuchulainn? How closely did you follow the legend? What do you hope readers get from reading your version?
LIAM: I chose Cuchulainn because I'm Irish, I have an Irish Literature certificate from my undergrad days, always loved the story, and believe that nowadays some cultures' mythologies are all but forgotten, and I wanted to help rectify that if I could.
I mean, outside of King Arthur, Thor and some American legends, can anyone but a specialist name European mythology characters anymore? And even in my list, could anyone name Thor if Marvel didn't make the comic book?
I did my best to follow the Cuchulainn legend as closely as I could while tempering it for a younger audience. For instance, in the original legend, the dog is killed and not simply knocked out. I wanted it to be palatable, but not given "the Disney treatment."
I hope that the readers enjoy this version of Cuchulainn enough to want to read more of it, or go further and become interested in other culture's legends, their own hereditary culture or some other culture, whichever they may be. The Monkey King from Chinese literature is good, for instance.
MIKE: And how did Gary Cohn get involved with the book? One could argue that he's somewhat iconic, having co-created Blue Devil and Amethyst ...
LIAM: Gary Cohn became involved with the book because we asked him. He's a nice guy, as are most people in comics, especially the vets like Gary, he has a teaching background which fit well with the spirit of the book, and was kind enough to write an introduction for us.
MIKE: What does a comic like this mean now, when people are looking for inspiration perhaps more than ever?
LIAM: I don't know if I can say for certainty what a comic like this means right now. It can have as many meanings as people reading the book really.
I would hope though, that it gives kids (or even adults) someone to look up to, shows them good examples of how to act. I hope it gives them role models that are literary, because unlike people who lie to fans, cheat on wives or husbands, commit crimes (even though they may be acquitted), or hell, even begin their "careers" by being in an amateur porn, a literary hero can never let you down.
The good ones will always do the right thing, and hopefully get some kids to emulate that behavior, so that society might just one day be what it should be, and not what it is.
MIKE: What did the CAG learn from ICONIC?
LIAM: CAG learned many things from the book.
We learned how we do and do not work together and how to time the ins and outs of those cycles right, we all built our professional relationships, and I think we all learned how incredibly hard it can be to do a serious book project after a full day's work at our day jobs.
And the learning still goes on with the promotional efforts, which by the way, anyone can help with.
One of the beauties of CAG is that any member, even if you joined yesterday, can be on, or even originate and head up, any project they want as long as they've got the follow through. I was only a member for seven months, and one of no real distinction, before joining the project. I just volunteered and then worked very hard.
We've got members with professional credits in comics or out and other members in high school, but if you're serious about the work, be our guest.
CAG is great in that it's non-judgmental; you are worked with based on your attitude and what you're doing today, not who you are, who your cousin is, or where you may or may not have worked before. What do I care if you don't have any professional credits, as long as you do decent work and are a decent person?
MIKE: And what's next for the group?
LIAM: What's next for CAG? Well, what day is it?
Right now, we've got members working on a manga title called WITH HONOR, we have plans for "ICONIC 2", Chris is gathering stories for a prose book of science fiction as yet untitled which I'm writing for but can't edit due to my impending wedding, a zombie book of Keith's, a few other members are doing webcomics, there are always CAG's attendence at comic book conventions, and whatever comes down the line.
Again, if it's a workable idea, and members want to do it, we're up for it.
To get a copy of ICONIC, visit http://www.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=4339457.
Tags: comicbook artists guild, iconic
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