WELCOME BAAA-CK TO ANOTHER AMAZING INTERVIEW WITH GOATS IN THE BRAIN. THAT'S RIGHT! TODAY WE WILL HAVE OUR ONE-ON-ONE WITH TOM SPELLMAN, THE CREATOR OF YEAR OF THE GOAT. SO LETS GOAT THIS INTERVIEW STARTED.
Comic Unknown: What made you want to work in the comicbook
industry?
Tom Spellman: I've been a comic book reader since is was 10
years old and I can remember many times over the years, saying to myself...wow,
that's a great comic book idea. A few
years ago, I was flipping through the internet looking for a good series to
read (that I hadn't already read). I couldn't find anything interesting from
the big few publishers, but a few awesome books were popping up that were
independent and launched on Kickstarter.
I had no idea what Kickstarter was but as I read on, I found there were
people just like me, without a book deal, that had great story ideas that
needed to be told...and Kickstarter provided a platform for funding to make it
happen.
CU: How did you come up with Year of the Goat?
TS: I'll start by saying that I have a warped sense of
humor. The first comic I launched on
Kickstarter was Time Stop, a story about a guy who finds a watch that gives him
the ability to freeze time. Though I
still love the concept, the story didn't give me an outlet to release the
warped ideas floating around in my noggin.
Timestop didn't do too well and I almost gave up on self-publishing. Then I said to myself, let me try something
different. Instead of making a story
that I think people will like, I'm going to write a story that I would want to
read. It was 2015 and I was in a Chinese
restaurant waiting for my takeout and I noticed a calendar on the wall that
said 2015, the Year of the Goat. My mind
starting spinning and I came up with the idea right after that.
CU: How many issues do you have in mind for the series?
TS: I wrote up through Issue 10. It ends in a way that could conclude the
series, but also leaves a few cliff hangars that would allow me to
continue.
CU: Will the comic's universe continue after the series?
TS: No plans for that.
I have had a few ideas of maybe some one offs but haven't written
anything yet.
CU: What was the most difficult part in the production of
Year of the Goat?
TS: The part I struggle with the most is the wording. I write the comic well in advance of having
it made. That artwork is fun, the
coloring is fun...but then when I get a proof of the final version with my
original writing then in bubble form, I end up revising it about 100
times. It seems what I originally write
sounds perfect when I am writing it, but once I see it on the artwork, with the
characters saying it, I end up changing a lot of what I originally wrote. I have perfectionist tendencies and end up
revising maybe much more than I should.
CU: Are you planning on any new series after Year of the
Goat?
TS: YES! You may
notice on Facebook that I have been teasing pictures of my next series,
Children of Nirvana. There is nothing
like it in the universe and I feel I really have a solid story in my hands (and
not just because I wrote it, hehe).
Issue one is going into production very soon and even if I continue Goat
after Issue 10, I want to take some time off to focus on future issues of
Nirvana.
CU: Who is your favorite all time super hero/villain? Why?
TS: This answer would surely change at different times in my
life. Back at 10, I would have said any
of the Ninja Turtles or anyone in Classic X-Men, especially Wolverine, Gambit
and Omega Red. Now I'm at a point where
I prefer more serious, non-superpower heroes and villains. Jeppard from Jeff Lemire's Sweet Tooth tops
the list of heroes. I just like the raw,
gritty, mountain of a man who after facing much turmoil in his life, has one
last ditch effort to prove to himself that he is actually a good person.
CU: Who has been the biggest influence on you in the comic
industry?
TS: This might be the answer you were expecting but my
biggest influence is all the other creator that are making comics and building
a fan base on crowd funding platforms.
There's been a few times where I've said, why the hell am I doing
this. Then I log into Facebook and see
others, just like me who don't have a writing deal, still putting out kick-ass
stories.
CU: What is the best way readers can find Year of the Goat?
TS: Right now the goats are baaaa-ck with Issue 7 on Kickstarter and the campaign ends March 3rd, 2017.
Though it's 7, there are reward levels that provide back issues and the
volume one TPB featuring issues 1-5. Previous
issues are also available on SpellBound Comics.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TOM SPELLMAN FOR THIS GOAT FILLED INTERVIEW! MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER FOR ALL UPDATES ON ALL INDIE COMICS WE REVIEW AND NEW INTERVIEWS WITH THE CREATORS OF THE AWESOME COMICS WE HAVE REVIEWED!
