The Fabler

So a trouble-making Dwarf and a gun-wielding giant of a man walk into a bar, right?

Only…  it isn’t a bar, it’s a fantasy Dungeons & Dragons-style world rife with chaos and all sorts of supernatural baddies. And they don’t ‘walk in’ per se, so much as blitz a trail of destruction as only two battle-hardened mercenaries would know how.

But the punch line is… Ah, forget it. You might as well just read the comic, which is bound to be more entertaining than my misguided attempts at humour anyhow.

Written and co-created by Jim Zubkavich, the comic is called Skullkickers, and  the first issue is due out on the shelves of comic book retailers everywhere on September 22nd. A brand new series from Image Comics, it promises to be an action-packed romp through a fantasy landscape that’s equal parts sass and bad-assery.

Skullkickers stemmed from a couple short stories that Zubkavich wrote and Chris Stevens illustrated for Image’s Popgun anthologies, though on the series, relative newcomer Edwin Huang takes on all penciling duties.

Jim himself is a veteran in the field – in addition to his work on the Popgun anthologies, he has written and illustrated his own OGN, titled The Makeshift Miracle, and has extensive writing and editing credits on the Street Fighter titles from UDON Entertainment.

You also might know him as a co-founder and the current Project Manager of UDON.  In addition to promoting his new book from Image, Jim has also been busy with events relating to UDON’s 10 year-anniversary – that’s right, the Toronto-based comic company has past the decade milestone, an event they recently celebrated at the San Diego Comic Con.

Jim was kind enough to field a whole shwack of questions I had for him, both about Skullkickers and a decade of UDON.

The interview is below:

KD: What can you tell me about the world in which Skullkickers takes place?

JZ: Here’s how I described the world of Skullkickers from the story pitch I sent to Image:

“In a backwater fantasy world filled with all manners of magical beasts, poverty, disease and other horrifying threats, it’s a daily struggle to survive. Most people keep their head low, stay in the village they were born and eke out a life as a farmer or simple tradesperson. The only people strong enough to have anything else are protected by sorcerous powers or in the employ of the demonic.

Except for our two protagonists — They thrive by being stubborn and tough as Hell.”

That’s it in a nutshell. It’s a bleak and foreboding fantasy world filled to the brim with monsters and nastiness. Magic is prevalent but if you don’t have access to it, then it’s something to be feared. It’s a place populated with every manner of creature from my favorite fantasy novels and D&D sessions, alongside corrupt feudal governments and warring factions; a place ripe with adventure.

KD: Complete this sentence: Skullkickers is like ____ meets _____, with a touch of ____ and a whole lot of _____.

JZ: Skullkickers is like Army of Darkness meets Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser, with a touch of Hellboy and a whole lot of Conan.

KD: What was it about Edwin Huang’s initial art samples that stood out to you and made you think he’d be a good penciller candidate for Skullkickers?

JZ: Edwin’s pencils showed a real solid sense of storytelling and clarity. I can’t tell you how many portfolios I’ve looked at where the art is completely focused on shallow pin-up poses and detail instead of storytelling and a feeling of motion.

Comic pages that can show a range of action and express a variety of emotions are hard to find, especially from a newcomer. Edwin’s samples showed a lot of promise in those crucial areas and that made them jump out from the pack.

KD: Regarding the character design for the two mercenaries — how did you and Chris Stevens initially come up with the look for your protagonists?

JZ: I described a human and dwarf who were heartless mercenaries and Chris really ran with the ball and gave them a distinctive visual look. The weapons and armor are all based on his visual style and an aesthetic that he came up with including the human’s gun, which stands out as an odd addition in a fantasy-based world, but I came up with a fun story justification for why it exists if we end up digging in to that later on.

KD: What has been the coolest part for you about writing Skullkickers?

JZ: It’s been a thrill using my love of fantasy as a genre as the impetus for new stories. Skullkickers is simultaneously a loving homage and a sarcastic poke at the fantasy novels I love. That material is rich with potential and it’s a fun backdrop for characters to kick butt and get in to trouble around. I hope people feel that inspiration in the stories and jump on to see where it all goes.

I have a lot of Skullkickers stories I’d like to tell, bursting with action, adventure and sass.

KD: Let’s talk about UDON Entertainment’s 10th Anniversary, which happens to be this year.

To commemorate a decade of UDON, you guys came up with the idea to put out an anthology titled VENT collecting the art and stories of a wide range of UDON artists, past and present. (Fans at the San Diego comic con were lucky enough to catch a sneak preview hardcover version of the book, but the rest of us will have to wait until it hits the shelves of local comic retailers on September 15th).

Where did the idea for VENT come from?

JZ: VENT is a project that we’ve bounced around at UDON for the last 3 years. We’ve wanted to create a showcase for our artists and let them run wild, but finding the time to do that while juggling other projects and publishing was tough. Hitting the 10 year mark as a company helped finally make it a reality.

KD: Does the launch of VENT as per UDON’s 10 year anniversary mean the launch of a new anthology series, or is it purely a one-off collection at this point?

JZ: We’re hoping the sales and interest from fans will make it a new series, not just a one-off. All of us are eager to see how well the book does once the softcover regular edition hits stores in September. Based on that, we’ll know where we go with it from there.

KD: On your blog, you talked about your contribution to the book, a pin-up from a story concept called ‘Silverspark’.

You mentioned that it combines your interest in “traditional stage magic/sleight-of-hand with faerie folk and mystery” – could you tell me a little about your interest in stage magic, and that that might play into a story about ‘real’ magical folk?

JZ: Back in Grade 5-6, before I wanted to get in to art/writing, I was obsessed with stage magic and sleight-of-hand. I learned some magic, practiced quite a bit and did some performances for friends/family from time to time. Even after my focus changed, that love of the craft has always stayed with me, even while my actual skills for it atrophied. Taking that as a source of inspiration for a story seemed natural.

The term ‘magic’ can mean two very different things when used to describe sleight-of-hand or actual supernatural occurrences or creatures. Even when people know that a stage magician is tricking them, it’s a way to describe something they can’t understand. If someone had a solid grasp of sleight-of-hand, they knew the tricks and understood the methods, it isn’t really “magic” any more. There’s nothing unexplainable about it for them. The rush of the unknown is lost… unless they find something more behind it, which is where the fae angle comes in. Magic in the story is a symbol for the unknown, the unexplainable and a feeling of discovery and wonderment, whether that’s stage illusion or actual mystical conjuring.

KD: Ten years is (obviously) a big milestone for UDON. What are you personally most proud of achieving with UDON in that time?

JZ: It may sound odd, but I’m really proud that when fans meet us at conventions they’re shocked by how small and tight knit a company we are. The fact that our artwork and related products are big enough to make them assume that we’re a huge group of artists speaks highly of our quality and ability to deliver for major clients.

I’m also proud that in an industry not known for stability or loyalty we’ve gone 10 years with a great group, moving forward and growing without losing a sense of where we’ve come from.

KD: In another ten years from now, what would you ideally like to be able to say UDON has done?

JZ: It’s hard to image a decade from now in any aspect of my life, but I’d like to see UDON fully developed as a place where our artists can work on major commercial projects alongside their own original creations, fulfilling both sides of the creative equation.

You can find Jim Zubkavich on Livejournal, Blogspot, and deviantART. You can also find more about UDON Entertainment on their official website.

-Written by Kevin de Vlaming