Devil's In The Details or The More Things Change...
Welcome to the NEW Xion Studios! Wait. What?!
They say change is inevitable. They also say that progress is optional. I’m of the sort to think that most change is progress. Maybe I’m wrong. We’ll see…
I’ve been self-publishing since 2012. Eleven years. That’s just what I actually published. My comics creation & publishing career actually date back to 1998. Yeah, I’m that old. LOL.
I’ve told this story many times, but I don’t think I’ve documented it in any of my newsletter variants before. So, let’s sit down for a minute & chat…
It was the late 1990s…
…Image Comics is about 4 years old at this point. Erik Larsen is the Publisher, as well as still putting out Savage Dragon monthly (or, near-monthly). I’m a retail assistant store manager for Babies ‘R’ Us (yes, a division of Toys ‘R’ Us). My best friend of 30+ years had gone shopping for books on inking that I had recommended to him, since we were going to publish our own comic book with me on writing chores and him on art. (Those books were The Art of Comicbook Inking vols. 1 & 2 by Dark Horse Comics.) It just so happened that the cashier ringing him up was a gal named Vicki who was into comics and actually knew Andy Smith. Andy Smith of “Bart Sears and Andy Smith” fame! Inker of pretty much every goddamn thing Bart produced! WOO!
She gave Dennis (my BFF) Andy’s phone number with Andy’s permission (she called him to okay it — this was before texting, kids). We were needing out like you wouldn’t believe.
I got the nerve up to call Andy about two weeks later, and we hit it off and became fast friends! We both loved Green Lantern, we both adored John Byrne’s art (among others), and we were both into self-publishing our own comics. We talked for 3hrs on our very first phone call. CRAZY!
Along the way, Andy gave me Erik’s home phone number (no shit… I still have it, too, LOL). Erik okayed me to call him and discuss my comicbook, which Andy was committed to drawing after he heard my pitch and read my initial script. I called Erik, nervous as hell… he answered. I freaked out, internally, but outwardly I acted cool and as professional as possible. I gave Erik my pitch, and told him Andy was onboard for pencils & inks.
Erik gave me verbal approval to publish my book with Image Comics.
What. The. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu….**?!?!?!?!?!!?
Craziness. I was going to make this happen. I was going to live the dream, make my own comics, and maybe even score a Levi’s commercial!
Time to put the team together!
With Erik’s approval, I needed to finalize my creative team. I knew my wife would be an awesome editor because she’s a grammar geek, but who’s gonna color Andy’s line work? Who’s going to letter?
After a few minutes I realized I could just ask Andy for his recommendations/preferences. A young colorist by the name of Michael Atiyeh was available and amongst Andy’s favorites. Sold. Then there was letterer Steve Dutro who was still lettering by hand (digital lettering & coloring had already started taking over by 1997, so Steve was a bit of an outlier at this point).
Team in-place!!! WOOHOO!!!
I was ready to rock & roll, fam! I’m flying HIGH! Andy started turning my script into pages, and before I knew it I had 5 pages of roughs and he was working on inking the first page!
And then…
…something happened. Imagine that.
This something was the formation of Crossgen Comics. Andy signed on with Crossgen, and Mike did, too. Steve was still a free agent, but I basically lost my entire art team in one fell swoop.
My comicbook hopes were shattered. What now…?!
Well, nothing, actually. I was too busy building a young family with my amazing partner, Suzanne, and it was already going to be too expensive to fund out-of-pocket (we’re over a decade away from Kickstarter and crowdfunding to be born & become mainstream).
The Covenant of Avalon (aka The Prophecy, after Erik suggested I shorten the title — wait until he sees the title of my upcoming book 😂😂😂) was now dead.
Oof.
Fast Forward to Today
Fifteen years later, I’ve started the process of revisiting that book. The main character, Asa (AY-sah), has appeared in pinups and posters and gaming supplements I’ve produced, but he’s never appeared in an actual title I’ve published.
Enter: Travis Gibb.
Travis signed a contract with me to write an original graphic novel (OGN) featuring Asa in the main protagonist role. The book has a great meta-narrative about faith, belief, human need — it’s anthropological, philosophical, and even a little theological. I’m super-excited about this book, because, in a way, I finally get to publish that story I started back in 1997.
Of course, when I originally created Asa I did the character design. When I met Sean Izaakse (Fantastic Four, Green Arrow) and we started to co-create my Xion Universe, I had Sean give Asa an update since it has been over a decade since I’d done anything with his look, which, admittedly, had a bit of a 1990s feel to it.
Sean did a GREAT job of keeping the essence of my original design, but updating it for a fresh, clean take. It still looks fantastic, IMO!
Prepare for Eternis Requiem: The Death of Belief
Travis and I are committed to bringing you high-quality entertainment, so set aside some wallet space for us! This will be one of three OGNs coming from Xion Studios in 2024!
Speaking of 2024
I’ll leave you with this: even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.
More to come.
Thanks for sharing such a great story! My heart goes out to the you from fifteen years ago, but glad you’re getting to share Asa with the world. Congratulations!!