Co-Creator/Writer for Tether
Published by: Isle2
Interviewed by: Richard Vasseur/Jazma VP
Posted: 01/06/2014
Rich: How did you first become interested in creating a comic book?
Chuck: I actually started writing and making my own films back in 2000. We're talking zero budget films that were made mostly with friends of mine. I had dreams of making big films... even got my degree in film production. Living in Buffalo doesn't have any opportunity in that field, so I eventually took a completely non-related job. I stopped making films in 2007, but the creative itch never left me. So... fast forward to December 2012... I decided that I wanted to revive this short film series I was working on called PALE DARK. The logistics of making a film out of pocket and coordinating all the people involved (especially after having been out of the scene for a couple years) proved very prohibitive. I was about to shelf the idea when my friend Drew suggested I turn PALE DARK into a comic book. For some reason that sounded like a great idea, after all comics are better than most movies in terms of story development potential... plus logistically it seemed practical. Needless to say, once I started converting my old screenplays into comic format, the story started pouring out of me. I wrote the complete series (26 issues) of PALE DARK within three months. During that time I hit the message boards looking for an artist to help bring the series to life. A couple people replied with negative comments about the endeavor, a couple replied with some encouragement. Then Ruvel Abril answered the post, saying he loved the short film and general idea. He asked if he could do some concept art as a try out for the artist job. Ruvel nailed the characters and look I envisioned. So he went to work on pages for Issue 1. After I wrote the Issue 26 finale, my brain was spewing out ideas like it had never done before... so I looked to another old film project of mine to adapt into a comic. That's where TETHER came in. I'll answer more of TETHER's inception question below. I started branching out and networking with artists online and soon I was writing a cool all ages series in collaboration with artist Marcelo Salaza, called PROTECTOR VIXI. In my search for a colorist for this series I began working with Nimesh Morarji. Now Nimesh and I are collaborating on three awesome Western series' that I write called SNAKE, XIBALBA and BANG BANG LUCITA. Nimesh is not only coloring all three of the westerns, he is also the colorist on TETHER and as of issue 3, will be taking over colors on PALE DARK. Through my collaboration with Marcelo Salaza and his network of amazing artists at Pencil Blue Studios, I found artist Alex Reis for TETHER and SNAKE, Edson Alves for BANG BANG LUCITA and Matheus Bronca as colorist on EMPRESS. EMPRESS is a collaboration with Aghori Shaivite. I'll discuss that more below. The third western series, XIBALBA, is by drawn by Adrian Crisuadi, a Romanian artist who was born to draw westerns. I started the Isle Squared Comics imprint with the sole intention of producing comics to pitch to my favorite publishers.
Rich: What is the basic storyline of "Tether"?
Chuck: TETHER tells the story of the Imperium, the last city of a once booming planet, now mostly barren. TETHER is a multi-layered story, rich with characters like Alina and Zarran, young slaves whose struggles and triumphs parallel one another. The opening arc of the series will cover Alina and Zarran's escape from captivity, as well as introduce the power hungry Emperor Trovaar and some of the different types of Genetaclones. The look of TETHER has elements of Ancient Rome mashed up with very advanced technology.
Rich: How would you describe Velang and Alina's characters?
Chuck: Velang is tough as nails. Alina is a sweet girl who has been thrust into this brutal world as a result of her imprisonment. Issue 2 will introduce the other main character of the series, Zarran.
Rich: Who is Adam Bloch and how did he help create "Tether"?
Chuck: Originally back in 2004, the idea was to create an animated series. I was developing the story and my friend, Adam Bloch, was going to provide the art and designs for what was called (at the time) CRIMSON CITY. There were a great deal of differences in the design and characters. The project was shelved in early 2005... but in June 2013 I had the idea to turn CRIMSON CITY into a comic book. So, I started scripting in the same type of creative storm I did with PALE DARK. TETHER was quickly growing into a kick ass, complex world. Adam, who had helped with the earliest incarnation of the world, was going to draw the comic. However, his freelance workload and scheduling lead me look for another artist to bring the project to life. RC Espedido, brother in law of PALE DARK artist Ruvel Abril, helped out by doing some cool concept and promo art for the series. I had hoped he was going to have time to do the actual comic art, but his day job was too demanding so he couldn't do the pages. Even though TETHER's art was at a standstill for several months, I continued writing issues and developing the story. In January of 2014, I asked Alex Reis (who had just finished SNAKE Issue 0 for Nimesh and me) to be apart of TETHER. He agreed and brought he unique vision to the designs... and now TETHER has come to life.
Rich: How did you come up with the title "Tether"?
Chuck: Originally it was called CRIMSON CITY when it was going to be an animated series in 2004. However, when I started adapting it to a comic book I thought the title would easily be confused with SIN CITY. I came up with the title of TETHER because I liked it multiple meanings in relation to the story. First, the Imperium is tethered to the planet. Second, Alina is a slave, tethered in the arena.
Rich: Where and when does the story take place?
Chuck: When it was CRIMSON CITY, it took place on Earth in the distant future, after most of civilization wiped itself out. When I started fleshing out the story for the comic, and changed it to TETHER, I decided to make it take place on a completely different planet. Time frame doesn't matter.
Rich: Will there be more gladiatorial action?
Chuck: There is most certainly more gladiatorial action, mainly in the first arc. Then there isn't any for a while, but now I'm at a point in the story where we will being seeing some more again real soon.
Rich: How would you describe Alex Reis's art style?
Chuck: Well... I'm a writer so I don't know too much about describing art stylistically. I can say that he has really kicked major ass on his designs and layouts. It's funny because I still get excited for every new page like it's the very first one, on every project I'm involved with. Alex is also doing great work on the SNAKE western series I write and co-created with Nimesh Morarji. We did an issue 0 prologue of that, which can be downloaded for free at www.nimprod.com/comics
Rich: What will people find at www.islesquaredcomics.com ?
Chuck: The website has links to pages about some of the titles I have in development. On those pages people can learn about the title and see a bunch of concept art and promo art. I am far from a competent web designer, so the pages are very simplistic in design, but the information is there for those interested. I also have a facebook presence (IsleSquaredComics) and twitter (@zarran67) where I try to post art promos and updates often.
Rich: You also created and write "Pale Dark" how would you describe this comic?
Chuck: As you know, it was originally a short films series. Basic story premise is; the adventures of Subject K as he battles the Pale Man and his army of powerful goons. Taken into custody by the mysterious Pale Man, Subject K is interrogated and tortured for reasons unknown to him. He is about to learn the world is a much larger place than he ever could have imagined.
Rich: Why should someone pick up "Empress"?
Chuck: EMPRESS is a cool series that will surely entertain a lot of people. I co-created this one with Aghori Shaivite. He had a character named Zia, who is the Empress of the underworld, that he wanted to develop a series for. He asked me to take on the project with him. So I created a whole epic back story for the character. But the trick is that I encapsulated Zia's back story through this sort of film-noirish type investigation. So our main character of the first arc, Niles Lance, learns bits and pieces of Zia's past, similar to how we learn of Charles Foster Kane in CITIZEN KANE. What's really cool about this series is the variety readers will get. Zia's story is not confined to one time frame. Also Aghori and I will be alternating writing duties on the arcs. Issues 1-4 are written by me and issue 5-8 are written by Aghori.
Rich: What else are you currently working on or have planned for the future?
Chuck: PALE DARK: Issue 2 art is near completion, TETHER: Issue 2 art is about to commence. BANG BANG LUCITA: Issue 1 art is near completion, then Nimesh will be working his color magic, followed by my letters. I estimate the first issue to be ready withing 1-2 months. SNAKE: Issue 1 is currently being drawn by Alex Reis. Adrian Crisuadi is hard at work on the XIBALBA pages. I believe he is almost halfway done. EMPRESS: Issue 1 will be complete today. Issue 2 art has already begun. PROTECTOR VIXI has been on hiatus due to a personal tragedy of artist Marcelo Salaza. However, that book is still going to be made after some redesigns by Marcelo. All these titles I have mentioned I intend to pitch to publishers.
Rich: How can someone contact you?
Chuck: If they use the about/contact us page at islesquaredcomics.com that emails me directly... or (and probably even easier) through facebook.
Rich: Any words for all the comic book fans out there?
Chuck: Support Indie Comics Please.
