Category: Interviews

Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Interviews, Viper

Interview: Joe Eisma on Dummy’s Guide to Danger vol 2

I recently spoke with Joe Eisma, the artist on the upcoming comic A Dummy’s Guide to Danger: Lost at Sea. In this interview, we discuss everything from how he got into comics to details regarding the new miniseries from Viper Comics.

Clint Page: You have a pretty interesting career up to this point. So far, you’ve worked in TV, video games and now comics. What’s it like to be the envy of just about every male from the age of 12 to 35?

Joe Eisma: I also worked in the newspaper industry for awhile! You could say I have career ADD. I wouldn’t necessarily think I’m the envy of most people – I have my own share of stresses and commitments that go along with my work, just like in any job. Doing work in the creative industries that I’ve worked in has been difficult, with a lot of passionate personalities, deadlines and busy schedules, but overall it’s been the most rewarding. And I’m at the point now where I can work from home in my pajamas if I want. Continue reading “Interview: Joe Eisma on Dummy’s Guide to Danger vol 2”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Interviews

Interview: Steve Niles on 30 Days, Clive Barker and Rob Zombie

Q:
Early in your carreer you adapted a fair number of books to the comic medium. What has it been like to now take your original work and adapt that into books and movies like the upcoming 30 Days of Night?

A:
I feel bad that I practiced on guys like Matheson, Barker and Ellison! But seriously, all those adaptations taught me a lot about breaking down and/or expanding a story from one medium to another, and I certainly utilized those lessons while writing 30 Days in all its various forms. Learning to be true to source material can be tricky, but as the better comics-to-films have proven, the more accurate to the original material, the better the films seem to be. I mean there are very good reasons why people have loved Spiderman all these years, but it took Raimi following the comics to prove it. Continue reading “Interview: Steve Niles on 30 Days, Clive Barker and Rob Zombie”

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Amish Otaku, Features, Interviews, Video Games, Xbox 360

Interview: Bryan Lam on Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s has less than half the number of tracks as Guitar Hero II for the PS2 yet carries the same price. Why wasn’t a lower price sought at launch?

Well it’s something we definitely took a careful look at. Comparing GHII to GH 80s, there were different timelines, licensing agreements and other logistical parameters to work within, though we strongly feel we put out a title that felt and played just as well as the other GH games. And just to put it into perspective – and from what the media is saying – Rock Band is only going to have forty songs available on the disc, yet it’s going to cost gamers a whopping $200 to play.  As reference, Harmonix worked on both of these titles. What are your thoughts on that?

Although Harmonix’s new game will cost over $200 to play with the full experience, it must be said that it is a richer experience. At best, Guitar Hero allows for two separate instruments at once while Rock Band will allow four inputs simultaneously. It’s like comparing apples and pears: they’re close, but still different fruit.

It’s also important to remember that while GH 80s price per song is about $1.30 compared to the 360 version of GHII, which had a price per song of $0.88, the downloadable content is priced at a whopping $2 per song: double the price per song of the Xbox 360 GHII. Incidentally, at a $200 price point Rock Band comes out to about $5 per song. Continue reading “Interview: Bryan Lam on Guitar Hero”

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Amish Otaku, Comics, Features, Interviews, Loaded Barrel

Interview: Jared Barel on Brielle and the Horror

Guest Post

A few months back, I reviewed the first issue of Brielle and the
Horror, which you can check out in our archives. I had the great fortune to find the first issue while at the Wizard World Philly Con a few months back and was blown away by both the uniqueness and the quality of the book. As con season begins to wind down, Jared found some time to speak to me about the genesis of this work, his studio and what comes next…

Jared, you have a background in both film and graphic design. Do you feel they complement each other when it comes to producing a comic book?

My experiences in design and film have definitely proven a complement to each other. Both disciplines are visual mediums, and in their own ways they’re both about telling stories and packaging those stories in a way that is pleasing to the audience. In a sense, it is a marriage of the storytelling abilities of both art forms that allow us to tell the story of Brielle and the Horror in the way that we do. Continue reading “Interview: Jared Barel on Brielle and the Horror”

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Amish Otaku, Convention Coverage, Features, Interviews

Interview: Brendan Becker on MAGFest

Brendan Becker, the ringleader of MAGFest, at his finest

Amish Otaku: Do you have an exact number on attendees from this year?

Brendan Becker: Pretty close to 1,000. I don’t think we went over, but essentially that was our target and I’d say we hit it.

AO: How long have you been organizing conventions?

BB: I’ve been organizing videogame events and parties and stuff on a small scale for, uh, quite awhile. But on the order of MAGFest or something with several hundred people, we’re looking at about six years. Continue reading “Interview: Brendan Becker on MAGFest”

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