Q&A: Andi Ewington Writer- [Forty-Five]

by Anthony Filice on August 17, 2009
in Interviews

SYNOPSIS

Journalist, James Stanley, is faced with the imminent birth of his child. Having decided to forego the test that would determine whether his child is carrying the all-important “Super-S” gene, which differentiates the genetic makeup of a superhero from that of a normal person, James sets out on a quest to interview forty-five super-powered individuals in the hope that their experiences may better prepare him for the birth of a child that is potentially gifted with extraordinary abilities. On his journey, he encounters characters from all walks of life; from single mothers struggling to raise gifted children, to rebellious super-teenagers, all the way through to those reaching the end of their lives. But what starts as a voyage of personal discovery becomes something far more ominous when he crosses paths with an organization known as XoDOS.

Andi Ewington is a Very Talented Writer who has been kind enough to dedicate time out of his busy schedule, to give CGArtistDaily.com the opportunity to ask him some questions about the Comic Book everyone seems to be talking about…[Forty-Five].

1. What was the inspiration behind the concept ‘45′?

A: I would say that there were three main influences to ‘45′. The first and biggest of these was the impending birth of my son. Late 2007 and I found myself on the fast-track to fatherhood, absorbing as much pre-natal information as I possibly could. When I wasn’t swotting up on the pros and cons of pain-relief I was reading World War Z by Max Brooks, an excellent transcript account of a zombie war. The final influence came from Kurt Busiek’s ‘Marvels’ which recounted a superhero tale through the eyes of a journalist. The more I thought about it the more I realised I could create a story based on my then-current life experiences. I began asking myself questions like; What if my son was born with super-powers, how would I cope? Before I knew it, ‘45′ was born.

2. How did you decide which artists should be working on ‘45′?

A: This is where Com.x’s expertise and reputation on the comic scene came in handy. I was totally new to the whole industry, including named artists. It was through Eddie Deighton and Ben Shahrabani of Com.x that I began to discover all the cool artists out there. We approached guys like Liam Sharp, Jock, and John Higgins; guys that knew Com.x very well. Once ‘45′ was proposed to them, they were sold. Word about the project began to spread and before I knew it Charlie Adlard, Dom Reardon, Frazer Irving, Fiona Staples, Matt Timson, and Ben Oliver were all onboard. It snowballed from there. In some instances, I chose the artist myself through past working relationships (like Steve Sampson) or through sites like Deviantart.com (Randy Green, Admira Wijaya). In most cases I would check through a prospective artist’s portfolio and, if I felt they could apply their art to one of the interviews, then I would approach them about the project.

SPECIAL NOTES

Each page of art has been illustrated by a different comic artist, with no predetermined brief given; just the written page as guidance. The concept is unlike anything you’ve seen in comic books so far; it truly is an original attempt at redefining what people expect from a comic book format. Featuring the art of Liam Sharp, Jock, Sean Philips, Randy Green, Charlie Adlard and Dan Brereton, to name but a few of the 45 contributors.

3. Which is your favourite art piece in the book and why?

A: It would be unfair of me to start choosing one piece of art over another. I’ve tried to remain impartial and appreciate each piece for what it brings to the story. What will be more interesting will be seeing which pieces resonate with the readers the most.

4. How long did each artist have to produce their art piece?

A: I tried to be very reasonable with time constraints. Most of the artists had at least a couple of months to submit their pieces. In some instances I’ve had to wait six months or more for an artist to become free, in other cases I’ve had the finished piece supplied within three weeks. As there was no strict deadline it meant that we didn’t need to rush the pages; I wanted the artists to have as much time as possible, even if it meant waiting a little bit longer.

Featuring the art of:

Liam Sharp • John Higgins • Sean Phillips • Charlie Adlard • Jock • Lee Garbett • Admira Wijaya • Carlo Pagulayan • Rodin Esquejo • Matt Timson • Neil Edwards • Trevor Hairsine • Andie Tong • Rufus Dayglo • Dom Reardon • Sally Hurst • Andrew Wildman • Stephen Thompson • Jeff Anderson • Frazer Irving • Ben Oliver • Eduardo Francisco • Dan Brereton • Barry Spiers • Robert Atkins • Fiona Staples • Bob Wiacek • Boo Cook • Gary Erksine • Ross Dearsley • Lee Carter • Sean O’Connor • Kevin Kobasic • Dave Ryan • Randy Green • Tim Vigil • Simon Coleby • Calum Alexander Watt • Steve Sampson • Kit Wallis • Anthony Castrillo • Seb Antoniou • Dan Boultwood • Dan Fraga • Kenneth Rocafort

and the colouring of:

Kat Nicholson • Jason Cardy • Teodoro Gonzalez • Alex Owens • Matthew Wilson • Frank D’Armata • Bob Pedroza • Tom Smith

5. What’s it like for a writer to work with artists?

A: It’s been both an illuminating experience and a frustrating one at the same time. Patience has never been one of my virtues but I’ve had to learn to wait and bide my time. It’s worth it once a piece is finally sent through and you can see all the time and effort that has gone into it. I have to take my hat off to the guys, they’ve all done an tremendous job and been incredibly understanding considering I’m a ‘untested’ comic writer. It’s an amazing feeling seeing characters brought to life that only ever existed in my head. Some of the artists have even added little touches that have helped develop the stories; usually something subtle like an object or costume change. It was a sad day when the last piece came in - no more waiting with baited breath to see what the next visual interpretation of my story was going to be!

6. When is ‘45′ out and what does Andi Ewington have planned for us next?

A: Com.x has officially gone on record as saying it will be available in Dec 09 - hopefully early-to-mid. As for future projects, I have already drafted out two further stories that I’m hoping to propose to Com.x next year plus, if ‘45′ does really well, I’d like to write a sequel to it with the same characters but just a year on from the original, so watch this space!

A Special Thanks goes Andi Ewington for aswering these question.

Tags: 45, Andi Ewington, Com.x, Liam Sharp, The Forty-Five

Lee Carter Video Interview

by Anthony Filice on July 26, 2009
in Interviews

1 Comment

This is CGArtistDaily.com’s first ever ‘Video Interview’ and I think we started it off great.

Lee Carter is featured in this interview, Lee Carter is very talented Concept and Comic artist from Hartlepool, he works for Bizarre Creations and is known for his work in 2000AD and ImagineFX.

Lee has recently completed a project with com.x called ‘45′

Lee is a great guy and is very busy with multiple project always on the go, Lee is very much in demand so I really apreciated the time he gave me, so I could interview him.