And you thought your daughter was a monster… Try hanging with Colindra, a dragon fashionista in the family business of protecting the world from the very power she possesses! Anthony Theisen discusses his fantasy webcomic Endstone!
1. For the poor souls not already reading, please give a brief synopsis of your comic.
Endstone is the story of a family of stoners… beings who can wield or “rock“ mysterious stones that grant unique powers.
Kyri Thunderhead is a simple, martial-arts-dealing deer from the forests of Pennsylvania. Her mate, Jon Montaine, is a powerful stoner and skilled investment banker. Their daughter, Colindra, is a terrible dragon with a flair for fashion. And Pablo Montaine, the old patriarch of the clan, is literally the skeleton in the family closet.
Together, and sometimes apart, they must keep the Banestone, and the evil god-like being that dwells within it, from destroying the world. But is it a world worth saving?
2. What materials and/or software do you use?
I draw and ink digitally with Manga Studio and I color with Photoshop. My only physical tool is a 20 inch Wacom Cintiq that I love. I usually draw thumbnails and very rough page-breakdowns on typing paper just to get away from the computer.
3. Are there any books, movies, toys, artists, or authors that have inspired or continue to inspire your comic?
I am inspired by, for lack of a better term, "old school" comic artists, especially John and Sal Buscema, Wally Wood, Gene Colan, George Perez, John Byrne, Jim Starlin, etc.
4. Are any of your characters based on real people in your life?
Most of the minor, flat characters are based on people I have encountered in my travels through life. It's just easier to write for them if I think about how the real person might react to a given situation. The lead characters aren't based on anyone in particular, but Colindra does have my wife's hair!
5. Are there any actors you know you would want to play or voice certain characters in a movie of your comic?
Actually not really. I usually don't think in terms of actors playing the characters.
6. What songs would you like in a soundtrack of your comic?
I don't really have a soundtrack either but I have noticed I tend to attract readers who are into Metal music. I think it might be all the "rocker" and "stoner" references. In fact a reader made a fan-video with a self-written, metal soundtrack and I thought the music fit nicely with Endstone.
7. What is your overall goal for your comic?
My goal originally was to use Endstone as a vehicle to teach myself how to draw. At first, I was just happy that I could do sequential art on a regular basis. So in that case it was a big success for me. Putting it out as a webcomic was an after-thought. I didn't know anything about webcomics until I stumbled upon Drunk Duck. I started posting pages there and the response was fairly good. The project just built from there.
8. How has managing a comic impacted your life?
It takes a lot of time . Too much time I think but as long as it's fun and I keep learning new things I'll continue to do it.
9. What do you do to advertise your work?
I use Project Wonderful. I also promote through webcomic reader sites like Ink Outbreak, Top Web Comics, Web Comic List, etc.
10. Web comics can be very time consuming and sometimes expensive to keep up. Often there is little reward in regards to money and sometimes public attention. Why do you do it?
I've concluded that I must have some form of mental illness.
11. Got any other projects we should know about?
Not really. Endstone is my only gig at the moment.
12. What advice would you give to aspiring creators?
Have fun. The web is a great place to experiment and hone your craft.
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Thanks so much Anthony! I also learned a lot from Drunk Duck! For anyone not hip yet, Drunk Duck is a pretty great webcomics community with recomendations, contests, awards and more. If you're looking for more webcomics to check out or want to start making your own, Drunk Duck is a great place to "get your feet wet" (h'yuk yuk) so to speak. Check it out!
Also, If you dig Endstone you can show your love by up-voting the submission for this interview at Reddit Webcomics. Up-voting keeps Endstone on the front page of the webcomic category longer which means more people get to see it!
Thanks as always for reading! Please let us know what you think in the comments section below. Then rock it over to Endstone and meet the family!
-Mat
If you would like to be interviewed about your web-comic send an email to evanyeti@yahoo.com titled "interview" with a link to your comic.
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