Nicc Balce (Writer/Illustrator of "Random Encounter" from Viper Comics)

Random Encounter hit shelves with a bang as yet another hit from well rounded Viper comics lineup. Random Encounter is written and illustrated by Nicc Balce who is 24 years old and is a professional freelance illustrator and graphic artist. He was born in the Philippines and is now based in Chicago, Illinois and has a good following on his on site http://www.the-null.com/index2.html and http://nicc593.deviantart.com/store/ where you can buy prints of his awesome work. Random Encounter should be clamoured for at your local shop and requested by you for your weekly box! But for everyone else you can order it online at the Viper Shop.

 

Mr. A: Nicc, thanks so much for taking time out to chat with us here at The Comic Avalanche

1. I personally enjoyed Random Encounter #1 and even did my first site review just for it. There are 1 or 2 folks who haven’t read it however so can you touch on the plot and characters?

NB: First of all, and for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the term, "random encounter" was a term used in table-top and computer RPGs. The term refers to those chance monster/enemy encounters that the players would experience when traveling from one part of the map to the other. The players would either try to flee or engage these monsters/enemies in order to continue their journey towards their destination. It's in wikipedia if anyone would like to validate.

And that's pretty much what the main characters experience in story. They randomly get chased by monsters. It all starts when this girl falls and dies on top of the roof of a convenience store. Then, upon finding her, she mysteriously wakes up as if nothing happens and gets engaged in combat with what seems to be monsters. Those who found her gets stuck trying to fend off the monsters themselves, and despite of exhibiting a knack of killing these monsters, the girl claims that she lost her memory when she's inquired about why this is all happening. Mona, one of the main characters, saw her as an opportunity to make money and invites the girl to stay with them. Little do they know that the girl has got something that the monsters seem to be running after.
 

 

2. Random Encounter began as a web-comic through your site. How did it come about from web to Viper Comics big boys?

NB: If I recall it right, Jim (Viper's art director) found me on the web and recommended me to Jessie (Viper's prez). They were planning to do this artbook "Black Mamba". We held a conversation via email and I plugged my webcomic in one of my replies and they asked me if I'd make a comic book form of the story I've been doing in the net. Needless to say, I answered that I'd be glad to.

3. Were there a lot of changes in format when you took the webcomic and moved it to an actual published book format?

NB: Just a few. But I guess they were major changes. I needed to make the story more structured when it went to the published book format. And I had to add some more detail to the drawings.

 

4. You do all aspects of the book yourself as writer/illustrator but are you putting words to your art or art to your words?

NB: I'm more of an illustrator first and a writer second, so it'd be like I'm putting words to my art.

5. Are you at all surprised by how far Random Encounter has come or was it of course completely expected?

NB: I'm very surprised that RE made it this far. The story has been sandwiched between freelance work and I never really expected that it'd be released as a four-part miniseries and with Viper, who previously released Daisy Kutter and Dead@17, which are both honestly great books.

6. You reference video games and all sorts of geeky goodness throughout issue #1. Is this to pull favor from us dorks or are you a charter member yourself and will it be running throughout the series?

NB: I'd like to consider myself one of the "geeks", if you will. I like obscure stuff and I'm kinda tired of trying to be "cool" anyway. The gags will be spread throughout the series, but I try not to overdo it. By the way, RE was originally intended to be a gag comic. Pretty much like PvP and early Megatokyo. But I decided to go the full story route.

7. What other projects are you currently working on or have in the near future?

NB: As for now, it's back to freelance projects while redoing my site. And in the near future, I'm still part of the Viper's upcoming Black Mamba project and Fontmonster.org's Human project.

 

8. What writers and illustrators have influenced you in your work?

NB: On the illustration side, I'd say J. Scott Campbell (Gen 13, Danger Girl), Yoshitoshi Abe (NieA_7, Serial Experiments Lain), and Herge(Adventures of Tintin). For the writing side, I was influenced by Massimiliano Frezzato (Keepers of the Maser), Kenichi Sonoda (Gunsmith Cats), stories from Gainax (FLCL, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi), Fred Gallagher (Megatokyo) and Andi Watson (Skeleton key). And I'm quite into Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer's writing in The Venture Brothers.

9. Are you also a comic collector or just a taker of our money!?

NB: I'm a comic collector. I spend too much on artbooks and graphic novels, and figurines.

10. Anything your fans don’t know about you that would shock them or make them say "Uh-Huh"?

NB: Hmm. I dunno if this is even remotely shocking, but I've managed to slide several feet down a slippery slope with one foot up and managed to land myself on my two feet. Why I was doing that or where, I won't tell, 'coz you might have seen me. *laughs* But hey, that's a feat for someone with a bad sense of balance.

 

Mr. A.: Before departing I must always ask...What piece of advice would you give your fans who are also creators/writers/illustrators themselves?

NB: Never stop drawing. Just draw. =)

 

 

Thanks, Mr. Avalanche