Sean Taylor (EIC/Writer/Letterer for Shooting Star Comics)

The "Head Honcho" manages the day-to-day business of Shooting Star Comics, LLC from the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area in Alpharetta where he also concentrates on his script writing. Sean Taylor is also the creator and writer of Fishnet Angel, Bengal Cat and several other features. His publishing credits include work on many national periodicals and prose for iHero Entertainment. He also has written for the Gotham City Sourcebook that was published by West End Games and DC Comics. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, daughter and two sons where he also freelance writes for several publications and designs websites. You can visit his website at www.taylorverse.com for more information.

 

Mr. A: First of I want to thank you for taking the time to chat with us folks at The Comic Avalanche. For my next trick I will try to throw 10 -- count 'em, ten -- legible questions in your direction... and we're off!

1. I will be jumping a bit between you and Shooting Star as a whole as I am fast becoming a fan of all things Shooting Star. How did you come about being editor-in-chief of Shooting Star?

ST: I was in the right place at the right time, I guess.

Seriously though, I was simply a part of a group of extremely talented writers and artists who wanted to really do something in comics and had the drive enough to self-publish a book. That book turned out to be Shooting Star Comics Anthology #1, and it did well enough for us and was so much fun that several of us decided to throw caution and good sense to the wind and try our hands at a #2 issue. After that issue, those of us who remained had been bitten by the comics bug big time and were too far gone to stop, so we legally formed Shooting Star Comics, LLC (www.shootingstarcomics.com), and because I had experience in publishing and in editing publications for various magazines, I was named Editor-in-Chief and given the responsibility of putting together a publishing and production plan.

But, in all fairness, the real day-to-day work gets divided between our Creative Director, Scott McCullar, our Business Director, Gregg W. Noon, and me. Together, we three make one heck of a staff member.

 

2. I caught my first glimpse of Shooting Star when I really enjoyed reading Tom Waltz's "Children of the Grave" with artist Casey Maloney. You have so many quality people on staff and I was curious how you came about so much talent?

ST: I’ve known Tom for several years. We both are staff writers for the Cyber Age Adventures magazine published by iHero Entertainment (www.ihero.net). Tom’s one of the finest living dialogue writers I know. And I’m a literary snob, so that’s fine praise indeed, I suppose. Tom found Casey via Digital Webbing and the rest was history, or soon will be.

As for the rest of the talent, most of them have been around since issues #1 and #2. There’s Scott McCullar, who writes and draws the Thrill Seeker comics series, which are some of the most Quentin Tarantino-esque stories I think I’ve ever seen in comics.

Then Gregg W. Noon, J. Morgan Neal, and Rob Bavington work together on a pulp adventure featuring a chosen flatfoot named Rex Solomon. And, as I’ve recently discovered since Gregg and I will be collaborating on a new project, Gregg’s one of the most thorough researchers for miscellaneous tidbits of info in the world. Which is a good thing because I’m, well, not.

J. Morgan Neal also works with former Weapon X and Punisher: War Journal artist Todd Fox on a popular Shooting Star feature called Aym Geronimo and the Post Modern Pioneers. Imagine Doc Savage as a Native American woman, and you’ll be close to the gist of the story.

The brothers Crazy-ma-zov, Scott Hileman, Chris Franklin, and Ethan Colchamiro, are a talented team that has really found their niche in their latest storyline, Yankee Doodle. He’s a college kid who’s suddenly become a living patriotic sketch. If you loved Freakazoid, you’ll love Yankee Doodle.

Erik Burnham’s one of the funniest writers I know, and his Nick Landime work never fails to crack me up. But E., as we know him in Shooting Star circles, is also a gifted artist, and I never wait for a second asking when I get an opportunity to work with him on a story.

And rounding out the regular team is the creator of one of my favorite SSC heroes, Scott Rogers. Scott is a heavily accoladed video game designer who has created the single father super hero Bedbug, one of the few super hero stories nowadays with a true all-ages appeal.

3. Shooting Star recently put out number #5 of your Anthology aptly titled "Shooting Star Comics Anthology." Can you give us some info on what is in the book and where to get it?

ST: That issue came out a few months ago, and it featured perhaps the eeriest story we’ve run yet, a sci-fi tale by the former writer of the Topps X-Files comic, Stefan Petrucha. We were able to hook Stefan up with a brand-new artist named Jeziel Sanchez-Martinez, and, wow, did his art really make the story pop. For an artist from Mexico, Jez managed to pull of a style that to me hearkened back to Herge and a current blend of European artists. It really gave the story, “With Roses Bedight,” a look and feel that said, “This isn’t your typical comic book story.”

On top of that, that issue also features Bedbug, Aym Geronimo, Thrill Seeker Comics, the first appearance of Yankee Doodle, and a Jazz-Age horror tale by Erik Burnham and me.

You should be able to find the book at fine comic stores everywhere, but if your local store doesn’t have it or is sold out, you can pick it up at www.shootingstarcomics.com as well. But talk with your store about picking it up or increasing their order, please. Help us get the word out about Shooting Star Comics, as we’d much rather have you do your business with your local retailer since he’s the backbone of the industry.

And it’s time now to place those orders for Shooting Star Comics Anthology #6, which will be available in stores in February. That issue features a story about Death written by Danny Donovan and drawn by none other than Nat Jones, artist of Spawn: The Dark Ages and Rob Zombie’s new book. The book will also feature lots of returning regulars, such as Thrill Seeker Comics, Yankee Doodle, Nick Landime, and Bedbug. And I’ll be writing the first appearance of Ace Robinson: Monster Killer for Hire, drawn by a guy who is sure to be the next artist to hit big, George Pitcher III.

4. Outside of your EIC duties you are also a writer and letterer. Which is your first love, EIC, writing? Lettering?

ST: Writing, hands down. “Writer” is how I define myself. No matter what full-time job I hold, I measure myself by the amount of writing I do and how well I do it. That may sound like an awfully snobbish way of looking at it, but it’s who I am. There’s no greater joy for me than working through a story and getting it just right, then getting it in front of people and seeing how they react to it.

I got into lettering because I wanted to have a larger part to play in my comics stories than just writing them, and I wanted to have a marketable skill aside from just pitching story after story. But don’t get me wrong. I love lettering too. It’s fun to see all the different ways words can be arranged on a comics page and then try to decide which arrangement is the best.

Editing is both the most difficult and somehow the most natural role for me though. Editing demands time and attention to detail that often writing and lettering don’t, but I’ve been an editor for magazines and curriculum for several years now, so it’s sort of like turning on a light switch and just flipping over to edit mode. I’m not saying I’m where I need to be yet as an editor, but it certainly can be rewarding to see those few times when a good story can become even better with the right editor behind it.
 

5. Can you tell us a bit about your projects as a writer currently in the works?
 

ST: I never seem to be content to just work on one thing at a time, so hang on. This could get bumpy.

 

First off, I’m just finishing up the pre-production on my first SSC miniseries, Fishnet Angel: Jane Doe. It’s the story of a man stuck in the body of an ancient goddess, and then he loses his memories just as the goddess’ former lover returns from the underworld with revenge on his mind. And it features lots of giant cockroaches that get to terrorize a hospital. Issue #1 will be available in January, and #2 will be out in March.

Then, I’ve finished writing Bengal Cat: Hard Lessons, which features a character I first wrote over in the Cyber Age Adventures magazine. This one is a favorite story of mine, because it deals with the concept of legacy, and just how much do we owe to those who made us who we are, even when they’re clearly in the wrong. Sure, it’ll feature lots of female super-hero butt-kicking action, but to me the stories are always better when they have a deeper story beneath the surface, like Kurt Busiek pulls off so beautifully in his Astro City stories.

After that, I’ll be focusing most of my attention on Toshiro, a book I’m collaborating on with Scott McCullar. Toshiro is our homage to the ronin samurai, and our way of honoring the legacy of Akira Kurosawa’s films and the Lone Wolf and Cub books. At its heart it’s a book about shame and honor and love. And kendo swordplay, too. Lots of swordplay.

Beyond that, it’s too early to let any hints out. Suffice it to say that I’ve got several concepts lurking my brain that want to escape, but the time isn’t quite right yet.

6. What first moved you into the direction of writing/editing comics?

ST: Scott McCullar moved me into the direction of writing a published comics story when he extended to me the opportunity to be part of Shooting Star Comics Anthology #1. But the idea to write for comics started far earlier than that. I enjoy the interplay between the words and pictures, and there are certain stories that a writer can tell better in comics form. Those stories have to be told that way in order to be real, you know. Plus, I’m just an egotistical punk writer who’d like to sit back at the end of my life and be able to know I was able to be published in just about every conceivable way a writer could tell a story, from novels to motion pictures to comics to narrative poems.

7. What writer has influenced you in your works and who is your hands down favorite?

ST: The one writer who has most influenced me is actually four of them. Try as I might, I just can’t trim the list down to fewer than that. Ernest Hemmingway taught me how to write dialogue, because he helped me see that people never seem to actually talk about the real issues when they talk. Then Flannery O’Connor taught me that people of faith could and still can have the freedom to tell parables that don’t feel like parables. Then Ed McBain taught me how to tell a story, plain and simple. He’s an incredible writer. They just don’t make them any better for my money. As for comics, I think Chuck Dixon has been a bigger influence on me than just about any other writer, because he can always deliver an entertaining story that works well within the form of the comics medium.

8. Which character would you love to work on by any publisher and which artist would be your collaborator?

ST:  If I had the opportunity, I’d love a shot at writing a Freedom Fighters miniseries for either DC proper or for Vertigo. There are so many things that could be said now about patriotism as a concept and how it can go bad or good in modern society. Plus it would a lot of fun to see how a team of post moderns reacts to being on a team formed around a 1950s patriotic ideal.

As for artists, I’d love to have the opportunity to work with John Paul Leon again. I was lucky enough to snag him to draw the cover for Fishnet Angel: Jane Doe #1, but I’d love to do a full book with him one day. I’m also itching to work with Fishnet Angel artist JP Dupras again. He reads my mind so well when he turns my scripts into pictures.

9. Were you and are you a collector of comics behind the writer in you?

ST: Ask my wife. She could tell you all about the boxes of comics in my storage room that we have to move every time I need to get to the car battery charger or the weed eater. And then she’d tell you how quickly and easily she could make the collection smaller.

What I’m loving now is that my daughter and two sons are really getting into comics too. I just gave my daughter an entire run of Spider-Girl, and several issues of Courtney Crumrin, Go-Girl, and Allison Dare. She sits up at night reading them just like I used to.

10. What bit of sage like advice would you hand out to those working to get where you are?

ST: Don’t wait for someone to offer you an opportunity to write. In this business you have to make your chances happen, as the cliché goes. Look for any place, ANY PLACE, that you can publish your first story, and get over the idea that you’ll only work for Marvel or DC, because, frankly, unless you’ve already proven you can do the job somewhere else, it’s awfully rare to become an overnight sensation in comics, suddenly working for the big boys. Pitch some short stories to anthologies. Do a back up for an Indy book. Pitch us a story. Just write one. Then write several others.

And for God’s sake, learn to edit your stories. Never trust your spell checker. Read every story at least six times within a few days before you send it off. Give yourself a few days when you have the chance so you can look at it again with a fresh eye.

Other than that, just enjoy the medium. Don’t come in with a dream to elevate the medium with your “better than anything out there” style. Because the hardest thing for us writers to learn is that it’s really not about us and our grandiose plans for art with a capital ‘A.” It’s about the stories and what they do for the people who read them.

And that’s all it’s ever really been about.

 

 

Thanks, Mr. Avalanche