The following is an interview with writer Justin Giampaoli (Rome West, Starship Down) and artist Dave Law (©alifornia, Inc., The Space Odditorium) regarding the recent Kickstarter campaign launch for the comic book series, Westside, with publisher Studio 12-7. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Giampaoli and Law about their shared creative process in bringing the crime drama to life on the page, the backer rewards available to those supporting the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the Kickstarter campaign launch for Westside! What can you tell us about the series’ overall premise?
Justin Giampaoli: Thanks, Barbra! The short elevator pitch for Westside is essentially True Detective meets California’s Central Valley. It’s a moody, small-town crime drama featuring two deputy sheriffs, who are not initially thrilled to be working together, investigating a series of unsolved violent crimes. The interesting spin is that it’s set in the town I grew up in, Merced, California, so I was able to infuse a ton of autobiographical elements and make it an elegy to my hometown.
BD: As frequent collaborators, how would you describe your shared creative process on this series, and do you feel that you have developed a creative “shorthand” in the process?
JG: I was in a unique position as editor on ©alifornia, Inc., which is the geopolitical thriller written by Studio 12-7 Publisher Art Ebuen, and is also illustrated by Dave. As editor, I got to pore over Dave’s art as it came in and see how he interpreted Art’s scripts. The “shorthand” for me was knowing I could script looser and trust Dave. He’s a very intuitive artist that instantly understood the tone we were going for on Westside and made so many artistic choices on the page, from camera placement, to lighting, character design, and emotive figures that sell the mood.
Dave Law: It was a very natural transition of working with Art’s writing to Justin’s. They have a similar aesthetic taste that thankfully my style fits. But every writer is different and part of what I love is that I get to interpret such a variety of stories from each project to the next. And Westside, like all my favorite projects, required me to stretch and grow in new directions. And the end result is like nothing I’ve created so far, and I get super excited to see what each page brings.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums – no matter the genre. How do you feel that Westside’s story might connect with and impact readers, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that it may inspire?
JG: Westside is intersectional in many ways. There’s the collision of racial tension among many different ethnic groups, gender inequality, socioeconomics, California Car Culture, historical notes surrounding the town, the military, gang subculture, cycles of violence and trauma, and, of course, the disturbing crime elements. If readers have an interest in any of those angles or just want to explore a broken part of America that’s typically overlooked in mainstream media, this series has a lot to chew on.
DL: I like that Westside gives a story to an otherwise overlooked city. All cities have such unique stories, they need to be told in creative and interesting ways. The ones that blend fiction and reality are often the most captivating.
BD: Why do you feel that crowdfunding has become such a valuable asset for today’s independent creators and publishers?
JG: I think the true value in crowdfunding is not just about securing financial support or building an audience, but it also promotes diversity in the types of products and stories that get produced. I know from experience that Westside is a curious object that larger publishers may not have been as willing to engage with purely from a commercial standpoint. It is exactly the type of quirky passion project that can only exist through self-published crowdfunding; it’s got an atypical narrative structure, is black and white, blurs fiction and non-fiction, and even includes poems as reflective chapter breaks.
DL: Crowdfunding is one of the most democratic publishing tools. Projects are basically greenlit by how much people want to see it. It also breaks down a lot of the barriers to entry, especially when it comes to creating comics. And I think that’s awesome. Publishing books by the people, for the people!
BD: In light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any specific reward tears that you would like to note?
JG: We always enjoy highlighting the Retailer Bundles that Studio 12-7 offers. For Westside, this includes a deeply discounted bundle of three copies of the book, which can be ordered as a single unit, or in multiple bundles of three. It’s a great option for retailers to support the campaign in a low-risk way. Retailers are such a vital component of the comics ecosystem, and we love incentivizing their support, following the campaign with in-store signings where we can, and creating these mutually beneficial opportunities.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
JG: I’m proud to also be an editor at Studio 12-7 and the team has been steadily expanding their catalogue of titles. ©alifornia, Inc. is available as both a mini-series of four single issues (with plenty of variant cover options) or collected in a single trade paperback edition with loads of bonus content. There’s also the first volume of the sci-fi anthology, Systemic, available (second volume coming soon!), and we’re currently working on a new subversive horror anthology called Disrupted Tales, with a great line-up of talent.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about Westside and your other work?
JG: To learn more about Westside and the creative team, be sure to check out our Kickstarter campaign. If you enjoy my work, I’ve also written the alt-history epic, Rome West, answering the question “What if the Roman Empire discovered the New World 1,000 years before Columbus?” and the sci-fi drama, Starship Down, about an alien spacecraft found buried in the ice for thousands of years in Siberia. These were both created with artist Andrea Mutti at Dark Horse Comics.
DL: If readers are interested in more of my artwork, books I’ve worked on are ©alifornia, Inc., The Space Odditorium, Wolf Punks, and Thoughtscapes Comics. I’m also currently illustrating all the covers for the Dungeon Crawler Carl Audio Immersion series through Soundbooth Theater.
