The following is an interview with award-winning comic book artist and writer Sean Lam on the graphic novel series, Red Dot. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Lam about the inspiration behind the series, his creative process in working with kingB, what readers can anticipate from the story, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of your graphic novel series, Red Dot! For those who may be unfamiliar, how would you describe the series’ premise, and what inspired you to tell this story?
Sean Lam: Red Dot is a dark horror graphic novel series which me and my partner kingB co-wrote together and worked on for two years. The first two volumes are currently available in Kindle format on Amazon, with hard copies planned for release sometime early 2019. The story is about the protagonist Shaun, a young man who grew up never believing in supernatural beings. Then, one day, he encounters a beautiful young lady who turns out to be a Kyonshi, an ancient species which feeds on human blood. When she was about to feed on Shaun, a mysterious man suddenly intercepted. Meng, a Kyonshi slayer, was about to kill her when Shaun suddenly regained consciousness and attacked him in the form of a Kyonshi! The story later moves on to tell how they ended up as partners in order to save the country from turning into a whole nation of Kyonshi.
BD: What do you hope that readers will take away from the project?
SL: kingB and I thought of the idea of creating a whole new breed of undead monsters inspired by a very different kind of vampires which has been depicted in Asian legends and folklore over many centuries, and have them re-animate into our current society, to show how their existence will prove a challenge to humans in our real world. With that, we want readers to experience a totally different take on a new breed of undead monsters in a brand new setup starting in a densely populated cosmopolitan Singapore.
BD: As an award-winning writer/artist with various titles to your resume, what can you share with us about your creative process in balancing the writing and artistic duties for each new project, and what have been some of your creative influences?
SL: As a story creator, I am one who does not like to be restrained by any boundaries when it comes to stories and genre. Hence I have opened up myself to working on all kinds of books, from sci-fi to fantasies and apocalypse themes, even children’s books that promotes happiness and well-being. I tend to get ideas and inspirations from anything around me, from walking the park to having just caught a movie. I would start to think of my own story and write them down in scriptwriting format, followed by dividing them into chapters and finally start sketching out the panels. It may sound easy, but, in reality, it’s a long process which requires lots of efforts and focus, let alone the number of cups of coffee taken. As an artist, I grew up reading a wide range of American comics to Japanese manga, thus my art style has a mix both Western and Asian influence since I was young when I started drawing. Just like creating a story, I like to keep an open mind to art and just enjoy the different artworks that comes before my eyes, which enables me to maintain a flexible creativity towards creating an art style. Some of my favorite artists are Steve Ditko, Todd McFarlane, Alfonso Wong, Hayao Miyazaki, Katsuhiro Otoma, Yoshitaka Amano, and Kentaro Miura.
BD: Given the release of the first two issues of Red Dot, do you have a certain number of issues planned for the series’ first story arc?
SL: kingB and I have wrote the story till date, the first arc of the story will roughly run from ten to fifteen volumes. Besides working on the current title, kingB is also working on the side stories and prequels, too, which will probably lead to a whole new set of series based in the same world of Kyonshi.
BD: If given the opportunity to expand your series into other entertainment mediums, in what format do you hope to see it adapted?
SL: There are plans to make the whole series into a live-action drama series and anime series which would be a collaborated production between West & East. But, for now, we just want to focus on creating graphic novels.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
SL: I am currently also working on a few titles of different genres. One is a long-running fantasy shonen manga series called The Goddess Punch which was also co-written by me and kingB. The story revolves around the female protagonist Kimi, a goddess who fell from Heaven to Earth and was pursued by demons who are trying to rid off all the gods and humans. Besides working with kingB, I’m also currently working together with a group of indie writers from San Diego called the Four Lords creating a long-running, high-action fantasy manga series called The Curseborn Saga with the first two volumes just released on Amazon.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Red Dot and your other work?
SL: Do check out my Amazon Author page for all my books, and if you would like to check out my latest artwork and other work in progress, go to my Instagram.
Lastly to Fanbase Press and everyone here, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to introduce and share my works. Thanks to everyone for spending time with me here, and it’s wonderful to know that there’s such a huge community that supports indie/small press comics! Cheers!!
