The following is an interview with Jonathan and Paul London regarding the recent launch of their Kickstarter campaign for the fantasy comic book series, Paul London: Hero of the Prophecy, in association with Geekscape. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with the Londons about their shared creative process of bringing the story to life on the page, the backer rewards available to supporters of the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the launch of your Kickstarter campaign! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you share with us about the premise behind this upcoming series?
Paul London: The premise is this: A distant planet is under the wicked rule of a dastardly wizard. The inhabitants know that their future is nearing its end unless someone, ANYONE, can save them. Now, imagine a world where we get the feel and taste of movies like KRULL, WILLOW, DEATHSTALKER 2, and THE DARK CRYSTAL (to name a few) and then send in a far less capable, less intimidating Randy “The Ram” from THE WRESTLER to be the “hero.”
Jonathan London: Yeah. Paul said it. It’s a mistaken identity comedy adventure like Galaxy Quest or The 3 Amigos, where a downtrodden kingdom summons their great, prophesied hero… after seeing pro wrestling and thinking it’s real. And my brother, a real-life pro wrestler, plays himself in the book. The idea started as my love letter to my brother. Now, we get to make him a hero in his own comic book!
BD: Paul, in light of your work within the world of professional wrestling, what has been your experience in seeing (a version of) yourself in the pages of your very own sword-and-sorcery adventure?
PL: In a way, I feel as though it serves as a constant warning of where things can possibly end up if a few bad choices are made or risks don’t pay off.
JL: I mean, yeah. That’s true for your character in Issue 1. When we meet him, he is pretty down on his luck. He’s like the unluckiest version of you that I could imagine. Living in a van, owing money to everyone in town, scamming promoters to get by… which only makes it funnier when a distant kingdom summons him and thinks he’s this amazing fighter. I am that kingdom, man! I think you’re that cool! And I hope this book convinces everyone else, too!
BD: Jonathan, the story deftly weaves together the best of fantasy, sword-and-sorcery, comedy, and wrestling for an engaging and thrilling adventure. What do you hope that readers may take away from this story?
JL: I wrote out the idea when Paul was at a crossroads with his WWE career. He’s a had a successful career ever since, but that one moment really worried me as his older brother. So, I sketched out Hero of the Prophecy to be a story about not losing hope, no matter how bad things get. That’s all I wanted to say to Paul… and so I wrapped it in some of our favorite childhood genres to make it fun.
BD: Geekscape has become a staple in the world of Geekdom, with years of amazing podcast content and media coverage. What made Geekscape the perfect home for this story?
JL: I just didn’t want to wait on approval from anyone else. Georg Kallert, who has been my Geekscape partner from the beginning, and I have been trying to find a way to tell Hero of the Prophecy for over 10 years. And the only thing that has stopped it has been Hollywood execs not really getting the idea or the fun of it. At this point, I just wanted the story to be told, in its entirety, so decided to pull a Thanos and just do it ourselves. I’m not putting this story back on the shelf.
BD: Are there any specific backer rewards that you would like to highlight as part of the Kickstarter campaign?
PL: To be completely honest with you, I am not entirely sure what all of the rewards are. lol
I DO know that my brother and George will tell me to “jump” and I will respond with “off of or onto what?” So, I’m ready to help exceed whatever expectations are there for the reward-ening phase, as long as most of my face and teeth stay intact.
JL: Yeah, man. Any way you can push some of our custom championship wrestling belt tiers? I’m really happy with how quickly people have wanted to Get Drawn into Issue 2… That’s going to be really cool, to put fans into the book. But I want to have fans get those wrestling belts. Maybe they’ll even challenge Paul to a match!
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for readers to learn more about Paul London: Hero of the Prophecy?
PL: www.herooftheprophecy.com !!!
