The following is an interview with Jamieson Alcorn of Very Big Comics regarding the upcoming launch of the Kickstarter campaign for the comic book anthology, Museum of the Uncanny. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Alcorn about the shared creative process of working with the various creators to create a complementary collection of stories, the backer rewards available to supporters of the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You will soon be launching a Kickstarter campaign for the Museum of the Uncanny comics anthology. For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about the overarching premise of this collection?
Jamieson Alcorn: The premise of the Museum of the Uncanny anthology is that there’s a museum filled with strange items, and the book tells the story of what makes several of those items so interesting, or eerie, or uncanny. The idea is for the reader to feel like they’re touring the museum as they go through the book.
BD: As the editor of the anthology, how would you describe the process for bringing the various creators together, as well as the thematic approach to crafting a complementary collection of stories?
JA: Bringing creative teams together is my favorite part of making comics as an editor. As soon as submissions open for an anthology, I get emails from creative people from all over the world, and I get to sit down and pair them up in a way that emphasizes the strengths of each. It’s a little like doing a puzzle, a little like drafting a fantasy football team, and a lot like directing a play. I like the challenge of choosing the right people to contribute to a project and putting them in a position to do their very best work.
When I put together an anthology, I prefer to have a wide variety of work on display. The book definitely has a central sort of spirit to it, but from there I look for people who can remain true to that and tell a story that’s unlike any other in the rest of the collection.
BD: The collection is being published through Very Big Comics. What makes the publisher the perfect home for this anthology, and what do you feel defines a Very Big Comics title?
JA: In addition to being the editor of Museum of the Uncanny, I’m also co-owner of Very Big Comics, so it’s definitely one of the big titles we’re looking forward to publishing as a company in addition to my work on it as an editor. Very Big Comics was essentially founded due to the success of Fairytales from Mars, our last anthology before this one, which inspired my business partner Kristi and I to merge our self-publishing operations into something larger.
Just like with our anthologies, so far Very Big Comics has sought to produce a variety of stories in very different genres and tones.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that these stories may connect with and impact readers?
JA: I would love it if our book had two major impacts on readers: first, to maybe get out and explore museums more often. There are some really amazing ones out there, and I feel like many people don’t take the time to see them. Second, and maybe more importantly, I would like readers to come away with this book with more of an appreciation for the story behind items they see. A thing can be more than just a thing if the observer thinks about where it came from, how and why it was made, and all of the hands it passed through to get from there to where it is now.
BD: In light of the crowdfunding campaign, are there any specific backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
JA: We started a tradition of making challenge coins for each of our campaigns, the idea being that they would be collectible sort of markers for longtime supporters. We’ve made two so far, for Fairytales from Mars and the second volume of Gamer Girl & Vixen. The Museum one is very cool and I’m looking forward to getting mine already.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find out more about Museum of the Uncanny and its Kickstarter campaign?
JA: The best thing to do would be to go to verybigcomics.com/motu for a direct link to the campaign, where you can sign up to follow and be notified when it goes live. Otherwise, check out verybigcomics.com to find links to all of our social media and information on Museum of the Uncanny and all of our other books!
