The following is an interview with writer Jeff Treppel (Ben 10, Mega Man: Fully Charged) regarding the recent launch of a Kickstarter campaign for the graphic novel, Waypoint. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Treppel about his creative process in bringing story and characters to life on the page, what readers may take away from the story’s themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the Kickstarter campaign launch for Waypoint! How would you describe the genesis of this project, and what can you tell us about the story’s premise?
Jeff Treppel: Waypoint came from a desire to create something of my own after working in the IP mines. They pay a decent rate, but it’s not your mine and it’s not your gold to keep. I wanted to tell a story of my own. I grew up on old-school science fiction – especially Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – and pulp mystery stories, so it felt like a natural fit to say, “What if Trillian went into space but wound up stranded in a Raymond Chandler plot?” It evolved into the story of Detective Claire Carlisle, the only human on an alien space station, who must solve an impossible murder or get sent back to the worst place in the universe: Earth. It’s a fun mystery series about a depressed detective enmeshed in a case that doesn’t want to stay solved, set in a world where the impossible is the norm with a colorful crew of weirdos as supporting characters. All my favorite things in one place.
BD: In light of your extensive body of work in animation, what was your experience in transitioning to the sequential art medium, and do you feel that each medium has its own unique storytelling “toolkit?”
JT: I think the overlap between the two mediums is almost a perfect circle. Just look at how many fantastic comic writers have worked successfully in both fields: Marv Wolfman, Dwayne MacDuffie, Steve Gerber, Noelle Stephenson, the Man of Action crew, Meghan Fitzmartin, Jeremy Adams, etc. The list goes on. Here’s the secret: They’re both directly collaborative art forms. You’re writing a script for a specific person (or people) to translate into a visual format, whether it’s a storyboard artist or a penciller. You also have a limited space to work with, which means you need to focus on what’s important and highlight it. The biggest difference is chronological. In animation, you’re dealing with a single-panel story that moves inexorably forward. In comics, you have more room to play with the page as a canvas, but you need to work harder to convey motion. Slightly different skillsets that are easily adaptable.
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 Waypoint’s themes may impact readers, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that they might inspire?
JT: Setting Waypoint on an alien space station puts a level of abstraction between the story and our reality, which allows me to deal with some pretty universal topics without getting explicitly political. One of them is a classic noir theme: the powerful vs. the powerless. Those with power and money choose to abuse their privilege in pursuit of more money and more power at the expense of the powerless. Sounds familiar, huh? It also lets me discuss my views on bigotry in a way that’s not specific to any earth culture. Claire’s a human, she has no real prejudices or preconceptions concerning these different groups, so space racism just seems ridiculous to her. I wanted to highlight how our similarities are much more important than our differences.
BD: Why do you feel that crowdfunding has become such a vital resource for today’s comic book creators and publishers?
JT: While books are still getting to stores, the market is not what it once was now that Diamond is insolvent. Crowdfunding isn’t the answer to everything, but the advantage (especially if you’re not operating at the level of a Marvel or DC or Image) is that it lets you know exactly how big your audience is. Assuming you have the book done (which I do), it’s effectively a preorder system that also lets you pay to print the physical comic with the proceeds. It takes the guesswork out of how many copies to order. That means I can deliver it to the people that definitely want it, and, since it’s cheaper to print in bulk, I’ll have some left over that I can then put in stores or bring to conventions. The nice thing for backers is that it gives them a sense of involvement and pride in the creation of the book. They’re directly making it happen! They’re not just buying a comic, they’re helping bring it into existence. That’s a really satisfying feeling. I know that Kickstarter results may vary, but I’ve hired Prana Direct Market Solutions, a professional comics crowdfunding team, to make sure everything – from the Kickstarter campaign to the final product – matches the quality of the comic itself.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
JT: I have a weekly newsletter called Hot Rails to Hell (one of my favorite Blue Oyster Cult songs), where I share my thoughts on creativity, the progress of the Kickstarter, music reviews, and pictures of my cat. Also, the August issue of Decibel magazine should be on the shelf now. I wrote the cover story for that on the 40th anniversary of the Transformers: The Movie soundtrack and how it served as a gateway for young metalheads (including Daniel Warren Johnson, whose recent run on the comic was exceptional).
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about Waypoint and your other work?
JT: From its conception, this project has been in the works for about a decade now. It went from being a fun, little side project to a passion project. I believe in it so much that I’m giving away the first half of the first issue as a free download on the Kickstarter site because I think readers will love it as much as I do. I know you have a lot of options out there, but I hope you give Waypoint a place in your comic collection.
