The following is an interview with Warrick Walker regarding the upcoming launch of the Kickstarter campaign for the fantasy/sword-and-sorcery comic book anthology, Flesh & Steel: Volume 1. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Walker about his creative process in bringing the stories and characters to life on the page, what readers may take away from the stories’ themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming launch of your Kickstarter campaign for the fantasy/sword-and-sorcery comic book anthology, Flesh & Steel: Volume 1! What can you share with us about the overall premise of the collection?
Warrick Walker: Flesh & Steel: Volume 1 is an absolute love letter to the genre that got me reading in the first place. I’ve been actively writing comics over the past 6 years, and what was originally meant to be a fun exercise in writing short, yet impactful, stories has become the anthology you see today. As I shared these stories with my peers, there seemed to be great interest in illustrating or telling their own stories. I’m hoping to make Flesh & Steel a place where artists can come and explore potential stories or unique ways of storytelling about things that interest them but might not be worth fleshing out into an entire series. At the end of the day, all the contributors to this book have a deep love for comics and hope that something in it can help inspire future artists and writers.
BD: As the editor for and a contributor to the collection, how would you describe the process for bringing the various creative teams together, as well as the thematic approach to crafting a complementary collection of stories?
WW: I’ve been very fortunate to have made such good friends in the indie comics community over the years, so I’ve always had a core group in mind, but I’ve been hesitant to reach out…I wanted them to see how passionate I was about this project and did as much work before reaching out as possible to highlight that. One of them was having my short story, “Devour,” fully written and illustrated before even asking, which allowed them to see what I was bringing to the table, and many of them seemed moved by it. After getting that core group on board, I started reaching out to artists I’d admired but hadn’t really had a chance to interact with, and by some miracle, they said yes, as well!
As for the theme, I feel fantasy/sword & sorcery is so heavily ingrained into storytelling that sometimes we don’t even see it, or we will throw a silly costume over the top in the hopes of calling it something else. One of my favorite examples is Star Wars: We have a young farmer (Luke Skywalker), he lives simple life but gets tossed into this grand adventure across the galaxy filled with sword fights (Lightsabers) and learning how to conjure magic (The Force), all while taking on kingdom (The Empire) under the control of an evil sorcerer (Palpatine)…if that isn’t Sword & Sorcery, I don’t know what is. I feel some of the stories may push the boundaries of what most think of when they hear “Fantasy,” and to me, that’s a good thing.
BD: Why do you feel that crowdfunding has been such a valuable resource to ensuring the success of today’s comic book creators?
WW: This will be my 4th project using some form of crowdfunding. I’ve been lucky enough to have all my projects completed before even starting the campaign, which is a luxury not everyone can afford. The simple truth is comics are hard to make they are very time consuming and expenses can quickly add up. Crowdfunding allows people the chance to create without taking on the financial risk which is an incredible thing but this can act as a double-edged sword. I’ve seen projects reach their goals but fall apart due to issues in their personal lives or the project was a larger undertaking then they initially thought. Some projects I’ve waited years to receive. To me, crowdfunding should be more focused on serving as a pre-order platform or a place to generate hype around a project when it launches. Too many cool projects fall through the cracks because they don’t meet a financial goal, and I say if you think it’s a story worth telling, then you should make it!
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 this collection’s stories may connect with and impact readers?
WW: Comics are a very powerful medium that allows you to tell stories in a very unique way compared to films or traditional books. Having the ability to “show, not tell,” while also being able to write scenes where characters can express my thoughts & feelings about the world around them, is incredibly therapeutic, and I hope the readers get a chance to not just connect with the characters but the artists & writers behind them, as well. Believe it or not, you as the reader are experiencing our highs and lows. Behind every victory, I’m sure there lie hundreds of defeats. The impact I hope this book has on the reader is that I hope they will go out and make art in whatever capacity. I’ve gone ahead and shared a bit of myself through my art, and I hope I get to see a bit of them in theirs.
BD: In light of the crowdfunding campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
WW: Admittedly, I’ve always been lacking when it comes to backer rewards. As mentioned previously, creating comics can be expensive and time-consuming, and my focus has been on delivering a high-quality book. Hopefully someday, I get the chance to explore cool or weird rewards, but as of right now, the only things I can see potentially in the future for Flesh & Steel are maybe an upgrade to a hardcover and an art print.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to share with our readers?
WW: As a writer I get the opportunity to have many coals in the fire and funny enough I’m working on a few separate projects with some of the contributors from Flesh & Steel of them being Tales From The Shattered Isles which is being illustrated by the incredible artist Facundo Lopez. This series was inspired after reading Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock and getting to travel England as a child and experience the place my mother once called home. This book holds a lot of my feelings towards faith & organized religion all set in a beautifully dark fantasy world.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about the Flesh & Steel: Volume 1 campaign and your other work?
WW: Well, if you’re interested in supporting Flesh & Steel Volume 1, I would ask if you could sign up on the Kickstarter pre-launch page linked below which also has one of the stories available to read now!!!
I’ve been doing regular updates and highlighting all the crazy talented individuals who are bringing this project alive on my Instagram so feel free to give that a follow if you want to see more about the project and anything else I’m cooking up! We are aiming for an August release and we hope to see you there!
