00. SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM

Sometimes you don’t get hit right away. For me, this usually happens with music - I’ll listen to an album once, gloss over the melodies and the lyrics, and write off the whole experience as… well, not a waste, but as something that isn’t striking. Often times later, I’ll listen to the very same album, just at a different time or place, and suddenly, everything clicks. What was once pleasant enough sound becomes music, beautiful and lyrical.

Such was my experience with Green Wake.

I will admit, I bought the book because I will, quite honestly, buy anything that series artist Riley Rossmo touches.

The man is a god damn comic art mad scientist - a fact confirmed for me every other month when one of my file customers drops into the store showing me another piece of amazing original art he bought from one of Riley’s books.

Anyway, I originally bought the book for his artwork. Then I read the book and I was… well, I liked it just fine, but it didn’t get into my bones. Then a month later, issue two came out - and I decided that before I dove into that, I would refresh myself - and god damn was I surprised by what I read. It almost seemed like a different book. Now obviously, the book itself hadn’t changed… but my experience sure did.

On the surface, Green Wake is an atmospheric murder mystery. Set in an odd, wet shanty town and filled with a mix of horror noir characters, the book is at turns mysterious and creepy. But within the body of the beast, laced into the bones, are love stories. All kinds of them. It was this discovery that cracked everything wide open for me, and caused me to fall in love with the book - and I’m quite glad I did. It’s a pretty amazing read.

Recently, I had a chance to correspond with the series writer Kurtis J. Wiebe - writer of other books such as Intrepids for Image, Snow Angel by Arcana, and Beautiful Creatures from Red 5 Comics. The resulting conversation looked a bit like this.

01. MEANWHILE AND ELSEWHERE

C!TB: What are some things that you’ve enjoyed reading lately? We’re talking anything - books, magazines, comics, sign posts.

Kurtis Wiebe: I’ve been reading food labels. I’m very interested in the nutritional benefits of food, so I read a lot of food labels.

I’ve also finally been able to get back on track with my comic reading. I’d lost out over the summer as I was still working a day job plus managing two comic series. Right now I’ve managed to get through the first 3 trades of Northlanders by Brian Wood, Atomic Robo by Brian Clevenger, and recently finished Done to Death by Andrew Foley.

C!TB: Done to Death is fantastic! My favourite stories never forget to be fun, you know? A well placed joke or character quirk in the midst of a Very Serious Moment does more for me than any kind of straight laced, uber-grim “nothing will ever be the same” plot twist.

I like seeing Atomic Robo in your list there as well. Your science-gone-mad series Intrepids reminded me a lot of Robo with a bit of Umbrella Academy thrown in for good measure.

KW: Thanks! I’ve cited Umbrella Academy as a definite touchstone for Intrepids, but obviously a little bit lighter in tone. Robo is a great series and WAY more people need to be reading it.

02. WELCOME TO GREEN WAKE

C!TB: The bones of Green Wake are this beautiful alt-world sort of murder mystery, but at the book’s core - or at least the first arc - there’s a very nice love story radiating outwards. When you were creating the concept, was it always anchored by this kind of story, or was this something the world sort of pushed forward?

KW: That was a rather organic element of Green Wake. The entire concept started off with the town and what it meant for people to live there. Every resident has some sort of guilt that keeps them attached to the place, and for our main characters it was important to make their stories deep and meaningful.

I’ve gone on the record before that Morley’s story is a mirror of what I went through my own life, even though the incidents are entirely different. I was working through some issues in my life and Green Wake was the perfect therapy. I think it was the reason I was able to get so much emotion on the page because it came from a very real place.

C!TB: The emotion of it really shown through. I remember you had talked a little bit about some personal turmoil you had gone through in the back matter of the first of Intrepids, and I wondered if that had informed this story. The pain felt by Morley (one of the main characters of Green Wake) just rang so true.

KW: It’s definitely coming from a similar place. While Intrepids talked about family and the nature of relationships between friends and loved ones, Green Wake was a little bit more pointed in its inspiration in how we deal with romantic love. It’s an entirely different animal and I believe we feel that kind of relationship in a much deeper way. So, yes, it was the same topic only it was being dealt with from differing perspectives.

03. 9 TO 5

C!TB: You recently announced that you’ve become a full time writer. Was there a shift in the way you manage your day as a result? How does the life of a freelancer go.

KW: It’s a huge difference. One of the major changes was getting used to all the extra time in the day. It wasn’t a stretch to say that I would routinely work 80 hour weeks between my day job and the writing, so having an extra 40 hours a week was quick a shock.

I’m still learning to balance my life. I quite easily will work all day and night, mostly networking and promoting, because there is no separation from home life and work life when they both take place in the same space.

I love it though, this is what I’ve dreamed of for years; being my own boss, setting my own hours, being responsible and rewarded for the quality of my work. It’s all very satisfying.

C!TB: That’s the dream. I have my job managing a comic store, but like… oh, let’s say 50-90% of all fans, the dream would be to create, and it’s that 80 hour work week that’ll separate those that talk and those that do – and right now, I’m mostly talk. It’s not like I’m short on inspiration. I’m surrounded by it. Casanova, Morning Glories, Umbrella Academy, Atomic Robo – and yes this seems like pandering, but Green Wake. As far as I’m concerned, it’s yours and Riley Rossmo’s best work by far.

Were there any books or writers or artists who sparked that need to create in you? That made you think, “man, this is what I want to do”?

KW: Warren Ellis was one of the first writers I followed when I discovered comics in the mid 2000’s. I think that initial connection has held over as I still like to read whatever it is he’s working on.

A lot of the appeal comes from my need to share creative passion. I wrote a lot of short stories before my move to comics and I found that to be such an insular experience. I had the opportunity to share those stories with an online community, but there’s nothing like the back and forth with another creative person in the development of a comic project. It’s my favourite part about comics and what I think sets it above any other form of writing for me.

04. THE FUTURE

C!TB: What are some things we can expect from you coming up?

KW: Lots. I’m gearing up for a huge 2012. Just before the New Year you will see my first Marvel work with a small short in their Holiday Annual. I wrote the Wolverine and X-men piece and my novel Between Worlds comes out next month. In February I have a new Image series from the Shadowline imprint called Peter Panzerfaust. It’s a World War 2 story about a group of French orphans fighting Nazi’s alongside the French Resistance. Sort of Red Dawn infused with the Peter Pan mythology.

I also have another Image title called Grim Leaper which should come out in March, it’s a Black Romantic Comedy.

C!TB: Sir, that is racist, and we will not have it on the site.

KW: I’m a controversial guy.

Keep an eye out for all of Kurtis’ upcoming work - and don’t hesitate to catch up on Green Wake right now. The first arc is now available in trade paperback, and the first issue of the second arc is on the stands now (and still available to order from Diamond).

Go out and get these now.