Anyway, so this brings us to 9/11. How
did you get to be part of this?
I literally pitched to Phil Amara. Phil didn't know
me at all, but I knew he was looking for submissions.
I sent him two ideas, he picked one.
I'd wanted to work with Mike Norton on something
for a while, and - again - I knew he was reliable. We
did the whole thing, concept to script to finished
art, in three days.
Have you had any response to your piece?
Only a little, but all positive. I had no idea how
it would be received, but in honesty I didn't really
care. The whole point of it was to do something which
reflected my thoughts and feelings about 9/11.
And it does. Mike and I clicked very well on that
one, especially given that it was silent.
And this finally brings us to NIGHT RADIO.
Yep. The story I'm doing is called 150 WEST.
Give the nickel synopsis, if you please...
There's an island in the Pacific which you've never
heard of. It's the world's best-kept secret. Because
it's the place where people go to hide from the world.
Government assassins, vampires, hitmen, a cabal of
businessmen who secretly rule the world - they're all
there. And in the middle is a small, dedicated police
force.
But they have a problem. Last night, the Sheriff
was murdered.
Twelve hours later, as dawn breaks across the
Pacific, a new Sheriff - Elizabeth Lynch, ex-Seattle
cop - is flown in. Until six hours ago, she didn't
know 150 West existed either.
And now she has to solve a murder.
So it's sort of a modern western/sub-society
story. Well, "western" is probably the wrong
term...
I honestly don't know what you'd call it. It's a
huge melting-pot. But it's a cop story at heart.
Basically, if people go in expecting one thing,
they'll probably be surprised. The story refuses to be
bound by genre, really.
Who's the artist for this one?
We're currently finalising that. We should know
soon, and it'll be announced, but I don't know myself
yet.
How far into it are you?
I'm halfway through the second chapter right now,
but I have the whole thing plotted in full. And,
again, this is hyper-compressed stuff. Enough material
in here to fill a graphic novel, plot-wise.
How long is each installment?
10 pages. Four installments.
Any chance of a collected edition?
Maybe. Way too far off to tell, bit I hope so It
all depends on how well the anthology does as a whole.
How did it feel to be picked as part of this
anthology? (Or, to sound less stupid, what was your
reaction immediately after being picked?)
Flattering, obviously. But it was very informal - I
was having lunch with Warren, just chatting about
shit, and out of the blue he told me about the plan
for NIGHT RADIO -and then told me I was going to be
one of the writers. He didn't ask me, as such...just
told me.
Ha! He knows what he wants!
Absolutely :-) My reaction was, this is going to be
very good. I'm going to enjoy this. And I am.
You have to think - how many publishers are there
out there who will let you do whatever the hell you
want, and pay you for it, no questions asked? How many
would take relative unknowns like myself, Matt and
Micaela, and give us total freedom?
Not many publishers have the balls to do that.
Maybe three or four in the current market. So that
immediately gave me good vibes about NR.
Have you seen any of the material from the other
contributions yet?
No, not yet.
So I take it you'll want to be working with
Avatar again in the future.
I think that's a strong possibility.
What would you like to accomplish in the long
run as a writer? Do you see yourself concentrating
mainly on shorter works, or would you like to move to
longer-form works, a la a sequential equivalent of FC?
Both, really. I have some longer works bubbling
away in my mind, but I know that right now I'm not in
a position to get them moving.
Obviously, I want to make my living doing this.
Writing, I mean - not just comics, but any medium I'm
interested in doing. (And before anyone shouts,
'sellout', I'll remind people that as of this second I
haven't earnt a bloody penny from my comics work yet,
and if I wasn’t dedicated to the art form I would
have given up a long time ago...)
As for the near future, it'll be shorter works,
because I'm not a 'name' yet.
Just wait.
Well, I'm not. I can't call up Shelley Bond and
tell her I want to write a 60-issue maxi series, you
know? When I can do that, I'll consider myself a
'name' ;-)
There ya go. Okay, stupid personal questions
time: What's a typical work day like for you
(interviews with naive journos excluded)
Well, I have a day job, obviously. Once I get home
from that - generally around 8pm - I eat, spend some
time with my girlfriend, then lock myself away in the
study.
I write *something* every night, whether it's
notes, or script, or a pitch, or whatever. I don't get
to sleep before 2am, ever. Then I often take weekends
off :-)
You ever miss sleep?
Not much. .I used to be a really bad insomniac when
I was younger...I've survived on 5-6 hours sleep,
often less, for around three years now. I resent
sleeping, frankly. It's time I could be working.
"Sleep is the enemy of genius."
Who said that?
Me, around seven years ago. Just as true now as it
was then...
Heh. Okay, very very quick ones --
Shoot
Poison of choice?
What, alcohol?
Yeah.
Whisky or vodka.
Particular brand?
I can't drink beer. Two pints and I'm anyones. Just
ask Brian Wood. I’m not all that fussed. If it's
cheap I just mix it with soft drink shite. If it's
expensive I drink it neat.
Favorite band of the moment?
Hmmm. I've been listening to Linkin Park a lot
lately, but that's more a zeitgeist thing. My top
three bands never really change: Type O Negative,
Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride. They always manage to
surprise me, so I like em.
Favorite comics? Keep it down to five.
Christ... you mean now, or ever?
At the moment.
Right now: 100 BULLETS. LONE WOLF & CUB. KANE.
TRANSMET. BERLIN.
And our final question before we let you off: Do
you ever get sick of people calling you "Anthony
Johnson" by mistake?
I have for the last 29 years. I don't see why I
should stop being pissed off at it now...
Good answer.
:-)
Well, thanks a lot for your time. This has been
my most extensive interview in a good long time...!
Mine too...! But it's been fun. Thanks.
