Fresh off the crowdfunding success for the inaugural issue of Beastlands, I caught up with comic creator Curtis Clow to discuss his most recent series. The title, centered around a group of teens on a perilous journey accompanied by large animal companions called Keepers, offers an intriguing glimpse at Clow’s medieval fantasy inspired world, fleshed out with some great work by artist Jo Mi-Gyeong. The Kickstarter for the second issue was funded in early August.
ComicAttack: For our readers who may not be familiar with your work, what can you tell us about your background and how you got into comics?
Curtis Clow: I’ve always had a love for storytelling at an early age. I can remember excelling even in elementary school at it. I felt a pull towards comics at a young age but didn’t always have the resources to read them. Finally in my early twenties I started reading indie comics and then the bigger creator owned publishers. Once I started reading comics, I knew this is what I had to do creatively!
CA: What about your team at To Infinity Studios? How did you guys come together and how do you pick your projects?
CC: To Infinity Studios is just kind’ve my spot to house all the comics I’ve worked on. I hope to work with a variety of publishers in the future, so this is a spot where you can see all the stuff I’ve written. I always put together the team for the books. Working with some of the same team again and again, like my designer and letterer.
CA: You seem to have an affinity for telling science fiction and fantasy stories. What was your inspiration for Beastlands?
CC: Yup! Pretty much all my stories (and unannounced stories) are sci fi and fantasy. I love being transported to a unique and new world in entertainment. Beastlands is greatly influenced by things like Pokemon, Digimon and Game of Thrones. But it’s also around getting my first dog in my mid twenties and the struggles we went through, her being hit by a car and having to care for her.
CA: Without giving too much away, what can you tell us about the central conflict in Beastlands? What you want to stand out most about the characters and how they deal with that adversity?
CC: It’s about a boy who loses his companion beast. While searching for his beast he comes across a kingdom that has a king that wants to eliminate all the beasts. The boy was so driven to chase his own goals, he pushed away his beast and friends. It’s about him trying to get it all back. It’s about appreciating what you have, before it’s too late.
CA: Beastlands has a very interesting mix of archaic fantasy design and contemporary vernacular. Did that juxtaposition strike you as anachronistic, or do you feel it strengthens Beastlands unique identity in the genre?
CC: I feel it strengthens the unique identity of Beastlands. It gives it that unique look and feel. We went for a more realistic look of the world and time period, taking influences from medieval times. But the characters costumes does have some fantasy inspiration. And even the Beasts are based off of real world animals and don’t have any magical powers or anything. We tried to keep it grounded.
CA: You are currently working on the Kickstarter to continue Beastlands. What do you feel has been the key to success in building your crowdfunded projects?
CC: A big key has been starting small! This will be my fourth kickstarter on July 1st. My first Kickstarters goal was only a few hundred dollars and each Kickstarter has grown since then. It’s taken a few years but now I’ve grown my audience that likes and supports my work. So now I can start shooting for a little bigger projects and launching even more Kickstarters.
CA: You previously worked on Wild Cosmos with Scout Comics and The Dragon’s Kin for the In Hiatus Studios Shards anthology series. What was the development like on those stories and how has it differed from your work on Beastlands?
CC: Wild Cosmos actually started on Kickstarter before I pitched it to Scout Comics. And they’ll allow me to still use Kickstarter if I choose. Getting the experience of working with In Hiatus on an anthology was a lot of fun. Being in a book with a bunch of other great stories. It’s nice to work with a publisher, it takes away some of the stresses like printing books and storing them in your apartment. I’d like to find a publisher for Beastlands eventually.
CA: What would be your ideal path forward in the industry? Are you more interested in maintaining the autonomy that comes with crowdfunding and self-publishing; or are you looking to break in with a larger, more established publisher?
CC: I’d say both! I definitely want to work with some bigger creator owned publishers and establish my name more. I’d love to get some freelance comic writing work too. But in 2019 it’d be silly to not keep crowdfunding. I’m lucky to have that as an option to try and make it as a comic writer. So I’ll keep self publishing books and jump on any opportunities to work with some more publishers.
CA: Writers and artists are always fans first. If you could work on a story or character for any major imprint right now, what would it be?
CC: I really love creator owned comics, with stories and worlds I create. But if I had to choose something it might be Firefly that Boom Studios now has the rights to. That’s one of my favorite sci fi series and it’d be awesome to get a chance to write it. I think James Cameron’s Avatar comics would be fun too. I think I could do some really creative and fun stuff in that world. And lastly Avatar the Last Airbender. I’d love to create my own story and characters in that world.
CA: Just to wrap up, as a kind of personal touch for our audience:
- What are you reading?
CC: Currently reading Coda, Angelic and Die
- What are you watching?
CC: Samurai Champloo and Big Little Lies
- What are you listening to?
CC: Tycho and Ulrich Schnauss
We at comicattack.net would like to thank Curtis Clow for taking the time to answer our questions and giving us an opportunity to showcase some of his work. It’s always a pleasure to be able to support up and coming creators and creator owned content and share it with our readers. You can find my review of Beastlands #1 here and also support Curtis and Beastlands by visiting beastlandscomic.com.
Christian Davenport
cable201@comicattack.net
Pingback: Indie Reviews: Beastlands #1 – ComicAttack.net
Very cool interview. Nice to see people getting their stories out and you guys giving them a platform!
Connecting with independent creators and sharing their work is my favorite part of working with ComicAttack.net. You find great talent, but also so much humility and joy in the creation of something others will appreciate. If I can help spread some joy, especially now, then that’s my mission.