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Back in February, I had the chance to review a book by InVision Comics, Genecy #1. It was based on some sci-fi and also fantasy aspects, but even had a hint of the Hercules mythos in it as well. It really was an interesting take on an entirely new universe and new characters, so recently I threw some questions at Genecy’s creator, Gerald Cooper!

ComicAttack: Let’s start out with a little background about yourself: How did you get into comics, and what spurned the idea(s) for Genecy?
Gerald Cooper: I was a comic fan since I was five. My mom thought it would be a good idea to make reading fun, so it’s all her fault (laughs)! Decades later, I was working at a comics shop and ran into several artists. Right at that moment I found an opportunity to jump into the game as a writer and Genecy was born.
CA: Tell us about Gencey – what the comic is about, and what it means to you as its creator.
GC: With Genecy, I wanted to come out with a character that had a very broken mind due to a cruel history and reveal the necessary steps to take in order to be fixed. What difficulties would that type of character have to go through? What type of influences should replace the present ones? What considerations have to be offered in order for one to redefine their view of reason … of function and purpose? Again, I want to reveal what a broken character has to go through in order to become what they should have been. I’ve met a lot of broken people in my life and I wanted to provide an avenue, or a line of communication, that would be considered non-threatening to them.

CA: Why did you choose the cosmic genre?
GC: I chose the cosmic platform because there are fewer rules. There’s more creative freedom there. I can do anything that I want to do on that stage and you can’t say that I’m wrong. You might disagree with a thing but you can’t say it’s wrong. In this universe there could be different laws.
CA: Can you expand on the characters and setting for us?
GC: In this other universe, as an enslaved people push to escape their masters, the rebel leader is killed. Before he dies, he hands a mysterious artifact of immense power over to a slave named Kaizaax, who is cosmically transported to a strange temple on another planet. There he battles hordes of monsters and ancient warriors to prove his worth. From there, he is confronted by an ancient giant from before recorded history, who offers him the ability to free his people and defeat his evil masters by fusing with this giant and becoming Genecy.
CA: What do readers have to look forward to beyond issue #1?
GC: In issue number one, I slammed he reader into a horrible situation and made the reader run with the character. Action, action, action. In the second issue, we slow it down a little and discover what happened prior to issue one even though the story moves forward. We also start to set certain things in place (for future stories) that you won’t notice.
CA: What is your time-frame moving forward, or, in other words, how often are you looking to print issues of Genecy?
GC: Eventually I’d like to do this once a month. And just keep going and going.

CA: What comics do you currently read? What are some of your long-time favorites?
GC: Oooooooooh! Long time favorites? Crisis on Infinite Earths all the way! From there we go to the Thanos Quest, The Dark Knight Returns, The Judas Contract (The New Teen Titans), The Death of Captain Marvel, The X-Men and The New Teen Titans crossover, the second Superman and Spiderman team up and many more!
CA: I’ve read about your campaign on Kickstarter. Can you tell us about that?
GC: Yeah. I have to pay the artists, the colorist, and the letterer … and that’s after I pay the mortgage, the gas and electricity, the water and gasoline is what … four dollars now? Sniffle … sigh. We thought that Kickstarter could be a pretty cool way to help us a little. I wish everyone would donate at least five bucks we’d be able to do this easily.
CA: If you had your choice, which publisher would you like to hear from about producing Genecy?
GC: Genecy would work well in the DC or Marvel universe.
CA: Anything else you’d like to add about Genecy or comics in general?
GC: I’ve written the first fourteen issues so far and there’s a lot of twists and turns everywhere. So come on in and join the ride … the Ride Divine!
A big thanks to Gerald Cooper for taking time out of his hectic schedule to sit and chat with the ComicAttack.net faithful. I hope everyone who feels that Indie comics are a great asset to the comic book industry will go to Kickstarter and donate to keep Genecy moving into the future at lightspeed!
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Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net