Wednesday night was a homecoming of sorts for writer Vita Ayala and editor Danny Lore. After years of working off and on at Forbidden Planet NYC, Danny currently is working there, they finally were able to both take that step away from the counters an sit behind the magical space that is a comic event signing table. As a former colleagues at times they both worked at the comic shop so its just heart swelling to see them take this step. Not to say Forbidden Plant has been a slouch in the creator/former employee pool with Matt Rosenberg, Ra’Chaun Rogers, Joe Hughes, Alec Llewellyn, James “Cricket” Colter among others, but these two are a unique pair to say the least. They were known as the “twins”. Who in all the multiverses would ever dream that two people could look so similar and be so attuned to each other, and end up working in the same comic shop of all places.
Their introduction is legendary. Vita was a off-an-on employee who had just finished up their last stint at the Planet over one summer and little did they know that their literal replacement was going to apply for a job at the shop in their absence. Danny would get confused for and called “Vita” for months to come until Vita returned to find out who the doppelganger was. For me the spider clone was Vita because at the time I only knew Danny. With a look, a point, “you” and a sizing up it was a clear they were destined to be eternal anime rivals/friends.
Which brings us all the way up to now and the release of Black Mask Studios The Wilds. The Wilds is a post apocalyptic world with what can be best described as flower zombies, at least on the surface. I delved further into the background of the book with Danny and Vita and we laugh our asses off all along the way.
Kaos Blac: So this is a homecoming of sorts?
Danny Lore: Well I’ll be back here tomorrow.
Kaos Blac: True. But now both of you are together on this creator owned book, The Wilds, tell me about your meteoric rise.
Vita Ayala: Meteoric rise? (laughs) Well hopefully this is only the beginning and our star will continue to ascend, in the night sky, but we were presented with the opportunity to tell a story that was important to us and we thought would be something that was needed out in the world. You didn’t see a lot of books like this one in terns of being apologetically upfront about being inclusive, tackling harder subject and its really pretty. (Vita smirks) The reception has been incredibly positive its actually really humbling and we are really honored and and grateful for everyone for everyone for being so positive towards the book.
DL: Man you took all the good answers, like you just had the check list of every answer I could possibly give.
VA: Extra credit answers!
DL: Alright we’re doing the extra credit round? (we all laugh) I just think that when V brought me onto this it was an already phenomenal team telling a really clever and brilliant story, because I can talk for hours about how clever and brilliant are two different things, and just the opportunity to help that in any way shape of form and rise along side V and tell more and better stories – (looks at Vita)
VA: This is an anime rivalry so i’m putting out a book then they’ll put out a book and it’ll be better, then i’m gonna have to go back and figure out how to do a better book which is just gonna go back and forth but then we are also editing each others books – so its intense. This rivalry is going to go on for a long time.
DL: I’m really excited for the –
VA: The tournament.
DL: The tournament, ha, but when we make the pitching process taking an entire anime season. five episodes for just writing out the concept and the tag line will be really dope.
KB: So taking that little bit of information I take it that Danny you are currently creating your own book? Is it in the works, is it something in the works right now that Vita is working on as a editor?
DL: The answer to that is if we stop working we die. We can’t not be working. So whatever that ends up meaning it is what it is.
VA: Being a creator means you are always in the process of creating something weather or not somebody has picked it up is a different story but Danny and I have been working on stuff forever and we’ll be constantly pitching – for the rest of our lives because otherwise we can’t pay our rent, so yeah. Danny is working on something I will be apart of. Just then, during my interview the father of Nadia Shammas, editor of Corpus: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments, stops by with some snacks, regrets that Nadia couldn’t make the event but on the upside gave the good news that the book was just funded. The comic community can really be a family affair. I say this to highlight Danny’s mom straightened up the table after Nadia’s dad dropped off some flyers for the anthology in which Vita is one of the contributing writers. Vita also has work in This Nightmare Kills Fascist, The Secret Loves of Geeks, and Twisted Romance.
KB: Any words about your story in this upcoming Anthology?
VA: It’s autobiographical, its gonna be a pretty long form one in terms of anthologies – but not the longest. It is very personal I’m very open and venerable in this story and I hope folks can connect to that. A crash is heard down an aisle of the store, we all look pissed: force of habit means we’re ready to pick it all up.
VA: That sounded like a whole thing of buttons getting knocked over. Ill be working with Dave Stoll who is an incredible artist. Nadia the person who spearheaded all of this will be editing the book – Are you in this book?
DL: I’m actually not I’m just Nadia’s biggest cheer leader. I think this concept is incredibly important and not just to Nadia but to a lot of creators and people who will be reading this book. I don’t think I’ve ever been as hyped about a book getting funded that I wasn’t a part of as when this book has been funded. Some more friends and a few strangers who are taking a chance on a new book come up to the table to get a book signed. During their signing we chat about the importance of queer identity and its importance. Well it was more of them looking at me like Roger from Sister Sister, because I should definitely know the answer already.
KB: So to continue, a lot of your books have a queer in them, a brand if you will. Why is Queer your brand.
VA: I have been told all my life that if I wanted to see that something that I should do it and I took that as a challenge because I was just tired of peoples mouths just running. I also think that beyond being a hash tag representation matters I think that I spent my time as a professional writing stories that would of been important to me in different stages in my life. It definitely would of mad e a huge difference to see queer characters – portrayed at all let along queer characters that are female or designated female at birth or femme in ways that were also exploitative or the villain. I think that would of done a lot towards A. me figuring out who I am, B. also it gets really hard hen the only portrayals of you are negative if they exist at all or a dead body. As a Brown person that is true as well as being a Queer person. I write for younger me.
DL: For me its important because as I’m sitting there [thinking of all the things] I wish I could see, I think about how many other creators are in the same situation. I sit there and think somebody is thinking the same thing right now and maybe what they need is that permission by seeing someone else doing it because that tells you there is an audience its the same reason I work on Fiyah magazine, why work on Vita’s stuff is because maybe some other creator needs to write that story I’m dying to read is to know that there is an audience out there.
VA: Just playing off of that when I was young I gave up writing for a while, I’ve been writing since I was young, since I learned how to read at ten, (laughs), I got into a really dark place and I gave up all the things that I love. I gave up reading, I gave up writing and then a teacher put a copy of Dawn by Octavia Butler in my hands and it completely changed my life. I saw someone, like me, writing stories that I would love to see and immediately I was like ‘there is a place for me, I can do this thing’ so that is also a big motivation for me.
KB: So in closing any parting words about The Wilds going forth? What should be expect coming up in the series?
VA: It’s mad gay. (laughs)
DL: Mad gay
VA: It has a lot to say metaphorically but it also has a lot t say visually. The art team is incredible. Emily [Pearson], Marissa [Louise], Jim [Campbell], and Natasha [Alterici] on the covers did an amazing job not just portraying the things that I had to say but also incorporating themselves in the book. So visually this is a beautiful book. So if you don’t like the words, at least its pretty to look at.
DL: For me what I find having the benefit of being able to see it in process it’s such a wonderful book about exhaustion on a lot of different levels. A spiritual, racial, gender and sexuality exhaustion and seeing a story about that in a way that is not just for you to feel bad about the characters not fulfilling this guilt thing. It like seeing yourself and you don’t feel bad for seeing yourself and that’t what the readers have to look forward to.
VA: Also flower zombies.
DL: Lots of flower zombies
The first issue of The Wilds is out now so ask your local comic shop to orderit if it’s not in stock.
A special ECCC exclusive cover of issue one is also on sale with proceeds going to Puerto Rican relief aid.
