What do you get when you combine elements of crime-noir with mythical creatures of legend like Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil and the Chupacabra? You get writer Joey Esposito and artist Jonathan Moore's FOOTPRINTS. The series which has already seen the release of its first three issues, will see the fourth and final issue hit stores.
All four issues will be compiled in the FOOTPRINTS graphic novel starting on February 29th, 2012. To find out more about the book we caught up with Esposito and asked him where he got his inspiration. Check out the full interview below as well as three exclusive unlettered pages from the fourth issue, below.
Comic Vine: As an outsider, if I had to take a stab at why you chose to title your series 'Footprints' I would think it has something to do with one of the title's central characters, Bigfoot. Am I right?
Joey Esposito: Totally. Special props to my good friend Tom on this one, actually. I struggled with a name for quite a while, and he’s the one that suggested Footprints. But hopefully, Footprints gives off the both the nature of the characters in the series as well as its core as a detective story. It plays to both ends and I think is a really simple and effective title.
CV: Where did you get the idea for this story? Where did you find your inspiration for the book?
JE: The idea stems back to an idea I had driving along a dark country road, pondering what would happen if I accidentally hit and killed Bigfoot with my car. I’d be instantly famous, no doubt about it. The idea lingered for a long time, and eventually became something more along the lines of… what would happen if Bigfoot was killed in a hit and run? Would all of his friends – a Justice League of Cryptids, so to speak – come looking for his killer? That idea eventually became what Footprints is – Foot’s brother Yeti is murdered, so he gets the old gang back together to solve the mystery.
The inspiration is very much Chandler-esque hard-boiled crime, but also the myths of these creatures themselves. What I was interested in exploring is how these cryptids relate to the noir genre, with their “powers” or legends being relevant to classic noir archetypes. So I guess I looked at Footprints as equal parts “In Search of…” and “The Big Sleep.”
== TEASER ==
CV: Your books seems to bring together an unlikely group of mythical creatures; what inspired you to choose characters like Bigfoot, Yeti and Jersey Devil? Which is your favorite and why?
JE: Well, like I mentioned, they all sort of correspond to different classic crime archetypes. Bigfoot is the mysterious hard-boiled detective, Yeti his estranged, more out-going brother, Jersey Devil the hapless sidekick, Nessy the no-guff woman with questionable ethics, Chupacabra is the muscle, and Motheresa the femme fatale. Once I thought about these characters in those contexts, it was easy to see how they would function (or perhaps, wouldn’t) as a team.
They’ve got a long history together that’s a lot of fun to play with, both in the unique way we’re presenting them and also in their more standard pop culture representations. Blending those two things together has been a lot of fun for me. I’d have to say my favorite is Motheresa – the femme fatale. She’s the connective tissue for the team, and more importantly, the wedge between Foot and Yeti. The idea of the Mothman, this creature that’s an omen of bad luck and disaster, is very much in keeping with the femme fatale archetype. It’s a ton of fun to play with that, seeing how she’s plagued this team from the get-go, but they maybe don’t realize that it’s her “bad luck” capabilities that’s brought the house down on top of them all of these years. She’s a character that’s so morally ambiguous that she’s a lot of fun to explore.
CV: Tell us a little bit about your and Jonathan's creative process; you are both listed as co-creators on the title so what is that like for you? What is it like working with artist Jonathan Moore? What is it about his rugged artistic style that you feel compliments the story?
JE: Jonathan and I had done a pitch meant for Zuda in early 2010, but ultimately that went nowhere in light of our finishing up just as Zuda closed its doors. But having worked through that, we sort of felt each other out a bit and eventually began talking about other things. Though the idea was mine, Jonathan brought it to life in ways I could never have imagined. As a writer, it’s easy for me to say, “Nessy looks at Bigfoot with disdain,” but it takes an entirely different skill set to be able to convey human emotions within these ridiculous characters. And Jonathan did it.
We have a very open line of communication, and I know he’s comfortable throwing out ideas at me for certain sequences or suggesting a different line or whatever. That’s not to say we use everything we come up with, but I think it’s important for your collaborator to know that his/her voice is heard. At the same time, my scripts have loosened up a bit since we’ve become better friends and collaborators. I know he knows what I’m thinking in certain situations and how I envisioned it on the page. So it’s a really conversational relationship that we have, and I couldn’t be happier.
In terms of his style, he’s actually a really accomplished artist and can do a wide variety of styles. He’s very technically sound – he’s a former anatomy teacher – so he’s really into accurate anatomy, perspective, and just realism in general. I think that his approach to art really helps ground these absurd characters into this realistic world. It’s ridiculous to think about Bigfoot and Jersey Devil operating totally unencumbered within real society, but he makes it work.
CV: So far we've seen three issues of your book, how far are you planning on taking this team? Do you have a lot of ideas for more stories featuring these characters in the future?
JE: This story is four issues. We’d love to do more, and we have talked about the next story and even plans beyond that. Basically, we want to take the “Hellboy approach” with continuing mini- series that are essentially standalone but connect on a greater level. There’s so much we’d like to do, but unfortunately as a small press series we’re pretty limited in how far we can go. Despite being published by 215 Ink, this series came almost entirely out of pocket for me, including self- publishing the first issue back in March. We Kickstarted for the rest of the funds to pay Jonathan and our letterer Adam, as well as get some marketing money for convention tables and all of that. It’s been a great experience, but it’s hard to commit such a time/money intensive project while having to earn a living. But of course, if there’s a demand for it or our schedules open up, we’ll absolutely do more.
And I guess this is as good a place to announce as any, but there WILL be more Footprints available in the 215 Ink anthology coming up later this year. We’re doing a short story with the characters that will be a lot of fun.
CV: What is it like for you to self publish your comic? What is the best thing about being an independent creator? What is the most difficult part about it?
JE: Money is the most difficult part. Jonathan’s got a family, and I wanted to pay him a fair page rate. I still got a deal, but 88+ pages of comic isn’t cheap, no matter how good of a deal you get. Plus letters. Thank god for Kickstarter, but even with the $8200 or so that we raised, I still paid plenty out of pocket. It’s a thrill for it to be possible though – between the internet, digital comics, and crowd funding, it’s never been more possible to get your work out there without a publisher. Still, we took it 215 Ink out of their devotion to creator-owned material, and they’ve helped with printing and distribution. In terms of being an indie creator, it’s all I know, so I can’t really speak to being anything but. [laughs]
CV: The FOOTPRINTS graphic novel hits stores on February 29th, how many issues will it compile?
JE: The trade collects Footprints: Iced #1-4, plus an introduction from the one and only Scott Snyder, all of our Kickstarter “Thank Yous”, a collection of early concept sketches, script material, and thumbnail layouts and such. Plus, it’s got a totally rad cover from Jonathan and Adam that’s very different from the series covers. It’s going to be a great book, plus it’s only $11.99!
