Hey There Friends and Readers, welcome back to another installment of Indie Comics Showcase. I hope everyone has been well. I really enjoyed interviewing creators for last week’s installment. I think there is a lot we can learn from them. So for my next two editions, I am going to try to include a couple of informative interviews with the creators.

I hope you enjoy this installment. Let’s dive in!

______Jerry Richardson: Anchor Face – The Odder Sea______

This Next interview was with Jerry Richardson – @jerryanchor on Twitter. His Indie Comic is of course Anchor Face: The Odder Sea. Jerry as actually been traveling with Anchor Face. They have sailed the seven seas and  Jerry has been keeping track of all of their adventures and jotting them down. This was a very fun interview to do so I expect Anchor Face to be a total blast.

Check out the project here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/anchor-face-the-odder-sea/x/18537415#/44

John: So where and how did you an anchor face meet

Jerry Anchor: When Anchor Face was forced into exile I just happened to be on the same ship that he set sail on. We got talking and he asked if I could write his adventures in comic book form. Before he had a team of writers when he was leading the top superhero teams but now he is exiled he goinng indie.

When Anchor Face was forced into exile I just happened to be on the same ship that he set sail on. We got talking and he asked if I could write his adventures in comic book form. Before he had a team of writers when he was leading the top superhero teams but now he is exiled he is going indie.

John: how long have you been sailing together

Jerry Anchor :  Not long actually, I’m writing these comic books for him as we go. So Issue #1 of Anchor Face will be the first adventure that we have been on which just happened last week. It’s a bit tough on me writing a comic book at the same time as going on these adventures but it’s still very exciting and I’m enjoying seeing Anchor Face in action.

John: Why did he pick you to be his writer? There has to be a story there.

Jerry Anchor :  Well, there weren’t many others on the ship we set sail on and my background in tattoo design was the closest he could get it an illustrator. So the style in the book is influenced by nuticle tattoo designs of the early 1900’s. Norman Collins is one of my favorite tattoo artists so his style influences my work. I also like to read Popeye comic strips and watch Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli movies so there might be a little of that in the work as well. If Anchor Face likes my style for this first book then I hope to do more issues for him but from what I can gather we are sailing to Japan or China at the moment, he might get a new artist from there if he doesn’t like my work. I hope I can illustrate another few issues for him at least, even though I get seasick I have loved creating this first issue.

John: That actually sounds pretty awesome. What has been your favorite thing about sailing with Anchor Face?

 Jerry Anchor:  I have seen some amazing things so far on our adventures, things that I could never have imagined. I’ve been to places that I didn’t even know existed and this is all because of Anchor Face. That being said my favorite part of sailing with Anchor Face has been getting to know him and his new crew. Even though I’m just the comic book writer he has still made me feel part of the team. Some say he can be a little cold and steely-eyed but getting to know him I’ve found he has a good heart, he always looks out for his mates, he has a passion for justice has dedicated his life to doing what’s right. I respect that a lot. The thing I’ll remember the most are the people I’ve met on this journey.

I have seen some amazing things so far on our adventures, things that I  could never have imagined. I’ve been to places that I didn’t even know  existed and this is all because of Anchor Face. That being said my  favorite part of sailing with Anchor Face has been getting to know him  and his new crew. Even though I’m just the comic book writer he has still made me feel part of the team. Some say he can be a little cold and steely-eyed but getting to know him I’ve found he has a good heart,  he always looks out for his mates, he has a passion for justice and has dedicated his life to doing what’s right. I respect that a lot. The thing I’ll remember the most are the people I’ve met on this journey.

John: that does sound amazing. How about scary things, have you encountered anything strange on your adventures?

 Jerry Anchor :  Most things I’ve encountered so far could be considered scary or strange. Other than the bizarre and mystical happenings the Ocean itself is enough to be afraid of. When things go wrong out here in the middle of nowhere time and isolation can be your worst enemy. As beautiful as the Ocean is its depths are as dark as it gets. When the winds are not blowing in your favor and the weather turns for the worst you are forced to accept how fragile life can be. To discover the more fantastical and enchanted foes we encounter you’ll need to pick up a copy of Anchor Face, no spoilers.

John: great! Can we talk more about your writing process?

Jerry Anchor:  Sure thing. The writing of the book usually goes like this; We go on an adventure and I take notes. When I get a chance I write out the transcript and run it by Anchor Face to check the accuracy. Once the script has been written down I thumbnail out the page and then pencil it, ink it, paint it with watercolors, and then add the lettering.

John: what made you decide to embark on this journey with Anchor Face?

Jerry Anchor: Well, we happened to set sail on the same boat by chance and after Anchor Face asked me to document his adventures in comic book form I thought why not, I’d give it a go, maybe I’ll like it, maybe I won’t. But after seeing Anchor Face in action on our first adventure together I’m hooked. He is an amazing superhero and now I hope I can document his adventures as long as I can. Now I’m committed to riding this wave as long as possible.

John: What are your hopes for the future as you continue on your journey

Jerry Anchor: Personally, I hope that I can write Anchor Face as long as possible, the rest of my life. This is a character and a team of characters I’m passionate about and I hope I can connect with an audience who will feel the same way about Anchor Face and his crew. I hope I can continue to travel the world and experience amazing cultures, learn their cherished secrets, and witness the beauty that exists in all the hidden corners of the globe so I can fill the Anchor Face comics with these wonders and mysteries. If not I’ll just go back to designing tattoos, which is not that bad I guess, but still…

John: Is there anything you would like to share with our readers before we sign off?

Jerry Anchor: I’d like to say thanks for the interview Indie Comics and thanks to those who have already backed the Indiegogo campaign and supported me so far. We have already doubled our goal so nchor Face #1 will be sent out and that’s very exciting for me. I’ll be uploading some updates and international news reports on my YouTube page if anyone wants to check them out.

John: thank you, you’ve been great. best of luck on the campaign

Jerry Anchor:  Really, thank you. I really appreciate the interview.

__________

_Fetishism Tales Vol 1: The Collected Adventures of Barbara_

This next interview is with my friend Rob Andersin who also runs @indieadvocator on Twitter, Facebook and https://www.creatorsofwrittensins.com/

Rob is crowd funding his latest project via Kickstarter

John: Alright Rob, How are you doing on your travels?

Rob Andersin: Too Much traveling time on the road, but it was an amazing experience meeting so many great people. I have brought hope, have had painful stories shared with me  and shared insight into what it means to have a Fetish and not be a Fetish.

John: I know traveling can take a toll on a person. The change of whether, Jet Lag, and I know you particularly are not fond of drastic changes in altitude and places that are really hilly.

Rob: Traveling with a three-year-old while being crippled due to a back injury made it a bit more challenging. Thank god for my sister and Family I have made in The Comic-Con community who have helped me when I needed them most.

John:  Let’s Talk Fetish Babies. How did you get started on that particular comic?

Rob Andersin: It started in NYCC creators Connection. I was gonna make a simple 6-page comic with a creator and he liked drawing Bondage pics.  I wrote a short story about Barbara and fell in love with the Idea and used a BDSM Manual (read like stereo instructions no one but me will ever read it ) I  wrote as a guiding principle to somehow talk about BDSM in a Real environment with mostly Fictional characters.

John: The story has evolved a lot since then. Fetish Baby Aftermath is the third installment in the series, correct?

Rob Andersin: It Goes: Fetish Babies, AfterMath and Mentor Search so far. There is a Novel Version we are basing the  comic book on, that we had an offer to publish but did not like the terms. And it’s important to trust and like the terms of what ever publication you are working with. We are self published and have turned down much smaller publishers offers to date. I fear what people think they can do to the title to make it make more money. The point is to show humanity not just sell sex

John: That is understandable, after all Fetish Babies is, well,  your baby.

Rob Andersin:  I’ve described Fetish Baby as Fifty Shade of Grey done right, but there is more to it than that. The way I see it, it’s a journey of self discovery and empowerment. It also speaks for a community so I have to be mindful of that and its effects unlike 50 shades nonsense. Fetish Babies is an educational story that shows a real look into the Fetish Community

John : Written by someone who actually has actually been a part of the community.

Rob Andersin: for over 20 years.  I was eleven when I first knew.

John:  Fetish Babies is told from the point of view of Barbra, It’s her story. She’s a fantastic lead character. How did you develop her?

Rob Andersin :She just came to me and credit to my Ex and 2 great editors for fixing slight issues. I based her looks on a sweet girl from my Pphysical therapist’s office with an origin from Sweden, but she now Lives in Mind and talks to me freely.

John:  You are currently funding Fetishism Tales Vol 1::: The Collected Adventures of Barbara correct?

Rob Andersin: Doing my best to despite a lot censorship from Facebook who went out of their way to promote 50 Shades of Non Sense movies

John: yeah, both twitter and facebook have their issues when it comes to promoting different works and censorship. I’ve seen a lot of accounts get either shadow banned or put on restricted mode for literally no reason at all. There seem to be some problems with the crowdfunding platforms as well. Both Indiegogo and Kickstarter have their issues also.

Rob Andersin: and what’s funny is because of the story being  educational those rules don’t apply to us

John: Plus, as I said the other day, there has been a bit of a Crowd Funding Slump recently. There are too many projects being crowd funded, and a lot of them are really good. So it’s hard to find the right audience, which is part of the reason I started Indie Comics Showcase

Rob Andersin: And that’s a Great thing you’re doing, sadly people are making anything they can and Kickstarting it to make money.

John: I think Kickstarter has started to develop a bit of a bad rep. Too many people have been successfully funding a campaign and then not fulfilling their campaign promises. A lot of them have been people who work one of the big two companies. I don’t want to drop any names but I have encountered around five creators who have done that, and Kickstarter does not seem to hold them accountable.

Back to Fetish babies, are there any new stories in the collected edition?

Rob Andersin:  Yes, there will be two stories that will launch Barb Plays the title that addresses Bards Cosplaying Lifestyle. One will be a Dream she talks about the other a Photo Shoot she cons Bruce into doing.

John: Great. who are the artist you have working on those two, I know you like to change things up a bit, while also being very selective

Rob Andersin: A return of Tamatara and Damian the Artist from Aftermath and Mentor Search.  We will use a Blog format with picture like in issue one and the BDSM SURVEY is being added and an Expanded Glossary with even more terms we were asked to add.

John: that sounds promising. Do you have more issues planned or are you just writing as inspiration comes?

Rob Andersin: Two follow up stories being written now. FETISH BABIES GRADUATION will come out in 2019, and unlike the original story this content will be more mature.  We have looked at Fetish Babies as a beginners story and educational tool. We consider it the PG-13 story, while Graduation will be a more adult and sexual story making it a R rating. Across the world the one issue we have been told is Fetish Babies wasn’t sexual enough. It’s what we wanted, to have the reader begging for more…

And then BDSM MIND GAMES will not be for a casual reader. Slated for 2020 it will go into the deeper effects of play and even the more dangerous.  While this isn’t a Batman comic don’t be surprised if we show off a Wayne. This story will be intense, and at times, challenge the idea of the BDSM culture itself. If made into a movie we could not see it getting anything less than an NC-17 rating.

John:  Can you tell us a bit about your writing process. How do you get things from thought to paper?

Rob Andersin: Most of what I create Starts as a Pro, meaning a short story. I later flush it out and mold to a script that me and the artist agree on using. Sometimes I will write myself notes as I am finishing a script more often character visit my mind and tell me what they would do and I work it out in my mind and they put words to it on paper.  The Best EDITOR in Indie Comics Chuck Pineau who is my go-to Editor will tell you I make changes up to the point we send it away to print.

John:  what do you use to write your scripts?

Rob Andersin: word or notes. Sometimes I’ll us http://INDIEADVOCATES.com  because of grammarly and set it to private.

John: Let’s take a little bit of a trip into the past, how did you first start writing comics

Rob Andersin: Comic inspired an 11 yr old me to learn to read and overcome undiagnosed dyslexia. I feel in love with comic and knew I wanted to create my own.

John: I’m also Dyslexic and it too went undiagnosed all throughout school

Rob Andersin: As Arrow would say the Board of ED failed us Dyslexics, mine came with Dsyphigmia means My mind filling in the blanks and fixes issues in my mind. great for reading anything bad for writing things. Just as my editor who you can find at the bar after every page of mine he edits. Sometimes my brain will go to auto correct something that is already going to be written or read well and then it just comes out wrong

John: I think I would get better results from banging my head against the keyboard! Has that been the most challenging thing you have come across as a writer?

Rob Andersin:  Yes, and most Frustrating.  My mind works so Fast and my dam finger miss all the right Ques to capture it perfectly on paper.  But you learn as you go and get better every day.

John: Apart from Fetish babies are you STILL working on the second issue of Monster?

Rob Andersin: Already done. We will be taking 2019 off to build a fan base heading into the finale in 2020 which will be a HUGE story treated more like an anthology with different artists getting different parts of the story.

John: I do remember the art was really surreal in what I saw and I was thinking is the artist could maybe take the work up a notch and just go full surrealism like the works of Mark Chagall, that might draw a bit more attention to Monsters

Rob Andersin: We will invite all different types of artist in.  Art is import to me.  Satine Zillah was one of the Best Artist in the World and She held Start the Fetish Babies Story that Tamatara continued and passed off to Damian. Each Art style gave us a look into the emotional state of Barbara.

John: What are you hopes for Fetish Babies?

Rob Andersin: Let me share the philosophy behind the story:

This story is dedicated to those born with a fetish for BDSM, to let you know you’re not alone. This story is our way to show the world more about who we are and disprove many misconceptions about the people who have Fetishes. The Biggest misconception that there is, is that somehow there is something wrong with anyone who has a fetish. In this day and age of acceptance, of all types of people, those who have fetishes are still looked down upon and treated like damaged goods.

Unlike other stories told about BDSM this is Created by two Creators who have been into the Fetish Scene and actually have Fetishes. While none of the stories are real they are based on personal experiences and based on a combined 30 years of study, experience and exploration into Fetishes and BDSM. This makes the story feel very real and shows a true side of what it is to have a fetish something often not seen before in mainstream media.

We also want to express the fact that a running theme for Fetish babies will be for you the reader to draw your own conclusions. The story is written to never preach but rather examine the intense relationships born out of fetish/BDSM and the dangers and rewards within those relationships. As well if we do our job right the ongoing series will be a learning tool, a guide to the NYC fetish underground as well as an opportunity to show to the World both how intense having a fetish/BDSM relationship can be all the while showing how normal most people with Fetishes really are. We are your teachers, your lawyers, your postal workers, law enforcement, etc… and your friends.

John: Anything else you want to share with our readers?

Rob Andersin: Forget the idea of Gatekeepers because in this new world, the true Gatekeepers are the readers buying Books. So if you like a book and are a fan of it , share it with the world.  Readers can finally change the worlds and what we view.

John: I think that is a great note to go out on. Thank you for your time Rob, I hope to see you soon. Best of luck on your campaign and on your travels my friend.

Rob Andersin: you too and thank you for this opportunity.

Check out Fetishism Tales Vol 1 via Kickstarter!

_________

Finally, here is one really great comic that I wasn’t able to get around to featuring before the campaign ended, but is still live via Indie Demand. I hope you will all check it out.

The Lowlife #1 The Reboot!