Scott Morse Interview

A Q&A with Scott Morse

by Brad Cook

Well, first off, to answer your very first question, I have indeed been enjoying TCC with each and every issue......very in depth, I must say, and very up to the minute, or at least as up to the minute as one can be in the comics biz......

Well, onto the questions, I say!

Brad: Why don't you start by filling our readers in on the history of Soulwind and how it wound up with Image. I understand that you were going to self-publish it at one time.

Scott: SOULWIND was, in the VERY beginning, an idea I came up with in high school. Only the very bare essence of it was there, then, that essence being the sword itself and what it can do. It was pretty basic then. The first SOULWIND incarnation debuted in four page installments in a fanzine entitled GRAPHIC ENTERPRISES PRESENTS, published out of Ohio. Paul Pope's original THB also appeared there, but, again, we were both just starting out, so don't hold us to GEP.

After high school, I attended CALARTS for 2 years and played around with SOULWIND a bit there. The first inklings of the present story were formed at about that time, around the same time that self publishing was coming out of its closet again. So originally, I was going to self-publish SOULWIND. I took it around and showed it to comics pros at conventions - people I respected, artistically and as people in general. The response was very strong, even early on, and Bob Schreck, then of DARK HORSE, talked to me about the possibilities of NOT self publishing, but of going through a bigger publisher. Eventually, I had talked with 3 or 4 companies, and it was kinda up to me to pursue it from there, but a few months after SAN DIEGO last year, Jim Valentino called me up with an offer to go with Image. It sounded very good, and soon SOULWIND was one of the first "non-line" Image books to come out.

Brad: What influences are you drawing from, if any, for the series? There
seems to be a mix of Joseph Campbell-like heroic stuff, Far Eastern influences, and a good ol' fun sci-fi romp.

Scott: Jeez.....influences....where to begin? I'm influenced by everything around me: people walking by, places I go, places I will NEVER go, books, film, nature. I try to absorb anything I can, meaning that I'm observing aspects of everything whenever I can. As for artists and writers and such, I think a lot of people have moved me forward. Artistically, the Renaissance Masters and the Impressionists, Klimt, Schiele, Yoshi Toshi, filmmakers in animation and live action alike, including Capra, Kurosawa, Leone, and of course Lucas with the TRILOGY, the old Disney and Warners guys like Bill Tytla and my mentor, Maurice Noble.

As for the comic influences, actually, my first strong influences came from GI JOE, like ithe early issues, from #1-27 or 28..man..#21 was all silent.."SILENT INTERLUDE." I had never really seen how powerful a silent story could be. I was only like 10, but man, I ate that up. Then the DARK KNIGHT hit, and LONE WOLF AND CUB was reprinted with Miller covers from FIRST, and I was off. DAREDEVIL, and the Marvel Universe overtook me and I was hooked for life. Since then, I've read anything I could get my hands on and deviated from the Super Hero ranks except in a very few instances. Now I enjoy anything by Sienkewicz, George Pratt, Jon Muth, McKean, Teddy Kristiansen, Kent Williams, Kirby stuff, of course. Just too many to list. I'm enjoying PALOOKAVILLE, OPTIC NERVE, MINIMUM WAGE and KANE quite a bit. Cerebus, Bone...you name it, I read it. And of course Eisner......sheesh....

Brad: Both the art and the story in issue 1 evoke a wide range of emotions and have different feels in various places. Will Soulwind continue in this vein?

Scott: SOULWIND will indeed continue to explore as many emotions as I can possibly convey. There will be light hearted fun, and very heavy handed stuff. It's going to be quite a strange book for a few folks, I fear, especially anyone who is just used to reading one type of story. Case in point: issues #1-4 are a take off on Alex Raymond influenced sci-fi, but #5-8 will deal with life in the 1930s, revolving around a couple's relationship and some very big decisions they are going to have to make.

Brad: Tell us briefly what the story is about. I know that you want to do it in four-issue story arcs. Is this a story with a definite conclusion like many comics are today (Bone, Cerebus, Hepcats, and Wandering Star, to name just a few), or will it keep going as long as you want to keep doing it?

Scott: The story? Well, I don't want to say to much about the overall storyline, just because half the fun is not knowing what's coming. I'll tell ya this, though: SOULWIND is 25 issues long at this point, [and] there is a definite end. It will eventually be collected into the equivalent of 6 trade paperbacks, and then one very thick hardcover.

Brad: I know that you've done work in animation. Are you still doing it? (Do you still have a "day job"?) Do you want to do comics full-time? Would you take Soulwind to a studio for a film - either animated or live-action - if you got the chance?

Scott: I do indeed continue to work in animation, currently at Hanna Barbera as an art director on COW AND CHICKEN, a series for the Cartoon Network. I just finished art directing a feature-length video for Universal revolving around HERCULES AND XENA as well. But I'd rather be doin' the comics full time. =) There are too many hands in the pot in the animation industry, and too many executives who want to do the same old thing. As for a SOULWIND film? It's an ongoing possibility, and the film and animation rights are being tossed around in a couple of different areas, but the circumstances would have to be right. SOULWIND wouldn't necessarily make a good film or series, but sections of it could work, and I'd have to be calling the shots. But it's a very real possibility.

Brad: How does the story of the boy at the beginning of issue one tie into the rest of the tale, aside from the fact that he finds Soulwind? Does he have a connection of some kind to Nick? You introduce a rather large cast of characters in issue one. Can you tell our readers who they are and what part they will play in the story as the series unfolds?

Scott: Characters, eh? Well, I can't tell ya too much about the Chinese Monks and the kid, but you'll see them again. They play a very integral part of the master storyline, as do Nick and his aquaintances, some of whom you already know and some of whom we'll get to soon enough. Ambiguous enough for ya? Heehee.....once again, I can't give too much away; it's too much fun as a reader to be suprised at how a story can turn, and SOULWIND's definitely got a few turns comin' up. After issue 5 hits the stands in Oct., readers will start to get a feeling for how the book will lead. It's definitely a bit different from #1-4, but is also definitely integral to the master storyline.

Brad: Any comment on the recent politics at Image with the Liefeld Exodus?

Scott: Wow....the Liefeld situation. Well, I wasn't really affected by the whole deal, except in the sense that it helped to open Image to a few more creator-owned books. I was approached by Rob a while back at a convention, before the Image deal for SOULWIND and before the big Liefeld deal hit, about possibly doing one of my books, LITTLEGREYMEN, with Maximum Press. Rob was really nice, but the Maximum Press guys that he referred me to were, how should we say, a little less than hospitable........oh well. LITTLEGREYMAN comes out in July from Image, by the way. =) The same format as Paradox Press' GON books, with 96pp.

Brad: How do you feel about the current state of the industry, both in terms of economics and story quality? Does it have you scared, excited, or what? And do you think the industry needs to reach a wider audience beyond the one which frequents comic book shops? Would you like to see Soulwind exposed to more people, or are you happy with seeing it exposed to comics buyers?

Scott: The industry is in a very strange state. As always, I think that quality books will stick around, no matter what happens. I think it would be cool to branch out our work into more popular areas, though, meaning coffeehouses, bookstores on a larger scale, you know...get the books out to a wider audience than just the fanboys and collectors. There are amazing stories being told, but SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT definitely tainted the comics market back in the day, and I only hope that there's some way left to expand our readership and help to shed the typical reaction to comics by today's Americans. Comics really are a viable storytelling medium, and I think there's still a good chance that we can reach an audience like Japan's eventually.......let's hope so anyway. The market was flooded by a lot of the same kind of thing a couple years back, but it'll pull through. People are starting to realize that super heroes aren't the only
characters out there, and not everyone wears a g'string and spandex.

Brad: How has fan response been to the series? How much response were you getting
when you were doing shows last year and handing out ashcans?

Scott: Response has been a lot better than I had anticipated. We've gotten all kinds of mail and good reviews lately. It's good to see that the story I'm trying to tell is appealing to many different audiences, which was the whole point of coming out with Image: to try to break into the super hero audience and expose that audience to an alternative type of story. When I was doing conventions, just advertising SOULWIND artwork and not selling a thing, people kinda looked at me funny. I was just doin' free sketches, hanging out and creating an awareness for SOULWIND. I think it helped a lot, though: people knew of SOULWIND a while in advance, so when it finally hit, it was known that it was becouse of timing and not just to sell books. After all, this is the worst the industry has been in a while, and hardly a good time to be bringing out a new book by a complete newcomer, so I think it did help. People got to know me a bit before they saw the book, and got to know that I was serious about what I want to do.

Brad: . Do you have an editor for the book, either your own or from Image?

Scott: SOULWIND has no editor other than myself and my girlfriend, Lauren, though I ask for comments from everyone. The Image deal is great in that we are totally in charge of our own books content wise. Nobody tells us what we can and can't do. I'm treating "editing" like a filmmaker would: I edit scenes, and dialogue, but not to pander to an audience for petty reasons or to sell more books. When it comes down to it, it's my book. I'm gonna tell the story that I want to tell.

Brad: What are your plans once Soulwind is done?

Scott: There are a few other things on the burner besides SOULWIND: LITTLEGREYMAN, THE PISTOLWHIP BASTARD (a western), and a couple of painted projects are next, and I'm getting ready to delve into indy filmmaking, though that's a completely different monster. = )

Brad: What does the first initial "C" stand for?

Scott: The "C" is for Christopher, my first name. Heehee......my parents always called me Scott. Christopher is just too long, I guess.

Talk to ya soon, man!