Comic Nerd Under The Microscope: Glenn Arseneau
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Awesome Applesauce: Charles Quevedo
Glenn Arseneau (@G_Arseneau on Twitter) is a comic writer currently living in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) where he is attending graduate school in anthropological archaeology. He is the writer/co-creator of the comic, "Greyman". In a Q&A (Questions & Answers), "Talk Nerdy To Me Lover" found out the scoop on this creative mastermind:
Q: What is the premise of the "Greyman" comic?
A: "Greyman" is about a young anthropology professor (write what you know, right?), named Dr. Adam Grey, who becomes an unlikely and reluctant hero when he finds himself mentally linked to an arrogant and otherworldly "entity" and tasked with taking the role of "gatekeeper" on the Dead Highway -- the "in-between " zone separating the world of the living from the world of the dead. His only source of guidance as he searches for the missing soul of his deceased wife is the mysterious Elijah, a powerful astral being masquerading as a human homeless man, who has a strained relationship with the "entity" with whom Adam has found himself bonded.
As Adam comes to terms with his new position, he uncovers an ancient and ongoing war waged between two very different species of incorporeal beings, fighting over the life-force contained within our bodies. Realizing that the fate of humanity itself is at risk as this spiritual war spills into the living world for the first time, Adam slowly comes to accept his responsibility and must eventually ace the fact that the only way to truly save the souls of the human race is to sacrifice his own humanity.
Q: How did you come up with the concept with for 'Greyman"?
A: I came up with the concept and some of the characters back in 1998/99, while working the graveyard shift at a gas bar convenience store in Edmonton, Alberta. Over the years, I'd pull it out now-and-then, refine it and develop it further until I had a pretty elaborate mythology on my hands. I knew from the beginning that it needed to be a comic. Financially, it would never work as an independent film. Until Andy Gray and I started working together in September 2009, "Greyman" had only existed in my mind and on various computer hard drives and random scraps of paper. Even though I came up with the characters and the concept, he redefined it and developed it in ways I never would have thought. It's totally a "co-created" property now. I spent years looking for the right artist to work on the project with and as soon as Andy did the first concept sketches, I knew I found him (plus the irony of his name being so close to that of the protagonist, which had been decided years ago, wasn't at all lost on me). Andy is my main partner/artist and has helped me develop the "Greyman" graphic novel and anthology piece.
Q: Has "Greyman" proven to be successful?
A: We recently signed with Arcana Studios to produce the "Greyman" graphic novel. Our first success with the character came in December, when we accepted to produce a 10-page story to appear in the upcoming Omega Comic Presents #2. Using the black and white pages we did for that story, we pitched the idea to Arcana Studios and were offered a full-color graphic novel deal just this month (February 2010). So, considering that the character didn't exist in concrete form six months ago, I'd say things are moving pretty quickly. But I wouldn't have it any other way. This is one of those times where a decade of preparation might look like overnight success to an outsider. But it's been a long time coming.
Q: You mentioned "Andy Gray" as your main partner/artist. Who else do you work with?
A: I also work with penciler Christopher Hanchey, colorist Jason Embury, and Kel Nutall on the series, "Darkwalkers". Spanish artist Tomas Morn, is illustrating my story, "Caged", for the Digital Webbing "Fairy Tale in the Future" anthology. And I've recently been in talks with an amazing artist from Argentina who I hope to work on another super-secret graphic novel project I'v got brewing . These partners come from three different continents... and none of us have met in person, yet we create something together. That's an amazing thing to me. The Internet has really opened up the realm of collaboration.
Q: Are you just the writer? Do you do any of the artwork?
A: I don't do my own art. I don't draw well enough to do my own art, but I've had the good fortune to work with some amazing artists and I hope to work with many more. I'm a writer. As a writer, it's nice to be able to change the dialogue or text at the last minute to fit the flow of the artwork. I recently started "lettering" as well (adding to the text, balloons, captions, and the "BAM!"-"POW!"-"THOK!"s).
Q: How did you get started in creating comics?
A: I've been writing most of my life, semi-seriously for the last 10 years or so. I'd mostly written for film up until this past year (2009), when a story I wrote got accepted got accepted into a comics anthology and it just kind of snowballed from there. Over the years, I've developed several stories that had never really found a way to be expressed until I started working in comics, so it's very liberating. It's a great medium for me.
Q: What Science Fiction & Fantasy films/ television shows influenced you the most to want become a comic creator? What are your favorites?
A: Well, I was huge fan of "Star Wars" fan growing up (still am) and the kind of Science Fiction infused with Fantasy is still the kind that I enjoy the most. I'm a child of the 80's, so most of the great Saturday morning cartoons of that era are still favorites of mine (can't go wrong with "Masters of the Universe", "Transformers", or "Masters Of The Universe", or "Voltron" in my book. Truthfully though, I was more influenced creatively by the gritty, introspective, post-modern industrial/neo-noir resurgence of the mid-to-late 90's that swept through film and music for a few years. Elements of that era and style still find their way into pretty much what I write (in one way or another). I'm much more influenced by films like "Pi", Se7en", "Fight Club", "The Machinist" ... or even Alex Proya's "The Crow" or "Dark City".
Q: What about influences from the comic industry? Favorite artists/writers?
A: Growing up, it would have to be Frank Miller. As an adult, I've come to really appreciate Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. As a kid, I just didn't get into "Sandman" or "The Watchmen", but now I understand why those guys are considered among the best in comics (writing -wise). I'm still a huge fan of all three of those guys, but I take my writing influences more from outside the comic world than from within it (I think you have to). The moment you set out to become the next Neil Gaiman is the moment you fail. You need to bring something new to the table, while paying homage to your heroes and the ones who came before you. Looking for the influences outside the medium is the only way to achieve that.
Q: What were your favorite comics growing up? And why?
A: Like many kids, I was a huge fan of superheroes and comics in general , but very selective about what I actually read, and followed semi-regularly. "Batman" is really the only comic character that I can honestly say I've been a lifelong fan of. I think alot of that has to do with the fact that he has no real "super" powers. Sure, he's obscenely wealthy and prodigiously intelligent, all while maintaining Olympic athlete-level physicality, but he's still at his core, a "regular" guy with an axe to grind. I can get behind that. I was always drawn to the "reluctant" heroes -- the characters who might not necessarily have set out to be humanity's saviour, but do it because they have some deep, gnawing need (usually for vengeance and/or acceptance) that drives them to do what they do. Helping the world is secondary to battling their own demons. I find characters like that very much more compelling than a guy who's faster than a speeding bullet. I like my protagonists with a healthy dose of grit and mental instability.
Q: What do you think the future is for the comic industry? How do you see it evolving?
A: I think the iPad and similar devices will pull comics into the fully digital realm. It's inevitable, really. However, I don't think the print industry will ever fully die. An iPad doesn't look so great on a bookshelf.
Q: Which comics-adapted films really impressed you and which ones just disappointed the hell out of you?
A: Well, despite the mid-90's special effects ( making it look really dated today), I still enjoy Alex Proya's "The Crow", mostly because of the nostalgia of how much I loved it when it first came out. I'm also a fan of the two Tim Burton "Batman" films (Burton is a huge creative influence on me as well as an example of one of those from outside the comic medium). That said, though, and as much as I'm a Tim Burton fan, I have to go with Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale "Dark Knight"-style Batman as, in my opinion, the best cinematic portrayal of the character the way I like to see him. As for comics-adapted films that really didn't do it for me, I guess I would have to go with "The Watchmen". I think the problem was that the story was simply too complex and nuanced to compress into a two or three hour film . It's just one of those books that, while it looked visually stunning as a movie, just didn't translate well to the film medium, in my opinion.
Q: How often do you go to comic conventions? If you do, do you dress up in costume? Do you go as a "fan" or as a vendor"?
A: I have to admit that I've never (yet) been to a comic convention. I suppose I'll have to start though if this writing thing takes off, haha!
Q: Why do you think people love comics?
A: Superheroes are our mythologies. They represent the modern equivalent of the Age of Heroes to the ancient Greeks and they speak to us at some deep-seated, universal level. There's something about the human condition that leads us to want to hear stories about people who, while they are more powerful than us, exhibit flaws. "Achilles" had his vulnerable heel and uncontrolled rage, "Superman" has his Kryptonite and survivor guilt, and "Batman" lives with the fact that he is only a short moral distance away from the criminals he's sworn to hunt. We like to feel that there's someone out there looking out for us, but that they're also not so unlike us to be flawless. Regardless of what happens to the medium of comics in the future, the concept of "hero", with some degree of superhuman or supernatural ability, will always exist, in one form or another. It's old as human consciousness and will exist alongside us as long as we do.
Q: If you could have any super-power, which one would you want? And why?
A: Honestly, I've always thought that if there was some way to record what's going on in my head, and just transfer it directly onto paper or some kind of external hologram, without forgetting half of it before you could get it out, that would be pretty useful (especially as a writer /storyteller). Of course, you'd want to be able to control what came out and what didn't. No one needs all of their innermost thoughts out there for all to see. Hmm... that gives me a story idea... Haha!!
Q: What does your family consist of and do they support your career choice to become a comic creator?
A: My family (my parents, two brothers and two sisters) is very supportive. I think most of them always knew that I'd be a writer in some way or another, but I wouldn't call it my "career" just yet. I'm working hard to change that though.
Q: Where were you raised?
A: Nova Scotia (Canada). My family still lives there.
Q: How would you describe yourself as a person?
A: Hmmm... You always hate to hear this question, don't you? It's like "tell me three of your strengths and three of your weaknesses" in a job interview. How do you answer a question like that ? It's a balancing act between being self-effacing and seeming like a pompous ass (Haha!). Okay, I guess I'd say I'm creative, first and foremost, I'm not happy unless I'm bringing something new into the world in some way, shape or form. I have many interests in a wide variety of fields, but all of them are used to inform and improve the creative work that I do.
Q: Being a "nerd" is now considered "sexy". What qualifies you as a "nerd"?
A: I'm an anthropologist and archaeologist, a graduate student who reads theoretical physics for kicks, and I write comics.
Q: What's your own definition of the word, "nerdy"?
A: I think the term, or at least the concept, "nerd", was originally applied to people who were of above-average intelligence, but maybe below-average socially, or even physically. Even a few decades ago, that meant, generally, less success with the opposite sex and an overall less fulfilling social life. But now, in the era of intelligence and innovation being placed at a premium culturally, I don't think it can be considered a derogatory term anymore. If anything, those who use to rule the roost -- the stereotypical "dumb jock" -- are now looked down upon culturally as less productive than those who, even twenty years ago, would have been dismissed as "nerds". We are members of the first living generation in which mental and creative ability lead to reproductive success more readily than physical prowess. Think about that. The biological anthropologist in me is going to pop out for a moment here, but from an evolutionary standpoint, that's huge. The 21st Century really is going to be the "century of the nerd". I think it's fantastic that websites like Jen Friel's "Talk Nerdy To Me Lover" are helping women to realize that it's okay to be who you are, and that they don't have to be afraid to seem "too smart" anymore. Because I think guys kind of stepped into the "nerd spotlight" more readily when the door opened for us. I think women were held back by a few years, afraid that they had to stick to old stereotypes, and they don't. It is entirely possible to be smart and sexy, you know. The saddest thing to see is a woman who you know is intelligent, but "dumbs it down"because she's been taught , culturally, that bimbos and airheads are attractive to guys. They aren't. Trust me. Ask any random group of reasonably intelligent guys and 99% of them will tell you that the biggest turn-offs is someone who doesn't "get" what you're saying. So, why try to be that girl? Nerdiness is damn sexy... haha!
Q: Are there any websites/links that you want to shamelessly plug?
A: http://scribalism.tumblr.com