Michel Gagné’s ZED Finds New Haven

Arcana Comics is proud to announce that Jennica Harper has been named the screenwriter of the upcoming animated Clockwork Girl film, which recently received funding from Telefilm Canada.
 
Jennica Harper was born in North Bay, Ontario, grew up in Brampton, and now lives in Vancouver, BC. She works as a screenwriter and story editor in the Canadian film industry, and is also a published poet and occasional stand-up comic. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and a BA in English from the University of Toronto.
 
She will adapt The Clockwork Girl, the smash hit all ages comic series from Arcana created by Sean O'Reilly and Kevin Hanna, for the big screen. The comic tells the tale of a nameless robot girl and her friendship with an amazing mutant boy. The series was the first release from Arcana's new Arcana Kids imprint and has received critical acclaim for its artwork and touching story.  The Clockwork Girl hardcover book can be found at your local comic book store or book retailer (ISBN: 0-9809204-1-8).

http://www.arcanacomics.com

This month, Arcana's Head of Marketing, Jimmy DaSilva interviews Corrective Measures writer, Grant Chastain.

JD: Grant, by now Corrective Measures his hit the
shelves at comic shops. The internet reviews about it
have been very positive.What can you tell us about Corrective Measures?
 
GC: First of all, I have nothing but awesome appreciation for anyone that's picked up Corrective Measures, and I hope everyone really enjoyed the beginning of this story.  I mean, the reviews have been fantastic… but what I enjoy most is just talking to someone visiting or working at a comic shop that says, "Man, this book is really great!"
 
Corrective Measures is ostensibly the story of Jason Brody, who is a correctional officer and family man, and his decision to accept a position at a prison called SanTiburon Federal.  San Tiburon, he discovers, is a prison specifically designed to incarcerate superpowered criminals.  Jason is definitely the primary lead in the story, but we try to open up the prison more by introducing you to some of the people that live there, some of the people that work there… hopefully by the end you feel significantly invested in these people.  You want them to do right.
 
JD: Who worked on the book with you?

GC: The book in its current form was a collaborative effort with my artists JuanFran and Jay Moyano, as well as my lettering artists Mike Storniolo and Brant W. Fowler.  I can easily say each of these guys added a significant amount of depth to the story and really helped shape the universe of San Tiburon.

JD: This is a very unique idea, where did you come up with the idea?

GC: Oddly enough, the germ of this idea began about 5 years ago while I was working on another project – but it all started out as a riff I had on Arkham Asylum.  Arkham, for those who don't read Batman, is a "mental hospital" where all of the Dark Knight's rogues get sent after they're apprehended.  The problem is that for a long time, Arkham has basically existed as the ultimate deus ex machina – criminals basically break out of Arkham just in time to exact their revenge on Gotham .  It's more like a holding pen than an actual facility.  (laughs)

So I kind of went the other way on that idea, which was, "What would a prison really need to look like if it held these guys?  How do you remove their powers, defang and declaw these things that could kill you as soon as look at you?"  I wanted a place where prison breaks just flat-out weren't going to happen.  At the time, I was also watching a lot of HBO's "Oz" and FX Network's "The Shield", so you can definitely spot some of those influences in there, too.

So in a way, it's all Batman's fault.  If he could keep the doors locked, I might never have had the idea!

JD: How many versions did you have to go through before you were happy with the story?
 
GC: Wow – great question.  Corrective Measures saw a lot of changes from the written page to the final product.  Even from the first draft of the script through the final, these characters and situations were still being refined.  Scenes were added and cut, and characters sort of made their way from the foreground to the background and back again.
 
The best example I can give is when Jason first arrives at the prison, and we witness a heated exchange between the character of Payback and another character named Diamond Jim.  Diamond Jim was intended to do quite a bit more in the opening drafts of the book, but unfortunately stronger characters ended up kind of taking away his moment in the spotlight.  Rest assured, you'll see more of him in the future… but that's actually a good problem to have.  There are 185 prisoners at San Tiburon and nearly 400 employees, and each of them has a unique story that could potentially be told.  It's this nearly endless bench of stories, in a way.
 
I'd say the only character that didn't undergo a lot of radical changes was Jason Brody.  Jason was always designed as a deeply flawed individual trusted with an unthinkable burden.  If these prisoners get out, or hurt someone, he would take that very personally as his own failure.

JD: Is there a plan for a second volume? Maybe more?

GC: Because I'm such a rabid TV junkie, Corrective Measures was always designed in terms of "seasons," with each season lasting for 12 issues.  The first graphic novel contains the first 6 issues, so you can certainly expect me to finish up the first season.  I hope that's good news for the people that got to the end of the first graphic novel and said, "NO!  You can't end it like that!"  (laughs)  I got some tortured e-mails about that, but that's how it was always designed.  San Tiburon hooks in you that way!

Just like TV, the popularity of the first season will dictate whether or not the "show" goes on.  I would love to continue working on the series for as long as I can.  With the right level of support, I could definitely see doing this for a good long time.  These characters are just ridiculously fun to write.

JD: What other projects do you have coming down the pipeline?

GC: I'm always writing.  In addition to working on the next edition of Corrective Measures, I'm also contributing to a Ronin Studios project called Hope: The Hero Initiative, which is a charitable anthology book dedicated to helping comic book creators in need.  At the same time I'm developing a new limited series about military contractors, and I'm hacking away at a slew of other smaller ideas.  It's a busy time.

JD: Do you collect comics?  What are some of you favorite titles/characters? What is your favorite indy comics out there right now?
 
GC: I do read comics – calling me a "collector," though, would somehow suggest I take care of them, which is completely false.  (laughs)  I'm a little bit all over the place in my tastes – I'm not a "strictly superhero" or "strictly indie" fan.
 
In truth, I tend to skew a little bit towards the human condition.  The mainstream books I read are things like The Punisher and Daredevil, which to me explore the darker side.  I enjoy Vaughn and Harris's Ex Machina series, I like Brubaker's Criminal.  I really enjoyed The Exterminators, which I understand is now going to be a series on Showtime.  I also tend to follow my favorite creators around… guys like Alex Robinson, Zander Cannon, Peter David, Garth Ennis, Mark Millar, Warren Ellis.  Those are the kinds of guys that make me want to be a better writer.
 
JD: Thank you for taking time out for answering some questions for the fans. Before we go, is there anything else you would like to say?
 
GC: I can't thank everyone enough for all the support and kind words – they mean a ton to me.  I hope everybody gets a chance to check out the book.  Your support means everything.
 
Also, for the people thinking of getting into the biz as a writer, I'd encourage you to check out Peter David's Writing For Comics book.  Peter has forgotten more about comics than most people will ever learn, and it's a great primer for people with ideas that don't know where to begin.  I didn't read it until I'd already written  my first 10 scripts, and doing so would have saved me a lot of rewrites.  Above all, though… just keep writing and fleshing out your ideas.  The easiest way to set yourself apart as a writer is to finish what you start.  So persist!

(press release courtesy of www.comicrelated.com)