Review -- R13

R13
Art by Daniel Bradford
Written by Thomas Hall
Blacklist Studios

When you go into a comic book store and see the shelves filled with titles, something has to attract your attention pretty quickly to draw you away from your familiar titles.
Credit Daniel Bradford for catching the reader's eye with the great cover art on issue #1 of R13. What comic book fan wouldn't be attracted to a giant octopus attacking a ship? Frightened men are seen on the deck. One poor sailor is wrapped in a huge tentacle.
And, in the middle of it all is R13, a robot, with a sort of steam punk, pulp-era look.
The result is a dramatic scene of battle that draws people to look at the book more closely. It's an excellent piece of cover art which does its job.
Flip through the pages, and Bradford's work continues to impress.
Whether a facial expression on a scared seaman, the cool look of the robot with its floating skull head, or larger panels of battle, the art is simply fantastic.
Bradford has a skill that reminds of Mike Mignola's Hellboy at times, and that is about as good as it gets in terms of comparison.
Bradford said Mignola has been a definite influence on his work.
“Absolutely. Mignola is a big influence,” he said, adding, “Stephen Gammell is a huge influence as well as Jae Lee, Jason Shawn Alexander, and Ashley Wood.”
As for inspiration, Bradford said that depends on the issue he is working on.
“It changes. The first issue was very inspired by Stephen Gammell, as well as a steady stream of the 'Mars Attacks!' theme playing in the background,” he said. “... The look of the book was pretty experimental for me as far as the colors go. I was really just making it up as I went along, ditching what didn't feel right, keeping what I thought was working and putting aside things that I thought was pretty cool but would work better in a later issue. So I was pretty nervous about how the book would be accepted artistically.”
Story wise, Thomas Hall has chosen a minimalist style for issue #1 of R13. There isn't a lot of words here, yet the sparing use of text, works.
Often comics today get knocked for relying on art, and forgetting to tell the story in words. Yet with R13, the action-oriented first issue really uses the art to tell the story. When you're looking at a giant octopus in battle, there are not a lot of words needed.
At the sane time, Hall's story leaves enough questions about the unique R13 that you want to read the next issue.
Hall said R13 came about by drawing from several things, include classic horror, to create the storyline.
“Robot 13 was inspired by a lot of things,” he said. “Some of it came from Daniel’s designs and the thoughts that I had when I saw them, and some of it was from things I read about when I did research. We got a bunch of ideas and really started talking about them, and once Daniel and I were pretty happy with the direction, I started writing.
“I was reading Frankenstein when the whole thing started, and some of that factored in, as did some discussions Daniel and I had about Greek Mythology.
“But in the end, everything we do usually builds from the back-and-forth of Daniel’s designs inspiring me and my writing giving Daniel ideas. All we ever care about is the end product. Neither one of us has too much of an ego when it comes to ideas… Sure, I write the script and Daniel does the art, but ideas come from both of us and we just want to do something extraordinary.”
The pair can feel good in the sense they have done just that creating an extraordinary comic.
In terms of influences as a writer, Hall said he has some in the comic world, and some of the world of literature.
“In terms of comics, I love guys like Allan Moore and Grant Morrison who write very literate comics,” he said. “It’s great to see someone take really wild, creative ideas and actually try to push their work into the realm of literature, rather than something more disposable. I also love the writing of Tom Sniegoski, because he takes the stories he writes for comics very seriously in their construction. That’s rare, to find someone who looks at everything like it was a novel when they are “just” doing comics.
“Outside of comics, I read mostly older writers like Edgar Allan Poe or Flannery O’Connor. Today’s writers don’t do too much for me. Maybe I was born in the wrong era, I am not sure, but I love the total reliance on words that people had back in the day. Bending them to do your will… most writers today don’t want to work that hard.”
Once the ideas firmed up, Bradford said they got them onto the page rather quickly.
“Once Thomas saw the robot designs he began work pretty quickly and started banging out script ideas before I even really knew what was going on,” he said. “I gave him some of my ideas, like all the villains and monsters originating from Greek mythology and a few other ideas that are still held pretty close to the chest for the time being, but this was really one of those things that triggered other ideas that were rolling around in his head at the time so he was able to get some pretty incredible background going real quick.”
Getting the book to print was a challenge but one the creators took on by launching their own comic book company with Blacklist Studios.
“From a business standpoint, Blacklist Studios is our baby,” said Hall. “We put up the capitol to start it, and we have been working diligently to get our books out and to do publicity and everything that is involved with publishing Robot 13. So on the one hand, there is nobody to tell us 'No' or to turn us down. We know that issue #2 is coming out and issue #3 will follow that. Nobody is 'firing' us, nobody is canceling our books or hiring another writer or artist instead of Daniel or I. We have that security.
“On the other hand, we don’t have a big corporate bank account behind us, so we have to be wise with our money and follow our business plan for the long haul. It’s not difficult, but it’s a lot of work and we have to take it all seriously.”
This is a story that catches attention. The art is as good as it gets. What more can you say. A great comic creation tandem at work here.
The creators say they are satisfied with the reaction to a book which they admit may not be very mainstream in a comic world dominated by superheroes.
“We felt that we had a pretty strong idea and concept from the beginning but we really didn't know what to expect once the book was introduced,” said Bradford. “We were floored, however, by the overwhelming response we'd gotten, which, of course, increased our nervousness about creating a successful book. Wowing readers from the beginning is great, keeping those readers hooked is even better but far more difficult.
The sentiment of success was echoed by Hall.
“I am very happy that people seem to connect with our book,” he said. “Robot 13 has some elements in it that aren’t the norm in comics, and we have tried to use images very poetically and I am looking to bring out a level in our characters which is a little more sensitive than people may be used to. I think readers have been waiting for that- something a bit deeper than typical action comics. So far that seems to be the case, anyway. We don’t take that for granted, either, because we consciously look to make each book better than the last.”
So what lies ahead for R13?
“Issue #2 brings with it a bit more mystery concerning Robot 13, and we see his personality brought out a bit as well,” said Hall. “Our Hero battles a Phoenix in that, and it’s quite amazing, especially in terms of the visuals. The ending of issue #2 is somewhat of a shock -- I obviously don’t want to give it away, but it will drive the series forward for some time to come. Beyond that, you have to wait and see, but I am pretty sure that fans of the first issue will really enjoy what we have in store.”
Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/l/25800;www.blackliststudios.com
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra