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AICN COMICS: Q&@? @@@@

AICN COMICS: Q&@ is our new semi-weekly interview column where some of your favorite @$$Holes interview comic bookdom’s biggest, brightest, newest, and oldest stars. Enjoy this latest in-depth interview filled with @$$y goodness and be sure to look for more AICN COMICS as we gaze into the future of comics every week with AICN COMICS: SPINNER RACK PREVIEWS every Monday and then join the rest of your favorite @$$Holes for their opinions on the weekly pull every Wednesday with AICN COMICS REVIEWS!

 

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Q’s by Ambush Bug!

@’s by UNIMAGINABLE writer Tom Pinchuk!

Ambush Bug here with another Q&@. This time we’re talking with Tom Pinchuk, the writer and creator of UNIMAGINABLE, a new original graphic novel with art by Kurt Belcher. Here’s what Tom had to say…

AMBUSH BUG: So tell me about UNIMAGINABLE.

TOM PINCHUK (TP): UNIMAGINABLE is a full-length comic I've written that's coming out from Arcana Studios in one nifty, handy OGN volume. It's about a girl named Stump who wakes up in a nightmarish, unnamed city of monsters without the slightest idea of who she is or where she came from. So, of course, the local authorities immediately put her in this city's order of "Problem Solvers." Why? Because their laws have a baffling, nonsensical clause saying they should.

As a solver, Stump has to take care of every single kind of problem in this city -- from plumbing problems to gardening problems to criminal problems. Because this place is like a waking nightmare, however, its "plumbing problems" concern sewers clogged with brains and its "gardening problems" concern skyscrapers that have inexplicably popped up in the middle of a junkyard. Stump might not remember who she is, but she's kept whatever attitude she had before she came to this city, and each of these bizarre problems pits her wiseass street smarts against insane dream logic.

There's one problem, however, that Stump's wits likely can't handle. It's the one problem that seems to cause all others, the one problem that seems unsolvable -- the Unimaginable. These all-purpose boogeymen are creatures so terrible, nobody can imagine what they are, what they look like, what the sound like, or really anything about them. And Stump and her fellow solvers will have to dig deep into their imaginations to find some way, if there really is any, to solve this horrible problem.

BUG: Sounds like this story is one ripe with metaphor. Does the plot have roots in any real experiences you may have encountered in real life? Have you ever had any kind of job in maintenance of any kind?

TP: Let me tell you, metaphor-wise, this comic's riper than a brown banana...

A lot of it's inspired by a very dramatic (and, honestly, quite ridiculous) experience I had years ago when I went to get some catharsis with a scary wax museum that had scared the hell out of me as a kid. Instead of getting the satisfaction of facing some monsters down, I actually came back to find the museum had closed, its hall had been replaced by a mini golf station and its "puppets" (as the snarky kid running the front desk called them) were kept in a well-lit closet in the closet. And, of course, they looked utterly stupid there.

Without getting too serious about it, that experience got me thinking about how a lot of fears in your life are a lot like wax mannequins or puppets -- they can look horrifying or laughable depending on what angle you look at them. So, with all that in mind, the story's definitely packed with metaphors, both visual and textual.

To answer your other question, I haven't worked in maintenance, per se, but I've spent a fair amount of time on construction sites and in horse stables where I've had to use a variety of odd equipment. I've also worked as a line manager at comics conventions, a cashier at Toys R Us and as a parker and foreman at a valet company -- all of which were jobs where a simple change of shirts could get people looking at you completely differently and assuming you knew everything. Stump gets an odd assortment of equipment and she's perceived differently by the monsters when she goes through some arbitrary outfit changes, so you've got your points of inspiration there, for sure.

BUG: It sounds like you've created quite an elaborate world. Are you planning on revisiting the world of UNIMAGINABLE after this book is released?

TP: No immediate plans. I'd certainly love to. However, I'm a firm believer in not counting my chickens before they're hatched, in not saving any breath for the swim back, and so on. We put everything we wanted to do into this one volume, jumping to the good stuff like tomorrow's never coming. And by doing that, I know it's going to be the readers (the most important party in this whole affair) who are going to want to visit this world again and again.

BUG: How did you come about bringing the comic to Arcana?

TP: Kurt Belcher, the artist, and I had been involved in a few projects with them prior to this that didn't materialize for one reason or another. We let them know about UNIMAGINABLE early on in the process and, thankfully, the stars finally aligned for this one.

BUG: Speaking of Kurt, he has a really unique style. How did you guys meet?

TP: Oh, good lord. I've known Kurt for at least ten years now. I've never actually seen him in person, though. We met in CBR's community and worked on a lot of projects together after that. He's drawn a lot of my firsts... my first short (which never went anywhere,) my first pitch (which also never went anywhere) and, then, my first published comic (which was in the first issue of ALTERNA TALES.)

It's a bit fitting that we've only ever dealt with each other through the digital ether, because working with him often feels like some kind of shamanic ritual. Maybe that's a highfalutin way of describing it, but "metaphysical" is the really best word to describe what it feels like to send him a script and then receive art that's closer to what I pictured in my mind's eye than what I could even articulate in words.

And he's always eager to challenge himself. Every page of UNIMAGINABLE was an exercise of me throwing him imagery, actions or layouts I thought would be too strange to handle, only for him to toss it right back, rendered precisely, and ask me, "what else you got?" The book was very much a case of creative escalation between us.

BUG: Sounds like a great collaboration. What type of research goes into a story like UNIMAGINABLE?

TP: Would you believe I actually vacationed in this city for a week?

Nah... since this is a fantasy that's intentionally cut from whole cloth, I'd say "research" didn't necessarily go into it so much as influences whose themes, tone and style I was inspired by. I've described it to people as being like an evil LITTLE NEMO and, throughout the creative process, I was asking Kurt to emulate Windsor McCay's style of rendering locations, how the settings in Slumberland were distinct characters in their own right.

The lengthy Grant Morrison & Richard Case run on DOOM PATROL was an influence for its manic, lucid dream quality. One of my favorite children's books, THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH, was in mind, as well, for the way it fashioned a whimsical fantasy world out of abstract concepts and wordplay. The look of the city was inspired by dreams I've had, which in themselves were probably shaped by movies like DARK CITY, CITY OF LOST CHILDREN and ALIEN 3, as well as that oh-so-provocative music video for NIN's "Closer."

And I have found it easy to describe the story as showing what would happen if you put a smartass in a David Lynch movie.

BUG: So even though it's a dream city, are there rules or limitations to the imaginative locale of UNIMAGINABLE?

TP: Oh yes, the place is absolutely lorded over by them.

The Solvers have a rulebook that specifies how they should handle a problem in strict steps that they all must follow to the letter. Stump's unique because she can think about outside the box -- almost literally. She can figure out solutions on her own, often in defiance of the rulebook.

The biggest rule, of course, is to never invoke the Unimaginable. Doing so incurs scary omens that make bad things, of every sort, happen spontaneously. Say you "can't imagine" something and your house will burn down immediately, or your car will die, or your pipes will clog up. Every unfortunate thing in this world happens because of them.

However, Stump doesn't feel bound by this rule, either. She sees all its deep contradictions and logical inconsistencies, and the thrust of this story's about her turning this problem on its head to find a solution.

BUG: Sounds like a really fun concept and a great set of guidelines to hang a story on.

With the market as saturated as it is these days with new concepts and comics coming out each and every week from hundreds of comic companies, what type of things are you trying to do as an independent creator to get your work seen?

TP: Doing interviews with fine websites like Ain't It Cool News, of course!

First and foremost, I try to make the best comic I can. Anybody who reads this is going to get an original experience, not another homage to a story or a genre that's been rehashed a hundred times over. I also try keep my attitude and motivations properly aligned. UNIMAGINABLE isn't a veiled movie pitch. It isn't a long prologue for some sequel that may never come. We didn't save any of "the good stuff" for later. We did everything we wanted to do in this one volume and worked hard to refine every aspect of it -- from the design of the lettering to the texture of the inks to the symbolism of the coloring -- and make something substantial enough to warrant repeated readings.

I think investing that kind of care into something will turn the proper heads.

In addition to all of that, I take every opportunity to put myself and the material out there. I went to five conventions in 2010, from California to Chicago and to New York, and made a point to reach out to fans there. We actually just wrapped up a contest at Comic Vine where I challenged the community, in a video message, to draw a monster that embodied their worst fears -- something that could be a form for the Unimaginable. Every runner-up received a drawing of their monster by Kurt and the grand prize winner gets a fully-rendered piece, original art and a $100 gift package from Arcana. Look it up on Google -- the Absurd UNIMAGINABLE Tournament. We got such creative entries from these fans. They really dug deep into their imaginations and came up with some truly inspired creatures.

I'll tell you, I was so happy with the response we got. I went to bed with a big smile on my face. I think creators can all too often lose sight of how fun comics can and ought to be. We did a similar contest on Comic Vine for HYBRID BASTARDS! and, now, whenever I've got a comic coming out, I'm looking for ways to engage the readers like this. I want to make the whole experience fun for everybody.

And, yes, I also have a Twitter account. Simply @tompinchuk. Don't expect to see updates about what I'm eating or how I just finished a rough draft or how I'm pissed about whatever's in the news today. But anybody who follows that will get a regular update about what I'm doing and if you address a message to me, I will respond.

BUG: So what else are you working on at the moment?

TP: The coals are burning and the billows are blowing, to be sure. I'm hammering some irons into shape on my anvil, but I've found it's best not to talk about stuff until it's a done deal. Check out my Twitter feed, though, and you'll find out as soon as anything is.

BUG: OK, sounds good. So last chance, why should folks give UNIMAGINABLE a chance when it's released and when is it released again?

TP: I think I speak for a lot of people in saying that I have a sadly-unrealized hope every time I go to the mailbox. The wish to find an engraved invitation to compete in a Southeast Asian death tournament has yet to be fulfilled, but this comic is, in many ways, equitable to that. Pick UNIMAGINABLE up and you'll journey to a new place that's strange and even a little scary; a place that'll shock your nerves and test your senses, yet still leave you begging for more once you reach the end.

There's no chance that there's ever been a comic like UNIMAGINABLE before. What further reason does any discerning reader need to take a chance on it? It'll be about the time anybody's reading this, so check out the Amazon page and my Twitter feed to find out where to get it.

BUG: Sounds great. UNIMAGINABLE in stores now and available through Arcana. Thanks, Tom, for taking the time to answer my questions.

Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole / wordslinger / reviewer / co-editor of AICN Comics for over nine years. Support a Bug by checking out his comics (click on the names to buy)!
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Editing, compiling, imaging, coding, logos & cat-wrangling by Ambush Bug
Proofs, co-edits & common sense provided by Sleazy G