Everyone has one in them, it’s that story that tugs at the heart and isn’t just a story for the purpose of telling one. We all have stories that are important to us and we need to get out, whether it’s in the form of poetry, song, dance, or even comics. Andy Schmidt former Marvel Editor and Current IDW editor takes on his own personal story.
5 days to die is a book of his that will be released each week in September with one week already down and the next issue #2 dropping in stores tomorrow. Mr. Schmidt takes some time out to get COMIC BOOKED and answer a few questions.
COMIC BOOKED: 5 Wednesdays in September and 5 issues, 1 each week. What made you go this route? And can you picture other publishers possibly mimicking the same ?
Andy Schmidt: To be fair, this isn’t the first time it’s been done. Weekly comics have existed before. I just needed a five-Wednesday month to fit the whole story in. Ultimately, I asked IDW to do it because it fits with the content of the comic. It’s fast-paced and takes place over five days, so I got as close to that in the release schedule as I could.I mentioned it to Chee, and he thought it was a fun idea. I was a little worried that Chee’s name wouldn’t be out as much or for as long as we would like, but he didn’t even blink at it. He liked the idea right off the bat.Will other publishers do it? I think Marvel is doing it in the same month, aren’t they? I don’t think that anyone will do it to copy 5 DAYS TO DIE, they’ll do it for their own reasons if they do. Releasing weekly works for this because of the content, and that might apply to something else for another publisher down the line.
COMIC BOOKED: How long has this idea been brewing in your head? And what are you’re Inspirations for it?
Andy Schmidt: I probably wrote the first script about a year ago or maybe even a little more. But the idea had been rolling around for a while. I had the title early on, I had vague notions of what the story was or who the main character is, but it took time for me to get it to come together. Probably about two years total. I think when my son Cale was about one year old, was when I started pulling this all together, and he’s over three now.The inspiration in an odd way is my son. When he was born, I just had trouble connecting with him. It was really difficult. I felt guilty because everyone said I should feel this huge love and satisfaction with having a child, but I didn’t. I don’t know if I’m different from other people, but I really had to work at forming that father-son bond. And I did, and I love being Cale’s dad. But that is where this story comes from. It comes from that year of both loving my son dearly but not also not feeling connected. And that’s where Ray is. He loves his family. But he’s not connected to them the way he should be.Now he’s in a situation where he knows he’s got a time limit and he’s either going to start connecting or lose out on that relationship with his daughter forever.
COMIC BOOKED: Is there a chance of seeing more from you after this is done? Do you have more stories or does that all depend on the success of these 5 issues?
Andy Schmidt: Definitely a chance. Non creator-owned, I’ve got a two-issue G.i. JOE series called G.i. JOE: FUTURE NOIR that’s heavily manga influenced coming out in November and December. Each issue is double-sized. It’s a complete reimagining of the G.I. JOE franchise, totally fun stuff. 5 DAYS TO DIE is pretty heavy, and this was something I could just do crazy and fun stuff with. It was nice to write it while writing 5 DAYS. More creator-owned? I’ve got some more stories left in me, but this really is exhausting and I’ve got two full-time jobs right now, I’ve got my comics editing gig at IDW and I run Comics Experience where I teach classes and lead workshops for comics creators. On top of that, my wife and I are expecting our second child in January, so I’m afraid finding time to write is a little tough at the moment.
But I sure hope so. I love writing. I can’t stay away from the keyboard for long…
WHERE TO FIND ANDY
http://www.comicsexperience.com
http://twitter.com/ComicExperience
WHERE TO FIND CHEE
http://twitter.com/chubbychee
http://chubbychee.deviantart.com/
WHERE TO FIND 5 DAYS TO DIE
http://www.idwpublishing.com/
