interviews 12

SSP: So what is your name?

My name is Lee Stone. I've also gone by the name
"kossori". It was a name I adopted for my internet
identity. I've recently decided to use my real name for
the credits of my comics. For purposes of copyright and
such.

SSP: Were can people visit you on the web at to see
your works?

I have a website, 'Nuther World Comics and More, that
I've just started. It can be found at
http://www.angelfire.com/ns/weird/. I currently have
six pages of work up.

SSP: So what got you interested in the Comic business
anyway with so many other things out there to do, I
mean come on it's comics?

Well... I've always been interested in comics. When I
was younger, I'd

imagine making my own comic line. I think it was after
I came across a copy of the Overstreet Comic Book
Price Guide. I was more fascinated with the origins of
comics and publishers than with the value of the
comics themselves. And I've always kept up with
comics. Since 1982, not a month has passed without
me buying at least one. It's one of the things that I'm
more knowledgeable in than, say, the average joe. And I
can't play football for a living...

SSP: How long have you been doing your comics?

Hmmm... Off and on, about ten years... I originally
started in high school, with some friends. We were
going to do a comic, called 'Nuther World for our art
class, but our teacher wasn't too supportive. She felt we
were wasting our talents. So it was put on hold until
about a year ago, when I decided to actually do
something creative. I pencilled the first pages of "My
Greatest Mis-Adventure!" but I still couldn't bring
myself to ink them. Just last month I broke through. I
found some software on the 'net to edit and to make
word balloons... It relit my fire and voila! They were
getting done!

SSP: Have you set any goals for yourself while doing
what you are doing?

To finish something! Actually, I currently plan toget
twenty to twenty-four pages online, and then I'm going
to print those as the first 'Nuther Worlds Digest. Then
I'll send one to my old art teacher...

SSP: So I know very little about you and your
company what do you do there?

Well... Everything! It's really just me... I do the writing,
the art,

scanning, computer editing and lettering. Then I post it
on the website.

SSP: So when do you plan on getting a solid book out
there for the

readers to get their paws on?

I'm thinking June 2002. The reason is because I first
became "aware" of comics in 1982. I bought every
Marvel comic that came out during my first month. The
cover date of that month's comics was June 1982. So,
it'll be exactlt twenty years later.

SSP: What was your thought process going into
creating something like this?

I usually start with an idea and build from there with
dialogue. A great

inspiration for me was Giffen & DeMatteis's Justice
League International. That and television's
Moonlighting. I discovered that dialogue can move a
story just as well as action. So I start with the dialogue
before I lay out a page. I also try to have a minor
cliffhanger at the end of each page. Treating the comic
like it's a serial. And that really lends well to my
posting them as a web-comic, 'cause it's perfect for the
format.

SSP: So tell us a little about your books (Give the
reader a break down on your titles).

Right now, there's only 'Nuther World Comics. I really
couldn't come up with another name and I wanted to
pay respects to the comic I originally started in high
school. 'Nuther World Comics is a sort of anthology
comic in the same sense of , say, an Archie comic. A
few stories featuring characters in the same world. It
usually centers around two girls, Sarah Anderson and
Amanda Walsh, as they happen upon strange scenarios.
It borrows from b-movies and '60s comics. The first
story is a parody-tribute to Doom Patrol and the X-
Men.

SSP: How long did it take you to complete the first
book from start to

finish?

It's not really finished, yet. I still have fourteen pages
left. And only

nine of those are pencilled.

SSP: What is your opinion on how your comic have
been received by fans?

I don't really have many fans yet... But from what I've
heard it's been

received well... At least nobody's complained...

SSP: What role did your girlfriend/wife or even friends
play in the creative process behind you continuing your
dreams, if any at all?

My friends are just happy that I'm finishing it. They read
them and tell me what they think. It helps to have
someone not afraid to tell you what they think.

SSP: Are you in comic shops around your area or are
you just on the

internet & if only on the net how did people find out
about you being

there at all?

Well... we have one local comic shop, Ground Zero
Comics, which I frequent. But I've only revealed my
stuff to the owner. He tells me he likes it. But I'm
currently web only. I posted in several forums,
including Ground Zero's, and told my friends with
internet about it. Plus, my site used to be a role-playing
resource page. I think I might still be getting hits from
those people. I just hope they look around before
leaving.

SSP: Can you share any information about future titles
or works that you might unveil at a later time?

Let's see... For 'Nuther World: After "My Greatest
Adventure!", Sarah and Amanda go to a road-side cafe
to get over the current events. A character who tags
along with them will be featured soon and I have plans
involving zombies... As far as other titles... I'm working
on a series called "The Extremists". It will be much
more serious in tone and subject matter. Sort of like if
Howard Chaykin wrote Suicide Squad. I'll be trying
some new things with my art on that one.

SSP: Was there any fear about starting this kind of
thing, I mean you hear of failed ventures all the time
when someone starts something like this, was that a
fear or did you have other fears?

I'm not too worried. It's more of a hobby to me in a
sense that I don't worry about making money. If I do
make some, that's great! But the important thing right
now is just doing it. Getting out there, being seen.
Doing it my way. It would be nice if others like it, too.
But I feel that as long as I do it because I want to, it
will be reward enough.

SSP: How has using the Internet aided you?

Well, I've met alot of people. Many who support this
kind of thing. Small press publishers, writers, artists
and web-comic creators... People I could not possibly
meet in the small town that I live in. More than
anything it's helping me learn and grow...

SSP: How long did it take you to get your first sale of
one of your

comics or have you sold any yet?

I haven't sold any, yet. I'm working on an eight page
ashcan, featuring the first five pages of "My Greatest
Mis-Adventure!" and the one page "Money Matters. I
will be giving it away to get more people interested and
to get more exposure for the website. I won't be
printing a full-size digest until I get the first issue's
worth completed and posted on the 'net. Plus, since I'll
be printing these at home, off my computer, I'll
probably only charge a dollar for them, considering the
size and quality of the printing. I'm sure I won't make
much from it, but I might at least break even on the ink
and paper.

SSP: Do you have comic characters running around in
your head waiting to hit the paper or waiting to be
drawn up by others if you don't ever have the time?

I have a few. Mostly characters that are different
versions of the ones I've

loved in comics and either wanted to do myself or felt
they were done

poorly. I really want to do a cyberpunk story and a story
dealing with magic. So, yeah... I have some characters...
But they're all so varied on genres, I'll have to do them
all seperately. That could be a while.

SSP: How has criticism helped you/hurt you, do you
take it well or let it roll off your back?

I take it pretty well. I know everyone can see things
differently. And the one thing that slips past me could
be noticed by someone else. And from my own
experiences of giving constructive criticism, I can tell if
someone's being sincere or an ass.

SSP: Would you be willing to take on say other writers
and artists if some one was interested to help you out
or let you work off of there scripts?

Maybe... I am pretty stingy, though... I guess it's cause
I'm still new and I'm afraid of being showed up by
someone else doing my stuff better than me... But
yeah... later on it would be cool to see other peoples
takes on my characters and concepts.

SSP: Would you be willing to branch out with tour
title and bring single character stories to the comic field
if you had the time, you know maybe one character you
already have in his/her own one shot story or
something?

If I could settle on one character, yeah... The cyberpunk
and the magic stories both center on one character...
But again, that's pretty far off...

Right now, I'm pretty content with the ensemble casts
of both 'Nuther World and The Extremists. It gives me
the opportunity to test out different things. And maybe
through those, I'll discover a character I really like or
who becomes popular... Then I'll be interested in doing
a spin-off. But for 'Nuther World, I will be having little
one-page to three-page featurettes spotlighting
individual characters.

SSP: Thank you for taking time out of your busy
schedule to talk to us here at Spiritual Scream
Productions. We certainly look forward to the success
of Lee and his future projects.

And thank you, Monty. It was a pleasure!

-Lee