This interview is of the2ndredbaron, whose comics are Interim State and Me vs. The Hat!
(interview conducted by Gohlico!)


1) So dear baron, please tell us something about yourself.

Well my name is Jake. I go to college in the wonderful state of Missouri and I plan on being an English Education Major. I live next to incredibly noisy neighbors that have destroyed my sleep habits and as a result I spend too much time online. I have been reading comic books since the fifth grade, everything from DC to Clamp.

2) Could you describe the comics you write?

Well my main work is Interim State. It is an action-adventure story set in Purgatory and revolves around Pontius Pilate, yes the one from the Bible, who has become a hit man of sorts for the Angels. Along the way a larger conspiracy rears its head and it is up to him and a handful of others to stop it. The comics I like to write usually tell a big story but revolve around the characters. I guess I prefer a more personal narrative.

3) I read Interim State (by the way, great job on writing it!) and I'm just curious about something related to its theme. What are your views on the afterlife?

Well first off, I want to point out that my views are my own. And I am not smart enough nor egotistical enough to say what the right views are. I do consider myself to be a Christian; however unlike most I happen to believe in predetermination. As for how that belief ties in with the afterlife, I am not sure I don’t think about it, the afterlife that is. I believe in one and I figure whoever created it knows what their doing.

4) What inspired you to write Interim State?

I have always had a couple ideas I wanted to write. And one day I decided that thinking about them, having ideas, wasn’t enough. So I buckled down hired an artist and went to work. As for the idea beyond Interim State it came to me as I was watching Jesus Christ Super Star. I started to think of Pontius Pilate as a regretful person and from that my imagination just sort of ran wild. I also have always loved history and the people that are part of it. And that is where the setting came from. Setting it in Purgatory allows me to use so many real life characters. Like Joan of Arc, Adam Worth, Doc Holliday, Dante and Virgil.

5) I also read Me Vs The Hat. Do you have issues with bowler hats? Particularly ones that talk and eat peanut butter patties?

Um, I like bowler hats? Except I am not a hat person, they squeeze my head and make it look funny; the top part of my face looks really squished and my mouth and cheeks get really puffed out. And let us set the record straight, peanut butter patties are the second best Girl Scout cookie, next to thin mints.

6)Which character in your comics do you relate to the most?

That is a hard question, since each character has a little bit of me in them. Each character questions something about themselves, and that theme or motif is something I really relate to. Not questioning as in self doubt, but question as in trying to learn about yourself. That want of knowledge is something that not only I relate to but I think a lot of people can.

7) How do you describe your writing style?

Informal and Cinematic. I write big, big stories, big ideas, I guess but I also like to think that I have a very informal way about my writing. I find it a little hard to describe mostly because I like to believe I have a unique writing style.

8) Who are your major influences when it comes to writing?

Well I have been reading my entire life. Lilan Jackson Braun, certainly one of the bigger influences on me, as far as switching over from children stories to adult literature. Grisham, Knootz and King all big names for me. Recently Jim Butcher and Chuck Palahniuk. Knootz’s book Dragon Tears I read when I was 12 and it really opened my eyes. On the comic side of things, we have Busiek, Morrison, Jeff Smith, and what comic book wannabe would I be if I didn’t mention the great Alan Moore. But the biggest author who has had an influence on me, don’t laugh, is Timothy Zahn and his Thrawn trilogy. Read it in fifth grade and it blew my mind.

9) What is your favorite webcomic in DrunkDuck and why?

Wow, well I don’t have a favorite but my top two are:
Mangaijin and Despotize.

10) What is your favorite “mainstream” comic and why?

Astro City, by Kurt Busiek. Fantastic series that doesn’t get released nearly enough. Outside of that Bone by Jeff Smith I love. But if I had to pick an ongoing series it would have to be Green Lantern.

11) Random silly question attack! If you're a meatball on top of spaghetti, what would you do?

Nothing, I would be a meatball.

12) Any last words before we end this interview?

Yea, please go check out Interim State and tell me what you guys think of the story and the comic I always love feedback of any kind, every word helps. And as always thanks for stopping by and please go check out the ECT in the game forum.

Epic Comic Trounament

(skoolmunkee says: I felt like that topic is getting lost in the Games forum so I moved it to Comic Discussion)

I think the answer to question 11 is, “I would be digested.”

this cracks me up, I just sent Gohlico a list of revised answers last night! Oh well.

OK, I revised the answers. Also I'd missed out 6) somehow so that's back in. :]