While browsing Reddit a few weeks back I stumbled across this user promoting their Kickstarter campaign for a comic book they created with a friend. This was on r/sci-fi so I clicked on it since it mentioned it was a comic book and those are kind of my thing. The moment the first image on the Kickstarter page loaded fully I was hooked! The artwork was mesmerizing, to say the least. I scrolled through the campaign’s description and realized it was actually made solely by two people. Writer Evan Schultz and artist Lydia Roberts came together to create INTERDIMENSIONAL, a science fiction anthology comic book. I got in contact with that Reddit user and he was kind enough to provide us with an interview.
Evan and Lydia are two friends from New Mexico who used to go to school together and who loved comic books. Since that time, the duo came together to create comics to sell in the school’s hallways. When asked about what creators inspired them at that time, Evan mentioned that he is a big Brian K. Vaughn fan. “I was really into Y: The Last Man when it was out, and Ex Machina,” says Evan. “We were both also really into Stray Bullets by David Lapham”. The team always focused their comics on science fiction stories, Lydia being highly inspired by 2000 AD and Heavy Metal, which is pretty evident in the comic’s aesthetics.
Evan and Lydia evolved their individual abilities over the years. Lydia studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York and Evan got into working with graphic design for advertising. Lydia’s skill set focused on the comic book industry and on the classic analog illustration techniques. Evan’s work evolved from a graphic designer standpoint, making lettering and page layouts easy to grasp for him. He also allowed himself to be inspired by modern creator Rick Remender and his punk rock influences whenever telling a story.
When asked why they opted for a comic book instead of any other media which has also inspired them, Evan made it clear: “We love comics and because comics can be done by a team of two people, we can tell any story we want through that medium. It’s always been our first love”. With contacts in the industry, Lydia was advised on how they should proceed with printing an actual comic book. They could try and pitch the idea to a publisher, or they could probably take full control of the process and do it themselves. That control was what sold the idea of doing it on their own.
I asked Evan why they decided to launch a physical comic book when there are so many digital platforms for publishing indie work these days, especially in the middle of a pandemic. From a perspective of a consumer and artist, Lydia was inclined to have it printed because of her preference for analog media and because her work is mostly analog. From the business perspective, Evan confirmed “Providing some kind of premium product that’s printed in a digital age is even more special.”, the writer still adds “It was more special, it was more of a reason to get it and it felt more real. Like we officially did it.”
After establishing what motivated the creation of the comic I sought to know more about the thing itself. First I was interested in the book’s structure. Evan said the first issue will have two stories, one being around 24 pages out of a total 36. The remaining twelve will feature hand painting from Lydia and those are astonishing! Not that the “main story” doesn’t have amazing art on it, but the hand-painting and lettering by the artist really draw attention. Inspired by the original Twilight Zone, the main story will follow an anthropologist who is the sole survivor of a space expedition on a planet populated with weird beings that go murderous whenever they hear human voices. Because of this, the explorer has to make a new life in complete silence among these aliens.
The Kickstarter campaign was fully funded in its first 24 hours. At first, the two friends were hoping to get money for printing the comics so they could take them to be sold at comic stores in New York. However, with more than the double of their stipulated budget, Evan mentions that things could get more serious.”It means that we actually have a shot at doing this for real! It’s not just about printing this one thing, we might have the money now to set up an online store and become more of a publisher instead of a single title.”, the writer commented “I think about Eastman and Laird and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and how they were just two people who were really smart along the way and they controlled the process. I think that is something we could do, you know what I mean? It’s really exciting!”
Finding INTERDIMENSIONAL by chance was a complete joy. Not only did I stumbled on a great comic book but also a promise of a new indie publisher to come from an incredibly talented duo of artists. I had a great time talking with Evan and I hope to follow their work from now on as they will hold all the potential to take the industry by storm.
