Friend of Funnybooks RAVEN GREGORY is back! And not only has be brought new comic writer Autumn Ivy with him, but he’s brought an all-new creator-owned project, Widow’s Web, and a Kickstarter, with him!
Talk to us about Broken Butterfly Comics, your new comic studio. Why was now the time to venture out on your own and produce new content?
RG: While I love writing comics and telling stories, my first love has always been creator owned comics. The freedom to tell your story the way you want to. After years of writing comics for other publishers it was only a matter of time before I returned to it. Now with Broken Butterfly Comics I’m afforded that liberty.
Widow’s Web is the first title coming out from Broken Butterfly Comics. Why was it chosen as the first title, and what’s it about?
RG: When both Autumn Ivy (my co-creator/co-writer) and myself developed the story we both knew we had something special on our hands so I decided it would be the first project to debut under the new brand. The story itself is the classic tale of boy meets girl with a particular horror like twist in that in this case girl may very well eat boy. What’s really cool is we’re introducing a new genre of monsters that has rarely been seen before and although it’s not set in this world it is still strangely familiar.
Hey Autumn! Tell us a little bit about the writing experience with Raven. We’ve had him on the show before and love the guy, so how is it working with him on this title?
AI: It has definitely been a hell of a time. Raven has expanded my knowledge not just of the industry but of writing in general since meeting him. It has been such a pleasure having the chance to work with someone who is so well versed in the comic world and getting the opportunity to be the Padawan to his Jedi Master. We get to mess around and hang out and still manage to get a massive amount of work done. Its all about dat “CLARENCE!” baby. Ask us what this means at our next panel, you won’t be disappointed.
How’d you get into the comic business, and what about Widow’s Web appeals to you as a writer?
AI: It was actually kind of a strange situation. I like to write snippets of things on Facebook, and one day Raven saw some stuff that he enjoyed and approached me about a freaking awesome opportunity. We began to discuss this idea that he had, and it grew from hustler style smut article into the beautiful Watchmen style onion that it is now. So luck got me here, luck and a little bit of tragedy.
Widow’s Web is something that I hold dear as a writer. It’s the ultimate battle against not just ones own nature, but the nature of the realmselves, people get lost, but being able to maintain a relationship while working towards a blank slated future is something really amazing – and I love the idea of being able to tell that story.
RG: To answer that question would be a whole comic series in and of itself but I wholeheartedly agree with what Autumn said. Watching the story evolve from what was initially a erotic piece of fantasy fiction, to a new kind of horror thriller, to watching the beautiful tapestry of themes involving relationships swim to the surface, to what it is now has been an absolute joy.
What’s the cool swag people can get by contributing to the Kickstarter?
RG: The comic itself, kick ass exclusives, original art, immortalized in the comic themselves and so much more. There’s tons of great stuff so hopefully there’s something for everyone.
Your Kickstarter has already achieved its goal, but obviously more support is never a bad thing. Tell us a little bit about the reasoning behind going through Kickstarter to fund Widow’s Web. Once issue 1 is funded through Kickstarter, what’s the plan for future issues of Widow’s Web? Will future titles have a similar model of funding through Kickstarter first?
RG: Whenever I’ve done a creator owned book in the past I’ve always worked toward having as many issues in the can before releasing the series. This way you can avoid the forced creative compromises and countless of negative issues that come with living under the deadline. So in order to put out the best story possible we’re doing the same with this story. The catch to this though is it takes much longer to recoup the money you put into the production and boy, I tell you, making comics ain’t cheap. So being able to reach out to the fans directly via kickstarter goes a long way to helping creators bring their vision to life.
What’s next for Broken Butterfly Comics?
RG: SOMETHING LIKE MAGIC. Widow’s Web is just the beginning.
Thanks to Raven and Autumn for chatting with us! Go support Widow’s Web now! The Kickstarter ends Wednesday, April 1, 2015!