1 Way Ticket interlude - how it all came to be
Posted by ChrisArrant on Wednesday, January 17 2007 at 8:00 am
Hi; Chris Arrant here, writer for 1 Way Ticket here at The Chemistry Set. By now you’re probably asking — where’s the new page? What happens next? Why am I reading comics in my underwear? I can answer that first question, but the rest you’re on your own.
The artist of 1WT, Dan Warner, had to step back into the real world to tackle some late-breaking deadlines of the paying sort so we’re going to have to hold off on any new pages until next week….
AUDIENCE: AWWWWW
…but in an effort to appease our fanbase and prevent riots in the streets of the Internets, I thought it’d be interesting to tell you how this all came to be. No, Dan and I aren’t joined at the hip. In fact, we’ve never met. Far from a Lady & The Tramp love story, this all started a couple years back with him as a comics creator and me as a nubile fan… (cue dream music)
I first came across Dan Warner’s work in his miniseries for Slave Labor Graphics, Cocopiazo. To this day it remains uncollected and underappreciated, but I remember coming back to the book again and again to soak up the artwork and the vibe the reverberated through it.
Later, when I was putting 1 Way Ticket together (under the name Guitarmageddon), I made a short list of artists who I’d love to do the series with. I must have eaten my wheaties that day, because I made a seperate list of artists I probably couldn’t get to do it but that I should ask anyway. Dan was on that list; here’s the cold-call email I sent him:
Daniel,
You probably don’t know me from Adam, but my name is Chris Arrant and I’m one of your LJ friends (chrisarrant). Vito Delsante and I are organizing a comics group similar to Act-i-vate, but with the theme of collaboration. Instead of a sole cartoonist, it’s a writer and an artist teaming up to hopefully create something more potent than what they would individually.
As you have probably surmised by now, I am a writer in search of an artist. I’ve always admired your work on LJ and in your SLG comic, and wanted to inquire if you’d be interested in talking further about possibly collaborating on something for this.
If not, no harm no foul… I just figured if I didn’t ask, I’d kick myself.
Thanks,
Chris Arrant
Wow. It’s like looking at embarassing baby pictures.
Anyway, I sent it off around 2am in the morning — you know that time, where you can’t sleep and you can’t tape together any coherent thought but you want to do something. That’s what I did. I emailed him and then made a note to take my expectations down a notch and post an ad on DigitalWebbing.com for an artist.
Then, the next day — Dan responded. He was interested. And he sent me his portfolio. I mentioned Dan’s name to another Dan, Dan Goldman (Shooting War, Kelly), and he said “Yeah! Dan Warner’s great. I always meant to get up with him to do a book together, but I haven’t had a chance yet!” So now, in my mind, I’m competing with Goldman, a published cartoonist and rockstar artist in his own right. FUCK.
So I sent Dan Warner a pitch on a hope and a prayer. I’ll show you what I sent him, with some parts XXed out as to not ruin the story.
ONE WAY TICKET
While on a visit to a dusty pawn shop, a young boy named Sully runs head-long into fate and discovers the guitar of his dreams… or is it his nightmares? With this mystical guitar in hand, he XXXXX.
That’s the high gloss movie pitch. The story itself will be serious but also raucous, brash and hedonistic. The feel is like the movie BUCKAROO BANZAI, or the comic NEXTWAVE or SHARKNIFE. It will be serious moments played for laughs and drama. What you’d be drawing is bands playing, magical guitars exerting telekinesis over objects, lightning bolts, demons, over-the-top zany moments like a manga, and some quiet moments between Sully and his family. It’d call for a kinetic and upbeat style.
How unprofessional of me. But Warner responded:
Hi Chris,
As you know, the subject matter of One Way TIcket isn’t really the direction I am pushing my work.
Oh shit. Just like high school romance let-downs.
Wha-?!
I put on some music and tried to visualize it. Bear with me for a moment as I try to verbalize… I can see it as bold, highly energetic drawings that incorporate classic comic book visual elements like thought bubbles and dot screens. Poppy and fresh but not campy. My influences tend to come more from manga than classic comic books and right now I’m thinking along the lines of Raymond Pettibon, FLCL, pushead, tattoos, CD Covers, Warhol, Atsushi Keneko’s ‘Bambi,’ Van Gogh and this playlist:
1. Boxcar - Jawbreaker
2. The Longest Line - NOFX
3. I am a Rock - Me First and The Gimme Gimmees
4. Cheap Wine and Cigarettes - Darkbuster
5. She is Beautiful - Andrew W K
6. Hash Pipe - Weezer
7. Close to Me - Get Up Kids
8. True Dreams of Wichita (live) - Mike Doughty
9. Why Can’t This Be Love - Van Halen
10. Every Rose Has It’s Thorn - Poison
11. Jump - Simple Plan
12. The Rock Show - Blink 182
ME: …. he likes it?
After that it was a flurry of emails with playlists, artwork, photos, lyrics and it ended up into the 1 Way Ticket you’ve read each Wednesday. Check back here in 7 days for page 21 — meanwhile, take a chance to go back and re-read the story so far; look to the right sidebar for links to the archives.
Category: 1 Way Ticket
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