Andi Ewington Talks About His 45 |

Andi Ewington has written a new book for the folks at Com.x. Called 45 because each page is illustrated by not merely a separate artist apiece, but each a stunning master of their craft. To attract such an insane grouping, this story is clearly very special. Here, Andi shares some thoughts with Richard Caldwell about the past, 45, and beyond…

Andi, share with us a bit of your background, have you always wanted to write? Is it a hobby for you, or more on the obsessive end of the spectrum?

I’d say it’s closer to a passion than an obsession. I was about ten years old when I first attempted to publish my own work. I created a Fantasy magazine filled with comic strips and features. I wrote and drew everything in it. It’s laughable when looking back now. Optimistically I tried to sell it at my local corner shop.
Not surprisingly, I failed miserably!
After that, writing took a back seat while I concentrated on drawing (I was okay at it in those days), school work and everything else that interested boys at that age. I was a huge D&D/MERP nut so I lost most of my free time to the genre (I still tend to relax by playing computer games; mainly RPGs like Baldur’s Gate or Fallout). It was around the time I clocked up 120 hours on one game that it became clear how much time I had been wasting! I realized that I could have written a book in the same time. That was the moment my writing career was reborn. I spent the next three years writing a fantasy comedy with my best friend Dennis Johnson. “Limpit Muskin & Company” was like Blackadder meets Lord of the Rings. It was a 250,000-word beast which we submitted to various literary agents and publishers. It received favourable comments but ultimately found no interest.
When I changed jobs two years ago I found out that my employer, Eddie Deighton, also ran a comic publishing company called Com.x with his business partner, Benjamin Shahrabani. I hadn’t considered turning my ideas into comics, and I was relatively uneducated in the field, but Eddie told me that I just had to find the right idea that would resonate with Com.x and they would consider publishing my story. After a few weeks of to-ing and fro-ing with stories, I came up with a concept that Eddie and Ben really dug and my pipe-dream of being published was very real again.

How did 45 come about then, exactly? Was it an idea you had been batting about in your head for awhile?

Actually, 45 was an idea that had only been forming in the back of my mind for several weeks. It started when my wife was pregnant with my son-to-be and we had just come back from our twelve-week scan. I was awash with strange, new emotions and I got to thinking about how cool it would be if my son was born with superpowers (What dad hasn’t!). This was the spark that ignited my idea. At around the same time, I was reading both World War Z by Max Brooks and Marvels by Kurt Busiek. I really loved the way WWZ used transcripts to form the narrative, and how you were able to follow Marvels through the eyes of the main character, who was both mortal and a journalist.
I began to develop a story about a journalist faced with the imminent birth of his child who is potentially carrying a ‘Super-S gene’ which, if it is, would mean it would be born with super-powers. He embarks on a mission to interview a whole spectrum of superheroes in order to accumulate a better understanding of what he could potentially expect from bringing up a child with extraordinary abilities. I roughed out the story arc that followed the main protagonist as he interviewed each of the characters. I pitched the idea to Com.x as a series of superhero transcripts, each placed opposite a single page of comic art. Com.x thought the idea was great and Eddie Deighton (of Com.x) took it a stage further by suggesting I try securing a different artist for each interview, something that neither of us had seen tried before. It was at this point ‘45′ was born.

And the list of artists is spectacular. How much of an undertaking was the search for visual collaborators? Any surprises? Any disappointments?

Yes, you can see that the list is pretty awesome! I keep pinching myself when I think about who’s involved; it seems like a comic writer’s dream. The search for the ‘right’ artists was considerable and, to be honest, I hadn’t really prepared myself for the logistical nightmare that lay before me. Managing forty-five individual pieces of art across a fourteen-month period almost broke me – it seemed like it was going to be relatively easy at the beginning!
I was very fortunate having John Higgins and Liam Sharp onboard almost immediately. It wasn’t long before Ed (Com.x) introduced me to Jock, Charlie Adlard and Sean Phillips and, once they understood the concept behind ‘45′, I had five more top artists under my belt. Just another forty to go! Finding the right people was tricky. I wanted an eclectic mix of established names, others that had moved on to pastures new and undiscovered gems. I’d like to think there’s an art style in ‘45′ for everyone – and one or two surprises where we’ve tempted some really cool names out of retirement. Disappointments? Not at all – I’m totally satisfied with the guys involved. But that’s not to say I haven’t tried for other artists. In comics you have to accept that the timing might not be right, or that talent is committed to other projects or exclusive contracts. Everyone that turned me down had a valid reason for doing so, and would have loved to have been involved. Maybe my timing will be better next time around.

With so many artists involved, were they given somewhat specific character guides to maintain some level of flow, and if so, who handled the design work? Or was everything trusted to the imaginations of the talented roster?

The only real constant within the ‘45′ world is the interviewer, James Stanley. John Higgins’ first interpretation of him became the basis of my style guide. As we progressed with the pages of art, James’ look became more and more defined. I would send out the latest incarnations of the main character as support material for new artists. I was prepared for James to change slightly from artist to artist and I left it up to the artists to determine the individual look for the respective superheroes – something I know they enjoyed. If any superhero appeared in cameos within other interviews then I would supply the relevant character for the artist to follow. Even though I had a visual in my mind for each character I didn’t want to influence their end look, it was important for me to keep my involvement to a minimum, as the purity of the art is a huge part of the appeal of ‘45′.

So you did much of the packaging yourself then? Does the behind the scenes stuff hold any interest for you, or do you see yourself in keeping as more of a storyteller? Also, is it at all possible that the 45 world might someday somehow continue, or do you feel that your story is told as much as it could or should be? And what other projects do you yourself have in the works?

I’ve worked on pretty much every aspect of the book. I’ve slipped back into my natural role as a graphic designer to create the look of ‘45′ and worked up everything from the cover and page layout to the logo. And I’m liaising with some legendary people for quotes and forewords. I’m working closely with Com.x on the PR and we’re currently trying to pull several of the artists together for a ‘podcast’ launch party; they have been totally supportive of ‘45′ and truly unbelievable in keeping me in the loop with things out of my remit. I’m aware of so much now because of them, of how the industry moves as a whole – from distribution all the way through to on-shelf presence.
As for beyond ‘45′, I certainly have plans to push the story further. I want to produce ‘45+1′ which revisits the same characters one year on, and a prequel that digs deeper into the history of the ominous XoDOS. There’s even speculative talk with Com.x about a special one-shot for the best loved character from ‘45′.
For projects away from ‘45′, I’ve already drafted up two further scripts that I’m hoping to pitch at a later date, plus there’s a dozen or so ideas I’ve been mulling over for a while. I definitely want to produce a second book. It’s safe to say I’ve been bitten by the publishing bug!

Do you feel at all spoiled, having been already illustrated by some of the finest artists working today, or does it feel like you have created a hard act for yourself to follow? From a writer’s perspective, and this is something I really wondered about, does the exposure to so many graphic interpretations of your story widen your realm of influence? And what forces outside of comic books have shaped your voice thus far?

That’s a tricky one to answer. I think in truth it’s a little of both. I’ve certainly been spoilt – there’s no denying that – yet equally I’ve had to work very hard to get the talent onboard and maintain a high level of consistency in the quality of what I was writing. There’s been no opportunity to take a few projects to ‘mature’ in my writing style, that’s why it’s been so helpful having Eddie and Ben to watch over me. “A hard act to follow?” – It’s been an absolute honour to work with so many talented people and I’m humbled that they’ve responded so favourably to my story. At the same time, it’s given me incredible confidence and faith in my abilities and has, in fact, spurred me on to write more and better stories. I don’t feel as if I’ve peaked too early – I have a lot more to offer and I hope I get the chance to prove it. As for a widening influence, definitely. You can’t work with so many gifted creators and not be inspired by the quality and diversity of their interpretations. It has helped to open my mind to so many alternative opportunities in terms of where I seek inspiration from. It’s been a truly amazing experience. It’s early days yet to see how exactly I develop from this point – maybe ask me again when I have another five books under my belt!
As for external influences, there are so many, but the ones that stick out for one reason or another are: all things Lord of the Rings (including MERP, the role-playing game); Dungeons & Dragons; Star Wars (the original trilogy, not the inferior prequels); Blackadder (a genius BBC TV period comedy series); The Young Ones; The Office (UK version); Red Dwarf; 24 (TV Series); Life on Mars (UK version); Band of Brothers; Spooks; Leon; Aliens; Fight Club; Terry Pratchett; Max Brooks; Stephen King; Fighting Fantasy books by Ian Livingstone & Steve Jackson; Elite (Old 80’s computer game that I played to death on the BBC Micro B); Fallout (1, 2 & 3); Baldur’s Gate; Music by The Smiths, Radiohead, Unkle, Doves and Elbow. Beyond that, my biggest external influence has to be my son, Zack, who is the inspiration behind ‘45′.

Fantastic. Thanks for taking the time out to speak with us, Andi. Any parting shots?

Thank you for the chance to talk about ‘45′. I’ll be at the Long Beach Comic Con on from the 3rd of October, so if anybody is around then feel free to come down to the Com.x stand to say hello and pick up a few Com.x goodies.

www.comxcomics.com
www.thefortyfivecomic.blogspot.com

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