With the current state of the comic book industry being what it is due to the Coronavirus, more and more comic writers are choosing the Indie route when it comes to publishing. This means that project-funding sources such as IndieGogo and GoFundMe are more important than ever for the print industry.
Elysian Fields is one such foray into publishing, with creator Michael Oden forming his own publishing label 9 Realms Publishing in order to successfully bring his project to light. The IndieGogo campaign ended today, with the mark being officially passed this morning, assuring fans that the Underworld tournament-based comic book is headed their way
When speaking with the creator, we took the opportunity to ask a few questions about how he came to work with the artist, his inspiration for the book, and the process behind making it. Check it out below!
Joe: How did you come to work with the artist on Elysian Fields?
Michael Oden: Initially I talked to a buddy of mine about doing the book. He really liked my pitch but the more he read of my script the more he became intimidated because this was his first foray into comics. And eventually he decided he wasn’t a comic artist and we moved on.
But I saw the second advertisement on a freelance site and I saw some God of War pencils that Marcello did and I said -- f*** yeah, that guy. I hit him up and got the first pencil back and I knew. And his page rate made my jaw drop because it was so affordable and it got the ball rolling.
Joe: What is the process between you and Marcello - do you handle the entire story and he handles the vision for the art, or do you both contribute to each other’s side of the coin as well?
Mike Oden: The majority of the story is done by me and every now and again Marcello will blow me away by doing something genius of his own. There will be times where the return product will look nothing like what I described but it will become very clear that he had a much better idea.
The best example is Gilgamesh. I had the idea of Gilgamesh with a very skinny beard like Jafar. And he obviously did his research on Mesopotamian history because he drew him with this massive beard with plates going through it and through his hair and I couldn’t even be mad. So many people said he looks like a boss when we put the image up on twitter. I had a blast writing him, he’s a really fun character to write.
But the majority of the story stuff comes from me. And that’s not to say that I wouldn’t listen to his ideas. I always tell my artists that if I’m bringing them onto a project that I want them to be as invested as I am. At the end of the day even though I feel like I’m very critical of my work, I have an emotional blind spot to it too because it's something that I did.
Joe:Â What comics or other media inspired your work on Elysian Fields?
Michael Oden: Achilles I didn’t pull from any comic books to be quite honest. I knew exactly how I wanted Achilles to look and it was solely based off of the stuff that I would see in the Iliad. My dad would read me this beautiful version of the Odyssey and the Iliad that had pictures and it was for kids. Their version of Achilles is kind of what I used as a little bit of a reference and then I made it my own.
Heracles I remember the big thing that I put in his description was that he has to have the build of the juggernaut from X-Men. He’s got to be massive. But for the most part I try not to pull from comics because as much as I love them and grew up loving them and I love those characters, I also want these characters to feel unique. I want these characters to feel like they have their own identity. I don’t just want people to look at them and think, oh that looks like so and so. And obviously Marcello takes inspiration from things but when it came down to my descriptions, I wanted them each to be their own thing.
What do you guys think of these comments from creator, writer, and 9 Realms Publishing founder Michael Oden? Check out the preview for Elysian Fields below and let us know what you think in the comments section!
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Achilles fought with a fiery rage for glory during his short life when he arrived in the underworld and reunited with his beloved comrade Patroclus, he thought he could finally spend eternity enjoying the things he missed out on in life. This was not the case, after a momentary reunion the Best of the Greeks was ferried away to an amphitheater where he was to fight alongside other heroes of his world: Herakles and Theseus, for the God Hades to regain his dominion over the underworld.
With the world’s pantheons expanding, and past pantheons crumbling, Hades is willing to grant Achilles his greatest desire.
You can check out Elysian Fields' campaign page here.
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