You know I honestly can't remember how I meet Trevor at this point. The very first convention I set up at right out of high school the coauthor of one of his comics Eclipse sat next to me. Somehow through him we managed to forge a great friendship. We have the same taste in comics and film plus we both know the struggles of creating indie comics. We usually try to talk on the phone about once a week which has been hard since he recently had twins on top of already having a toddler! He is still trying to make comics even though he has so much going on which says loads about who he is and how bad he wants to create comics. His new project Datura is great in all aspects (I've read the first issue). His story is full of fun and action, the art glows with energy, the letters and colors make the book pop! Trevor is a great creator and an even better dad. He is a creator I am seriously routing for I am proud to call him my friend.
Check out his kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/eclipsethecomic/datura-1-and-2
How did you get into comics as a reader?
As a kid I never really "read" comic books. I hated reading. I still had a ton of comics but I'd only look through the book to see all the cool fighting scenes and would trace all my favorite characters. I did actually read the backs of all the Marvel trading cards to learn all their backstories because many of them I had no clue who they were. I didn't really start "reading" comics until after Batman Begins. I fell in love again with comics at that point. I think my favorite part about rediscovering comics was being introduced to comic books that had no relation to anything superhero related. There's so many great stories out there that aren't appreciated enough because they're comic books. That is until they become huge successful properties on TV or film.
What made you decided to start creating comics?
For me it was to prove to myself I could tell a compelling story from beginning to end. With my first comic book series I wrote I wasn't ready to go out on my own so I got my friend Scott Meier to help create/write the series with me. The whole process was very new to us so we were looking up how to script comics, where to find artists, printers, etc. I think if Scott and I could do it all over we would have done things way different. But I don't think you can really learn the things we learned without going out and doing it. You can read articles and books all you want on creating comics but there's no better way to learn then to just go out there and do it.
In a nutshell what is Datura?
Siblings. I wanted to tell a story about what it means to be an older sibling. In many relationships your siblings can be your best friend, your enemy, and a parental figure wrapped into one. In the story, Datura and her kid sister Dahlia are bounty hunters and that drives the action of the story but the heart is the sibling love and rivalry between these two sisters.
How did you come to work with Diego Olortegui and Gab Contreras?
I posted on ZWOL.ORG to find an artist to collab with on Datura. I had the general idea of the story and Datura's look down and posted that description in the forums. Diego responded and I knew immediately that he was the guy I wanted to work with on this based on his DeviantArt page. After the first time I saw the character designs for Datura I knew my time was limited in working with him. I could tell he was too good of an artist not to get work from DC or Marvel and he has a special eye for character development and design. If we stop making Datura tomorrow he has a fan for life in me.
Gab Contreras is the secret weapon on Datura. She does the coloring, graphic design, video editing, and marketing. There's probably things i'm forgetting. She does it all. Diego knew Gab prior to working on Datura and he was very confident that she was the right one for the job and he was right. She too is way too talented to not be working on a big two book so that day is coming for her too I think. deadlines constantly.
What are your future plans for Datura?
Diego and I have talked in the past about how we'd love for Datura to be our Walking Dead/Hellboy where we do over a hundred issues together so that's the dream.
Why kickstarter?
Going through Kickstarter allows for a little bit of freedom when it comes to the making of Datura. Diego continues to work for Marvel and is on deadlines constantly.
What comics are you currently reading?
Well, now with three kids it's a little harder to read comics and buy comics like I used to. The most recent thing I've read that I loved was Tom King and Mitch Gerad's Mr. Miracle. I could wallpaper my living room in Gerad's art from that book and I doubt my wife would complain. That's how good it is. I also have to point out their work on the Batman Annual #2 issue. It may be my favorite Batman issue in years!
Who are some of your favorite creators?
Obviously Tom King, Mitch Gerad, Jeff Lemire, Scott Snyder, Peter Tomasi, Patrick Gleason.
What do you do for a "day job"?
Sit at a computer all day, reading up on how people fall down and cut themselves slicing pineapples.
Can you tell us about some of your other projects?
My first comic book was titled eclipse. It was a super hero story centered around a boy and his father who had autism. This dynamic was inspired by 18 the boy I worked with who had autism. We bonded over superheroes and many of the conversations between the main character and his father were actual conversations I had with this teenager. So the story of eclipse is a personal one for me.
Child number four is a murder mystery involving a group of kids. This story is very much inspired by various movies such as the goonies, the mighty ducks, sandlot and Stephen kings stand by me.
