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When did you start writing professionally? How did you first get involved with creating comic books?

Well, I first got involved with creating comics when I was about 6 or 7, I wrote, penciled and colored a Superman Special as he faced off against the ultimate threat of Colorless Sharkman! A vile villain whose eyebeams could warp and distort your physical form, and drain all color out of you! I guess technically that was my first professional work as well, because I think my grandmother purchased it for a nickel.

Beyond that, I've done some professional writing off and on since around 1995, but in more academic and newspaper circles. I first got fully involved professionally in comics around 2002 which has culminated with the launch of Visionary in 2006.

What is a typical workday for you, now that you are the creative director for Visionary Comics Studio (VCS)?

Wow, hectic to say the least! Since I balance this with other work, including ministry and outreach work, I don't really have a typical schedule day, but I can give you the standard routine...

• Email Check: This lasts anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes as I average over 50 emails a day easily.
• Project Updates: This is one to two hours, it involves editing scripts, reviewing art on projects received since my last 'session', answering studio based queries, calling creators, calling publishers, etc.
• Submissions Work: About an hour, or at least I try. We have a constant inflow of submissions from new talent.
• Admin Work: About an hour to two. This includes contract work, web site updates, blog updates, posting on our forums, writing PR and interviews, etc.
• Creative Work: YES! My favorite! This includes developing new series, writing scripts, doing color work, doing design sketches for artists on VCS series and doing finished art over layouts. I get as much of this in as possible, and hopefully more as we continue to grow.

Please tell us a little about why and how you helped create VCS?

There were a lot of factors playing into the creation of VCS. First and foremost has always been my love of the comics medium as a whole and comics in general as a creative venue. There really, just simply is nothing like it, as both a writer and an artist, its a synergy that has unlimited potential.

That coupled with some disappointing experiences I had with other publishers and studios which began to disillusion me. It seemed a bit bleak out there for new talent wanting to make it in the industry. However, I also found a ton of wonderful, friendly and open professionals who are genuine salt-of-the-earth types, great folks one and all, as well as a number of talented aspiring creators out there just looking for that big break.

Since I've never been one to do what everyone else has done, and learned years ago I'm much happier, truly, when I'm captaining my own ship I decided to take a hard look at what was missing in comics, and what direction I wanted to move in. Of course, my main goal has always been on the creative end, but I found in my few years with other ventures I learned a lot about the business end. Then all this bubbled and churned with my love of teaching and mentoring until in a stroke of inspiration, Visionary, pretty fully formed just came flowing out of my head. I talked it up with both Charlie Hall and Brian Augustyn and found resonance there as they signed on, and here we are.

How is VCS “the world's first Teaching Studio for aspiring comics creator”?

Well, we are a functioning studio, just like any other, meaning we generate in house comic books, from initial plots and scripts all the way through to pre-press prepped pages delivered to the printer. So that's pretty basic and straightforward.

As for what makes us a unique 'Teaching Studio' is our process. VCS is the only one of its kind whose major emphasis is recruiting aspiring creators, training them, providing hands on direction and guidance all the while, working with those creators on their own projects. We bring in creators and provide our services for them on their books, editing scripts, providing art guidance and direction on designs right through to finished sequentials and then help ensure those books get out into the market and succeed once there.

Then on top of that, they have a full range of support services to get a publishing deal signed on that title, get it marketed aggressively and get representation at conventions etc. We also provide some work-for-hire for creators on our in-house books, giving some creators their first honest to gosh paying comic work. Likewise, because of the reputation we're quickly building, we also then provide other work for hire opportunities through our freelancer services, which is really starting to take off.

In the last few decades many new publishers have popped up in the comic industry only to end soon after. What do you think makes VCS different?

Well, I guess the most obvious is...we're not a publisher. We're a studio, its a whole different beast. As such, seriously, we're operating under entirely different needs and means. Our sources of revenue as well as expenses, our target audiences, our PR strategies, our cost to profit ratio, overhead, admin, everything, its different. Its like apples and oranges. To be quite honest, the very reason we chose NOT to be a publisher is to avoid the really tricky pitfalls of publishing no one in our little group felt like trying to tackle head on.

As a studio we operate on probably less than a tenth of the expenses of a publisher, we have no minimal needed income monthly to sustain operations during development. Further, we also are pursuing a diversity of things that a publisher simply cannot, such as, again, our freelancer services.

I think all of this gives us a pretty good shot at sustaining and actually turning a profit in the not too distant future!

What creator-owned books are in the works?

Altogether we have a total of 17 creator owned properties with NEW creators, three new properties lined up with established creators, and our first deluxe repackaging deal. A good number of these are still in contract negotiation, so we can't let details out of the bag yet, but, here's the ones we can spotlight...

Headlocked: Created by Mike Kingston, a dramatic series set in the world of professional wrestling. This is being beautifully illustrated by Robert Spencer.

Hell Patrol: Created by Brian Koscienski and Chris Pisano, an unlikely team of ex-werewolves, ex-vampires, a demon lord and his ex-wife...who happens to be a nun. This is being packed with energy in art by Raymond Francis.

Midnight Run: Created by Chris McCay, a world where a totalitarian government has taken over and made all super-heroes enemies of the state. New artist Alex Femenias is bringing a hard edge to this series.

Offspring: Created by Chris McCay and Kirk Kugel, a story of an estranged father and daughter as told against a backdrop of vampires at war with one of their own.

Project HERO: Created by Joseph Button, a story of an alternate earth at war for decades, desperate for a solution, and willing to do anything to find one! We're talking to up and coming artist Sheldon Mitchell about taking over art chores on this one.

Our established creators include our own Brian Augustyn who is developing a high profile project which will capture some of the heart of perhaps his most famous comic title, Gotham by Gaslight, which ranked in the top ten of best ever comics according to a Wizard poll.

In addition, A. David Lewis, recently of the award winning Lone and Level Sands, is bringing us a brand new property we're very excited about. On top of that we just opened negotiations with Jason Henderson and Lou Manna to bring a property they've worked on together under our stable, marking our first representation on an established property.

Finally, we've setup a deal to rep Paul Fricke and Scott Beaderstadt on setting up the deluxe remastering of their 80's hit series Trollords, which yes...will feature an all new Alex Ross exclusive cover!

They seem to be a diverse group of titles. Is there any particular genre or style of creator-owned books that VCS is looking for?

As I mentioned in another interview, we do only one genre...and that's GOOD! Seriously, no we're not about one genre, one style, one anything. We're about creative diversity, and general excellence. Our current lineup runs from a primetime drama series to comedy, from gruesome horror/mystery to high octane adventure!

How does Visionary’s creator-owned program work? What services does Visionary give the creator? What is the fee for these services? Does the creator keep 100% of the rights?

Okay, let's take it from the beginning...

In general, all our creators first benefit by being part of a vibrant, creative community of their peers. This provides encouragement, fellowship, networking and peer feedback. In addition, once creators become active, we provide a standard agent type deal, repping creators who agree, to our contacts in various publishers and other studios in order to find them paid work for hire or good opportunities for exposure.

Specifically, for projects, we help creators network to round out their teams, then we provide full editorial review and guidance hands on through the development of the entire project. We work with the creators to ensure they are doing the best work they are capable of and hitting the highest marks of quality. We can also provide the full range of supplementary services, including coloring, lettering, pre-press etc. Once a book is ready, we then also rep the project to publishers, and then once picked up, we aggressively market the project to help ensure its success on the shelves. In addition, we're setting up our initial forays into alternative markets, will be developing a library of web comics for exposure and licensing and product placement deals.

Included in this is the general buzz many of these projects will get because of the collective momentum of Visionary, that none of them would get alone. VCS' central staff is not the only one that provides these services. Our creators help mutually promote one another, look for opportunities to get the studio out there, etc. All these efforts then benefit everyone involved.

The real beauty of it? All of this is provided at no up front cost to creators. VCS is paid exclusively out of the backend of projects, so in other words, we're willing to guarantee our work, we don't succeed or profit, unless you succeed and make a profit. The percentage amount varies depending on what all we're doing, but basic services are 10%. Likewise, while we do employ contracts, all creators retain 100% ownership of all their properties.

If someone wants to join VCS, what should they do first?

Simple, go to our site, register, go to our forums, then read the guidelines in the Submission Forums under the area you would like to make your submission. Then you just post a thread with appropriate samples, which becomes your online portfolio to submit to Visionary. Generally our submission editors will post a detailed critique within 48 hours (sometimes longer) and at that point we'll take the next step. Feel free to post a thread in each area you are interested in working. We judge creators on each skill independently.

Please tell us a little about the Visionary Universe books. How are the books connected?

The only, ahem, universal connection is that they are all set within the Visionary Universe. The VU is what we like to refer to as a 'Tapestry' Universe. Its not a bunch of books set in an eternal present, where everyone hangs out in one city. Nor does it have a lot of overarching plots or uber-stories that only make sense with all the pieces. The Visionary Universe has a set beginning, middle and end. Our books set within the Visionary Universe can be set in the ancient past, the far future, another planet, etc. They each have their own tale to tell, or thread in the larger whole, but many of those threads have very subtle connections to others, and some, no real connections that are obvious in either story.

We're purposefully avoiding books which overlap as we launch, in order to give the books time to establish themselves on their own. As time goes by, those fans who choose to follow the 'Universe's' story will find more and more of those threads connect in various ways. The major events of one series, could be the pivotal historic event which helped shape the world of another series. Someone just being introduced in their own series, may be referred to as a historic legend in another. Likewise, we're not just a super-hero universe, but feature classic fantasy, sci-fi, action, horror in addition to our own super-heroes.

As time goes on, we will eventually have a small handful of series set in the current time but these will be a small number. The majority of our VU series will be in different ages of history, vastly different locations etc. Our goal and mission is that each VU book stands on its own, so much so that if you NEVER purchased another VU story, you would still have that one story you read and enjoyed. However, if you follow the Universe as a whole, you will notice larger and more numerous subtle connections.

So far it looks like all of the Visionary Universe books are created by you. Do you plan on having books from other creators join in this shared universe?

Definitely and the first discussions are already being held. The initial projects in the works were a combination of properties originally slated with a different publisher that were quite a ways along and then rolled under our umbrella or ones already set in motion prior to VCS. Otherwise, we're developing new books there as time and resources permit. I've also been the primary creative architect of the universe, outlining much of its history, setting up the more sweeping elements to give the universe a sense of cohesion etc., so, I wanted to also set some of the style creatively and mood wise of the line prior to other creators coming into the sandbox as it were.

Will these Visionary Universe books by other creators be creator-owned?

No. Its like this, creator-owned books, creators own, but they are not paid advances by VCS. Creators who will be handpicked and invited to contribute to the Visionary Universe line of books don't have ownership of the properties they develop for the Visionary Universe, but they are paid advances, so, that means paid work.

Simple reason here is that since Creator owned books may come and go, VCS wanted a line of stable books that we could build a solid ongoing foundation with. Likewise, to create a solid continuity, we need to ensure we retain the rights to the properties set in it.

Recent comic book universes, Crossgen and Devil’s Due Publishing’s Aftermath, have failed. In light of this, is a shared universe still a viable option in the comic book industry?

Oh heck yeah! They are one of the unique elements of comics. The problem has been more in the approach and less in the concept.

Crossgen introduced a universe that quickly seeded some of the most diehard, loyal fans comics has seen in years. They dove head first into it. Crossgen did not fail because they had a universe. Crossgen was selling solid numbers across the board. They failed because they setup an operation with huge overhead, and then, tried to literally double their line within a handful of years. They literally collapsed under the disproportionate overhead they were creating for themselves, since doubling books meant many more salaried creators, etc.

As for Devil's Due attempt, I'm sad to say I missed those books. I'm not sure why that attempt did not work out, maybe because it was strictly a super-hero universe, maybe because of the well established name talent on the books they also had a higher overhead than most. Or maybe because a shared superhero universe was just not something Devil's Due's loyal fans were looking to them for. DD certainly did not build its rep on that, it built it on licensed properties.

Now, an important difference here is the VU is NOT a super-hero universe. It has high-fantasy, to action-adventure, super-hero, sci-fi and cosmic storylines, again, depending on the period the story is set, etc. So, we're not just looking for super-hero fans to support the books, but a large cross-section of the demographics of people who enjoy comics.

With all of the creator-owned books and the Visionary Universe books in development, do you honestly expect to bring all these books into the market?

You're absolutely right, not EVERYTHING that comes through Visionary is going to see publication, from the mainstream comics press, its just not possible. However, there are several factors that play a significant role in this equation that folks need to consider.

One is that there are several alternatives to the mainstream press. While Visionary itself never intends to become a direct market publisher, SELF-publishing is a viable route. Which means, if a project comes to completion and a mainstream avenue is not found, and a smaller indy press is not found, ultimately, creators have the choice to publish it themselves, or go through one of the various channels for them to put the book out into the market directly. This still provides them an invaluable tool for getting their names out, possibly garnering other work, etc.

Two, is that there are alternative means to the printed press. Webcomics is a growing medium and gaining increased attention and credibility. We intend to add lots of original content to the site and expand with a full web comics library down the road. This would not only feature original material from series slated to be in print, but could feature all original material from series that don't immediately hit the print market. More and more, a commercial channel for this is where creators are using the internet to build the audience and buzz over time, like floppies can do in the print market, then publish material directly as a TPB to hit the ever important book market. Some have found this an increasingly successful route to go. This will also be a possibility with VCS.

In either case, being part of VCS still helps on two levels. Not only do we still help creators improve their skills and end product, but as a studio with a variety of projects and a growing reputation in the industry, we will increasingly draw attention based solely on our imprint or brand. Meaning a fan of a printed book may come to the site because of their favorite VCS title, and find a new series they never saw before. Likewise, with our growing reputation, we hope to be able to bring higher levels of attention to projects that deserve, but often get sidelined from convention and media attention. For example, since we will be having a main booth at various conventions, instead of a small table in artist's alley, those who have projects they have self-published, or small ashcans of web comics can promote those projects in larger venues than are often open to them. This is part of the VCS advantage!

But there is also a more significant factor here that will play a major role, and maybe this is as good a place and time as any to address it.

Finding talented writers and artists...easy. Finding talented writers and artists who are REALLY READY to work in comics...VERY hard.

We've already seen it here at VCS and we need to be open and honest about it, because its not meant in a judgmental or harsh way, just a statement of fact. Probably more than half of the talented folks showing us their stuff will probably not end up being part of a finished project that will ever even BE ready to be published.

Our First Wave of Visionaries, recruited before we went public, we saw about a 50% attrition rate from the total number recruited to the number of folks actually working and following up. We had a number of talented artists and writers who applied, but when faced with actual critical editorial review, or anything resembling a deadline, or even just steady progress being made, they either dropped out, or made it clear they really did not want to participate in this process.

Since we went public, and some before as well, I had talented folks who submitted things, but never had the will, direction, or drive to finalize SOMETHING. I've had writers who send me a bunch of stuff on a property, and I make some suggestions of how to fine tune, what needs fixing, and instead of trying to fine tune and fix, I find another bunch of emails the next day with a WHOLE NEW idea.

There are a lot of people who, as we say in the counseling business, WANT the end result, to be published, but clearly have no intention of DOING the steps to get there. This may be an innocent immaturity, a lack of the proper mindset which will only come with time, or for some, this just may end up not being the right time because of other more pressing commitments. While we wish those folks the best in whatever endeavor they choose in life, they will, after all is said and done, not find a place here at Visionary.

Either way, the point is, for every 10 talented creators we see, some 5 will actually work to define a project and start work on the project. As for sticking with it through to fruition, we'll see 2-3. Its just the reality of it.

VCS also has Freelancer Services. Please explain how this works.

Visionary is not just about repping projects and getting finished projects out there, we're about our creators. One of the services we provide is acting as an agent for those creators willing to participate. First, they have to be actively involved, and second, they have to have signed our Representation Contract.

As we establish ourselves, we're working very hard at establishing connections with every established and new up and coming publisher out there. This is one of the primary reasons we are adamant about not becoming a publisher, because, then we would be competing with folks we would rather partner with.

See, as Visionary gains a reputation and a brand of high quality, publishers will look to us. We're already getting queries for freelancers in our studio. The more we show we hit high standards and work with our creators in improving their professional skills, then the more publishers will look to us to supply them talented newcomers.

The reason? Well, just as mentioned above, anyone can find talented folks. Publishers are going to see us as a studio who grooms talent as invaluable because we not only send them talented folks, but folks who have worked well with editorial direction, supervision and guidance. We're sending them folks who have already survived a weeding out process because they were able to steadily produce materials, hit marks set out for them, etc.

So, when we say, here is someone to work on a project, the editor or publisher knows they are getting someone good, dedicated, steady and solid, which they NEVER know just by looking at portfolios in a convention.

And in all fairness, since we act as agents, we seek a standard agent's fee of 10% of income generated through work we help our creators find. But, its not only a good deal because having someone with inside connections finding you work is a LOT more productive than trying on your own, but we're more than agents.

We continue providing guidance and support for our creators in those jobs we're getting 10% as agents or reviewers. So, if someone is new, but they got picked up at Marvel and they've finished their first few pages, and are nervous about showing it to the editor and possibly ruining that relationship...they show them to us, we give them the same insight and critique as done for a project. So, we help them continue to improve.

Recently VCS announced that they have partnered up with Microfilmmaker. What are VCS’s hopes for this partnership? A Headlocked movie perhaps?

Quite possibly. (hint)

First, it puts VCS solidly in a market where there is a high crossover of fans, as well as new potential comic fans who may never have picked up a comic before, but will because it features an indy film they liked. It also opens new avenues of distribution and sales for our comic product, gives us titles that will have an edge over other comics when we then go back to comic conventions, because you can also get the movie version, etc. There are marketing possibilities here that benefit all parties.

Its also a lot of fun for the creators involved. Whether we're adapting a popular indy film into comics, or getting to see one of our comics turn into an indy film, the point is we have fun, we create something along the way, and that's all good stuff. Will this partnership result in our making mass amounts of money out the gate? No. If that's all you're thinking of though with any venture, is how to make money fast? Then you probably won't succeed!

Brian Augustyn is the managing editor for VCS, which is definitely worth some bragging points. How did Brian get involved with VCS?

Blackmail! No, seriously, he's a good friend of mine since way back before VCS days. He's also my own personal mentor and teacher in comics, the first professional who took me under his wing. Trust me, that wing has sheltered people like Joe Quesada, Mark Waid, Mike Weiringo and many others, so, I feel in good company.

His desire to help new talent get established made him a natural for VCS' mission. His gift at challenging, but doing so in a professional, encouraging and mentoring way made him ideal to shepherd in the next generation of comic pros!

I thought I read on VCS’s website that webcomics are also a possibility. What are VCS’s plans, if any, for making webcomics?

Well, we're in the earliest stages, but, we intend to have a web comics section of our site up hopefully by Fall. The library will feature prequels and short stories set in the same worlds as our printed books, including all new original Visionary Universe stories, as well as new material, including series which do not get setup right away at a publisher, and more edgier, experimental series which may not be ready for print, but we can try out on the web market.

We're also talking seriously about innovative ways of attempting to earn income for the studio through online series and a way to be able to ensure new fans can read what has come before in terms of their favorite series, so no one feels they cannot pick up a new book on the market because of the 'unknown' past. We want it so that fans can read the entire Visionary collection someday!

Are there any other projects in the works or major announcements for VCS that you can tell us about?

Well, they say timing is everything huh? We will be making several fairly large announcements prior to San Diego as we ramp up for our first formal convention debut! We'll hint about as much as we can...

• As mentioned, we have our first repackaging deal for the 80's series Trollords with a brand new Alex Ross Cover to grace the first Trade.
• We're developing the first series with VCS from such creators as Brian Augustyn, A. David Lewis, Lou Manna and Jason Henderson.
• We're in talks with almost a half-dozen publishers to provide freelancer services.
• We just signed our first print publishing partner and will begin there with a number of backup features in their main books running throughout the Fall-Spring 2006-2007. We'll announce the full details ASAP.
• We've signed our first indy film to comics deal with Ryan Graham on his indy movie 'Livelihood', which will be one of the properties featured in that mentioned print deal.

and the newest piece of news we'll announce here first...

In San Diego we will be featuring our first ever Visionary Sampler Convention Exclusive!

This full sized comic will feature 5 page preview samples of some of our main projects in development, glimpses of a few other projects now hitting the development cycle and an all new, wraparound painted cover by artist Nathan Furman, who will be taking the comics industry by storm with a project from us hitting within the next year! This Exclusive will ONLY be available at the conventions VCS attends this year, which will include San Diego, Chicago and the Baltimore Comicon! (others may be announced)

Thanks for your time, Chuck and best of luck to you and Visionary Comics Studio.

Thanks for yours, hope I didn't ramble on too much. ;)

For more information on VCS, check out their web site: www.visionarycomics.com