Heavenfire: An Interview with Writer & Artist Christopher Hanchey by Rob Richardson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christopher Hanchey is a professional illustrator, painter and architect, with buildings in down town Fort Worth, Texas, bearing his name. He has penciling work published by Arcade Comics, Arcana Comics, Heroic Publishing, and was a ghost artist on a Marvel book (uncredited). He also works in the animation, film, and video game industries as a concept and storyboard artist.

Hanchey is currently working on artwork for The Infinites at Heroic Publishing. This is a superhero tale like no other. The book addresses the implications of “superhero-as-messiah” and examines the effects this has on society. Infused with conspiracy, mythological and Biblical connotations – it’s a fantastically original title. Go and order a copy at www.heroicpub.com/heroicpub/infinites/

As well on his to-do list is Bulletproof Angel, a creator-owned project by Charles Quevedo and Glenn Arseneau. Hanchey worked on the Darkwalkers book with Arseneau and was drafted in to work on pencils for the project which can be followed at www.bulletproofangel.com

I contacted Hanchey in regards to his upcoming magnum opus Heavenfire, a title that interests me incredibly, and is currently up for funding on Kickstarter. Heavenfire is set on a distant planet in the Milky Way and is populated by Androsaurs, or Dinosaur Men. This alien race has developed a technology similar to that of ancient Rome and medieval times. They are engaged in a planet wide civil war. The series is set to encompass many science fiction and fantasy themes entwining them both in a spectacular fashion.

 

He agreed to an interview and here he enlightened me on many things; from creator-owned projects to Kickstarter and the digital market.

1) Hi Christopher. Thanks for taking the time out for this interview, as you seem to never stop working! I love the look of Heavenfire. Where did the idea come from? There’s a varied amalgamation of cultures, history, science fiction and fantasy themes in the project – are they all personal interests? Certainly looks exciting!

Yes! Heavenfire is very personal. I always liked dinosaurs as a kid, as well as science fiction movies, fantasy all that good stuff. I grew up watching VHS and DVD movies – my brothers and I had a big collection of them they were ones we bought, copied or recorded off of TV. My favorite movies were Superman (I&II), The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of The Lost Ark, Conan the Barbarian, Robocop, The Fifth Element, Braveheart, and Gladiator. I am a huge movie buff, and I think that really influences my art. I also got into comics of course for all the visuals; Iron Man, Spiderman, X-O Man O War, and Spawn were some of my favorites.

2) What does Heavenfire bring to the table that other comic books on the market don’t? What makes it different?

 

Well, one of the main things about most comic/graphic novels or sci-fi movies that take place on other planets or galaxies is that they all have humans in them. If you think about that, it doesn’t really make any sense. Why are there humans in Star Wars? It’s in an entire different Galaxy! If you were to really go to another planet that supported life, there most likely wouldn’t be any humans when you got there.

 

Heavenfire has NO human beings in it.

 

Now a lot of people think that if you don’t have a human in there, then people won’t relate to those characters. Take the Transformer movies with Shia Labeouf. I don’t care about Sam! I care about Optimus Prime. I identify with that character and he is a robot. I cried like a baby in the old cartoons when he died. He has human characteristics, so I can identify with him. So do the Androsaurs in Heavenfire. So we are talking about the personification of anthropomorphized dinosaurs in a medieval evolutionary state. So there is lots of fun medieval violence! It also has a huge twist coming that no one will be expecting!

3) Obviously a very personal project, how long has it taken to bring Heavenfire to fruition? In regards to creating your own book, how long has been in planning, writing and penciling? Did it take much research when establishing the different historical themes, such as the medieval style of armor and technology? The Dinosaur Men are also a unique design. Have the characters changed much from how you originally envisioned them?

 

Well, the idea has been floating around in my head for a lot of years now – I just didn’t think my artistic skills were up to par yet. I had a grand vision in my brain and I didn’t think I could draw things on the epic scale that I was envisioning. I probably still can’t but I figured “What the hell, now or never!”

 

I have been penciling the pages in my spare time when I am not working on other paying gigs like The Infinites or Bullet Proof Angel. I also work in storyboarding, concept art, and architecture. I’m three issues deep now as far as the penciling goes and I have the whole 8 issue story arch plotted. It’s been a couple years sense I first put pencil to paper, so I am looking forward to seeing it funded on Kickstarter so I can ramp up and finish it. I am really aching to get the story out of my head before it makes my brain explode!  

As far as the research goes, I did an extensive amount of it.

 

I went to the museum in New York and took pictures of stuff in their armory of real suits of armor. I stylize it a bit but that’s the fun of graphic novels. I also watched a lot of documentaries like “The Universe” and things like that. I really wanted to ground the book in as much actual science as I could. For instance, I just read a book by Professor of Astrophysics Ray Jaywardhana called: “Strange New Worlds”. In it he talks about the Kepler space probe and exoplanets (or Planets that orbit other stars). Scientists have found tens of thousands of planets orbiting other stars in our Galaxy. Some estimates say that the Milky Way has 200 billion stars in it, and that up to 30% have planets when you extrapolate the data. That means there are 60 billion exoplanets in our galaxy alone! And, there are hundreds of billions of galaxies out there in the Universe! I really don’t understand why more people aren’t excited about the golden age we are in as far as exoplanet discovery. I also have read tons of other books on cosmology and anthropology, evolution etc. I find science fascinating – I just can’t do math very well!

 

As far as the character designs, I just know a lot about dinosaurs and anthropomorphized my favorites like Diplodocus, and T-Rex. Add the cool medieval armor, and there you go. They have changed a bit, but for the most part I have my concept designs out so I try to stay on model as much as possible.

4) When creating your own book how did you go about involving other people? How much of an aide is Kickstarter to the creator-owned process?

 

Kickstarter is an amazing tool!

 

Printing costs are just crazy these days and the comic industry is really lagging, even with the main big companies. They don’t advertize, and they just seem stuck in the past. Digital is the way of the future, its still in its infancy, so I think paper comics will still be around. You have to embrace technology when it changes the game. Evolve or die basically.

 

Heavenfire will be released digitally too. Those who buy the individual comics for 99cents (a price point I think you have to stick to, look at Angry Birds!) will get a discount if they want a hard copy trade paper back or special edition hard back.

 

As an independent thinker, Kickstarter is a great way to get your goals achieved. I’m through with going the more traditional route – even Image has been passed by in my mind. Kickstarter allows you to cut out the middle man, as far as production.

 

Oh, and as far as my collaborators? I just culled them from people that I worked well with in the past. Glenn Arseneau – who is writing the book with me – I worked on Darkwalkers and Bullet Proof Angel with. Kel Nuttall is lettering the book, and we worked on DW, and a book for Archana called Wolfenreich.

 

5) The creator-owned material on the market at the moment is of a fantastic standard, especially considering that some of the larger publishing houses are having to make drastic changes to their line-up in order to keep up with the diversity in the industry. Why do you think this is? Would you say it’s becoming increasingly easier to create your own product?

That is easy – the internet, plain and simple. Technology is enabling us all to socially interact with each other and word of mouth is gaining in power. You don’t have to rely on industry to get your information these days. You don’t have to go to a library or read a newspaper. I haven’t read a paper in probably 5 years. I get my news from the internet, Facebook, and Twitter – why the hell would I buy a paper?

This is what the mainstream isn’t getting. Things have changed, and you better keep up or you’re going the way of betamax!

DC just rebooted all their books and they released Justice League #1 for 3.99 digitally! That is crazy man! I bought the book in print, and I will probably buy a couple of them. The big draw to me is I can actually own Action Comics #1. Will I buy it next month? Superman in a tee shirt and jeans with a cape stuffed in his collar? Really? I don’t think so. If I could buy them from iTunes for 99cents I would but I will wait for the trade if the story is any good. I still like hard copies of stuff I really like, but I think the printed monthly comic is dying. It won’t exist in a couple years. I think you’ll see the web comic model progress more, buy your monthly fix for 99cents, and then get your hard copy if you really like it.

People like me just want to tell stories. I love telling stories, and I have told some yarns in my day. I just want to share that with as many people as I can. Do I want to be rich? No, I just want to live comfortably and do something that I love and find fulfilling. Doesn’t everyone? If people don’t like my stories then I will just do them for my own fulfillment and enjoyment.

6) How has working for studios such as Arcana Comics and Heroic Publishing prepared you when producing something of your own? What has it been like working with them before starting Heavenfire?

Well for me, when I do something that is closer to my heart or that I can get really exited about I do better work. When I get hired as the “art robot”, as John Byrne once called it, it feels more like work. I get it done on time and to the satisfaction of the client, but I can tell the difference. If it’s something that I probably wouldn’t buy, then I tend to have trouble getting psyched for it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had good experiences with all the publishers that I work with. That’s probably because I’m fast though – I can pencil a page a day and ink one in a half of a day. That’s pretty rare in today’s artist pool, especially the indie pond.

7) The Infinites seems quite different to normal superhero fare. What’s it like working within the superhero genre? Do you think it ever becomes limiting, for instance, it perhaps seems difficult to create a new idea in a seemingly saturated market? The Infinites is far from standard, especially with its spiritual connotations.

The Infinites is a crazy super hero book! If you’re an old school 1970’s comic junkie, you will absolutely love it! It’s written by one: David Thomas. He has some really far out there ideas. I will admit that I don’t really get it. It’s not really my cup of tea; I probably would pass on it at the spin rack. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy working on it though, it’s extremely challenging. David has a certain vision of what he wants and is uncompromising when it comes to his characters. I respect that but at the same time it’s very daunting. I will draw something that I think is cool and works, and then I have to change it because it’s not what he wants. That is the way it goes though, and they are his characters, so I totally get that. He does have a character named Job who is more of a fantasy character, and I enjoy drawing him so its give and take.

I also get to draw a lot of different architecture so that is extremely appealing to me. I’m weird. I find the backgrounds just as fun as the characters.

As far as the saturation of the super hero genre, I see what you mean. David and I tried to market the book at SDCC before Heroic picked it up. Basically every one passed on it. They all said the same thing: “We don’t publish super hero books; Marvel and DC have cornered the market on that”. That is just pigeonholing – a good story is a good story, the experience of the over all package is what matters. Just another example of how the market has no idea what the public wants. They cater to the nice market of fanboys, who on the one hand love the characters, but on the other don’t like all the “throwing the shit at the wall to see what sticks” type of approach that the big companies are doing these days. The Infinites is super hero book, but it’s WAY different from anything else being published today.

As far as the spiritual aspects, I’m an atheist. I just look at it from a mythological standpoint. I don’t want to offend anyone, but I put the Bible and Jesus in the same category as Zeus and Thor. I’m a skeptic, I need proof. To me the definition of faith is: the belief of something with lack of evidence. I guess I paid too much attention in science class. There is a reason 98% of all registered scientists are atheist or agnostic. I prefer the scientific method of having a hypothesis, testing that hypothesis. Submitting your findings to peer review, then publishing your theories (like evolution, gravity, or germ theory), and writing a book on it. As apposed to having a book (the Bible) and trying to make all the facts or observations fit the book that’s already written, and ignoring all the facts that don’t agree with the book. If you don’t see things my way that’s a good thing – we can agree to disagree – just please don’t push your beliefs on me. I had enough of that as a kid growing up with a youth Pastor as a father.

8 ) Bulletproof Angel looks set to be another awesome piece of work. What can you tell us about the project and how did you become involved?

Bullet Proof Angel is Glenn Arseneau and Charles Quevedo’s baby. They came to me and asked me to do the art. I really enjoy working on “BPA”, as we call it (We being: Mark Purdy, Glenn Arseneau, Charles Quevedo, Victor Moya, and Ivan Plascencia). It’s a blast! Glenn and Charlie write it, I pencil it, Vic inks it, and Ivan colours it. After all that Glenn goes back in and letters it. The writing is loose and usually done in the “Marvel way” – where it’s just a paragraph description of the page and then it’s up to me to do all the storytelling and panel placement. That is in contrast to The Infinites where it’s more of a full script with panel breakdowns and full descriptions and dialogue. I can do it both ways but I defiantly prefer the “Marvel way”.

For Heavenfire, it’s completely different. I talk with Glenn about what I want to do in the issue, then I do thumbnails, talk some more, then fully pencil the page before it’s written. It’s very unconventional but it really works well for that project. I think any good storyteller has to be flexible in order to do what ever is going to serve the story the best. Don’t get boxed in by doing everything the same way; stretch and grow. I have to read a script written by someone else most of the time. With Heavenfire, I have the entire story already plotted out in my head, and I have written an outline.

9) Who are your influences as an artist? You artwork is very fine and incredibly detailed. I love the techno-organic style of Bulletproof Angel and the villains she faces.

 

My influences change all the time. When I was a kid, it was Bob Layton, Jackson “Butch” Guise, Todd McFarlane, Erik Larsen, Dale Keown, Bart Sears and John Byrne. I went through my “realistic” faze when the Ultimates came out and loved Brian Hitch. Now I’m more into guys like Carlos Pacheco, Gary Frank, Steve McNiven, and Ivan Reis. Reis is probably my favorite right now, but there are a lot of others. I can’t even read a comic unless I like the artist.
10) What are your favourite, all time comic books or stories?

 

It’s funny but I do actually have a favorite comic of all time, well two actually, because it is a two part story. Iron Man 152 & 153 are my all time favorite comics. I don’t even think I could even read them when I first discovered them in my uncle’s bedroom. My older brother used to read them to me and I was hooked by the Stealth armor and the art of John Romita JR and Bob Layton. David Michelinie’s writing was awesome and I loved the Living Laser. Those are the two books that got me hooked on comic books as a kid, so I probably have some nostalgia for them. I still have both of Bob Layton and David Michelinie’s runs on Iron Man. The Armor Wars are awesome! I read them all again every couple years or so along with Byrne’s Superman run. I really like Byrne’s Superman, It really felt like Christopher Reeve on the page. More recently The Rocketeer, Batman Year One, Kingdom Come, the Ultimates, Viking: The Long Cold Fire, Northlanders and I have really enjoyed Geoff Johns run on Green Lantern with Blackest Night.

11) Have you any projects in the pipeline, or is everything focused on getting these books out onto the market?

I have a couple Ideas for some more graphic novels. There just scribbles on paper right now, but they are pretty clear in my mind. I have to get Heavenfire done first as it is the most pressing in my imagination. I also have an unorthodox take on a sequel to Heavenfire, but that’s further down the road. We will have to see if the first one goes any where first. I look at it like a movie. I like short concise stories that are basically drawn out storyboard movies. If I had an unlimited budget I’d make these movies. I even thought about being a director, and I have directed a couple short films just when I was in school. I got commended for them at the time, but my hard head was set on the comic industry.

 

12) Finally, do you have any words of wisdom for those wanting to break into the industry at the moment, be they writers or artists?

For writers it’s tough. It’s really hard to get an editor to read something of yours. It used to be easier for an artist; you just showed your portfolio and they liked it or not. Either way I think you just have to work really hard and learn as much as you can. Be persistent, and don’t give up.

 

Ever.

 

I’m the type of guy that if you get in a fight with me you’re gonna have to kill me, because I am not going to stop coming at you until I win, or I’m dead. There is no middle ground. You must be totally unrelenting. At the same time you have to be good at your craft. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. PRACTICE. If some one offers you criticism, listen and then filter out what you think is helpful. Some critics are good, some are just stupid – be smart enough to know the difference. Practice what you’re not good at until you are good at it. You basically have to be stubborn as a pack mule, and work as hard as a hundred pack mules down in Mexico!

 

Or you can just do a web comic, and see if people like it!

Thanks again to Christopher Hanchey for an awesome interview and I wish him all the success with Heavenfire and his many other projects.