Press

"Artesia's Mark Smylie on Archaia Studios New Pubs"
by Jen Contino on THE PULSE - 7/12/05

Although most people know Archaia Studios Press as the publisher of Mark Smylie's critically-acclaimed Artesia, he's expanding his stable by working with other creators including Christopher Moeller, Alex Sheikman, A. David Lewis, and mpMann. At this year's San Diego Comic-Con, Smylie will have previews from many of their upcoming works including: Robotika, The Lone and Level Sands, and Iron Empires: Blood und Iron. We didn't want to wait for SDCC, so we caught up with Smylie for some details now about this new publishing move.

Smylie said there were two main reasons he wanted to publish works outside of his own with Archaia: one creative and one practical. He thought this was a natural progression for his company. "Creatively I've always thought the industry is filled with some really great, talented creators and stories, but even with as many publishing houses as there are, there still aren't enough to handle all of them," Smylie said. "I always thought, when I was self-publishing Artesia, if I ever reached the point where I could add extra titles that I would. It just seemed a natural outgrowth from my own work. Now I finally have time to handle the extra work involved with more books."

"Finding the right projects took a while, though," Smylie continued. "However I knew there would be stuff out there that would come across our desks that we would want to put out from established and up-and-coming creators. My business partner, Aki Liao, and I have been looking for some creators that could bring something special to ASP. These artists and writers all have what we’ve been looking for and we’re excited to begin publishing their work.”

Smylie said, "Then from a practical point of view, since Artesia is a painted series, there's a problem with it coming out for six months then disappearing for a while then coming out for another six months. We have a peculiar publishing schedule, because it takes me two months to paint a book, so I don't schedule it to come out until I have enough of it done to release it on a monthly schedule. So from a practical perspective it makes sense when looking at the publishing schedules for a year to have the gaps filled in with products that will keep Archaia Studios Press in the minds of retailers and fans as they go about their usual business."

Smylie said each new creator working with ASP was chosen for a different reason. He was friends with Christopher Moeller for a few years. The two talked about the ins and outs of self-publishing and Moeller expressed an interest in self-publishing his own Iron Empires series. "He knew I was looking for books to publish and we started talking about ASP," Smylie said. "He's been very busy working on the JLA: Cold Steel and hadn't had a lot of time to just sit down and draw his own projects, so it made sense for him to try to find someone else to draw Iron Empires. Luckily his friend Peter Bergting had an opening in his schedule and was interested in drawing the four-part Iron Empires: Blood und Iron."

"On the other hand, Alex Sheikman was someone we found through a straight cold submission," Smylie continued. "His art style attracted us immediately to Robitika, but when he initially submitted the story, it was just supposed to be a 48 page graphic novel. I wasn't sure if the format would be appropriate for what we were looking for at ASP. But, after a few conversations, we learned Alex had a slightly more extended storyline in mind for Robitika, so we turned it into a four-issue bimonthly limited series."

Smylie described, "Robotika is a 'steampunk sushi samurai western' about loyalty, honor, and revenge; set in a world populated by silent samurai, fast-talking geisha, deadly mecha-based betsushikime, digital djihits, morphing butterflies, and corporate corruption."

A. David Lewis and mpMann already published Lone and Level Sands as a black and white graphic novel, but wanted to see their creation in color. Lewis struck up a friendship with Smylie after they both won Paper Screen Gem awards from Mike Bullock at Broken Frontier. Smylie credits Bullock with introducing him to the work. "David gave me a copy of Lone and Level Sands AT Wizard World Philly and we talked about publishing the graphic novel in color," Smylie said. "I read it at the convention and really thought it was a great story. The book draws on the Bible, The Qur'an, and historical sources to present a retelling of the Book of Exodus through the eyes of the Pharaoh. David had Jennifer Rodgers lined up as the potential colorist. I liked her work a lot. With Lone and Level Sands we basically had a complete package presented to us and it was a good fit for ASP."

Smylie said it's really too early for him to differentiate the challenges between self-publishing and publishing the works of others. He could find one difference so far, "I get to be a bit more of a fan," Smylie said. "In a sense I get to be much more appreciative of the work that these creators are doing. From a business point of view, the promotion and marketing is relatively new to me. I still have conversations with Artesia's former publisher, Sirius' Rob Horan. Through our association I've learned how to behave and operate as a publisher and some situations to avoid. This is a learning experience for all of us at ASP, but it's been very enjoyable."

"It's also time consuming," Smylie continued. "It requires more time on business matters than just being totally creative. So we'll see if I can juggle all of this."

Lone and Level Sands and Robotika are set for a December debut from ASP. The four-part Iron Empires: Blood und Iron and the fourth Artesia mini-series, the six-part Artesia Besieged are due out in Spring or early Summer 2006. Smylie said, "More information about these forthcoming titles can be found at ASP’s booth (#1605) at this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego, and an ashcan edition of Robotika will be available as well."

 

"Exodus From Egypt" - Lowdown
by Sam Moyerman on BrokenFrontier.com - 6/29/05

When I was 11, my Hebrew School teacher gave my class an assignment. We were to try the major players of the Biblical story of Exodus. It was up to that group of fifteen 11 year olds to decide who carried the most blame in the story. Was it the Pharaoh who kept the Israelites captive as slaves? Was it Moses who stood idly by as his former family and people were torn apart by plagues that could not be explained through any science? Was there another entity completely who was to blame for all the death and suffering on both sides?

Even though there was no real right or wrong answer for this class assignment, our little minds could not fathom the concept of ambiguity in a tale that had always been taught to us in such black and white terms. We quickly found the Pharaoh guilty without question and moved onto the next topic of discussion. But no matter how quickly the class decided, something about that assignment had always stuck to me. And whenever the story of the Jews/Israelites exodus from Egypt was brought up, I would hearken back to that week of class when the trial took place. So it was with great interest that I began reading A. David Lewis and mpMann’s The Lone and Level Sands, a tale that intended to show the ambiguities of the famous Biblical story.

The tale at hand is one that follows the well known mythology. It starts with a small prelude, telling of the day Moses left the Egyptian Royal Family after murdering a slave owner. Like most of the story that is to follow, we are told the tale from the side of the man who will be the King of Egypt by the time of the Exodus, Ramses. After this brief prelude, we move ahead a number of years, when Ramses is King, and Moses is returning to the Pharaoh with his brother Aaron, this time to begin his demands of freeing the Israelite slaves from their bondage. For anyone who is even slightly familiar with this famous story, the rest will be familiar. Time and again Moses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh Ramses to plead for freedom. And time and again, for reasons he may not even fully comprehend, Ramses is convinced to say no. What follows are the Biblical Plagues, and a performance some still associate with Charleston Heston.

It goes without saying that the writing of this book was an incredible task for A. David Lewis to take on. To attempt to even humanize someone who has been seen as nothing but a villain is to take on the seemingly impossible. Throughout every telling of this tale in the Judeo/Christian belief system, Pharaoh Ramses is nothing short of evil. He is a man led by hatred and his feelings of superiority. But in Lewis’ hands, Ramses transforms into something more resembling a human being. He is a man madly in love with his wife and beams with pride when around both his son and grandson. But more importantly to the story, he does become a man of ambiguity. Lewis never goes so far as to attempt to make Ramses a truly sympathetic character, and instead portrays him as a man who is a victim of fate and the decisions of those before him; which gives his readers chances to both sympathize and become angered with this Pharaoh.

Likewise, Lewis pulls no punches when portraying Moses and his brother Aaron, although neither is given nearly the face time that Ramses receives. With the tale itself, Lewis holds true to what is accepted as the proper mythology. He paces it incredibly well, never focusing too much on any particular part of the tale. Where most times the story itself is the star of the show, Lewis goes out of his way to make sure it is the humans in the story that are the true focus.

As the artist on this book, mpMann seems to know exactly what is required of him. None of his figures seem overly detailed, yet he manages to generate a great amount of emotion with them. Each of the characters is easily identifiable as well, which can often be a problem with iconic drawings and a smaller page format. Mann makes excellent use of shadows with his ink lines that only serve to assist in creating an effective atmosphere to each panel. And when it is said that Mann purposefully seems to keep his figures and individual characters simplistic, it does not mean he can’t show off with his skills for the splash pages. In fact, it is his lack of detail in some parts that really serves to highlight his skills in others. Like with the shadowing effects, Mann knows exactly which panel needs extra detail and which is better served with simple rendering. If there were two complaints to be made about the artwork, the Israelites look awfully stereotyped and it is somewhat hard to even guess as to the ages of the characters other than one is older than the other. But neither of those complaints could tarnish such a book.

Most impressive of all things with this book, is its page design. Rather than being confined by the smaller pages, Mann makes use of every inch of them. Instead of just simply breaking the page into standard panels, Mann takes many chances and attempts many innovations with panel design, and just like his shadowing and details, Mann knows exactly when to show off. He keeps the book moving swiftly, which can be difficult with little action to use to speed the book up. Perhaps the most impressive bit of storytelling is the use made of the gutters between panels, as no space is wasted at all.

In the end, the only thing holding back this book from reaching the audience it deserves is the fact that no matter how it’s dressed up, it is still a retelling of a famous tale. But when the only real complaint is that I knew the story before reading it, and I still managed to be very impressed while reading it – it’s impossible not to recommend every one to check this one out.

Suspended Animation
by Mark Allen on Komiwerks.com - 6/17/05

I enjoy comics projects which employ Biblical material, as well as those which utilize historical information. The Lone and Level Sands, by writer A. David Lewis and artist Marvin Perry Mann, does both, while building a framework of "speculation and creative thought" around it.

Sands tells a story of Ramses II, a somehow-prominent historical figure, of whom precious little is really known. From what I'[d] seen (40 pages of lettered work, 105 more of panels, sans lettering), this is going to be comics work worth owning.

Lewis pens a wonderfully entertaining tale of a proud, dignified and noble ruler, who loves his family and nation, at odds with a man who is driven by sincere conviction. The later will be familiar to those acquainted with the book of Exodus. The former is a fresh take on a king of long ago, but could be imagined true without clashing with Biblical material.

After all, how many of us could be (or have been) undone by our pride, under the proper circumstances?

The characters are deep and emotional, and certainly the primary source of entertainment in this story.

Mann has an art style that, while not complex, is certainly not your run-of-the-mill independent fare. It is reminiscent of animation art, yet replete with mood and emotional overtones. It is consistent, with a mature air; a sense that this is what his style has become after working at it. And, while I believe all good artists seek improvement throughout their career, I could be very happy with Mann's current style from now on.

The Lone And Level Sands could prove one of the best independent offerings of 2005, and is highly recommended for all ages.

 

"Rapid Reviews "
by Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag on Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog - 5/11/05

A very cool little package showing the story of Moses from the point of view of the Pharoah. This book assumes that all the miracles/curses were real, and works from there. It's quite a book. It was a nicely different way to look at a familiar old story.

 

"CHICKS AND ROMANCE" - Reviews
by Rich Watson on Comic World News - 5/11/05

Quite simply, it's the Biblical Exodus story from the perspective of the Egyptians – in particular, the Pharaoh Ramses, who is presented here not so much as the malevolent dictator of myth, but as little more than a pawn in a power struggle between deities. Regardless of what religion you are, you've doubtless become familiar with the Exodus tale, through the movie The Ten Commandments if nothing else (though I like the animated movie The Prince of Egypt better). A. David Lewis' approach to this story reminds me a great deal of classic Greek tales like The Iliad and The Odyssey, in which ordinary mortals are caught up amidst supernatural forces at work, and know that they're being manipulated by them, and are resigned to play out their roles in the conflict to the best of their ability.

Here, Ramses sees his loved ones and trusted advisors telling him not to let the Israelites go, and he realizes that they're acting as vessels for the gods to speak through. And though he tries to hold things together as best he can throughout all the plagues, and be true to the legacy left by his father, he knows that he has no real say in what happens. Moses is presented more or less as the pious servant of the Lord you'd expect, with Aaron as his wisecracking sidekick who loves to twist the knife ("Your boils look painful. Do they make speaking difficult?").

The art is decent – reminds me a little of Cliff Chiang and Javier Pulido – but I was bothered by the lettering and the balloon placement. First of all, there were an annoying amount of typos, especially in the first half. Second, both "Yahweh" and "Yaweh" kept alternating back and forth throughout the whole book and it was a great distraction. I don't believe it was intentional, and I've never seen the name Yahweh written with only one 'h' anywhere else. I didn't like how some word balloons took up the negative space between panels; it kinda takes you out of the story and makes you more aware of the page layout. Also, there were places where the lettering was s t r e t c h e d o u t, another needless distraction. This may sound like nit-picking, but I shouldn't notice the lettering unless it's for a reason, like when the font changes to a scratchy look whenever the gods speak through someone (a great idea, well employed). And there's no excuse for so many typos and misspellings.

Overall, though, this is a fine, if flawed, effort at presenting an alternate look at one of the greatest stories in all of human history. B+

 

Issue # 525 - My View
by David LeBlanc on Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine - 5/27/05

Have you ever wondered what the great figures of history were
really like? How true the history books are to the person or
people of major events? We have books, historical novels, the
Bible and other sources that try to fill in the blanks. And of
course the modern media like TV and movies that add and subtract
for their own purposes tend to blur the line between fact and
fiction. It gets to the point where they have their own labels to
cover their meddling - they call them docu-dramas. Anyway,
characters far removed from our time can have some of their
achievements and character unaltered through time but much is
lost along the way.

In THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS A. David Lewis takes the story of
Exodus from the Bible and tells the story from the point of view
of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Ramses II. But as he tells in his
Introduction he borrowed on elements from the Quran and even the
Hollywood epic "The Ten Commandments". He wanted to tell the
story at the level of the people involved, not something larger
than life. In that he succeeded. Yes, Ramses was one of the
greatest of the Pharaohs as far as the duration of his reign and
the structures he had built which last to this day. But he also
was a man with family and subjects he cares about. We get to see
him deal with emissaries from other lands and we can contrast all
this with the problem presented by the Israelites.

Most of us are familiar with the story, the plagues that are
called down on the Egyptians while the Jews are spared. We know
how it ends with the parting of the Red Sea. Now you can follow
the fear and anger that is experienced as the events of history
unfold. But more, you see what it would be like for the Pharaoh
to consult with those he trusts the most, comfort those he loves
as they suffer successive and harsher troubles including the
devastating loss of the first born - as he suffers along with
them. It adds another dimension to this classic tale without
making Ramses too sympathetic or loathsome. There is a balance
that works - it feels right.

The art is equally up to the task. Mann provides the visuals that
progress from happier times to the harshest of times. The dynamic
movement of plot and emotion are captured equally well. His style
is not repetitive or stagnant. He takes time on each page to bring
things to their proper perspective with the proper amount of
light and dark as any accomplished artist I have seen.

The pair have brought a new light on an old story. I am a big fan
of the movie version previously mentioned, but I know very well
most of it is the producers taking liberties to entertain. In
this graphic novel I felt closer to the characters. They are more
believable, though of course a lot of the dialogue is improvised
in this medium as well. It is well worth revisiting this old
story. I think you will find it very entertaining and
enlightening.

"PERMANENT DAMAGE" - This Week In Reviews
by Stephen Grant on Comic Book Resources - 5/11/05

This ambitious little volume attempts a "secular" retelling of the Israelites' escape from Egypt, focusing on the characters of Moses, Aaron and the pharaoh they've selected as the pharaoh of the Bible story, Ramses. (None is specifically identified in the Bible.) It's still not quite "secular," though, since much of it revolves around visions, miracles and possessions, but Lewis handles the characters very well, rounding out Aaron & the focal Ramses expertly (Moses remains a bit sketchy), while Mann's cartoony art is nonetheless clean and effective. (I'm not sure drawing Moses and Aaron with huge noses seemingly coming out of their hairlines was the most tasteful choice, but...) I'd have liked to have seen a truly secular version of the story, substituting human actions or other explanations for the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, and leaving the question of divine intervention to interpretation, but until that comes along this will do nicely.

See site for full transcript.