Indie comics are a large part of the comic’s world. We’re lucky enough to have sat down with Rob Beales from Ancient Squid Media to talk about his upcoming book Water Fight.
Crave Online: What got you started working in the comics scene?
Rob Beales: After spending a few years writing scripts that weren’t moving, I was able to join with my long-time friend Cuitla Huezo and Daniel and Ari Levitch and together we decided to turn our ideas into graphic novels, instead of letting them sit on our computers.
Crave Online: What were some of your favorite comics growing up?
Rob Beales: I have two full runs of superhero books in my collection. One is James Robinson’s Starman from DC and the other is Danny Fingeroth’s Darkhawk at Marvel. Beyond that there was Sandman, V for Vendetta, and all of the serious and excellent stuff from those years.
Crave Online: Can you tell us a little bit (or maybe a lot of bit) about your book?
Rob Beales: Water Fight tells the story of an epic battle between young and older kids as the older kids try to dominate the neighborhood and the younger kids fight against their oppression. Specifically in this book we follow the Eagle Eyes squad, led by Ridge, as they infiltrate enemy territory to rescue their comrades and try to investigate a new super-weapon being developed by the older kids.
[Water Fight tells the story of an epic water gun battle between younger kids and older kids. The oppressive older kids want to exclude the youngsters from the fun spots in the neighborhood, like the playgrounds and the community pool while the rebellious younger kids want the freedom to play anywhere they want. Specifically in this book we follow the Eagle Eyes squad, led by Ridge, as they infiltrate enemy territory to rescue their comrades and try to investigate a new super-weapon being developed by the older kids.]
Essentially this is all the fun parts of war stories and movies – the humor, camaraderie, teamwork and heroism. We try to tell the story of the adventures we wanted to have when we were kids… and which some of us did!
Crave Online: Do mainstream comics interest you?
Rob Beales: Greatly! There is so much going on right now in comics on the whole, but the mainstream companies are doing a great job putting quality books on the shelves.
Crave Online: Do they influence you at all?
Rob Beales: Absolutely. While I enjoy looking at great artwork and always study what other writers are doing, I think it is also important to see the ideas that are out there being explored to be sure that we have something unique and exciting to offer.
Crave Online: What’s the best advice you could give to someone trying to get into the business?
Rob Beales: Get ready to gamble! My experience has been one full of really exciting risks and I’m still living through them right now. Be confident in your work and work with people who love to do what you want to do. Having the elements all line up and coming away with a book that you are excited to have your name on… well, it is very fulfilling. But really, be ready for the risks and then go for it anyways!
Crave Online: Do you aspire to one day work in mainstream comics?
Rob Beales: If any of the big companies is interested in me to do work, I would be honored and excited. The iconic characters… I don’t know how someone could say no. The idea of getting to write a story with Spider-man, Hulk, or Batman or Hellboy… well, I would not hesitate if the chance came my way.
When you see what guys like Brubaker are able to do – working on several mainstream superhero books, and then still working on his own projects also – just proves it can be done, even though I am certain it isn’t easy.
Crave Online: How has the web affected the indy comics scene if at all?
Rob Beales: The web has only helped everything. For us, we’ve been able to work with artists around the world and still put our books together in our apartment. But it is also a great means to generate your own attention and show off what you can do. Again, the level of variety is great for people interested in stories, jokes, and everything else that people do with pictures and words. The interweb is the roxxorz!
Crave Online: Any future projects you want to let potential readers know about?
Rob Beales: Absolutely! We’re finishing up work on our second release and it will be nothing at all like Water Fight. The next book is called Broken Girls and we’ve been getting excited responses to just the idea since we fist started showing concept art around. It’s going to be a wild horror ride and we certainly hope that people with varied tastes will be excited to check out Water Fight and Broken Girls when they show up in stores in the coming months.
