By Robin Jones
Welcome back to the Inter-Comics Indie Spotlight, this column aims to make you, the readers, aware of cool indie/crowd funded comic book creators and projects!
This time around, we bring you the newest lord of the strange, master of the weird and Doctor of…something…. Doc Unknown! It’s a pulpy, supernatural action/adventure series about a man chosen by fate to battle the forces of evil during World War II. It’s for fans of Batman: The Animated Series, Hellboy, and Planetary. I’ll be speaking to writer Fabian Rangel Jr. Artist duties are provided by Ryan Cody. If you like art Mignola-esque then this is the tale for you!
Me: Where did the inspiration/idea for Doc Unknown come from?
Fabian: I wanted to do one last comic before giving up on them, and so the basic idea was to do a one that combined everything I love about comics into one series. So I needed a central character that would be the vehicle for showing all of this strange stuff (monsters, ghosts, mobsters, magic, ninjas, vampires etc) and I figured it could take place during WW2. I wanted it to have a Batman:The Animated Series vibe, but with a heavier focus on supernatural stuff. “Doc Unknown” to me, was a name that illustrated that to readers without them even having to read a panel haha
Me: I feel a BRPD vibe to the comic, is that something you’re going for or do you have something different up your sleeve?
Fabian: Oh, yeah, totally. The Mignolaverse is a huge influence. But like I said, I wanted it to feel more like BTAS, or something you would see in Planetary. It’s different for different readers. Some people have compared it to Iron Fist or Indiana Jones, there’s also some Nevermen in there, some Astro City. Lots of influences.
Me: Which comics do you read and which creators have most influenced your work?
Fabian: I read creator owned books from Dark Horse (Mignolaverse, The Goon,) and Image (Five Ghosts, Manhattan Projects, Saga) and a few other pubs. But yeah, all creator-owned. As far as creators, I’m influenced by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, Eric Powell, Warren Ellis, Alan Moore, RobertKirkman and BKV.
Me: You seem to be consistently reaching stretch goals, what’s your reaction to all the support you’re receiving for Doc Unknown?
Fabian: It’s flattering, and honestly, a little unbelievable. I’m lucky to have as many supporters and friends as I do. I think we (artist Ryan Cody and I) hit our goal and beyond because we’ve shown ourselves to be a creative team who delivers. I’m beyond happy that we are able to do this comic on our own thanks to ComiXology and Kickstarter.
Me: Doc Unknown is also appearing in Five Ghosts from Image Comics, how did that come about?
Fabian: I had been reading the book and really digging it, I met Frank and we talked about how FG and Doc were in the same frequency, so we just talked about it and it happened. We figured each other’s fans would dig both books. Just seemed like a no-brainer.
Me: Which artists have most heavily influenced the style, tone and feel of the book?
Fabian: You’d have to ask Ryan Cody about that, but on my end I can say I picked Ryan for this project because his art reminded me of Oeming, DarwynCooke and Mignola rolled into one, but with his own spin. I even see some Kirby.
Me: What projects do you have lined up for the future? Can we expect more Doc Unknown stories will we be seeing something different from yourself?
Fabian: Right now the plan is to do a Volume 3 of Doc Unknown, and end it with that. I have some new stories I’m itching to do, I know Ryan and I will be working on one or two of them. I’m going to have some short comics in some upcoming titles, but that stuff hasn’t been announced yet. I will for sure be doing a KS for Volume 3 in the Fall, and plan on doing another Kickstarter for one of the new ideas about a year from now. Planning ahead!
Me: What’s the best aspect about crowd funding your title?
Fabian: Reaching an audience I wouldn’t normally be able to get on my own. And of course, not having to go into debt to make the comics I want to make.
Me: Hypothetical question now, who would win in a poker game, John Constantine or Doc Unknown?
Fabian: Constantine. He knows magic and shit.
Doc Unknown has until April 9th and is already $3000 past it’s goal, so get in there and help it reach some awesome stretch goals! You can follow Fabian on twitter: @FabianRangelJr and Ryan on twitter: @ryancody and Fabian will be at ECCC next week, table P-01! Don’t forget to check out the the link to Doc Volume 2 on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2005492660/doc-unknown-winter-of-the-damned-and-others-graphi?ref=live
See you all next time!
Posted on March 25th, 2014
Category: INDIE SPOTLIGHT, PREVIEWS & UPCOMING RELEASES
Tags: Comic Review, Doc Unknown Review, Fabian Rangel Jr., Indie Comics, Kickstarter comics, Robin Jones, Ryan Cody