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 are talking to Gilbert Deltres, writer and creator of zombie horror comic Under The Flesh, a gritty blast of sex, horror, sci-fi, and dabbling in various sub-themes like evolution, spirituality, and transhumanism. A zombie apocalypse comic that strays away from the traditional viral story by accentuating a premeditated reason behind the virus, as opposed to leaving the origin of the outbreak as a common question mark.
Me: Where did the idea/inspiration for Under The Flesh come from?
Gilbert: The inspiration for Under The Flesh simply stems from my passionate love of zombie culture. I’ve always been fascinated with the undead genre as a kid growing up. I strongly felt there was still a lot of wiggle-room left for something fresh in the zombie genre, and as my desire to write and create stories grew, I knew I’d eventually want to write a virus story that paid homage to the genre I love, and thus, Under the Flesh was born.
Me: What sets this apart from series like The Walking Dead and Crossed?
Gilbert: Right off the bat, Under The Flesh deals with an unknown virus which ONLY infects males, degenerating them into savage cannibals instead of undead zombies. Plus the hero of UTF isn’t your average human, but a genetically enhanced soldier clueless on the extent of his abilities, since the pathogen struck at the same time he was being experimented on. Although these dynamics instantly separate it from TWD, and Crossed, what truly makes UTF unique, is that there’s a definite reason why the virus is male-specific, and it’s integral to the development of the narrative, and will ultimately be revealed to the readership, as opposed to leaving the origin of the virus as a common question mark.
Me: If you could sell Under The Flesh in one sentence, what would it be?
Gilbert: Under The Flesh is a Grindhouse mashup of The Walking Dead, Y: The Last man, & Captain America!
Me: Which artists and writers have influenced you the most in creating Under The Flesh?
Gilbert: Writers that have influenced me the most in creating Under The Flesh: George Romero, Shinji Mikami, Quentin Tarantino, and Robert Krikman. One of my favorite comic-book artists was the original artist of The Walking Dead, Tony Moore. Absolutely loved his work, one of the best things of The Walking Dead was also his cover work.
Me: Do you read/have time to read comics, and if so what comics are regular appearers on your pull list?
Gilbert: I love reading comics, and although my schedule is hectic, I still make time to visit my local comic shop. Some notable comics on my pull list are Saga, Spread, Ghosted, Manifest Destiny, Southern Bastards, and Sex Criminals.
Me: What made you want to use a crowd funding platform like kickstarter?
Gilbert: Financing comics is a costly process. The crowdfunding approach opens up new avenues which weren’t available years ago, for indie creators like J.L. and I, and Kickstarter might be a great way to find much needed support, as well as bring UTF some exposure, as we introduce our brand to new readers while cementing a credibility in our dedication to fund the comic.
Me: What can we expect in future issues of under The Flesh?
Gilbert: You can expect a bizarre world within familiar territory. An outlandishly bold survival horror comic that pays homage to the zombie genre, while still making it distinctively unique in its own right. A post-apocalyptic story written for zombie lovers by zombie lovers, who still believe there’s tons of mileage left in the zombie tank.
Me: What’s your favourite aspect of making comics?
Gilbert: The brainstorming. What goes into the percolative imagination before plots materialize and characters flesh their skin. To then finally see ideas, themes, and characters, born from my mind and brought to a sensible reality through the artistic beauty of illustration and art. It is truly sublime.
Me: Finally, a hypothetical question now, the survivors of The Walking Dead stumble into your world. How long would you give them to survive?
Gilbert: In the ravaged world of UTF, the women outlast men and develop a thicker skin in the process. Even though the infected of UTF aren’t snail-paced zombies that are killed by single head-shots, but rather savage, predatory cannibals, that are best slowed down by bodily dismemberment, survivors of TWD will bode fairly well as long as samurai-sword swinging, Michonne, is with them.
You can check out the Under The Flesh kickstarter here ,follow the comic on twitter here and facebook here, finally you can take a look at the webcomic right here
Until next time.
Rob Jones is an honourary Yorkie, but for the life of him, he can’t understand why. He writes articles, is attempting to write comics and his life ambition is to own a solid gold Donkey… For more comic news, reviews and the odd bit of sense, follow Robin on twitter @Hulksmash1985
Posted on July 21st, 2014
Category: INDIE SPOTLIGHT, PREVIEWS & UPCOMING RELEASES, REVIEWS
Tags: George Romero, Gilbert Deltres, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Krikman, Robin Jones, Shinji Mikami, Under The Flesh review, Walking Dead, Zombie horror comics
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