Seven Stones, Seven Interviews: Jeremy Mohler and Emily Hall

Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, Seven Stones is an anthology of short stories and graphic novel set in the Wrecked Earth, the setting of C.E.L. Welsh‘s debut novel Clutch. The Wrecked Earth is an Earth much like our own, except it’s been bombarded by meteors in an event called “Rockfall”. The meteors and the devastation they brought destroyed society, leaving humans in dire straits. The radiation from the fallen meteors have leaked into the earth, mutating animals and harming the land, making this Wrecked Earth even more of a dangerous place to live in.

The titular seven stones are seven meteors that made it to Earth and stories surrounding them. Seven writers and seven artists were tasked with bringing these seven stories of the Wrecked Earth to life in what will eventually be a combination short story anthology/graphic novel omnibus. With the project running on Kickstarter for the rest of the month, various writers and artists were kind enough to talk about Seven Stones, their contribution to the book, and how it feels to play in another creator’s (devastated) world.

Today’s interview, the last in the series, is with Jeremy Mohler and Emily Hall. The husband and wife duo run the project management company Outland Entertainment. For the project Emily is functioning as editor of the written portion, while Jeremy is art director for all the illustrations, and the two are working together on the story Found.

Leo Johnson: Tell us a bit about yourselves, if you would.

Jeremy Mohler:  Emily and I run Outland Entertainment together, which comes in handy since she handles almost everything to do with writing and I handle everything art related.  I attended both the Kansas City Art Institute (where I got my BFA in illustration and design) and the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, and Emily has her MFA from KU in creative writing.

Emily Hall: I am Jeremy’s business partner and wife.  We co-own Outland Entertainment, a project management company specializing in comics, games, and fiction. We work on a huge variety of projects from graphic novels and RPG books to sex ed pamphlets and museum exhibits. Whatever pays the bills!

LJ: How did the two of you get started in comics?

JM: I think my first comic was X-Force number one by Rob Liefeld in Jr. High.  Ever since then, I’ve pursued a career in both comics and illustration.

EH: I first encountered comics and graphic novels in graduate school of all places. They captured my interest, but I never considered creating one. Jeremy brought me around.

LJ: The Seven Stones is both a comic anthology project and a collection of
short stories set in a shared world. There’s a great group of talent
working on the book. What is your contribution to the project going to
be?

JM: I’m funtioning as the Art Director for the project.  I’m basically helping to determine the visual look of the book as well as helping all the artists with anything they might need.  Additionally, I contributed the cover and if we’re successfully funded, I’ll be illustrating Emily’s story (which is great, by the way – I’m really looking forward to that and hope we get the funding we need so we can do it).

EH: I wrote a story (“Found”) about a foundling mutant child. This is a rare opportunity for Jeremy and I to collaborate; it will be the first time he has illustrated one of my stories! I also agreed to edit the entire anthology. I am on cleanup duty while Chris Welsh screens the stories for continuity. Editing is more than cleanup for me, though. It takes a lot of time to get a feel for each story and figure out how to manipulate it so it can reach its highest potential.

LJ: Emily, you’re the lead editor, and, Jeremy, you’re the art
director. How does it feel to be both contributing to Seven Stones
with your own story, but also helping to shape the collection as a
whole?

JM: It’s fun to work with other talented creators and to be a part of something that involves so many moving parts.  It’s been great seeing it all come together and seeing the stories and artwork as they come in.

EH: It’s refreshing to be a part of something new. If an anthology like this exists, I haven’t seen it. I think it’s a brilliant concept because the art and writing play off of each other. In my piece, the art reveals aspects of the setting that the main character can’t see, which answers a looming question in the story. Together, the story and comic create a more complete, dimensional picture, but they also stand on their own. I could see exploring this format again in the future.

LJ: Seven Stones is a post-apocalyptic sort of story that ties into an
already established universe from a related novel. How does it feel to
be adding to an already established universe, rather than helping to
make one from scratch?

JM: Chris created a really cool setting and this wouldn’t be nearly so fun if the setting wasn’t intriguing.  So I think it’s been great!  We haven’t had to go through the countless hours of development and brainstorming to create the world, we’ve been able to just get right down to business and start telling stories.

EH: Chris Welsh’s setting appeals to me because I love post-apoc and found his presentation very compelling. Chris is also very accommodating to other writers. He gave us a general time period, a brief history of the world, and a huge swath of the continental U.S. to play in so none of our stories would interfere with his existing novel. My first draft of “Found” was nearly 10K words. I want to write more in The Wrecked Eart

LJ: Seven Stones is using Kickstarter as a funding tool. What are your
thoughts on Kickstarter and crowdfunding as a way of publishing comics
and books?

JM: I think the idea behind Kickstarter is great.  It gives people the opportunity to feel out interest in a project before committing to the task of creating it.  And in the event that the project does generate interest, you can acquire the funds needed to spend the time and create it right.  I think it’s great!

EH: It’s a wonderful tool for promotion and raising funds. Getting traditional loans for creative projects like these where your only collateral is an idea or a few pieces of artwork is really, really hard. Believe me–we’ve tried talking to a bank. I’m glad Kickstarter exists.

LJ: Where else can you be found around the internet?

EH: Jeremy’s gallery is at jeremymohler.com, and Outland’s site is at www.outlandentertainment.com. I occasionally post stuff on emilyednahall.com.

 

 

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