Q1: Where did you grow up?
A1: I grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey which is a short train ride away from New York City.
Q2: When did you 1st realize you wanted to write comics?
A2: I’ve always loved comics but I’m not sure I ever realized I could write one until much later. I had been writing screenplays and when funding was scarce, I turned to the next viable option – what’s a cousin to film? Comics, in my mind, was a perfect fit.
Q3: Is That Texas Blood your 1st comic idea? How long have you had the idea for?
A3: That Texas Blood is my first comic book but it is not my first comic idea. I had actually written a single issue Scarecrow story a couple of years before as a spec comic script. That Texas Blood has been an idea that I’ve had for a very long time but it wasn’t always a cohesive whole. It was a lot of different ideas, all taking place in Texas. It’s finally come together now once I decided to set it all in one county.
Q4: How did you begin writing under the Image imprint?
A4: I pitched them with Jacob as anyone else would. There was no set deal with Image. We created a 10-page pitch package and sent that out to Image and they liked it enough that they signed us up for a series.
Q5: How accurately does Jacob Phillips depict your vision?
A5: Very accurately and he’s always, in my mind, improving what I’ve written. That’s a thing that I love about collaboration. When you put your thoughts together with others they point out things you would have never thought of. The last page of issue six is a great example. I had that last page as a blank, black page with text but Jacob emailed me and suggested making it a bookend with issue one and have it be a wide shot landscape. I think it worked extremely well.
Q6: Is Sheriff Coates inspired by anyone?
A6: Yes and no. Yes in that his name and his most obvious catchphrase are from a man I know from West Texas. His name is Joe Duncan, AKA Joe Bob, though he’s emphatically not a Joseph Robert. He also uses “well” a lot. But the Joe Bob in the story is more so a creation of the story and the setting. The Joe Bob I know in real life owns historic hotels, he isn’t sheriff of a county.
Q7: What is the hardest part about being a writer?
A7: The hardest part about being a writer is doing the work. Especially today with all of our gizmos and gadgets, you could so easily be distracted. I love writing though. In college, I loved writing essays while others sighed and moaned whenever one would be assigned. To me, it’s an exciting opportunity to explore ideas. It allows you to be a kid once more, playing with imaginary characters in imaginary settings. I’m really very lucky.
Q8: Was this current rise in popularity all part of the master plan or a happy side-effect of hard work?
A8: I wouldn’t say it was part of a plan! We didn’t plan on anyone reading our book. We hoped they would but we honestly had no idea if people would read it or like it. It’s very cool to see it being read and, more than that, being enjoyed by so many people. There are, of course, those who do not like it. A lot of those people tend to compare us to Cormac McCarthy or other well-established figures and I’m sitting there rubbing my forehead going, “they know this is our first book, right?” While I’m kind of touched by the comparison in a way, I also think it’s incredibly unfair to compare us to a guy who has been writing for longer than we’ve been alive. I don’t think these first six issues of our series are perfect by any stretch but I don’t think anyone’s first crack will be their finest.
Q9: How long did it take for issue 1 to be completed from the initial thought to the actual physical copy being printed and distributed?
A9: So, I think we got the green light in March of 2019 and we didn’t release that book until June of 2020. We had been working on it in some capacity though since late 2017.
Q10: Any advice for aspiring comic writers? What is your biggest aspiration as a writer?
A10: Do the work! If you’re not getting noticed now don’t get discouraged. I still have stuff that gets turned down. It happens often. My friend Dana Gould says this and I think it’s a great thing to keep in the back of your mind: if you’re doing good work, keep doing it, and someone will eventually notice. I have always been writing and That Texas Blood is the first time anything got picked up. It just takes time. Don’t ever forget that.
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