Title:

BUY

A bit about the creator:
Terrance Zdunich is one of the masterminds behind the highly successful rock opera, “REPO! The Genetic Opera. REPO! popularity has spawned several road tours, shadow casts and a following that is being compared to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Terrance has also journeyed in to the world of comic book creation. His 12 issue comic, “The Molting” is set to release a new chapter every six weeks. Previously I reviewed issue 1, “Guilty Susie”, here I review issue two: “The Happiest Place on Earth”.

Living in the home of Disneyland, Anaheim CA, does not always guarantee smiles.  Susie, now grown up, has settled down with her aging hippy husband. Her two teenage sons, Joseph and Trevor, are not exactly the poster children of a happy American family. Enter in Angel-Baby Sandra and once again Terrance has his readers thinking, “I want more”. Issue two, like issue one, is a set up and introduction. However as we are being introduced to new characters and a new setting we know something Susie’s husband and kids are not aware of; her sanity changing past. Susie’s family being in the dark to her past gives a whole new perspective on the story and begs the question; What if they did know?

Once again Terrance does an excellent job of giving us just enough to understand what’s going on. I particularly was a fan of the “argument dialogue”. We quickly find out that Abe and Susie do not have the happiest of marriages. As the boys come home from a late night/ early morning excursion, they walk in to hear their parents once again fighting. Terrance’s approach to the dialogue in this particular scene was to use speech bubbles with nothing more than “@*%$!” and the like. I think it works well because it does not bog the reader down with tons of dialogue. We know they are fighting, but are not distracted by what about. This next thought is one of my own and may not be what Terrance was going for. In issue one, when Susie is a little girl, her speech bubbles are pink. Perhaps this is reflective of her girlish innocence. When the events in issue one takes a turn for the worse, Susie’s speech bubbles become gray with pink lettering. To me this shows how Susie’s psychosis has snapped and she is clearly holding on to that last bit of innocence and sanity. Again, that is my view of things and may not be what Terrance was going for at all. Finally, Terrance has a pretty neat nod to Walt in some of the lettering.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, Terrance’s art is worth 10,000. As I mentioned before, Terrance’s art is drawn in such a way that dialogue is not needed to understand what’s going on. I want to talk particularly about the image of Susie on one of the last pages. She sits on her bed with a coffee cup staring blankly and only saying one thing, “Tony”. Those who did not read issue 1 will be able to tell just by the way Terrance draws her that something is wrong, she has a past, it’s dark and she is not the sanest woman in the world. Those who did read issue 1 know about her past and will almost wonder what is running through her head. The art in issue two is 99% brushwork, giving lines a nice smooth, thick look. The art is reminiscent of Jeff Lemire (The Nobody, Essex County Trilogy) and has the same refreshing organic look.

Terrance, is no doubt, a very talented man. He proves his worth in the world of comics and graphic novels by giving us a story that sucks the reader in from the first page. Many actors have had their name put on graphic novels, but have very little to do with creating it. Terrance writes and draws every page and panel himself. Not only that, he also funds the whole thing out of his pocket, including paying a colorist and letterer. Currently issues are only available for a limited time (2500 printed of each issue) through Terrance’s blog (www.terrancezdunich.com).

Personally I look forward to future chapters. If issue one and two are any indication, Terrance has a penchant for ending his chapters with cliffhangers that will keep us begging for more. That, fellow readers, is how to write a comic and please your audience.

Recently, one of our Guest Comic Writers: Little Mel was able to chat with Terrance Zdunich.  He was the Graverobber in REPO! The Genetic Opera and is now the author and illustrator of the new comic series: The Molting.  Enjoy!

Writer/Artist

You are both an artist and a writer. Do you prefer one over the other and why?
I do not see much of a difference in them. I believes all art is story telling and I approach it that way. It’s about the story you’re telling, not how it’s being told.

How long does it take you to complete an issue of “The Molting”? What is the process of creating an issue?
I am still sort of new to the comic book creating process and am still figuring out the time line. If I work diligently an issue takes me about two months. This also includes printing, formatting files and the like. As far as the process goes, it starts with a story. The next step is to take the story and divide it into 12 chapters in comic form. I begin with thumbnail sketches, then inks and tighting up lines. The inked drawings are colored by a colorist in Photoshop, and finally a letterist adds his portion and the issue is conformed to printer specs.

Which artist and writers are your biggest inspirations?
Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman.

What was the first thing you ever wrote/drew?
This may not be the first thing I drew, but I remember it being the first drawing that I received positive encouragement from, and that was Mickey Mouse. My Mom asked if I traced it and when I told her no she said, “good job, son”. Disneyland is referenced in The Molting, so things, in a way, have come full circle.

Have you ever considered putting REPO! in comic book form or even continuing the story of REPO! in a comic book (ala Joss Whedon with Buffy)?
I get this question a lot. Of course, I’d love to see REPO! continue in a lot of different forms. I personally would not be interested in creating a REPO! comic for a few different reasons. First, I feel I have successfully told the biggest version of REPO! I can tell: the film. Now I want to tell new stories. The second reason is that I don’t own REPO! anymore. Lastly, I think it would be nice to see another artist take up the reigns on the project. Someone had an idea of doing an illustrated version of REPO!’s original script. Doing this would give people a chance to see the original version of the story before it was made into a film.

What book should everyone read?
1984-George Orwell or the Dictionary.

Music/Performing

Can you play any instruments? If not, which one would you most like to learn?
I can play guitar as well as piano somewhat. At one time performing music was more important to me, but I rarely pick up any instruments these days. If I had the choice, I would have liked to put more time into perfecting the piano.

Musically, who are you inspirations? Have people told you, that you sound like any particular singer(s)?
The musicians who really wow me or affected me emotionally are; Tom Waits and Mo-town (which is a whole plethora of singers). Vocally, I’ve been compared to Danny Elfman, but I’d like to think I’m unique.

What is your favorite song in REPO?
I like the tracks that are transitional numbers more than the big songs. The writer in me likes the technical chops on display. Songs such as, “Everyone’s a composer” and “Happiness in Not a Warm Scalpel”. There are unusual musical changeups and dynamic meters in these tracks that a popular song like “Zydrate Anatomy” doesn’t have. Songs such as Zydrate need to be “head-bobbable” so they can’t be too weird.

Tell us about Orpheus: A Season in Hell and Chain of Souls.
There are things that existed deep, deep in my past. Orpheus is a rock opera and Chain of Souls is a movie I was an extra in. I like that people are taking an interest in things I have done, but those projects are not indicative of who I am as an artist today and if people go into them looking for GraveRobber, they will disappointed.

What CDs people should listen to?
Tom Waits-Alice and Marilyn Manson-Antichrist Superstar.

Miscellaneous

Does the admiration and attention from females ever get annoying or tiresome?
The attention is new and I probably won’t ever get used to it. However, it doesn’t get tiring it’s flattering. The attention comes more from what people write on the internet than literally coming on to me personally. It doesn’t happen as much as people assume it does, but when it does it’s awesome and who doesn’t want to be loved?

Is this where you saw your life going when you were younger? Did you envision one day you would have all this attention as an artist?
Just because I made REPO! and it has cult success with the film does not mean I have everything. I am still trying to make ends meet, I want to find happiness and have not settled into a life of comfort. However, I did not see things going this way and am happy with the way that things are going.

What would the biography of your life be titled?
I hope I have many years left before a bio is written of my life, but I hope my epitaph would have the words artist and influential in it.

Rachel of Northampton wants to know, what is your favorite way to prepare potatoes?
I haven’t ever prepared potatoes, but my favorite kind is French fries. I don’t really give it a lot of thought and neither should Rachel.

Availability: Currently Guilty Susie is only available for a limited time through Terrance’s blog (ed1c24;" href="http://www.terrancezdunich.com/" target="_blank">www.terrancezdunich.com). Personally I look forward to future chapters. Is issue one is any indication, Terrance has a penchant for ending his chapters with cliffhangers that will keep us begging for more. That, fellow readers, is how to write a comic and please your audience.