Cranium Comics

Cranium sat down with part-time writer and comics enthusiast Brandon Church and asked him a few questions about the industry, his work, and the inspiration behind Brawn. Here’s what he had to say:

1. What first drew you to wanting to write a graphic novel?

   BC: I started to really get into comics in junior high and have always been interested in writing, whether it be short stories, novels, graphic novels, etc….My writing style can be a little over-the-top sometimes and I think comics and graphic novels allow you more creative license than other outlets do….a graphic novel made the most sense to me because it allowed me to write about the things I wanted to write about in the way I wanted to write about them….

2. What was the inspiration Behind the character Brawn?

   BC: For some reason I like the idea of bad things happening to good people and vice versa…humans have always had this overwhelming need to know WHY a specific event happened…we need to be able to understand it and explain it so we can be at peace with it….however, sometimes getting to a point where we can be at peace with the ‘WHY’ of something can be an emotional and physically painful journey….So it was this journey that we all go through at some point that got me putting pen to paper for the Brawn story….Sam Ross is generally a good person but he’s been dealt a shitty hand and made some bad decisions along the way, so now we get to see where his journey will take him and how he deals with it along the way….

3. Why do you feel the story is so compelling?

   BC: I think the whole idea of bad things happening to good people is something most people can relate to….I tried to show bits and pieces of Sam’s good side in the story so the readers could develop an emotional bond with him and sympathize with what he’s going through…the other interesting part of the story, to me, is to see how Sam handles his new-found power and what he chooses to use it for….It’s not necesarily an original idea (i.e. “with great power comes great responsibility”), but i think it’s still interesting and relevant….

4. Do you think there will always be a boundary between graphic novels (comics) & pros novels (regular books)?

   BC: I hope so…personally, i think the boundary between the two is good…they do their thing, and we do ours….

5. With so many movies coming out now based on comics, where do you see the industry headed?

   BC: the smartest thing the comic industry could’ve done was tie itself to movies….in my opinion, the movies that are based on comics are resurrecting Hollywood….Look at the money these comic-based movies are pulling in…sure, some have been busts (Hello Daredevil), but the majority of them are taking in a ton of money and putting comics and the characters into the mainstream….When i was growing up, comics were something only the nerds read…and you always had to make sure nobody you knew saw you buying them…with the popularity of the comic-based movies of the last several years, i see it having a very positive affect on the comic industry….

6. Who were the writers that influenced your work the most?

   BC: Hmmmm, I would say Robert R. McCammon is the single biggest influence….He’s a fiction novelist and he’s great at painting very descriptive imagery with his words….he also comes up with some awesome one-liners….If you ever get the chance, check out “The Wolf’s Hour”, “Stinger”, and “Swan Song”….descriptive imagery and and great one-liners are the two things that, I hope, describe the writing in Brawn…..

7. What aspects of storytelling do you feel are better represented in comic book format?

   BC: By being able to tie words to art/graphics, I think the format is a great way to write emotionally charged stories….To be honest, I think you have to be a truly great writer to be able to get your points across using only words….You have to rely on the reader to take in your words, draw a mental picture based on their perception/personal experience and then turn that into an interpretation of the story….Again, I think you have to be a great writer to be able to write in such a way that enables the reader to get what you’re trying to say….in comics, you can rely on the artist to enhance your words and make them more powerful and easier to understand….Obviously, fight scenes are also much more powerful when depicted visually….there are only so many ways you can write “he punched him and then he kicked him”…..it gets pretty tiresome for the reader….

8. Why did it take so long from your initial conception of the story to actually getting it published?

   BC: Several reasons: life, time, confidence, money, desire, know-how…..I certainly can’t take any credit for getting it published…i just provided the story….

9. Who would play Brawn in the big screen adaptation of the character?

   BC: I could see Michael Chiklis playing him…i think he’d be a much better match for Brawn than he was for the Thing…Maybe Bruce Willis since he’s got the nose and the tough, brooding manner but he’d have to put on some weight….

10. If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?

    BC: Man I’ve thought about this many, many times…unfortunately, I always get bogged down in the negative impacts of a certain power….I’d like to be able to read minds, but do I really want to know what people are thinking? and then there’s flight…but what can i really do with flight? where am I going to fly?? Super strength would be awesome but then I worry that I’d crush a bottle everytime I picked one up or squirt all of the toothpaste out of the tube…Wolverine-like powers would be cool…It’s hard to see a down-side to super fast healing and unbreakable bones…although the claws could become a problem…..

Brandon is currently consulting on future Brawn releases. Future interviews will include artist, Atula Siriwardane and creative director Anthony Rezendes.Stay tuned!