Anyone who loves giant monsters is certain to be drawn in to “Enormous.” Staff writer Stephanie Shamblin Gray caught up with writer Tim Daniel to discuss the book’s character relationships, kick ass art, and the “Enormous” short film.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: Although we are several issues into the series, there may be some readers unfamiliar with Enormous. Can you tell us a little about the story?
Tim Daniel: The world is starving. A consortium of nations implement a terraforming technology system designed to turn arid land into vast fertile farming tracts. As is the case in with tampering with nature, something goes horribly wrong. Evidence of a powerful mutagen begins to rear up over the span of the next 17 years, culminating in the arrival of the Enormous, massive beasts that strike major cities around the globe. In the aftermath of the uprising, a band of survivors led by Ellen Grace, form up a search and rescue team that scours the rubble of Phoenix, Arizona in the hopes of locating orphaned children. But there are many emerging human factions with their own designs on the future of humanity.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: There are several challenging relationships in this story. As if it’s not hard enough on them trying not to be eaten! Which is your favorite relationship in the story and why?
Tim Daniel: Enormous is definitely filled with disparate personalities which will build towards some pretty significant clashes and conflicts. Many of the characters have yet to reveal their true colors and the hope there was they would evolve as the series progresses. Of all the relationships thus far, I’d say James and Joanne Coyle, our father-daughter storyline is the most intriguing. James is a bit of controller and Joanne is quite passive. As his only child, and the sole remaining member of his family, their relationship transcends the typical dynamic, it gets into something a little more complex. On the other hand, I know what’s coming involving yet to be introduced characters, and there are many new faces appearing in issues 6-9. They are the real wild cards. One thing I’m enjoying about an ensemble is that every single character we meet has a significant role in where this story goes.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: Mehdi Cheggour’s art is amazing! Is he still blowing your mind each month or are you used to it by now?
Tim Daniel: I’ve never gotten used to seeing new pages pour into my inbox, and that goes for other projects as well. That is simply the most rewarding part of the process. To see the characters and ideas come to life through an artist’s talent is totally thrilling – addictive really. Mehdi can turn in a character sketch, for example, we were working on a character that was intended to be short-lived, and he turns in the design, then another, and before your know it — we built the character into one that now will have a profound, long-term impact on the story. That’s the best part of collaboration – using each other’s strengths to create something better than could have been achieved individually.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: Enormous has found a new home at 215 Ink. This looks like a good partnership. Can you tell us a little about working with 215 Ink?
Tim Daniel: What a perfect, perfect fit. On a day-to-day basis we work closely with Michael Perkins. He encourages us to create while facilitating nearly everything else. I’ve mentioned these couple of thoughts previously, but 215Ink was courageous to take Enormous as an ongoing series, especially since we were reintroducing pre-existing material to the marketplace. And while the industry loves categorizing publishers as big, small, corporate or independent, the fact is 215Ink’s publisher Andrew DelQuadro made this happen. He accepted our book and published it in a high quality manner comparable to product from any other publisher. And is that not the point? To tell your story and publish it?
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: Absolutely! Enormous has really resonated with a lot of people and generated a lot of interest. Who doesn’t love giant monsters! I did see a short film on Machinima’s YouTube channel. Are there plans for any others?
Tim Daniel: The adaptation is very cool! Go check it out now! I loved the experience immensely — being in Los Angeles to witness the production, even participate in it in various ways, was the thrill of my creative career. I credit producers Adrian Askarieh and Josh Wexler for putting it all together. Director Ben David Grabinski really put his own stamp on the material which exceeded my expectations greatly. Seeing Ceren Lee in full Ellen wardrobe was just surreal…at this point however, I’m not aware of any further episodes in development with Machinima. The company seems to have retooled and headed in new directions, as far as I can tell. That’s just fine by me, as we now have an 11 minute short film that serves as an excellent companion to our book.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: I have found this book to be one that flies off the shelves of my local comic shop. Where should people go to get the book if they are having trouble finding it?
Tim Daniel: That’s been pretty awesome! We’re very grateful to our dedicated readership and the very vigorous speculator’s market. Both parties have continued to drive interest in Enormous. The fact that Issue #6 is the highest selling issue of the series to date is highly encouraging. We’re charting in a very healthy, incremental growth manner and copies past Issue #4 appear to be a little easier to come by as a result.
Since we’re one issue short of concluding our first arc, readers will have several options to locate all six issues published thus far: in March 2015, Vol.1 “Extinction Level Event” will be released. The trade collection is 176 pages at $9.99. As well, we’re currently prepping all issues for release on Comixology.
And, in case new readers want to test the waters in a low-cost, low-risk manner — we’re set to release the 48 page Enormous Field Guide for $0.99 in February 2015. The digital only release will spotlight characters, creatures, and our creative process. The book will also contain the first episode of Colossal: Tales of Enormous – drawn by Jason Copland which features new character and locales around the globe.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: That sounds great! Anything else you want to tell us about Enormous?
Tim Daniel: Grab the first trade and Field Guide. Then dive into the series starting with Issue #7, where we really open up the world and start stomping major ass.
Stephanie Shamblin Gray: Thank you, Tim, and good luck with Enormous!
About: Stephanie Shamblin Gray is a staff journalist for ComicMonsters.com and HorrorNewsNetwork.net. You can follow her on Twitter @UndeadStephanie. And stay up on all the latest news @HorrorNews.
