By Zack Quaintance — We have a hot (heh) new Kickstarter Interview today, this one with Jonathan Thompson, the writer of the newly-live campaign for Burn Residue (remember a second ago when I called it hot?). You can read my chat with Jonathan about the book below, and then when you’re done, you can head over to the Burn Residue campaign page to back this project.

Enjoy!

Jonathan Thompson Interview

ZACK QUAINTANCE: So, the first line on your campaign page that jumped out at me was “BURN RESIDUE is a culmination of what comics mean to me…”...let me start by asking, what do comics mean to you?

JONATHAN THOMPSON: I think Alan Moore said it best on his book about writing comics when he talked about comics being a hypnotic medium. To sit down with a single issue comic or graphic novel and be absorbed in it is unique to any other form of storytelling. The brain fires off with an explosive energy as you take in beautiful art with language. As a writer I know that each kind of story has to fit the medium that they are told in. Comics are special to me. They are not film or novels. I believe a great comic should only ever be just that…a comic.

ZACK: How did this creative team come together?

JONATHAN: I saw Rossano’s work online and reached out to him. It was pretty simple. I didn’t have a story in mind I just knew that his work was special. We chatted a bit and got to know each other. I saw some more of his work from Italy. Then, I went into the coal mines and tried to think up a story to tell. I came out with a character, Willy Boyd.

ZACK: How did you develop the look for the main character? Which is pretty gruesome…

JONATHAN: I gave Rossano the broad strokes. A gas station attendant with 3rd degree burns all over his body. Mild-mannered but a darkness inside of him. A bitterness from a lost way of life. Once Rossano sent me the character design the story really took off. I thought about where this man could have come from, what kind of life he led before all of this happen, and what would happen if he had his chance at revenge.

ZACK: You cite 100 BULLETS by Brian Azzerallo and Eduardo Risso as a big influence on you. What influences from this story show up in Burn Residue?

JONATHAN: 100 BULLETS and CRIMINAL are the main comic influences. I think with those two it comes down to storytelling both visually and in the writing. They present very dark characters who are looking for some sort of salvation, but with any good noir they never get it. So mainly, it’s the darkness that consumes BURN RESIDUE.

ZACK: Finally, what would you say the main theme of Burn Residue is?

JONATHAN: On the surface BURN RESIDUE is presented as a tale of revenge. Willy gets on his bike and chases after the man who lit him on fire. But, this really about the cost of that revenge. It is about the psychological trauma that Willy endures and how with each step forward he takes his soul is chipped away. Willy recognizes this but still he continues forward.

Burn Residue

Burn Residue
Writer: Jonathan Thompson
Artist: Rossano Piccioni
This is the story of Willy Boyd, a one time high stakes gambler who now lives life as a mild mannered gas station attendant...One night while going back and forth to the pump to serve customers a car pulls in to his station driven by one of the men who lit Willy's body on fire years before. In the back seat of the car is a woman, gagged and bound. As the car rides off into the night, Willy must decide if he’s ready to be some sort of hero...or at least get his revenge.
Back It Now: Burn Residue

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.