By Zack Quaintance — Today we are honored to have an exclusive preview and interview about Intertwined, a new graphic novel out now via FairSquare Comics. For those who are unfamiliar, Intertwined is a superhero fantasy story set in 1970s New York, and it was inspired by real world Kung Fu. See, the book is a collaboration between creators Fabrice Sapolsky and Fred Pham Chuong, the latter of which has a grandfather who was a kung fu master.

In the conversation below, you can read Sapolsky and Chuong’s thoughts on Intertwined (which also features colors by Veronica R. Lopez), as well as Sapolsky’s thoughts about why founding publisher FairSquare Comics was a necessity (for more from FairSquare, check out Mutiny Magazine #1, due out Nov. 24).

Enjoy!

PREVIEW/INTERVIEW: Fabrice Sapolsky, Fred Pham Chuong talk INTERTWINED

ZACK: QUAINTANCE: So first things first, how did kung-fu influence this comic?

FRED PHAM CHUONG: I have tried in many ways to represent how much I love martial arts and try to be less cliché as this kind of story usually goes. I think you can feel some Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, and of course Bruce Lee vibes!

FABRICE SAPOLSKY: A lot. It’s what brought Fred and me together in the first place. During the production of the series, Fred and I would spend hours talking about Kung Fu movies. We really bonded over this. I was 12 when I discovered Bruce Lee and it changed everything. I’ve never stopped watching Kung Fu movies ever since. We were also very interested in developing other aspects of Kung Fu than just fights. Yes, there are fights in Intertwined, but there’s also a lot of life lessons that came straight from Kung Fu teachings.

ZACK: Did Fred's real-life background with kung-fu give this comic some qualities that other kung-fu comics have traditionally lacked? And if so, what are they?

FRED: Well, when Fabrice came to me with this story, he didn't even know how much Kung Fu is a family legacy. My dad was a Kung Fu master and world Kung Fu champion. We have a school here in France. When you have martial arts scenes in Intertwined, they are not just some random poses or sequences that I picked up from Google. I mean much of the choreography is legit, because they are some of my moves and techniques I like to use, or I am aware of in a real fight.

ZACK: What makes New York City in the early '70s an ideal setting for this story?

FRED: We wanted to show how Asian people and most immigrants were actually treated during this time period and particular moment in NYC.

FABRICE: Absolutely. We knew early on that the story would have to be set in the past and in New York. The '70s was the best possible time setting because of its successive immigration waves from Asia, Haiti, and Puerto Rico. It provided the perfect background for our story. New York was also in complete decay and you have no trouble understanding why a protector of nature like the Spirit of the Earth, or one of metal like Nei Chang, would choose to settle there. Pollution and crime were plenty and there was a lot of justice to deliver there.

Also, I moved to the United States in 2015, to New York. And Intertwined was the first book I wrote here. So it was a kind of mirror to my own immigrant experience. Mine was a bit less dramatic though (laughs). We also wanted to set it in the past because we didn’t want to use modern technology as a shortcut to tell our stories.

But the most important thing in Intertwined isn’t New York, the time period, or even Kung Fu. It’s the characters. It’s Juan Jin, who is an immigrant against his own will. It’s Long Huo/Leah, the last Jewish Daughter of Kaifeng who came to NYC to flee a forced marriage in China and poses as a man to survive. It’s Da Wei, the character that triggers the story and his incredible backstory. We also wanted to highlight our LGBTQ+ characters and show the way Haitian boat people were treated in that era. The characters and their journeys are what make this book very special.

ZACK: Fred, how did you come to be involved with comics, and what has your experience been like working on this book?

FRED: Making comics is my favorite way to express myself. It's a wonderful connection that you can have with people. Working with Fabrice is fantastic. We have a great connection and for any works that we've been involved with together, we bleed, we fight, we try to fulfill something that we believe. He pushes me for the better, stops me when I'm going too far, and I think I do the same for him.

ZACK: Fabrice, you're not just a creative but also the founder of FairSquare. Tell me a little bit about the founding of this publishing company…

FABRICE: FairSquare Comics came out of necessity. After I lost my job at another publisher in early 2020, I started applying for positions everywhere. I would rarely get any interest or an interview. And even when I got an interview, I was never “the right profile for the job." Publishing in general and comics publishing in particular, is a tough place. There aren't a lot of positions available and let’s face it, despite being able to do plenty, I’m also a 50+ year old immigrant. Hard to sell. So, after fighting like crazy to get hired, I decided to take the matter into my own hands and became my own boss. I’ve been an entrepreneur before. I know the drill. I wasn’t going to stop making comics. I moved to this country for comics.

Last year, when George Floyd was murdered, I was angry. And I wanted to do something. Under the previous administration, I was very careful because anything could get you deported. It was very scary. But my friend TC Harris and I talked about it and he encouraged me to put together a comic book project to express my solidarity with the Black American community. TC Harris and I ended up creating it together and Noir Is The New Black was born. This graphic novel anthology, created in just 5 months and a half, is a little miracle. 16 stories by 40 Black creators who kept all their rights to their work. It was an adventure that put FairSquare Comics on the map as a publisher.

By creating a publishing company that would not only showcase my own work, but those of creators like me, as an immigrant and minority, I understood that this is what I’ve been destined to do. And because we’re not excluding anyone, we adopted the motto: “Comics From the Rest of Us”. Comics are for everyone. Together, we can be more visible. We can achieve more. And we can open more doors. This November, we’re launching our first magazine called Mutiny, which will be available in stores only. And we have a Kickstarter for a graphic novel called Lady-Bird starting up. Not bad for our first full year!

ZACK: Finally, what are some of each of your favorite kung-fu stories in any medium?

FRED: One of my favorites is the Luther Strode series by Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore, and the manga Hokuto no Ken, illustrated by Tetsuo Hara.

FABRICE: I treasure all Bruce Lee movies. But I’m also fond of those '70s campy and violent classics like The One-Armed Swordsman. I also adored all the Ip Man movies and House of Flying Daggers (even though it’s not 100% Kung Fu). Fred’s right, in manga, there are a lot of great fight books. They’re not necessarily Kung Fu, but they’re very good. I also appreciated Hokuto no Ken.

INTERTWINED is out now

Read more great interviews with comics creators!

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