By Zack Quaintance — In our latest Kickstarter Interview, we’re talking with Matt McGrath, whose sci-fi man vs. A.I. book ID-10t error is live on Kickstarter now. Matt shares insights here about his new book, how he pulled together an excellent creative team, and his experiences writing for comics anthologies. It’s a great conversation, and you can check it out in full below, before heading over to back the ID-10t error Kickstarter campaign.

Enjoy!

Matt McGrath talks ID-10t error

ZACK QUAINTANCE: Where did the idea for this story originate?

MATT MCGRATH: I always need to be a bit vague when asked this question. The origin of the idea and the real high-concept for the comic is a bit of a spoiler. But that said, the idea came from my experiences with technology and my over-reliance on it...something I think everyone can relate to. We can feel so helpless when something goes wrong with the tech we rely on. It's frustrating and we have no way to vent our frustrations on these inanimate objects.

So ID-10t error is about a guy who takes this frustration to an absurd level - where he needs to turn a piece of hardware into a thinking, feeling being so he can get "revenge" on it and receive some type of emotional closure. Yeah, I hope that's vague enough and doesn't give away too much!

It's an idea I've had for years. I thought of turning it into a one-act play, a short story, a short film. But ultimately decided I wanted to make it into a comic - its the form of storytelling I enjoy the most.

ZACK: How did you meet your collaborators on this project?

MATT: I connected with Otavio on reddit. He posted his portfolio on a comic collaboration group, and when I saw his work I knew he would be perfect for this story. His characters were so expressive, both in their facial expressions and body language, and I thought he would excel with physical comedy and illustrate these over-the-top characters in funny expressive ways. I'm marketing the book as a revenge comedy, but there aren't a ton of "jokes" per se in the book. I wanted the comedy to come from the absurdity of the situation. Otavio's style, staging and character "acting" really do the heavy lifting on that front.

Kay I found by doing a twitter search for "comic colorist" and came across her work pretty much instantly. Again, as soon I saw her portfolio I fell in love with her art and wanted her to work on the book. From the preview pages on the Kickstarter, you'll see her colors are so unique and striking and help establish this creepy sinister atmosphere in those first few pages. The art and colors have received a ton of praise from backers so far, which is super exciting! She's also, I might add, an incredible comic artist as well as a colorist. Probably many of your readers know she and Eastin DeVerna wrapped a successful Kickstarter campaign for their comic, A. Guardian.

I also came across Frank's work on Twitter! I had seen his lettering recommended several times, and I'm super fortunate to be working with him on this book. His stuff is so innovative, careful and well-thought-out. I'm a big fan. He's lettered three pages so far, and I can't wait for him to tackle the rest of the book!

ZACK: What makes this a great story for a one-shot comic format?

MATT: Before writing ID-10t error, I had only written short comics for anthologies - mostly 6 to 10 pages. So the original motivation for writing this book was I wanted to take another baby step in my progress as a comic writer. I wanted to write something bigger, but not as big as a multi-issue narrative. So a digital one-shot seemed like the perfect opportunity to hone my storytelling and character development abilities without getting too ambitious or big.

It's a very small-scale, intimate story. There are only three characters and everything is set in two rooms, so that allowed me to just focus on story, pacing and character. I'm still a comics baby, so I'm very committed to working my way up to telling longer and more large-scale stories one step at a time.

ZACK: How have your experiences with comic anthologies been and what have you learned from them?

MATT: They've been amazing! I've got a short in Gothic Tales of Haunted Futures that will be coming out from Renegade Arts Entertainment this fall (plug, plug). Anthologies are great for new creators. It allowed me to collaborate with amazing artists and editors that I probably wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I built up a portfolio and was exposed to an audience I wouldn't be able to access on my own - plus, you know, I got published in actual books! Very cool.

I've also learned a lot by being involved in several anthologies. Some tough lessons too. Overall, writing in a short format helped me write economically. You have a very limited space to tell your story, so every page, panel, line of dialogue needs to keep the narrative moving. If it's not progressing the story, developing characters, or establishing mood/atmosphere, then you don't have the real-estate to include it. Many times while I was writing a short script, I would find myself on page 6 of a 10-page story, realizing I've only told 25% of my story. So I'd have to back up and pair it down to the essential story elements. Easy to do on a short script, but not so much if you're working on a 4-issue mini. These are hard-learned lessons that are also essential for writing larger stories. So for any new creator, I would highly recommend starting in this format. You'll be grateful for the experiences and training when you get around to telling your magnum opus.

I also learned about reining in the amount of dialogue in a panel. No one likes to see walls of text. Especially when it's covering up beautiful art. Having to cut and rewrite dialogue after it's been lettered is not a fun time for anyone.

ZACK What is the overall scope of this project? Is it a one-off or is there more to come?

MATT: So, I mentioned in this interview and in the Kickstarter campaign text that ID-10t error is a one-shot story, and that was the plan for a long, long time. But in the last month, I've been thinking a lot about where this story could go, and I've settled on the idea that this story has 5 chapters, with this current comic being chapter one. Each sequel I imagine being a 40-page graphic novella.

I kind of love the idea that each new chapter the story and conflict get reinvented and only the characters stay the same. So for this comic, the conflict is very small. It's between creator and creation, it's set in one location, and the stakes are personal. But with each new chapter - I want to expand the scope of the story and the world. Make the stakes and conflict bigger and bigger. By the end, I imagine Bradley and his AI will become these cosmic god-like beings still fighting each other at the end of the universe!

ID-10t error

ID-10t error
Writer: Matt McGrath
Artist: Otavio Colino
Colorist: Kay Baird
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
Man vs. Technology. A theme that has fueled the imagination of authors for decades. A simple idea, which has spawned many epic and operatic works of literature and inspired imaginative, mind-bending stories that span space and time in the attempt to answer the ultimate question - what does it mean to be human? ID-10T error...isn't quite that. At least, not exactly. It's a grounded, chamber comic that explores these big questions, but, with a couple of clumsy, idiotic characters on either side of the Man vs. Technology duality.
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