WonderCon 2017 Spotlight: Justin J. Kirkman & "Infinite Glory"
By: MithrandielWonderCon has come and gone, but I connected with a handful of promising artists and creators, and I’m excited to feature them in a series of WonderCon Spotlight interviews!Today I'm highlighting a fast paced and vibrant comic series titled Infinite Glory. Created by Justin Kirkman, the series focuses on a ruined world, and the heroes that are working to reclaim its past glory. While No'madd toes a fine line between dystopian sci-fi and noir, Infinite Glory seems to have its roots firmly planted in a more traditional style featuring vibrant colors and frantically paced action sequences. The "Ancients", a group of heroes that have been scattered to the winds following a cataclysmic event some 50 years earlier, are all well-crafted adventurers that you're excited to learn more about. Overall, it's a promising start to a series that could easily sit alongside the latest releases from Marvel and DC.I was privileged enough to meet with Justin at his booth while wandering the small publishers hall at WonderCon this year, and he took the time to answer a few of my questions about Infinite Glory. Check out his answers below, and if you enjoy the premise, make sure to check out Infinite Glory!
Tell us a little bit about your background: what got you into illustration and what projects have you previously worked on?
Infinite Glory is my dream project and has been bouncing around in my head almost non-stop for a while now. I’ve always loved writing since a young age and would create choose your own adventure books. But with the invention of video games and the finding of Anime, I put all the writing on hold until - four or five years ago. I saw a colleague publish a comic book and I calculated the price involved to make and it sparked my interest. I have been writing ever since and have 10+ different worlds/scripts flushed out. But I keep coming back to Infinite Glory.Illustration has always fascinated me but I never thought I had the time to master it, so I rely on the professionals take care of it. Mark V. the artist for Infinite Glory has been around for a while now and has worked for many smaller publishers. His work is amazing and makes it easy for me to take my story to life, panel by panel. If you are interested in his other work, he is currently working on ‘The Edge’ for Scattered Comics and it’s also an action-packed fun read.
What's the story with Infinite Glory? Where did you get the idea, and how long have you spent bringing this story to life?
Infinite Glory originally came from a dream I had. I was watching a large man in a blue armor suit, Maximillian, and a gun slinging trio, Truvat, Bralas and Freeman, fight in a barren wasteland. I was viewing the world as a young boy, Einai, and I was afraid. One of the Trio, Bralas, runs for me. I escape and climb a tree. To my amazement, Bralas jumps 30 feet into the air and pulls me from the tree. By touching me, his power and strength evaporates and we both begin to fall. I pull a device from his back, position it over his face and pull the trigger launching from the ground and sending Bralas head first into the dirt. I fly through the clouds for a while and the device lands me in a junk yard where I am met with Maximillion. The device starts to recollect itself pelting Maximillion, turning into a giant mechanical bird. I jump on the bird and fly away… The dream was so vivid that I wanted to share with others. I started piecing together the story lines based on this scene. What was this device? Who is this boy? Why is the world desolate? That was years ago and I have already written 400+ pages of the story, roughed out three series and have two more bouncing around in my head. The Sci-fi fantasy world is growing day by day.
What do you think makes Infinite Glory different from other comics?
Infinite Glory has depth with multiple characters having conflicting world views. It is action packed, a journey and filled with a flushed-out world. The world and characters ask the reader questions and reward them with answers. Like who is the bad guy? What part of the world are we going to discover next? What powers do each character have? When is a character going to find out something already revealed to the reader? Infinite Glory feels more like an Anime/Manga than a traditional comic book without the fan service and demonic presence.
What were some of your biggest challenges in creating Infinite Glory?
Deadlines for printing and events are sometimes hard to accomplish. It’s hard to manage pushing everyone too much and not enough. Marketing and sales are also hard as an independent publisher. If you distribute through Diamond they take 60% of everything and a lot of comic stores won’t take your book unless it is from Diamond. Going through a publisher will help you get into comic stores, but they tend to do little marketing and will take most of the sales. Creating a Kickstarter takes months of work to do correctly, and can possibly help supply some print costs, but not all of it. Rewrites and edits take time and managing that with other projects and a day job makes finding the time difficult.
Creators often put a bit of themselves in whatever they make, whether they realize it or not. Is there a particular character or trait that you've written into the story that reminds you of yourself?
Einai’s kindness, Gregory’s positivity, Vincent’s Sarcasm, Chrono’s goofiness, and Maximillian’s seriousness.
Will you be at any other conventions later this year where interested fans can connect with you in person? If so, which ones?
I will be signing at The Comic Bug at both the Culver city and Manhattan Beach CA locations on April 19th. Our last convention of the year will be MegaCon in Orlando, May 25th to May 28th then we are going to take a break for a while and focus more on the production of the next episodes that will be available on my website.
Any other comments or plugs before we wrap up?
Something to think about when looking for comics, manga and anime at conventions. Go check out some independent publishers out there as they are writing to share, not to make a profit. If you have any questions on how to produce a comic, attend a comic convention or just chat, the best way to reach me is on Instagram @justin_j_kirkman. More information about Infinite Glory and how to purchase a copy can be found on our website http://calicomics.com.
