ADAM HODGE introduces the ghastly world of PAXTON PORTER AND THE AGENTS OF D.E.A.L.
Adam Hodge drops by to chat with Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, about Paxton Porter and the Agents of D.E.A.L., with issue #3 available through November 6 on Kickstarter.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome to the Yeti Cave, Adam! Thanks for bringing your latest campaign for your title, Paxton Porter and the Agents of D.E.A.L. over our way for us to check out. I just finished reading issues #1 and #2, which leave the audience hanging, so what do you want people to know is in store with issue #3?
ADAM HODGE:I’m super excited to get issue #3 going because the story takes a huge turn and the world opens up. The metaphor I like to use is, it’s like playing a RPG and reaching a moment when you realize those first few hours weren’t the real adventure at all, they were the introduction, a tutorial preparing you for what comes next. That’s what the first two issues of Paxton Porter are; an introduction to the world, the characters, and the rules before we start breaking those rules and really having fun. Issue #3 will introduce a much bigger story previously hidden from Paxton. Real monsters, not just fears brought to life that can be “easily” vanquished. Plus there are new friends, new enemies, and just a whole lot of fun with our team, Paxton, Cambria, and Larry.
CBY: Taking things back to the start of The Nobody Archives – which I understand is the overarching narrative world in which the characters of Paxton Porter exist – how did you first come up with the idea for your protagonist, and before we get any deeper, can you tell us the meaning of the acronym, D.E.A.L.?
AH: I’ll start with the meaning of the acronym D.E.A.L. It stands for Darkness Evaluation And Liberation. I am simply a fan of acronyms. The stranger or more forced, the better. My favorite is SPECTRE from the James Bond franchise. It is so wonderfully odd and forced to the point of being ridiculous.
The character of Paxton was inspired by my daughter, who was nine at the time. I was introducing her to comics for the first time, and she really took to the Scooby-Doo and My Little Pony books. So, I thought I would try to do an all-ages story.
The first pass at Paxton was very different from where it ended up. It had a very Calvin and Hobbes-influenced art style, which was exactly what I was going for. However, it was never completed in that form.
Fast forward five years. I had just completed another series and thought it was a good time to go back to Paxton. My daughter was now 14, so Paxton changed a lot. The setting went from middle school to high school, and the story really took on a whole new vibe.
But the core was the same. On the surface, Paxton seems together and in control, but underneath, she is scared and worried about not knowing what to do or how to solve all the problems that face her.
CBY: It would be very cool to see some of the evolution in the art and concept over those years of development, if you have the material to share in the future. Concerning art, you’ve also been working with Luke Horsman as your artistic partner through three editions of Journee as well; how did you two meet, and how active has he been in shaping the characters of Paxton Porter and The Nobody Archives more broadly? Beyond your credited collaboration, who else has been involved in your comics creation journey over your life that you’d like to mention here?
AH: Luke and I met during COVID. I have always been a writer, but mostly for movies and music videos. When the lockdown happened, it was a great opportunity to turn to my first love: comics.
I had been trying off and on for many years to make a comic, but I can't draw, and I was having trouble finding a collaborator who could. Just by luck, I guess, I reached out to an old college friend who had just put out a game with incredible art. I asked if they knew any comic book artists, and they gave me Luke's info. We just clicked right away. His style really fit my stories.
Has he helped shape Paxton Porter? For sure! I write the stories and set the tone, trying to explain the set pieces, but he comes up with these wonderful ideas and panels of art that blow me away every time. I cannot express how much life he brings to the characters. I often change the script because of some of the ideas he comes up with. His art style is so fun and exciting, and it's an honor working with him.
The funny thing is, we've never actually met. He lives in the UK, so we communicate through email. We've reached the point where I send him the script, he sends me the art, and hardly any changes are ever made. We're totally aligned almost all of the time.
CBY: I find it encouraging how often people are now able to forge effective creative partnerships over vast distances in all sorts of arrangements. I note The Nobody Archives are not limited to comics alone. There are two short films; I Was Nobody and Miss Nobody. For those in our audience who have yet to acquaint themselves with your films, can you tell us a bit about how they fit into the broader narrative, what was involved in producing them, and how the process differed from your comic creation process with Luke?
AH: Yes, you're correct. The Nobody Archives is a narrative theme and world that all my stories exist in. They are always about people who think of themselves as unimportant, think they are nobody, when in truth they are powerful but simply lack the experience and confidence to realize their potential.
My other series, Journee, was actually supposed to be the next film chapter, with the title “Fear Nobody”.
Making a film, no matter the budget or size, is hard. It's a miracle that any movie gets made, and if you're lucky enough to make a good one, well, that took hundreds, maybe thousands, of miracles.
It takes a village to make a movie, with so many crew members giving their time and effort to a vision. I’ve met so many wonderful people, and to be honest, the experience has made me better at creating comics.
The process of making a film and a comic is totally different in some ways and the same in others. When it comes to writing and planning the set pieces, I approach it the same way I would a film. At first, I let my imagination go and just write. The difference is that when I actually have to film something, I have to take the script and start making compromises right away due to cost, locations, special effects, actors, etc. Whereas working with Luke, I can write anything, and it can be drawn right there in the pages of the book.
Comics are great!
CBY: I think you’ll find our audience agrees with that appraisal. Now, Paxton Porter and the Agents of D.E.A.L. has a clear genre form in the vein of indie comic predecessors such Mike Mignola’s Hellboy/B.P.R.D. (Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense) from Dark Horse, and Scott Buoncristiano and Gerry Duggan’s The Dark Room, from Image Comics. What sort of comic books did you grow up with, setting the stage for your current work?
AH: Funnily enough, I've never read any of those books. I will now, though. I grew up reading the standards: Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and the like. Later on, I discovered Spawn and Guyver, which is maybe where some of Paxton comes from, subconsciously at least. I have a complete original run of The Punisher, which is pretty cool.
Some books I love are Tokyo Ghost and anything by Sam Humphries. Oh, and Paper Girls. I discovered that one really late. It's just wonderful.
CBY: Yeah, I picked up Paper Girls for my daughters a while back - I can see how it plays into the world you’ve formed, for sure. Beyond comics, the genre template of a Grand Supernatural Threat encroaching on human reality with monster-of-the-week scenarios to test the mettle of the protagonist in a high school setting is best typified by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Is the nomenclatural similarity to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. worth mentioning for its superhuman, sci-fi/magical scope? Like Paxton Porter, it also placed itself against a rogues’ gallery of supernatural villains. What media have you drawn upon and decided to include, and what have you left on the cutting room floor?
AH: Movies that have directly or indirectly influenced me, and therefore Paxton Porter, are without a doubt, first up; The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Road Warrior, Flash Gordon, The Goonies, of course, and any of the Toho Godzilla movies.
The Buffy template of a monster of the week is exactly what I was going for, although I was more of a Smallville guy — same idea though. It's a familiar format that brings readers into the story and lets them get to know the characters. Then, I have a plan for Issue #3 that will totally subvert that, which is really why I'm excited to get it made. It will take the story into a bigger world, with a larger story and lots of fun.
CBY: That is an exciting prospect, and I look forward to reading it! To that end, you’ve been creative in your selection of foes for Paxton and her friends to face. A dragon has made an appearance, but the spectres – or realizations, as you designate them – seem to have a classification system (you mentioned “B Class,” so I presume there’s at least an “A Class”). This definitely evoked memories of The Real Ghostbusters, where Ray and Egon would rattle off similar stats on the ghosts they encountered. Can you elaborate upon the bestiary you’ve built within this world, and how your preparations for this title have populated your story with different realizations for Paxton and her friends to encounter?
AH: Ha, yeah, Ghostbusters was definitely an influence. I wanted a tier system for Realizations (Reliz for short), but for a different reason. For me, it makes it easier for the reader to understand the stakes. “Oh, it's just a B-Class Reliz.” With that simple statement, you get it. You think an easy day at the “office”. But then a freaking dragon shows up and dragons are never simple and for sure not a simple B-Class Reliz. The stakes are instantly raised without having a huge exposition dump about reliz class structure.
This may not be the answer you're looking for, but I have no bestiary. I have no plan for the monsters. I guess a book could be put together after the fact. I lean heavily on Luke when it comes to the monsters. In the issue #2 script, I just wrote “evil bunny,” and he gave me my favorite monster so far. I laugh every time I see that huge yellow bunny with a kid's arm hanging from its mouth.
CBY: It is always a delight when an artist exceeds a writer’s initial imagination. I noted your company is named Up In A Tree Productions - I like spending time in trees when the occasion arises (far rarer since childhood), so I was wondering, what was the occasion that led to the name?
AH: I have never been asked that before. The answer is very simple. When my daughter was very young I would tell her stories when putting her to bed. They would always start, “Once upon a time there was a girl named Ann Marie, she lived up in a tree.” And that's where it came from. They were silly stories but the “Up In A Tree” stuck.
CBY: Oh, that’s very cute, and doubly endearing to learn how monumental an impact your parenting has had on the shape of your creative endeavours.
Pursuing the episodic nature of the format further, what sort of narrative arc do you have planned for Paxton and her friends? Is there a set number of issues you have in mind? How far beyond what you’ve published have you plotted?
AH: Again, maybe not the answer I should admit to, but I approach each book as they come. I have a very rough idea of the whole arc, but nothing specific. I adhere to the Stephen King writing style, come up with an idea, a hook, then just start writing, the characters will start to come to life and tell you where to go. Currently I have issue #3 written and issue #4 as a rough idea. I have no set number of issues in mind, but I do tend to work in three issue arcs. But I do hope to write lots of Paxton stories
CBY: I noticed issue #3 was your first created Kickstarter campaign. What lessons have you learned from your previous comic publications, and what have you done differently for this issue compared to the previous two instalments thus far?
AH: It is my first Kickstarter, and I'm excited to give it a shot. I know it can be a challenge, especially since I'm not a huge social media user. But I talked with a few creators at SDCC this year and thought it could be beneficial to try to connect with the larger comic book community, which is very supportive of indie comics.
What I've learned from writing five comics is not to be afraid of throwing out a script and starting over. Comics are very much a visual medium, and as writers, we shouldn't forget that. If something feels too forced, too wordy, or just isn't fun, it's okay to try again.
The only difference with issue #3 is that I'm trying to get help funding the comic through Kickstarter. All the pledges will go toward making the comic, and hopefully, backers will enjoy the books enough to keep coming back.
CBY: You seem to have some momentum, so we look forward to seeing it continue to gain steam. To conclude, stepping back from your work, what other comics, films, music, literature, and other creative endeavours have been inspiring you lately? What should our readers make sure they check out after they give Paxton Porter their attention?
AH: I am an avid reader, and I've been hooked on Mark Lawrence's The Broken Empire Trilogy. It's really dark, scary, and fun.
As for TV and movies that have inspired me lately, I'm rewatching Freaks and Geeks. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already. I'm also watching Fallout. I'm late to the party on that one, but it's incredible. Oh, and I just started the new Carrie series, which is really good so far.
I'd love for more people to check out Journee, my first series. It's a three-issue arc set in the '80s about a girl with the ability to travel through time.
CBY: Adam, thanks for stopping by to share Paxton Porter and the Agents of D.E.A.L. with us. If you have any additional portfolio, publication, or social media links to share beyond the Kickstarter campaign, now is the time and place!
AH: Thanks so much! People can reach me at any of the links below.
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