You can tell from my reviews of Rise of the Anti-Christ that I’m enjoying the ride comic writer Betvin Grant and artist Kay are taking us on. As I’ve been reading it, a few questions popped in my head. Since there isn’t much information about the comic or it’s creators on-line, I decided to take the intiative and get the answers to them myself, and thankfully Mr. Grant was obliging enough to agree to this little Q&A. I hope you guys enjoy it and check out the comic, issue #4 is coming out next week and an advanced review is forth coming.
We The Nerdy: What influenced you to write this story?
Betvin Grant: Many years ago, I went on a week-long silent Buddhist meditation retreat and when I came back, I discovered a world very different than the one I had left. Mind you, the world hadn’t changed one bit, but my perspective completely changed, giving me quite a trip. Suddenly it seemed totally rational to me to flip through the Bible for personal instructions from God. It made sense that when I turned on the radio I would hear a song that answered deep questions that filled my mind at that instant. I was connecting the dots where connections didn’t exist and this led me down a very unstable path.
The psychosis is now long gone, but the memory of the experience has stuck with me. With that experience, I have come to realize that a truly good and rational person can do some crazy things, even bad things, if they see the world through a distorted lens. I experienced one version of religious fundamentalism, a version quite different than how it’s portrayed in media, and I wanted to share that experience.
WTN: Do you have a religious affiliation?
BG: While I’m no longer affiliated with any religion, one of my most treasured hobbies is contemplating the mathematical properties of the infinite, which, to some, is no different than contemplating the existence of God. I have a great appreciation for Christian theology. However, I cannot go as far as believing that God communicated to a few prophets a set of laws on how we ought to behave. I believe that if God exists, His laws would be far less anthropocentric and far more beautiful, pervasive, and unbreakable. I would think that His laws would be, in the most literal sense, the laws of nature: relativity, quantum mechanics, fluid dynamics, and so on. And if sin is defined as the violation of God’s laws, then nobody has ever violated them, and thus we are not in need of saving. To me it is more appealing to believe that God’s miracle is not that the laws of nature can be broken, but that they cannot be broken. Their consistent and predictable behavior is a wonderful gift to the world. If this is how God is, no entity would have more integrity than Him.
WTN: Is this story horror or satire?
BG: Clearly the comic is fiction, but Michael’s overall experience of reality, how he sees the world, is inspired by my personal experience with mental disorder and religiosity. It’s disturbing, but in an informative and honest way. As such, one might label it as horror, but it is definitely not satire.
WTN: How did you meet Kay?
BG: After working on the comic full time for two years and only completing one and a half issues, my original artist realized that he needed to make more money so he decided to quit. I lost two good years but I learned a lot in that period. They say that when you start creating comics, you should start small. Make your mistakes on a short story, not a ten-issue arc. Well, I did the opposite. I worked on the ten-issue arc and made a tonne of mistakes. Luck would have it that my original artist quit, giving me a chance to fix my mistakes and start afresh. I posted the job on a few art forums online and I found the perfect guy for the job: Kay.
WTN: What are some of your favorite comic books?
BG: The comic that I enjoyed the most was “Blankets” by Craig Thompson. If you want to see what someone could do with the medium, that book is a definite read. It just feels so dynamic. The panels and lettering flow so well with each other and they flow in perfect agreement with the mood. You are seamlessly pulled between his imagination and his reality as you follow a very compelling story. I also liked “Black Hole” by Charles Burns. It was just so weird and sensual, I couldn’t put it down.
WTN: Where are you from?
BG: I’m from Ontario, not far from Toronto.
WTN: Do you have any previous writing experience before Rise of the Anti-Christ?
BG: I wrote and illustrated a children’s book that sold on the iBookstore for a while, but I consider this comic my first serious attempt at getting published. Mind you, on the editing team I have a philosopher (James Rowe), a novelist (David Jester), and a professional editor (Marta Tanrikulu), so I’ve done everything within my means to ensure that the comic reads like it’s coming from an experienced writer.
WTN: Rise of the Anti-Christ has been in the works for over three years, what took so long to bring it to print?
BG: Actually, I’ve been working on it for over five years, but who’s counting! There have been a few hiccups along the way with the artists, but I don’t hold it against them. I needed every minute of that down time to better the comic. Thankfully, the worst is behind us (fingers crossed). The script for all ten issues is now complete and Kay’s currently inking issue 7. If we continue at this pace, we’ll be able to deliver a new issue at a regular rate until the completion of the first volume.
WTN: What are some of your favorite movies?
BG: My all time favorite is “The Matrix”. It just has so much going for it: deep ideas, great action, amazing effects, cool costumes, and memorable lines. I love sci-fi, especially stories that involve artificial intelligence, so I enjoyed every bit of the premise. One other thing I enjoyed about “The Matrix” is that it can be thought of as a great depiction of mental disorder. Think about Neo’s view of reality and what he did as a consequence of his perspective. He believed that reality as we know it is an illusion and that his purpose was to free others from this false reality. He was so convinced that he felt justified in killing people because they were a part of an evil invisible system which he opposed. That’s crazy! But as a viewer we bought into it 100%, we saw the world from his crazy perspective, and I think it’s movies like this which “do crazy” so well, even if it wasn’t the creator’s intent.
“The Truman Show” is another film that I enjoyed for, among many other reasons, it’s ability to “do crazy” well. Truman believed that the world was an act centered around him. He would turn on the radio and hear people talking about him. He would go around town like a detective trying to uncover the whole charade. That’s crazy! But once again, we bought into it 100%. Now, in “The Matrix” and “The Truman Show”, one would argue that they weren’t actually crazy. The Matrix did indeed turn out to be an illusion and Truman’s world did indeed turn out to be an act. But at what point were Neo and Truman 100% certain about the validity of their convictions? Any point before that, is what psychosis feels like. To someone experiencing psychosis, you are so sure of your delusions, the proof must just be around the next corner…at least that’s what it felt like for me.
Related
