SEXCASTLE is a graphoic novel written by Kyle Starks, it is currently on Kickstarter where you can back it here. We talk mainly about the project itself, but we also chat about why people shouldn’t be remaking movies and about writing books with the Mature reader in mind……oh and nunchucks!
We The Nerdy: Sexcastle? How did that happen?
Kyle Startks: Sexcastle came as a result of watching Road House and thinking, I’m not joking here, but thinking “why aren’t there more things like this?” And while Road House is truly a child of the 80s action movie genre it has the small town sensibility to it. It’s got heart. It’s got it in the same way that George Steven’s western classic, Shane does. It’s bad ass and tough as hell but there’s more to it than just punching and bad-assery. That’s the story I wanted to tell. That’s the type of story I wanted to tell, so I did. There’s a bit more going on than just that, of course. I wanted to also tell a story about the importance of parental responsibility and how our decisions affect lives and of personal redemption. But I also wanted nunchuck fights. So here we are.
WTN: What is your favorite action movie?Why?How did that impact the overall comic, if at all
KS: My favorite action movie is a tough one but I’m pretty sure it’s Die Hard. I’m not sure it, individually, affected the comic at all or, at least, any more so than the years of watching VHS action movies as a youngster with my dad. And, look, I’m not sure it’s a great parenting move to let your young child see Commando but I did. And Hard To Kill and Cobra and so on and so forth. That’s what my dad watched and that’s what I saw and now I love everything about them. I love tough guy talk, I love corny action guy jokes, I love stupid goons. So I would say all the action movies influenced me more than my single favorite did.
WTN: If you could re-write or re-boot any action movie what would it be?
KS: Aw, geez. I think we need a lot less re-boots in this world and lot more new stories told with new characters. But, there are a couple really bad, but not terrible and still sort of good things I wouldn’t mind doing something with. I just watched a movie called Eliminators that had really low production values but was surprisingly entertaining. Look up the poster and that’s my idea of a good story. I don’t know – maybe, Hell Comes To Frogtown?
WTN: The black and white looks super cool, was this always the plan?
KS: The plan all along, in this regard, was that the book would be less expensive if it wasn’t color. I learned from Ricky Thunder that for an independent comic maker the cost difference between a 200 page book in color and black and white was significant. I don’t want to have to sell a $30 book. I can’t expect the passerby on the street’s interest to be piqued by that. With black and white I get to sell a $20 ($25 including shipping and handling in the US) and for a 200 page book that’s a fair price.
But, I’ve been doing a lot of toned black and white work lately and found that it’s just a vibrant a visual experience. I’m really not sure why there aren’t more small black and white comics efforting that. It’s a good look.
WTN: Other than action movies, what else has influenced your work here?
KS: Oh man, that’s a tough one. It’s an entire life, really, isn’t it? I’ve been reading comics and books and watching movies of all types for as long as I can remember and if you watch them with an appreciation for storytelling you pick up something from everything. I mentioned it earlier, George Steven’s “Shane” definitely had influence on it. During the time I was writing it I saw a lot of really dreadful parenting, real life stuff, and that’s an influence on the book. I tried to say something there, though I’m not so sure how successfully I did it. I hope someone reads it and questions themselves in that regards.
WTN: You write and draw on this, how have you found that process?
KS: I honestly don’t know any other way to do it. I recently started writing a series called Quest For The Einhorn http://einhorns-epiccookies.com/comics/which is an ongoing for a cookie company in New York and it’s about Space Unicorns and it’s awesome. But that’s the first time I’ve written for someone not me and so I still thumbnailed pages because how do you know how many panels this series of action takes without drawing it? I’m lucky through that project to have really talented artists so they get what I’ve been saying and made it frankly better than I could. But it’s weird because, while I only started doing comics in 2010, I only know one way to do it. And, frankly, when it comes to these independent projects it’s a blessing that I can do it all that way. Since I don’t have to pay anyone else to do any of the work I save a lot of money in costs and I get to pass that along to the readers.
WTN: The book is clearly for the mature reader, how was it getting the balance between gags and action?
KS: This book is DEFINITELY for mature readers. It has excessive (almost comic) violence, adult language, a little bit of a sex scene in there. I started making comics in 2010 and to date I’ve yet to make anything that wasn’t adult but I’m hoping SEXCASTLE has gotten most of those impulses out of me. I really want my next works to be something I could sell to ANYONE. In terms of getting a balance, I think a good story does that. Comedy and action are, I think, my oeuvre. They’re my sensibilities. I think comics is well suited to exciting sequences and I think that comics should be fun, or at least, funny. It’s just the type of story I want to tell and that balance comes pretty natural. So far, anyway.
WTN: What was your reason for taking this to Kickstarter, and how has the reaction been?
KS: My reason for using Kickstarter is the same reason anyone like me would. Who else is going to help publish this? I’ve been very lucky to have some small visibility through some comic news outlets but no one’s knocking on my door. Marvel hasn’t asked me to do that Hank Pym: Science Bachelor series. I could raise money, take out a loan and get some books printed but then what? Then I have a bunch of books in my closet. Kickstarter gets the word out, it gives you basically a mail order opportunity. “Here’s the window to order this book, if you want it” – and that’s what guys like me need. A world wide ad space to get the word out. Sure, Kickstarter isn’t doing any real publicity on my behalf, that’s up to me. And Kickstarter isn’t insuring anything for it’s clients, either. That’s up to me. I think Kickstarter backers
want to back a product. They don’t want to back an idea or a promise. They don’t want to pay you to do something they want to pay you to get something. If you bring something to Kickstarter I think its a really exciting opportunity. And if you come through and quickly you get customer loyalty. You get fans.
WTN: You are already fully funded, so well done on that!!! Any stretch goals planned?
WTN: Any tips for aspiring creators out there?KS: As of this interview I’ve already reached two stretch goals, which is really exciting. Which is a bookmark (and you’ll need that for a 200 page book, right?) and a sticker. I have really cool temporary tattoos on the horizon, membership cards into the Assassins Union, which is the clandestine guild of hitmen in the book. And I if I get to that level I’m going to individually come up with nicknames for every backer at a certain level. They’ll be super customized and I think things like that are fun little rewards. You get a card that says you’re a hitman and a funny name. For my last Kickstarter one of my reward tiers was an anthology of all the mini-comics I did that year and I’m really looking forward to doing that again this year. All of the mini’s I’ve done to date have been in color so it’ll be a nice little color treat if we should get there.
KS: Yeah, make your thing. If it’s comics, make comics. If It’s writing a book, write forever. Tell the story you want to read and do it as good as you can without regrets. But you gotta make things. You have to do the work or it will never exist and if it doesn’t exist than you’re not a comic maker or writer or artist. So make things.
And make them awesome.
Oh, and when in doubt, but some nunchucks in
You can back SEXCASTLE on Kickstarter here, which runs until 30th April. Stay tuned to We The Nerdy as we will be reviewing SEXCASTLE as well!
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