The Xcentrikz - Interactive Comic

December 1, 2009

Interview with Blake Chen of Twilight Lady!

(Click on the images to visit the site!)

Please check out this original and fascinating paranormal comic. It's totally nifty! I had a fun chat with its author, Blake, about its inspirations. Enjoy...

The Xcentrikz Team: Hi Blake, thanks again for talking about Twilight Lady. Please give new readers a cool pitch on the comic! So they’ll read it!

Twilight Lady is a supernatural saga about the Nameless Lady in the Hood, a demonslayer from the astral plane who also leads a physical existence as a young musician named Jennifer Moon. Her exploits, musings, and constantly increasing body count (demons, as we know, exist in many forms on both planes) soon gain her a sizable cult following, as well as a rather large enemy base.

There's a lot more to it than that, as anyone who's read the comic will tell you. I'm trying to be concise here!

THE XCENTRIKZ: Still, very nicely put. Thanks! How did you get started in doing webcomics?

I had a story I wanted to tell, and I decided to tell it on the web as it's the most accessible platform for creators with no friends in the world of publishing.

THE XCENTRIKZ: True, heh. Okay then, how’d you come up with this nifty urban fantasy concept for Twilight Lady?

I lived in the Detroit area for five years and was a performing songwriter in the local music scene there. I always thought Cass Corridor, with its plethora of nightspots, would be a cool setting for any scary tale with ghosts, demons, vampires, and the like.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Neat. What’s something that really challenges you in doing Twilight Lady?

Taking long-form comic stories and breaking them up into single or half-page updates is probably the most challenging aspect. The story has to flow well when read in one sitting, and it also has to work as a serialized strip that can hold the reader's interest sufficiently over a period of time.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What reactions did Twilight Lady get early on? Were viewers generally excited, critical, something else…?

A frequent reaction was one of intrigue. The first chapter sets up a very simple mystery: who or what is the Cass Killer? Most folks seemed curious enough to want to find out.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What are some of the disparaging things people say about the comic? Did you think the comments were justified?

There weren't really any disparaging comments, at least none that I haven't edited out of my memory! One comment I get quite often... a reader would tell me they didn't like the art, or art style at first, but it ended up growing on them. Which is always gratifying to hear, because it means they gave the work a chance, rather than dismissing it for whatever reason. And I like to think anyone who gives this comic a fair chance will never regret it.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Yea, cool! What are your personal opinions about real-life paranormal activity, what might happen to souls, etc? Any thoughts to share?

Yes. And I share them on every single page of Twilight Lady!

THE XCENTRIKZ: So how’s it been promoting the comic? What publicity opportunities have worked the best for you?

To be honest, I don't spend a lot of time on promotion. If I did, there wouldn't be any comic! I promote Twilight Lady by making it the best comic I possibly can.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Good thing. Okay. If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who might it be? What would you guys do if you hung out for the day?

I think it would be cool to go back in time, meet one of my ancestors, spend the day with them without revealing who I am, then at the end of the day tell them I'm their future descendant before disappearing in a puff of smoke. And I think it would be equally cool if one of my descendants did that to me. Hmm... now I can't decide which I'd prefer to happen.

THE XCENTRIKZ: What were you like in highschool? Did you like comics back then, too?

I've loved comics my whole life. I hated school and always wished I was somewhere else... reading or making comics.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Do you consider yourself part of a sub-culture? Geek, hippy, goth, gamer, something else…? Why or why not?

Well, I'm a comic reader, which you could say is a sub-culture, and also I'm a comic creator, which is definitely a sub-culture.

THE XCENTRIKZ: True. Anything else to share about Twilight Lady? What’s happening next?

Next? Twilight Lady vs... Zombies! Sort of. Jen goes on a cross-country trek in search of her missing, possessed roommate. She's accompanied, on and off the music stage, by a motley crew consisting of a centuries-old vampire MC, a priest who sees dead people, and a cross-gender astral traveler... to name a few. Through strange circumstances, they end up getting chased by an army of reanimated corpses... and that's just skimming the surface of what's in store.

THE XCENTRIKZ: Thanks Blake, for the chat. Keep up the awesome and creative work with Twilight Lady!!

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