DF Interview: Patrick Kindlon brings readers a fast-paced, sort-of sequel to ‘Frontiersman’ in new ongoing ‘Antioch’

By Byron Brewer

A king from a lost continent enters the world of man with a purpose: to stop us from killing the planet. But when he finds himself in a superhuman prison, his title is useless and his powers only matter if they help him survive!

Frontiersman creators writer Patrick Kindlon and artist Marco Ferrari pick up where that series left off with an all-new ongoing series in Antioch! Having been there at the beginning of Frontiersman, I jumped on this train quickly and chatted with scribe Patrick Kindlon.


Byron Brewer: Patrick, how does it feel to be teamed again with artist Marco Ferrari and on a direct continuation of a story began in your fan-fave book, Frontiersman?



Patrick Kindlon: Feels right. Marco and I are perfectly in sync. He's always been highly intuitive and really capable of pulling the most from any page, but I feel like he's operating on a new level with this series. I tend to judge books on how locked-in to their own rhythm a creative team is, and I give us high marks on Antioch! I know some readers don't like a cocky creator, and I get it. But I'd just be lying if I tried to downplay how strong this book is. Pick up anything superhero-related on the shelves and do a side-by-side. I'm feeling confident we'll come out on top.



Byron: For the uninitiated, can you bring us up to speed on what went on in Frontiersman. For the “new” readers, is it necessary to have read Frontiersman to enjoy Antioch?



Patrick Kindlon: Sure. So Frontiersman saw the title character lured out of retirement for what he thought would be a low-impact bit of protest against a logging company. It had been years since he did anything heroic and this felt right. But having his location known to the world brought out friends, lovers, and enemies from his past. So he's stuck, 150 feet up a tree, with what feels like the world coming to beat the snot out of him. But, as it turns out, he missed exactly that feeling!

New readers can enter Antioch without penalty. We try hard to make single issues full reading experiences, so you can be sure that any series we do can stand alone. I'd say Frontiersman is a bit more thoughtful, pulling a lot from Concrete and the Grell-era Green Arrow. While Antioch is action-heavy and big on set pieces. So pick your poison, but I think anyone who enjoys one will enjoy the other.


Byron: Tell us about this world you continue to build with Marco.



Patrick Kindlon: Ever read something or watch something and say, "I think I could do a better job"? After decades of reading superhero comics, I started to feel that way. No disrespect to anyone, but I just couldn't shake the idea that superhero books had gone in a direction that wasn't fulfilling. Maybe that's a natural byproduct of the two major purveyors of the genre being corporate-owned. It's difficult to pivot and impossible to take risks when you're 'too big to fail.' So the question became, "what would we do differently?" We're agile, don't have the baggage, and aren't weighed down by any agenda.

Marco and I decided the only course of action was to express ourselves fully and let the chips land where they may. Our books have a lot of Marco's love of manga in them, which means pages read fast and there's never a boring angle. They also tend to have a lot of my 80s comics love in the mix. So characters tend to express the themes of the book during action sequences. My favorite comics are ones where a debate is taking place by virtue of the action on the page.


Byron: Introduce us to Antioch, apparently a solicit-described “anti-hero with a chip on his broad shoulders.” Tell us what you can about his life: where’s he been, where’s he going (in a hurry!). I know there is a reference in some articles about Antioch to anime OVAs but to me #1’s main cover screams 1990s Marvel Comics (later Image).



Patrick Kindlon: Antioch calls himself the 'Son of Pompeii' which is a bit of a tease on his origins. In some ways, he's the stereotypical headstrong and dismissive royal. Believes himself uniquely qualified to solve some of the planet's problems, though not for the benefit of mankind! The balance we have to strike is just how 'anti' is this anti-hero? Will he dip into villainy? Only time will tell!

We're not afraid of 90s comparisons. When you've got muscled-up heroes punching concrete into rubble, it's inevitable! But we're borrowing more from Japan than the U.S. creators this time around. Something the 90s did well both in the east and west was reaching maximum cool with every panel and shot. We're proudly 90s in that respect!


Byron: What other important characters may be in the book we need to know about? Can you spotlight a few here? Is there a particular big-bad or behind-the-scenes group involved in this tale?



Patrick Kindlon: I love a superhero-goes-to-prison story. As a kid, I think it was the Vault in Marvel Comics. I don't know why, but the details of life inside for superhumans is just compelling as hell for me. You take a guy who could melt steel or whatever and make him harmless. What a blow to the ego! Who are you when what makes you special has been stripped from you?

Nobody did superheroes in prison better than Brubaker and Lark with their Daredevil run. I'm borrowing liberally from their smart assertion that there's the 'big bad' inside, and then there's the BIG BAD that orchestrates your miseries from afar! In Antioch, we've got the immediate dangers in the shape of other inmates, but then there's the forces that make big decisions about how your life goes…


Byron: Can you give us an overview of the story, a spoiler-free summary?



Patrick Kindlon: Antioch wages war on an oil company he blames for polluting the oceans. And he does a pretty good job of kicking their butts. But he's losing in the public eye. Everyone thinks he's a madman and a terrorist. So he allows himself to be taken to jail in the hope of making his case in the courts. But first, he's got to survive his time incarcerated. And that oil company has long arms to reach him with and deep pockets to pay others to hurt him. He's locked up with Frontiersman, a hero of his. But there's some question on if Frontiersman returns that admiration or sees Antioch as most others do. Maybe going to jail wasn't a smart move after all!



Byron: Talk about the pulse-pounding art of Marco Ferrari and what he brings to the table here.



Patrick Kindlon: Marco is a beast. I know every writer is obliged to talk up their creative partners, but I sincerely believe Marco is one of the best in comics right now. He's always looking to maximize a page's potential and he's never cutting corners. He dies on every page and it pushes me to be a better writer. The action scenes in Antioch are getting compared to Ottley and I can see how readers would pull that. It's high-impact and every punch has weight. I'm also just impressed as hell by his cartooning in this series. He's really selling characters in a way I don't see very often in superhero comics. BIG personalities brought to life.



Byron: Patrick, tell readers about any upcoming projects you have that you may be allowed to mention.



Patrick Kindlon: Maurizo Rosenzweig and I are working in the Frontiersman universe in the pages of IMAGE! 30th ANNIVERSARY ANTHOLOGY, which is currently on shelves. Fantastic cartooning in that series! Eight-page chapters that kick you in the face every time.

I haven't revealed this yet, but there's a backup in Frontiersman that I'm over the moon about. Marco and I are trying to make our comics complete works. Total value for your money. No corners cut. So we've got a fantastic artist bringing a supporting character to life, four pages at a time. More on that soon!
Al Gofa and I recently completed a Kickstarter that I'm very excited to bring to life. It's a talking animal book that borrows equally from Dashiell Hammet and Total Recall. How's that for a pitch?
I was just asked to expand on an old project and take it in an... adult... direction. I'm pretty excited about that because I think the 'mature' comics label is misunderstood by many readers. People forget how much history there is there and how influential adult comics have been on the medium. Really excited to put my mark on that genre!


Dynamic Forces would like to thank Patrick Kindlon for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Antioch #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale September 7th!



For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

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