Interview with "Sally of the Wasteland" Team, Gischler & Bettin

Earlier in the week, The Comic Crusaders got the chance to shoot a few emails back and forth with the creators of Sally of the Wasteland, Victor Gischler and Tazio Bettin. Here’s what they told us:

CC: Victor, you’ve written novels in the post-apocalyptic genre before, but this is your first foray into that world via comics. What prompted that decision?

VG: Well … first “creator owned” foray. I did take Deadpool into the zombie universe.Â But I get what you mean. I think novel or comic, the genre really offers a lot of cinematic potential for visuals.Â In a novel, I have to paint word pictures, but for SALLY I am fortunate to have Tazio creating amazing images which make it so easy to tell a great story.

CC: The characters in SOTW are pretty wild, from the Bamazons to the crawgators, and very original. I remarked in a review of SOTW #2 that the book had the feel of 80’s post-apocalyptic movies like “Radioactive Dreams” and “America 3000”. What were some of the creative influences that you drew from when developing the book?

VG: Well, the mad max films certainly.Â Anything post-apocalyptic — ALAS BABYLON, LUCIFER’S HAMMER, but also nutsy sci-fi like BARBARELLA.

TB: The “Mad Max” movies are certainly the first thing that comes to mind. The “Fallout” series of videogames, which I have played extensively,also certainly influenced me. However, I tried to limit those influences to the landscapes and antagonists. I didn’t want our heroes to look too much like wild tribal people who wear scrap metal and parts as armor or ornament, and aimed at a “The Road” look for them, also because that gives a better contrast with the wild creatures they encounter.

CC: Tazio, I’ve seen some of your work on Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Venture City Stories, books that are a little different in theme from Sally. What attracted you to this project?

TB: Well to be honest, I think an artist should vary their work as much as they can and not focus on one genre. It is true that I have never tackled the post-apocalyptic genre in my artwork before, and a challenge to try something new is always welcome. But actually to be completely honest, a chance to work with a great writer like Victor was all I needed. It all started with us wanting to do a project together, and when Victor suggested a post-apocalyptic story, I was just delighted.

CC: Victor, do you have any plans for a Sally/Deadpool crossover (Please say yes)?

VG: That would rock, but I’m not sure we could get the lawyers to agree.

CC: Another question for Victor, you’ve done some pretty extensive work with female lead characters, is that a conscious effort to give women more of the protagonist spotlight, just a personal preference, or a combination of both?

VG: I think it’s great if a byproduct of the project is that we’re giving female characters more of the spotlight, but really it was all a gut decision. My goal is always to tell the best, most enjoyable story, and for this the female characters seemed to fit the bill. Plus, there’s the fact that Tazio excels at drawing the female form in a very athletic, graceful way, so I wanted to feed his strengths.

CC: Do you (Victor and Tazio) have any other upcoming collaborative or individual projects that you’d like to discuss?

TB: We do have a project awaiting us after Sally, and all I can say is that it’s great to work with Victor again.

VG: Tazio and I have another thing forthcoming that I can’t talk about yet … except to say I’m VERY glad to be working with Tazio again.

I would like to say that I’ve written a fantasy novel called INK MAGE and the publisher just gave me the go ahead for the next two books in the trilogy. I hope people give the books a chance.

Much obliged fellas,

The Comic Crusaders

Make sure to ask your LCS for Sally of the Wasteland and check out all of the Titan Comics line of titles and keep a look out for future projects by Gischler and Bettin!

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Adam Cadmon

Adam Cadmon is the pen name for a man who has been writing for a few years. Heâ€™s done his share of straight-laced writing, college press, blogging, some other not very glamorous technical writing to keep the bills paid. Itadakimasu.