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INTERVIEW: John Rodriguez – SPLIT

Likened by pullbox.com to ‘… episodes of The Twilight Zone‘, SPLIT is a dark but beautiful graphic novel by writer Mira Mortal and artist John Rodriguez. Read on to find out what we learned when we had the chance to interview John…

AP2HYC: To start off, can you give us a bit of background information about SPLIT?

John Rodriguez: SPLIT was an idea Mira developed before we met, but had never made it into a script. She had some drawings and notes, and that was it. When we decided to work together and I asked for the script, She wrote it. Pretty quickly too, I might add.

AP2HYC: SPLIT is quite dark – obviously intended for mature audiences. What drew you to the themes in this project?

John: I was coming off an 8 page comics about Catholic saints before SPLIT and was looking for something completely different. Mira had been following me on Twitter and we had kicked around the idea of working together. When she asked me what type of story I would like to do, my reaction was “dark.” She emailed me a script not too long afterwards and I liked it, so I started art production on it.

AP2HYC: Can you give us an insight on how your partnership with Mira works?

John: Well, to oversimplify it, she’s great with words, I’m not, but I am good with art. We compliment each other well. I can think up a concept for a story, but to actually sit down and write a script, I’ve tried many times, and it has yet to happen. Mira is a very creative writer, and between her ideas and the story concepts I have passed on to her to develop, I think we have at least 10 years worth of comic books. I have messaged her at odd hours to tell her story ideas that pop in my head for her to write down, mainly because if I don’t I’ll forget, and I know she will toss in ideas of her own that add great depth to the story.

AP2HYC: What’s been the most challenging part of the creative process for this project?

John: Most challenging for me was delivering on the emotions of the characters. There is not a lot of dialogue until nearly the end. I wanted the expressions on the faces of the characters to deliver the range of emotions that they were going through. I believe I was successful.

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AP2HYC: Who are your inspirations in the world of graphic novels?

John: I love the work of Mike Mignola, Ben Templesmith, Menton3, and Sam Keith. I enjoy seeing a comic book that makes you realize that not every comic has to be drawn, colored or written in the exact same way.

AP2HYC: And lastly, what’s one reason we should we all just go ahead and buy it/support the Kickstarter?

John: SPLIT is for those who might want a little something different in their comic collection, both in the approach of the art and story. It’s also great for those who want to support a truly indie comic spirit. I don’t think the reader will be disappointed.

To support the Kickstarter for SPLIT click here! Or visit John’s site here!

About the author

Grace Davis