Comics Features

Interview: William Jenkins of THE PALE

William Jenkins is the writer behind the new sci-fi/fantasy comic The Pale, currently raising money on Kickstarter. We had a chance to talk to him about this intriguing new book.

AP2HYC: What is The Pale?

The Pale: Royalty and Thieves is a 36 page sci-fi adventure fantasy comic about three bounty hunters who take on the task of returning a young princess to her home planet after her father is assassinated and she is kidnapped. This isn’t an easy task though, Feyora is being hunted by the ruthless mercenary Tywod Grieves who has been hired to kill the little princess.

AP2HYC: Can you tell us a bit more about the setting and what sorts of creatures and tech we can expect to see?

Well, the setting is a large and strange universe filled with wildly different locations, alien cultures and creatures ranging from the densely populated city planets teeming with technology, to the almost barren icy tundras.

As for the tech, I’m a huge fan of a lot of different sci-fi so you can expect to see lots of holo-screens, laser guns, ships, and robots peppered throughout the comic. but I’d also like to stress the fantasy aspect . Magic and mysticism is a very important part of The Pale‘s universe and plays a big part in the story itself.

AP2HYC: Who (or what) are your greatest influences/inspirations?

I grew up watching and reading a lot of science fiction, stuff like Forbidden Planet, the Alien films, Blade Runner, Star Wars (of course), and Time Bandits. Watched a lot of old Twilight Zone and Star Trek. Read a lot a Ray Bradbury and Phillip K. Dick. I’m a big fan of old sci-fi and I hope that shows itself with The Pale.

AP2HYC: What are some of your favourite comics/artists/writers?

I always find it hard to narrow down my favorites, there’s so much out there, but I’ll try. One of the first comics I ever read as a kid was Teen Titans, so they have a special place on my weekly pull list. I’ve always loved the team dynamic in comics The X-Men, The Avengers, The JLA, and The Fantasic Four have been favourites of mine for a while. I don’t only read superhero comics though, I’ve just started reading Fatale by Ed Brubaker and I can’t put it down largly due to the art of Sean Phillips, I’ve been a fan of his for a while, anything him and Brubaker team up on is golden.

AP2HYC: What are the worst and best super powers you can imagine having?

He’s one of my favorite characters but the worst power I can think of having is The Thing’s. I mean you would get to be big and strong and all that. But who would want to be a rock? Although I would get to yell “It’s clobberin’ time!” on a regular basis. I could yell it now but I’d probably get a lot of strange stares. The best power I can think of? I’ve always thought Cyclops’ concussion beams were pretty cool, and those ruby-quartz shades he has to wear are just too stylish to ignore.

AP2HYC: What has been the most daunting part of the project so far? And how about the most exciting?

The most daunting part of the project so far is happening right now, running the Kickstarter campaign. Putting the comic out there and hoping something about it catches peoples eye and they can see what the two of us have put into it. The most exciting part has been whenever I get a new piece of “Pale” related art back from Shane [Sandulak, the artist on The Pale] and seeing the characters that were once just words come to life right in front of me. That’ll always be the best part for me.

AP2HYC: What made you choose to hold a Kickstarter campaign?

Kickstarter, I think, is one of the best way for new creators such as myself to get their ideas out there. It’s going to be a hard task but I think if we can pull this off it’ll be worth it.

AP2HYC: What’s next for you?

Well, If the Kickstarter is a hit I’ll be mainly focusing on The Pale for a good while. I already have a few solid ideas for what could be up next but there’s a lot of story left to tell in the universe of The Pale: Royalty and Thieves and that’s a universe I’m not eager to leave anytime soon..

Find out more about The Pale and help support the Kickstarter here!

About the author

David Molofsky

David is the Founder & Editor-in-Cape of AP2HYC.