Friday, May 15, 2015

Newark Comic Con: Forward Comix


Tell me a little bit about yourself and your brand?



My name is Jerome Walford and I was born in Jamaica, my family moved to the states in 1986. I fell in love with art and comics at a very young age. After many years in advertising, I wanted to explore my passion for storytelling, particularly through comics.

Forward Comix is an indie publishing brand I started in 2012, it is geared towards producing select, well-crafted stories, with relatable characters. Our stories usually touch issues such as diversity, social justice, faith and environmental responsibility, but in ways that are unexpected.

What made you decide to get into your field?



I stumbled into writing and producing comics. Although I enjoy working in advertising, at some point I began to miss creative work that wasn’t primarily about selling a product. There is something immeasurably valuable about creating stories and seeing others find meaning in them. When I was very young my favorite thing to do was to come up with crazy stories, write and draw them to show my friends and family. I found that the field of comics is the most direct way to get back to those moments. And hopefully the stories are a whole lot better than the ones I made when I was ten years old.

Last year (2014), my graphic novel series, Nowhere Man, won the Glyph Comics Award for Best Male Character. It was a tremendous honor and a strong indicator that I should keep going. I want to create stories that are original and have a bit more heart to them.


What is the vision of your field? What do you hope to achieve?



Forward Comix was started with the belief that storytelling in general and comics in particular has become too narrow. We recycle much of the same stories and archetypes over and over again, not allowing ourselves or our pop culture to truly progress. I would like to see the field evolve to the point where original stories thrive. Where small publishers and production houses are profitable again, and we begin placing higher value on original content that strives for depth and diversity. Forward Comix is my effort to make that dream a reality in some small way.


What is your favorite graphic novel that you have produced? Why? 


My favorite graphic novel that I have produced would have to be my most recent installment in the Nowhere Man graphic novel series.

Nowhere Man is a graphic novel series that follows Jack Maguire, a detective with the NYPD. In exchange for technology-based superpowers to use in secret, Jack becomes the bodily host for Zade – a mysterious superhuman. But when Zade’s mission - to track and eliminate a group of weapons traffickers - goes sideways, Jack seeks to complete the mission, at any cost.

The recent book, released in April is the sixth book in the series, concluding volume two. The art is my best sequential artwork to date: lots of great detail, more dynamic, strong coloring and lettering. From a writing standpoint: there are layers of storytelling that pull all the books together. I also use poetry and even code as part of telling the story.

I truly hope that folks will check it out. I’m glad to have won the Glyph Comics Award for the first book in the series. However I personally think this latest book has much more depth and a more refined artistic approach.


Tells us more about Forward Comix? What do you have coming out soon?



The mantra at Forward Comix is to seek out stories less traveled. We are based in Brooklyn, New York and focus on developing stories that reflect our diverse, urban cities and an appreciation for the times in which we live.

Over the next several months, we will be looking for more opportunities to distribute the Nowhere Man series. We will also be further developing our all-ages comic, Rambun-Shialon-Ctious, a space fantasy adventure centered around three siblings as they set out on a comedy-filled journey to save the universe.

Our third goal is to further develop our YA fiction series, Curse of the Griffin. The literary fiction series follows a group of refugees from a fallen mystical kingdom, desperately trying to survive in a region controlled by vampires. The first book, Daniel’s Pride, has already gotten some great reviews, we want to further polish the first book and publish a second sometime in the near future.

Our hope is to build an awesome fan base from the ground up. We believe people are earning for stories that shed a light on what it means to be human and points to something greater than ourselves.

What is your website?

Folks can learn more about us at www.forwardcomix.com

Contact information?


Email: info@forwardcomix.com
www.Facebook.com/forwardcomix
Twitter: @forwardcomix


Thank you to Jerome of Forward Comix. We look forward to seeing more from you and your company. Forward Comix will be at Newark Comic Con on September 12th, 2015. Please take a moment and check out the website at www.newarkcomiccon.org. Buy a ticket and we will see you there.


Post by Vikki
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