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For the last installment of the “interviewing my friends” series, I talk with Josh Howard, creator of Dead@17, Black Harvest, and the Lost Books of Eve, and a really nice guy.

DAVID HOPKINS: To make this official, for the record, you acknowledge our friendship and all that it implies? I’m interviewing you as my friend and thus I probably know more about you than the average idiot with a comic website.... and you think I’m awesome. :)

JOSH HOWARD: Haha…of course!

DAVID: We first met when I found we had several mutual friends. I saw you placed a Love County Diaries poster in Dead@17 #1, which of course, was a company started by our friend Pat Rutherford (who I haven’t seen in forever). Both of us from Arlington, Texas. I don’t know if you feel this way, but there have been a lot of talented creative people (in and out of comics) who’ve come from Arlington, roughly all our age. Is there something about Arlington or our particular community?

JOSH: That’s a good question. Yeah, there does seem to be something going on. I was thinking about all my friends and the people I know and pretty much every one of them is involved with something creative, whether it be art, writing, music, or photography. It’s not like I seek those types of people out, I just can’t seem to get away from them…haha. One of the things that always gets me at conventions is when people ask where I’m from (not just me, but Viper in general) and they’re always shocked to hear Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington, like creative people are only on the coasts. When I say I like living here, I really mean it. I love this area of Texas.

DAVID: You do realize you helped give me my first start in comics? And for that, I always be very grateful. A lot of creators seem hell-bent on making the industry as exclusive as possible—only people who think or do things a certain way. You’ve always been interested in getting other people involved. How has your perception of the comic industry changed since you first got started?

JOSH: I’m a big believer in giving back. For years I struggled, and it always felt like I was alone. I never had a support system of peers to help encourage me or offer feedback. But now, thanks to Viper, I’ve been able to help build this community of artists and writers who otherwise might have never been given a chance. I’m glad we’ve been able to gain some sort of foothold, even if it is a small one, into and industry that tends to squeeze out the little guy.

DAVID: With the Dead@17 ongoing series, how far do you have the story mapped or outlined? Between this and Lost Books of Eve, do you see one potentially lasting longer than the other?

JOSH: The story I have for Dead @ 17 at the moment is pretty fluid. I have the general idea of what’s happening and where I want it to go and who the players are. But I’ve intentionally left a lot of blanks to fill in because to me, that’s part of the fun. I love the challenges of building a story. With everything I’ve done before, I’ve had to introduce all the characters or plotlines and tie them up in just a few issues. I’m looking forward to just letting things grow and breathe organically. Having said that, I do have an end that I’m aiming for. It won’t go on forever.

Between this and Eve, I can see Eve going on a lot longer. I could see it going on for hundreds of issues, actually. I’m not sure that will actually happen, but that’s how big it is in my mind. There’s just a wealth of story material and I think the potential is there.

DAVID: Dead@17 got a lot of people interested in comics who didn’t normally read comics. It was a good mix of story and action/adventure.
Nara is dead. Will Hazy play a role in the new series?

JOSH: Yeah, Nara is dead - physically, of course, but the assumption is that her adventure continues in the afterlife. Despite that, I’ve gone on record saying she’s not coming back, and I intend to keep that promise. That’s not an easy thing to say, believe me. I love the character. But I believe in keeping the integrity of the story in tact above all. The only way I can see her returning is if I ever were to re-launch the series, kind of an Ultimate or All-Star thing, or do something that was a spin-off of a Dead @ 17 movie or TV show, should that ever happen. You never know.

As far as Hazy, yes she’s still out there, now carrying around Nara’s abilities, and presumably a child as well. I think it’s safe to assume that her story isn’t over. That’s all I’ll say on that for now ;)

DAVID: Personally, I’m really excited about the Lost Books of Eve. I feel it may be the best think you’ve ever done—just being completely original, and making so much sense. Why hasn’t anyone written this before?! You know? These stories are part of culture, but we shy away from them. Why is that?

JOSH: Thanks! This is something of a dream project for me. When I came up with the concept a few years ago, I was kind of shocked myself that no one had really gone here before. I think the reason people shy away from it are two-fold. On one hand you have non-believers who are afraid to touch the material because they see it as an endorsement of something they don’t agree with. On the other hand, you have some believers who think you can’t touch this stuff because doing so is somehow sacrilegious. So I’m sure I’ll get flak from both sides. I just hope everyone can put aside all preconceived notions and see what I’m trying to do. I think you’ll be surprised.

DAVID: In this story, will God take physical form and walk in the Garden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8)? Will other angelic or demon being play large roles in the story?

JOSH: No, you’re not going to see God. You’ll hear him briefly, but that’s about it. One thing I won’t do is try distill God down into a comic book form. I really don’t want that to be the focus, anyway. But yes, there will be tons of angelic and demonic entities running around, but in ways you won’t expect. After all, man hasn’t filled the earth yet. Outside the Garden is basically a playground for the “gods,” where all these different entities are vying for control of the planet.

DAVID: You’re a big fan of He-Man. What would need to be done to make a good He-Man comic book? What aspect of the cartoon would need to toned done? What aspect would need to be played up? How would you write it?

JOSH: Man, I really don’t know. As big of a fan as I am, I don’t think I’d ever be capable of writing it. I’d love to draw it, sure. According to my understanding of the facts, the reason the recent re-launch died is because Mattel choked the life out of it. They put so many restrictions on the writers that it just became impossible to tell a good story, or at least something that could compete in today’s market. If somehow I were given free reign and those restrictions were lifted, I’d definitely love a shot at it. I think it needs a bit of re-imagining to connect with audiences today. Don’t get me wrong, I love the original and the reboot, but the reason Transformers and G.I. Joe are still alive and kicking today because they’ve changed and adapted. These are all iconic characters to my generation, as much as Superman and Batman were decades ago. I think it’s unfair for some to simply dismiss the 80s toys and cartoons under the “nostalgia” banner, because at one point, that’s all Superman was.

DAVID: You’ve also got an impressively large Transformer collection. What’s the crown jewel of your collection? Favorite Transformer?

JOSH: The crown jewel of my collection is my original G1 Megatron. As far as my favorite Transformer character, that would have to be Optimus Prime’s successor, Rodimus Prime.

DAVID: Congratulations to you and Laura with your new baby, due in February, which means he or she will be in the December Previews catalog? Sorry, bad comic humor. Can you share any names you have picked?

JOSH: Haha, yeah. It’s even getting a “Certified Cool!”

Seriously, though, Laura has already picked the names she likes. She feels it’s a girl, so that’s what she’s more focused on. I don’t want to give away the name yet, because knowing Laura, it will change 50 times before the kid’s born. But it’s the name of a city, a foreign city to be exact.

For information about Josh Howard, CLICK HERE.

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