tunity to work with artists who I’d admired for years. I can’t begin to describe how strange and humbling it is to see other people draw your characters, especially when you’ve been a fan of theirs for so long. Similarly, we were in a position where we could provide a platform for other writers and artists to get something published and to expand their portfolios. In that respect, I enjoyed stepping out of the artist chair and watching all this amazing work come flooding in. I particularly had a lot of fun swapping places with Daniel and writing a strip he would draw in SGS1. GS: I bet many of the doubters told you that you could not build a universe like you have for an indie book. What would you say to them now and aspiring creators wanting to do something similar? GB: Well, haters gonna hate. I think the main reason for the world building was that we wanted to plan the whole three issues of the main title before we started, and we felt it needed a fairly deep backdrop that could come to the fore later in the series. I think Daniel and I are coming to the realisation that huge universes and longer form stories are probably the recipe for madness in the self publishing world. If any aspiring creators are out there, I’d start by asking if your comic needs a large universe. It takes a lot of time and has the potential to take the focus away from your main thread. This may be what you want, and that’s cool, but
if you’re making a universe for the sake of it, I’d be asking where the story is. Secondly, self publishing is a tough gig, so it’s always best to have projects that are manageable. I mean that in terms of the logistics, not in terms of ideas. And of coursed, there are other ways to create a truly rich and interesting world without a huge roster of characters.
Geek Syndicate
GS: Is there a possibility for a Sugar Glider issue 4? Or will it all come to an end with Sugar Glider issue 3? We’d always planned to do three issues. GB: Sugar Glider 3 is the last one we’re planning on doing. We’ve talked about the possible ways of returning to the Gliderverse, but we’ll see. If publishers and people and of course, the two of us, want more, then it’s a distinct possibility. DC: No. There might be a Sugar Glider one-off or webcomic or something, but there won’t be an issue 4. We’ve said from the very beginning that this was a trilogy, and we’ve already added two anthologies to that. GS: When can we expect to see Sugar Glider issue 3? DC: I’m hoping this year, but only GB knows for sure. GB: I’m currently working on Sugar Glider 3 I’m about a quarter of the way through inking it. I have no idea when it will be ready. Place your bets now. If you want to check out Sugar Glider go to the website where it is being serialized
DC: I’d say, “I wish I had listened to you.” To some extent, I think we succeeded and I know a lot of readers have enjoyed that side of the Sugar Glider universe, but I think that Richard Bruton’s review for the FPI blog was pretty much on the money – it dilutes the Susie Sullivan story. If I had put the effort it took to create that universe into the main Susie story, the main storyline would have been a lot better. Having said that, everything from the issues of Sugar Glider Stories will be paying off in issue 3 of Sugar Glider. GS: Will we see any of more development in the Sugar Glider Stories characters? GB: That would be telling. After SGS 2, we decided not to do any more, but there are a lot of characters there, so who knows? DC: I’d like to see Gary do a Tiernan comic, and I’d be interested in doing some Vigilance stories – but, really, that probably won’t happen. We’ve got a new idea which is closer to the stories Gary likes and more likely to reach a wider audience – so we’ll be working on that at some point rather than anything to do with Sugar Glider.
Luke Halsall
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