Footprints in USA Today

Yeah, you read that right. USA Today did a feature on Footprints that includes an exclusive sneak peek at Footprints #2 and a lengthy interview with me. Huge thanks to Brian Truitt and his continued support of independent comics. Please check out the feature and read the preview. I’ve put an excerpt below. Also, tell everyone you know.

As a comics journalist, Esposito knows a lot about the positives and negatives of the industry. He realizes that a black-and-white comic like Footprints is a hard sell, it might take more than one issue to sell people on it and they might unjustifiably compare it to other properties. Not to mention the fact that Diamonds Comics, the largest comic-book distributor in North America, will only carry Footprints trade paperbacks and not single issues.

“But it’s the comic I wanted to make, so I did,” Esposito says. “It’s all about the learning experience. I love Footprints and I’m proud of what we’re doing, but I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned about the medium and the industry and apply it to the next book.”

Check out the full interview, and don’t forget that we’re having an epic party for Footprints at Meltdown Comics this Saturday night at 7PM in LA!

Watch Me on the Geekscape.net Show!

This past weekend I was a guest on the awesome Geekscape.net video show and podcast! Along with Alphonso McAuley of the FOX comedy Breaking In, we talk comics, nerds in love, video games, and of course, Footprints. It was a lot of fun, so thanks to Jonathan London and the other Geekscape folks for having me on!

Watch the full episode here.

Interivew on the Popcropolis Podcast

The guys over at Popcropolis were nice enough to be generous hosts and interview me on their podcast to talk about Footprints and our Kickstarter campaign!

Go and listen to the whole episode (my segment begins at about 27 minutes in)!

Interview w/ Comic Attack

Hey everyone,

Andrew Hudson over at ComicAttack.net recently did a pretty sweet interview with me about comics, Footprints, IGN, our Kickstarter Campaign, and of course, Back to the Future. Big thanks to the site for all the support they’ve shown us! Here’s an excerpt of the interview:

CA: Who’s your favorite character (whether personally or to write) in Footprints?

JE: I love Jersey Devil. I know it’s like the “cool” thing to do to make fun of the Jersey Shore folks, but I hope that I’ve infused Devil with enough endearing qualities to make him appealing, including to the Jersey Shore people. He’s just a lot of fun to write. He’s the glue that holds the team together, really, even if he’s sort of this hapless troublemaker. They all need him, even if it’s only to put him down every other panel to elevate their egos. The character interaction is a lot of fun to write. If I ever get to the point where I can deliver his one-shot origin tale, that will be a complete dream.

CA: If Footprints was made into a film, who would be your dream cast?

JE: I’m really not a fan of the idea, to be honest. First, I don’t think it’d work as a live-action movie. An animated flick would be cool, but Hollywood would insist on going CGI with it, and that’d be lame. So I don’t have a good answer for you, aside from Brian Cox playing Dr. Weber. That would be badass.

CA: Can you give us a hint about where you’re going to take Footprints next?

JE: Well, we saw Devil get carried off by a rather suspicious looking G-Man at the end of issue #1, so rest assured that we’ll be digging a little deeper into just what the hell the team has stumbled onto. I can say that issue #2 opens on the evening that WWII ended, in a brief glimpse into the past lives of Foot and Yeti. I can also promise waffles and explosions. If you’ve seen our Kickstarter Exclusive Art Print, there’s also some hints about the overarching plot of the series in the article clipping within the image.

CA: Fiction based on past decades tend to set their themes to the times they’re based on (depression in the thirties, McCarthyism in the fifties, etc.). Since Footprints starts right after WWII, will we see any themes connecting with the post war era?

JE: Well, the overall “story” of Footprints begins around the WWII-era, though “Iced” is set in the modern day. But yes, there are ties to the war that plays into the events that are unfolding, as well as current events overseas. It’s definitely fun to play into those eras, and future Footprints tales, with luck, will be able to explore this cast throughout different decades. The general timeline I’ve given is that the cryptids have been integrated in society since about the early 20th century, so there are so many options.

CA: Is Footprints going to be a one story event or, should everything go successfully, will you write other tales with Bigfoot or spin-offs with other characters?

JE: It’s structured so that we can tell numerous stories with these characters, in a series of minis or what have you. “Iced” is a complete story, but there’s definitely more to dive into. Obviously I have huge plans about what COULD happen, depending on our level of success. Jonathan and I have chatted briefly about the next story, but right now our focus is on getting our Kickstarter fully backed and being able to finish the first on our own, should we be unable to trick a publisher into releasing it!

You can read the entire interview at ComicAttack.net!

Interview @ A Comic Book Blog

I did a really fun interview with Geoff Arbuckle over at A Comic Book Blog this past weekend, which went live earlier today. You can find the entire interview here, but here’s an excerpt:

ACB: For the story element itself, you went with the noir genre.  Are you a big fan of genre in particular, or was it this particular genre that you wanted to use for these characters?

Esposito: Oh yeah, I just love noir in general.  But for these characters in particular, there is something in each of them that fits nicely with all of the classic noir archetypes.  The hard-boiled detective, the femme fatale, etc.  Each character in Footprints fills one of those roles, while adding in some extra stuff for the unique spin I think we found.  There are plenty of stories with Bigfoot or Nessy out there, but I think finding the spin on their accepted representations in popular culture is what makes Footprints appealing.

ACB: I think it’s safe to say that the use of these particular characters and the genre will lead to a lot of people being hooked.  I can say from personal experience that I’m looking forward to the rest of the story.  Can you give us a little tease for what we will be seeing throughout the rest of the Footprints series?

Esposito: Well yeah, first, I hope people do get hooked.  That’d be helpful.  As far as teases…  I can tell you that issue #2 opens the day that Japan signed the surrender documents ending World War II.  Let’s just say that the whole mystery behind this series is much, much larger in scope than a simple murder.  Or beheading, as the case may be.  Yeti’s murder was small potatoes.  There will be surprises and betrayals, and some light will be shed on the history between Foot and his brother.  And that’s just for “Iced”, this four issue mini.  With any luck, we’ll be going above and beyond that in the future.

We go on to talk about the comics industry, the importance of the Internet, and a whole lot more, so check it out! They also posted a review of Footprints #1, which if you haven’t read it, please do. It’s positively delightful.