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!
