Talent Dialogue: Tom Kelesides / Troy Dye (Goblin Chronicles)

If you've been following coverage of the Fablewood anthology, or were in the right place at the right time on FCBD, then you may've already had a small taste of The Goblin Chronicles: a three part fantasy mini from Ape Entertainment that begins this February. We recently had the chance to read some of this story, and let us be the first to tell you - it's one you don't want to miss. Tom Kelesides and Troy Dye are the co-creators and writers responsible for this fun all-ages tale and we couldn't pass on the opportunity to get together with them and find out more.



Tom Mattson (Newseed): Right out the gate why don’t we have you set the stage a little for those who missed the FCBD release or that haven’t caught any previews yet. What’s the basic premise of The Goblin Chronicles, aside from it being a fantasy tale?

Troy Dye: The short version: A goblin nerd, an elf princess, a troll axe woman and a shape shifter thief join forces to stop a mad sorceress from destroying their world. I like to think of it as Shrek meets the Lord of the Rings with a little bit of Labyrinth and Legend thrown in for good measure.

Tom Kelesides: To expand a little, the story is set in a war-torn fantasy world under the control of an evil sorceress named the Dark Queen. The world is populated by four major races: goblins, elves, trolls, and shape shifters. The Dark Queen uses her magic to keep the Four Realms in a perpetual state of war – so that they’re too busy to oppose her will. The main character is Gorim, a young goblin boy who is a bit nerdy and does not fit in with goblin society. He befriends other kids his own age, from enemy races, and with the guidance of an ancient wizard they set out to stop the Dark Queen. While on their quest, they learn about duty, loyalty, tolerance and friendship.

Why an all age story? Do you feel innocence is something that has been lost in comics, if ever it were there? Do you have children? Personally, I can’t imagine allowing my child to read nearly any of the material I read in comics each week.

Troy Dye: I am, if nothing else, a big kid. I never outgrew monster movies, Saturday morning cartoons, video games or Disney films. I don’t have kids yet, but I have many nieces and nephews. At family gatherings, I’m more likely to sit at the “kids table” than with the adults. We wanted to craft a story that was true to the spirit of “being a kid”. An all-ages story was just a natural fit for the kind of story we wanted to tell. I think all-ages fare has been mostly forgotten or written off in the comics market. Someone needs to bring in the next generation of comic book readers. We hope to contribute to those efforts. Having said that, our story is all ages, but it doesn’t talk down to the reader. I think our story will resonate with adults just as much as it does with kids and teens.

Tom Kelesides: We wanted to tell a story that, at its core, was just pure and simple fantasy fun. Not something bogged down with gratuitous violence, nudity or muscle-bound meat heads. There are plenty of titles out there that have that. Don’t get me wrong, we love some of that stuff, but we wanted to take a different approach. I truly believe that this is the kind of story I can recommend to just about anyone I know.

Goblin Chronicles is said to be inspired by ancient mythology & European folklore. How directly and literally ‘inspired’ are we talking? Are these transparent and/or obvious influences? Will we recognize places, figures, and events, or is it more subtly inspired by tone and theme?

Troy Dye: I grew up reading books on myths and folklore. Stuff like Bulfinch’s and Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, Katharine’s Briggs’ Encyclopedia of Fairies, Brian Froud’s Faeries, and let’s not forget TSR’s Deity’s and Demigods. Just about every character has some loose association with myth and legend. Some influences may be obvious, but most are not. In one instance, we had to modify a legend a bit -- as was the case with a gender change for a particularly wicked water boogie.

Tom Kelesides: I’m Greek, so I grew up on a healthy diet of Greek Mythology. Most of the characters were inspired by legend, not necessarily places or events. Like in most myths, you may recognize “The Hero’s Journey” as described by Joseph Campbell.

Tell us about having a co-writer.
Where’d you two connect and what does the other bring to the table?

Troy Dye: Having a co-writer is great, as you have someone there to bounce ideas off of. You can’t beat instant feedback. The collaborative process allows you to cycle through several ideas quickly, tossing aside the garbage and keeping the good stuff.

Tom Kelesides: Writing is work, so having someone there to talk to and joke around with makes the process fun. Also, we’re good at different aspects of writing. My weaknesses are his strengths and vice versa. It works out quite well. It’s nice to have someone to pick up the ball whenever you drop it.

Though the actual series doesn’t begin until February, you’re still finding ways to get TGC out there beforehand both with the FCBD story and the prelude to be featured in the Fablewood anthology this January. How did your involvement in these events/projects come about?

Troy Dye: David Hedgecock and Brent Erwin, the publishers at Ape Entertainment, have been very supportive of The Goblin Chronicles. They invited us to contribute to their FCBD comic and we jumped at the chance. As a result, we’ve received several great reviews of the story. My favorite was “the short included there was in my opinion the best of the package, being better than my own if I do say so myself.” That was posted by the talented Skipper Martin, who also contributed a great FCBD story based on his comic Bizarre New World -- which is a phenomenal read.

Tom Kelesides: As for Fablewood, William Ward, the editor and contributing writer of the Fablewood Anthology, was accepting submissions for his graphic novel. David at Ape encouraged us to submit a story, so we did. William liked what we turned in and the rest is history. William has been working extremely hard to promote Fablewood – which also benefits our upcoming miniseries. We’re grateful to William for giving us this opportunity.

Looking at the experience of Fablewood specifically, how has it been working with that team? What type of opportunities does an anthology structure provide you as a writer that you may not have had otherwise?

Troy Dye: It’s been a great experience working with William and team on Fablewood. I know William has been putting in long hours promoting on forums, doing interviews, calling retailers, etc. It shows that he has 100% commitment to this project. I take my hat off to him. This guy is trying everything he can in his power to get the word out. That’s dedication.

Tom Kelesides: Contributing to an anthology is a great way to get your stuff out there with minimum hassle. Putting a full-length book together takes a lot of time, money, and energy. Since a short story is smaller in scope, it’s less time consuming. It was nice to see the finished product in a relatively short amount of time. A short story is a great way to get your name out there. I strongly recommend this avenue to all aspiring comic book writers and artists.

Fablewood is focused on exploring the fantasy genre. The Goblin Chronicles is a fantasy tale. Perhaps it’s prudent to ask what you consider to be at the heart of a truly great fantasy story. Why fantasy? What’s the power there?

Troy Dye: When I think about why I like books like Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”, Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” and Hobb’s “Assassin’s Apprentice”, it’s because of the rich and interesting characters. The reader must identify with the characters in order to get them to invest hours of their time reading your story. What’s the power of fantasy? I think the genre offers you a real disconnect with reality; more so than any other genre. With magic, the possibilities are endless. It’s the ultimate wish fulfillment.

Tom Kelesides: The heart of any great story is the characters and how they handle the situations they are in. Can the reader sympathize? Do they care? A good story is a good story, regardless of genre. However, fantasy has the added benefit of taking us to a different world, playing with magic, and fighting monsters. That appeals to the kid in most people. I think the reason the fantasy genre is so powerful is because it is a direct result of old Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology. These are stories that have been with us for thousands of years. I think its natural for anyone who loves mythology to love fantasy.

The story of the hero is an old one, and fantasy allows us to place our heroes in a world where they can still do fantastic things. Also, it allows us escape the mundane world that we live in and indulge in all of our wildest flights of fancy.

How big a role do the characters and events in the FCBD and prelude stories play in the issues coming in February?

Troy Dye: The FCBD story centers one of the main characters in the miniseries, Gorim the goblin. It gives the reader insight into why he wants to become a gadgeteer – that’s goblinspeak for inventor.

Tom Kelesides: It’s a stand alone prequel story, so you don’t need to read it to enjoy the miniseries. The other characters in the FCBD story (his parents and his mentor, Tinker) play minor roles in the miniseries.

The two of you set up Archon Comics, a studio in Los Angeles. At this point you’ve announced no planned releases past the initial three issue Goblin Chronicles run. Will we be seeing more of these characters or this universe in the future?

Troy Dye: That is a definite possibility. It all depends on how well sales go. We already have material written for a second miniseries. If sales are good, we’ll proceed with the art. I absolutely love the characters and the setting. So I hope we get the chance to tell more stories.

Tom Kelesides: We’re playing with the idea of translating TGC into a novel. There’s so much more detail, background info, and story we can delve in to if we were writing this as a novel. Comics are our primary focus at the moment though.

With or without more of TGC, what can we expect from Archon down the line? Are you interested in doing work outside the fantasy realm?

Troy Dye: We intend to add more creative folk to the Archon stable in the near future. Our focus has been on TGC for the past year or so, but once we get the first miniseries on its way, we intend to grow Archon comics into a small studio of highly-motivated comic creators. I envision Archon Comics as a place to assemble creative teams for submissions, a vehicle in which to promote ourselves, and make new friends. We are definitely interested in creating comics outside of the fantasy genre.

Tom Kelesides: We love fantasy, but it is by no means the only genre we wish to work with. We have a few other irons in the fire, but right now we are focusing on TGC. We are not exclusively “all-ages” either. Although we feel the industry needs more all-ages comics, we’re also big fans of adult sci-fi and horror. We’d like to play with the genres as well.

The Goblin Chronicles story in Fablewood look stunningly beautiful. Collin Fogel (art) and Dustin Evans (colors) have really pulled out all the stops and put together an impressive display. Where’d you find these guys and are there any plans to bring them back on future projects?

Troy Dye: On behalf of Collin and Dustin: Thanks! I met Collin through Digital Webbing. It’s funny, because Collin didn’t post his art, someone else did. His style was exactly what I was looking for, so I emailed him and here we are. Collin is a consummate professional. Even though he has a demanding day job as a video game artist, he really came through by turning in great pages on a regular schedule. Dustin Evans is Ape’s “go to” man for colors. David Hedgecock recommended Dustin to me because he’s dependable and was doing an awesome job on Gargoyles, which David also pencils for SLG. Dustin also did bang-up colors on our FCBD story. I am definitely going to work with Dustin again. Will Terrell does our colors for the miniseries. They’re unbelievable. Will has a unique and fresh style that’s ridiculously cool. Will is the total package, because he can pencil, ink, and color, too.

Tom Kelesides: We would work will all of these guys again if they would have us. They did a great job. We went through several artists who proved to be unreliable before we assembled this team. Colin is awesome and has a great work ethic. It really all came together once we had a reliable artist who would illustrate our story the way we liked. Dustin and Will’s colors really gave life to the art. It’s incredible what these guys have done.

Is there any truth to the rumor I just made up that you found such incredible artists to overcompensate for your own shortcomings?

Troy Dye: Why you son-of-a-bugbear! Did Skipper tell you that? Or was it Ward?

Tom Kelesides: Absolutely not! The greatness of our artists is only surpassed by our own. However, I will add that a good reliable artist who can follow instructions and take criticism is worth his weight in gold!

Stepping back from all of this for a bit, what’s your big picture? As a writer are comics your focus or just a small part of what you want to be doing over the course of your career?

Troy Dye: Right now I’m obsessed with comics. I absolutely love the format. I originally got the writing bug through writing prose and screenplays, so we may re-visit those mediums at a later date. But for right now, it’s all about comics.

Tom Kelesides: We love comics, and would be happy doing only comics if we could make a good living at it. However, we would also like to try our hand at screenplays and novels at a later date. We’ll see what opportunities come our way.

What’s your history with comics? Did you read them as a kid? Do you follow them now? Do you have any general comments on the ‘state of the industry,’ or any current series? If nothing else, could you make a guess as to why Hollywood can’t put out a third installment in a successful comic-inspired franchise that isn’t just utter trash?

Troy Dye: I’ve been reading comics since I was a wee lad. I think my first comic was an adaptation of the movie Aliens. I also remember picking up Arak, Son of Thunder and early issues of the original Firestorm series. I still read comics voraciously today and follow the industry closely. As far as the state of the industry, I’m encouraged that sales numbers are up in general, but bummed that independent publishers seems to be have less market share than they have in previous years. All the mega crossover events are kicking the little guys in the nether regions. Ouch, I say! Why cant Hollywood out a good third installment of a comic-inspired franchise? I dunno … maybe because lightning rarely strikes in the same place twice, let alone thrice. I think it tough making three successful films in a row, period. Good movies are just rare these days. Maybe I’m just jaded because I’m disappointed with about 8 out of 10 movies I see. Too many chefs in the kitchen, perhaps?

Tom Kelesides: I started reading comics when I was 6 years old. Saturday morning cartoons made me a fan of the Super Friends, when I started reading, I picked up comic books on all of my favorite super heroes and it just grew from there. I continued to read comics into my teens, twenties, and now my thirties. The biggest barrier to comic books is that they’re too expensive. They do not provide enough bang for your buck. That is the challenge that the industry is facing today. There are many different types of media all competing for our money. It all breaks down to economics. A comic book costs on average $3.50 and takes 10 minutes to read. A movie at the cinema costs $10 and keeps you entertained for two hours. A good video game offers even greater value. So, as you can see comic books are up against some real stiff competition. As for why Hollywood can’t put out a third installment worth seeing, my best guess is nepotism within the studios, and the fact that many of the big executives who make the decisions are probably out of touch with the whole genre. But third installments are not the only victims of this. The new Superman movie that came out was a heaping pile of dung! The TV show, Smallville, is very well done and I am a huge fan. I love the way they portray Lex Luthor on that show. However, in the movie, they made Lex into an imbecile. They obviously surrounded themselves with a bunch of bootlicking “yes-men" when they wrote and filmed that movie!

Anything else you want to get off your chest before we call it a segment?

Troy Dye: You can pre-order the Goblin Chronicles in December 2007 at your local comic shop. It will be in stores in February 2008. It’s a three-issue miniseries, in full color, with 30 pages of story and art in each issue. The first issue has a variant cover by Jack Lawrence (Lions, Tigers and Bears). The second issue has a variant cover by Tim Seeley (Forgotten Realms). The third issue has a variant cover by Joe Suitor (Monoluminant). Please support your local comic shops and don’t forget to buy other fun Ape Entertainment titles.

Tom Kelesides: Yes, I want everyone to run out and demand that their local comic book store order dozens of copies of The Goblin Chronicles! Visit www.TheGoblinChronicles.com for more information. Go to www.ApeComics.com for other fine Ape comics. Don’t forget to pick up the Fablewood Anthology in stores in January or pre-order your copy today (order code: NOV07 3306).

Thanks very much for your time guys. The Goblin Chronicles look wonderful and we’re really looking forward to February.

Troy Dye: Thanks for your time!

Tom Kelesides: From one Tom to another … thanks!

Be sure to browse the links Tommy K. mentioned above which lead to some great preview art, or click below to go straight to the FCBD story, available on the Archon website. Order these books, you deserve this type of stuff.

Goblin Chronicles: "The Goblin Gadgeteer" FCBD Story | Link