Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 21

Geek Syndicate
Chris Roberson: We basically just went to people we knew in the industry, friends of ours and professionals whose work we’ve always admired. We outlined what we had in mind and how we thought it would work, and invited them to join us. GS: What about the idea of digital first publishing through ComiXology appealed to you? Chris Roberson: We’d known for a while that we wanted to do digital distribution, and spent a good long while looking at that market and trying to gauge who we thought was going to emerge as the market leader. We actually spoke with a number of different outfits, but comiXology was far and away the most impressive, and we were sure that they would end up the ones to lead that market. And sure enough, they did! GS: Monkeybrain has titles that range from all-ages to 17+ and tackle almost every genre. What goes into figuring out which stories are the right fit for Monkeybrain? Chris Roberson: It starts with the creators. We only want to work with people who we think are fantastic at what they do, and who we think we’d enjoy working with. Beyond that, it’s up to what kinds of comics the creators themselves want to make. The possibility always exists that someone will come up with something that ultimately we don’t think would be a good fit for us, but after more than a year and a half it hasn’t happened yet! I think that if you take talented people and let them make their passion project, you’re almost always going to end up GS: After a year, various first wave titles are now making the jump to print. Was this always the plan, or something that was decided as Monkeybrain took off? Chris Roberson: Yes, the plan from the beginning was to make things available at as low a price as possible in a digital format, and then once there was a sufficient amount of material, to do a print collection. That way, readers who want the immediacy of digital serialization can get it without waiting, but those who prefer to have a print collection on the shelf are served, as well. GS: As founder and a creator of one of the books, are you surprised by the support that Monkeybrain has received in its first year? Chris Roberson: Allison and I have both been overwhelmed by the response we received from day one. We’d HOPED for a positive response, so I’m not sure if “surprised” is exactly the right word for it. “Satisfied,” maybe? ;) GS: What do you see for the future of Monkeybrain? What do you see it becoming? Chris Roberson: You mean the future when apes are our masters? But no, in all honestly, the future for Monkeybrain looks like the present, only MUCH MORE SO. We hope to keep making great comics, and as many different KIND of comics as possiImage © Monkeybrain Comics, 2013

GS: How did you go about attracting the initial “first wave” of creators and books?

with something well worth reading.

ble, and simply not stop doing it. Monkeybrain was not only unique for the way it approached publishing its books, but also in the type of books it published and the myriad of creators it attracted. The creators range from seasoned pros to those with only a couple of indie books to their name, but all wanted a place to tell a great story, and Monkeybrain was the home for these stories, stories that seemingly wouldn’t fly at other publishers. Even though many of the creators currently have comics being published at any of the numerous comic companies, there was something about Monkeybrain that drew them in and made them want to publish their stories there. The creators were asked a few, simple questions, essentially trying to discern, “Why Monkeybrain?”

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