that wanted to be a professional comic artist and it didn’t happen.
Other things got in the way and I accept responsibility for that, but I
feel like I need to do it. Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis or maybe I’m finally
comfortable doing this. I’m treating this like a fine art project, art for
art’s sake; it’s for me first, but I’m sure people will enjoy my vision.
SP!: THE STORY UNFOLDS OVER THE COURSE OF A NUMBER OF
ERAS. WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF TELLING A STORY
OF SUCH SCOPE?
Steven: Keeping track of the timeline and trying to get a feel for
the dialects and slang of the times is a huge challenge. The story
nudity, as well as sexual situations but it is not exploitation or porn.
It’s not for kids; I don’t let my children look at it and you shouldn’t let
you kids look at it, either. I need to strike a balance between artistic
integrity and what can actually be accepted by on-line POD publishers and other webcomic sites. I don’t want to end up getting
chased or harassed by a bunch of holier-than-thou evangelical
kooks or some crazy mom who gets upset because her kid saw
it. Faith Fallon is not for kids. I spent a lot of this past year reworking many pages, because they were over the top with the sexual
content, gore, and nudity. I think I hit the right balance.
SP!: ANY INDUSTRY CREATORS WHO HAVE HELPED INFLUENCE
YOU CREATIVELY?
Steven: I cannot say enough about Arlen Schumer, comic historian
and artist extraordinaire. He is a friend, a mentor, and a big reason
I got off my butt and decided to do the series. Back in 2010-11, I
started to post my comic art on my personal Facebook page, which
led to posting some of the current Faith Fallon pages beginning
in May of 2012.
Arlen would “like” the art on Facebook and he left some really nice
comments. He thought it was Chandleresque and had a bit of
Steranko to it. I was flattered. I never thought I would be put into
the same company as those two giants by anyone, let alone him.
Arlen kept commenting on the Faith Fallon work as I put new pages
up and he asked to see more.
I spent a day at his studio in August of 2012 and he was very positive. Arlen’s an Emmy-winning artist who worked for Neal Adams.
He’s seen the best comic artwork on the planet and forgotten more
about the art form than most people will ever remember, and he
really liked my stuff. He told me he really thought I was breaking
new ground with my use of black-and-white/grey tones in modern-yet-classic comic art. I was floored.
SP!: FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND, HE ALSO GAVE YOU A BIT OF A
PUSH. HOW ELSE HAS HE HELPED YOU?
Steven: At his behest, I started showing Faith Fallon pages at comic
cons. I hadn’t attended a comic convention since 1993—and that
was because I’d wanted to meet Tim Vigil back then and no other
takes place between the mid-1920s and the present day. I think reason. The first show I went to was ComicCONN in Trumbull, CT,
I’ll have an easier time of it when the story moves to the 80s and back in August of 2012.
through the present. The art style changes with each period. It’s
subtle. Things I do in the pages being shared here do not neces- I went with Arlen and he introduced me to some artists and told
sarily translate well in other parts of the story. The story is told in a them to take a look. They were positive, but I wanted to see if the
non-linear fashion, lots of flashbacks and flash forwards. There are reaction was the same if I presented the work myself without him
things that aren’t answered right away or may appear confusing, there. It was intimidating, but I finally got the nerve to ask Michael
but it all works out in the end. I trust my audience to follow her story. Golden what he thought. I figured I may as well ask a master of
the art and start at the top. He liked it and was really great to talk
My other challenge is to know when to pull back. This isn’t a G-rated to. I went to the NYCC Comic Con in New York in October of 2012
Disney story. It’s a hard R for sure. There is plenty of violence and and did the same thing. Again, to my surprise, Faith Fallon was
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SELF PUBLISHER MAGAZINE 2014