Justin Jordan has proven himself to be one of the most confident voices in fantasy comics. His creator owned series “Reaver” is a strong contender to one of the biggest grimdark fantasy stories ever told in comics, but now he’s turning his attention to something lighter- a tie-in to the cell phone game “Summoner’s War.” I caught up with Jordan and talked about his projects both new and old, his approach to working with different artists, and his biggest influences.
What draws you to a project like “Summoner’s War?” Why do you think this is an interesting story to tell?
Justin Jordan: The big appeal of Summoner’s War for me is that it’s a really cool world and concept that I got the chance to help develop and shape. That’s actually pretty rare for existing properties; I do it in my creator owned but getting to do it for a world that already exists is flexing a different muscle, and one that’s super fun.
Did you ever play the mobile game? What’s the worldbuilding process like for a property like that? Do you collaborate closely with the company that holds the IP or are you basically given free reign? Are they precious about their world and characters or are you encouraged to go big and break stuff?
JJ: Haha, I haven’t played the game. The problem there is that I am, when it comes to technology, useless as hell. But that actually plays into the worldbuilding. The way that worked is that they gathered a number of writers together for a week to flesh out the world (this being when you could actually HAVE groups of people in the same room) and we got the complete bible to the game world and consulted with Com2uS, the game company.
Which was rad. They’ve been genuinely great to work with, and I rarely get to actually jam with other writers. My career has been very solitary so getting to collaborate is something I cherish when I get to do it.
And the work process has been fairly smooth. Mostly Com2uS is, as am I, very concerned about making the comic book accurate to and integrated in the game world, so the notes and such are mostly making sure that happens.
But story wise, they’ve been very encouraging about going big and given the setting of the novel I’ve had a lot of rope to tell cool stories.
My first encounter with your work was through “Luther Strode,” which was done in collaboration with Tradd Moore. Tradd has always had an unmistakable and unique style, even then. What’s it like writing towards a specific artist’s style? Is it a similar process with Luca Claretti on “Summoner’s War?”
JJ: Oh man, Luca is great, and perfect artist for this. I actually had Luca on my ‘artists I’d like to work with’ list before Arielle, our editor, suggested him. And I absolutely do write with Luca in mind. I think that’s both part of the fun of making comics and part of the process in making great comics (and I’m hoping we managed the second one).
Luca is also someone who gets what I am going for in a script and adds to it in a way that makes the story better. And you know, makes me look better, which is always nice.
I’m sure a lot of people have drawn connections between “Reaver” and Game of Thrones, but you strike me as a guy whose influences go deeper than that. What are some deep cut fantasy stories that have inspired you? Or that you think more people should be paying attention to?
JJ: I am a big fan of Grimdark fantasy, which is a legit genre and not something I just made up. Reaver in particular is me reading Joe Abercrombie, who does the First Law books, and going ‘I want to do that.’ But it also ropes in a lot of other Grimdark stuff and some assorted fantasy. There’s some Conan, of course, but also Glen Cook’s Black Company, David Gemmel’s Druss books and a hodge podge of other stuff I’ve read. There’s probably even some Dragonlance sprinkled in there.
Continued belowReaver in particular is also explicitly my attempt to mingle dark fantasy with other genres. The first arc is a man on a mission military story in a fantasy world. The second arc is essentially fantasy noir. The third is meant to be a western.
Likewise, “Reaver” has a big tabletop RPG feeling. Between that and “Summoner’s War,” is gaming at all part of your creative process? Tabletop? Video games? Otherwise?
JJ: I am a big fan of tabletop RPGs, although, heh, I don’t get to play anymore. But my tendency to realllllly think out the mechanics of how story worlds works is 1000% because I read a bunch of RPG books when I was younger.
Between the first and second arc of “Reaver,” the series shifted wildly in terms of tone, style, pacing, even genre. And “Summoner’s War” looks crazy different from both of those, and from a lot of your previous work. You seem like someone who likes to mix it up. But is there a central theme throughout your work or something you point to as your signature style? What do you see as the unifying thread through all your disparate work?
JJ: Man, it’s hard to say. This is actually a kind of problem, since against all good business instincts I basically right whatever seems fun, so I don’t have a brand. I like to think my books are all fun and high action, but I think the common thread is seeing what flawed but (usually) decent people do when placed in extraordinary situations. Which, honestly, the Strode books are a pretty good example of. Not all my books are that violent, but I think if you read Strode you’ll probably generally know what to expect from everything else.
Well, kinda. Hopefully there’s SOME surprises.
