From its opening moments, we all know “The Mighty Zodiac” is going to be fun. There’s a scene, for instance, where a bunny silhouette appears against the moon, then leaps down to become an army of angry rabbit warriors. Writer J. Torres and artist Corin Howell gleefully play with fantasy conventions, epic quests, and martial arts action. We had a chance to sit down with Torres and Howell, as well as colorist Maarta Laiho, to talk about the book, what they’re excited to bring to the genre. Take a look!
MC: First off, great job on the book, everyone. I dug the sheer imagination, sort of Stardusty vibe, and bunny ninjas. I was hoping you could introduce yourselves and maybe give us some background on your previous works?
J. Torres: Hello, my name is J. Torres and I’m a comic book writer. Some of your readers may recognize my name from Teen Titans Go or Wonder Girl at DC; others may remember my Oni books Alison Dare, Power Lunch, or Lola: A Ghost Story, among others; I’ve also written for Archie, Simpsons comics, plus anthologies like Dark Horse’s Creepy and Eerie, as well as True Patriot. I’ve been around the comic block a few times!
Corin Howell: Sure! The first work I did professionally was with VIZ Media LLC, where I worked on a short “Ben 10 Halloween Special” comic. I also worked on “Hello Kitty: Hello 40” and “Bravest Warriors: The Great Core Caper” and “The Search for Catbug”. I’ve also worked on “Cafe Racer” with the Murphy Apprenticeship, and then moved on to work on DC Comics “Bat-Mite,” and IDW Publishing’s “Transformers: Windblade,” and currently working on their “Ghostbusters International” covers. I’m also working on the Bulk and Skull shorts with Boom! Studios!
Maarta Laiho: Hi there! My name is Maarta Laiho and I am a comic colorist. My previous works include Boom! Studio’s Lumberjanes, Adventure Time, and the mini-series Adventure Time: Candy Capers. The Mighty Zodiac is my first book with Oni Press!
MC: How did you all come to be involved in this book? How did it take the shape you’ve given it?
JT: I pitched The Mighty Zodiac to Oni a few years ago. For various scheduling reasons, we only started working on it in the last year when Robin, our editor, discovered Rin and thought she would be good for the book. Once she was signed on, we hit the ground running. She’s so fast, I’ve been having trouble keeping up!
CH: I actually met my editor, Robin, when I first went to SDCC back in 2014! We chatted and geeked out a bit and then start started talking about the project. When I got in touch with J. Torres, we were able to go back and forth on what inspirations we wanted to use for the book. We were inspired a lot by Disney’s “Robin Hood” animated feature.
ML: I was brought onto the book well after its development. I had submitted my portfolio to Oni Press, and was contacted shortly after by the editor Robin who was looking for a colorist. From there we jumped right in working on issue one.
MC: So, it’s called “The Mighty Zodiac,” and that’s the name that this central group calls itself, but I was wondering if the zodiac itself builds the story. I noticed the characters were all from the Chinese Zodiac: Was there a particular influence on the art, the choices of colors, the structure?
JT: Yes, The Mighty Zodiac is a clan of warriors representing the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac. I was initially inspired to write the story by a set of statues I saw on my first visit to Korea (where my wife is from) depicting those animals as warriors. I remembering telling James at Oni that I’d love the art to look like something from an animated movie, a mix of Disney and anime – and Rin fit that bill!
CH: We took what inspired us from our favorite animations, though myself I took some inspiration from Disney’s Mulan.
MC: What’s your collaboration process like for creating each issue? How does that help with the worldbuilding and character development for the story?
Continued belowJT: I send a script to Robin and wait for feedback, and once we think the script is ready, Rin starts working on rough layouts. We provide feedback on those and she then goes to tighter pencils. Sometimes there are more revisions at that stage. Then the process for coloring is about the same. We had some kinks to work out in the first two issues, and I wanted to establish certain things stylistically and design-wise, so it’s taken more steps but from that point on I’m thinking we’ll have smoother sailing. Robin, Rin, and Maarta have been very patient with me thus far.
CH: Usually it’s layouts, then pencils, and then to inks. We collaborate as a group early on when I’m doing layouts when it comes to making the pages and making sure the story flows.
ML: I get notes right from the start when working on the colors, often from J and Robin on how they visualize certain characters and scenes. After I do a first run with the colors, there is quite a bit of back-and-forth between everyone with how well they think certain colors work (both story-wise and how well it prints). This is actually one of my favorite parts because I love feedback. Often the best scenes have been fine-tuned by everyone’s input.
MC: What things have the other artists turned in that you’ve found crazy exciting?
JT: There are some little expressions and comedic touches Rin puts into a panel sometimes that make me laugh out loud. She’s also turned in some amazing action sequences that made me very happy. And every time Maarta’s hands in colored pages, it’s like that moment in The Wizard of Oz when the film goes from sepia to technicolor. The big picture looks great but when you zoom in and see some of the little details she puts into certain panels, you can’t help but be more impressed.
ML: I love Rin’s lines. Not only are her character expressions great, but the panel scenery is so well defined that I have a ton of fun painting them. J also has little notes here and there about what’s going on in the story, that you can’t help but get a great mental-picture of the world he’s writing.
MC: What are you most excited to bring to this book? What do you think people will love most of all from it?
JT: There’s a lot to this world. Places and events merely mentioned. There’s a lot of magic around the characters. Sometimes it affects them directly, sometimes it’s just there. The world-building has been so much and I hope readers get immersed in it want to see more. We also have a big cast with lots of fun personalities. I’ve already seen my kids and people at Oni gravitate towards one character or another. I want everyone to find their “spirit animal” in this comic, whether that lines up with their actual sign in the Chinese zodiac or not.
ML: There are so many great characters, it will be impossible to pick just one as your favorite. The story itself is so rich with magic and mythology, that I hope readers will find themselves drawn into this world.
CH: I love drawing character expressions and backgrounds the most, so I’m hoping that the audience will be able to tune in on how the characters are feeling when they read the story.
MC: How much of this is already plotted out? Without spoiling anything, are there any particular sequences you’re really excited for us to see?
The entire six-issue miniseries is plotted out, scripted up to #4 as of this writing, and I’ve got notes for even more stories beyond this one. I’m curious to see how people react to our cliffhangers, especially in issues #2 and #3. There’s also an action sequence on a rope bridge over a chasm that Rin knocked out of the park that I can’t wait for people to see. Plus, more action in the final installments where the scales tip one way and then the other and there’s a big battle and transformations and explosions and lots of funny and dramatic and exciting moments.
Continued belowMC: Which of these characters do you most enjoy writing?
JT: Right now it’s Ko. She’s moody in a fun way. Kind of like Raven from Teen Titans Go, who was my favourite to write in that series. But if you asked me this question a few weeks ago, I would’ve said Buta. To me, he sounds like Tituss Burgess from The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt so there’s a party in my head that I wish I could invite you to when I write him.
MC: This one’s kind of broad, but how do you write? Not just do you scratch everything out by hand then type it up or whatever, but what’s your process for approaching the page? Do you have a pretty clear idea going in of the story’s general shape or do you kind of throw everything on the page and then start cutting back to get to allotted space? What are the challenges you’ve seen working like this, but what cool things have you discovered in your own writing from having to play to page?
JT: I usually work from a pretty tight outline, so when it comes to scripting, it’s usually just a question of “laying it” out, panel by panel, scene by scene, and across the pages of the issue. But sometimes an idea strikes and you deviate from the outline. Or after you write a subsequent issue, you realize you need to go back and tweak something in the previous script that you didn’t account for in the outline. I mentioned earlier how fast Rin was so a couple of times, I’ve come up with a new idea or changed my mind about something and wanted to go back and edit…but she’s already drawn that part! So, I have to ask myself how important that edit is, and is it worth having Rin re-draw it, or can I live with it if we leave it as is? More importantly, how does it affect the story? Or not. All these year working in comics and I still haven’t learned how to “lock in” a script and throw away the key. I still look at some of my published work and wish I could change things. But I guess that’s a good thing? I can be critical of my own work and know (think) I can do better…
MC: What’s your routine like for making this book? Do you sort of construct everything around the page, go on a panel-by-panel basis, or lay out the whole thing in a long spread?
CH: I usually start out with layouts first, planning out all the panels for all the pages before going to pencils and inks.
MC: What sort of things do you look at before you start working on any given page? That bunny ninja action sequence, for instance, was super rad, and I guess I’m wondering what kind of stuff you’re calling on to help you create a setpiece like that?
CH: I guess some of the inspiration for the ninja sequence was DreamWorks “Rise of the Guardians” which had this shadowy figures in them that gave me the idea that they would creep around the walls. That and the Ninja Turtles Foot Clan.
MC: There’s a scene where a snake scribe sends out a message across the land, and I thought the way you had him sort of use his tail to construct the lantern was clever and funny. What restrictions and challenges do you put on yourself when you’re working with anthropomorphic characters? Where do you find that balance between, like, Looney Toons or Donald Duck and Watership Down?
CH: I have to remember that these characters are not humans. They are more expressive but they dont move like humans. So keeping within that Chuck Jones kind of aesthetic to the characters was a little challenging because these characters are expressive but we didn’t want them to be too cartoony.
MC: What parts have been the most exciting to draw? The most challenging?
CH: The most exciting things to draw have been the action sequences, anything with movement is a lot of fun to draw. The most challenging is a giant crowd scene full of bunnies and I have to draw each of those bunnies as a ninja.
Continued belowMC: How did you start getting involved with coloring? What is there about this process that you find most fulfilling?
ML: Oddly enough I never originally set out to become a colorist, but after a friend asked me to color a mini-issue for them, 3 years later I’ve somehow become a colorist full time! I’ve always enjoyed digital painting, so the transition into coloring comics was rather easy. One thing I especially enjoy is the huge variety of things I get to paint. Each new issue has vastly different backgrounds and moods that need to be portrayed, and I’m tasked with the unique challenge building the world and telling the story with color.
MC: I noticed the other day just how many of the books I have that you’ve colored, “Lumberjanes” and “Adventure Time” especially. What’s your process for picking the palette to evoke the mood in each scene? How does the palette in this book differ from something like Lumberjanes?
ML: Each book I work on has its own unique style. For example; Adventure Time, being based on an animated cartoon, is bright and playful with strong solid colors. Lumberjanes, being set primarily at a summer camp in the woods, has lots of earth tones and is more painterly to give it an organic look. With The Mighty Zodiac, the world is very magical and unique, so the colors I use reflect that. I wanted to make it almost look like a tapestry, with these amazing characters of legend coming to life. Lots of textures and deep colorful palettes were used to give The Mighty Zodiac its own look.
MC: What colors are you especially drawn toward?
ML: I have a tendency to use very dark and saturated colors, which I have to be careful with because they don’t print out so well! I’ve really had to train myself to work with more de-saturated and brighter colors because I often forget that what I see on my computer screen is very different from what will be on paper haha. Also I seem to like palettes of either blues or reds, as more often than not those will be the first colors I choose.
