Debuting last year at SDCC, “Motorcycle Samurai” by Chris Sheridan was something of a first for Top Shelf. As guided-view native comics started to be a something that more and more creators and publishers were doing, Top Shelf took a chance and gave Sheridan, an essentially unknown creator, an opportunity to tell his story in this relatively new format, marking what I believe to be their first guided view native comic.
Following the adventures of The White Bolt, a lone drifter in a strange, desolate landscape, “Motorcycle Samurai” is part Kill Bill and part Saturday morning cartoon. Sheridan’s loose and energetic visuals couple with the digital tricks to build up to action-packed battles and tense conversations, all thanks to the guided view.
As “Motorcycle Samurai” enters its second year Sheridan celebrates at SDCC with a special, free one-shot with variant covers by the likes of Jeff Lemire, Van Jensen and others. Read on as we talk about how the book landed at Top Shelf, the tricks of guided view comics, guided view vs. print, and teaming up with Thrillbent.
As far as I can tell, “Motorcycle Samurai” is your first published comics work. How did it end up at Top Shelf?
Chris Sheridan: “Motorcycle Samurai” came into existence really as a result of my relationship with the folks at Top Shelf. I had been doing Northwest Cons for a few years, and in that time met Brett Warnock, Chris Ross, & Chris Staros.
I was lucky enough to draw in all their sketchbooks at various Cons, and one of the books Brett had was an ‘ELVIS’ sketchbook that I was really into. I only really knew the basics of Elvis, and mainly it was the late period of his life, the Vegas times, the bad times. I remember I had hung onto an old postcard of the famous Elvis meeting Nixon. There was always an odd awareness of the public image.
So that was the incarnation of Elvis that lived in my mind, and that I drew, the one of him in the white jump suit, wide collar, with that wild hair & huge chops. That visual really stuck in my brain. So much so that all the tumblers kind of fell into place for building a world where a wild looking character like that casually could walk around. I knew that visual look was so powerful any other character had to be strong to visually compete for interest, and that’s when I struck on the White Bolt design of the leather daredevil in a mask.
From there the story kind of locked in as a mash up spaghetti western merging John Ford’s archetype with characters tinted with Leone idiosyncratic tones. It led to the idea of having an old school John Wayne character meeting an anti-hero in the form of a Clint Eastwood drifter. Kind of what a western shot in 1963 might have been, featuring a bridging of the two cinematic, and even thematic, eras.
So I built out two teaser books, one as a stand alone tale featuring the two lead characters, and one as a pitch or teaser for the series.
I was really hoping to hand one to Brett, mainly as a way to say, ‘lookie what I did, thanks to you’. But Brett wasn’t around, so I handed them to Chris Ross, who was really into making taking a new step for Top Shelf into the digital arena in a new way. I think it was really just a matter of great timing for me in that Chris was looking for something to do in the digital world that was specifically built for that medium.
It now seems so natural for it to exist in digital form, it’s funny to think back that it was conceived in any other way.
“Motorcycle Samurai” is embracing the digital format with open arms, being a digital exclusive title that makes use of the “guided view” system. As you said, it existed first as print, but was pushed into digital. How exactly did it make the jump?
CS: When I came up with the concept I was into what could be done in the digital space as a designer, and as someone with a film background. But the tools weren’t there entirely yet for digital. I had played with frame size and tablet display options on my own, but it didn’t quite feel right.
Continued belowI had wanted to just build a little graphic novel with a nice arc that could function as an opening chapter in a longer narrative, and also act as a neat little stand alone tale that I could just have for myself to say, ‘okay, I finally did it’.
But when I showed the teaser comic to Chris Ross he was very aware of the possibility to turn the tale into a digital tale that matched what Top Shelf was looking to expand and explore.
When he asked if I would be interested in taking it to the digital format I was all in.
As a guided view native comic, “Motorcycle Samurai” uses the digital format to transition between panels and pages seamlessly and gives an overall more cinematic feel. How do you actually go about creating these effects and layering them upon one another?
CS: That’s a nice compliment. Thanks! I think if it is successful in that manner, it really lies in that part of how I ‘built’ the story was to create it traditionally at first. And it was from there that I broke down the beats to areas that could be expanded or highlighted to really allow for unique moments, and ultimately, as in all transitions between panels, was to play with the passage of time. A passage the reader of any format is always controlling anyway, it’s just maybe more pronounced in digital.
Which I suppose is really my tactic when it comes to storytelling, and maybe the greatest advantage to what digital allows.
In digital you can build the pace and cadence in a way that is outside the bounds of page counts, turning the page, or any other format limits. The advantage as a storyteller is the reader never knows what is coming, whether a reveal, a turn, or a huge explosion. It’s all around a blind corner, and for me, as a reader, I love being in that position. I love being behind and having to try and catch up. Those are the most engaging stories for me, and I guess that’s the way I like to tell stories.
So technically I like to work in that way to building the story digitally, and visually, in terms of effects, I think in terms of the story, and how you can take an existing moment and build out the drama in a natural way. So the moment comes first, and then you explore the way to give that moment the most dramatic payoff, whether its to cut, pan, zoom, or swipe. Or maybe it’s to just hold and build dramatic tension.
So maybe that was more of a ‘WHY’, as compared to a, ’HOW’.
I think most comics, digital first or otherwise, have an eventual print collection as the end goal. Can the same be said for “Motorcycle Samurai” and we’ll eventually get some sort of massive volume of White Bolt’s journey?
CS: Yes! The hope was always to roll the hardcopy out as the tale wrapped providing a different experience. Having a print edition was something I was really into when the project started, and am really looking forward to. It’s something Chris Ross has been consistent in mentioning, that there needs to be a parallel set of files being developed and maintained, one for the digital beast, and one for print.
And the interesting thing about digital is, as much as there are a lot of screens per installment for “Motorcycle Samurai”, the content of those screens can be boiled down, and the story really just play out in a contained way that works for the story. Those ‘affected’ bits are just exclamation points you can include in digital, as a value added element. Building it out the narrative that way means the traditional page count is not as huge as it may appear at first. In animation terms, its like looking at the key-frames. Sure, if you look at the full strip of film its 16 frames a second, but if you break down the major movement there are only three. There is a lot of work that sort of ends on the cutting room floor, as it were, when you tighten the pages for traditional print. But each have their own qualities. And it’s fun to explore both.
Continued belowWhat goes into taking the digital page and making it print-ready? How do you decide which cool little transitions or visual effects to cut when putting together the page?
CS: That’s a great question. I’ll let you know when I figure it out!
No, it is something that is ongoing and has been an exciting process to develop and understand. Really, the ‘wide-shots’ translate to two page spreads. And the main part of what works so well for the digital presentation is that each new panel is akin to turning the comic page as it leads to a new reveal for the reader. That level of interest and reveal can’t be maintained in print. But neither can digital represent the two page spread.
In the end each format has its own strengths, and ultimately it comes down to having a solid story and good storytelling. Outside of that, of story, the digital effects are just a device to deliver story in an interesting and engaging way.
So for me, whatever elements you translate to print, or try to translate, are about finding the best way to mirror the intent of the story. A lot of that is about pace, flow and dynamic impact.
As part of some SDCC announcements, it looks like “Motorcycle Samurai” is teaming up with Thrillbent and will distributed on that site, in addition to Comixology and Sequential. How did that deal come about and what are you looking forward to about being on the site with the likes of Mark Waid, Peter Krause, Alex DeCampi, and more?
CS: I am not going to go with the easy line about being ‘thrilled’…but I am amazingly excited and humbled to be joining the lineup at Thrillbent. Mark has been personally driven to understand both the narrative impacts of digital, and the effects it has in regards to the market for that content. Its really an amazing exploration into what digital can be in a broad sense, and something he drove out of a clear passion. Something I love about Mark is his self-awareness into his own creative processes, and understanding that he needed to just take the plunge and build his way through the experience. I love that idea. And I feel like it mirrored my exploration, which was coincidentally, or maybe not, at a similar timeframe, and in a simpatico direction. It’s a natural progression, and from my perspective a real honor. Both personally to be a part of it, but also just to be able to join something that is looking for the horizon of what is possible.
And in that sense I am happy to be in a space of exploration and understanding that really strives to make something badass.
That’s the bottom line for me.
This is supposed to be defining something as you see it, which I love. There are so many creative takes at Thrillbent on how they see comics, unfettered by anything. And it’s something I am excited to see grow.
Ultimately Mark is about partnering with people that want to make stuff and get it into the world. That is a great idea because at it’s core, it’s a goal of creating connections, communication and community. It’s positive in a world that isn’t always seemingly open to something good.
That’s something I am always on board for. So I can’t wait! It’s an honor.
“Motorcycle Samurai” premiered last year at SDCC, and it’s only fitting to take another huge step this year.
As you said, this SDCC marks a full year of Motorcycle Samurai. In that year you’ve made several issues, including a Christmas special, hooked up with Thrillbent, and much more. With an already big first year behind you, what does the future hold for Motorcycle Samurai?
CS: It has been a great year. I’m looking forward to wrapping up the first arc, and tying up this opening chapter. It’s going to be a fun ride. There are a few surprises coming this fall as well outside the first arc, as far as new Motorcycle Samurai goes.
On top of that is getting a full first volume in print! I know there has been a lot of conversation about the translation from digital to print, and some of the challenges that go into it. I think it’s going to be really fun to see the story in a different way, in a different format. And a fun process to translate it.
That is just some of what is on the horizon. And like the last year I bet there are going to be a lot of surprises!
I can’t wait!
