As anyone who has read Multiversity for a while will know, we’re generally pretty down with the comics that Paul Allor makes. With a new project on the way, we just had to take a look. Published on Comixology through the Comics Experience digital imprint, “Past The Last Mountain” is a new book from Paul and artist Louie Joyce, with layouts by Gannon Beck. Frequently described as an all-ages geopolitical fantasy, “Past the Last Mountain” is a fantasy story set in a world where mythical creatures are very real and have lost a war against the human race.
Read on as we chat with Paul and Louie about “Past the Last Mountain”, designing mythical creatures, staying happy with projects, and more. Also, goblins. Be sure to find the first issue on Comixology today!
For those who aren’t familiar with the story, what’s “Past The Last Mountain” all about?
Paul Allor: “Past the Last Mountain” is about a dragon, a troll and a faun who are on the run from the United States government. And it’s a story about the false divide between security and liberty, about what happens when evil is accepted as your nation’s domestic policy, and about the power of faith, and what to do when that faith is tested.
Also, goblins.
Paul, I know that you frequently pitch the story as “all ages geopolitical fantasy”, which doesn’t seem like the easiest sell.
PA: Pretty much every creator-owned project I’ve ever done, I’ve had interviewers talking about how it doesn’t sound like the easiest sell. I just try to tell great stories.
And I should note that while this book is, to me, all ages, the level of violence in it might cause some to disagree. Gannon Beck, the layout artist on the book, said he would have no problem letting his young daughters read it, so that’s good enough for me.
But yeah, “Past the Last Mountain” is very much a fantasy story set within a very specific geopolitical context. It takes place in our modern world, but a modern world where all these magnificent beasts exist side by side with humanity. And of course that would affect foreign and domestic policy, would create its own unique bureaucracy, would become a deeply political matter. And this story in particular deals with the fallout from a war between humanity and these creatures, and the horrible decisions made to secure the safety of our nation.
Also, goblins.
The humans of “Past The Last Mountain” share their world with various mythological creatures. How did you two approach the which creatures to focus on in the story and the design of them?
PA: Our main cast was created so long ago, I honestly can’t tell you what was going through my mind. But, I mean, dragons, trolls and faun are all pretty awesome, so it’s probably self-explanatory? And as for character designs, I really just let Louie do his thing. And he knocked it out of the park every time. The main cast is just wonderful, and the introduction of the goblins is so fantastic. Just so perfectly creepy and menacing and full of personality.
I’d also note that most of the background creatures and small parts, I didn’t specify. Louie and Gannon and I talked about what kind of creatures are in this world, and I would sometimes throw out suggestions, but for the most part I just let them go for it, to fantastic results.
Louie Joyce: For our main trio of characters I based my designs on what Thomas Boatwright (the artist originally involved) had done, reworking them to better suit my style and approach to the book.
For other characters the tricky part was trying to create a design that’s immediately recognizable as that mythological creature but also something a bit fresh and unique. Mostly I just tried to have as much fun with it as I could, especially in scenes that’s called for large groups of background characters and I could kinda draw whatever creature came to mind! Love those scenes
What made Comics Experience the right publisher for this book, and what made Louie and Gannon the right art team?
Continued belowPA: I can not say enough good things about Comics Experience. It’s a company run by former Marvel and IDW editor Andy Schmidt, which teaches skills to comic book creators through classes, workshops and mentoring. Basically every skill you need to be a creator, from writing, coloring, lettering and art, to things like budgeting your project, marketing yourself, networking and so on.
And recently they moved into publishing — first print publishing, through a partnership with IDW (which included “Tet”, my four-issue mini-series with Paul Tucker, trade paperback coming out in March, please pre-order, thank you kindly) and now through this new digital initiative, which brings with it a great combination of development and support, combined with complete creative freedom and total ownership.
As for Louie and Gannon, oh man, I am just so insanely lucky to be working with them. Just such high-level storytellers, who have made it a joy to work with them. Gannon’s sequential storytelling is just so damn clear, and so good at mining the emotional beats of every scene, even in the layout stage. And then Louie brings it to a whole new level with his incredible character designs, his fantastic facial expressions — and his colors! The colors on this book are incredible, and you can see them getting even better issue by issue. They’re just a huge part of the storytelling in this book.
Louie, what attracted you to the project?
LJ: I found the concept really interesting. It sounded like something that would be a ton of fun to draw, big epic fantasy with a real world twist and a strong emotional center. And after reading the script for the first issue I was sold!
I also read a bunch of Paul’s other books and really enjoyed them all (“Orc Girl” & “Clockwork” especially!), he’s a great writer and I was stoked to be working with him.
But really, he had me at Dragon, Faun and Troll!
This is something that’s been in the works for both of you for quite a long time. How does it feel to finally be able to release it and see what readers think?
LJ: Feels great! It’s always a bit weird releasing work you finished ages ago, you don’t always look back on it in the best of light, but I’m really happy with this book. Very excited to see what people think of it!
On that same note, seeing it now after it’s likely been complete for a while, are there things you wish you would’ve done differently?
LJ: Maybe some minor things here and there, some of the drawing in places perhaps. Overall I’m happy with it though, especially my use of colour. Whenever I’m looking back on something I try not to think about what I would go back and change so much as where do I need to improve for the next project. Otherwise I’d never get anything done!
PA: To be fair, there are things I wish I’d done differently within two or three minutes of finishing a book. So, yeah. But dag, am I proud of this one. I really think people are gonna enjoy it.
