The first issue of “Burn the Orphanage” from Sina Grace and Daniel Freedman was one hell of a good time, and a fun romp in the vein of awesome video games from yesteryear like “Streets of Rage” as it followed lead character Rock on a mission of vengeance. Even though Rock earned his retribution at the end of the first issue, his journey doesn’t end there, as it continues down a path both he and readers didn’t expect in the second issue that has been titled “Demons.”
Today, we talk to Grace and Freedman about “Burn the Orphanage”, where it came from, where it’s going, what their favorite video games are, and much more. Thanks to Sina and Daniel for chatting, and please, check out this highly entertaining book from Image Comics.
Burn the Orphanage brought the world of side scrolling beat ’em up games like Streets of Rage into comic form, and comic readers were all the better for it. Where did you guys brew up this idea, and what made it something that you had to bring to life?
DF: Sina and I like to agree that the idea was born when we attended a Sleigh Bells concert back in 2011. Something about that show sparked an idea that we talked about all the way home. We continued to joke about this idea for months, never thinking a book like Burn the Orphanage would actually work. Then one day Sina just started drawing and the rest just fell into place.
SG: What Daniel said! Also: for me personally, I had been coming off several long-term and emotional commitments… From wrapping Not My Bag, to all of the melancholy delight that is The Li’l Depressed Boy, I felt the urge to jump into a fun book that wasn’t going to be something where I spent all day digging deep into my emotions and creating slice-of-life goodness. We envisioned this project as something kinetic, quick, and fun. So far: mission accomplished!
I could absolutely imagine a Sleigh Bells concert doing that. Their music sort of makes me want to fight but…in a happy way? No less, the first issue found lead character Rock – whose look reminds of what a lovechild of Ken and Ryu from Street Fighter might look like, if said child ended up being a street tough – conquering his demons by beating the big bad who committed the titular act. What’s next for Rock and his crew? Where does his story take him in the next issue?
DF: It’s funny you say “demons” because part 2 is actually called Burn the Orphanage: Demons. Part 2 delves into what happens after Rock gets his revenge. He only found out Mann burned down the orphanage minutes before kicking his head off and there are consequences to that. Because Rock killed Mann, he’s forced to compete in Mann’s place in a martial arts tournament where nothing is what it seems. For me, I’ve always been interested in the aftermath of a revenge quest. What are the effects of doing that much damage to yourself and others both physically and emotionally. We’re trying to dig a little deeper into Rock with part 2.
SG: Yeah, in the first issue it was about taking a fun concept and adding our spin on it. With the second part, we knew that there had to be something else to the recipe, and that’s depth. My hope is that people will love this the same way fans loved Resident Evil 2 more than the first one, or how Super Street Fighter II is that perfect blend of taking what’s good about the first one, and upping the ante. So, this second part follows a Rock who’s kind of going through the motions, and he may not even have the spirit to fight his way through this tournament.
Answering the question of “what does Rock want” and “what is this book about” become a little more complicated and layered in part two. We’re still doing a comic about dudes and chicks punching other dudes and chicks, but it’s going to get intense.
Continued belowYou reference Resident Evil 2 and Super Street Fighter II (two of my favorites, I may add) in your answer, and the first issue was definitely video game inspired, so I’m curious as to whether or not the next two issues will draw from games in the same way. Just from what you’re saying about Daniel, it reminds me of a Street Fighter/Mortal Kombat/Soul Calibur type game but, you know, with the emotional drive of JCVD in Bloodsport. What games are inspiring the rest of this series, and for the two of you, what games have inspired you as storytellers?
SG: Without spoiling anything, readers will notice that each book kind of tips its hat to a different level of gaming. Issue one was a love letter to arcade games, side scrollers from the first consoles. Issue two, you’ve got a slower progression through the SNES and Sega era… issue three goes somewhere completely different, while still honoring how crazy evolved video games have become.
While people won’t immediately see it, I think Final Fantasy VII & VIII changed me to my core. A lot of those RPGs were my jam: Parasite Eve, Mega Man Legends, and while they weren’t RPGs, I couldn’t get enough of the first Tekken games!!
DF: The idea was to riff off a different genre of game for each of the 3 issues. Issue one was a brawler. Issue 2 is a tournament fighter and issue will be a platformer. We wanted to essentially take our childhoods and roll them into something new. So all the music, movies, fashion and video games that we grew up on was the food we gorged on while writing.
As far as games inspiring my storytelling sense, I’d have to say my biggest influence has always been and still is to this day, Metal Gear Solid. The depth of that world is astounding and the amount of narrative trapped into the series is really dense and interesting to me. But, even the simpler games like Street Fighter and King of Fighters really got me going. What they lacked in story they made up for in action. And I don’t mean, the action of the game itself, but, in the way every character was designed and moved really informed me of who they were. Ryu and Ken look like copies of each other but they actually move differently. And if you look at any of the SNK games, they really put a lot of time and effort in to those sprite animations. Theres as much writing in that as there is in each fighters narrative for me.
Now, I know this book was likely never meant to be a monthly book, but the first issue dropped in August, and the second is coming in December. Was that the plan from the start, or did it end up just becoming necessary because of the size and nature of the book? With that in mind, any insight on when the close to the trilogy should arrive?
SG: Rather than each issue be a monthly continuation off the previous one, we sought out to have each one be an Event book. They’re definitely coming out a little slower than I wanted… but it will give retailers and readers time to get excited and make- I hope- stronger orders.
DF: We wanted each issue to be over-sized and tell a self-contained story, so we always knew that would mean a lag in between issues. We’re working as fast as we can to get them out the door all the same.
Burn the Orphanage gets the subtitle “Born to Lose.” Is having a subtitle like that an indication that the two of you hope to tell more stories in this world, or is it just the full title?
SG: Born to Lose is the title of volume one. We have a satisfying ending for the characters that fit perfectly with all the themes that go into Burn the Orphanage. If sales continue to be as strong as they have been and we come back for more, the second volume will sort of play less on “Rock is Angry and Looks Like a Video Game Character” and more on the world we’ve been building out.
Continued belowDF: We have more stories to tell. That’s for sure. We have an idea for a new trilogy that starts after issue 3 ends. Originally we wanted each book to have its own title under the Born to Lose trilogy but after Burn the Orphanage proved such a successful title and we branded ourselves that way, it was going to be an uphill battle for fans and retailers to remember anything else but “Burn the Orphanage.” So, it’s still the Born to Lose trilogy (and hopefully more than that) but now the book lives under the Burn the Orphanage title. It’s been a bit a mess.
SG: A mess we’re grateful for!
Let’s talk about Rock for a minute. As a lead of this book, what kind of characteristics were the two of you going for? Was there a character or characters that you emulated for him? In terms of his look, what inspired that aspect of him?
DF: Rock is very much an archetype. He’s out for revenge and he’s a fighter. Pure and simple. But, what we hoped to do was to interject ourselves into him as well as see him evolve out of the cliche and into a fully realized character or at least as much as one can within the confines of a hyper-reality. He’s inspired visually by the obvious Axel from streets of rage and Ryu/Ken from street fighter.
SG: People who follow my Instagram can find the first Rock drawing I did… he was definitely riffed off our memories of those characters, then tweaked to come closer to our aesthetics. I love all the games of yesteryear, but I haven’t played them in forever, so even approaching him that way threw in some fun deviations!
DF: We’re a little more than halfway through Demons, and Rock has already shown us that there’s a lot more to him than even we expected. I’m really excited for the audience to read where his journey has taken him.
Last thing for you guys, and it’s an easy one: why should comic fans be picking up this book? What does Burn the Orphanage do to make any comic fan’s Wednesday better?
SG: To me, Burn the Orphanage is simply a comic book romp. People should be having fun reading the book, and building their own inside jokes off of our inside jokes. There’s action and intense moments, but I do hope that the silliness and levity always comes across, too.
DF: Fun. If you have fun reading this book then we succeeded. Anything more then that, which we hope readers get more out of Demons then just fun, is just gravy or icing. Gravy icing. Burn the Orphanage is pure comic book madness. It’s something designed, created and intended to be exactly what it is. Not a movie or a tv show. Just an awesome fun comic. Hope everyone out there likes it!
