Tease of the Month: Neil Gibson
From a management consultant to comics… this man is one of those few who gave up a job he loved to embrace something he loved even more! From fears to future plans, indie comic writer Neil Gibson, founder of publishing house T-pub and of course, the man who gave us Twisted Dark talks to StripTease and makes us love indie comics some more!
Starting with Columbian drug lords and ending with 10 year old girls, Twisted Dark: Volume One delves into the lives of 12 individuals spanning over different corners of the world. From India to Tokyo to Norway, Gibson’s adventures across the world as a part of his day job makes the locations used in each of his stories credible and gripping. With almost 200 pages to pour through, the stories believable and macabre not only showcase some brilliant storytelling, it introduces you to some great art as well.
Born out of fear, Gibson admits that he came up with the idea for Twisted Dark out of fear of being a boring writer! “I had never written anything creative before and was always a fan of science rather than art. So when I started writing I was scared that people might find my work boring…” And that is where the inspiration for the delightful twists and turns of the stories came from. “I thought a neat way of keeping them interested would be to write slightly chilling tales with a few twists in them. And if they all connected together I reckoned they would be quite attractive. That’s it!”
Written by him, Gibson brings together six different artists to bring to life the flesh and blood and realities of each story that he tells. “I wrote all the stories because they had to connect to each other, but finding the artists was a nightmare,” he confesses. “But now that I am better known they tend to come to me so it is easier. But when you start, you just have to find them in art schools, online and at comic book conventions!”
Starting from the very beginning: conceptualising to publishing, the journey that seems simple and painless is often a practice long and torturous. “I write very quickly and can finish a story in a day, but making sure I get the right artist at the right price and guiding it through all the development steps takes time,” but with multiple artists handling the chapter, not only is the artwork incredible, the transitions that separate the artists leaves you with very little opportunity to let your mind wander elsewhere during the read.
With 25% of his fan-base new to the world of comics, indie comics, though largely defined by hits and misses, finally have something that will chill and thrill and make you crave for more! With great plans for the future, along with comics Gibson also has a cookbook lurking in the shadows. “I am currently writing ten titles: Twisted Dark (volumes 4, 5 and 6), Twisted Light, Twisted Sci-Fi, Twisted Fantasy, Tabatha, Tortured Life, Theatircs, Traitor, Trickster and The World of Chub Chub!” With Tabatha all set to release in two months, the full-colour graphic novel is perhaps the best Gibson has given us yet! So if you haven’t already, make sure you check out Gibson’s site! If indie comics are what you love, it will be a shame if you miss out on this one!