By: Nicole D’Andria
Join your intergalactic host Sonderon as he returns to explore the cosmos with 200 pages worth of science-fiction stories in another Voyage Anthology. Speaking with the anthology creator and one of the writers gives us a bit of insight into the Dwarf Star Universe established within this anthology. The hardcover anthology collects 16 science-fiction stories that last five to 11 pages each.
Every story is brought to you by former and current students of the highly-esteemed Joe Kubert School of art with 23 creators in total. This collection also features two covers in one, with a Bob Hardin hard wraparound cover as well as a Chris Campana dust jacket cover going over it.
Zackary Marois, who is running the Kickstarter, also successfully funded the first Voyage Anthology on this crowdfunding platform along with the mini-comic. This particular anthology is seeking to raise $24,990 by March 3, 2022, at 12:02 PM EST, with all the funds split between the various creators of the book. Rewards include digital ($10) and hardcover ($40) copies of the second volumes as well as a “useless” sketchbook ($15). Learn more about these reward tiers and others by checking out the official Voyage Anthology 2: Melting Pot Kickstarter page.
To kick off the conversations today, I’m speaking with Zackary Marois, followed by another writer and collaborator on this anthology, Brett Melograno, about their out-of-this-world adventures.
Nicole D’Andria (ND): What can you tell readers who are new to the Dwarf Star Universe about this world as well as the anthology’s host, Sonderon?
Zackary Marois (ZM): The Dwarf Star Universe is split into maaaaany different galaxies. The best way I can explain it is each new person that jumps on the brand with their articulate story and character will be able to fit well into many of my characters along with my colleagues. They can do their own thing with their story and still keep relevance with what I choose to do with the brand. It makes my anthologies more than just an anthology but also an intact lore continued thrill.
ND: Can you tell us the significance behind the subtitle of the anthology being “Melting Pot”?
ZM: “Melting Pot” was made up due to the meaning of the phrase. “A metaphor for a society where many different types of people blend together as one.” Sonderon is a witness to many things in the universe. What he sees and throws at the reader is definitely a “Melting Pot” consisting of the galaxies’ finest weirdos.
ND: How would you describe your specific story within the anthology?
ZM: My story is a smash and grab. Sonderon is hired by this mysterious individual to retrieve an artifact while that very same individual hires three Mercenaries to take Sonderon out. Why you ask? Well, back this book and you’ll find out that very answer!
ND: Which science-fiction sources are your story inspired by and why?
ZM: Some of my inspirations came from EC science-fiction comics. The work was on a master level and the writing made you think. I like that. I want people to pick up Voyage and feel all kinds of emotions. That’s why I picked the team I have now. We all graduated from the Joe Kubert School knowing exactly how we want to tell our stories.
ND: Who are the other creators within this anthology?
ZM: There’s so many! Eugene Zebrowski, Bob Hardin, Jack French, Brett Melograno, Austin Ronquillo, to name a few, but there’s 23 to be exact! Their names are all listed at the very top of the Kickstarter page with links to their pages.
ND: You mentioned in the “Risks & Challenges” section of your campaign that you learned a lot from your previous (and first) campaign. Can you tell us some of the important lessons you learned that helped you while creating this Kickstarter as well as mistakes creators should avoid running into?
ZM: The big one is not to listen and fall under the influence of everybody. That can screw up your numbers on how you factor the goal. I know you want it to be perfect, but it’s not going to be. Trust yourself in how you envision the project from beginning to end.
The next one was not fully understanding the shipping numbers and how they factor in. I still got all the books out within the year before August.
The last one was getting everything you ever agreed upon with any business written down in an email between two parties. That way when you go back to them for business for said project, they won’t change their minds and make you have to go out of pocket because of their miscommunication. That situation made me go out of pocket. It was rough, to say the least.
ND: What is the number one reason why you think backers should pledge money to your anthology?
ZM: Relevance. I won’t go away and neither are my Kubert School buddies. We tell stories. This is our mission in life, our dream to fulfill, and we want you to experience some form of that passion that we have. Imagine that feeling you can’t describe when you discovered comics. It was beautiful! That is the same feeling that I want someone to have when picking up my book!
ND: As a graduate of the Kubert School, what are the most important things you learned during your time there?
ZM: To stay consistent, constantly fail, and do it again. There’s so many things I learned personally, but for me, the most important lesson I learned was that you don’t have to do this alone. The brothers that I got now came from the school and through all these guys involved in the book plus more, I learned that you can succeed on this mission by including people on that journey.
ND: What other inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book writers/artists?
ZM: “Give us one minute of your time.” For the highly professional ones, I don’t have one because they have succeeded where we haven’t yet. But for those of you that are like me, who are struggling to get through the door, talk to people. Ask them to give you a couple minutes of their time to share what you struggled to make and learn from the critiques to get better. Don’t take it to heart.
ND: Promote yourself! Let us know what else you’re working on and what else we can expect from you in the future.
ZM: Currently, I’m working on the first 6 issue arc of Sonderon’s continuing storyline. I’m prepping up for my first issue of Voyage, which will be launching this September while helping the other guys on Dwarf Star to get their books made that will also launch this year. You ain’t seen nothing yet!
ND: I also spoke with another collaborator on the Voyage Anthology about his personal take on the collection:
ND: How would you describe your specific story within the anthology?
Brett Melograno (BM): My story, “Leto Vallone: In the Eye of Terror” is a hardboiled detective noir set against the backdrop of 1930s Los Angeles.
ND: Can you expand on the characters within your tale and the significance of setting it in 1930s Los Angeles?
BM: My story begins as a beautiful but mysterious woman contracts our private detective to find her missing sister. What starts out as a simple missing person case turns into a strange and deadly web of intrigue centering around a powerful Egyptian Relic long thought forgotten.
I’ve always been a fan of the 1930s and 40s noir mysteries and this project seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to explore that time period as well as to indulge in one of my favorite genres of storytelling.
ND: Which science-fiction sources are your story inspired by and why?
BM: My story presents supernatural elements set in a detective procedural narrative. The story is influenced by the works of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Steranko, Frank Miller, and George Lucas. The writers I took inspiration (Chandler, Hammett, Steranko, Miller) from all have a unique quality of exploring the darker side of humanity as well as making characters that are morally ambiguous. Most times the hero of our story isn’t a knight in “shining armor,” but he or she lives by a code of honor and the challenge for that character is to adhere to that code in a world that has seemingly lost any sort of morality. This is the type of “sandbox” I wanted to play in when I wrote the story. At the same time, I wanted to add an element of the supernatural to my story, and that’s where my admiration for the work George Lucas kicked in, specifically the Indiana Jones trilogy.
ND: What is the number one reason why you think backers should pledge money to your anthology?
BM: All the stories in the anthology are from up-and-coming creators. They present bold, fresh, new ideas and stories. Pledging for the campaign gives these new voices a platform to present their works.
ND: As a graduate of the Kubert School, what are the most important things you learned during your time there?
BM: The most important thing I learned at the Kubert School, is perseverance and to believe in yourself.
ND: What other inspirational words do you have for aspiring comic book writers/artists?
BM: Believe in your ideas and your skills. Tune out the negative and always keep learning.
ND: Promote yourself! Let us know what else you’re working on and what else we can expect from you in the future.
BM: After the anthology, I’ll be pivoting to writing the first arc for Sonderon’s standalone series. I’m also going to be working on the next Leto Vallone detective mystery.
ND: Thank you both for taking the time to share your stories with us! Readers can consider backing the anthology here.
Do you have a crowdfunding project? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project featured on “Kickstart/IndieGogo/GoFundMe/etc. the Week?” Then message me on my website. Also considering checking out the official Kickstart the Week: Interviews with Comic Book Kickstarter Creators Volume 1 on Kindle.
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Bear Skin – a Hardcover graphic novel of Dread and Horror
Karma The Sizzling Erotic Graphic Novel
KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER 50TH ANNIVERSARY Graphic Novel
