Q&A with Jenny Eastman and Christopher Schram

Q &A with the creative team bringing you Unearthly Covenant.

What is the comic book about?

CHRISTOPHER SCHRAM: The book is about an ancient sect of vampires known as The Imperium that have covertly risen in power over the centuries, striving toward their goal of the complete dominance of Earth. Over the years, mankind has been able to stifle the vampire efforts, in one manner or another, with the help of an even smaller sect of nosferatu that do not wish to subjugate humans. The story focuses on the plight of this smaller sect and their human allies in forestalling the rising power of The Imperium.

JENNY EASTMAN: Exactly! Battle between good and evil type stuff, with vampires, werewolves and what not.

How are things going with it?

CS: I feel the book is coming along nicely. Both Jenny and I are quite busy in our daily lives, so the comic book is being worked on at a pace we are both satisfied with.

JE: Things aren’t going as well as I’d like them to but conflicting schedules,
technology hang-ups and what not keep me from doing what I should be doing with it. But the more time that goes by the more we get little ideas here and there, which will make the end result a better package. Actually, I’ve stopped just putting all the focus on the book itself. Right now, I’ve set the pages aside and really focused on the backbone of the story, characters, and settings. I think that if the foundation of the whole book is really strong I think it’ll have a better presence. Oh, and don’t forget about all the publicity we’re trying to spread online, which in itself is a full time job!

What’s it like working with an old teacher/ student?

CS: Most of the time it is a lot of fun, and then there are times one of us has a bad day, (laughs). I told Jenny she could call me by my first name now that we were colleagues, but she still calls me Mr. Schram.

JE: It’s funny, never in a billion years did I think I’d get along with a teacher well enough to actually work with them. He’s different though; he can pick up on sarcasm and can throw it right back which is always good with me. It’s not the same though (laughing) I know if I said half the things I say to him now I would’ve never gotten out of detention.

How about Jenny, with absolutely no comic book history what so ever what
made her the best choice to do all the art for the series?

CS: Jenny was a former student of mine and I enjoyed the artwork she shared with me. She contacted me via email after she had graduated and I mentioned to her that I had written a story line and background for a comic book a number of years ago. I knew Jenny enjoyed animation and cartoons, so I thought she'd be enthusiastic about working on the project. It seemed a natural choice.

What do you think of Mr. Schram as a writer?

JE: I think he’s a pretty good writer. I think it would be pretty hypocritical if he couldn’t write, being an English teacher and all. I have great respect for any writer because I’m doing roughly the same thing. Writing’s involved in creating a cartoon series and other things of that nature so I know how hard it can be. The way he’s got all the character backgrounds all intertwined with the mythology of their cultures comes together nicely. I think he did a good job.

Is there any friction in the partnership?

CS: I don't think so. We're both strong-willed and stubborn, but I think we give each other a good amount of flexibility with the project that there hasn't been any issue we couldn't deal with.

JE: Oh not really, there is the occasional berating and maybe a death threat here and there but for the most part we’re pretty civil to each other. But then we don’t see each other much and a lot of rage and hostility probably doesn’t get translated over the Internet. (Smiling)

Who’s the most important character and why?

CS: There is quite a cast of important characters that revolve around the struggle, but for the protagonists the main character is Justin Black. Justin is a guy in his early 20s that has had a number of issues many people have faced themselves, such parents that have divorced, and has had trouble coming to terms with that, thus causing him trouble in establishing his own personal relationships. He becomes involved in the centuries old struggle, breaking new ground and growing as a person while helping to defend an unknowing mankind. I think people will be able to easily relate to Justin's feelings because many have gone through some of the things he has, though probably not while dealing with vampires.


In the traditional sense of the word "villain" who are the real bad guys seeing as all the characters are eventually vampires or some other creature of the night?

CS: The true villains of the book are The Imperium, a group of nosferatu who are unique to all others in how they became vampires. There are five members representing five powerful ancient cultures that have come together to seek control of Earth. The most powerful of the five is a nearly 5600 year old nosferatu named Archaic.

JE: Basically, it’s not the fact that they’re all vampires or monsters it’s whether they use their power to do good or evil. The real bad guys are the original vampires obviously; they’re just straight up evil monsters. But I think that in the future we could see some the "good guys" being taken over by the power and appeal of the vampire lifestyle reminiscent of the rock and roll aspect of being famous which people usually give into. Power changes people usually in bad ways so we’ll see what happens!

What makes it such an exciting story, why would people want to buy it?

JE: People like monsters. I’ve never been a real big fan of vampires or monsters of any kind for that matter but people seem to like them and comic books evidently. So why not mix them together? It’s a cool story though, I’ve never heard of anything like it; it’s really different and exciting and I think it needs to be told.

CS: I think people have always been fascinated by the idea of vampires; the legends have been around for centuries. When those tales are drawn into a modern setting and told in a way that the reader sees how thin the line is between reality and fiction, they're thrilled.

Where did the idea come from?

CS: I have always had an interest in myths and legends, especially those that have been told for centuries. I incorporated this knowledge into playing Dungeons and Dragons, which allowed me to weave a tale of heroes and villains since the age of 10. I have also read comic books since I can remember, so once I thought of the tale it seemed the next natural step.

How did you research?

CS: My major in college was history, so much of the research wasn't too challenging in regards to the historical references. Much of the ideology regarding vampires, however, does not follow the norm often associated with the legends, but rather my own interpretation.

JE: Oddly enough I took a look at Kramer vs. Kramer which I found had nothing to do with vampires so needless to say I wasted a lot of good research time. I’m kidding, I brought home a bunch of vampire movies, books and read anything I could find online about them. He (Christopher Schram) pretty much had to teach me like a 2-year-old how it all works so I could understand every little character flaw of these things then eventually create them. I also read everything I could about comic books, the business of it, and how the game is played. Now, that I’m into the comic pretty heavily I can see it slowly taking over my life (Laughing) I’ll be in the dentist’s chair and I’ll be thinking about the book… which is sad.

With so many other comic books out there about vampires that are huge successes are you nervous about the competition?

JE: I’m not at all nervous. I think that if anything it’s the perfect time to have another vampire title come out. I think with the popularity of the buffy’s, angel’s and 30 days of night I think vampires are going to reach a whole new bracket of fans and leave them wanting to see more. Hopefully they’ll hear of this and generate some interest.

CS: I don't feel nervous at all. If the book is published I'll feel like it was a success because I am approaching the project with little expectations. Do I hope it does well? Of course, but it certainly isn't the top priority in my world. My family has that spot.

How did the comic book tie into your career plan?

CS: I can't say that it does, unless it somehow becomes a crazy success. If that happens I can decide then.

JE: Before I decided to start this project I had already had plans for comic strips, cartoons, illustrations, posters, and portraits. Comic books are certainly not a direction I even thought about once for myself but he came to me with a well-crafted story and characters that I was interested in so there ya have it!

How did you come up with the characters and their looks?

CS: The characters tie-in with my prior knowledge of history and I wanted their looks to reflect accurate representations of the cultures, at least for The Imperium. Justin and the other heroes are everyday people but I wanted their appearances to reflect something of their individual personalities. I gave Jenny a general overview of each character and some ideas on what I would like to see reflected in them, then said "Have at it!" (Laughs)

JE: Designing characters is really like casting a movie but I get to make the characters up myself. Mr. Schram gave me they’re basics and then gave me a little story to go with it, so I had to take all that and basically break it down and create this human being. (Laughing) Which is hard, it’s hard trying to reflect someone’s whole life through a drawing believe it or not. We have Justin Black who’s the outcast, with divorced parents and very introverted so I gave him kind of longish dark hair and kind of a punk look which now I see was probably a good choice. There’s also a villain who has had his flesh flayed off. I’ve gone back to this one probably 20 times sometimes he’d be too disgusting others he’d look almost lovable so that ones really hard. But in the end the illustrations will be up on the web site and you all can see for yourself how it all came together.

How do you feel about the new popularity of web comics and online networking portals, do you plan on using them to your advantage?

CS: I think this is a fantastic medium, allowing access to a vast audience. We already have a myspace for the book and it is featured on Jenny's web-site as well. We certainly plan to use the Internet as much as possible.

JE: I love it! The Internet has come so far in just a few years that it’s pretty much the only way to do business. Believe me, we are taking full advantage of the Internet and everything it has to offer. I’m working out a deal so our 5 page previews will be an actual web comic. My web site will be where the comic book lives, It’s got it’s own page, we have myspace, comicspace, deviantART and a growing list of many other networking site accounts… we’re going to be everywhere!

Who is your dream publisher if you were to get a submission accepted?

CS: I don't think I have a dream publisher. Some of the larger publishers like Marvel and DC would certainly have a large market to attract, but this type of book isn't really in their genre. There are a number of independent publishers who work with this type of stories, the largest probably being Dark Horse Comics.

JE: I just learned about publisher submissions. So, anyone that will take us (Laughing) I’m not picky when it comes to money.

If the comic was to become a major success, would you quit your jobs to focus on the comic and it’s future?

CS: That's a tough question but my first priority is my family, so unless the success meant a substantial amount of money (i.e. able to support my family for the rest of my life) I would continue working. Besides, teaching and interacting with my students is something I think I would miss
most days, anyway. (Laughs)

JE: Probably in a second. Any chance I have to stay away from the day to day workforce I’ll take. (Laughs) All I want to do is draw anyway. If I got the chance to do it all day no matter what I’d do it whether it be cartoons, comic books, or portraits in the park for 10 cents. Again, I’m not picky.

What do you think of interviews and just attention in general?

CS: I can't say I honestly think of interviews very often but I enjoy attention.

JE: It’s difficult to explain. I don’t really like the process of getting interviewed all that much, I don’t really think I’ve done anything yet that deserves that much attention. But then I realize how important interviews are to have in a career like this and I kind of just go with it but it is nice when it’s all over to know that it’s done I can relax a bit. The attention’s not all that bad…

What’s on the horizon?

CS: I've mentioned an animated feature of the book to Jenny, but I think that's far in the future.

JE: With the comic book there’s some plans for animated feature maybe even a series. That may be a ways off down the road though, before that happens we might see some animated shorts or teasers on my website, as well as webcomics. If nothing else we’ll have built an underground fan base, which is always cool. We will have some posters and some other kinds of merchandise one-day. As far as my other plans for work goes it’s kinda ridiculous (laughing) I’ve been working on several story lines but they’re all still early in the development phase. Most of them are going to be turned into comic strips or cartoons. Other than my usual I guess you’ll have to stick around and find out what happens my project list changes pretty often around here.