A War/Horror Comic That Doesn't Shy Away From Confronting Terrorism

Tom Waltz

By Corrina Lawson
August 1, 2006

Soldiers are a natural subject for Tom Waltz, a former Marine currently a staff writer for ihero.net, but he wasn't content with creating a war comic. He wanted something a little bit more.

I had the good fortune last year to run into Tom Waltz on the Dixonverse message board and receive the opportunity to review his work last year. I found Children of the Grave not only to be a great action story but a terrific ghost story as well, with subtlety and nuance that most people would not expect from a so-called "war" comic. The story is only enhanced by the terrific black & white artwork from Casey Maloney.

Sequential Tart: What went into the development of this book? How did you get the idea?

TW: A few years ago, I watched a TV news story about a mass grave being unearthed in Iraq. The images I was seeing were ghastly and shocking — not only were men and women being pulled from the ground, but so were children and babies, all of them brutally murdered for some twisted religious and/or political reason. The thought that someone was capable of carrying out something so terrible left me confused and disgusted.

Then, not long after seeing the news report, I was listening to the classic Black Sabbath tune, "Children of the Grave." The final verse of the song goes,

"So, you, children of the world, listen to what I say /

If you want a better place to live in, spread the words today /

Show the world that love is still alive, you must be brave /

Or, you, children of today, are Children of the Grave, Yeah!"

I've always admired the power and the tragedy contained within the message, which I interpret as representing a challenge to the children of the world to fix things for themselves because the adults have screwed it all up (the environment, peace, the future, etc.), and the only chance kids have must come from within their own ranks. The idea of children being the sole hope for children is both sad and fascinating. So, combining the news story with the Black Sabbath song, the seeds were planted for a story that would eventually become Children of the Grave.

ST: Redemption is a running theme in Children of the Grave. The soldiers face events that have haunted them since their childhood, the terrorists are forced to confront their crimes, and even the villain is given a second chance of sorts. What drew you to this theme?

TW: You know, I saw this story as one of destiny and redemption — the fated meeting of different groups of people, who, because of tragic events from their childhoods, are trapped in a sort of lifeless limbo. For the dead children, obviously, the tragedy was their untimely deaths during terrorist ethnic cleansing. But for the soldiers and the terrorists, life has become an "unliving" reality. Ironically, just like the dead children in the story, they are nothing more than lost souls seeking a road out of the darkness. I wanted this story to be more than just good guys versus bad guys or soldiers versus terrorists. I wanted to show that we all start out as children, innocent and pure, and that there is always a reason for what we become in life, be it "good" or "bad", and that, one way or another, there is always a reckoning.

ST: How did you get the idea to combine a war comic with horror plus a contemporary political situation like terrorism?

TW: Well, this actually ties back into my earlier answer about seeing the news reports about the mass grave being unearthed in Iraq. The mass grave was obviously a result of terrorism, which is its own kind of horror — no literary flourishes needed to enhance terrorism, because it's plenty scary all on its own. All the ingredients were there for a horror story. I simply added the military aspect, not only because terrorism and the military are naturally intertwined, but also because, based on my own years in the military, it's an element I feel comfortable writing about.

ST: What's been the reception on including a plot that does relate to the situation with Bin Laden and Al Qaeda?

TW: Actually, I'm happy to report that we've gotten nearly all positive reviews and responses to the story and its characters. The bitter sting of 9/11 will never go away, but I believe the time has come where stories like Children of the Grave and the various 9/11-based movies that are hitting the big screens nowadays can and need to be told. Living in a world in the grips of terror networks like Al Qaida and its ilk is frustrating for many of us, and I think writing and reading stories like COTG, where there is a literary acknowledgment of the problem along with resolution, albeit fictional, can be a cathartic experience for both creators and readers.

ST: Have you gotten any positive or negative feedback on the eventual fate of the Bin Laden-like character? Of any other characters in the book, particularly the soldiers? Have any of your friends still in the military read it? What did they think?

TW: Every single person who was either in, or is still in the military service, and who has taken the time to comment on COTG, has said how much they enjoyed the realism of the soldiers in the stories. So many military folks have told me that at least one of the soldier characters reminds them of somebody they've served with, which makes sense because I drew on many of the fine folks I served with when creating the characters. Some reviewers have stated they felt like I dipped into Hollywood clichés when forming a team with a white soldier, a black soldier and a Hispanic soldier, but the fact is the U.S. Military is made up of a diverse group of individuals from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds. Every unit I ever served in had characters just like LT Drake, Lil' Pete, and Shiv, and I'm sure that has not changed. Sometimes clichés tell the truth, and as long as my military readers are giving me the thumbs up (and they aren't the only ones — many non-military folks have told me how much they dig the characters, too), then I'm happy.

As for the main terrorist in the story, Colonel Akbar Assan, the comparisons to Bin Laden were expected when I created the story. In some ways, artist Casey Maloney and I were deliberate in making this happen. That said, I do find that many of the reviewers and readers are pleasantly surprised with our efforts to make the Assan character somewhat sympathetic. That, and the resolution we ultimately bring to the character, tends to garner us a lot of praise from the comics media and its fans, which has been very nice to hear and read.

ST: For those interested in small press comics publication, could you talk us through the journey of Children of the Grave from the initial scripts to the trade being released this month? What led into the decision to publish it as a trade?

TW: Whew ... long story. Here goes. After I came up with the idea for Children of the Grave, I started writing the story while simultaneously going in search of an artist. I was blessed when I stumbled upon a picture Casey Maloney was showing on Digital Webbing. It was a colored drawing of Daredevil fighting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a sewer tunnel, and it was beautiful (and can be seen at his website www.caseymaloney.com). I immediately contacted Casey via email and asked if he had any other sequential samples he could show me. He sent me some Spider-Man and Batman stuff he kept for his con[vention] portfolio (also on his site) which were just as fantastic as the other drawing I'd seen. We started talking about Children of the Grave and other projects I had in mind. It didn't take us long to realize we wanted to team up on some things, and here we are today, still enjoying a very satisfying creative relationship.

After teaming with Casey, I pitched the idea for COTG to Sean Taylor at Shooting Star Comics. Sean was serving as Shooting Star's EIC at the time, and he and I had been working together since 1999 at iHero Entertainment's Cyber Age Adventures (www.ihero.net). Sean liked the idea and got the go-ahead from the rest of the Shooting Star staff to publish Children of the Grave. So Casey and I did our thing, and the mini-series was shipped under the Shooting Star banner starting in January 2005, with the fourth and final issue hitting store shelves in September 2005.

During Free Comic Book Day 2005, I was introduced to Ted Adams (IDW Vice President) by Robert "Comickaze" Scott, my local comic book retailer here in San Diego and a hardcore supporter of COTG from the very beginning. Ted mentioned to me that he was enjoying COTG (we had the first two issues out at that point) and said we should get together for lunch to discuss the comics business some time. Eventually, I pitched an idea for another story to Ted and Chris Ryall (IDW EIC), but they weren't looking for anything new at the time. However, they did tell me that they were interested in collecting COTG at IDW. Casey and I had originally planned on doing the trade at Shooting Star, but SSC was preparing to move on to new titles and imprints (they've got some great stuff coming from Chuck Dixon and Christopher Mills soon and are planning some major announcements in August 2006), so a COTG trade was not in their plans for the near future. Casey and I didn't want to wait, so we decided to take IDW up on their offer. We made the move amicably, and we continue to feel extremely fortunate to have been involved with both great companies. I hope to do more with Shooting Star and IDW in the future.

ST: What led you in writing comic scripts?

TW: Insanity? [laughs] To be honest, I've been a prose writer for a long time, including work as a staff writer at iHero Entertainment's award-winning superhero prose magazine Cyber Age Adventures (www.ihero.net) since 1999. I've always loved comics, but I never seriously considered writing them until I came up with the idea for Children of the Grave. The idea was visual in so many ways that I thought a comic book story might be the best format, short of a feature film, to tell it. So, after talking to Sean Taylor at Shooting Star and getting the green light to write COTG for them, Sean (an awesome writer) was kind enough to coach me in the wacky ways of comic book scripting. He was a great teacher, and once I got going on my own, I realized how much I truly loved the craft. I still plan to do prose writing in the future (maybe even write a novel or two someday), but comic book scripting is in my blood now, and I honestly don't want a cure.

ST: What's next for you? What are you working on?

TW: Thanks for asking! Studio Eye Five is the new and official name for Casey's and my creative partnership. Other than new Team Orphan adventures we have planned for the future, Casey and I have already begun work on a five-issue mini-series entitled The Last Fall. It's a sci-fi/military drama — think The Last Samurai meets Starship Troopers and The Gladiator. We are working with a fantastic artist out of France name J.F. Bruckner for this project. J.F. will be handling the cover chores. We don't have a publisher for this project, but we have some we are talking to. I'm really excited about this book.

Both Casey and I are working on separate projects for Platinum Studios, and I continue to write superhero prose for Cyber Age Adventures (www.ihero.net) with Casey providing spot illustrations for many of my stories. I will be bringing some of my many characters/stories from that venture to comics form soon, including a story about my character, Catalyst, with Casey doing the art chores, and another with my Mexican superheroine, BorderStar, being drawn by Ricardo Sanchez. We are currently seeking a colorist to help us out with the Studio Eye Five projects, so any colorists out there who are interested in working on a Studio Eye Five project, please send samples to tom@tomwaltz.com. We can't promise you much, if any, pay upfront at this point, but exposure is guaranteed — and we're swell guys, to boot.

I also have done some writing for the UK-based online comic Night Warrior (www.nw-comic.co.uk) and hope to do more in the future. Casey and I did an 8-page short story there called Choices that I believe will be released in a Night Warrior print anthology soon.

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me about Children of the Grave and my other projects. The questions were great and I had lots of fun. And a huge thanks to all our fans who continue to support Children of the Grave. The book hits store shelves in August (Diamond code JUN063212). We always recommend you go to your local comics seller [LCS] first when making your comics purchases, but if you don't have an LCS available, COTG can also be purchased now at all online booksellers such as Amazon.com (ISBN #193323993x).

Thanks!

Children of the Grave, Original issues — Original issues of the miniseries, available at shootingstarcomics website
Children of the Grave Trade at Amazon — Amazon listing for Children of the Grave Trade
ihero.net — ezine for sequential art
Casey Maloney's site — Website of the artist for Children of the Grave