Getting to Know Fanbase Press

Bryant and Barbra Dillon

By Wolfen Moondaughter
February 6, 2017

I first "met" Bryant Dillon in a comics-focused Facebook group. During a heated discussion, he'd impressed me with his thoughts, and so I sent him a friend request, which he'd accepted. I soon learned he wasn't just a comics fan, but a publisher, along with his wife, Barbra! After reading their company's Hero Hotel and seeing promotional materials for a few other interesting-sounding titles, I decided, six months after first encountering him, that it was high time for an interview!

Sequential Tart: How did you get the idea to start a publishing company, and how did you go about doing it? What in your life prepared you for the work (schooling, previous work experiences, etc.)?

Barbra Dillon: It all began with a single project almost seven years ago. My husband Bryant Dillon, our friend (Sam Rhodes), and I were making a short film called Something Animal. Given our shared love of comic books, we decided to adapt the film script into a graphic novel which we would self-publish. After bringing on artist Robert Burrows to the project, we quickly began to set the foundation for our publishing company, which was then called Fanboy Comics. Bryant, Sam, and I shared the workload of the company, including everything from development, marketing, social media, production, and sales.

While the graphic novel was being illustrated, we understood the value of building an audience and decided to not only have our company publish comics and graphic novels, but also to support other creators (of all entertainment mediums) in promoting their work through reviews, interviews, and podcasts.

Bryant and Sam both received their degrees in theatre, and Bryant and I had worked in the entertainment industry for a talent management and production company. Between our educational backgrounds and work experience, we felt excited and prepared to take on the publishing venture.

Sam served as our Creative Director until October 2015, and we were honored to build the company with him. Then, in May of 2016, Bryant and I (as President and Editor-in-Chief, respectively) rebranding the company to Fanbase Press. We wanted the rebranding to emphasize our strategy to provide support and empowerment for all creators, as well as our vision for a more inclusive, positive, and equitable creative community.

ST: How do you split the duties between you? Do you feel being married makes anything easier or more challenging than if you weren't? What, if anything, do you do to keep your work and home life separate?

Bryant Dillon: We may have different titles, but we approach most of the duties of the company as co-founders and take them on together. As Editor-in-Chief, Barbra does handle, solely, many of the editorial duties for our published and online web content, such as copy editing, assigning review requests, etc., but when it comes to the big picture issues and those that revolve around our published titles (such as development, promotion, marketing, etc.), we handle those as a team.

We work really well as a team, so, honestly, being married actually makes a lot of things easier. We can discuss things whenever is convenient, so if an idea or discussion topic strikes us somewhere random (like the grocery store or driving in the car), we can easily "talk shop." This allows us a chance to be even more efficient in certain scenarios. While working like this does have many advantages, this ease of access to each other also provides what is probably the most challenging aspect of the working relationship, which is separating our work lives and personal lives. We both tend to get very wrapped up in the excitement and needs of running Fanbase Press, and, sometimes, it can take some work to make time just for fun and relaxation with each other.

There are lots of ways couples who work together can tackle this issue, but one fairly successful technique we've used is physically separating our work space from our living space. We run Fanbase Press out of our two-bedroom apartment and setting up that second bedroom as an office space and putting a focus on moving to the office when we start to talk business has helped us to reduce stress and gain perspective in both our work goals and personal lives.

ST: Tell us about the titles you've publish already.

Barbra: We have a number of comics and graphic novels that seek to appeal to a variety of readers. Our first graphic novel, Something Animal (Writers: Bryant Dillon and Sam Rhodes, Art: Robert Burrows, Original Story: Ben Rhodes), is our retelling of the vampire mythos. We strip away the supernatural elements of vampirism, revealing a more psychological approach to the phenomenon.

Our second was Identity Thief (Writer: Bryant Dillon, Art: Meaghan O'Keefe), and it's like a missing episode of The Twilight Zone, recounting the story of a young couple who find a mysterious hatch in their closet . . . which may contain a creep-tastic creature that haunts them each night!

We revisited the horror genre with the Bram Stoker Award-nominated Fearworms: Selected Poems, which collects the horrifically haunted poetry and illustrations of Robert Payne Cabeen (Heavy Metal 2000). In addition, Eisner Award-winning artist Bill Sienkiewicz provided the stunning cover artwork.

Our fantasy war epic, The Arcs (Writer: Michael D. Poisson, Artist: Matt Jacobs, Letterer: Oceano Ransford, Colorist: Carlos Badilla), tells the story of the archangels' impending fall from grace as they struggle to defend Earth and all of humanity after God's abdication.

Our titles took a lighter turn with Penguins vs. Possums and our latest release, Hero Hotel. Penguins vs. Possums (Writers: Sebastian Kadlecik, John Bring, Lindsay Calhoon Bring, Artists: Sebastian Kadlecik, John Bring) is an eight-issue series that tells the story of the age-old war between the two species that is leading to Armageddon, forcing all of humanity to CHOOSE A SIDE! Hero Hotel (Writer/Artist: Yehudi Mercado, Featuring various guest creators) is about Chet and his cat, Boomer, as they work at a hotel for superheroes and are forced to save the day from a variety of supervillains (while the superheroes enjoy their vacation).

ST: Tell us about the titles you've got lined up for release.

Bryant: Well, we've got two really exciting female superhero titles on the horizon that we couldn't be prouder of.

Quince is a 15-issue, bilingual, digital comic book series that follows a year in the life of Lupe, a 15-year-old girl who discovers that her quinceañera brings with it a super cool party . . . and superpowers. The amazing and talented creative team behind Quince includes sisters Kit Steinkellner (writer - Z: The Beginning of Everything) and Emma Steinkellner (artist - Pow Slam Sparkle) and creator Sebastian Kadlecik (Penguins vs. Possums).

The first issue was released on ComiXology on January 15, 2017, so that one's already available for purchase, but the rest of the series will also be released digitally on the 15th of every month through the rest of 2017. Each issue will be released digitally in English and Spanish, courtesy of translator Valeria Tranier (The Maze Runner, Friday Night Lights, Doctor Who). In addition, the English-language version of the series will be collected into a printed trade paperback that will be released on Monday, October 23, 2017, and is available for pre-order now on the Fanbase Press website.

Later in the year, we'll be releasing The Gamma Gals, a creator-owned, 4-issue digital comic book series that features three D&D-loving teenage girls who awaken from a gamma-irradiated storm to discover they have extraordinary superpowers. Created, written, and illustrated by newcomer Stefano Terry, The Gamma Gals features a diverse cast of characters that aims to show all readers that everyone can be a superhero. The main characters are named Kira, Harriet, and Sue, and while they are your average high school students at Brightstone City High School by day, but by night, they are The Gamma Gals, protecting Brightstone City from countless super villains, monsters, and more!

Issues #1-4 of the comic book series will be released digitally through ComiXology starting in March 2017. In addition, the series will be collected into a printed trade paperback featuring two bonus issues that will be released in late summer 2017.

ST: How did you come to work with the creators of those books?

Barbra: We have been extremely fortunate to work with amazingly talented creators. Interestingly, each creative team has come to us in a different manner, whether the creators submitted their project to us for consideration or we had worked together previously and decided to work with each other again. The comic book industry is such a small and welcoming community, and we love having the chance to work with old friends and new acquaintances!

ST: Are you looking for new talent? If yes, what would you like prospective talent to know before submitting?

Bryant: We are always open to looking at new submissions, but we remind those interested that we are a smaller company, publishing 2-3 books per year at the current time, and we do have several unannounced titles in development. That said, we're always available to take a look at a project someone believes is right for Fanbase Press. For more specific guidelines regarding submissions, those interested should contact Barbra (barbra@fanbasepress.com).

ST: What comics did you read growing up (if any)? What are you reading these days?

Bryant: I didn't really get into superhero comics until my twenties. As a teenager, I was really big into Dark Horse's Aliens comics and Topps' Jurassic Park ongoing series. I'm pretty sure there was a healthy dose of Star Wars comics in there, too.

Today, I'm absolutely loving Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 11. I'm also staying current on Saga, Marvel's Star Wars books, Warlords of Appalachia, and a few others.

Barbra: Bryant and I share the same pull list, so we share a lot of the same comic books. I will add, though, that I am also a big fan of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl!

ST: Tell us about some of your other pop-culture interests -- what are your favourite films, books, music ...?

Bryant: We're both huge Hunger Games fans, especially in regards to the novels, but I'll let Barbra fill you in on that.

I really love the Alien film series. As you could've guessed from the comics I'm reading, I'm a big Buffy and Joss Whedon fan and, like many, I love Star Wars.

Barbra: As Bryant mentioned, I'm a Hunger Games superfan when it comes to the novels. In fact, Bryant and I (as well as Sam Rhodes and scores of our talented friends) produced The Katniss Chronicles a few years ago, which was an audio drama adaptation of The Hunger Games books. We are very faithful to the original source material, and you can find all of the episodes on iTunes for free download.

Additionally, I really love The Clones Wars and Star Wars Rebels, as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

ST: Will you be attending any conventions in the next 365 days?

Barbra: Absolutely! We have at least one convention scheduled per month for the rest of the year, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the cons! Some of our upcoming shows include Long Beach Comic Con, WonderCon, Silicon Valley Comic Con, Long Beach Comic Expo, Amazing Las Vegas, and Pasadena Comic Con. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter (@Fanbase_Press), and our website (www.fanbasepress.com) for the latest updates and convention appearances!

Review of Quince #1
Review of Hero Hotel