https://jessescoble.substack.com/p/q-and-a-with-comic-artist-tomas-aira

Hey folks,

Dead Money: A Western horror comic issues 2 & 3 had a pretty good week. Last few days we saw a decent uptick, I think due to a combo of personal messaging, and reaching out to various friendly networks.

However, we still have a good climb to reach our goal over the next 13 days.

Any support...
Backers...
Boosts...
...and suggetions much appreciated.

I'm including a 10-page gallery preview #1 to give you a taste.

“Your God has no ears here. You’ll need new prayers to survive this land.”

A mismatched band of travelers heads west in search of new lives, but a sudden accident strands them in the middle of the hungry desert. They must band together to survive, but worse horrors await them.”

Jesse Scoble (co-writer): Assassin’s Creed Origins & Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Wizard101.

Devinder Thiara (co-writer): on Conan RPG, Dune RPG, Marvel Multiverse RPG.

Tomás Aira (art): The Whispering Dark, Dragon Age: The Missing, The Devil’s Mint.

Dead Money is like:

·         The Thing x Unforgiven

·         Alien x Deadwood

·         The Last of Us x Tombstone

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadmoney/dead-money-a-western-horror-comic-book-2-and-3?ref=5v8c3r

Posted on Substack:

https://substack.com/home/post/p-197349151

I met Jose Holder back in my Ubisoft days, when we were both on the Assassin’s Creed Origins team; I was one of the core writers, and he was a storyboard artist, and his creativity and attention to detail was evident immediately.

It was a delight to invite him to join us for Dead Money #2, and he delivered above and beyond.

But who is the man behind the hand that draws spooky wolves and zombies so well?

Jose graciously answered my questions, so let’s get to know him a little better.

Q&A with Jose Holder

Q: How did you get into making art professionally?

Jose Holder (JH): First off, thanks a million for the opportunity to play in the Dead Money sandbox. It’s been a blast!

My earliest memories of offering my services as an artist for hire are a rosy-coloured blur from the past. Many of those first opportunities I recall were bartered or pro bono, because I understood, even back then, that experience held more value than currency.

I did my first official pin-up and a short story for comics way back in ’95 for a U.S. indie. Up to that point, I had drawn dozens of personal works, and the usual suspects like tattoos, greeting cards, and party flyers.

Later, after a few small contracts, I got my degree in architecture and worked as a draftsman, detoured into graphic design, and eventually became a teacher in illustration. My school, at the time, in downtown Montreal, opened my eyes to a host of different fields and artists from different walks of life. Those were wildly creative years for me. I found a home for my illustrations and knack for cinematic storytelling through storyboards for film, television, and quite soon after, video games.

Throughout the good and lean years, I held onto my first love, comics, and managed to work on over 60 issues for various publishers, from indie to mainstream.

Q: Can you tell us about one or two of your inspirations in the art world?

JH: My biggest inspiration comes from film and tv. I’m a latchkey kid from the 70s-80s who spent ungodly amounts of time absorbing sci-fi, horror, and fantasy elements from the big and small screen. Arguably the best era of every genre we can imagine, the wealth of campy action-oriented IP from that period endures to this day. Horror fare became my true north thanks to trailblazers like Alfred Hitchcock, eventually spilling over into novels, which put bestsellers like King and Koontz at the forefront of my imagination.

Comics had its wonderful fangs in me from age 5, cartoons before that, so as my love for the medium grew, so did my appreciation for the artists that brought it alive. Bernie Wrightson, Gil Kane, Al Williamson, Kerry Gammill, John Buscema, Jim Lee, and George Pérez became my earliest obsessions. But the list is too long to condense into a handful of names.

Q: What do you like about comics?

JH: More than anything, the people. The community and the fans are the lifeblood of the medium, making the industry a genuinely incredible space to create and collaborate in. The work itself is its own draw. Marrying all the things an illustrator needs to convey a story distilled into sequential art. We learn aspects of cinematography, composition, acting, lighting, wardrobe, pacing, mood, character development, and an individual aesthetic that suits our own personal story work. The attention to detail and dexterity needed to communicate forms and movement through line art forces practitioners to be deliberate in their learnings, over many, many years of study. Add rendering and writing skills, a granular knowledge of printing and publishing, and these mild-mannered craftsmen become the apex creatures of the arts.

Q: What drew you to Dead Money?

JH: Jesse Scoble, an old friend in the trenches and an amazing storyteller. Along with his writing partner Devinder Thiara, the guys have created something really special in Dead Money. The wild west meets Alien/The Thing/Last Of Us? Are you kidding me? Horror vibes abound, and I’m all in for the ride. There are fewer concepts I love more than zombies or the infected waging war on social norms, and watching the fabric of morality butt up against the survivalist’s instinct.

We’ll post part II later this week!

Late night “metal” video for Dead Money #2, by Jose Holder.

https://www.tiktok.com/@joseholder/video/7638731926269906184?_r=1&_t=ZS-96HThVR8qIO

Dead Money, a Western horror

We revealed the Jose Holder variant cover he did for issue 2 of Dead Money - it's amazing!

A mismatched band of travelers heads west in search of new lives, but a sudden accident strands them in the middle of the hungry desert. They must band together to survive, but worse horrors await them.”

Jesse Scoble (co-writer): Assassin’s Creed Origins & Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Wizard101.

Devinder Thiara (co-writer): on Conan RPG, Dune RPG, Marvel Multiverse RPG.

Tomás Aira (interior art): The Whispering Dark, Dragon Age: The Missing, The Devil’s Mint.

Jose Holder (variant cover artist): Gotham Knights; Assassin's Creed Origins; Deceivers.

Dead Money is like:

·         The Thing x Unforgiven

·         Alien x Deadwood

·         The Last of Us x Tombstone

Join our Substack:

https://jessescoble.substack.com

Campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadmoney/dead-money-a-western-horror-comic-book-2-and-3?ref=dmk0h4

The opening* of our story.

I love Tomás Aira's train and the sense of the desolate landscape - harsh but beautiful.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadmoney/dead-money-a-western-horror-comic-book-2-and-3?ref=5v8c3r

*well, minus the SF cold open. But the real start of the story is the train.

Dead Money #1, covers by (left to right)

Pulp cover by Tomás Aira with treatment by Chris Miles

Moon cover by Mato Saw

Red Cowboy cover by Diego Giribaldi

Main cover by Tomás Aira

Hi all,

We funded and published issue #1 of Dead Money, a Western horror comic last year, and are currently running a campaign for issues 2 & 3.

I've posted a 10-page preview of issue 1 to check out.

The creative team consists of:

Jesse Scoble: is an award-winning game writer with credits on: Assassin’s Creed Origins & Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Watch Dogs 2, HyperScape, and Wizard101. TTRPG work includes A Game of Thrones d20, the Marvel Multiverse RPG, and Vampire.

Devinder Thiara: is a tabletop RPG writer with credits on Dune, Conan, John Carter of Mars, and the new Marvel Multiverse RPG. A published short story author, he is a history buff, and a longtime fan of SF/fantasy.

And illustrated by:

Tomás Aira: accalimed comic artist with work published by Dark Horse, Avatar Press, Valiant, and more. Notable titles include: The Whispering Dark; and Dragon Age: The Missing.

The Kickstarter campaign is here.

Hi all,

We funded and published issue #1 of Dead Money, a Western horror comic last year, and are currently running a campaign for issues 2 & 3.

I've posted a 10-page preview of issue 1 to check out.

The creative team consists of:

Jesse Scoble: is an award-winning game writer with credits on: Assassin’s Creed Origins & Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Watch Dogs 2, HyperScape, and Wizard101. TTRPG work includes A Game of Thrones d20, the Marvel Multiverse RPG, and Vampire.

Devinder Thiara: is a tabletop RPG writer with credits on Dune, Conan, John Carter of Mars, and the new Marvel Multiverse RPG. A published short story author, he is a history buff, and a longtime fan of SF/fantasy.

And illustrated by:

Tomás Aira: accalimed comic artist with work published by Dark Horse, Avatar Press, Valiant, and more. Notable titles include: The Whispering Dark; and Dragon Age: The Missing.

The Kickstarter campaign is here.

Hi all,

We funded and published issue #1 of Dead Money, a Western horror comic last year, and are currently running a campaign for issues 2 & 3.

I've posted a 10-page preview of issue 1 to check out.

The creative team consists of:

Jesse Scoble: is an award-winning game writer with credits on: Assassin’s Creed Origins & Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Watch Dogs 2, HyperScape, and Wizard101. TTRPG work includes A Game of Thrones d20, the Marvel Multiverse RPG, and Vampire.

Devinder Thiara: is a tabletop RPG writer with credits on Dune, Conan, John Carter of Mars, and the new Marvel Multiverse RPG. A published short story author, he is a history buff, and a longtime fan of SF/fantasy.

And illustrated by:

Tomás Aira: accalimed comic artist with work published by Dark Horse, Avatar Press, Valiant, and more. Notable titles include: The Whispering Dark; and Dragon Age: The Missing.

The Kickstarter campaign is here.