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Mike Collins Draws A New Graphic Novel About The Apollo Mission For SelfMadeHero

Published Thu, 02 Feb 2017 07:00:57 -0600

Last updated Thu, 09 Feb 2017 10:44:49 -0600

Matt Fitch and I had collaborated on several projects at Dead Canary Comics. Our first was a short book, The Fitzroy, a world expanding collection of stories orbiting the indie feature film of the same name. We were on a learning journey here but quickly realised we had a similar work ethic and sense of style. We then began working on a project Matt had conceived, an emotional buddy movie about the end of a friendship, this later became the horror western, Reddin. The book was welcomed warmly by both readers and critics.

Our next release was a different working relationship, Last Driver had been originally slated as a short pulpy webisode comic, but after much panel beating from Matt, my script was shaped into what is now considered to be a canonical addition to the famed Shakyverse.

It was at this point that Matt had outlined the graphic novel epic that was to become Apollo. He's always been fascinated by space travel and saw the moon landing story as an opportunity to speak to a new audience outside of the comics sphere. With its huge stakes, sense of adventure and, most importantly, emotion, this was a case of history reading like a Hollywood movie.

We spent a weekend working on a viable story arc which wasn't simply a page by page account. We intended the book to speak on a human level, an existential level. The moon landing was more than 3 men in a tin can flying to a big rock in the sky, it was a story of man's (and woman's) spirit.

A chance encounter at a comic convention began a conversation with Mike Collins. Matt, like some American Indian with a dowsing rod, had gravitated to Mike and his art. It was classic, it was clean, it was everything we wanted the book to look like. Mike Collins comes from a time in comics when giants walked the Earth, his craft is flawless. When Matt told me he had begun a dialogue with Mike Collins to draw Apollo, I was a little confused. "Will Buzz Aldrin be doing the lettering?". We never tired of the jokes.

Mike was on board after reading the outline and select scenes. We were truly flattered. We approached SelfMadeHero with a story outline, some spec pages and a scene we felt captured the mood we would bring to this well-known slice of history. After a series of meetings we began the process with the London-based publisher and a grant from Arts Council England allowed us to finally begin to turn our vision into a reality. There are great things coming in this title and we are bursting with white hot excitement!