Alin Silverwood: The first thing I should mention is that when I worked at Marvel Comics, I used my birth name, Gary Barnum. This was years ago, but you can find I was the assistant editor on Hulk, She-Hulk, Ghost Rider, G.I. Joe, and others. I wrote some short stories for them, under my Gary Barnum name and under “G. Alan Barnum” (under which I wrote what I believe was the first solo story of Marvel’s Black Cat.) I was already leaning into the eventual name change.
I left Marvel Comics eventually and went to Hollywood. I worked at Paramount Pictures on the home entertainment projects of many films such as Titanic, Braveheart, and Forrest Gump, as well as the Star Trek TV franchise.
I eventually wound up at Mattel Toy Company, where I worked on their e-commerce site for Hot Wheels collectors for twenty years (which ended earlier this year, leaving me in a precarious spot at the moment…)
First Comics News: Alin, that is a very impressive resume, right there! Allow me to ask you some biographical info first – and if any questions are too personal, simply don’t answer those, and I will delete those questions, later. To begin, can you tell me, where were you born, and where did you grow up and go to school?
Alin: I was born on the west side of Los Angeles, and I mostly grew up and went to school there. About halfway through high school, my parents retired and we moved to Missouri. I went from a huge city on the coast to a small town in the Midwest, overnight. I wasn’t up for it, but I wound up enjoying it, at the time. It was great to get a different perspective. I didn’t stay long, but I enjoyed the time I was there. A lot of magic happened.
1st: I take it that you are an editor and a writer. Are you an artist, also?
Alin: I have never been able to get my hand to produce what I see in my mind. I do my best with words to describe a thing, and I take a whack at mockup sketches that usually manage to convey what I’m thinking. However, I hire professional artists to execute a better rendition of my designs.
1st: That’s awesome! How old were you when you began working at Marvel Comics, and can you tell us, in detail, how you broke into working in that industry?
Alin: I was in my mid-20s. I had been going down to San Diego Comic-Con at the time, back in the days when it was mostly comics, maybe a few toys and such, and NO movie studios. It was accessible, even though it was still the biggest Comic Con in the country.
1st: I think it still is.
Alin: I’d been reading Mark’s Remarks, the little column Marvel editor Mark Gruenwald had through all of Marvel’s titles, each month. He had been addressing how to break into comics, and I took it as an instruction manual. I went down to SDCC, and I met with the pros, each year. The thing that started it all was when I met an editor from Marvel UK, Richard Starkings. They’d been publishing some stuff over here, including a title called Dragon’s Claws. I had been checking the series out, so when I met Rich, I mentioned that. He seemed floored that someone had read it. We got to talking, and he was very keen to see L.A. I invited him to come up, and I’d show him around. He did, and that was fun. I was already working in publishing (for trade magazines), but I wanted to do comics. A short while later, Rich called me and said he’d moved over to NYC from England, and that editor Bobbie Chase was losing her assistant editor. He invited me to come to NYC and try out for the job. I did, and I landed the job.
1st: How long did you work for Marvel Comics, what years were these, and how did you feel about working there? Also, what inspired you to leave?
Alin: I was there for a couple of years. I did some freelance stuff after I left, but I didn’t stay in NYC, which made it hard to keep pressing for work. And then I had a baby, and my focus shifted for a while. I loved working there, but I was young and impatient. And I was at a very difficult point in my life, so I ultimately left to work on that.
1st: I’m simply asking this question out of pure curiosity if that’s okay. Why did you change your name? Oh, and by the way, throughout my own life, I’d often seriously considered legally changing my (own) name, for the reason that I always hated my first name, which is why I shortened it to Phil. I had always been partial to changing my name to either Calvin or Hal, but never got around to it. Those names I like. ‘Phil’, I can live with. Anyway, that’s my way of saying that I can completely relate to what you said, there.
Alin: I had a cousin who did very extensive genealogy on my father’s side of the family. But the last name I was given at birth was simply the name he’d taken from his stepfather. It wasn’t our family name, and I had no real feeling of connection to it. And I had issues with my father. At the same time, someone on my mother’s side had also done extensive genealogy, and I found some names in that family tree that I preferred, to stuff on my father’s side. I had *always* hated “Gary,” but my middle name was Alan. I’d named my daughter Alixandria, spelled with the “I,” so I tried out “Alin” and I liked it. So ultimately, it’s a modified version of my middle name and a modified version of a surname from my mother’s side. I quite like it. I started using it later in life, so there are people who still think of me as “Gary,” but I prefer “Alin.”
1st: Makes perfect sense, Alin. The longer version of my first name, I always hated because, (to me), I thought it sounded effeminate. If someone else wants to go by that name, fine. But for my use, I frickin’ hate it. My mother used to call me that. I was named after the British Prince (and now, King), you-know-who. My mother was British, from Cornwall. My brother, James, was named after ‘James Robertson & Sons (brand) … Marmalade’, which is a spread that the British put on bread and toast. Ha, ha. I think it tastes horrible. James likes ‘James’ or ‘Jimmy’, but hates ‘Jim’. People are funny like that, sometimes. Me, too.
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Alin: During that time, I adopted the use of my current nom de plume, Alin Silverwood. It’s my middle name and a family name from my mother’s side. I put out a book of short stories (kind of like Twilight Zone stuff), and the first in a series of epic fantasy novels. I also decided it was time to start working on the comic stories I had been sitting on for years, and I found the Indie Comics community, which was very lucky and very helpful.
1st: What year did you start working on comics online at the Indie comics community, and can you tell us in detail, kindly, how you went about doing that and meeting artists to work with, there?
Alin: I had some ideas for some comics going back several years, but I didn’t start looking to seriously get into them until about 2015. I began to speak to artists at shows about doing collaborations, and then I found the online Indie Comics community, and I began reaching out. I got some artists to start drawing my characters for me, and then I started doing the books. I just started asking the right guys, and I found myself moving in the right direction. It’s been a challenge for me, though. At Marvel, you had the massive company resources behind you. And we weren’t working digitally just yet, at the time. As an indie, you’re on your own. You have to do everything and hire people to do what you can’t. I had a little company of my going, so I used that, to start it up. I’ve also faced some health problems, slowing me down, and it’s not inexpensive, so that can be an obstacle, as well. One of my top priorities was to get my Steampunk book (Sky Guy and The Altitude Adjusters) out, and I finally have the first issue ready to Kickstart, in January. I got out a couple of issues of my superhero universe (SPIs Among Us), with a third ready to go, but I’ve pulled back on that, to figure out the best way forward. My daughter is my co-writer on that.
1st: Really? That’s awesome! What is her name, and how old is she?
Alin: Ali Celeste Reeve. I never ask a lady her age! She’s a married adult, though — not a kid. I would tell her all these stories about my ideas when she was a kid, and she was fascinated. So when she grew up, she was primed to work on it, with me. And, as an adult, she provides some keen insights that I appreciate. We’ve been thick as thieves since she was born, and it’s the best thing in my life. My son and I have also tossed around an idea for a comic. He’s also multi-talented, though he’s been busy with college.
1st: Wonderful! It sounds as though you two have a great connection!
Alin Silverwood: I have partnered with several Indie creators on Infinite Souls: A Halloween Tale. We are delivering the first issue right about now, and we should have the Kickstarter up for Part Two, any day now. This started when I realized how many of us had pumpkin-head and/or Halloween-themed characters, and I suggested it would be fun to do something with that. So, it’s just a fun book with fun characters.
1st: Do you, by chance, have any graphics images, covers, or art you can show our audience, of that? I would love to see those characters, if at all possible. I’m guessing that, to keep costs down, Alin, your comics are printed on paper just based on the numbers (individual number of copies) that have been ordered. That would surely help a lot with keeping from printing too many unsold surplus copies. That process is called Print On Demand, but I’m sure you know that, already.
Alin: Yes, Print On Demand. You run a few extras when you do shows, but I haven’t done any shows in the last couple of years, for health reasons. I’m hoping to change that next year, but now it’s a question of how my employment situation works out.
1st: I want to take a moment to wish you Good Luck with that. Although, with your very impressive resume — what you have told me so far — you may not need my ‘Good Luck’ wish when you again become gainly employed! Alin, for the benefit of our readers, are you able to tell us a little about SpIs, what it’s about, where it is set (where it takes place), and so on?
Alin: Absolutely. I originally conceived several of the characters a very long time ago. Over the years, it kept growing into a concept. There was a scuffle over the “superhero” term, and I just decided it would be easier to refer to them as Super Powered Individuals, which I could refer to as “SPIs.” Then I decided that they were living among us every day, completely unknown to us, and they became “SPIs Among Us.” (I can’t recall where that phrase originated, but I liked it for the title.)
1st: I like it, too.
Alin: But one of the characters I had in mind, Dr. Anonymous, was the force behind their anonymity, keeping them hidden. Now, this had to be an awesome power, because if there’s a dustup between any SPIs, you know that’s gonna be on the news, in papers, on social media… If all of that doesn’t happen after it’s happened… How? And, actual science led me to the “Big Idea” about the whole thing. And so, only the SPIs recall when there’s a public incident. But the world has a higher percentage of the Mandela Effect.
1st: What is the Mandela Effect?
Alin: The story begins in Los Angeles in July of 2012, in the middle of chaos. Citizens are out in the streets, raising hell out of anger and fear because they’ve suddenly become aware that Super Powered Individuals are *real* and have been living secretly among us. The first scene is about a hero, The Black Ghost, rescuing a villain known as Scrape from a crowd of civilians closing in on him. It’s that “Wait a minute, what?!?” kind of thing. What has happened is that a few days earlier, Dr. Anonymous failed to show up after a SPI event. And it becomes public knowledge and it *remains* public knowledge. It’s the Exposure Event. From that moment on, there is no sign of Dr. Anonymous. SPIs of all factions are trying to decide what to do. Some want to take advantage of the situation now that Dr. Anonymous isn’t around to stop them. Some want to come out and help people. All of them are in danger — from many directions. And then one of them is murdered in what they fear may become a trend.
1st: One of the superheroes is murdered?
Alin: A core group begins to investigate the disappearance of Dr. Anonymous, mainly hoping he can be found, and put the genie back in the bottle, so to speak. Hide them all again. But they don’t know what his power is, they don’t know who he is, and they don’t know if he’s alive or dead naturally, or via foul play. So there’s a running mystery through a series of chaotic encounters and events. It’s kind of epic.
1st: It all sounds very interesting and intriguing. Got an image of Doctor Anonymous that you can share?
Alin: There are some great characters in it. Most of them are pretty quirky. Imagine a world where you never had to hide your identity, and then, suddenly one day, you very much needed to. This means that some of the character’s costumes look kind of cobbled together from a sporting goods store, or a gardening store, and such. And many of them were.
Black Ghost is a phaser, possibly due to a manipulation of black matter and/or anti-matter. In ghost form, he’s intangible, but he looks like a transparent black shadow. In solid form, he’s impenetrable. The thing about him is that he is plagued by a serious Mandela Effect. His memory doesn’t jibe with a lot of events, and he doesn’t know why. He’s doing the best he can, but it’s starting to get to him.
Wild Swan is fun because she’s a delicately beautiful woman of Chinese heritage, with lovely white wings. However, her background is tragic, and she’s a bit rough. She cusses, she drinks, she smokes cigars, and she cheats at poker. But she’s one of the good ones. She’s been living in a secret town in the Black Hills that is shielded from public perception. It’s a place where SPIs who can’t pass for normal humans have to live, so they aren’t exposed. It’s got its own interesting story.
Requiem Belle is a villain who has the power to scream, and anyone hearing it is subverted to her will. She describes it as screaming their souls out of their bodies, then taking charge of the zombie body to do her bidding. Scream into a crowd? Instant zombie army at her command. She’s a Category 5 threat.
The government knew about SPIs, of course. They have a task force called the Court of Justice, headed by General Justice, and they round up SPIs to recruit or to detain. After the exposure event, they’re very busy. But General Justice now has the benefit of observing the public reaction to SPIs, and it quickly begins to bother his conscience. (And wait until you see where SPIs are detained…)
1st: More and more interesting. I’ve got to read this! Do you ever ship issues to specialty comic stores?
Alin: The various factions and maneuvers will come to a head, and we’ll learn everything about Dr. Anonymous… And then the REAL trouble will begin…
1st: It all sounds intriguing, and I mean that!
Alin: Infinite Souls is A Halloween-based story featuring the ghoulish creations of myself and several indie creators. A dark lieutenant of Death known as St. Samhain gets hold of a secret book of mystic powers and finds there’s a way to open multiple realities for him to simultaneously create havoc, and reap souls. He is aided by some macabre villains. And, a powerful mystic gathers a handful of haunted heroes to help stop him… if they do not first become his victims.
1st: This is certainly the right time of year for a comic series with Halloween-type characters! What artist did you recruit for that one?
Alin: See my answer below for this question … I was in Dublin in 2019, and there was a (comics) convention on. I found this young artist sitting there by himself, but I loved his banner and his art. We kept in touch, and when Infinite Souls came up, I asked him if he wanted to work on it, and he did. He gave us an incredible start, but he unfortunately had to back out of the project. This was Reese Hannigan, and he is now working on a Star Wars universe book for Dark Horse. To replace him, I got very lucky and found Demian Godoluz, who has done an amazing job of stepping in. Demian is with us into the second issue as well, and he just gets better and better.
Sky Guy and The Altitude Adjustors (Forthcoming) – Steampunk, mutants, and magic. In this world, humans live in gigantic floating cities (“Aerotowns”), so ancient that only altitude adjustors can maintain their aerial suspension. Aaron Skye, aka Sky Guy, has a brilliant team that handles this… but they are sabotaged, and forced to find other jobs until they can clear their reputation.
Sadly, I am not an artist. I can art direct, but my ability to get my hands to execute what I see in my mind never works out.
I also do editing for books (including a USA Today bestselling author) and some comics, and advising/representing some artists.
1st: Can we ask what USA Today bestselling author that is, and which book or books you are referring to, there?
Alin: I’m not at liberty to say. But I work on a lot of mystery books, paranormal mysteries, etc. It’s very fun stuff.
1st: That is perfectly fine! Can perhaps tell us what books you have edited, and will be editing, in the future, editing comics and in advertising, representing some artists, as you put it?
Alin: I’ve edited several novels, mostly mystery, but also some fantasy, some basic fiction, and some paranormal stuff. I’m working on more paranormal stuff and mystery. I’ve edited some fantasy comics and some superhero comics. I’m also working with some very talented artists from South America, planning ways to promote them and keep them busy. They’ve got the talent — we just want to get them more exposure. It’s the early stages of this, but you’ll be seeing some of that, very soon.
Books by Alin Silverwood (found on Amazon):
The Lost Clans of Lydania (first book in The Lore of Lydania series)
https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Clans-Lydania-Lore/dp/1981285369
Tangled Worlds (short stories)
Also, copy this link: www.alinsilverwood.com
Comics by Alin Silverwood: (under my PopSkull Press imprint):
SPIs Among Us – The Super Powered Individuals, aka SPIs, of our world are exposed to the public after being hidden for decades. They were hidden by the mysterious Dr. Anonymous, who had suddenly vanished. While dealing with the ensuing chaos, a band of SPIs set out to find Dr. Anonymous, but they have to survive the rising factions to succeed.
https://www.indyplanet.com/?s=SPIs+Among+Us.
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