Benjamin Morse is a comics artist/writer and freelance graphic designer. His August Purgatory Underground is an action-packed sci-fi thriller that combines He-Man with Star Wars in a modern style, remixing the nostalgia of 80s cartoons. For more information, check out the current Kickstarter campaign.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/benjaminwmorse/august85
FCF: First off, how often do people get you confused with Ben Morse, former staff writer at Wizard and then Editorial Director of Digital Media at Marvel Comics?
Ben: It happens from time to time. I go by Benjamin W. Morse in my books to avoid confusion since I was aware there was another Ben Morse out there. I’d brought it up preemptively a few times, and people didn’t seem to think it was that interesting… and then the first time Bleeding Cool wrote about August, there was a big paragraph going on about the fact I wasn’t, in fact, that guy. It was almost all they mentioned!
FCF: What’s your origin story—what got you into comics and made you a life-long fan?
Ben: Seeing Christopher Reeve catch that helicopter when they played Superman as the ABC Tuesday night movie pretty much hooked me! I was a big superhero fan as a kid and drifted towards baseball a bit as I got older- but when I first saw the Batman 89 trailer, it brought me back to comics. By the time I actually saw the movie, I was already filling up my boxes with comics, and I haven’t stopped since!
FCF: What’s the KS about, and how do you assemble the creative team?
Ben: Well, the creative team is pretty much just me- although I’ve gotten some great advice and help with sourcing and promotion from other indie creators like Joey Galvez, Charlie Stickney, and Travis Gibb.
This Kickstarter campaign is offering a new version of the hardcover I produced with Zoop last year. I’m hoping to take advantage of Kickstarter’s audience to bring August to a wider audience!
FCF: What personal experiences and inspirations drive your creative process, and who do you draw inspiration from among comic book writers and artists?
Ben: The biggest personal experience I brought into August was my memories of watching Transformers, He-Man, and G.I. Joe as a kid. We’ve seen comic adaptations of these properties come back several times to wild success, and I wanted to try and do something like that, but a little different. I tried to create something that felt like a comic adaptation of an 80’s cartoon that picked up the story with a slightly more mature tone- a lot like the Dreamwave Transformers or the books Skybound is creating now.
As far as creators have inspired me, For August, I looked at a lot of 90’s Image books- I wanted them to read like the books we were seeing around 93- 96- not the first wave of Image stuff, but the books that started to come out a bit later. My logic, which is a bit of a stretch, is that if August had been a mid-eighties cartoon, someone might have picked up the license around then- but mostly, it just felt like the right atmosphere for the book.
FCF: While doing some background, I saw you pop up in places like Bleeding Cool and AIPT. How do you, an indie creator, get the attention there and elsewhere?
Ben: I have to give credit to Red 5 Comics, who brings August and my other book. We Are Scarlet Twilight, to the direct market for showing up on Bleeding Cool- they do a great job. With all the negative news you have seen in the last few years about publishers, it’s no small thing to have a great partner like Red 5, and I feel pretty lucky to be working with them! Zoop also did a lot as far as setting up interviews for the campaigns I ran there- they have a great team!
FCF: What’s the end game for August: Purgatory Underground?
Ben: August is my flagship book- it’s the one I really look at as an extension of my views and things I love. Not that I don’t love my other books- We Are Scarlet Twilight and a few others I’m working on are very important to me. But those are more things I had ideas for that I really thought leaped off the page- and in a lot of ways, I think it makes those books stronger, as I’m really focusing on just what makes them work. With August, there’s a lot I really try to get into those stories, both in the character’s journey and the art.
After this campaign and the next Scarlet Twilight, I’m planning on working on the next August book- which is the last August story, kind of his “Dark Knight Returns.” And then I’m planning on doing two stories that take place in the middle of his life, so I’m doing things a little out of order- but I think that looking at what gets revealed in the last chapter, it’ll make the middle ones more suspenseful. The reader will know some, but certainly not all, of what’s coming August’s way, and I think it’ll be fun to play with that.
After that, the 4 main stories, I want to go back to the character but in different formats- maybe a longer run of stories that take place at other periods of August’s life that are more like a classic Claremont run, or the first 25 or so issues of Larsen’s Savage Dragon. But those 4 main stories will be the pillars of the character’s stories.
FCF: What is the most rewarding thing about creating an original comic book?
Ben: Two things really stick out. The first was when I got an acceptance letter from the first publisher that was initially going to publish in August. The pandemic ended up causing issues there, but getting that email after pitching for years was a big moment.
The other moment was getting the first physical proof of the August hardcover I produced with Zoop- which is very similar to what I’m offering in this campaign. The printing process was difficult, but nearing the end with that in hand was very rewarding!
FCF: What are you reading these days that fans aren’t and should? (comics or books)
Ben: Well, as a writer, artist, colorist, letterer, and pre-press designer, I don’t have a lot of time to get to the shops every week. I’ll bring up one creator I’m really excited about- Netho Diaz has been doing great work at Marvel with Daredevil and the X-Men. While those haven’t gotten blockbuster-level attention, I’m loving what I’m seeing in his art. And it’s awesome to see someone who has done a lot of great work in the crowdfunding sphere get up to the big leagues.
FCF: What other projects are you eager to explore beyond August: Purgatory?
Ben: I’m working on the next We Are Scarlet Twilight, which is called Cobalt Crisis. It’s basically a take on an epic crossover event like Secret Wars or Crisis on Infinite Earths, but if it had been produced in the 40s. Aside from that, I’ve been doing some art for other indie creators I’ve really enjoyed, and I have a few other projects I can’t announce yet in the works!
FCF: Any final thoughts?
Ben: There are not too many other than to thank you for the platform! It’s tough to get eyes on these books as an indie creator, and I can’t express how thankful I am for the writers and podcasters who take the time to highlight indie books!
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