First Comics News: Why do you personally enjoy making comics?
Theodore Riddle: They fulfill many things in my heart. I love to draw and have always loved to do something art-related. When I was an infant, my mother didn’t know how to keep me occupied so she would spread out a lot of 8½ x 11″ paper and colored pencils on the floor. She told me I would scribble for hours. I remember showing her my masterpieces and she had no clue what they were. At the age of 3 or 4, my grandmother took me down to the basement and showed me all the 10¢ comics my uncle had left behind. I was amazed and looked at every single comic, learning to read from those comics. Pretty soon I was reading Dr. Gray’s book of Anatomy by the age of 6.
When I went to kindergarten, they gave me apples, oranges, trucks, etc. to color in with a blunt crayon. I expected a paintbrush or colored pencils so, I just scribbled outside of the lines, because it was so boring. The teacher told my parents what I was doing, I told my parents I could draw better apples with a paintbrush instead of the simple outlined apples that they gave me. They were angry and didn’t understand me at all. It was a frustration I grew up with my entire life.
In 8th grade a, friend saw me drawing comic book characters and told me they were great. Steven also told me that people got paid to draw superheroes. From that point on I knew I was going to be a comic book artist. I didn’t know how until much later in my life.
The reason I love making comic books is because I get to draw and write a story that has a lot of meaning to me.
1st: How long have you been involved in making comics and what training did you have?
Ted: I’ve been involved in making comics my entire life. I am 60 years old now. I have been self-publishing for well over 30 years. Even the scribbles of my infant mind were my first comics. I took art classes all through my school years. On the first day of high school, my art teacher saw what I was doing and gave me a pamphlet about the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. I went home that day and told my mother I wasn’t going to college. I held out the pamphlet and told her I was going to the Joe Kubert School, located just a half-hour drive away from my hometown in Dover, NJ, USA. My mother was in shock!
She tried to send me to the Philadelphia College of Art for summer classes. I did go between my junior and senior years of high school. I came home with a pierced earring and was even more steadfast in my desire to attend The Kubert School.
1st: Do you base any of the characters in “The Dragon King God Killer” on real-life people?
Ted: Yes. Two of the characters are based on real people, but to protect them I cannot say who the real-life people are or which characters they are.
1st: Do you feel the title “The Dragon King God Killer” might put off some people from picking up the comic?
Ted: No. I feel the title has just the right amount of shock to it. If anything, they would at least pick it up. If they were to listen to the YouTube video from Comix Wellspring – Theodore Riddle first, then they would at least flip through it and possibly buy it. Everyone has a connection with whatever god they believe in, even if they do not believe in God at all. Even atheists know that they have heard the word God. They choose to deny the fact that some people believe in a God and deny the fact that He does exist. God is the reason for the universe. This is an indisputable fact.
And yes, some people will be so put off that they won’t even look at it, but curiosity killed the cat.
1st: What type of character is the Dragon King?
Ted: He is a man lost within himself and tries to do the impossible, kill God. He looked into the crystal ball and saw nothing there. God gave him a purpose even if it was wrong. He needed a reason to be, so God gave him one by the tragedies that made up his life. A man without a purpose is truly lost. God saved his soul, even if his purpose was to destroy Satan, the universe, and even God Himself. He was born to be the destroyer.
1st: How does Lucifer fit into the story?
Ted: To torture the Dragon King and everyone in the world. God gave the Ten Commandments. Those commandments were absolutes. The same way the Dragon King God Killer ruled the Earth before he destroyed it the first time. He left Lucifer, his trusted friend, in charge of the world while he went to look for his Queen. While the Dragon King was gone, Lucifer taught them about free will, and they chose to be sinners. So, the Dragon King killed everyone and reimprisoned Lucifer inside the molten core that was left of the planet Earth God let the Earth cool and created Adam and Eve, a much lesser form of mankind; even they committed sins, and their descendants committed sins that we are still living to this day. Through wars, stealing, and murder. So, am I a bad person for writing this story when it ends with everyone going to heaven and being forgiven?
1st: The title “The Dragon King God Killer” does that mean God is killed?
Ted: That is exactly what it means. God does die as we know Him, but the ending speaks for itself. The only way you will find out the answer to this question is to read all three issues.
1st: Will this series, ” The Dragon Kin God Killer” offend people?
Ted: If they read the series in its entirety, I believe they will find the peace that they are looking for, and if it does offend people, then they have completely missed the entire point of the trilogy.
1st: Was there a personal aspect for you as you created “The Dragon King God Killer”?
Ted: Yes, it is a fictionalized autobiography and pain. I am the Dragon King!
1st: How do you feel the Holo-Chrome cover for Issue #1 turned out?
Ted: It was the most beautiful print job I have ever seen. I wish I could afford to print more, but it is limited to 26 copies, which truly makes it a highly collectible comic.
1st: Will you make more in this series after issue 3?
Ted: No, this is a done-in-one trilogy. However, I plan to create other characters. I will also look very heavily into making it into a movie and being the producer of “The Dragon King God Killer. ” I even have the musical score already picked out. The group Beyond the Black will have many songs in the movie if they permit me to use their music. I don’t know how I will accomplish this goal, but I believe it is very worthy of a cinematic movie or animation. I also wish to have a toy line and ” The Dragon King God Killer ” merchandise. If anyone wants to sign a contract or is willing to back this endeavor, please contact me at monolithcomics@comcast.net.
1st: Have any people helped you out or inspired you to create comics?
Ted: There are many people. I only have a short amount of time to mention them all, and I will most likely forget to list some of the names of the many people who have inspired me and helped me along my journey. I will only write down first names to protect this partial list of individuals.
My loving wife Melissa, Rich, Mark, Joe, Mike, Sid, Brooke, Winnie, Diane, art teachers, Joe, Paul, Kathy, Cherise, Tom, Chris, my uncle, my grandmother, my mother, the band Beyond the Black, and many, many more.
1st: How does the guitar help you relax?
Ted: When there is nothing left to give inside of me, and I am so exhausted from drawing, I play the guitar to relax and just listen to the sounds I can make with my guitar. If you know 13 chords or more, you can write a whole symphony, and that is what I do. The music that comes out of my guitar sends me to heaven.
1st: Any words for those who pick up your new comic “The Dragon King God Killer”
Ted: Yes, don’t be afraid; just read the comic and keep in mind the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done.
I have to say this prayer over and over because I don’t know if my dreams will ever come true. It is truly in God’s hands.
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