Spotlight on Afterlife Inc. by Jon Lock

Mr Ochroid, Jack Fortune and Elizabeth.

The answer to the question ‘What happens after you die?’ is often long and complicated. Most people believe in some kind of afterlife where everything is amazing and you get your every wish… However, the world of Afterlife Inc. written by John Lock (You may remember my previous spotlight on this series from back in November) is not quite like that. Jack Fortune, once an unlucky entrant into the afterlife has done the unthinkable. Upon his entrance to the afterlife, he declared himself CEO of the Afterlife, and has since been working on making it a welcoming environment for any and all who find themselves there… However, this has not come without a price. Not everyone has been happy about Jack Fortune’s speedy take-over. In Volume One of Afterlife Inc., Jack faced off against the first casualty of the digital age, a literary murderer, life on the serving side and more. The adventures continued in the second volume, and now, after a successful Kickstarter campaign, Jack Fortune, Lux, Mr Ochroid, Nuriel, Elizabeth, Anahel and co are back in a new volume, which promises darker stories, stronger enemies and quite possibly the end of everything…

In Afterlife Inc. Volume Three: Lifeblood, the uncanny Jack Fortune is continuing his attempts to revolutionise and modernise the afterlife, and has set his sights on the manna industry. Manna is the energy source of the dead, the lifeblood of the Empyrean, and what keeps everything running. However, Jack doesn’t realise the implications that his actions are having, and Jack soon has to deal with dissent in his ranks, a group of stupid sexy vampires, and much worth. The un-life of Afterlife Inc. is about to get very complex.

The special nine-page extract released by Lock is full of action, violence and witty one-liners... The perfect summary of Afterlife Inc. itself! We're introduced to a number of new characters, and introduced into the shape of things to come. Manna is a deadly commodity, but Jack and Co will stop at nothing to find those who understand it... With the help/hindrance of Rich Fire, Lifeblood looks set to be a rollercoaster ride of excitement, for both living and dead. 

I am very happy to welcome John Lock, the mastermind behind Afterlife Inc. back to Comic Books and Cookies for another interview about his work and where we will be seeing Jack Fortune in the near future.

Sample from Vol. 3

Hey Jon, nice to have you here again! You’ve clearly been up to a lot since the last time, what’s been going in the world of Afterlife Inc.? 

Hey Ari, glad to be back! Thanks for having me. 

Things have been absolutely manic for Afterlife Inc. of late. Following the success of my Kickstarter campaign in November last year, work has now begun on producing Afterlife Inc. Volume 3: LIFEBLOOD. This is my biggest story to date, both in terms of scope and page count, so this means a lot of work for the creative team. I’m very lucky to be working with the amazing Ash Jackson and Nathan Ashworth on pencils and inks/colours respectively. The artwork they’re churning out for LIFEBLOOD is on another level entirely. Afterlife Inc. has never looked better, but we’ve still got a big job ahead of us to finish the book. 

At the same time, I’m very happy to be working with Nich Angell on THE HEAVENLY CHORD; a crossover of epic proportions between the worlds of Afterlife Inc. and 7STRING, Nich’s amazing comic. Chapter 1 will be launching at Melksham Comic Con in August. Nich’s dynamic artwork is a wonder to behold and it’s a real honour to see my characters interact with those of his universe. We’re trying to channel the spirit of classic, Silver Age crossovers at their best – a real “Marvel vs. DC” vibe – something that we think has never been done before on the UK indie comic scene. I’m really excited about the finished product. 

In other news, Afterlife Inc. volume 1 has just been accepted onto ComiXology, with volume 2 waiting in line. I’m also pleased to be working with Jack Tempest again, a frequent Afterlife Inc. collaborator, on some short stories to help fill the void until LIFEBLOOD is completed. 

Give us a teaser for Lifeblood! 

LIFEBLOOD is the start of big things for Afterlife Inc. I’ve always wanted to tell stories on a larger scale – the same size and energy, for example, as the “Big Two” comics I grew up with – but budget has always been a stumbling block. Thanks to the incredible generosity of my Kickstarter backers, however, I can finally start to tell the kind of story I’ve always dreamed of. In LIFEBLOOD, events are about to get “widescreen” for Jack Fortune and Co. This is our summer blockbuster; the moment where Jack’s slick patter and noble goals come face to face with the harsh realities of his world. Running a business is one thing... but the afterlife is far older and stranger than Jack can imagine, and dark secrets from an earlier age are threatening to erupt from beneath the surface. 

What was your experience in using Kickstarter to finance this volume? 

My month on Kickstarter was an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end – and also quite the learning curve. If I were to do it all again, there are certainly many things I would do differently. It’s hard to gauge what will be a success until you actually try it. I know now, for example, that some of my rewards could have been structured differently. It’s a testament to my backers’ patience and kindness that they were still able to get behind the project despite a few teething problems. I look forward to repaying their trust with (hopefully!) one hell of a story at the end of it. 

This volume looks to be much darker tonally than the previous volumes. What inspired you to go down this route? 

If Jack’s guilty of anything – beyond the obvious misdemeanours – it’s a degree of naivety, a belief that the best of intentions are enough to improve his world. By failing to better understand the nature of the Empyrean, Jack has left Afterlife Inc. open to all kinds of threats. Plus, he has effectively stolen control of the afterlife from its rightful owners, and for better or worse, there are ramifications to his actions that will come back to haunt him.  

If Afterlife Inc. is treading a darker path with LIFEBLOOD, it’s only the natural consequence of Jack’s decisions. As the company grows in power, so too must the challenges facing it. There is light in the darkness, however, and while the threats may bigger, I’d like to think that Jack and Co. face them with their typical resourcefulness and good humour. 

What has been the most fun thing to create for the new volume? I can already tell that the stupid sexy vampires are gonna be a riot!  

Here’s hoping! Having to write a bunch of impossibly beautiful vampires has been an interesting experience – if only for the opportunity to create characters even more self-absorbed than Jack! LIFEBLOOD has also been a great excuse to draw upon my love of “giant robot” anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion. Just wait until you see the final chapter (hint hint). The real star of the show, however, has to be new character Rich Fire, Jack’s corporate spy. Rich has a... unique view of the world and operates on a louder, more explosive plane of existence than the rest of us. He can’t help but steal the scene whenever he walks into shot. 

How has the transition been getting your work onto ComiXology?  

Very simple, as it happens. From the moment ComiXology appeared on the scene, it was clear that they were the number one digital comics app out there. I’d wanted to get Afterlife Inc. onto their marketplace for a long time, but it wasn’t until the recent launch of the ComiXology Submit platform that the door opened to indie creators like me. The team at ComiXology have been exceptionally helpful and the submission process was relatively straightforward.  

What will you be working on next? 

Once LIFEBLOOD and THE HEAVENLY CHORD are wrapped up, I look forward to tying up a few loose ends for Afterlife Inc. I’ve a series of short stories in the works that will probably make up volume 4. I’m also developing a one-shot with 24 different artists, which will tell a brief history of the Empyrean leading up to Jack’s death. This may see the light of day as a digital-first release. 

Where will you be taking Jack Fortune next? 

As much as I’ve enjoyed making volumes 1-3 of Afterlife Inc., I’ve always seen these stories as the “beta storyline”. A chance to try out different writing styles and gain the experience necessary to properly tell the stories I want to. With these under my belt, the time has come to tell the “main” story of Afterlife Inc. A plotline I’ve had planned for over 5 years ever since I first came up with the idea for the series. To tell this story on the level it deserves, I hope to find a publisher for Afterlife Inc. There are big things on the horizon for Jack and Co. and I can’t wait to get started on this next chapter in their afterlives. 

What have you learned from making this volume? 

However big you think your project is, however long you think it will take, believe me, it’s bigger! It’s a miracle I’ve come this far with my sanity intact... but size should never be an obstacle to making the story you want to. You may be a small fish in a large pond but there’s no reason you can’t make a big splash. 

Describe Volume Three in three words! 

Disco. Fire. Fangtastic. 

There is a preview of Afterlife Inc. Volume Three: Lifeblood available over on John’s website, and it can be downloaded as a high-def PDF. Lifeblood is currently in production and is slated for release in autumn 2013. You can also read volume one of Afterlife Inc. over on Comixology, with Volume 2 closely following, as well as some bonus extras!

You can find Jon Lock on Twitter under the username @JonLockComics, and you can see more of his work on his website- www.JonLock.com

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Ariellalphabet’s Week: My Name is Ari, and I'm Addicted to Reading!

It’s been a bittersweet week this week. It was my final week in university classes, and as of now, I am finished for the summer, until October at the latest. Because my classes are so coursework heavy, we have little time in class, hence why we break up so early- it’s a blessing and a curse! Either way, I’ve spent this week reading (I’ve been on an almost unstoppable book buying binge just recently, and it’s been glorious) trying/avoiding my finishing up my assignments, and relaxing. It’s been great!

I was insanely nervous on Monday. I had a dentist appointment to go, and as I had braces for two years, I’ve more or less associated the dentist with jabby bits of metal and so on… Never a nice experience! However, the appointment went by without a hitch, much to my relief! Once I’d got everything else sorted, I resigned myself to a nice lazy day, watching the world go by! The weather here in Sheffield has been absolutely gorgeous this week, with lots of sunshine, although there’s still a chilly breeze! I caught up with Arrow (my love for that programme is both ridiculous and undying) and spent the evening with my housemates watching TV and writing. On Monday, the wonderful website Blog Nerds did a highlight on my little site, which was amazing! I’m still in awe they chose to write about Comic Books and Cookies, and it really means a lot. I also heard the sad news that the awesome Peter David will be bringing his Marvel series X-Factor to a close in September, and I was understandably upset! I haven’t mentioned much about how I got into comics on here, but David’s X-Factor was pivotal on bringing me into it. It’s such an amazing series, so I wrote an open letter to him on here, expressing my thoughts. It was an emotional write-up!

We here in the UK were lucky enough to (for once) get a film before our American counterparts. So, on Tuesday, I coerced (it didn’t take much coercing, to be honest!) my friend from university, the lovely Eleanor to go and see Iron Man 3 with me. The film was absolutely hilarious, and showed a very different side to Tony Stark than had been previously seen, as well as having a pretty genius twist. I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the twist and how it’s “ruined the Mandarin” and suchlike, but I genuinely thought it worked. The Iron Man films overall have done a wonderful job of modernising a fairly retro superhero and bringing him into the 21^st century. Of course, this is helped along a whole lot by Robert Downey Junior’s performance, but nonetheless, it’s still an enjoyable film, if not a little long. Oh, and the after-credits scene is DEFINITELY worth sticking around for! After Eleanor and I had watched the film, we went to our favourite food haunt, Bungalows & Bears for dinner and a very in-depth discussion of the film (and how bad-ass Pepper Potts was. She owned that film!) and discussed plans for summer. After we left Bungalows & Bears, stuffed full of good food, I went home, procrastinated my work some more, and settled in to watch Syfy’s Defiance, a programme that can singlehandedly stun me and my housemates Robin and Daryl into silence. It is that good! Aside from watching good TV and films, I started on my reading binge! Before I met Eleanor, I went into my local bookstore and picked up the Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks and American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I tore through the Zombie Survival Guide like nobody’s business! It’s written so realistically that you sometimes wonder if Brooks knows something we don't…

Parcel from my IGGPPC friend!

Wednesday ran pretty much the same as every other week- Film Narrative class at uni, where we watched Cidade De Deus (City of God), an outrageously violent film about growing up in the slums of Brazil. It was very, very good. My friends and I decided to skip our afternoon seminar in lieu of sitting in the university cafeteria and enjoying one of last silly lunchtimes, which as always, consisted of weird conversations! We eventually went our separate ways, and I went to the comic shop to pick up my comics- The Movement and Snapshot. It was a pretty light week for me, but I could not have predicted how much I’d love The Movement. It’s gritty superheroics done right and done uniquely- not every gritty superhero comic has to be Batman, after all. I wrote up a review of The Movement after enjoying a pizza with my housemate Daryl, and much to my surprise, it got retweeted by Gail Simone, who then followed me on Twitter! I’m still in shock about that. She is an absolutely lovely lady who writes kickass comic books. I highly recommend The Movement! When I got home from my day of comic books and films, I was super happy to find that my IGGPPC pen pal had sent me a gorgeous little parcel, complete with a super-cute necklace and some yummy sweets! I’m currently working on sending her and my other IGGPPC friend some parcels as well- I hope they like them!

Thursday was another day off, and another lazy day. I attempted to do some work for my Film Narrative essay, but I just couldn’t concentrate. It’s getting to the time of the year where I can barely concentrate on any one thing, and I want to both enjoy the sun and hide away from it. It’s tough! I worked out some of my essay plan at least, so the afternoon wasn’t a complete waste, thankfully. I also started a book challenge on Tumblr, which so far, has been pretty fun to do! After having finished The Zombie Survival Guide earlier in the week, I finally got started on Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, and I was absolutely blown away. Any free minute I get I’m reading more and more of it, and my nights are filled with reading until my eyes are closing. It is that good!

Friday was it. My final official day at university before I’m done for the summer, and we celebrated it in style. My lecturer (who is a very, very big fan of Ryan Gosling) showed us his indie hit Drive, which was absolutely haunting. I really enjoyed it nonetheless, and will probably watch it again sometime soon. Gosling may be a pretty boy, but he can back it up with a half decent performance, at least in Drive! From our class, my uni friends and I travelled to the closest pub and settled in for an afternoon of good food, silly conversations, and a few drinks! We also took the wise decision to take over the juke box after being subjected to a selection of bad boy-bands and girl-bands from the 90s, we replaced it with AC/DC, Blondie, Bon Jovi & Tom Petty. When in doubt, right?! I came back home from the pub via the bookshop (again) and eyed up a few more Gaiman books, but not the book I was looking for! I’ve been wanting to read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline for ages now, but I can’t seem to find it in stores anywhere! When I (finally) made it home, I talked to my housemate Daryl, who as usual, had his nose in a book, and somehow convinced me to go back out to the bookshop… And come out with another pair of books. At least I’ll have plenty to read in my long months off! I eventually wound it all up and went to bed pretty early… after reading more of American Gods of course!

What I got on mine & Gina's shopping trip! 

Saturday was the Lolita-meet-that-wasn’t-a-meet-up-that-turned-into-a-shopping-trip. It was complicated! My local Lolita group back in Lincoln had planned to have a picnic since the weather was so nice, but when they woke up on Saturday morning and had seen the rain, our plans were up in the air. After a few quick outfit changes and back-and-forth on  Facebook, I ended up going out to Lincoln not in Loli and had a fun shopping trip with my best friend Gina, and I ended up buying two pairs of shoes. Because it was Free Comic Book Day I stopped off at the comic shop en route to the train station and picked up the newest issue of Green Arrow, and got the Marvel Infinity and 2000AD free comics! I have to say, the 2000AD one was definitely my favourite, and I am tempted to start picking it up. Anyway, After my super-fun shopping trip with Gina, I came home, read American Gods some more, watched Scrubs and fell asleep.

It’s Sunday now, and I’ve spent the better part of the day trying to do my Film Narrative and procrastinating something awful.

This week’s posts:

An Open Letter To Peter David

Spotlight on Missing Time by J. David Clarke

Comic Book Wednesday, Review of The Movement

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Comic Book Wednesday, Review of The Movement #1

Cover of The Movement #1, art by
Amanda Conner.

The Movement is Gail Simone’s (Batgirl, Birds of Prey: End Run) newest, moody offering to The New 52. Unlike much of the DC Universe, The Movement lightly balances drama and grittiness with thinly veiled social commentary to create a new comic of highly promising calibre. It features new, previously unseen (or briefly-seen) characters and makes them grounded, violent and captivating, and makes for fascinating reading. These are not perfect superheroes. They are not on the same level of Superman or Batman, but that’s where the attraction lies. It’s their incompleteness but undeniable awesomeness that makes this opening issue so great to read.

Coral City is not a nice place. The (mostly) corrupt police are little-to-no help, and are facing dissent within the ranks, as they are proven to be undeniably crooked. However, this is just the least of their worries. The Movement are a group of young, super-powered activists who mean business and are not afraid to get their hands dirty. However, the group must learn to keep control and co-exist with the local police force as a masked serial killer known only as ‘the cornea killer’ is stalking the streets, and no-one is safe… Add to that a super-powered young man named Burden who believes himself to be possessed, firing tempers and kickass fights, nowhere in Coral City is safe.

Interior art by Freddie Williams II.

I ended up liking this comic much more than I thought I would. I was initially attracted by the incredible creative team behind it, consisting of Gail Simone writing, Freddie William II on art, Chris Sotomayor on colours and the amazing Amanda Conner on covers, it was frankly hard for me to ignore this comic when I saw it on the shelf in my comic shop! It’s long been established that Gail Simone excels at writing strong, likeable characters, but she really comes into her own on this team book. This issue switches between viewpoints a lot (from the police, to a member of The Movement, and back again repeatedly) but it’s still easy to keep up, as each character is so unique in their own right. This opening issue is highly gripping, extremely exciting, and reads like a who-dunnit crossed with thrilling superheroics, by way of an almost-dystopian future. It’s good reading, and makes for a great addition to the New 52.

The artwork, by Freddie Williams II fits the book fairly well. It’s fairly standard DC fare, but it still works. The detail on every page and every panel are absolutely astounding, and it is clear that many long hours were put into making this comic books look perfect. Williams captures the grittiness of Coral City easily, matching the styles seen in Gotham City countless times before. Furthermore, Chris Sotomayor’s deep, dark colour palette is excellent, and plays on the already solid artwork.

The Movement is a deeply absorbing, character-heavy story that should absolutely wow readers. The characters play excellently off each other, and Simone more than proves her writing skills on this complicated team book, and I for one will be keeping a close eye on it in the future. 

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