Kevin Joseph grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He was the light haired kid the teacher was always waking up from a daydream, who eventually realized those daydreams could be shared if he just wrote them down.
He’s the Indie comic writer of Tart & UnderWars.
Kevin was interviewed by Thomas Logan for <em>Sliver of Stone Magazine.</em>
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<strong>What sparked your interest in writing comic books?</strong>
I had been working on screenplays for a few years when I learned that, living in Fort Lauderdale, I was never going to get any of them read. Whether they were as great as I thought they were, or as terrible as they probably were, I wasn’t going to find out.
And I didn’t have tens of thousands (and more likely hundreds of thousands) of dollars to produce them myself.
But a comic I could get made. I could scrape together art fees and printing fees for a one issue and get my work in front of people.
I have been an on and off comic reader since I was 12, but the freedom to take an idea in my head and get it in front of an audience is what drove me to the medium.
<strong>What or who inspired you to start writing and why?</strong>
I think it was really Judy Blume. I read <em>Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing</em> and fell in love with the story (proud Dad moment, I just convinced my daughter to read it and she did too!). When I finished it, someone told me there were more stories with Fudge and Peter.
I noticed that the same name was on each book. That was the first time I realized that if you liked a book by a writer, you’d probably like another book written by the same author. I’ve gone through Stephen King phases, and Douglas Adams phases and many more, but that joy of following my first author has stayed with me throughout my life.
<strong>What was the first comic you wrote? What is the latest comic you have written?</strong>
The first comic I ever wrote was an audition script for Ludovic Sallè. I’d been introduced to him over email by a mutual friend who knew he was stuck in his Time Traveling, demon-hunting adventure series <em>Hell Strawberry</em>.
He had a very distinct voice for that comic that I couldn’t replicate, but I did come up with an idea that I thought was reminiscent. Ludo liked it enough, and that script was eventually turned into <em>Tart 1</em>. We have just finished <em>Tart 7</em>, so that’s a perfect bookend to your question.
<strong>Are you collaborating with any artists on your stories? If so, who?</strong>
Always. Each comic I create is co-created from the ground up by the artist on the book. That’s Ludovic Sallè on “Tart.” C.M Brennan on the goofball comedy “Underwars,” Jessi Sheron on my kids comic “The Poodles of Potter’s Peak.” Shawn Langley on our Western “Hole in the Sky.” And D.A. Bishop on our silent one-shot “Morte.”
My greatest skill as a writer is convincing these artists to work on the books. Because each one took ideas I thought were good and turned them into great comics.
<strong>Since you are a publisher too, tell us the story of what made you decide to start publishing your own books.</strong>
The great thing about today’s indie comic market is that there are no gatekeepers. Nobody can stop you from making your comic. The tradeoff to that is nobody is going to be able to help you make your book either.
Until you’ve proven you have an audience big enough for a bigger publisher to take you on, you have to do it yourself.
<strong>Do you have any big plans in the works in either writing or publishing? If so, can you tell us about them?</strong>
I am enjoying the ride so much that my big plans are really just to keep on trucking. Continue with the stories we’re already working on and make sure they are the best we can possibly make.
If we do that, there will be a foundation for any ideas we have in the future to flourish.
<strong>Are you looking to write anything new or take on any new works to publish outside of your own?</strong>
I get really wary about the thought of publishing someone else’s comic. I still have too much to learn, and make too many mistakes to entrust myself with someone else’s dream.
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<img class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-369194″ src=”https://sliverofstonemagazinedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/40086210_522673041479393_8530530431177588736_o-e1540850233196.jpg?w=610″ alt=”” width=”610″ height=”544″ />
Kevin can be contacted on twitter @kevinjosephcmx of by email kevin@kechalcomics.com
Join his email list! Kechalcomics.com/freecomics
Sliver of Stone Magazine 
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