In the interest of full disclosure, I have donated to this project. I decided to support this project after deciding to conduct this interview because I believe that it sounds like an interesting product that I personally support. I have no other affiliation with either creator of this book.











Samurai Grandpa is a current Kickstarter project by Eastin DeVerna and Shawn Daley. The story follows Ojichan as he decides to retire from the life of a samurai and focus on his family until and old enemy returns and forces him to take up the sword again to rescue his kidnapped granddaughter. At its heart, it seems to be a tale of a man looking back on his life and what he has accomplished while ensuring a future for his family. If you are interested to donating to this book, their Kickstarter page can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1511911625/samurai-grandpa











I had a chance to ask a few questions of both Eastin and Shawn, and what follows are their answers.

Ian: Tell us a little bit about yourselves and your previous projects





Eastin:





I’ve been making comics for a while now. I started back in 2011 with a webcomic called Spaceship Long Island (SSLI) . . . it’s about the earth exploding and Long Island launching into outer space as a rocketship. After a great run, SSLI came to a close a few years back.





The other project I’m working on is way more grounded . . . it’s called Howl and it’s about the last human living a world of werewolves - totally normal stuff, there. I co-write Howl with Ryan Davidson and Dan Buksa is on art for that one. We’re currently wrapping up issue three and one and two are up on Comixology right now.





Currently I’m living in New York with my wife Kim. I work in international education by day and make comics by night.





Shawn:





I’m a cartoonist from Toronto Canada. My first comics project was TerraQuill Collected, which was Kickstarted and released in 2015. I work full time in comics, mostly drawing for other creators. I score independent games for developers as well, mostly chiptune and 8-bit stuff. That kind of work really helps when you need a break from the drafting table.





I live with a hamster named Little Grandpa. He’s always late on rent, but he’s good people. When I’m not working, I’m probably eating cereal or thinking about working.





Ian: What made you decide to do a story based in feudal Japan?





Eastin:





I’ve always been fascinated with Japanese lore and legend, its myths and history, but Samurai Grandpa is a bit odd in its origins. I was driving with my wife, Kim one day and we were stuck in traffic, I may or may not have been wearing a bandana and she randomly looked over to me and said, “you look like a Samurai Grandpa right now.” The second I heard those two words together, a world and story started forming around them. For me this story felt right at home in a Feudal Japanese setting - the hayday of the samurai - but with a little bit of a twist, a little bit of magic and mystery thrown in there as well. The lore and mythology surrounding that time of history is so rich, it just seemed like the perfect setting to tell this story.





Shawn:





There’s a finesse involved in drawing Japanese landscapes and villages. The required air of ancientness and historical accuracies really need to be taken into mind. Those challenges are part of the fun though, and make stories like Samurai Grandpa enjoyable to draw.





Ian: Why did you decide on a character who was older, as opposed to someone in their prime?





Eastin:

Samurai Grandpa is a bit of a personal story for me, which is maybe odd because I’m neither a samurai, nor a grandpa, but I do have a little bit of a fixation and fascination with our own mortality and the ageing process. We sacrifice our youth for wisdom (hopefully) as we grow older and we need to continually adapt, reevaluate how we operate in our relationships, in the physical world - we need to be more conscious of our bodies and our bodies’ limits. An older protagonist, for me, is incredibly interesting. We see this character - Ojichan, he has scars, a bad back, he’s an insanely skilled fighter, and all of that comes from years and years of living and experience. He’s lived his life for the most part, he has old lovers, regrets, secrets he’d never let go of, and with all of this comes confidence, but also vulnerability.





Shawn:





Drawing old people is fun, to put it bluntly. They require more types of lines and a bit of additional life in your stroke. When Eastin mentioned that OjiChan would be an elderly man, I knew I’d have to say yes to the script. It’s always a little easier designing characters when they’re up in the years due to the distinct weathering of age. And when you have a beard like OjiChan, you become that much more a pleasure to draw.





Ian: What lead you to go with the relatively simple name of Samurai Grandpa?





Eastin:





I don’t think there was ever a question of going with another title. Unlike some other stories, where the concept or idea comes first, followed by the title, it was the other way around with Samurai Grandpa.





I’ve also always been a fan of simpler titles, titles with just enough going on in them to be catchy or unique in ways that would stir up the interest of a reader, I think - I hope - we’ve got something like that with Samurai Grandpa.





Shawn:





It’s two things that are awesome. So when Eastin proposed the name, I had nothing more to say than “Let’s do this.”





Ian: What would you say are some of your biggest inspirations in regard to both story and artwork?





Eastin:





I could probably go on and on about inspirations or influences for me when it comes to story and artwork. A few of the people who make we want to get up and write after reading their work would be Kurt Vonnegut, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder, Jonathan Hickman, and definitely Rick Remender, I’ll basically read anything he puts out these days. When it comes to art, I’m a huge fan of David Mazzucchelli, David Aja, Fiona Staples, Jeff Lemire. Ah, and of course Dan Buksa and Shawn Daley ;)





Shawn:





A few times a week, I hear that I draw with vague similarities in style to a few of the top modern creators (apologies to Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt), but those creators aren’t great because of their art. They’re great because of their storytelling. And also their art. So my influences have mostly been storytellers and cartoonists as opposed to comic book artists.





Akira Toriyama, Stan Sakai, Charles Burns, Dr. Seuss, Jim Davis, Box Brown, Ray Fawkes… the list might never end.





Also, a few indie cartoonists and creators who are worth your time: Claire Connelly, Tara O’Connor, A. Shay Hahn, Doug Michel, everyone at Source Point Press, and a million others. Including Eastin! Ask me on Twitter if anyone’s looking for recommendations.





Ian: What kind of tone do you intend to set with the book, with a bit of a comedic name like Samurai Grandpa, but a bit more serious seeming pages on the Kickstarter.





Eastin:





Samurai Grandpa has a little bit of it all. It definitely deals with and explores some more serious issues or questions, but a few pages later, Ojichan might be duking it out with a fish monster or some ninja monkeys. It’s not a comedy story by any means, but it’s also not a full on drama, I think it might fall somewhere in between.





Shawn:





The book fluctuates between sentimental moments and outrageous absurdities, so the name of the game was balance. What artistic challenges would there be between jumping from a ninja monkey fight to a heart-wrenching embrace between past lovers within the span of a page? As it turns out, a few! But solving that puzzle has been half the fun of drawing Samurai Grandpa. Every page and every scene is a puzzle, and making them work individually as well as a cohesive unit is just part of the challenge of comics. It’s also incredibly enjoyable.





Ian: Is there anything else that you want people to know about the project?





Eastin:





I’m just thrilled to have the opportunity to work on this project and bring it to life. Working with Shawn has been an absolute blast, he’s just an awesome guy and an incredible artist and storyteller. I’m very excited to be working on Samurai Grandpa, please check it out!





Shawn:





Anyone who supports Samurai Grandpa isn’t just supporting a perfect-bound paperback collection of art and words, they’re supporting Eastin and myself. So all of the trust and support we’re received thus far isn’t something we take lightly. We’re also both pretty active on Twitter, so any comments or questions about the project, or about what cereal I’m eating today (it’s Count Chocula) can be answered there.





Immeasurable thanks to everyone for the support.





Look forward to more coverage of Samurai Grandpa when the book is finally released, and again if you wish to donate to the Kickstarter, it can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1511911625/samurai-grandpa