THE CONVENTION COLLECTIVE: Thank you for joining us in the Spotlight Andy! How did you get into writing and why did you want to become an writer?
Andy Eschenbach: Hi! Thank YOU! I got in to writing really young. I just really enjoyed it- making things up and playing them out until the end. It was mostly goofball stuff though. I got in to scripting comics maybe seven or eight years ago after I told one of my hair-brained ideas to Brian Level and he encouraged me in the best way.
TCC: What genre do you like writing the most?
Andy: Sheesh- I have a hard time staying in-genre in a single story. I like to fit the genre to the scene. Any genre can be good. That said, giant robots rule- so I’ll pick that if I have to pick.
TCC: What was the first work you completed, where you stepped back and thought, “Yes, y’know what, I can do this for a living!”?
Andy: Who said anything about a living?! Haha!
TCC: Which writers inspire you? And they don’t have to be in the medium you work in, either…
Andy: Grant Morrison and Alan Moore for the classics. (Jonathan) Hickman and (Jason) Aaron for the contemporary. Matt Rosenberg and Ed Brisson for showing us how it’s done.
TCC: Can you tell us your greatest fan moment, interacting with a personal hero of yours where you may have gone a little weak at the knees?
Andy: One time I saw Paul Rudd riding off on a golf cart in the bathroom alley at NYCC, and he smiled his Paul Rudd vampire smile at me. Who could help but be weak?
TCC: What is your favorite fandom? Who is your favorite comic book character/movie/tv character?
Andy: Ant Man! (and X-Men and Shin Godzilla…) I like lots of other stuff too, though…
TCC: What’s your working routine? Do you work regular set hours and days, keeping certain days free for personal time, or do you find you create any time the muse takes you?
Andy: I work regular hours and days running a tattoo shop. I’m a Dad too- so writing is a get-it-when-you-can kind of thing for me. I do my best to make time for it, and I start to have “schedule-like behavior” once I’m on a roll.
TCC: When you’re creating, what do you use for background noise? Some creators use music or podcasts, some use a TV show that they just can listen to in the background. What do you use?
Andy: Silence! Or maybe the score to “Dune” or something…
TCC: What was the first comic con that you remember attending? And, indeed, what was the last?
Andy: Cincy Comic Con! And NYCC two years ago 🙁
TCC: What’s your favourite element of a comic convention? And which bits could you easily leave behind?-
Andy: I love seeing everybody, and all the cool stuff everybody’s been making! I kinda wish the collecting element didn’t sometimes breed the type of thinking where a person will show up to a table with a short box of comics for a creator to autograph.
TCC: At a convention, when you’re not behind your table or doing the things you have to do at a con, which corner of the show would we find you in?
Andy: The one with giant robots.
TCC: A lot of creatives are also taking to crowdfunding – such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo – to generate income from their work. What’re your thoughts on that?
Andy: I’m clueless, but I imagine it’s something I’ll need to do with some of these ideas I have.
TCC: What projects have you recently finished? What are you working on at the moment, what projects are coming up that you can talk about?
Andy: I’m always working on something, but “Chained to the Grave” is wrapping in a couple months at IDW. I got to work with my friends Brian Level, Kate Sherron, and Micah Myers on that. I’ve been brewing up a fun story with Butch Mapa, hoping you’ll get to see that in print. I’ve got quite a few weird crime stories on my website strangecrime.com, available to anyone. And of course, trying to get publishers to let me make giant robot stories.
TCC: How do you stay connected with fans? Do you use a mailing list or newsletters, are you active on social media?
Andy: I don’t hear from many fans, but I hope I connect with readers through my stories. I’m on Twitter (@andyeschenbach)
TCC: Where can people find out more about you and reach out to you?
Andy: strangecrime.com, or @andyeschenbach on twitter.
TCC: Thanks Andy, for your time!
Andy: Nono, thank you.
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