Blank: The Graphic Novel- A Chat with Ian LeWinter and Don Richmond

There are numerous reasons as to why I love Twitter.  The most important is the ability to connect with unique people who take pleasure in sharing their stories.

Ian LeWinter and Don Richmond, the writer and artist of Blank: The Graphic Novel, understand the importance of Social Media as a platform to promote and distribute their work. Known as The Brothers of The Silence, the two men invite their readers to unravel the unfolding saga of John Blank and his journey into the abyss.

Take a peak into the minds of Ian and Don as they discuss their creative process, their belief in Social Media and yes, their strategy for World domination.

Describe Blank in 140 words or less:

At least you didn’t say 140 characters. Blank is a supernatural thriller. The protagonist, John Blank is an everyman — literally. He is a hitman who subsumes the souls of his prey, creating a psychological complex that is in constant struggle to harmonize internally. Ian had the brilliant idea of killing him in Chapter One and then following his death journey. John is haunted by a girl-ghost who will become his defacto spirit guide in his journey toward realization of his destiny.

John Blank has what psychologists term a compromised ego integrity — one that is continually fragmented and redefined, possessing no reliable sense of self apart from his unique capability to kill. The antagonist, Ouranos Gaia, has a psychopathic megalomania that stems from a mythic iconography that has been nurtured by his family for generations. Angel is the mysterious wild-card.

You have a dedicated Blank website, a Blank Facebook fan page and you are both very active on Twitter. How do you utilize each of these mediums to your advantage?

When we first launched Blank, it would be impossible to communicate how wonderful the fan reaction was. Currently, for instance, we communicate with close to 30,000 people generally, nearly 3,000 people concretely, and about 300 people intimately every week! The comments from readers are the fuel for this project. In the past, all writers had to keep a clear picture of their audience in their minds. Now, you can have real-time, two-way contact with your audience as each page is unveiled. That’s a phenomenal innovation that technology has afforded writers.

Our goal was simple: find the most effective means to tell the world about Blank. The medium dictated the solution — social media is free and experiencing growth rates of 1400 percent, while traditional channels were experiencing a decline. We saw our responsibility to the project and to future generations who must know about the Trilogy. Because of this, the book is being launched on several social media platforms. We knew Blank would work by the artistic excitement we felt when discussing the project. It had all the attributes of a magnum opus, of a life work on such a grand scale that it would survive for many generations. Whether it worked economically was subsidiary to that fact. The only challenge after that realization was to listen to what the characters were saying and to find the most productive means of telling everyone about the story. Both Social and Traditional Media had to be exhausted as distribution channels. Before this project is over, for us to accomplish our goals, we will have multiple social media hubs, have published three graphic novels, negotiated a motion picture deal, produced spin-off books and launched on augmented reality.

How did the story of John Blank come to life?

The concepts came in parallel from both of us. Don was obsessed by an after-world in the Greek tradition in which its inhabitants metaphorically drank from a river of forgetfulness — in other words, its inhabitants were unclear of the reality of a prior existence and uncertain of a future different from the one they currently experienced. Throw in a young girl-ghost who would be the ostensible guide for a hitman who is new to that world.

Ian was haunted himself by a megalomaniacal intellectual giant who was raised to believe he was the incarnation of Uranus, much in the way the Dali-Lama is raised to believe that he is the incarnation of the Buddha. Ian also gave John the quality of personality fragmentation, making him a melting pot of competing mental images of self.

Why did you choose a graphic novel to tell your story?

Some brains collect formulas. Some brains collect algorithms. Our brains collect art — whether in words, in visuals or in sounds. Because of this, our interest in graphic serials began the first moment we touched one. The promise of creating a world in which we can communicate the unique patterns we see in life was and still is the most important discovery we’ve ever made. So graphic novels were a natural for us.

And graphic novels are, without a doubt, a mega-burgeoning market. We are poised for a new age in this medium. These are exciting times. There are people entering this arena who will amaze and inspire beyond our comprehension. Publishers are recognizing this fact and expanding their labels. Fans are what this market is all about and they are driving the generation of the most creative work seen in decades. We’re like kids in a candy store.

How did you meet? Is this your first collaboration?

We met in an opium den in Kabul…wait, that’s not true. Although Ian most likely is an opium addict, we met as marketing and advertising professionals and quickly learned of our shared passion for graphic novels. The Blank franchise is our first collaboration together.

Your blog posts indicate that both of you share a talent for writing. Do you ever switch off on duties?

Don: Never. Only so far as to make comic bubble suggestions for brevity or grammatical suggestions for clarity. To alter Ian’s story-crafting would be ridiculous. That would put me in the shoes of Tom Higginson, the guy who edited Dickinson’s poetry. Silliness playing with ego. I am not here.

Ian: Ouranos, John and Angel tell the story. I’m only writing it down. I am not here.

Don (after more consideration): Also, I am afraid that if I did that, Ian would kill me with a scramasax that he keeps in his top desk drawer. I’m not joking. He would do it.

Ian: But I wouldn’t kill him until he was done drawing.

What do you love about writing? What is your process?

Writing is beautiful because it is the ultimate act of destruction.

Readers come to a work with all the faculties and prejudices and expectations that society has helped them architect up to that moment. Authors are gifted with the opportunity to dismantle those constructs — slowly, carefully at first, and then with irresistible abandon. At the end of any story, the reader should feel as breathless and frightened and disoriented as a newborn. That terrifying destruction is the true test of any great work.

As for Blank, the typical process is to discuss the project from various vantage points. Afterward, Ian jacks into the ether and begins listening (and sometimes confronting) the characters as they craft the story for him. As a story designer, he sees the action, he hears the conversation, he feels the emotions. When the characters eventually get it right, he records his vision and sends it to Don. Don’s responsibility at that point is to become immersed in the words as one drowning and then draw that floating, deadly suspension as beautifully as his hand will allow. The Flash site is a collaborative effort after Don’s illustrations meet with approval.

What’s next for the Brothers of The Silence?

We have a franchise idea on deck and one in the hole, making three long-term projects. But for now, our short-term goals necessitate that we focus on hitting the tipping point with Blank. It’s too important not to do that. After that, we’ll play with expanding that franchise and nurturing the next two. It’s hard to believe that we have this opportunity. We feel that we’re being encouraged to play, to inspire, to create and, ultimately, to bring to life the greatest cast of characters our genre has seen to date.