Skip to main content

Behind the Story: Robert Getty & Madeline Salvage (Northstarr: Acquisition)

After reading Northstarr: Acquisition, I caught up with co-creators Robert Getty and Madeline Salvage to get an inside look at this sci-fi action epic.

Inspiration for Northstarr: Acquisition

According to Robert, "Kung Fu movies, noir and Western tropes were taken liberally. We came up with the first draft of the story when we were sixteen. So of course things from our childhood were a big influence. Although it went through changes, the core of 'Two mercenaries with a past get superpowers and have to fight an evil dictator' That was always there."

Maddie says that "Northstarr started as a passion project during our college years to distract us from the joys of A Levels. It drew on our favourite things we loved from comics and the other worlds you could create to escape in. Neither of us had faith in a hero type character so we began to explore the world inside Northstarr and Slash’s head."

Influences

"I was a huge fan of the Teen titans show when I was young. That mixture of action 
and comedy always stuck out to me." Says Robert.

He goes on to say, "Then Deadpool was what gave us the mercenary angle with that irreverent sense of humour. Also Alan Moore, in the sense that the government isn’t always your friend and will do some messed up stuff to people on the fringes of society."

Maddie explains, "My love for writing started more outside of comics with my first favourite author being Anthony Horowitz. The level of detail in his books always blew my mind but when I discovered comics I fell in love with Mike Mignola and Neil Gaiman."

Collaborating with others

"A huge lesson for me as a collaborator was that listening is very important to a 
successful project. Also, to never assume anything about how someone else is 
feeling." Robert tells me.

The Future for Northstarr

I asked Robert where this story was going beyond this book and this is what he had to say.

"We had plans for a trilogy from the beginning. If the project becomes financially viable or we gain some attention for our other endeavours we might blow the dust off of those plans."

Maddie also informed me, "As Northstarr was our debut comic, it opened us up to the industry and as a result we’ve taken on other projects as well as the Northstarr series. We’re looking forward to the future with Northstarr but currently it’s having to share the spotlight with our other releases."

Fantasy collaboration

I asked the pair if they could collaborate with any mainstream artist or writer, who would it be and why?

Robert was the first to answer, "Blue sky thinking, Enki Bilal. He has this amazing mixture of futuristic and gothic. Each one of his pages are a piece of art that could be hung in a museum."

Maddie also enlightened me with her preference, "I would love to work with Mike Magnola in the future. His artwork and his stories have such a presence which is hard not to get sucked in by. I think we’d have some awesome stories to share."

It was a pleasure to talk to the creators of Northstarr: Acquisition. If you enjoyed their book, why not check out their other projects.

Madeline Salvage is currently working on her latest piece which you can find in the link below.


If you would like me to review your book, then drop me an email at stewjones22@gmail.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Murderhooves

Murderhooves is a brief one-shot story written by Sonya Kinsey. It tells the retrospective tale of a fantasy based war horse and contains very powerful dialogue that adds to the strength of the character. It's this dialogue that really shines through as believable within the confines of this fantasy world.  The artwork that accompanies it isn't the most high-definition or immensely detailed. However, what's presented is a stylistic and gritty representation that works perfectly for this brief story and it's a testament to that balance between good art, dialogue and story that keeps the reader immersed.  If you're looking for a marathon of storytelling reminiscent of bigger stories such as Watchmen or Lord of the Rings, then this isn't for you. However, if you can spend a bit of time to get a glimpse of a prologue related story, featuring a dynamic lead character that can throw realism in to a fantasy and almost parody based world then this is definit...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wren

For the first time in history, the world looks to science for a way out of hell! The newly formed Royal Society are enlisted by the British Government and the Military Establishment to contain a pandemic that has consumed London and threatens the world. Enlisted to search for answers - and hope! But when science is ignored, the bravest are silenced and even the truest can be corrupted - everything is at risk and nothing is as it seems! Question what you know! London will burn, but was the fire misfortune foreseen or planned? Who is in control and what is to gain? Discover the sinister truth behind the history of the City and the Society that changed the world! Upon seeing the setting for this story, I was a little intimidated by the idea of the time period. History was never my strong point and I was concerned I wouldn't have an interest in an English history adaptation, particularly the Black Plague! However, after reading the first two issues, I was pleasantly surpris...
Post a Comment
Read more

Behind the Story: Guy Fogel (Sherman's Pit)

After reading the first issue of Guy Fogel's comic book, Sherman's Pit, I took some time to discuss the story in a little more depth. Here he is, in his own words. Inspiration "The obvious inspiration behind the story was my own service as a regular in the IDF between 2004-2007, of course, most of which I was assigned to The Pit, which is a real underground command center. Some of the characters are based on real people I've worked with, some of the events that happened to Sherman happened to me or people I knew. The environment design is mostly based on memory, as it is forbidden to take pictures there. I did take steps, however, to change the names of characters and places that aren't already common knowledge.  Historically, those were turbulent times, and there is plenty to show: from PM Sharon's 2005 Disengagement Program, through Shalit's abduction by terrorists, to the 2nd Lebanon War in the summer of 2006. Those are all still politically charged topi...
Post a Comment
Read more