Q: Is King of RPGs your first full-length comic story?
Victor Hao: YES! I've worked with storyboards and my own small attempts of creating manga, but this is the first full-length comic I've done.
Q: Victor, there's a lot of action scenes in King of RPGs, but was there a particular action sequence you most enjoyed drawing, or was most challenging to draw?
Victor Hao: A particularly hard part about drawing King of RPGs Volume 1 was where there was a lot of monsters in one scene. I've never really drawn monsters before and so it was difficult for me to think up some really weird ones, or to even make them up.
Jason Thompson: You did a good job with the monsters, by the way! (smiles)
Victor Hao: That means a lot coming from you Jason!!! Your monsters are so awesome!
Jason Thompson: The best comic for me personally to draw would be one that was just monsters and backgrounds. (laughs)
Q: So Victor -- (and Jason), any advice you'd like to share with any aspiring artists/writer teams?
Victor Hao: Hmmmm... practice lots!
Jason Thompson: Find a person whose strengths complement your weak spots!
Victor Hao: I think networking is pretty important. I would've never gotten this chance to meet Jason without Elena.
Jason Thompson: Networking is vital!
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! VOLUME 2 HINTS AND THOUGHTS ON OEL MANGA
Q: Now that you two have come through the other side of this adventure, what's next for the both of you? What are you working on now? Both of you two have mentioned Volume 2 several times. Is it already done or are you working on it? What can we expect to see in King of RPGs Volume 2?
Jason Thompson: We may be getting ahead of ourselves... (laughs) But it'll have more mayhem, more violence, and more MMORPGs. Volume 2 is about the world's most popular online game, World of Warfare.
Victor Hao: I LOVE DRAWING MALAKBEL!!!!
Jason Thompson: SWEET!
Q: Malakbel? Is that a new character? Is it a female or male character, or neither? (laughs)
Victor Hao: I think I've said too much!
Jason Thompson: And there's a new character, or rather RPG character, Malakbel. As for his real-world identity and his role in the story, I should just leave it at that... (smiles) And there's more tabletop role-playing, of course!
Q: So is Volume 2 a go -- or is it kinda wait and see with Del Rey? You've mentioned that Volume 2 is in the works, or is it done?
Jason Thompson: Volume 2 is a go, we're just still working on it! The script is all done, except for some last-minute changes.
Victor Hao: I'm currently working on Volume 2 now!
Q: So we can hope to see King of RPGs hit the shelves in... 2011? 2012?
Jason Thompson: I don't actually remember, but I think it's tentatively scheduled for Spring 2011. Victor is already halfway done with the art, and it's 260 pages long.
Q: Wow -- that's longer than the usual 200-page graphic novel. Is it longer than Volume 1?
Jason Thompson: Yes, my editor encouraged me to go with it. (laughs) I tend to write 'em long. Sorry Victor!
Victor Hao: Whatever?!! It's 260 pages of awesome! I can't wait!
Jason Thompson: Beyond that, I'm working on a short animation trailer for King of RPGs. I'm also working on some H.P. Lovecraft comics on my site www.mockman.com, and I'm on a fantasy/horror graphic novel about Easter Island, which will probably be drawn by another artist.
Q: You've mentioned that Kaitlin, your editor at Del Rey Manga has contributed/helped with the development of this story -- I know she was your biggest booster at cons all last year!
Jason Thompson: Kaitlin is incredible! I can't believe how lucky I was to get an editor who is a super RPG player who knows all the references I make in the comic. Just the other day she asked me if one of the characters' behavior was inspired by a particular strategy in Magic: The Gathering.
Victor Hao: Kaitlin was very encouraging and supportive throughout the whole project. I'd like to give her special thanks for believing in us!
Jason Thompson: Her advice is great, she's really supportive, and she gives us lots of room to run around in. I thank my d20s every day that we ended up working with her.
Q: Also -- since both Jason and I were just talking about it earlier tonight on the Anime 3000 podcast -- what's your take on the future of "original English language manga?" Is it just gettin' started? Does it need work? Or is the best is yet to come? What do you think can/should be done to get more readers turned on to these types of stories?
Jason Thompson: I think of King of RPGs as a manga-influenced graphic novel. Frankly, if someone's a manga fan I'd like them to think of it as a manga, and if they're a graphic novel fan I'd like them to think of it as a graphic novel. (laughs)
Seriously, I'm heavily invested in the idea that more and more Americans will read creator-owned comics in general, whether they are marketed as "manga", "graphic novels," or whatever. Beyond that, I think of manga as largely a matter of formatting -- the little 200-page black and white graphic novels -- and I like that format a lot.
I don't have any magic ideas, but I hope readers will continue to seek out good creator-owned titles, whether they are Scott Pilgrim, Won Ton Soup, Derek Kirk Kim and Jen Wang, or One Piece, Oishinbo and Moyasimon.
Victor Hao: I'm just day dreaming about whether I'll see the King of RPGs translated into Japanese one day! (laughs)
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- Read Melinda Beasi's review of King of RPGs Volume 1
- You can read excerpts from King of RPGs Volume 1, including sketches, character profiles and sneak peeks at Volume 2 at KingofRPGs.com
- Be a fan! Join the King of RPGs group on Facebook
- Visit Del Rey Manga's webpage for King of RPGs
- See Anime News Network's Gallery feature on Victor Hao
- Check out Jason Thompson's Top 10 Manga List
