Lycan: Solomon’s Odyssey, Chapter 1 follows a young man with a devil-may-care attitude who finds himself placed into a position of leadership in his community. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The writing of the story itself actually went on quite a journey. This was the first book or comic that I have ever written. The original version of the script was like a sort of mix between a regular book and a comic script. I had given that out to friends and family for feedback in order to help shape the story itself. Eventually one of my friends put me in touch with an editor – Onrie Kompan, who took me under his wing and showed me how to write a comic script. He also gave me other graphic novels to read to get a better idea of how to write, such as A Contract With God by Will Eisner.

Originally the story was told from two different time periods, starting off in the future, or at least the end of the series and then jumping back and forth as a sort of “life flashing before his eyes” kind of situation. However, as Onrie and I laid out the book I decided to remove that storytelling device and focus solely on telling the story from Solomon’s point of view as it was happening. In terms of picking the setting, I had two goals. One was setting the story far enough back that I avoid any currently held ideas of the world’s first werewolf, such as King Lycaon of Greek mythology. But, I also wanted to be able to use the mythology of the world as a sort of sandbox to have this character exist in, traveling along the same path of history as our own, but told as though magic and monsters exist in hushed whispers and operating in the shadows.

This first book sets up the series so certain things need to happen in order to launch the character onto this path. I wanted to show this aloof character be forced into an unfamiliar situation, and while his intentions are pure, making hasty decisions out of desperation, lead to certain consequences that impact him and shape him for the remainder of his journey.

A lot of time was spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?

For me, the goal was to have characters that are both enjoyable to read about, but also are believable. The interactions between Solomon and his brother, or his friends, is similar to interactions I might have with my brothers or friends. I also wanted to make the reader care about these characters. I love eliciting emotions from people through my work. The interactions between characters are meant to make people feel a bit of that camaraderie or  familial spirit, and any losses are meant to  make the reader feel a similar level of sadness that Solomon feels. If I can make the audience feel a certain way throughout the books, then I feel I’ve done my job as a writer in properly entertaining them. Even if sometimes what I write might be tragic.

In fantasy novels it’s easy to get carried away with the magical powers characters have. How did you balance the use of supernatural powers?

The thing I like about werewolves, or magical creatures in general, is that they can be incredibly powerful, fear inducing, and awe inspiring, and yet they always have rules. While it does not appear in the book, werewolves, as well as many other monsters, have an aversion to silver. A werewolf, typically, can’t transform unless under the light of the full moon. And with that, the human part of the equation usually loses all control of their own body. It is almost as though it is an entirely different entity behind the wheel at that point. In the story, as Solomon is given this curse, even in a human form he is much stronger, faster, and has enhanced senses and a healing ability. Against normal unprepared humans, it’s not much of a fight. Against another supernatural creature, it is a much tougher fight. He is not completely invulnerable. For the other supernatural character in the book, he seems almost infinitely powerful in comparison to even Solomon, but one thing I always like to think about, is that there is ALWAYS a bigger fish out there. There’s always something more powerful.

Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?

The next book in the series takes place immediately following the first book. It really delves into Solomon trying to deal with the aftermath of the first book, focusing on guilt and PTSD. The second book also introduces other supernatural elements such as magic and other mythological creatures. The idea with each book is that with each installment, it opens the world up a little more and a little more. The first book was the origin story, it sets everything in motion. Every book in the series after that, while still following Solomon, explores other regional mythologies, folklore, monsters, and gods. The second book delves into ancient Arabic mythology. The third book is best described as HP Lovecraft meets Gilgamesh. And so on. I have the entire series planned out all the way to the last page of the final book. Right now I am planning on a 15 book run, with 3 arcs each being 5 chapters. This will let me really play around with some fun mythology from around the world!

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