Michael Avon Oeming, writer/artist of such books as Hammer of the Gods,
Powers and Quixote, is about to cross over into the Bronx. Along with
co-write Ivan Brandon (NYC Mech), Oeming bring fans to the “Cross
Bronx” in their upcoming mini-series of the same name.

The book
follows the investigation of Detective Rapheal Aponte as he attempts to solve a
series of brutal murders involving street-level criminals. As he soon finds out,
this case is wrought with the supernatural and the outcome with shake his very
beliefs.

We caught up with Oeming to get the lowdown on what’s going down
in the Bronx.

Scoop: How has the experience of co-writing
Cross Bronx been? How does the collaborative process differ from working
exclusively as an artist/writer or on a book that you write and draw
yourself?

Michael Avon Oeming: Well, I can honestly say there
aren’t any ego’s involved and that’s the first thing – we can be open and honest
about what we want or don’t want, what we think works and what doesn’t without
offending each other even when Ivan tells me I’m nuts. [Laughs] We really
ping-pong the script in its outline and script form. I like the freedom of
working with a writer like Ivan, where I can trust that he will pick up on
anything that I drop the ball on and vice verse. Like my spelling. Or my
inability to remember names and plot threads.[Laughs]

Scoop: From what I’ve seen, Cross
Bronx seems to stir deep questions regarding the afterlife, faith in justice
and spirituality, while grounding the story in a very “real-world”
atmosphere of inner-city crime; where did the concept spring from?

MAO: For me it was simply my exposure to the Bronx through my
wife who grew up there. It’s an amazing mix of contrasts. Families, gangs, cops,
community centers, drugs, churches, rich, poor, houses, ghettos, high rises,
large parks, good streets, dangerous streets, Santeria and Catholicism, as well
as an amazing mix of people: Latin, White, Black and Yellow.

Taxi
Driver set the mood for the story, the idea of feeling alone while in the
center of city, even while being married, and the struggle between Devine and
Earthly justice for a cop living in the Bronx.

Scoop: The
two main characters, Rapheal Aponte and Santeria, where did you guys draw
inspiration for them? I can see a slight correlation between Santeria and the
character of Eric Draven from The CrowMAO: Well the “Santeria” character is a girl, Marta;
a girl victimized by Gangs. Her mother uses a dark from of Santeria to avenge
the attack. The girl is in a coma, and the question is who this figure is wiping
out the gangs – is it Marta’s spirit or something else? It does have a
commonality with The Crow, no doubt, but more so with High Plains
Drifter and Taxi Driver, except the Travis Bickle character is split
between Marta and Detective Aponte.

The big difference between this and
The Crow is that The Crow was about divine revenge – this revenge
isn’t coming from the actual victim, but much darker place – and in the end, I
think we are saying something much different about revenge than stories like
The Crow or even High Plains Drifter.

Scoop:
Rumor has it that you guys have been sitting on this story for the last five
years (give or take); what made this the right time to bring readers to the
“Cross”?

MOA: I needed time to get to it, as I’ve been
working on other things and for a long time. I was way behind on Powers
script wise, so as soon as I finished one issue, I had to jump on the next.
Between being caught up on scripts and not working on Hammer,
Quixote, Six or one of those, now was the time to dedicate to
Cross Bronx. I’m glad it happened now and not earlier – everything
happens when its meant to, for better or worse.

Scoop: What
do you guys have lined up for after Cross Bronx comes to a close with
issue #4?

MOA: Well, nothing right away. We may adapt it into a
screenplay together, after this I’m working on my next project, The Mice
Templar. Ivan and I will always be doing something somewhere together, even
if it’s just drinking. [Laughs].