Last week we offered a brief look at EZ Street, the new online, serialized graphic novel from Mark Wheatley (Breathtaker, Mars) and Robert Tinnell (Feast of the Seven Fishes, The Chelation Kid). EZ Street will appear on ComicMix.com, where it will run free of charge in installments each Wednesday. We had the opportunity to talk with Wheatley, Tinnell and ComicMix Editor-in-Chief Mike Gold about the project. While it was an experience akin to herding cats, as you will see, we learned quite a bit about it, too.

Scoop: The phrase "It’s all been leading up to this" is a marketing cliché, but it really does seem that many of the things you’ve experienced your careers and lives are finding voice in this story. How much has real life influenced this story? 

Mike Gold (MG): Not counting their arrest record?
Mark Wheatley (MW): They never proved a thing, Mike. I wish you’d stop bringing that up.

But to answer the question – every comic story I’ve ever been involved with has benefitted from my life experience. I always try to put a good deal of myself into my material. But in this case – with a story about a comic book artist and a movie producer – well the experiences are used just a bit more directly. Not that any of this stuff ever really happened to us or anyone we know. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. I mean – to think that any of our work might ever have been rejected. Or that we might ever have screwed up a job. I mean – that’s just unthinkable. Isn’t that right, Bob?
Robert Tinnell (RT): Yeah. Right. Not to split hairs, but it’s not so much our lives specifically as it is our experiences. By that I mean, I find us drawing on the more universal aspects of work in comics and films – the nuts-and-bolts if you will. We don’t necessarily have axes to grind.

Really, it’s more about developing two characters who are pursuing their dreams. And those dreams could be anything if written in a compelling fashion. And then we go on to ground the story in the details that we can supply from experience. Which I think makes for a richer reading experience.
MW: And it is a rich reading experience that is free.

Scoop: Creators certainly find the creative process entertaining, but what is it about it that you think regular readers will find compelling?
RT: Again, I think that authenticity elevates story – provided it doesn’t overwhelm the plot and characters. Also, the very nature of these two industries provides drama – the waiting, the rejection, the euphoria when it does work…
MG: Behind the scenes stuff is always compelling — I still get people stopping me at shows to talk about my TPB intros. But I think it’s quite interesting to people who aren’t comics fans. It’s a genuine, compelling human interest story. The stuff of literature.
MW: And just take a look at TV shows like Entertainment Tonight and the entire E! Channel. Then look at the internet with many sites like Ain’t It Cool News for film and Newsarama and the Pulse or even Scoop and on and on for comics. People just never seem to get enough behind the scenes details.

Scoop: How did you two get started on EZ Street?
MW: Bob and I have been friends for a good number of years. We’ve been batting around ideas for comics we could work on together. In fact, we were working on a horror comic idea when the greenlight for ComicMix came through. The obvious thing would have been to just hand Mike Gold the horror comic idea. But I wanted to create a story that would be perfectly suited for the internet audience. I took inspiration from the "let’s put on a show" breed of Hollywood movies. Hollywood has never been shy to glamorize their own industry. But comics has hardly ever set stories in our own backyard. Since comics and movies are in bed together more and more frequently, I thought a hybrid story set in both industries would be a great hook for traditional fans of comics, as well as offer hooks for the general public. And it is the vast general public that we have our sights set for.
RT: So Mark approached me about it. He was interested in exploring the travails of the creative process…

Scoop: Was this something you created once you heard about ComicMix or was this something you were working on anyway and brought to them?
MG: Go ahead; tell ’em about our long, enduring Brokeback Mountain relationship and how you were one of the first "outsiders" I talked to about ComicMix, about two years ago.
MW: I still have not seen Brokeback Mountain. But about the only thing Mike Gold and I have not worked on together is something about cowboys. But we are good friends. And he and I have spent a good many hours over the last ten years plotting various futures wherein comics would play a major role in society. Some of that got some money and some of it didn’t. And none of it made it into the public eye. And then Mike and I were attending the Windy City Pulp & Paperback show in Chicago two years ago because we are both died in the wool recidivists – we can’t get enough old pulps, old newspaper comics, old radio shows, etc. Mike and his lovely wife Linda, along with my splendid wife Carol and I were seated at dinner when Mike asked me, "I want you to know that I’m in the process of setting up a new deal that will allow you to do what ever project you most want to do. What would that be?"

And I said, "You come here for the barbeque?" Honestly – I really had no answer for Mike. After over 20 years in the comics industry I had gotten out of the habit of thinking about what I would most want to do. But I thought about it – for about 18 months. And EZ Street was my answer. Also – I did not get the barbeque because it seemed too messy for a business dinner. I think Mike got the ribs. And Mike paid for dinner. So I figured that ComicMix must be for real.

Scoop: There’s been a long lead time between when you started working on it and when the pages started appearing on Wednesday. What has your work process been like on this project?

MG: Grueling but amusing, to paraphrase Al Capp.
RT: Very pleasant. We disagree, sure, but we’ve come to relish that because it elevates the work. And every time we argue we manage to work it into the story!
MW: Bob and I dove into the work on EZ Street just a little over a year ago. And Mike told us that ComicMix might possibly go "live" with the strips as early as only 4 weeks later. Bob and I panicked! We were scrambling to get the work done while still juggling our other commitments. At that time I was still working on the Miles The Monster project as well as covers for IDW and several advertising accounts as well as work for the US Airways in-flight magazine, and work for Geppi’s Entertainment Museum. I think Bob was working on scripts for two films, scripting his daily comic The Chelation Kid, and preparing to put on, in Morgantown, WV, a major seasonal festival featuring The Feast Of The Seven Fishes for the first time. But some how we managed to turn out the minimum of 5 fully painted and produced pages of comics every week.

In fact ,we were both just electrified with excitement about the work we were doing. It was a major change in approach and style for each of us. We were finding our way together and totally loving the process in spite of the rush. Gradually around April we stopped believing Mike when he would tell us that ComicMix would launch in just a few more weeks. The paychecks kept coming on time, so it didn’t matter. We relaxed a bit. Still – I was working on page 110 today. And Bob and I know exactly where we are going with this.

Scoop: Many people are familiar with ComicMix as a site but might be unfamiliar with their recently announced publishing plans. You’re part of a pretty impressive launch. How have they been to work with thus far?
MG: Not with Martha on board.
MW: That’s a good point. The ComicMix marketing approach right now is to push the fact that they will have new comics for free six days a week produced by an amazing list of creative talent. And given the people on that list that is a no-brainer approach. But I’ve got to say that for me, after so long working in the comic book trenches, I pay a lot more attention to the people behind the scenes. In this case the list of people who run ComicMix is just as star-studded as the creative list.

Mike has put together a very innovative, smart and resourceful team. And Martha Thomases is high on that list. In addition to being an excellent writer of comics (remember Dakota North for Marvel?) her super power is the ability to promote! She is taking the word about ComicMix to the masses. Don’t be surprised to see a mention of this enterprise in the most high profile places in the vast reaches of media everywhere.

Everyone will be talking about the free comics and graphic novels at ComicMix. And that will be the work of Martha. And everyone from Brian Alvey and Glenn Hauman to Mike Raub, Elayne Riggs and Kai Connolly have been the absolute best. To date – one year in – working for ComicMix has been the best experience of my career.

RT: As a team they’ve been awesome and as an editor, Mike Gold has been fantastic. He knows when to step in and he knows when to just leave well enough alone…

Scoop: How long a span of time does the story cover?
MG: Evidently, in 240 pages, the rest of time itself.
MW: Awww – come on, Mike! When novels are running about 1000 pages? And you know manga run much longer? EZ Street is a true graphic novel. And length has a lot to do with that. No jokes, please.
RT: Okay, so it falls to me to give the serious answer. It starts from the time the two lead characters are little kids through their mid- thirties, though it concentrates on the latter age.
MW: Hey! My answer was serious!
MG: Well, for that matter, so was mine.

Scoop: The new installments will be posted each Wednesday, correct? How many pages will be posted at a time?
MG: Depends upon where the story breaks. You’ve got a lot of freedom here. Probably run no less than six and as many as nine or ten pages, more towards the latter than the former.
MW: Bob and I have aimed to break the story at scene breaks. You may be reading EZ Street for free, but we want the reading experience to be high quality. I think it works out to two weeks that are only five pages. But on the other hand, we have other weeks that run a good bit over the 8 page range. Ultimately, it won’t matter if you’re reading the EZ Street archive, which you can do for free. Of course you will have to wait for the archive because right now we’ve only got the first week on line because we just started. But next week, you just wait!

Scoop: Will there be any discussion groups or chat boards along with the comics?
MG: Yes, there will be all of that sort of thing, although probably not the first week.
MW: I’m looking forward the immediate feedback.
RT: Yeah – like a year later.
MW: You know what I mean.

Scoop: What should people know about this story?
MG: It’s so great Tony The Tiger quit Kelloggs to work for Insight Studios. Well, that and the animal testing of cereal product.
RT: I don’t want people to think this is just some self-referential or even autobiographical thing – it absolutely is not. One needn’t be a comics insider to appreciate or enjoy the story line – though there are certainly winks and nods aimed at our fellow fanboys…
MW: We didn’t mention Vampire Vigilantes, Dirk The Deadly and Lone Justice – just a few of the comics included in EZ Street that are "created" by the characters in the story. There’s a little something for just about anyone in EZ Street. And every single page of ComicMix comics is free!