Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/832512
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 JUNE 2017 31 This Week How would you describe the comic, and what format would it take? The comic is an action adventure story set in the the second world war with super heroes fighting the good fight against the Nazi invaders. The comic genre and style is Dieselpunk with character designs, cos- tumes, vehicles and equipment designed to capture the industrial/art-deco stylings of the era. This will be the first in what will hopefully become a series of stories that will follow the adventures of the titular Just Cause Society, a group of superheroes who fight for whichever cause they deem to be just. The book will be an American Format book of 24 pages in full colour, inside and out, released both as a physical book and as a digital download. When did you first decide to start working on a comic book, and why did you settle on this particular style and genre? The decision to become a published au- thor came three years ago when I started a course in comic art and illustration in a foreign country. I've always been fascinated by comics and animation and have been an avid reader of mainstream and independent comic books from a very young age so the want to make my very own book has fol- lowed me throughout most of my life. The art style for the comic book derives from a vast variety of factors. I draw mostly similar to the artists that inspire me and that I admire personally, artist like Arthur Adams, Joe Madureira, Roberto Di Salvo, J. Scott Campbell and Ryan Ottley to name a few. As for the writing, I've always been a big fan of the old timey serials that used to play in movie theatres and the works that they inspired (Flash Gordon, Doc Savage, Lone Ranger). From Duck Tales, to Disney's Atlantis and Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones Se- ries, the action pulp of the 40s are all glitz, glamour and pulse pounding action; a style of storytelling which I would like to see more of in the present day. The genre of the book is Dieselpunk, a genre which is often incorrectly confused with its more popular – and Victorian-ori- ented – Steampunk. Essentially Dieselpunk is the genre of the first Captain America film (The First Avenger), Rocketeer, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the Iron Giant and as the aforementioned In- diana Jones series. The genre captures the style and trappings of a brief era in history with its unique visual vocabulary, immedi- ately recognizable architecture, an adher- ence to form and function which is all a mix that I find to be both beautiful and rare. I simply chose Dieselpunk because I want to see more of it and the best way to achieve that is to inspire others to love it the same way I do. How would you describe your training so far, and would you recommend a similar path to any other Malta-based aspiring illustrators/comic book artists? The training has been a challenge from beginning to end but a thoroughly reward- ing one. The school which I am currently attending, the 'Scuola Del Fumetto - Paler- mo', offers an intense full time course. We have lessons five times a week for four hours a day, and enough work to do at home on our own to occupy most of our time. Who- ever is interested in becoming a full time professional in the field of commercial art- istry should seriously consider taking this course or something similar. I have had the opportunity to work with industry profes- sionals who both guided me in my studies and in the best way to turn what used to be a hobby into a fully blown career. By working close with the school and its pro teachers I've become much more comfortable with approaching editors, publishers and clients. My only caveat would be to commit fully to the endeavour. This path isn't easy and it demands a lot of attention, focus and dis- cipline on the part of the student. Whoever embarks on it must be ready and willing to stay the course all the way. From your vantage point, what are some of the advantages of being a Maltese visual artist? In particular within the Italian market as a relative outsider to the industry I come in with a fresh take and unique outlook, both in the way I draw and write. Without much effort by being born and raised in Malta, my cultural influences have inevitably led to me create stories and images that my peers simply haven't thought of. I'm effortlessly original in a way. Maltese creatives have a lot to offer the industry, in the images we depict and the stories we tell, simply be- cause we have somethign new and alterna- tive to say and to show. Do you think that moving abroad is an inevitable reality of all (or most) Maltese artists? I wouldn't go so far as to say that it is in- evitable, especially since a lot of the work that a commercial visual artists produces can be entirely handled online from start to finish however from an industry point of view those of us who are willing to move broad and meet foreign professionals will alway have a big advantage over those who don't. By beign close to others who are ei- ther doing my profession or are in the pro- cess of becoming professional I have built a portfolio of contacts and mentors the likes of which would be hard to cultivate by through a computer screen or across a forum. Simply by looking at the sheet of pa- per of the student next to me, or even better the teacher, while they are drawing I man- age to understand and learn far more than I could with a tutorial or through reading an art book. Today there are many tools for a young aspiring artist to turn their passion into profit but the 'traditional mentorship way' is in my opinion still the best way. What's next for you? I will be currently finishing work on the first pilot issue of the Just Cause Society which will be available both as a physical book and in digital online. In the meantime, I will continue working on commission for private clients and will be looking for work with editors and publishing houses in Eu- rope and abroad. I expect to have all work for my current comic book done by the end of August, so you can take that as a tentative release date. TEODOR RELJIC speaks to Malta-born, Sicily-trained illustrator William Calleja about his upcoming debut comic, The Just Cause Society, a 'Dieselpunk' superhero story that channels the vibe of 1940s pulp fiction Fighting for a 'just cause' – whatever it may be To stay updated on the progress of Just Cause Society and be privy to regular previews and sketches, log on to its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheJustCauseSociety/ are the most important parts of the job. It's not about what goes wrong – what matters is how you resolve it. And getting the job in the first place only confirmed that our work was recognised, and that we're on to a good thing here... How would you describe the experience of helping make 13 Hours in terms of the Maltese film servicing industry? Based on your experience, did this film mark some kind of positive development in terms of how the Malta-based crew is treated, and the opportunities that are available to them? Maltese service industry gave its maximum and did a great job! There are quite a few film professionals in Malta who are capable of handling the biggest challenges thrown their way. But still, on a larger scale that all amounts to just a handful of people in the end. With only two – perhaps a maximum of three – movies shot at the same time in Mal- ta, all the crew is outsourced. There are various ways to get your name there and get to work abroad as well, but it is not that easy as the competition out there is massive. Malta has one advantage though – here you get to work on major Hollywood pro- ductions, where in Europe that opportunity doesn't come so often, so when it comes to your experience (and your IMDB page) one can see that you have been riding in the fast lane most of the time. The trick is how to get on a higher posi- tion in these kind of productions. There is no recipe in particular for that, but if you love what you do, it's a good starting point – the rest will follow, depending on how persistent you are. You simply need to get out there; mingle and network – the film industry is mostly formed in that way. In general, the reputation of the Maltese crew is growing every year and it's prov- ing that it can step up to any challenge. The next step would be to start creating more and more local productions, rather than wait for foreign job to come in. What are you currently working on, and what lies ahead for you in the near (or even distant) future? This year had been mainly focusing on post- production, but as the summer starts we are spending more and more time on set. There are numerous projects for Valletta Film Fes- tival we are working on now. We are also in the post-production phase of a new Maltese feature film that's coming up. This, on top of quite a few projects lined up until the end of the year, where some of them would be on the larger scale. But confidenti- ality agreements prevent me from revealing their names just yet... To find out more about Bundalo's work, log on to http://www.soundvillain.com/ Bundalo has been working in Malta since 2003 A 'Dieselpunk' superhero romp, William Calleja's debut comic Just Cause Society will be released both in print and as a digital download around August of this year