New Extinct Comic Series Is A Howling Good Time!

Without giving the entire story away, I can tell you that Extinct #1 starts out with a full-moon battle between a sheriff and a werewolf looking for a mysterious sword, sometime in the past.  Jump forward to the story as we will see it unfold, in a Texas high school, in 1985.  We meet our protagonist, Jimmy Reynolds, in school on his 16^th birthday.  Jimmy’s high school experience is not the happiest.  The girl he secretly has a crush on, Lauren Finch, is dating a mean-spirited jock named Scott Reed. 

Scott and his gang of meat-heads take great satisfaction in picking on Jimmy.  Luckily Jimmy has brains and a Mohawk-sporting friend named Nick Evans on his side.  A lunchroom altercation and retaliation, which I will not spoil for you, finds the wrong kids being assigned to detention.  In detention it quickly becomes clear that being in trouble at school is the least of our characters problems; the werewolf that shows up presents a much bigger dilemma!  Will anyone show up to save these kids, or will they end up as puppy chow?  The second issue follows up the strong first issue and dives into all of this, and so much more.  This is going to be a fun ride!

I really am enjoying Extinct and look forward to picking up the entire story that will be published as a six issue run from publisher 215 Ink.  The writing is lean and direct, allowing the art do its part in bringing the story together.  The character’s attitudes, teenage angst, high school power dynamics, and dialogue are all written very convincingly.  I felt the same way at that age that these high school kids do.  Sometimes when an adult tries to recreate these feelings it can come off as contrived, but this is not the case here.  Even in this first issue, where the setting and characters must be introduced, the story flows and is paced well.

I am a real stickler when it comes to art in comics.  Art is obviously a very important part of this medium and should be dynamic.  Jethro Morales handles the art duties on this title.  The characters concepts in Extinct are interesting and well-designed.  Each panel is composed in such a manner that they all have space to breathe and standout individually.  The black and white art that I saw for the second issue was still excellent, even before it was to be enhanced by color.  The real stars in the art are without a doubt the werewolves; they are awesome, detailed and a give my eyes pleasure to behold them!

So do yourself and these creators a favor and support an indie comic title!  This is a title that can be enjoyed by adults and teens alike.  Extinct can be ordered from Previews (page 318) and delivered to your local shop.  The end of the month (June) is the cut-off date to order, and many shops stop taking new orders on the 25^th, so be mindful of the date.  For more information check out the website at:

 http://www.extinctcomic.com/   

 and even more images at:

http://215ink.com/site/portfolio/extinct/

Want to learn more about the people behind Extinct?  Read my interview with writer Fabian Rangel Jr. below!

Robb:  I am really digging the series! So tell me, is this your first foray into writing comics? What made you decide to get into this field?

 Fabian: Thanks! I’m glad to hear it. Yes, the script for Extinct #1 was the first comic I ever scripted. I decided to try writing comics because I used to write short stories when I was in middle school but had stopped when I got to high school and music took over my life. I always wanted to get back into writing and in January of last year I was unemployed and decided to try and do it. Mostly I just love comics and wanted to tell a story in this format.

Robb:  Were you a comic or horror fan growing up?

 Fabian: Yes and yes. I picked up my first comic (Thor) when I was 9 years old. Collected pretty heavily throughout middle school (DC mostly), stopped during high school (music took over), and got back into comics in 2003. Haven’t stopped since. Though now I’m mostly a Dark Horse and Image guy. As far as horror I really liked the movies The Monster Squad and The Lost Boys when I was growing up. I used to read all the books about the Universal Monsters in school. The Freddy movies were always fun. When the moon was full my brother and sister and I used to pretend we were transforming into werewolves. I think I’ve been a werewolf for Halloween more than a handful of times. I won a prize for dressing up as Frankenstein’s monster one year too. That’s difficult for a short kid!

Robb:  Your writing and Jethro Morales art seem to go together quite well. How did you gentlemen come to work on this project together?

Fabian: Thanks! He can draw exactly what is in my brain. It’s insane. I noticed Jethro’s art on penciljack.com. He had posted some pages from a superhero story. I thought his style would be perfect for Extinct. I contacted him, and sent him character descriptions. When he sent them back I almost cried, they were exactly how I imagined all of them looking. It was an amazing feeling. I still get that feeling when he turns in pages. I’m really lucky to have found him.

Robb:  Is it exciting to see your books printed and in Previews?

Fabian: Very much so. I originally self published black and white versions of Extinct #1 and #2 before coming to 215 Ink. It was an amazing feeling to hold that paper in my hands. And earlier this month when the full color version was in Previews it was awesome to see it in there. It’s just the craziest thing to know that I thought of the idea for Extinct in January of last year, and a year and a half later you can order it from any comic shop!

Robb:  You have said that five out of the six Extinct books are now complete. Do you have any new projects on the horizon for when this one is over?

Fabian: You better believe it! I have multiple projects getting drawn up right now. Most notably would be an original graphic novel called, FALL with artist Juan Romera. It’s about a teenager who becomes best friends with an alien. I’d describe as being like E.T. except with a darker side. 215 Ink will also be publishing it. Look for that in November. I also have an insane one-shot getting worked on right now called Revenge Rooster. It’s about a rooster who is granted powers by vengeance demons and goes on a bloody rampage through the criminal underworld. It’s extremely violent with strong language. It’s me taking off the gloves and getting crazy. I’m also putting together a few pitches for new mini series’. You’ll be seeing a lot of comics from me at the end of this year and onward.

Robb:  Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers?

Fabian:  If you have read Extinct before I want to say thanks from the bottom of my heart for giving a nobody like me a chance to entertain you. If you have never read it, check out the preview on extinctcomic.com and PLEASE go pre-order it from your local shop!

If you liked the movies The Goonies, The Monster Squad, and The Lost Boys, and if you liked the tv show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and you read comics like Hellboy, I KNOW you will like this comic. If you want to see werewolves be scary again, read this comic!