Introductions:
I received an E-mail from Comic Booked’s own Robb Orr, and in that e-mail was a very interesting Indie Comic Book called Dream Reavers. It’s the brain child of Raphael Moran. The story delves into the world of dreams and was spawned from a question: What if there were creatures in our minds that created our good and bad thoughts? Issue #1 grabbed my attention and I wanted to chat with its creator about where these ideas came from.
Who I interviewed:
Raphael Moran
Fun Fact: Created comics that made fools out of his Junior High bullies.
Role: Writer/Creator of Dream Reavers
Favorite Comics: Preacher, 80’s X-men, Allstar Superman, Geoff Johns original run on Flash
What we talked about:
We had a long conversation on a variety of comic related topics. I boiled down our Facebook chat to the information that matters most to you.
Comic Booked: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into comics?
Raphael Moran: Well I’ve been a comic fan all my life and it was always my dream to create my own comics. In Junior high I used to create funny comic strips based on all my friends, and we used to make fun of all the bullies in school by making them look like total fools in the comics. From there I went to the school of Visual arts and studied cartooning. I was taught by some of my idols; one being Carmine Infantino, the creator of Flash and a ton of other characters! When I got out of college I thought I would totally take over the comic industry, unfortunately the comic industry didn’t think the same about me. I languished in commercial art and some storyboard jobs. Whatever free time I had, I used in doing online interviews and comic reviews for a now deceased website called Page 32. I made a ton of contacts with that site. From there I did some pin-up work for Viper comics and then a webcomic series with Ape Entertainment.
Comic Booked: You’ve created a new comic called Dream Reavers, what’s it about?
Raphael: Dream Reavers is about a group of kids with strange mental powers that all go into a mysterious coma on their 16th birthday. One by one someone pulls them out of their dream worlds into another world called Astral. Once there they get caught up in a war between monsters that feed off the thoughts and fear of mankind.
Comic Booked: What make this comic unique?
Raphael: I did a ton of research for this book. I used a lot of the theories of Sigmud Freud and Jung. I studied ancient myths of dreams from all over the world. I read up on all the theories behind Astral plans. I think I’ve created a pretty unique new world to play with here. I meshed all of the things I learned and created a new myth that combines all the religions and myths into one idea.
I’m hoping the book is a success, because I have a ton of story yet to tell that goes way beyond this one mini-series. Plus I think Dream Reavers is a breath of fresh air in this industry of capes and spandex.
Comic Booked: What inspired you to create this comic?
Raphael: Well I’ve always been fascinated by dreams and at one time wanted to be a psychologist. The human mind is the most unpredictable thing in the world. Two brothers in a normal family, one can grow up to be a preacher, while the other an grow up to be a serial killer. Some would bring religion into that debate, but I think there’s something more psychological about it. That’s how the seed of the story was created. What if there were creatures in your mind that created these good and bad thoughts.
Comic Booked: Give us a sneak peak at your process, how do you and your artists collaborate to get such amazing work?
Raphael: Well, Marc Borstel the main artist on the book helped me create this world. He took my words and gave them life. For various sequences in the series, we have various artist depicting different dream sequences. Each artist gives a unique tone to each scene. In Issue #1 Atul Bakshi draws a scene straight out of a old Kirby comic. Dave Hedmark draws a scene straight out of Walking Dead and EC comics.
And we have a twisted take on Disney Princess movies in issue #2. The great thing about modern society is the fact that I’ve never even met all these great artists in person and they are from all over the world, yet they worked so great together.
Comic Booked: What events/conventions can fans find you soon?
Raphael: I’ll be doing a lot of Signings in Brooklyn, and New Jersey. I’ll be walking around the NYCC. I won’t be the SDCC this year, but I plan on going next year. If there’s any new Cons I go too, people can check out the Dream Reavers Facebook page and I’ll update any info there.
Comic Booked: What is the best way to reach you and see your work?
Raphael: Any fan of the book can email me at DreamReavers [ @ ] gmail.com and you and you can see my upcoming work on http://raphael-moran.blogspot.com
Comic Booked: We like to end our interviews with a controversy…which do you like better DC or Marvel?
Raphael: Can’t I pick both? I hate and love both of them at the same time. I started out as a Marvel fan boy, but quickly went to the other side. I love Batman and Spider-Man the same. I probably know the effects of every color of Kryptonite before ever watching Smallville… and I know every color of Hulk as well. I’m a huge comic geek!
Learn More:
I can haz awesome comic?! Looks incredible!
And it has a great story to match!