Exclusive: Interview with Author/Artist David McAdoo and Producer Steve Kozak

TCW’s Administrator Clifford Kiyabu sits down with Author/Artist David McAdoo and Producer Steve Kozak for an exclusive interview on their debut graphic novel Red Moon! As children we always fantasize of growing up doing something we love for living. However this never quite comes to pass for most of us. Usually we end up at a dead end job, hating it and always having the thought of, what if? But for some, the dream does in fact come true. David McAdoo has always had a strong respect for animals alike. Some would say a respect as strong as his love for comic books. Now combining them together, what was once a dream is now a reality. David wishes to share his dream with everyone as its being created, which is a rare thing indeed. Most artist and writers will not show one bit of their work until it’s done. And while David may not show us the entire story just yet, he still gives us the glimpses we need to keep us in the loop until Red Moon hits the shelves. You can check out his work as its being created at redmoongraphicnovel.com

CK: David, as a child you were very fond of studying and learning the different types of animals and insects, why is that?

DM: It's really just the artist in me, I think. I always felt very close to nature and animals & insects were (still are) fun to draw.

CK: What was your biggest influence growing up?

DM: I'd have to say my dad was my biggest influence. He drew, painted, wrote poems, wrote songs, played the guitar and built things. True Renaissance man/Jack of All Trades. Professionally, probably Frank Frazetta, Neal Adams or John Buscema.

CK: Are any of the characters in your graphic novel based off anyone close to you?

DM: None of the people but the main character was a pet I had growing up. A few of my other pets from my childhood & the present might make appearances too.

CK: How’d you and Steve Kozak meet?

DM: Steve was the boyfriend of a friend I had when I first moved to California. We're so much the same interests-wise that we kept in touch even after he and my friend broke up and he moved back to Florida.

CK: I’ve read in your online bio you grew up reading comics, what comics did you mostly read?

DM: Mostly just the staples: Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Conan, X-Men. I followed artists more than storylines, though.

CK: Who was your favorite comic Superhero?

DM: Growing up, it was Superman. It would be impossible to pinpoint, now, my tastes and exposure are so much broader.

CK: Are any of the characters in your graphic novel influenced after anyone in your life?

DM: Not really but if there were any parallels it would be the main character, Mox, is me as I am and the supporting lead, Daeden, is who I wish I could be like. Too deep.

CK: You’ve got a few webcomic prequels to your graphic novel up on the Red Moon official website for free, why?

DM: It's really just to show what the book will be like when it comes out. I had a few stories floating around that I didn't put in the main storyline that I liked and thought would work well as prequels.

CK: Do any of the stories in the prequels play a big role in the Red Moon graphic novel?

DM: They all lead up to the main story and give a basic background to some of the situations but they're not integral.

CK: Can you tell us when Red Moon will be on sale?

DM: Don't have a drop date but it will be in the first half of 2009.

CK: Will the webcomic prequels be added into the graphic novel or eventually put on sale for those who did not read the prequels online?

DM: They won't be in the graphic novel, but there's a possibility of them being printed as a compilation at some point.

CK: What would you say you’re a bigger fan of: DC comic Or Marvel Comic?

DM: See answer #6.

CK: So DC fan it is. [Laughs]

CK: I'd like to play to your fantasy for a moment if you will. If you were given the opportunity to take on one comic of your choosing to write for in the comic book industry, what comic would you pick?

DM: I have ideas of what I would do with a run on Superman, but I'd probably have more fun with a Spidey run.

CK: Steve, about two years ago both you and David got together to create Movie Battle Royale (MBR) which really took off on the social networking site MySpace, which got you guys really noticed on the internet. So how exactly did the idea behind MBR came about?


SK: I was driving home (from a movie) and there was this talk radio show on pitting comedy films against one another. Like, which one was better. I thought, this would make a great interactive blog!

CK: Have you always been a fan of comics?

SK: Since I was a teen, yeah. I started reading Batman comics when the Tim Burton movie came out, but I'm not so much into superhero stuff anymore. In college I started reading "Stray Bullets", "Milk and Cheese", more indie stuff. These days I'm into Doug Tennapel, Jefferey Brown, "Mouseguard", "Korgi", the list goes on and on...

CK: How long would you say the two of you planned on Red Moon and getting it off the ground and into motion in becoming a reality?

SK: David showed me an early draft of the Red Moon script about 3 years ago just to get my opinion. There were no plans for a book. He'd been trying to get Red Moon made into an indie animated film. But then this past September he showed me the final draft of the script and I asked him if he wanted to do Red Moon as a graphic novel if I funded the project. I'm glad he said yes!

CK: How did your addiction for movies come about?

SK: Am I addicted? [Laughs] I probably am. You know, when I go running in the morning, I have a special playlist on my iPod: tracks from "Run Lola Run", the "Rocky" theme, the "Chariots of Fire" theme, etc. So if that's any indication...Anyway, my love for movies comes from the fact that my Dad had a friend in the Cleveland area (where I grew up) who opened one of the first video stores, WAY before Blockbuster. My family had a VCR really early. I watched ALOT of movies growing up.

CK: Where David is known best as a master artist in drawing, would you say you’re a master of movie knowledge?

SK: Master? No. I listen to that podcast, Movie Geeks United. Jerry and all those guys put me to shame. They're awesome. I have a bunch of movie information in my head, that's for sure though. I'd do pretty well on The World Series of Pop Culture on VH-1. Oh man, I just mentioned VH-1. That means I'm getting old and unhip, right?

CK: Well if mentioning VH-1 means you’re old, then I’m just as much an old fart as you are [Laughs]

And that concludes my interview with David McAdoo and Steve Kozak, we had a great time doing this interview, and probably will do another sometime before the book is realesed, we continue to remain in contact with each other on a day to day bases, I’ve also been informed that David McAdoo will be at this year’s San-Diego Comic-con passing out flyers and advertising Red Moon, however he won’t have an official booth or anything for this year, but if you’d like to meet this magnificent Artist than keep an eye out for him at Comic-con, also you be able to help him out in advertising if you're free for an hour or so at comicon. If you’d like to see more his work go to their website at; redmoongraphicnovel.com or check out their official MySpace page by clicking Here. You can also contact David McAdoo directly by e-mailing him at: dmac77@verizon.net or his producer at: stevenjkozak@yahoo.com