Fanboy Comics Interviews Academy Award Winner Aron Warner
 Written by Sam Rhodes, Fanboy Comics Creative Director
Tuesday, 12 July 2011 20:31

The following is an interview with Aron Warner, Academy Award winner and creator of the upcoming comic book series, Pariah.   In the following interview, Warner discusses Pariah’s release at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, his upcoming film project with James Cameron and Cirque du Soleil, and his adaptation of the comic, Beasts of Burden.

The following is only an excerpt regarding PARIAH…

SR: Nice.  Alright, so let’s talk about Pariah, a twelve-issue comic that you’ve created, and it was penned by, I’m probably gonna mispronounce it, but I’ve always said Philip “Guh-LAT.” I don’t know if that’s correct, though…

AW: It’s “Juh-LAT.”

SR: “Juh-LAT,” cool, penned by Philip Gelatt and illustrated by Brett Weldele.  The first issue comes out at the San Diego Comic-Con, and I got a chance to read it and review it and it was amazing.  I thought everyone did a great job!

AW: Oh, cool!

SR: Yeah.  I just wanna know if… or can you talk to us a little about what your plans are for San Diego for the release?

AW:  We’re definitely doing a signing.  That’s pretty much all I know right now, in terms of the plan.  The website is gonna come online.  We shot some live-action companion pieces that will go along with the release, as well, that are really cool.  And, I won’t really tell you what they are, but we’re going to start leaking them out there, and they’ll probably play- well, they’ll definitely play at Comic-Con as well.

SR: Okay.

AW: And, that’s really it.  It’s just starting to get the word out about it, and it’s one of those things where we want to walk the line of not giving away… Cause the first four books are- then there’s the twelve books of an arc.  The first four books are a definitive arc and end in a place that is surprising, and so we wanna get people excited about saying, “By the way, this is what’s happening.”

SR: Cool.  Now, you’ve mentioned, I know you don’t want to talk too much about it, but- are those the webisodes you’re gonna do?

AW: Yeah and they’re not really, I mean, I wouldn’t say they’re webisodes as much as they are just like… how can I describe them… they’re basically like, “What If’s.”  They represent some of the other kids’, who aren’t in the books, journeys at the beginning of the story and what’s happening to them where they are.  They are more kind of “feel pieces” than anything, just to give you an idea of what the world that these guys live in would feel like.

SR: Cool.  Cool.  Let me ask you, what was it like working with Gelatt and Weldele?

AW: Awful.  

SR: (laughs)

AW: They’re awful.  Uncooperative.

SR: Yeah, I figured as much.

AW: Terrible.

SR: I figured.

AW: Um, it was amazing.  Phil was a friend of Jeff Fierson, who I’ve worked with very closely. He’s one of the principles in our company.  And, he introduced us and we hit it off and he loved the idea.  And, Brett, we… I mean, it’s one of those stories where we walked around Comic-Con last year, like I’m going because I wanted to find an artist.  So, everyone’s like, “You don’t find artists by doing that.  You find artists by blah-blah.”  So, we walked around [looking at] pretty much everybody’s books and everybody’s tables.  I found Brett and I’m like, “This is amazing!”  This is unusual and it has a clarity and an ease of read that I really love, and, also, it just feels like it’s kind of outside.  And, I like that, it fits the story well.  And, we talked to Brett and I think he was suspicious and thought we were crazy, and it took a while for him to figure out that we were for real.

SR: (laughs)

AW: And, the rest is history.

SR: Nice. Nice.  So, you’re quoted as saying, “I came up with Pariahafter reading an article about in vitro genetic manipulation.  We take medications every day without fully understanding how they work.  It’s kind of terrifying if you think about it.”  It sounds like a really cool idea, and, again, the first issue is great.  What made you decide to go with a comic for this particular idea?

AW:  I’d never done one, and I liked the medium.  I think it’s a way of storytelling that I hadn’t experienced before, and I thought it would be really cool.  And, I feel like we have more latitude and we don’t have to stick to, “Okay, this is how it has to be.”  This is the kind of language you have to have and you can’t have kids this age and you know?  We can pretty much do what we want with these, and I like the freedom of that.

SR: Cool.  Cool.  Is there something personal for you about this story of teenage outcasts trying to fit in?

AW: Well, it’s personal for all of us, I would think.  I mean we all have our own… Even people who aren’t outcasts feel like they’re outcasts.  You know?  And, some more than others.  It’s definitely… yeah, it’s really personal.

SR: Yeah.

AW: I also think it’s kind of topical in that we really are messing with our minds and bodies, and we’re doing stuff and we don’t know what the ramifications are.  We are also always talking about curing things, and, sometimes, the cure is worse than the disease itself.  Sometimes, the diseases aren’t really disease.  Everyday things that we thought were 100 percent true get disproved.  I just have this thing about the arrogance of thinking that we know everything, and people that are so-called experts that tell you, “This is the way it needs to be.”  It speaks to that, as well.

SR: Cool.  Cool.  Well, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with me today.

AW:  My pleasure.

SR:  We’re definitely eagerly awaiting the release of Pariah at San Diego Comic-Con which takes place from the 20th to the 24th of this month.  Mr. Warner, best of luck and we can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next.

AW:  Thanks a lot, Sam.  Take it easy.