Allen: What kind of work do you do in comic book field?

GT: Right now I'm working on a web comic called Mazscara. I pretty much do everything on my own, it's drawn by hand, then scanned into the computer and the rest is finished up in Photoshop.

Allen: Did you read many comic books in your youth?

GT:One of my first comics was the original Superboy and the Legion of Super Heroes, which was one of my favorites as a kid. What fascinated me about that series was the diversity of the characters and the different kinds of powers they possessed. Another series was called the Eternals which was done by Jack Kirby.

Allen: Which comic book creators are your inspirations?

GT: I wasn't really interested in actually drawing comics until I got out of junior high, that's when I was introduced to a then weird little magazine called Heavy Metal. There was something about the art that drew me in. One of my biggest inspirational artists from there was french comic book creator Enki Bilal, who did Carnival of the Immortals. Other artists that inspire me are Katsuhiro Otomo, Frank Miller, Moebius, Masamune Shirow and most recently Japanese illustrator Satoshi Yoshioka.

Allen: How did you get your start in comic book industry?

GT: By mistake I guess, because I never expected to be drawing comics. It's just something I sort of fell into and did as a hobby, my main goal was to be a recording artist, and I went to school for that, it was a serious deal. Though I always did the comics on the side it was more of a pass time thing. So as time progressed I realized these little sketches I was doing for fun had become somewhat of a serious issue. I had to make a choice between the two, and in the end, surprisingly, the underdog won the game.

Allen: What were some of your first comic book projects?

GT: I have been drawing comics since junior high, me and my school buddies used to make up ridiculous stories and put ourselves in them. As time went on I got more serious. Some early titles of mine were Brave New Rock, about a art rock band's ongoing battle against this evil corporate radio station, another one called Humorville Hillarrions, , which I plan on remaking, and another called Vixen 6.

Allen: Did you have any professional training?

GT: Other than taking two art classes in high school, I'm pretty much self taught.

Allen: Tell me about the Mazscara comic and publisher.

GT: Mazscara is an online comic which is readable on the web and is published online through Dakuwaka and available for free as a downloadable e-book at WOWIO. Actress and Hollywood celebrity Victoria Starfield takes her own life, goes to a place called sub hell six and becomes the property of Tung Fei Bang, but through a test of her spirit that she was put through when she was alive, she is saved and recruited into an organization called Crowd Crontrol. She is given powers, using the same object that she used to kill herself with, 250 feet of barbed wire, and sent back as an undead zombie of sorts. Her mission is to stop Tung from ending the lives of five children, this is a difficult task because no one, Tung, or even Crowd Control themselves know who these children are. These children's lives depend on the future of the planet and the transition of one cycle to another, but that's all I can say now.

Allen: What is genre of Mazscara? Finally, who is creative staff on Mazscara including cover artist or artists?

GT: I would classify it as Horror/ Action/ Fantasy with a little Drama thrown in. Right now I do all the art and writing duties.

Allen: How did concept for Mazscara come about?

GT: It's pretty much a long story how that character developed. The inspiration actually came in 1995 when I was watching the Michael and Janet Jackson video called scream, it was Janet, how she looked, basically the trench coat she wore. It stuck in my mind, because I didn't start sketching the character until 1998 she didn't even have a name yet. From there the character had gone through many changes, at one time she was called Noir. It was finally in 2002 that it actually all came together, as far as the look and the name she would have. As far as the story developed, at first it was going to be a simple revenge story involving a goth girl who was killed because she was different. Then sometime in the 90s when actor River Phoenix dropped dead outside a club in Hollywood, I decided to take it a different direction. Victoria Starfield's character was actually deeply inspired by the actress Lindsey Lohan.

Allen: How many issues of Mazscara have been published? How many issues will be published?GT: Right now there's four readable books online, and I have no clue how many will be published.

Allen: How many pages are in each issue of Mazscara?

GT: There's 64 in book form, on WOWIO the books have to be divided into three issues, so it's about 22 pages an issue.

Allen: Tell me more about characters and reader age bracket for Mazscara.

GT: The story evolves around Victoria Starfield (Mazscara), a young Hollywood actress who's going through the peak of her career. It's the usual tragic tale of the young celebrity who can't deal with the pressures of fame. Her dying and resurrection into the Mazscara character is heavily based on the number 13 card in the Tarot, which most people know as the death card. Death rides a horse and is trampling on people, who, if you look closely represent high officials like Kings and Queens. Starfield, being a Hollywood celebrity is also one of those put in a high place. Through loss and destruction comes regeneration and change. Starfield is basically one of those being trampled and at the same time being transformed into something else(Mazscara), something she really doesn't want, but is forced to deal with.

The other main character is Tung Fei Bang, who is the villain, and represents the horse rider death. There's a deeper relationship that ties these two together as the story goes on. There are other characters who also appear, War Gainnes, who is Victoria's spirit guide, an angel named Akael and then there's Crowd Control , who are made up of dimensional beings divided between light and dark, called the Sisterhoods and the Nephiliem who are responsible for the creation of Mazscara's powers. Mazscara is meant for mature readers, at least 14+.

Allen: What has been response to Mazscara?

GT: It's been fairly good so far, as the story slowly grows so does the readership.

Allen: What is the art style?

GT: I was basically influenced by manga growing up, so that's the style I draw. It's a unique style that's my own, but even that is changing because of my growing influences.

Allen: How can someone get copy of Mazscara?

GT: Right now it is available as a free download from www.WOWIO.com .

Allen: How did you get involved with Dakuwaka Productions?

GT: The owner Mike Penny found me through Myspace and wanted to know if I was interested in publishing the comic online. I was a little hesitant at first because the process was new to me, but I feel it's a great idea, especially for those who aren't set financially to get a comic into actual print.

Allen: Tell me about WOWIO.

GT:It's basically an online bookstore, that offers downloadable e-books at no cost to the consumer.

Allen: How can readers download Mazscara? What is link to download?

GT: At WOWIO, you just create an account and you're set from there. The link below takes you directly to Mazscara: http://www.wowio.com/users/searchresults.asp?nGroupId=266

Allen: How can you make any money from free downloads?

GT: It's .50 cents for each download that's paid to the publisher and myself from the sponsor.

Allen: What has reader reaction online been to downloads?

GT: It's been pretty positive, although I have a lot of readers from outside the US who could not download the issues, from recent news that's going to change.

Allen: Will Victoria Starfield (Mazscara) appear in any other comic book stories?

GT: Mazscara will appear in War of the Independents which is created by Dave Ryan who also does Penance, it's a six-issue crossover which will involve a lot of characters from indie comics, Usagi Yojimbo, The Maxx and Public Enemy to name a few.

Allen: How can some one contact you?

GT: I have an e-mail address at d.mccloud@gte.net , or they can contact me through Myspace: www.myspace.com/crowdcuntrol

Allen: Do you have website?

GT: I have a few, but the main websites are at Myspace which is www.myspace.com/crowdcuntrol and the website where the comic itself can be viewed which is at smackjeeves and that url is http://mazscara.smackjeeves.com/ or at Comicspace, the url is http://www.comicspace.com/mazscara . And my music site is on Sound click, the url for that is http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=5238 .

Allen: Are you making any convention appearances?

GT: Not at the moment, hopefully sometime in the future.

Allen: Do you still read many comic books now?

GT: I haven't got that much time to read much, I'm drawing most of the time. I did read some of the manga version of Death Note, thanks to my wife's nephew.

Allen: What other hobbies do you like to do?

GT: I do like to travel, which I haven't done much of lately and whenever I can try to do some music.

Allen: What are some of your favorite recent movies that you have seen? Also, which theatre movies do you look forward to seeing?

GT: I haven't seen many recent movies, however I do look forward to seeing Watchmen in 2009.

Allen: What inspires your creativity?

GT: Life, and all it has to offer.

Allen: Thank you GT Becks for doing this interview. What would you like to say to readers attempting to get positions in comic book field?

GT: Have a vision and stick to it, never give up, the imagination is limitless.