Allen: Mike Maydak could you please tell me about yourself? How old are you? Where do you live? What kind of schools did you go to too help learn your craft?

Mike: I’m a 26 single white male and resident of the south side of Cincinnati, also known as Covington, Kentucky. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Kentucky University.

Allen: Did you write and draw many comic book characters in your youth? What were some of your influences?

Mike: I tried to rip off the TMNT when I was younger. I never got past just illustrating covers through. I think my main character was this mutated pigeon. Or maybe he was a cockatiel.

Allen: What were some of the first comic books you ever read?

Mike: A Dark Horse reprint of some Japanese Manga of Godzilla. Or it may have been some of my brother’s books. He had some JLA International and Iron Man, but nothing that constituted a collection.

Allen: How did you get involved in the comic book industry?

Mike: I started out at age 16 working for Blue Line Pro, a company local in Kentucky that makes comic book art supplies. I was with them for about four years and was part of the early days of Sketch magazine (in which Blue Line published).

This was all before I started drawing. I had a huge handicap when I began studying art in college. I knew how to do things the professional way, but didn’t have to skills to pull it off.

Allen: Who are your role models?

Mike: My father.

Allen: What would you say are some of your favorite characters to draw or write?

Mike: I like to draw my own. But if I had a chance, I’d like to draw Conan, or a Lady Death Strike mini-series. My first Wolverine comic was issue #35, a Silvestri. I’d draw her like he did as well. I have no clue was she looks like now. Anyway, ever since then, that character has had a special place in my heart.

Allen: How did you become associated with Bluewater Productions?

Mike: Darren Davis liked my work and I was trying out with some of his established characters. Nothing was clicking until I saw his new pirate project, The Blackbeard Legacy.

Now I was already a sucker for girls with long curl black hair, so that was one thing. The other thing I liked about it was that it was still new, and nothing had been really set in stone about the character, so there seemed to be a lot of freedom with the project. I felt it was a good chance for me to express some of my influences. Darren liked what he saw and went with it.

Allen: Tell me about 1782: The Year of Blood comic book.

Mike: 1782: The Year of Blood depicts the conflicts of that year between the American pioneers and British backed Native Americans primary along the upper Ohio Valley, encompassing the area of Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and the western part of Pennsylvania.

1782 was a particularly eventful and bloody year on the frontier. Events of years past culminated into a crescendo of violence and revenge. The Natives were supported and supplied by the British out of Detroit, becoming a serious threat to frontier families. This forced the men to stay and defend their homes, preventing them from moving east to fight the redcoat army.

Allen: Who are some of the characters in 1782: The Year of Blood? Please tell me Mike about conflict, setting and type of story?

Mike: The main character for this book in the time and place. Through some characters make multiple appearances; the events and mentality of frontier life are front and center. Some of the historically figures that will make appearances include the like of Simon Girty, Daniel Boone, and Lewis Wetzel.

Allen: Is this original story or based from movie or novel? How did idea for this story happen?

Mike: Back in the summer of 2007, I received the Al Smith Fellowship grant from the Kentucky Arts Council. I was really grateful. So I started looking researching Kentucky’s legendary figure Daniel Boone, with the thoughts of maybe doing a comic about him.

What I found was awesome. The characters, places, and events that surrounded him were incredible. There was more to this time period then Daniel Boone, things that most people, including myself, have never heard or bothered to find out. I found a treasure trove of material.

As I tried to figure a way to adapt this history into comic form, the year 1782 really stood out at me.

Allen: How many issues are planned for 1782: The Year of Blood?

Mike: There are eight chapters planned, and each chapter will be published as a one shot. These books will be anywhere between 25 to 90 pages of story and illustrate a story or incident associated with that year of the frontier. Work for the next book is well underway and depicts the tragedy of Gnadenhutten.

Allen: When can we find the first issue of 1782: The Year of Blood on the stands?

Mike: December.

Allen: What do you like most about working on 1782: The Year of Blood comic book?

Mike: The research. I sort of became an amateur historian. I traveled to actual sites and visited libraries. Look at books that been out of print for over a hundred years. It was really cool.

Allen: What is best way for person to see sample pages of 1982: The Book of Blood?

Mike: Check out my myspace page. http://www.myspace.com/mikemaydak

Allen: What comic book conventions will you be attending or have attended?

Mike: In 2009, I’ll be at MegaCon, Gem Con (Dayton, OH), SPACE, Pittsburgh Comicon, Heroes Con, Baltimore Con, Pop Culture Con, and Mid Ohio Con.

Allen: What do you like to do for recreation?

Mike: I’m a total meathead. I workout 4 to 5 times a week. Pushing a 2-ounce mechanical pencil around on paper all day is a quick way to get out of shape. I mainly just workout to look pretty, I don’t train in any martial arts or anything. So basically I look intimidating, but in truth I’m a total wuss.

Allen: If you can have six dinner guests, three fictional and three real-life from any time period, who would those six people be and why? Of course you would have benefit of universal translator and catering service.

Mike: I’d have Abe Lincoln, Jesus, Hitler, Catherine the Great, Dennis the Menace (cartoon version), and Bigfoot (or some other random sasquatch). While Jesus and Adolf talk politics and religion, Catherine would be flirting with the big hairy guy, and Abe and me would be kicking the bejesus out of Dennis in the corner.

Allen: What TV shows, movies, cartoons do you like?

Mike: Venture Brothers; Brock Samson is my hero.

Allen: Do you have any pets?

Mike: Two black cats. I had them since they were born. I was babysitting an ex-girlfriend’s cat that unexpectedly was pregnant (the cat, not the ex-girlfriend). One of them is really smart. Every time he is mad at me, he poops on my pillow. Shows intelligence if you ask me.

Allen: What comic books do you read now?

Mike: I just read trades of Atomic Robo, Northlanders, and Okko. They were all great, especially Northlanders. It was one real bummer, but in a good way.

Allen: What are some of your ambitions when working on a comic book story?

Mike: Make every page better then the one before. I feel I bring something unique with my style to the industry. I’ve come a long way with it but want to continue to improve and evolve it.

Allen: What gives you your creative energy?

Mike: Cup of coffee and a line of coke first thing in the morning… Just kidding, I never touch coffee. Caffeine is bad for you.

Allen: Thank you Mike Maydak for taking time to talk to me. This ends the interview, any encouraging words of wisdom?

Mike: Eat your fruits and veggies. We all need more fiber.