Richard: What is "Mamluk" all about?

Trey: Mamluk is about war, there are space battles, hover tank assaults, pirate attacks, commando raids and conspiracies. The human race has been kidnapped and used to form the military wing of the Savant, an alien empire. Their situation is similar to the Egyptian Mamluk who were warrior slaves for the Caliphs of Egypt so they have taken the same name.

Richard: Who are the main characters and what are they like?

Trey: Admiral Patrick O'Brian and Field Marshall Thompson Ellis are the leaders of the Mamluk and are tasked to eliminate a pirate enclave nicknamed the Barbary because of their ruthlessness. The Admiral and the Field Marshall are old friends and we will follow them as they discover a conspiracy to start a civil war. Sergeant Fallon is an old school sergeant who leads from the front and his men are always on the sharp end. Ghost Squad leader Master Sergeant Johansson is a commando leader who takes his men into the heart of a nuclear explosion in order to get the job done. Maria is a Valkyrie pilot and she flies her Valkyrie suit into the heart of battle, slicing effortlessly through enemy lines.

Richard: How did you come up with the idea for this comic?

Trey: One thing I find kind of annoying is the fact that in most sci-fi stories, it's humanity that is the weakest player in the story. So I was thinking of how I could make humans the tough guys. Historically, one thing that we are really good at is war so I decided to make the entire human race an army. From there the story just kind of took off.

Richard: Why are you convinced people will enjoy this comic?

Trey: Currently there aren't any true military sci-fi comics out there. Sure, there are several sci-fi comics in which the military plays a role but none of them remain true to the genre. My goal is to create a story that is entertaining for all while respecting the soldiers who daily put themselves in harm's way for their country. And not just American soldiers but all soldiers. They do what they do for love of their country. Also, when you can achieve a certain realism in the details, it makes the overall story that much easier to believe and enjoy.

Richard: How would you describe the art style on "Mamluk"?

Trey: Steven Yarbrough is an amazing artist and with Mamluk we're going for a realistic style. I don't know of an existing style today that I don't enjoy but I do think it's important to match the style to the story and Mamluk demands a realistic approach. Steven is great at bringing not only the Mamluks alive but their technology as well.

Richard: What does it mean to be the North American Representative for Orang Utan Comics?

Trey: It means I get to go to conventions and meet lots of people. Oragn Utan Comics is a comic studio out of the United Kingdom and was founded by two of the greatest guys in the industry; Peter Rogers and Ian Sharman. We'd worked together on various small projects so when they formed their own studio I spoke to them about Mamluk. Once I had joined the studio they offered me the North American Rep position and I was honored to accept. Currently I'm focusing on conventions in my area; Texas and the surrounding states.

Richard: How do you feel about the "Eleventh Hour Vol. 1" and your part in it?

Trey: Eleventh Hour is a great book and will mark the return of the anthology! I've never understood why anthologies don't do well but that is a reality of the industry. In Eleventh Hour we're exploring all genres and that allows me to spread my wings and experiment as well. In the Vol 1 I have the preview story for Mamluk, a 6 page short that introduces readers to the Mamluk and the Barbary pirates. In the upcoming Vol. 2 I have Prey, a vampire story and Karachun, a story based on Slavic mythology. Eleventh Hour also gives me the chance to work with other artists. On Prey we have John Cboins of Graveslinger fame and Karachun features the creative genius of Olli Hihnala.

Richard: Why did you decide you wanted to write comics?

Trey: Nine years ago I had the pleasure of meeting John Bamber, a comic book original art collector and aspiring writer. We were working in Kazakhstan on an old Soviet era gas plant that the new owners were refurbishing. We became good friends and a few years later when John teamed up with Liam Sharp to form Mam Tor Publishing he contacted me to gloat. Somewhere in that conversation he convinced me try my hand at writing comic scripts. My first ones were horrible too; I knew nothing about writing a script. But with a little help from Google and all the great comic forums, I learned. I had hoped to have one of my stories in the Mam Tor anthology Event Horizon but that series ended before I had one completed. After a while I met Peter and Ian and ended up with Orang Utan.

Richard: Would you or have you written a novel?

Trey: I do have a novel in the works. It's called the Bridge and it's a sci-fi novel masquerading as a fantasy story. Wizards and warriors on a quest to find a bridge between planes but it turns out that all the characters are actually in suspended animation on a spaceship and the world they exist in is a virtual reality construct. The bridge is a connection between two spaceships one of which turns out to be not so nice. And from there it gets really complicated.

Richard: What do you find most challenging about writing?

Trey: Finding the time to do it, with a full time job and a family it's often difficult to find time to breathe. To be honest though, in the comic industry it isn't the writing that is difficult, it's getting published. Putting a comic on the shelf is a team effort no matter what the contract structure is. Just the creative team can be 5 people; writer, penciler, inker, colorist and letterer. Then you add the editor, publisher, distributor and retailer. It takes a huge effort to go from concept to shelf. The writer tends to be the project manager in this process and that is what I find the most challenging. Sitting down and writing a script is pretty easy by comparison.

Richard: What other projects do you have?

Trey: Well, I'm involved in the organization of two local area comic conventions here in Houston. The first one coming up is called Comicpalooza and it's going to be spectacular! Not only is it a comic convention, it's free comic book day and opening weekend for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Our guest list is amazing, we have both Len Wein and Herb Trimpe in honor of Wolverine. Eric Van Sciver, Rags Morales and Matt Fraction are just a few others who will be joining us. Later in the year I run a small one day convention called the Houston U-Con. 2009 will be our third year and we just keep getting bigger and better.

Richard: Would you like to visit alien worlds?

Trey: Boy would I. Since I was a small child I have been fascinated with space travel. I was devastated when I learned that having glasses would keep me out of the space program. While it's too late for me, I think it's great that we have the technology today to make this restriction not so restrictive anymore. One thing that amazes me is that when people think of space travel they think of visiting planets in far off solar systems and galaxies. There is so much to see and explore right here in our own solar system, enough to keep us occupied for centuries. I hope to see at least the start of this exploration.

Richard: How can someone contact you?

Trey: I can be reached at my email address: Trey.Wickwire@gmail.com . You can also check on me and my projects at the following websites:
http://www.orangutancomics.co.uk/
http://www.comicspace.com/trey/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=720988663

Richard: Any final words of wisdom?

Trey: Sure, live the dream. If you love comics and believe you have a story locked in your head that just has to get out, then let it out. 9-10ths of this business is perseverance, so stick with it. If everyone around you is saying "give it up, you'll never make it", then your almost there so just keep going. Sooner or later, someone's bound to notice.