I am always interested when I hear about Graphic Novels that tell a story I haven’t read before, COM.X‘s “45″ is no different. I heard about the book and was instantly intrigued, listening to Andi describe his creation only made me more interested…and then he sent me some of the art, and I must say I am blown away.
“45″ has some amazing artwork (as you can see from the images at the end of the interview). Liam Sharp, Kenneth Rocafort, Trevor Hairsine, Sean Phillips, Jock, and Steve Sampson are just a few of the talented artist that contributed to the book.
What makes “45″ so different? The story is original and fresh, but what really makes you stop and take notice is the fact that 45 different artist each illustrated a page of the book. We got the chance to ask 45′s creator Andi Ewington a few questions about his unique project.
CG: Can you explain “45″ to our readers?
AE: It’s a story of a journalist who, after finding out his wife is expecting their first child, decides to forgo a test that would determine if his unborn child is carrying a super-s gene that would change their lives forever. Instead, he decides to find out for himself what lies in store if his child is born with super-powers by interviewing a whole spectrum of superheroes from different walks of life. Along the way he becomes the focus of a sinister organization called XoDOS. Each interview is illustrated by a different industry artist, and they have been given the freedom to visually interpret their interview as they see fit.
CG: How did you come up with the concept?
AE: The real drive comes from a shared experience with the main protagonist, in that my wife and I were, at the time I created the story, expecting our first child. We had just come back from our 12-week scan and were bubbling with excitement. I was searching for the right story to pitch to Com.x and I knew they were looking for something innovative. I had a germ of an idea that focused on a father trying to find out what to expect from a child with superhero powers. I pitched it to them and the project evolved from there.
CG: There are 45 different artists on the project, how did you choose what artist you wanted to work with?
AE: It was initially through Eddie Deighton & Ben Shahrabani’s recommendations that I started to build up a reputable artist list. Once several 
established comic industry names were on board I found that I could approach virtually anybody, safe in the knowledge I would be taken seriously. I was also put in touch with other top artists through artists already attached to the project. That really helped to drive the project forwards.
CG: How did you decide what page in the book to give each artist?
AE: That decision was left totally to each individual artist. They were given the interviews/transcripts to read through and chose the one that resonated most with them. I didn’t influence the artist’s choice in anyway. The only decision I made was to pick up the phone or email them to offer them a position on the book. The story did the rest.
CG: How much direction did you give them?
AE: Very little – I would advise them if the page was a sequential or a splash and if there were any style guides that would need to be applied to the characters that appeared on their page that had appeared elsewhere, but other than that I let the artists do what they do best.
CG: Some of the pages are splash images and some are sequential sequences…how exactly is the book laid out and how many pages total is the book?
AE: Forty-Five is a departure from the usual comic fare of sequential art following sequential art. The format we have taken for each interview is a double-page spread where the left-hand side is dedicated to the art (be it a splash page or sequentials) and the right-hand page holds the transcript of the interview in a question and answer style. We’ve been careful to ensure that the splash pages and sequentials have been equally balanced out throughout the book so that you don’t get the repetition of too many of one type of layout together. We have also added lots of cool concept pages at the back with lots of extras, which brings the whole novel in at 132 pages.
CG: Where can our readers purchase 45/when will it be released?
AE: It will hit the shops early December 2009. The Diamond code is: OCT090823 – 45 (FORTY-FIVE) GN
CG: What other projects are you working on?
AE: I’m currently writing a second book that I pitched to Com.x only last week. They love the idea and have already offered me the contract. I’m actually co-writing it with Eddie Deighton and we have a fantastic artist on board already!
