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Today we talk with Scott Harris-King, a comic book writer and artist and TTRPG creator who combines the two in his latest projects. You can find his work at his web site crimebustercomics . Check out his latest Kickstarter campaing where you can get a copy of the comic as well as a Dungeons and Dragons adventure based on the story: kickstarter.com/profile/thecrimebusters(opens in a new tab)
Let’s hear from Scott!
Your latest projects are combinations of comic books and ttrpg. Which came first for you, comics or rpgs? How did you get started in ttrpgs?
Tabletop role playing games came first for me. My hazy memory suggests I started playing Dungeons & Dragons in the summer of 1980, when some of the kids in my neighborhood introduced me to the game through the old Basic Set, though it’s possible it was in 1981. Either way, I was instantly hooked, and wanted to play D&D far more than the kids who taught me! My connection to rpgs helped pave the way for my introduction to comics, though, as I began reading Dragon Magazine and loved strips like Larry Elmore’s SnarfQuest. By 1984, I was a full blown comics fanatic as well.
How did you get started in drawing comics?
I’m a writer first and foremost, and I started writing comics very early. I sent my first story submissions to Marvel in 1986 when I was 13. Needless to say, they were politely rejected. By the time I got to college I had begun drawing some comics as well, though nothing we ever published. I minored in art, and also took night classes from Marvel and DC artist Paul Ryan, where I learned the basics of sequential storytelling.
Your latest project is Quest, a D&D inspired comic. Tell us about that.
I started working on the story and characters in Quest way back in the late 90s. Some of the main characters in the comic are versions of D&D or other rpg characters I had played. I always enjoy crafting the backstories and figuring out the motivations for my characters, so it was an easy transition to take them from role playing to the comic book page. Quest is basically my love letter to epic fantasy: it’s about a ragtag party of adventurers thrown together by fate and charged with an impossible quest to save their doomed world. In other words, the good stuff! I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel so much as tell a fun, action packed story with compelling characters that encompasses all the stuff I love most about fantasy!
The kickstarter gives backers the chance to get the comic book and an adventure. What made you think about combining the two?
Whenever I think about making comics or crafting Kickstarter rewards, my first and primary thought is always simply “what do I want for myself?” I figure that if I like something, other people might like it too, so I follow my heart and only make stuff that I really personally enjoy. I’m a gamer and comic collector, and I know what I enjoy in both those areas, so I just thought it would be super fun to be able to play through the story I was creating in my own home game. And once I had that idea, it was a no brainer to bring in my GM Matt Timmins, who has been running our games for nearly 30 years, to help craft the module and other supplemental material that is available s part of the expanded Tabletop RPG Edition of Quest.
Do you do your own inking, color and lettering in addition to pencils? There’s great maps and design in your books, do you work with any other artists and writers?
Though I consider myself a writer first, when I draw I usually do everything, including inking, coloring, and lettering. For Quest, I did all the character designs and maps myself, and I also drew some of the variant covers, including for the Tabletop RPG Editions. I also did all of the lettering for the comic, and all the graphic design, including all the various logos on the different variant covers.I do work with some other artists as well, though, both because I draw quite slowly and also because it’s creatively rewarding to see these characters and stories brought to life by other creators with unique artistic visions. They often picture things differently than I had, which gives me new inspiration. For Quest #2, the interior pencils and inks were done by an artist named Rock Alves, while I had a flatter named Shayne Cui add the base colors. From there, I did all the finished colors, and lighting and shading effects, then added the lettering as well.
In talking about the Old School TSR AD&D you credit Erol Otis. What other TSR artists were you inspired by? What’s your favorite published ttrpg adventure?
I love the aesthetic of the art in the old modules and rulebooks. For me, that original art style from the 70s and early 80s really defined what a role playing game felt like. So I wanted to really capture that feel with Quest, while also paying tribute to those classic artists who created this sandbox that I love. For the Tabletop RPG Edition of Quest #1, I did an homage to Erol Otus’s cover for the classic module “The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth,” while for issue #2, I did an homage to Jim Roslof’s cover for “The Keep on the Borderlands,” which is my all time favorite module. I tried to pick modules to homage which not only had great covers, but also had a vibe similar to the story for those issues. So it’s probably a spoiler to say that the Tabletop RPG Edition cover for issue #3 is going to be an homage to the classic D&D illustration “A Paladin in Hell” by David Sutherland III.
Do you prefer being a player or GM in ttrpgs?
I prefer to be a player. I did run a campaign as a GM back in the mid 90s and I wasn’t terrible at it. For me, though, what I really love is world building and storytelling, and I recognized that I was putting too much focus on the NPCs and the sweep of global events and not enough on the actual players. The other thing is that as a GM I felt a real responsibility to try and make sure that everyone is having a good time, which makes it hard for me to have a good time. So ultimately, I decided to focus on just being a player, which is much less stressful and more fun for me.
What other comic projects have you done?
Besides Quest, I also have an ongoing comic book series called The Crimebusters which is basically my love letter to the other thing I loved the most as a kid: teen detective novels. I just was obsessed with The Three Investigators and Trixie Belden and all of those, so The Crimebusters is my take on the classic Scooby-Doo style supernatural mystery adventure genre, with just a little dash of Cthulhu mythos thrown in to spice things up. So far I’ve done five issues, which were just collected in a 200+ page TPB volume earlier this year, and I hope to have The Crimebusters #6 out on Kickstarter next spring. Additionally, I’ve done two prequel issues of a superhero style action comic in the Crimebusters universe called Cthulhu vs. Uncle Sam, which details Uncle Sam’s attempts to stop the Axis from summoning Cthulhu to win World War II.
Where can people find you and your projects?
You can find me at my website, crimebustercomics.com, though the best way to keep up to date with all my projects is to join my mailing list at https://mailchi.mp/35996240ec7f/adventure_awaits_with_the_crimebusters to get monthly updates. And I’m constantly releasing new comics on Kickstarter — if you follow my profile at https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/thecrimebusters you’ll be notified whenever I launch a new comic. Thank you!
Thanks, Scott!
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