Dakota Alexander Talks To Tripwire about Trouble Comics’ The Hunter

The Hunt Is On Again

While online Tripwire’s contributing writer Paul N Neal recently spotted an exciting Kickstarter for a new comic called The Hunter. He was so impressed by the project’s distinctive style he felt compelled to reach out to writer and artist Dakota Alexander to find out more…

TRIPWIRE: Dakota, can you start by providing some background about yourself as an artist?

DAKOTA ALEXANDER: I am from California, but I have been living in Japan for almost 20 years now. I drew comic art a lot as a kid but stopped in high school. I got back into drawing about 12 years ago and picked up photoshop which expanded my horizons immensely. From that point, I have been constantly making comic related art, though until about 2020 I was primarily doing comic characters reimagined in a Japanese ukiyo-e style. My social media handle “Drums of the Serpent” actually is derived from my name in kanji. I’ve made over 60 pieces in this style with dozens of comic characters.

By the time the pandemic hit, I had started doing more traditional comic work and surprisingly was gaining some exposure on Facebook, which put me in contact with a few different independent comic creators who came to me for pin up work, one of which is Austin Hough, who is the creator behind the indie comic, The Masters. While I wasn’t directly involved in his Kickstarter, I was still very much involved with the promotion of the book and crafting the rewards. I did all the character sheets, and those images were used as the “house” images for all the rewards merch. Trading cards, speciality cups, etc. This would have been about 2020 – 2021.

TW: Is The Hunter your first Kickstarter or have there been others in the past?

DA: To be honest, while it was awesome to be part of The Masters, which featured a TON of bronze age artists, I was still completely uninterested in the idea of making my own book – despite how many others have expressed their desire for me to do so. I just looked at the idea of doing anything other than covers and pin-ups as way too much work, plus I wasn’t particularly inspired to make a character.

However last August, while laying on the couch hungover (ha!) and listening to a YouTube channel about British Cryptids, I came up with the idea of The Hunter. At first, I just laughed it off because let’s face it- the idea of a superhero with ANTLERS can seem pretty funny when you’re hung over. But even still, I couldn’t stop thinking about this character. Within 48 hours I had a full backstory and had drawn out a character design. At that point, I figured, “why not?”

Screenshot

TW: How did Trouble Studios become part of the equation?

DA: I sent a quick message to Judah Radd at Trouble Studios. Judah and I message each other regularly. We’ve been friends since the pandemic. I was in contact with him when he wanted to start creating his own book, Charon 13. I actually designed the logo for Trouble and did some pin-up work for Charon 13. He’s pretty much been after me since day one to do sequential comic art, so I knew he’d be excited at the idea of working together. Judah has also run two successful Kickstarter campaigns, so there was never really a question as to who I should be working with to get this comic made.

Trouble Studios is owned and operated by Judah Radd. He works with over a dozen creators on Charon 13: Nico Queme, Alessandra Imperio, Martina Rossi, Jeremiah Lambert, Frederick Hornung, Erwin Arroza, Bayli Dukes, Reggie Themistocle, Raymond Griffith, Joshua Venegas, Moose Harris, Matthew Chilelli and various other creators and contributors.

They just finished issue two, which I also did some pin-up work for.

TW: The Hunter appears to have a very early 1980s retro energy. Is this an era of the comic industry you are particularly fond of?

DA: Absolutely. The book itself is set in 1981. I was in elementary school in the mid-eighties and while I had subscriptions to current books, I was constantly searching for back issues with John Byrne art, much of which was his late seventies / early eighties Marvel runs on Avengers, Captain America and Fantastic Four. A large part of my childhood was spent in early eighties comics, despite it being just a few years later. I think there is a kind of sweet spot for how the writing was becoming a bit more serious and engaging, but still fun. Furthermore, this was kind of the last leg of the “caption box” era. Something I took for granted as a kid, but now I am finding a real charm to its presence in the pages. Oh, and the ads! Those wonderful, wonderful ads!

TW: Can you say more about why you chose to set your storyline in the early 1980s?

DA: I should point out that the idea to set the book in 1981 actually came from a narrative decision. Basically, I didn’t want to try to write a superhero book in a time of smartphones, social media, meme culture, or even the internet, for that matter. Partly because I honestly can’t see how anyone could be a publicly known superhero and still maintain their secret identity with everyone owning a smartphone camera, and drones, etc. The other part is that I think these days unless you go full grimdark, or try to deconstruct the superhero concept, mainstream superheroes are often managed with a more ironic sensibility, which didn’t interest me.

DA: So, I decided to set the book in the early 1980s. Once that decision was made, I figured I’d write in a compressed narrative style, keep the book episodic, and pretty soon I had decided to go all the way and make the book essentially a time capsule for that period. I was already making bronze age retro art and so the whole premise fit my area of artistic focus. But the idea of making any comic, let alone a retro eighties comic, had never crossed my mind before last August.

TW: So please tell me all about The Hunter, who is he and what can readers expect from the comic?

DA:  Without sounding too derivative, The Hunter draws inspiration from the early / mid 1980’s Moon Knight, the early 90’s Ghost Rider, and believe it or not, Firestorm. The Hunter is Steven Conrad, a novelist and cultural anthropologist, who acts as the avatar for the ancient god, Herne. The God of the Hunt from British lore. Herne is charged by the pantheon of gods to hunt and destroy supernatural monsters in the mortal realm. When they combine to become The Hunter, it is very much Herne doing the fighting and talking, but Steven is in there as well and they can have internal conversations.

DA: The book itself is really meant to be kind of an immersive experience for the reader. A cover-to-cover authentic early eighties bronze age superhero horror comic in the Marvel style of that era. Written, illustrated, coloured, lettered, and printed on newsprint featuring a bullpen bulletin, a letters column, even the ads of the times. Or, in most cases, our versions of those ads.

TW: Have you ever watched an old television series from the UK named Robin of Sherwood? Herne The Hunter features quite prominently.

DA: DUDE. I used to rent episodes of it when I was a kid. That’s where I first learned of Herne!! I have been WAITING for someone to ask me about this show. It was part of my childhood. I used his moss/ grass cape as the inspiration for The Hunter’s cape.

TW: So, I guess I am getting the right vibe here, will we see Robin Hood in any of the mythology feature in your future plans perhaps?

DA: Ooooh I did not have any plans for Robin, but we will have a story take place in the UK and they will visit Herne’s Oak in Windsor forest.

TW: Do you have any plans to visit the UK for research purposes. There is a Herne’s Oak you may enjoy.

DA: Is that a pub?? I love that.

TW: It is indeed.

DA: I’ve been to the UK twice. I love pubs. So, cozy.

TW: Maybe worth visiting the UK again for research purposes?

DA: I cannot say that I will be able to make it the UK any time soon. However, if I do, I would hope you and I can grab a pint.

TW: I dare say something could be arranged….   What would say has been the biggest challenge you’ve face putting The Hunter together?

DA: As far as making the book is concerned, the biggest challenge is definitely trying to be as on task as much possible. I have never seriously done interior art for a comic before, and I never wanted to, until deciding to do this book. It is a tremendous undertaking, and it’s all very, very new to me. So, at first, the big challenge was learning to think sequentially, because I had only done covers. Then it was learning to ink efficiently- not be too detailed, unlike with covers. Then it was colour and really understanding the palette and how it should be limited in order to keep it feeling authentic. Oh, and we had a letterer but, in the end, he couldn’t commit, so I had to learn how to letter!

At this point, it’s just about getting the pages done the best I can while not burning myself out creatively.

TW: If successful do you have plans for further issues and storylines or do this envision this issue of The Hunter as a one off?

DA: I definitely intend to do more issues. Basically 2 issues per monster story with some double sized “annuals” thrown in. So, without going into spoilers, issue number one is just the first half of this episode. Once issue one is complete, it will be right on to issue two. And so forth. This series has about 15 issues planned out already. I can’t really think beyond that as that could take years to accomplish, ha!

TW: The idea would appear to be to make the finished product as authentically retro as possible. How did you approach creating convincing era specific adverts? They look a lot of fun.

DA: Yeah, that’s been a lot of fun. We first have to avoid getting into any legal dilemma with trademarks, so we tend to “parody” the ads. But when I say “parody” all I mean is that essentially, we just change all the brands to “Trouble”. Kind of like how ACME was a ubiquitous corporate entity in Looney Tunes, everything will be under the Trouble umbrella. Hostess Cakes is now Trouble Cakes. Or maybe we call them Trubblies… I don’t know. I haven’t gotten to the Hostess ad yet. But there will definitely be our version of the hostess ad.

After that, it’s about taking the ads and recreating them. Since there are no hi-rez images available, I often have to redraw the images and retype the text. But it’s really worth it. I think at the time many of us took these ads for granted, but they really complete the experience.

TW: Are there some exciting Kickstarter bonuses or rewards if people decide to generously support The Hunter?

DA: We have three covers available. The main cover, A. The cover B, which is an homage to Wolverine Issue One, by John Buscema. Then there is also a wraparound cover available in an upper tier or as an add-on. All covers are drawn by me.

We have pin-ups, enamel pins, a 1980s-style wristband, your name listed in the comic, and then there is a jumbo- sized sketch by me at the top tier. We had regular sized sketches available, but they sold out. For a complete look at all of our rewards tiers please check the link to our Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/troublestudios/the-hunter-1-a-superhero-horror-odyssey

TW: It may be tricky to be precise, but do you have a potential release date for issue one of The Hunter pencilled in yet? (Please excuse the slight pun.)

DA: I have inked and lettered well over half the story pages, so I am looking to have the book finished by May. I am working on the wraparound cover at the moment- you can see updates on its progress on my Facebook.

Support The Hunter here on Kickstarter

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/troublestudios/the-hunter-1-a-superhero-horror-odyssey