The 100 Sucesses of 100 Girls

100 GIRLS is the story of Sylvia Mark, an awkward teenager that unbeknownst to her is just one of one hundred girls bred as part of a genetics experiment. An experiment meant to give normal humans extraordinary powers. But thirteen years ago four girls were kidnapped and sent to families around the country to be raised. Sylvia is determined to discover the meaning of the experiment, and why these girls were kidnapped.

As one of Arcana Studio's flagship titles, 100 GIRLS' success has created its second collected trade paperback, three scheduled 100 GIRLS projects for 2006, and a spot in Free Comic Book Day 2006. With the buzz surrounding the book and readers craving the alternative to the Spider-mans and Batmans everywhere, 100 GIRLS is poised to take on the comic book industry by storm as the sleeper hit of 2006. So is 100 GIRLS ready and primed for its 100 successes? JXM spoke with writer Adam Gallardo, and artist Todd Demong, the creators of 100 GIRLS, to get the lowdown on the book, its origins, their careers, and just what the future has in store for them.

Adam Gallardo and Todd Demong

JXM: Tell us a little bit about how you both started in this crazy comic book business.

Adam: I worked at Dark Horse Comics for a lot of years in a lot of different positions so I got to see how comics were made from a variety of standpoints. After I was there long enough, I started to think to myself, "I can do that!" Fits of self-confidence like that are rare so I decided to pay attention to it. I mentioned it to Phil Amara (former DH editor) and he told me that if I came up with some ideas, he'd help hook me up with an artist. Todd turned out to be that artist and meeting him eventually led to us creating 100 GIRLS together.

Todd: Well, I work in animation as a storyboard artist and had some free time after one of my contracts a few years ago. So I thought I'd take a stab at doing a short story in comics form that had been kicking around my head. It turned out pretty well, so I thought I'd send in some blind submissions to some comics folks. I got really lucky at Dark Horse (because nobody ever sees blind submissions) when I was contacted by the very same Phil Amara. He put me and Adam together so we could cut our teeth, and the product that emerged was 100 GIRLS. From that I was able to do a few more jobs for DH.

JXM: Did you always aspire to work in comics or was it simply where the winds had taken you?

Adam: I always knew I wanted to write. Always - even back in middle school, and I've been trying to attain that. After I graduated high school, I got into comics and started to think it'd be cool to give those a try. Though I hope to write for other media, I think I'll always want to write for comics.

Todd: Well, as a wee youngster it was sort of a fantasy job, and I went into animation 'cause for some reason I figured it would be easier to maintain a career in (I've found that's not necessarily true). Anyhow, I just decided to give it a go. Still trying to kick in the doors, but I think I've made it budge some.

JXM: What has been involved in your development as a writer or artist? What experience and/or education and training did you have before working in comics?

Adam: Since I wanted to be a writer, I took more English and writing classes than are healthy for one person. Although, I don't really know how much those helped. I sometimes think the key is to read everything that falls to hand. And I watch film, see plays - consume anything that tells a story, really.

Todd: Just as I said before, I'm a storyboard artist for cartoons. Hard to say whether it helps art-wise, but it does help in terms of my having a real understanding of what has to happen when one draws for a living with a schedule and deadlines.

100 Girls

JXM: Where did the idea for 100 GIRLS come from? Any strange epiphanies or specific influences and inspirations?

Adam: The biggest influences for me were films like Alien and The Terminator and TV shows like Buffy. I was very interested in stories with strong female leads. In so many comics stories, the female characters are there to play the part of the victim or of the femme fatale. I wanted to stay away from that mindset.

JXM: For those who may think 100 GIRLS is just another story about an awkward teenager with powers, what would you say sets this book apart from others?

Adam: It's a story about an awkward teenager with powers which features wolf-men! Seriously, I think the characters are the big difference. I try my hardest to make them fully rounded and as real as they can possibly be, given that they live in a world where superpowers exist. And, of course, the wolf-men.

Todd: I'm with Adam here. He has done such a great job of creating fully realized people. All of the characters have grown in such a substantial and realistic way. I really love just reading the scripts he's sent in. They're a beautiful read all on their own.

JXM: Being that 100 GIRLS started as a webcomic, would you ever consider returning the property to the web? For instance, having short stories that supplement the comic?

Adam: That's not a bad idea and I'm going to start pretending that I had it before doing this interview. Hmmm, web comics? Honestly, I guess I never have considered going back to that medium, though I know that many creators are considering it as viable - especially when you consider how inexpensive it is versus traditional paper printing.

Process

JXM: What is the process that the two of you have when working on 100 GIRLS? Are story elements and visuals worked out together? Adam, how much guidance is given to Todd when approaching a page of the book?

Adam: For the most part, I work up a story, a prose outline, and I shoot it over to Todd for his comments. After that, I write out a full script and, once again, get that to Todd. At that point, he starts to draw. He'll often have comments about how things might work better visually and I usually tell him to do what he thinks is best. I am much more trusting of Todd's take on the art than I am my own. Let's put it this way: I've never been anything but happy with the work Todd has done.

Todd: It's nice because I feel the same way. We trust each other enough that when we do have questions about what the other has done, that neither of us takes it personally and we really take what's been said into consideration.

The Future

JXM: Adam, it was mentioned by Todd before that a number of pitches were given to him when he finally chose 100 GIRLS. Do you still have any plans to develop any of those other projects in the future?

Adam: We are. Todd has been bringing up one of the ideas ever since we started to work together. The idea was then called ZOMBIE COP, but we're now going, I think, with ZOMBIE 5-0. Last February at the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, he brought it up again and drew a sketch. After seeing the character fleshed out, so to speak, I couldn't get him out of my head. Now that we've finished the first 100 GIRLS storyline, we're going to take a little break from that title and do a ZOMBIE 5-0 one shot.

Todd: Yeah, ZOMBIE 5-0 I think has tremendous potential to be both cool and hi-larious...

JXM: Are there any other projects that you are currently working on or is in development?

Adam: Besides ZOMBIE 5-0, I have a pitch that's being considered by Dark Horse Comics and a buddy, Devon Devereaux, and I are working on a project called TRIPYCH, which has no publisher. We're hoping to get it into shape to pitch around at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

Todd: For me, no. Just ZOMBIE 5-0 and various 100 GIRLS projects (specifically an original short story for Free Comic Book Day). Other than that, just storyboarding...

JXM: 100 GIRLS is about to be released with its second trade paperback 100 GIRLS: The First Girl Volume 2 collecting issues 5-7. For those that don't read the book, why should they? And for the fans, what can they expect in the book for the future?

Adam: Well, really the only reason to pick it up is the kick-ass art!