I first met Chris Johnson manning his vendor space outside of the local music event, BingeFest 2016. As I got to know Chris one thing that really stood out about was his work ethic. He is committed to his craft and understands the power of networking.
How did you get into comics?
I got into comics when I was a kid. Ever since I was a kid there was never a time that I wasn’t doing something creative. Either writing or playing music. I was always making something, and comics was one of those things. I’ve always written, and recently I found other people like me who wanted to make their own books. People that wanted to work for Marvel or DC but needed more experience so they started doing their own thing.
Tell me about your company, Anomalous Comics. Anomalouscomics.com
I was creating some short stories and posting them online. I met some people through that who were doing the same thing. We were all making short stories, but weren’t creating full books, you know? Like 10 or 15 page books, but a full book is like 22 to 32 pages. So, we decided to get together. There were four of us. Me, the letterer, and then a penciler, an inker, and colorist. We all decided to get together and create something. I took that &@*# seriously. I took out loans and put my money where my heart is. The other guys have their own thing going on, but this is all I do. But that’s how it came about, four friends coming together to create something different. That’s why we chose the name Anomalous. It’s unique.
What’s your vision for the future?
When I first started doing this, my goal was to work for Marvel. That’s still my goal, but with the motive of furthering Anomalous. I want to further my
personal career so that I can keep my passion projects alive. I love Marvel, but the indie stuff, you can get so much more out of an indie comic than you can a mainstream, cookie cutter kind of book. They usually just have the same characters doing the same thing over and over again. It’s repetitious. But one of our books, “Send In The Clowns”, is 90 pages of just clowns, massacre, and horror &#*@. That’s indie. My goal is to stay independent by getting a mainstream, corporate gig to fund it.
If you had to pick one comic character, what’s you favorite?
I’m all about Deadpool, man. When I was first introduced to Deadpool, he was a bad guy. The dude that created him, Fabian Nicieza, and I, share a similar personality. Fabian endorses our books now and I want to do a book with him.
You go to a lot of conventions and have met many famous people. I know some people are jerks and won’t let you even take a picture with them. Who has been the coolest to talk to?
Brian Pulido, the creator of Lady Death. I gave him one of our books and mentioned how inspirational his kick starters are to me. A kick starter is a way to get investors. Instead of getting a loan or a couple of people to invest a large amount of money you make little teasers for your comic, posters, key chains, and things like that. People buy them and it’s a way to track success and support, as well as raise money.
Anyway, I met Brian in San Diego and he sat down with me and asked me what I was doing and gave me professional advice on my kick starter. He asked me details about what I was doing and then gave me advice about how to make the perfect one, and I was taking notes. You can’t just get that from anywhere. You have to pay for that kind of information. Also, Greg Pak, who wrote World War Hulk. Our conversation was pretty bad ass at the Dallas Comic Con. We talked about his work on Hulk and gave I him one of our children’s books and he said that when he sees something he likes, he forwards it on to Marvel, so I hope he liked it.
You can keep up with Chris’s work on Facebook or at
anomalouscomics.com
-David Fowler
