Over the course of his career, screenwriter Ernie Altbacker has had the opportunity on quite a number of high-profile projects, in particular various DC animated original movies such as Justice League Dar: Apokolips War and adaptations of fan-favorite storylines including Teen Titans: Judas Contract and Batman: Hush. Despite his past credentials and love of comics, he hasn’t much opportunity to work in the medium itself aside from a few small projects and short stories here and there. That all changes now that Altbacker, along with his collaborator and illustrator Josh White, has launched launched his first comics Kickstarter project with Area 51 Studios.
Described as “Douglas Adams meets Men In Black with a pinch of Monty Python,” Area 51 Studios imagines the infamous secret government site as a studio lot where aliens come to shoot galactic reality shows. As Altbacker revealed in the Kickstarter description, this story started as a pitch for a television show that his (former) agents apparently didn’t want to rep. Eventually he turned the idea into a novella and is now ready for the world to see it in comic form.
The Kickstarter launched earlier this month and The Beat had the pleasure of catching up with Altbacker about his inaugural campaign. During our conversation, the prolific writer discussed not only learning running a crowdfunding campaign but writing for another medium. Additionally, Altbacker provided his thoughts and opinions on the current state of the entertainment industry, specifically animation, and how he has adjusted and adapated to the fluid status of modern media.
Watch our interview below and if you buy a physical copy of the comic, go back to the Kickstarter page and type the code #ComicsBeat in the comments page to get EXCLUSIVE stickers!
