Out of the Dragons Keep archives comes our interview with creators Jay Odjick and Matt Austin. We thought it would be cool to revisit these two cats, who are working hard at bringing their work to the attention of comic book fans! So, please have a read and enjoy!

Jay: I brought along Matt Austin, the esteemed inker, letterer and jack of all trades of Power Hour for this interview, just to help me remain coherent and on point. To try to answer the question, tho; more or less, my lack of ability to keep a job, I would have to say. I am sure my parents would agree.

One day I just sat down and started drawing, and it turned out I was pretty decent at it.

Kidding - but I LOVE when guys say that - "I didn't start drawing till I was 29 and I got my first comics work at 29 and a half!" That's not my story - I have wanted to draw comics since I was a kid.

Matt: Isn't it every kid's dream to get into comics?

JO: Well, I figured out early in that there were only so many things I was interested in that society would allow me to do and still retain my freedom. So I started drawing a lot more as I got older. I actually got my first rejection letter from Marvel when I was ten.

Fell out of it for awhile, for the typical reasons, then got my first job drawing a few years back. Always liked drawing, and always wanted to tell stories. Put em together, I figured.

DK: With "Power Hour" now online and building a fan base from those that visit the site. Need to ask, who is involved in the production of the series and how did "Power Hour" all come together and land the spot at Poop Shoot?

JO: The Power Hour team is myself and Matt - we have known each other for awhile now - he runs a forum called Super Buddies that you can check out at www.superbuddies.net/forum and I used to post a lot of art there. We got to talking about teaming up on a pic or two and the results were great, I thought.

Plus, Matt inks digitally, which I think is cool, because we can go back and forth and only scan things once, plus I get to keep all my original pencils and we don't have to photocopy. He rocks, and makes my art look good.

Basically, I write the strips, pencil em, and Matt inks em and letters em. Sometimes we end up coloring together, other times, it's been me.

Power Hour came about from me wanting to create a webcomic. I was meaning to do one while I had the free time to draw some pages. Better to make a comic than just draw some pages I figured. I was talking with Chris Ryall, the editor at the Shoot and I told him I was looking at doing a webcomic, and asked him if he would be interested in checking it out. He said he would be, so we pitched him some character designs and samples, and here we are.

MA: From my end, I'd been tinkering around with digital inking in Illustrator. Jay asked me if I thought I could handle a full page. The character design isn't all that complex (says the tracer), and we're not heavy on backgrounds (yet), so the job isn't that tough. Given the fact that this isn't my full-time gig, I wanted to get a few weeks worth of pages in the bucket before we went live. It's been a learning process for both of us, I think.

JO: Me moreso than anyone else maybe, because up until now I used to draw whatever I wanted and just throw words in here and there. Matt asked me for a "script", and I just laughed it off, until I realized he was serious. So I had to research that and look it up in the dictionary. Then, learn to write. Steep learning curve.

DK: For those not familiar with "Power Hour", please bring readers up to speed; who are the primary characters and what's the plot line?

JO: The strip revolves around a team of superpowered individuals. I hesitate to call them super-heroes. I mean, you could make a case that they are. I just wouldn't! Heh! Basically, this really rich guy wants a team of superheroes so he puts one together comprised of some characters who may seem familiar at first; but quickly reveal themselves to be slightly off kilter from what we have come to expect.

It's a lot less edgy, but I describe it as Justice League meets Family Guy.

JO: A love of superheroes - and the things that happen around them that no one talks about or touches on a lot of the time. I like looking at them from a different point of view - not so much making fun of them as - okay, in some cases, making a LITTLE fun. But it's all love, baby!

MA: I'm just geeked about the whole idea of our work being seen. That's what keeps me going at it.

I like the way he neglects to mention the blackmail. This is why I work with the guy!

DK: With "Power Hour" being an online comic, what have been the pros and cons versus the series being a printed in the traditional comic book?

MA: Pros - We don't have to worry about printing costs or distribution. Right now, the only overhead we have is our own time.

Cons - Probably that time thing.

JO: Yeah, we'll skip right past the stock answers and go right for the real deal: It's cheap. Heh! In all seriousness, printing and publishing comics is expensive and a tough road to hoe. (Are we allowed to say words like "hoe?")

With Power Hour, we are exposed to a pretty wide and varied audience. The site gets about 7 million hits per month - so ultimately it acts as way to show people my work and do comics the way I want to do them! The guys at the Shoot have been great - Ryall is the man.

So far, we have gotten along great and he has been a tremendous supporter of the strip.

DK: Any chance fans and potential readers might see "Power Hour" in print at the local comic shop or Barnes and Noble?

JO: That's up to the fans and readers, I think. If there is enough demand, I'd have to be stupid and or brain dead not to put some stuff on the shelves. Now, before Matt says anything, fair enough, I've been accused of both - but never at the same time, playa!

BUT - If we were to put out a collection, or a trade paperback, or anything, it'd have to be special, you know? I love me some dvd special features, so that'd be a real big thing in any Power hour print material. Special features style material.

Sometimes we do things a lil differently in creating Power Hour than most comic creators - or say, even differently from what we do making the Raven! More than half of what we do here is digital, and I'd like to let people see that so they can say. "This looks easy. I can do that, and probably better."

DK: What do you have in store for "Power Hour"?

JO: I think what we have seen so far, and I'm not sure when this interview will go live, but up until now, it's mostly been set up - introducing characters and kinda letting people acclimate themselves with this world and it's inhabitants. Letting em see that this isn't the type of superhero stuff we are used to seeing.

Now that we've done that, it's time to start having some fun! If these are the heroes...what would a "villain" be like in the Power Hour universe? So we start seeing these superpowered people thrown into situations that "superheroes" usually find themselves in and see how they handle it.

DK: Also, Jay can you bring us up to speed with what is happening with "The Raven"?

JO: Yeah, for sure. The Raven...was originally a mini-series that I was self publishing AND self distributing...a LOT of work. So, what we have done is, we have moved the series over to a more accomplished, more established publisher - we signed a deal with Arcana Studios, the Shuster Award winner as Canadian Comics Publisher Of The Year and we will be relaunching the series with an all new #1 issue this year. 36 pages - full color.

The Raven is what brought me to the dance - my baby. You want to make sure your baby has all the advantages other kids have. Want to make sure he's well taken care of and grows up in a good environment, so that's what we have tried to do.

DK: 2006 is here, what plans do you have for this upcoming year creatively and project wise?

JO: DWP is essentially a fully functioning studio in it's own right, and as such we are available to handle illustration contracts - so we have a few of those we are working on in conjunction with the comics stuff. If you need pencils, inks, letters, colors - you name it, we're your hookup.

So, we're doing some contract work on a few graphic design projects, gearing up for the relaunch of the Raven thru Arcana and getting a few other comics related projects set up!

DK: What are the tools or experiences that you put to use as a creator/artist/illustrator (books, sites, education, etc.) and how has this allowed you to develop/evolve as an artist/illustrator and creator?

JO: I think the most important thing is learning how to manage your time and resources well and be flexible. In other words, some guys may need to totally isolate themselves in order to be able to write or draw, but that's a luxury not always afforded. I'm on the phone, reading email, doing a million things at once - and my drafting board is set up right next to my desk and computer.

You end up multitasking to a point sometimes you don't even realize you're doing it!

DK: Jay, with being involved in the creative process and production of "Power Hour" and "The Raven", I am sure can be demanding. I believe in order to maintain a position in the industry, which I am sure is very competitive, a person needs to be somewhat organized to move forward and make things happen, which you seem have been able to accomplish. What's your work ethic?

MA: I don't think Jay ever sleeps.

JO: What means, "sleep"? I think a key is to try your best to plan out what you need to be doing, and maintain a schedule - But be willing to be flexible, cause life has a way of changing your plans.

DK: In the future when the opportunity arises, what other professionals in the comic/entertainment industry would you hope to work with?

JO: There are a bunch of the names you would expect - the big name guys, "superstars" of course - but in the meantime I have been pretty lucky with the people I have worked with and have gotten to meet thus far.

Matt is a tremendous inker, and we have a pretty good symmetry going. There are a few of my buds I would love to work with - one is an artist named Nar - you can check him out on the net at www.narcomics.net. phenomenal talent.

A writer I would like to work with is Dwight L. Macpherson - writer of Dead Men Tell No Tales at Arcana and the upcoming Jim Reaper from Silent Devil. Just really talented guys with what I think are similar sensibilities and interests. Ken Lillie-Paetz, writer of Elsinore is another guy like that. I think we'd do some real cool stuff together.

DK: Jay, many of the people reading this interview are trying to break into comics or become some sort of artistic creator, what pointers or feedback would you share with them?

MA: Practice, practice practice. The folks that do the drawing need to draw something every day. The folks that do the writing need to bang out some words every day. Have someone else look at your work. Don't be afraid to hear criticism, because that's the only way to get better.

JO: This is what I tell anyone who wants to make comics - make comics. The idea of getting rich off it - or even making a living off it is not all that realistic. Do stuff you like, show the world your stuff. With the net you can do that easily enough.

Create - write comics and draw comics. Ink comics, learn the process as well as the craft as best you can. I agree with Matt - even if it's only twenty minutes a day - write, draw, whatever. But here is the key; write scripts, in addition to bios. Draw PAGES, in addition to character designs. Then, get your stuff out there and promote it as hard as you can.

DK: Just want to say thanks Jay for taking time out from your schedule to chat with us. Before we go, is there anything we didn't touch base on that you'd like to share? Final shout out?

JO: Ahhh! Final shout out! Big shout out to the DWPeeps! Keep on rockin it out and we will have some new Raven-y goodness soon enough! If you haven't yet, swing by our web portal at www.darkwingproductions.ca. Props to the good people at Dragon's Keep for this interview and to YOU for reading it! Stay well, and don't forget, every Wednesday, Power Hour at http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/powerhour/index.html! See ya there!