Our Creator Interviews for Creator Appreciation Month welcomes Nick Edwards and Scott Beecher of Unearthly Comics. With four current action-packed popcorn filled thrills, there's lots to talk about, including some upcoming releases! Let's journey into the Unearthly!
GlobalComix: Thank you for joining us today! Tell us a little bit about your work, yourself, and how you got into making comics!
Nick Edward: Hey, thanks for having me! I’m Nick, and I’ve lived in New York City for the past two years.
I’ve been a fan of comics since I was a little kid. I knew I liked comics after reading old issues of Uncanny X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Superman/Action Comics, but I knew I wanted to make comics after reading… Captain Underpants. Seeing those two kids Harold and George have so much fun making their own comics was unironically a huge inspiration to me. All the thanks in the world to Dav Pilkey!
The books I’ve written so far have both been horror books, each with a pretty radically different theme. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a really great artist and good friend, Scott Beecher, on these books. He’s taught me so much about comics and sequential storytelling.
Scott Beecher: Thanks for having me, I appreciate it! I’ve loved comics for as long as I can remember, collecting a wide variety from the “Big 2” and independents. The Incredible Hulk is the character I enjoy the most! As a kid I’d draw scrolls of ninja’s fighting before making comics of my original characters like, “Snoterman”! The less said, the better! As I got older I worked on my own underground comix which led me to create Unearthly Comics!
Covers of Crime Stories: City of Hate, GATORMAN KILLS, STILETTOS, & ATOMIC TALES
GlobalComix: How did the two of you first meet and decide to start creating comics together?
Nick: I met Scott at a comic convention in Dallas in February 2020, about a month before COVID lockdowns began. I approached his booth and told him his art looked cool, and we immediately bonded over our shared love of comics and horror. Scott and I stayed in contact after that convention, and I ended up sharing some scripts I’d written with him. He then told me about an idea he had for a gator-themed slasher character he called Gatorman. I was hooked pretty immediately, and that summer (with Scott’s direction) I started work on the script that would eventually become our first graphic novel GATORMAN KILLS.
Scott: Nick and I met at a comic convention when he expressed he was a writer and shared his interest in comics. We bonded over comics, movies and a shared sense of principles. Working together has been a fantastic experience and I’ve gained a great friend!
GlobalComix: Nick, what was the spark of inspiration for the story STILETTOS?
Nick: I wrote the script for STILETTOS during the summer of 2022, when I was driving around the country and kinda-sorta living out of my car.
The world is a scary place, and it often feels like there’s too little empathy out there these days. I knew I wanted to tell a story about that.
Scott: I looked at remote landscapes. The sense of isolation and dread helped inspire Stilettos. Having an environment that could feel both homely and uneasy helped build that tension.
Cover: GATORMAN KILLS COMPLETE COLLECTION
GlobalComix: How do you approach storytelling in terms of process? Does it go straight to script, or is there more of an outline or paragraph format first?
Nick: I almost always start with an outline first, then break down the plot page-by-page. From there, I build out each page with panel descriptions and dialogue.
GlobalComix: GATORMAN KILLS and STILETTOS have very different art styles. How do you decide what sort of look that you want with any given story?
Scott: We want the worlds to feel lived in and suffocating when creating these stories. One of my goals for each new project is to build off what I’d done before while also challenging myself with something new. For Gatorman Kills it was creating depth and making interesting backgrounds. Then with Stilettos I wanted to work on my female characters. Now, working on Gatorman Returns, my goal is to work on my character consistency.
Cover: STILETTOS
GlobalComix: Did you come from an art or writing background before launching these titles, or was this a completely new venture?
Nick: I’d written several comic scripts on my own, but I never went to school for it or anything like that. I just read a lot of books and comics. Meeting Scott, working on GATORMAN KILLS and coming on board with Unearthly Comics has an amazing new adventure for me.
Scott: I taught myself how to draw through copying the comics I loved as a kid! As I grew older I continued learning from everything around me, movies, comics, real life, etc.
GlobalComix: Do you have a favorite scene or moment you’ve created in either comic so far?
Nick: There’s a scene near the end of STILETTOS where two characters are resting and talking, and finally our protagonist decides to be honest with her best friend. It’s a very quiet, introspective moment in the middle of a very violent and angry book, and Scott’s art makes it beautiful.
Scott: For Gatorman Kills, I like the bear trap scene! Stilettos, I love the pickaxe and also the hand-ripping scene!
Page from: GATORMAN KILLS
GlobalComix: Lastly, what advice would you have for creators who are on their own journeys? We all start somewhere, after all!
Nick: Three things:
- Network. Go to conventions, introduce yourself to people. Post on Twitter or Reddit. Make friends in the scene.
- Don’t be too proud to lean on your loved ones for support. Friends and family who are willing to back your dreams are truly priceless.
- Don’t use AI to make your comics. Art is something that only human beings can make.
Scott: Three things:
- For Artist it’s important to draw regularly and pull inspiration from everything around you, not just comics.
- Pin-up’s are fun but practicing sequential storytelling is essential!
- We regularly get creators visit our booth with a grand epic in their head and maybe some sketches they’ve been thinking about for years. The best way to begin that journey is to create a 1 pg story. Complete it. Then, create a 4 pg story. Knock that out. Grow the pg count, rinse and repeat. This can help build confidence towards creating comics!
Thank you so much to Nick and Scott for sitting down with us and answer our questions. Running an entire publisher with so many titles sounds like so much work. If you'd like to support Unearthly Comics GlobalComix, here's a list of links: