Review Fix Exclusive: Josh Fialkov Talks Skyman

Review Fix chats with Skyman writer and creator Josh Fialkov who discusses the new series from Dark Horse comics. An ode to the work of Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka with Fialkov’s signature writing style and the art of Manuel Garcia, Skyman is getting a mega-sized push from Dark Horse this year.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this series?

Josh Fialkov: I wanted to tell a pulpy fun superhero story, first. Â I think there’s a void in that front in comics right now. I’m, obviously, all for reinventing the medium and what it’s for, but, there’s also room to do some classic superheroing and show people the backbone of comics in its best form. But, with that, there’s the idea that we can tell smarter and more complex stories. I look at the work that Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka do, and how what they do says something about the medium and about our world simultaneously. So, that’s me aping them to the best of my abilities.

Review Fix: What are your goals for it?

Fialkov: I’d love to have Eric be a character who survives in peopleâ’s minds. I think there’s a lot there with him, and that at the end of this story, there’ll still be way more to do with him.

Review Fix: What are Eric Reid’s best and worst traits? How will it influence the rest of the series?

Fialkov: That’s the hardest part about creating a character from scratch… Figuring out his flaws and the things that make him interesting while still making him someone to root for.  I think there’s a lot of damage in his past that’s a good amount of his challenge.  The physical stuff obviously, but also the emotion of having been a leader and failed.  He was a man who was trusted to care for those around him, and he let those men die.  How much he believes that, and what he does with it is both his motivating character trait, and the thing he’s overcoming.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with Manuel Garcia?

Fialkov: Manuel’s great.  He’s especially terrific at the airplanes.  When you see what he does in issues 2, 3, and 4 with the jets, you’ll be blown away.

Review Fix: How did he make the character his own?

Fialkov: I think with any new character, there’s a learning curve of making not just the character, but the tone and the body language feel right.  I think every issue we see more and more of that.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy the series the most?

Fialkov: I’m hoping it has a pretty wide appeal, certainly for fans of superheroes, but, also for fans of political thrillers and military stories.  So, y’know, the range from Captain America to House of Cards to JAG.  Let’s make that happen, people.

Review Fix: How do you think it’s different from other series out there?

Fialkov: Like I said, I think there’s a dearth of classic style pulp superhero stories out there, and Dark Horse is certainly remedying that.  As opposed to the other Dark Horse Superhero books, I think there’s a bit more ‘gray’ to Skyman than there is to the other guys.  Eric is still learning to be a superhero and the consequences of his actions…

Review Fix: Without giving anything away, what should fans expect from the series moving forward?

Fialkov: More action, more adventure, and, best of all, more ass-kicking superheroics.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be ultimately remembered?

Fialkov: I’d love for Skyman to play a bigger long term part in the Black Sky stuff that Dark Horse is doing, and I think, I might just get my wish.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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