Review Fix Exclusive: Mark London Talks Battlecats Vol II And More

BReview Fix chats with Battlecats writer Mark London, who lets us know what makes the newest volume of the comic book series a special one.

For more on the series and Mad Cave Studios, Click here.

Review Fix: What were some of the lessons learned from volume one?

Mark London: If making a comic book is not easy, just imagine starting a publisher from the ground up. Battlecats was a product of Mad Cave’s inception and back then we were still figuring a lot of our process and identity as a company. I think that Battlecats volume one was caught up in all that. If I could do it all over again, there are things that I would do differently. But I don’t regret anything. We learned a lot and that is why I’m very excited about volume two. Now we are really getting to the good stuff and we are going to see a side of Valderia that we only hinted at in the first volume. 

Review Fix: What makes volume two different?

London: For starters, we have a new art team and, man, they have really taken it upon themselves to make this the best looking Battlecats anyone has ever seen. Mike Camelo is going to be the next big thing, mark my words. And Tekino’s colors are exactly what the series needed to bring to life the rich lore in the new volume. I’m lucky to have these guys in my corner. Also, this new arc builds and expands upon Valderia. The environments are over-the-top, the emotions will be high, the action will be mad!

Review Fix: What was the creative process like for you?

London: For me, it’s all about storytelling. I grew up in the late ’80s, a beautiful time to be exposed to all sorts of media: Comics, video games, movies, animation, literature; all very different in their own way. I devoured everything I could get my hands on. So, I simply put all of them into the proverbial “blender” and I begin to web different scenes in my head. Scenes that then pinpoint settings, genres, moods, situations, and characters. With all of that laid out in front of me, I begin to connect the dots. That’s the best way I can explain it. 

Review Fix: Why is this volume special to you?

London: It’s our flagship title and you always remember your first. Battlecats is very dear to not only me but all of Mad Cave for that reason. It’s been a labor of love for the past few years and it’s a strikingly impressive story and I can’t wait for people to read it.

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

London: As one of the best medieval fantasy stories in comics. I want all of our fans to walk away thinking they just purchased a quality book. I want them to have as much fun reading it as I had writing it. And finally, I want to move people. That’s the ultimate goal. This story has everything, from action and fantasy to even the supernatural, and did I say action? I mean… what’s not to love?

Review Fix: What’s next?

London: Our next stop is Show’s End which is written by Anthony Cleaveland and drawn by Jefferson Sadzinski (two of our talent search winners from last year) and colors by Julian Gonzalez and Wolvenheart, drawn by Alejandro Giraldo (Midnight Task Force) and yours truly provides the words for the latter. By the end of the year, you will see even more of the high-quality books you would expect from Mad Cave, bringing fun, diverse stories with a mad twist.

Review Fix: Anything you’d like to add?

London: Mad Cave has an aggressive strategy for the next three years that we strongly believe will benefit fans of all genres. Mad stories with mad twists are coming your way from diverse writers and artists that love the medium and the industry. Rest assured everyone is giving it their best so that fans everywhere can have the best time possible reading comics. 

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 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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