Review Fix chats with Babes, Gore and Dinosaurs creator Dustin Brunell, who discusses the comic, his origin in the industry, goals for the future and the other series he’s currently working on.
Review Fix: How did you know a career in comics was for you?
Dustin Brunell: I owned a brick and mortar for a while and have been collecting for about twenty years. Getting into creating wasn’t a plan, my uncles death brought that about.
Review Fix: Who inspires you creatively?
Brunell: I mean the list in that regard is a long one lol. I think those before me have created a path, rugged as it may be to move forward. Nailing it down I think the dark is what draws me in though. Original story telling excites me.
Review Fix: How are your comics different or special?
Brunell: They’re original, they’re interesting, terrifying and beautiful. They can stand with the big boys in indie comics. Not just the stories but the art and every other aspect. Especially our newer books, we just get better the more we do.
Review Fix: Which of the three mean the most to you?
Brunell: Honestly the most important thing to me is making content people want to read. I hold myself to a standard that I feel is hard to reach and we’re smashing it.
Review Fix: Any challenges?
Brunell: My biggest issue was not being able to put out monthly books and I’ve found a way to make that happen. I honestly haven’t come across any gapes I couldn’t traverse.
Review Fix: What about this comic (Pick One) Sell us. Sell us hard.
Brunell: Babes, Gore and Dinosaurs is our newest ongoing series and also what folks are calling a “Tour De Force†in indie comics. Our main character, Rikki is a retired Saurean (humanoid dinosaur) who has opened a bar in a bad part of Cenocity. Rikki and his bet friend Maya are getting into the groove of things when a pretty “Tank Bred†(genetically created in a vat) Tric named Eve comes in looking for a job. Even brings a lot more than a pretty face and Rikki may pay for his kindness in hiring her.
I think the title says a lot, if you’re a fan of anthropomorphic stories like TMNT or Street Sharks this will be right up your alley. Put that together with cyberpunk flair like Bladehunter. Drop in a dose of John Wick and you get BGD.
We’ve created a living breathing society in this series and we will be continuing to expand it.
Review Fix: What else inspired this comic?
Brunell: So many things from my childhood, from playing with dinosaurs to watching shows like Dinoriders and Dinosaucers. DnD and other tabletop games where you could be humanoid beasts and such. I draw inspiration from everything in life. We bring in serial killers, dirty politicians, the mob and many other topics into our world. Can you fall in love with another species? What about an AI? All these are topics we touch on. How far should a law go? BGD is a world where we can get into the darker side of things.
Review Fix: Who do you think will dig it the most?
Brunell: Anyone who likes dark gritty stories, folks who question the status quo. I like to think anyone who wonders about looking outside the box will be drawn to it. Fans of big action and pretty female leads. People who like Babes, Gore and Dinosaurs.
Review Fix: How do you want your books to be remembered?
Brunell: As something that was longstanding, not easily forgotten and something when they do end that leaves you missing it long after.
Review Fix: What are your long-term goals for your work?
Brunell: I’m currently working on plans and have been moving them toward what long term vets have been calling an empire. Currently we have 20+ team members and will have several more by the end of the year. Short term is 7 ongoing series by this time next year (all of which are currently in production). Long term goal is to be a name known by every collector in this industry.
Review Fix: What do you feel you need to do that you haven’t yet, in order to make these comics as successful as you want it to be?
Brunell: I think the biggest thing is to make sure I’m seen more. More exposure is a must in every aspect of this industry.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Brunell: Feel free to reach out to me, I’m always happy to talk about comics and the industry. Don’t forget to check out my other books The Listener series and Greed.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Brunell: So much, currently I’m working on a screenplay for a really cool upcoming gentleman. We’re putting The Listener TPB collecting issues 1-3 together and that will be out soon as well as a hardback anthology we have in the works.
Review Fix: Where can people find out more?
Brunell: Follow me on Facebook/Instagram/twitter. The team is always putting out awesome stuff for folks to see.
Review Fix: How else can people support you?
Brunell: You can check out kickstarter or indiegogo monthly for our books as we drop them monthly. Any support is appreciated. It takes incredible fans to get where we want to be and so far we have some the best. That group gets bigger every day and we as a whole couldn’t possibly be more thankful for them.
Leave a Reply