This is "Went to Tell Everybody," where I spotlighted different cool independent comic book series based on submissions from the indie comic book creators themselves via a set Q & A with the creators themselves. Essentially, the creators speak for their own work and "Went to Tell Everybody" will give them a place to do so!

This is a ostensibly an ongoing weekly feature, so if you would like to see your work spotlighted, as well, there's no time limit or anything like that. So you can submit at any time. It's not a first come/first serve thing, ya know? However, sending your comic in isn't a guarantee that I'll run a spotlight on it. I'm not gonna just promote anything on here, ya know? So if we go a while without an edition of this feature, it is because I don't have something that I'm okay with putting my name on a spotlight of it. Click here for the current submission guidelines.

Today we look at the post-apocalyptic western, Viva La Villain King, by Austin Shane Wellner

You can purchase the first issue now at Comixology here.

What is your comic about?

Gunpowder and blood continue their deadly dance in the post-apocalyptic American West, where Taylor Rosdahl will go the greatest of lengths to stay alive and continue her mission of scouting the newly emerging towns and trade. The first adventure follows Rosdahl to the town of Rifle, where she'll have to deal with all sorts of trouble... If she isn't the cause of any herself!

What made you choose the comic medium for this story?

My mode of expression is drawing, so it’s hard to say if the story emerged from the drawings or vice versa. The constructivist style has allowed me freedom to use photography, graphic design, painting, and drawing without breaking coherence due to the limited black, white, & red color palette. There’s a wide range of ideas to explore both visually and in these people on this new western frontier.

What aspect of your comic are you the most proud of?

The art and the pacing of the story. This is not a writer driven comic, it’s art driven. I don’t have any insecurities about leaving the reader to watch the actions of the characters with their emotions fully displayed on their faces, or to soak in pages of the setting and atmosphere. This has to do with my frustrations of other western comics always chasing after “plot” or “character” though text. Some moments need space to breath without being talked over.

What’s the one piece of philosophy and/or advice that has informed your comic book work the most?

“Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.” – Martin Scorsese

To a certain extent, this also applies to comics. The difference is with comics is it’s also a matter rendering. What is the artist drawing? How are they drawing it? What style are they trying to accomplish? What are they not rendering and how does that change the perception of the pictures in the context of the story? Read the picture as it is drawn, it should inform everything else, including the frame itself.

Since this is “Went to Tell Everybody,” tell everybody about another current comic book series that you would like other people to know more about.

Three Panel Soul by Ian McConville & Matt Boyd is such a great extension and natural evolution to what they accomplished on Mac Hall.

They’re juggling adulthood, parenting, video games, career paths, cats, their friendship, and a narrative about a mage named Jo and her own contemporary life in this strip.

It's a fantastic read.

Again, if you're interested in Viva La Villain King, you can check out the first issue here.

And of course, once again, if you're interested in seeing YOUR independent comic book spotlighted in this feature, click here for the current submission guidelines.