BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO The Eighth Grade is challenging enough for a teenager, without throwing in other dimensional creatures attacking you on a regular basis. However, Hana Otame is caretaker to the Sword of the Spirit, and, unfortunately, with that responsibility comes conflict. But she's not alone in her quest to get through school without losing life or limb. Hana has the raccoon warrior Tomo on her side and we've got most of the Tomo creative team: Jim Krueger, Tom Bancroft and Rob Corley here to tell us about this enchanted adventure.
THE PULSE: How did you come up with the idea for Tomo?
TOM BANCROFT: The idea for TOMO originated out of a conversation with a mutual friend of Rob and myself, Andrew Simmons. We were looking to expand our comic publishing a bit and asked him to come up with something for preteen girls, something that had equal amounts of fun, action, and drama. From that meeting he came up with the basic concept of Hana and her friend Tomo (who back then was a Japanese animal, similar to a raccoon). A few years went by before we developed TOMO into a one shot comic and then into a TV show pitch. Eventually, we (accidentally- long story) pitched it, along with some of our other concepts, to Christian publisher, Zondervan (a division of Harper-Collins). They hooked onto TOMO, because they wanted to pursue manga style comics. The problem was: they wanted changes…..uh….take it Rob?
ROB CORLEY: Huh?....Oh!...ok, well there was this giant electric spaghetti monster, pasta thing and it!…oh...sorry. Yeah, changes…whew! That was a challenge. While Zondervan liked the initial concept of Tomo, they couldn’t fully commit to the series until we addressed some of the mysticism that was in the original outline and the glaring story holes we hadn’t clearly defined. We also had to weave a more cohesive Christian message into the overall story line and outline how we intended to carry that through the full eight book story arc.
JIM KRUEGER: The project is all Tom and Rob's, but we've known each other for a long time and any chance to work with them is one I'm going to take. But then, in working with the characters and plot, I feel like I've been able to make them my own and really take advantage of my own sense of humor. I think Hana and Tomo are really fun together. This is certainly the most animated thing I've done in my career so far.
THE PULSE: Who is Hana Otame? How is she different from an Amethyst, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Juniper Lee or other young woman battling things from another dimension/reality?
JIM KRUEGER: Hana, like Amethyst, is almost the classic fairy tale/Disney heroine. She's lost her parents, and is heir to a mythical secret. But like Buffy, she's been trained how to kick butt and defend herself. Hmmm, I wonder though if the guys would let me put some vampires in the last couple issues. They could be hippo vampires? Guys?
Hana, though, also has a bit of young Cinderella in her. To a certain extent, she's in a terrible situation. But still she makes the best of it. There aren't talking mice though. Talking rhinos that want to kill her, yes, they are there.
TOM BANCROFT: Uh, no vampires Jim, sorry. I’ll add that Hana is an unlikely hero. She doesn’t know how, much less believe, that she can save this alternate world.
THE PULSE: What is this Sword of the Spirit that Hanna owns? What does ownership mean?
JIM KRUEGER: She's not really the owner of the sword, more like the caretaker of it. This has the makings of sort of a classic fairy tale. When she learns the truth about who she is and what's expected of her, the sword kind of comes with it. The problem is that there are forces that conspire to take the sword from her and kill her.
ROB CORLEY: Caretaker is a great way of putting it. After her mother dies, Hana is sent to live with her only known surviving relative, her grandfather Jou, in California.
While there she is introduced to Jou’s “pet” raccoon named Tomo. Interesting fact: In the original story Tomo was actually a “Tanuki” or Japanese “Raccoon Dog” which in Japanese folklore is known for it’s mischievous, but playful personality and its shape-shifting abilities. What we didn’t realize was that the “Tanuki” is also known for a potentially embarrassing physical character trait that we completely had to avoid and, for the sake of decency will not mention in this interview! I leave that to the reader to research in their free time. So, with that said, Tomo is a raccoon, a common, North American Raccoon!
The Sword!…..in our story, there is an alternate world called Argon Falls that has fallen into chaos and ruin. After the death of the king the eldest son, Ardath, seizes the throne from his younger brother Palon, who is the rightful, anointed ruler of Argon Falls. As king, Ardath immediately enlists the services of a mysterious advisor named Urn’Ado. Urn’Ado, sensing Ardaths selfish ambitions and hunger for power, slowly begins to mold and bend the unsuspecting king to his evil plan of not only controlling Argon Falls, but Earth as well. He tells Ardath that in order to achieve his place as the most powerful king he must search for and gather the Armor of the Gods, which was broken into pieces and scattered throughout the kingdom many centuries before. As each piece of the armor is retrieved and assembled the kingdom falls further and further into darkness The Sword is the last piece of the puzzle. Tomo, long realizing the doom to come, steals the sword and carries it away to our world to be hidden. Jou then becomes the protector, of not only the sword, but also Tomo until Hana arrives, and through Jou and Tomo, learns of her role in our world and the world of Argon Falls. She also learns that she is the key to an ancient promise that will change her life forever.
THE PULSE: Why title this series after the shape-shifting raccoon, Tomo, instead of naming it after your young lead?
JIM KRUEGER: It's certainly not a red herring, or red raccoon for that matter. But the spine of the story sort of wraps itself around the raccoon. Who is he? Where does he come from, and what does he have to do with Hana?
TOM BANCROFT: We went back and forth with this in the beginning, but in the end, liked the story being called “TOMO”. It means “Friend” in Japanese, which fits their relationship and the story to some degree.
THE PULSE: Where is this Argon Falls? What are the typical residents of this place like?
JIM KRUEGER: Argon Falls is an other world. One that can only be traveled to through a portal found in Japan. As to the people in Argon Falls, well, they've been cursed, and while once they were a kind and loving race, I'm not certain if people is the right way to describe them any more.
THE PULSE: How did Hana come to battle their anthropomorphic warriors?
JIM KRUEGER: Initially, the dark warriors of Argon Falls come to Hana, in search of the spirit sword, with no idea of how Hana even plays into what's going on in Argon Falls. All Hana knows is that she's been trained and prepared to face them.
ROB CORLEY: Hanas first encounter with the Fox Warriors occurs on Earth shortly after she arrives at her Grandfathers house in California.
THE PULSE: What do those evil residents of Argon Falls want with The Earth? Out of countless dimensions ... why mess with ours?
JIM KRUEGER: They're after the sword. And in time, they become obsessed with killing a pastor whose prayers are having surprising effects in their realm. The Pastor's the father of Hana's best friend, and so the story takes on a few complications as Hana has to protect both Earth and the past potential of the people of Argon Falls against the evil that now prowls in that realm (and this).
TOM BANCROFT: Without giving away too much, Earth isn’t the element in the story that is in jeopardy. But, there is an age-old evil that knows our world well and it is trying to take over what it thinks may be a new target: Argon Falls.
THE PULSE: How long have you all been working on Tomo?
JIM KRUEGER: It's been a couple of years. I didn't come on until Book Two. I did books Two through Six over the last two years, and will finish Books Seven and Eight this year.
TOM BANCROFT: Rob and I go back a few years before that with the one shot comic and a year or so of pitching it. It has REALLY evolved through the years and it’s great to see it come to fruition. It’s become a much more fleshed-out story through all of this development.
ROB CORLEY: In all, I’d say from initial concept to where we are now, roughly five years total. Andrew went through the first pass of book one and then after some very intense back and forth over the new direction of the story and developing the overall theme, we came up with something we felt like we could really get behind and enjoy doing for 8 issues or 1,200 pages! I don’t think we would have half the story we have now if we hadn’t gone through that.
THE PULSE: Wow. That' a lot of pages. What inspired you to create or work on a series like this?
JIM KRUEGER: To be honest, it was a chance to work with Tom and Rob. I love these guys. They're a blast to talk to and they've sort of seen me through a couple years of rough life experiences. Doing this project sort of gave me a chance to be funny and write in ways I don't always get a chance to.
TOM BANCROFT: As I mentioned already, it’s been a strange road and evolution of this story we now call TOMO. To say that all the steps were planned would be a lie, but Rob and I don’t believe in ‘accidents’. As corny as it sounds, I feel like this is a story that chose us to tell it, not the other way around.
ROB CORLEY: Thanks Jim, and Tomo is far better for having a super talented writer like Jim Krueger on it. Jim is an amazing thinker and very passionate about how he crafts a story, which always makes for interesting idea discussions that really push you to think outside the box. As far as the inspiration behind Tomo, First I would say it’s because we love telling good stories and second is the ability to create a story like this and be given a chance to do it in such a way that makes it more unique to what people are typically used to seeing in the Christian market.
THE PULSE: What were some of the biggest stumbling blocks in not just the creation of this series, but in its direction?
JIM KRUEGER: What's interesting is that the stumbling blocks were all sort of my own. In the midst of this series, my life completely changed like three times, after a very personal crash and burn, I moved to Times Square, NY where I lived for a year and a half, and then moved to LA to begin working in film.
As to the direction, there were some differences in our approaches to fiction and mythology and these kinds of stories, but in the end, that just made it more fun to work through. Comics are, like film, all about the amalgamation of different ideas and approaches to things. Rarely do I write a script that comes back to me exactly as I'd imagined it. But at the same time, rarely am I not excited to see what someone else comes up with in their art or note-giving.
THE PULSE: What's happened to Hana in the first two issues of this series? If someone just jumps on with issue three, what does he or she have to know to get caught up?
ROB CORLEY: Book one starts in Argon Falls as we travel with Ardath, Urn’Ado and the fox warriors as they discover and activate the Portal. We are then traveling with Hana as she is remembering her mother on an airplane bound for America. We have some moments as she struggles to adapt and understand her new life with a grandfather she has never known and a mischievous raccoon named Tomo.
School, friends, and the complications that come with them are also a large part of the story. Jou begins to teach and hone Hanas karate skills all the while slowly revealing more and more of the true nature of who she really is. In book two, Hana is set up by a group of friends and struggles to understand why things have turned out the way they have. We continue to reveal more about Ardath and his evil counselor and their ultimate goal of gathering the sacred armor and the Sword that Jou protects.
THE PULSE: What is she facing in the third issue in stores this month?
ROB CORLEY: By book #3 Hana is now fully aware of her destiny, the truth of her mother and father and the prophecy she must fulfill. She and Tomo are now connected and dependant on each other to the end, both knowing that one will not succeed without the other. Ardath’s weakness and hunger for power has now taken full effect on the kingdom and all that remains is but a shadow of it’s one great past. The people are now suffering for their apathy and willingness to surrender themselves to Ardath and Urn’Ado’s corrupt teachings. Hana, Jou and Tomo prepare for their journey back Japan and to Argon Falls.
THE PULSE: How did Jim Krueger come to work on this? Why not just continue creating this entirely on your own as you did with the first issue?
JIM KRUEGER: I think Tom and Rob called a bunch of people, and they all said no, and then they called me.
TOM BANCROFT: Too humble, Jim, too humble. Actually, though we had a friendship with Jim, we didn’t think he would be interested in this. It was a paying gig, not a “friendship hardship”, but we still felt like we couldn’t get a big timer like Jim. We called him for a recommendation and- to our surprise- he said he wanted to do it!
ROB CORLEY: Tom and I don’t have a problem admitting that we tend to be more idea people before we are writers. We love the challenges that come from creating characters and story development, but understand our limitations in being able to craft a story that will be both entertaining and cohesive over 8 – 150 page books.
We also had to consider commitments and responsibilities to other clients as well. Like I mentioned before, Jim is a fantastic writer/story teller and always brings so much to the table. He’s a funny guy and he’s always thinking and throwing out ideas and that’s a blast. I get a kick out of seeing what he’ll come up with next.
THE PULSE: How well is artist Ariel Padilla bringing your words and ideas to life?
TOM BANCROFT: Ariel has been a godsend! Rob and I can be pretty picky since we are not just the studio, creators, co-writers of TOMO, but we are also artists! We wanted a more “authentic” manga style (I know, manga ‘purists’ will argue that TOMO isn’t TRUE manga, but American manga) than we could draw ourselves. We found a great company, Glasshouse Graphics that has artists in the Philippines, Brazil, and other countries. Ariel is one of those artists, and to be honest, one of the best! He can draw cartoony characters, like Tomo, more realistic characters like our villain, Ardath, dramatic scenes, comic scenes, create new characters, crowds, cars, medieval castles- you name it! He is an excellent artist that deserves to be a big name in the American comic book industry.
He had worked on the relaunch of “The Maze Agency” a few years ago; I’m not sure what else.
THE PULSE: How did Zondervan become aware of Tomo and what does it mean to be a part of their line for you?
ROB CORLEY: We didn’t know anything about the Manga launch that Zondervan was preparing for. Tomo was mistakenly included along with a number of our other properties in a pitch package we sent over for their review and possible publication.
Tomo was selected and after a few rounds of writing, notes, story development and negotiations we signed the contract and started writing.
As far as what it means to be a part of this line of books I’d have to say, other than the obvious reason of being published by a reputable company like Zondervan.
We felt that this was yet another opportunity to get more of our own ideas and content into the Christian market and be part of something that is much bigger than ourselves.
JIM KRUEGER: I don't know any part of this, actually, but Tom and Rob and I have been talking about another big project together. One that I'd be even more involved with, overall plot-wise.
THE PULSE: What's the publication schedule for Tomo like? How many of the eight planned volumes are completed?
JIM KRUEGER: I still have to write Books Seven and Eight which will be really fun. I think I write the script for Seven in March and Book Eight in June. I'm pretty sure that's the schedule.
ROB CORLEY: Yeah, that’s pretty much it. We’ve worked very hard to stay on schedule as best as we can, and Bud Rogers, our editor over at Zondervan, has been a big help and very patient as we’ve pushed through the challenge of creating an engaging story in Tomo.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you all working on?
JIM KRUEGER: Superpowers for Dynamite, Invaders/Avengers for Marvel, Dracula VS Capone for Silent Devil, TILL DEATH (which is only a working title) which will be finished, I imagine, sometime next year that Wendy Crabb is painting, and a number of other things that haven't been announced as of yet.
TOM BANCROFT: Comics or animation? In comics, we just finished a fun one-shot comic we wrote and drew that should be announced soon from one of the BIG TWO comic companies. Also, we have an 8 page story that Rob wrote and I drew called “Mamaw and Bigfoot” that will be a part of the anthology comic, “PARABLE” published by Viper comics later on this year.
ROB CORLEY: Oh….boy, let’s see now. We’re always doing something around here at FPP.
We completed a lot of storyboarding and character designs on the “Pirates” movie for Big Idea as well as directing 6 episodes of “3-2-1 Penguins” that are currently running on NBC. We’re also directing/art directing a pilot for an 3D animated property for another client. All of the pre-production was handled in our studio and is currently wrapping up animation at a studio in Beijing, China. As of right now the series has been unofficially green lit for another 12 episodes.
We just completed issue #1 of a comic for a well known comic book publisher involving a new series we were asked to design, write and create.
We are about to begin storyboarding on feature film that Tom’s brother, Tony Bancroft is co-directing. And last, but not least, we recently brought on another business partner to help strategize and develop a business plan for another business/project that we’re developing. So, I guess we stay pretty busy, but that’s the fun part of what we do, we still get to draw, tell stories and create as artists, and that’s a real blessing!
The first two issues of Tomo are available now. Issue 3 should be in stores this month.
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