Sponsored by Battle Quest Comics
Battle Quest Comics unleashes their newest series, THE YOUNG NO’MADDS, as a 148-page, $9.99 supersized collection on February 26th (and with a FOC of January 27th). We exclusively spoke with the entire creative team about how they put this exciting and beautiful series together!
New universe! New heroes! New adventure! Battle Quest Comics is proud to introduce THE YOUNG NO’MADDS. This original series chronicles the odyssey of two rival teens who quest for an all-powerful weapon, their only hope to defeat the evil invaders that plague their land. Here the creators talk about the making of the series. The
Andrew Kafoury – Before creating Battle Quest Comics and signing with Diamond Comics Distributors, Andrew wrote and published successful independent comics for over a decade.
ANDREW: I felt this story was important for the times we live in because there are so many relevant issues in it that people today are facing, such as allowing divisions to make us vulnerable to outside threats. I believed THE YOUNG NO’MADDS could really help people explore those issues in a fun and exciting way.
Matthew Keener – Matthew has been a senior story development executive for two Academy Award-winning production companies, a story/packaging executive and MP/TV literary agent (ICM, APA), and a private story consultant and confidential script doctor. He is currently chief story officer at Scenario Entertainment.
MATT: Drew and I worked on the story over months and mainly in marathon late night sessions. And there were so many times where what we were creating was a standout creative experience. And that’s part of the fun of THE YOUNG NO’MADDS, it has so many classic entertainment moments in a fresh new story. Then the artistic creativity that Aaron McConnell came with, bringing the world and our characters to life visually– that was a real rush.
Aaron McConnell – Prior to being a regular artist for Battle Quest Comics, Aaron illustrated the New York Times Best Seller The Comic Book Story of Beer for Ten Speed Press, The Gettysburg Address: A Graphic Adaption for William Morrow and comic stories for Dark Horse Comics and Boom Studios. He also contributed art for the roleplaying game 13th Age.
AARON: It’s been a hands-on collaboration between the three of us, and I feel confident in saying this is the strongest comic book story I’ve worked on to date. I drew the first concept sketches of the central protagonists of THE YOUNG NO’MADDS back in late 2021 and I’m finishing the art for the 4th issue almost 3 years later! This is definitely the most hours I’ve clocked in drawing and developing characters within complex world-building and it has been a challenging and rewarding experience. Then the project leveled up significantly in 2023 when color artist Jeremy Colwell became involved thanks to our powerhouse editor, Justin Zimmerman.
Jeremy Colwell – Jeremy colors multiple projects for Battle Quest Comics, but is perhaps known most for his work on DC’s Batman/TMNT crossover series. He’s also worked on titles for IDW, Image, Dark Horse and many more. He lives in Portland, Oregon and is stupid happy with his life…but he also has two cats who keep his feet on the ground most days.
JEREMY: Aaron is an incredible artist and probably one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. We grew up basically in the same town and always circled each other’s orbits but never quite met or collaborated. His stuff is solid and so fun to color. He gives me a lot to work with and allows me the freedom to explore who best to make the scene even better. We respect and like each other, so it’s a great opportunity for me.
AARON: Jeremy colors the pages with an emphasis on storytelling above all else and he’s able to use color in a visceral way. The characters’ emotions are conveyed through his choices. Enthusiasm, apprehension, grief, fear… I can picture the palettes he used for each of those chapters and character moments in the story. Jeremy prides himself in bringing the best out of the artists he works with and I feel like I’ve won the lottery having him on this book.
ANDREW: And then the pages go right to lettering and production design…
Pete Carlsson – Pete has over 25 years of experience in the comic book industry, including working with the legendary Joe Kubert for over a decade. Besides leading production at Battle Quest Comics, Pete’s worked with DC, Dynamite, Dark Horse, IDW and the Kubert School.
PETE: Drew and Matt have written a fast-paced story that covers a lot of territory both geographically and emotionally. It’s nice not having to squeeze balloons in every nook and cranny! And it’s been fun pushing the sound effects in a variety of directions, working with the art to give them a physical presence when it seems appropriate to best tell the story. It’s been very satisfying.
AARON: Then the icing on the cake has been the various cover artists who have been involved thanks to the tireless attention of our editor, Justin Zimmerman. We have covers by Bill Sienkiewicz, Karen Darboe, Sean Hill, Sid Ven Blu, Robbi Rodriguez, Laura Martin and more. In this particular case I do hope our comic book is judged by the covers, because they are beauties!
ANDREW: THE YOUNG NO’MADDS launches Battle Quest Comics into Diamond’s Final Order Cutoff program in October, and we couldn’t be more excited. We have our publication schedule set for the next two years, new titles and sequels galore on the way and a variety of announcements planned right through ComicsPRO 2025. And FOC is a special place for a small publisher! We’re really grateful to Diamond for this exciting opportunity, and I think this will give our stories at Battle Quest Comics a chance to reach a lot more readers.
MATT: Please join us on this journey… because there are more adventures for THE YOUNG NO’MADDS to come! And I hope that when readers check out THE YOUNG NO’MADDS, they get in touch with us. We’d love to hear their thoughts.
Sponsored by Battle Quest Comics
