Comic Book Yeti Contributor Alex Breen recently corresponded with writer Andrew Leamon & artist Xander Arnot about their film-centric superhero series, Camera Man, to discuss storytelling in animation vs. comics, approaches to writing as a freelancer, and some of their most influential films as creators.
Camera Man's campaign is live until Thursday, July 18th.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Andrew, Xander, thank you for joining me today. First, Xander, can you give us the premise of Camera Man and origins behind the project?
XANDER ARNOT: Camera Man tells the story of a future where filmmakers are few and far between, ousted in favor of AI-generated mass-produced content. In a daring move, famous Director Loric plans to reinvent the industry by utilizing a human film crew for the first time in decades. The catch? The cinematic content is filmed live.
Issue 1 introduces us to Cameron Maddox, the chosen “Camera Man” in his first day on the job. Cam and the rest of Immortal Studios’ new production crew must travel to alien planets and use their extraordinary abilities to capture the next great superhero blockbuster!
The idea for Camera Man started as a simple sketch on my lunch break in my first year of college back in 2017. Years later, and with much more experience under my belt, I decided to revisit the project and explore my love for the filmmaking process through the lens of a coming-of-age superhero story.
CBY: Andrew, when did Xander bring you into the project? And did you approach scripting this story differently from your other creator-owned projects?
ANDREW LEAMON: Xander reached out to me over a Twitter DM after already creating the characters and the world. He was looking for someone with my experience to flesh out the plot and script the first issue. It was and is such a huge honor that he trusted me to collaborate with him on his long-time passion project, especially at an early enough period that allowed us to have awesome discussions about the story and the characters.
And to answer your second question, I'd say yes and no. Up until now, I've only had short comics of mine published, so I have been so excited to dive more into character arcs and plotting in ways I couldn't with my previous stories. Since this is the first issue, we are setting the status quo for our characters, which means thinking about where we see the story going for everyone. Having Xander there as both a collaborator and as the primary author is so freeing in ways I never imagined. It's easier to overthink when it's your idea and done on your own time. I've been able to start trusting myself and the process.
"...we talked about it on a daily basis: shooting story ideas back and forth and speculating about the future of these characters. I’m so proud of the work that’s gone into this story, and I think our work together on Camera Man is an incredibly strong start."
CBY: How would you describe your creative process together?
AL: Every one of my past collaborations has looked different, which I love because the comic is that conversation between the writer and artist. That said, my process with Xander has been a daily conversation. We talk about the book and the story every day. Even though this is HIS story, he's been incredibly open to my ideas and thoughts, including on the art. It’s not always easy to bring another writer with opinions on board, but this has been so much fun to work on. Xander is currently putting the finishing touches on the last couple of pages before Nathan works their magic.
XA: For almost a year I’d been hitting a brick wall with Issue 1. I had several outlines and unfinished drafts, but none had the right balance I was looking for.
It became abundantly clear that I needed the help of a skilled writer - someone who was familiar with the medium of comics that understood how to tell a good story. Andrew perfectly fit that bill. Day one, I gave him the series bible, packed with characters, locations, overarching themes, and I was shocked at how quickly he soaked it up!
As Issue #1 was coming together, we talked about it on a daily basis; shooting story ideas back and forth and speculating about the future of these characters. I’m so proud of the work that’s gone into this story, and I think our work together on Camera Man is an incredibly strong start. I’ve been so grateful to Andrew, Claire, and Nathan for bringing their best to the table for every step in development.
CBY: Xander, you also have a successful YouTube channel with Ben 10 fan animations (Ben 10: One Last Time) Can you tell us how you approach animating a story vs. illustrating a comic page?
XA: I enjoy both animation and comics so much, for different reasons of course. Animation gives you full control as the storyteller. The visuals, sound, and the scene pacing are all such powerful tools to communicate the story. Before working on Camera Man, I’ve sometimes taken for granted how effectively comics do this in their own way, with colors, page breaks, panel composition, and lettering.
Depicting action is a perfect example. Rather than dozens of frames of animation to convey a single motion, a comic artist must choose an impactful line of action that guides the eye through the page and engages the reader.
As a total side note, I’ve never liked when comic adaptations of animated shows just use screencaps instead of art that fits the medium. It feels flat, and low effort. However, turning a comic page into an animated motion comic, can still feel very dynamic! Taking the strengths of both formats and combining them. I’d like to explore that more in the future.
CBY: Camera Man’s Kickstarter campaign also features a number of variant covers, including one from George Kambadais. How’d you guys get George involved in the project? Was there a particular concept you wanted to explore with the variant covers?
XA: We were months into working on Camera Man #1, when I stumbled upon George Kambadais’ dynamic drawings of Spider-Man on Twitter. I was instantly struck by his unique colors, composition, and rendering. (I’m a sucker for a good Spider-Man piece.) Over the next few weeks more of his drawings would show up on my feed, and I thought it’d be great to see his take on Camera Man. I finally bookmarked his work, shared it with Andrew, and knew that if we ended up doing variant covers for Issue #1 I’d ask him if he had any availability. I’m so glad it worked out - the final piece looks incredible.
As for variant covers, I’d never been someone to collect them, so I knew the covers for Camera Man had to add real value for a collector. I pulled inspiration from real movie posters (such as the infamous “floating head” MCU poster) and even tried to immerse myself in the universe and imagine what film advertising might look like in Cameron’s world.
AL: I don’t remember when exactly, but we had talked about wanting to do variant covers. I have been pretty outspoken in the past against variant covers, as often they don't sell the story and instead treat the comic book as an “art object” for collectors. But Xander and I saw an opportunity to sell the story and, in a way, continue it through variant covers. The comic story itself is the behind-the-scenes drama of a superhero origin film, BlueStar. So we came up with the idea to have one of the variants be the “in-universe” promotional theatrical poster of BlueStar. Beyond that, we've got a cover paying homage to the first Iron Man movies.
I remember randomly stumbling across George Kambadais’ absolutely stellar Spider-Man illustrations on Instagram and thinking how awesome it would be to have him do something for Camera Man. Then Xander randomly asks me what I think of his art as he had the exact same idea I did. Thankfully, George was able to fit it in his schedule, and it more than lived up to my expectations. He's worked for DC, IDW and others for a good reason.
CBY: To round out Camera Man’s creative team, you brought on collaborators Nathan Kempf as letterer and Claire Napier as editor, without spoiling anything, can you share a story where one or both creators put their stamp on a particular page or moment of the first issue?
XA: This was my first time working with such a robust team of comic professionals! A huge thanks to Andrew for pointing me toward the right folks for the job. In fact, he recommended I bring on Claire Napier as editor. She offered great insight on the script, ensuring its strongest ideas came through with clarity, and made sure we can follow Cam’s thoughts throughout the story. For art, she gave me some great feedback when I sent her early thumbnail sketches, encouraging me to reframe certain panels to make them more rewarding for the reader. Nathan Kempf was recommended to me by fellow-letterer Lucas Gattoni, and was brought onboard as letterer before the Kickstarter campaign launched, His work, combined with Andrew’s writing really brings every page together. He very clearly understands how to seamlessly integrate the text in a way that compliments the art style, and puts the reader right in the story. Very grateful for everyone’s contribution to bringing this story to life!
AL: Thanks for bringing them up! I was so excited to work with Claire again, and this was my first time working with Nathan and they were both an absolute pleasure. For Claire, there are so many things I can attribute to her help and support. In fact, one moment in the comic I can attribute to her is actually in the preview pages on our Kickstarter page. I initially had the moment of a young Cam falling in love with movies for the first time in silence. But Claire, as she does brilliantly, loves to gently challenge her creative teams. She asked for me to take another whack at it. From there, I came up with the idea to follow the young Cam's thoughts and to see him first decide his life's dream to become a filmmaker. This is who he's making movies for at the end of the day. I always love an opportunity to add heart to a scene and I credit Claire with helping me bring more heart and clarity to my scripts.
CBY: How would you describe your first experience with Kickstarter? Is there anything you've learned and will incorporate into future campaigns?
XA: There was a certain level of confidence when we decided to fund this book with a Kickstarter, knowing how much work had gone into making it, and knowing the real value being brought to the table. But nothing will prepare you for the feeling of spending months building a product and finally putting it out there for the world to see! Nerve-wracking to say the least!
Thankfully, Andrew had so much experience with the Kickstarter platform and was prepared to help make this page as strong as it could possibly be. I’m really proud of our work on the page, and a huge shoutout is due to Andrew’s strong network of comic creators who gave us feedback on the page leading up to launch.
This will be my first time completing a comic at this scale, so I’m excited to finally get a physical book in hand as well as ship it out to all of the backers. It’s great to see there’s a real desire for stories like this and definitely helps me to feel confident about launching future projects on the platform.
AL: I’ve been terrified of doing this for so long, but it's honestly been an amazing experience. I've had the chance to chat with so many fellow Kickstarter comic creators, buddies and peers like Kyle Higgins, Wells Thompson, Eric Palicki, Kristian Herrera, Stokes, Lesly Julien, Fend, Joe Corallo, you of course, and so many others I'm currently blanking on at ECCC and C2E2 about running campaigns and tips and tricks. I am eternally grateful for their thoughts and time. I think the thing I will definitely take into future campaigns is pricing. Your goal is only as achievable as your prices. And I'm particularly proud of the price points that Xander ultimately went with.
CBY: Is there anything you can tease for future issues of the series?
XA: This first issue serves as a great introduction to the Immortal Studios production crew, and the difficult task they have ahead of them to not only make these unconventional films, but to save the film industry as a whole. Future issues will dive into challenges they face on the industry side, and on the production side. What is audience reception like? What are the drawbacks of making films this way? Will it work in the long run?
Andrew and I have spent months talking about future issues and I’m super excited to see where the adventure leads!
CBY: Given the subject matter of Camera Man, what are some of the most influential films on both of you as creators?
XA: Growing up in the 2000’s, some of my favorite movies were major blockbuster trilogies! Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, the Star Wars original and prequel trilogies, and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. While not all perfect by any means, I could write an essay about each of these and the reasons they had an impact on me, but it comes down to a few things: characters, worldbuilding, and the lengths that the creative teams went to in order to deliver entertaining stories. Not to mention the adjacent games, toys, etc. that consumed so many kids my age back then. The DVD releases for these movies were jam-packed with behind the scenes bonus features that I’ll treasure forever. Those pre-social media Saturday mornings soaking up content like that undoubtedly served as a huge inspiration for my work and greatly motivated me to pursue a career in entertainment. I hope it translates!
AL: Oh, that's such a loaded question for me. In terms of a film FOR creators, I think immediately of Orson Welles’ F for Fake. It's a masterclass in perception, deception and manipulation – three things every storyteller needs to have. In terms of my most influential film in general, it's going to be The Truman Show. It has everything I love about storytelling and continues to live inside me since I saw it as a kid. As for this comic, you can feel the love that Xander and I have for the Spider-Verse films in this.
CBY: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring creatives, what would it be?
XA: Find your inspirations and study what makes those works connect for you. Then, find what inspired those works, and study them. Tell a story that resonates with you, make mistakes, have fun, take breaks, but always keep moving forward!
AL: Xander nailed it! I don't remember how I answered this before, but I'm going to suggest something different… Be honest. I believe that the best stories are honest and speak to something personal. That means writing from a place of vulnerability. To speak in superhero story terms, don't be afraid to put yourself in the heroes and villains and sometimes even the hot dog vendor on the sidewalk who is just trying to get through their workday without a multiversal crisis event. Storytelling is a practice of empathy, so always be willing to challenge yourself. Stay true to the person you are and the person you are becoming. When I say to be honest I also mean to regularly check in with yourself. Why are you creating? What do you want to say? Why is it important for you to say this? You will have burnout and tough days ahead and remembering those answers will get you through it all.
CBY: Where can people find both of you on social media?
XA: You can find me on YouTube and Instagram as XanderFlicks, and on TikTok and Twitter as Xander Arnot, find me there to find out what I’m working on next!
AL: Despite my better judgment, I keep adding more social media apps to my life. I’m on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, Hive, and Cara as @aleams. I'm on TikTok as a bunch of letters and numbers that I can't remember right now. You can also find me on BlueSky as @aleams.bsky.social. I'm also on Letterboxd as fourth_world. Folks are trying to get me to start a newsletter, so I might do that. Anyway, I've got some awesome stuff in the works that I'm excited to discuss in the coming months, so follow me on everything to stay updated.
CBY: Andrew, Xander thank you so much for your time!
XA: It’s my pleasure. Thank you so much for having us. I hope you’ll enjoy Camera Man!
The positive influence and impact of this blog on its readers is truly commendable. blob opera