Being an independent comic book publisher is tough. It can be even more trying when doing it with your significant other. Going against the old adage of not sharing your work life with the one you love, Barbra and Bryant Dillon are a husband and wife duo who started and run Fanbase Press with a mutual love for comics and a joy of bringing together a community of like-minded creators.
Fanbase Press published original graphic novels and they also serve as an online hub for reviews, interviews and podcast relating to all things comic books a pop culture. I spoke with Barbra Dillon about Fanbase Press and their newest release Hero Hotel.
Eddie: We’ve run in to each other several times at different conventions and Fanbase Press has become a familiar part of most shows. How long has Fanbase been around and how did it start?
Barbra: It is always a pleasure to chat with you, Eddie, and thanks for taking the time to highlight Fanbase Press! We have been operating for almost seven years now. We began the company (then called Fanboy Comics) in 2010 by publishing the graphic novel, Something Animal, while also being mindful that we needed to build an audience. We felt that publishing graphic novels and providing support for other creatives of all entertainment meetings were of equal importance to us, so we began generating interviews, reviews, and podcasts with other creators during the production process of Something Animal. We have continued this model to this day, as we want to emphasize our mission to provide support and empowerment for all creators, as well as our vision for a more inclusive, positive, and equitable creative community.
E: You run Fanbase with your husband Bryant. I can relate to this since I manage Hi De Ho Comics alongside my wife Kristen and it can be challenging at times. What are some of the challenges you face running Fanbase with your partner and how have you overcome them?
B: I’m really grateful to be able to work with Bryant on Fanbase Press. We work really well together, and it’s wonderful to be able to discuss work whenever is convenient - even if that means that we may be at the grocery store or driving in the car. That being said, we have had to work hard to ensure that we separate our work lives and our personal lives. Because we love working together, it can be very easy to get wrapped up in Fanbase Press work, so maintaining a work-life balance is our biggest challenge. To that end, we have a specific place set up in our apartment where we discuss and complete Fanbase Press work, so that we are physically separating our work space from our living space.
E: I’ve also had the pleasure of being a guest on the Fanbase podcast, The Fanbase Weekly. Fanbase is so much more besides a publisher. How do you manage to juggle so many components?
B: As Fanbase Press grows, we are fortunate to be able to take on new ventures with the help of our incredible staff and contributors. There are Fanbase Press members all over the country offering various levels of assistance, including our recently recruited Editorials Manager, Michele Brittany, who has been leading our editorials initiative with great success. Additionally, Bryant and I are constantly assessing and reassessing all of our content to ensure that everything is running smoothly and effectively. We like to be conscious of providing quality content at all times while also ensuring that our staff and contributors are enjoying their working experience and feeling supported in their work.
E: Your newest release is Hero Hotel, an all-ages superhero comedy written and illustrated by Yehudi Mercado. How did this project come to Fanbase Press?
B: We have known Yehudi for a few years, and he mentioned last year at a convention that he had a new project that he wanted to discuss with us. We loved the idea immediately and had an opening in our 2016 publishing slate, so we jumped at the chance to work with him! Yehudi is a wonderfully talented creator, and we were honored to not only work with him, but also all of the amazing guest creators that he brought to the project, including Megan Levens (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spell on Wheels), Geoffrey Golden and Amanda Meadows (Devastator Press), and Tone Rodriguez (Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror), just to name a few. For a full list of the guest creators, be sure to visit www.HeroHotelComic.com.
If you’d like to check out Hero Hotel for yourself, you can meet its creator as well as the Fanbase crew at their appearance at Hi De Comics on Sunday Jan. 22 at 3:30 p.m.
