All eyes on Gerimi Burleigh

"Eye of the Gods" by Gerimi Burleigh

Gerimi Burleigh is moving into the digital and print world of publishing with his new graphic novel, "Eye of the Gods." Burleigh, a Los Angeles based writer/artist, has produced a story of scientific intrigue and murder.

Burleigh sat down with Examiner.com to talk about "Eye of the Gods," his influences and his publishing strategy.

Examiner.com: You recently completed your first graphic novel. Give us the elevator pitch.

Gerimi Burleigh: “Eye of the Gods” is a 144 page black and white psychological thriller about a man who is cursed with the ability of remote viewing.It combines the high tension paranoia of “Enemy of the State” with the foreboding chill of “The Dead Zone.”

Sean Black, an artist, has a surgery to clone his eyeballs and replace his existing ones with the clones, restoring his failing vision. After the operation, he has a "dream" about a murder, only to discover that it really happened… But the death isn't being reported as a murder. When his curiosity gets the best of him, he uncovers a conspiracy and sets off a chain of events that unravel his life.…in a nutshell.

Examiner.com: What's your publishing plan?

Gerimi Burleigh: In this first year, I'm self-distributing, mainly through my website and at comic conventions. I'm also running the book as a webcomic online @ http://optichouse.com. I want to build up as much of an audience and awareness about it as possible before approaching retailers. Hopefully retailers will be more willing to take a chance on an independent book from an unknown creator if they're… well, slightly less unknown.

I also want to be closer to completing my next comic project, so I can say… "ok, here's my first graphic novel and I will have a new comic coming out "x" months from now." Even if it's a year away, I'd want to let them know that I don't plan on putting out just one book and disappearing. I DO have to budget my time carefully because I have a dayjob is as a product/packaging designer for a toy company. I've only got so many hours in the day and can't put out comics as quickly as I'd like.

Examiner.com: How's it going publishing your book 10 pages at a time? Are you finding it's working as viable publishing strategy?

Gerimi Burleigh: I always knew I wanted to make the book available as a webcomic. Many webcomics run for a year or two and then once they've amassed enough strips, they put out a collection. I had two thought processes in mind: 1) I didn't want to get partway through the story and have periodic update breaks due to life/work obligations… that kills the readership like Jonestown Kool-Aid. 2) Completing the book BEFORE lauching the webcomic allows me to to use each update as an opportunity to promote the print edition. Since it's not an ongoing story, readers might not be as compelled to return to the site once the story is completed… at least until I launch a new webcomic… Which segues into…

Examiner.com: What you're working on next?

Gerimi Burleigh: My next comic book will be a collection of short stories. I have another book-length graphic novel outlined already, but I'm not quite psychologically ready to dive back into such a long-form commitment just yet. I learned so much from completeing this first book that I want a chance to play around, experiment, and push my boundaries a bit. I still feel that I have a ton to learn about storytelling, from both a writing and drawing standpoint. I think it will be less jarring to see variations across multiple stories. I'm still choosing which stories will be in the collection, but they mostly have a horror/supernatural slant to them.

For something more all-ages friendly, I recently contributed to the Comic Artist Guild anthology “Iconic.” The book features reinterpretations of myths, folklore, and public domain literary characters. I illustrated "John Henry: America’s First Superhero."

Examiner.com: Are seeing an increase in readers as you go along your 10 pages at-a-time publishing rate? Are you worried this will hurt your overall sales?

Gerimi Burleigh: Actually, I'm only putting up 5 pages a week, but yes, each week I'm seeing a gradual increase in readers… But I'm also seeing a (smaller) gradual increase in book sales. It's entirely possible that the more of the story people read and the more they become engaged with the characters, the more willing they are to drop some coin on it.

Also, I have a sketch edition I'm selling through my website. The book normally cost $10.95 + Shipping, but for $20.95, I draw an original sketch on the inside cover. I mean, I'm a big fan of Robert Kirkman's "Invincible," but what if I were reading it online for free. I might not have much incentive to pay for the trade when it comes out, however, if it came with an original Ryan Ottley sketch inside, the book itself becomes a unique one-of-a-kind art object. Now, I'm no Ryan Ottley, but maybe a reader will value having that piece of artwork inside a story that they read online and enjoyed.

There is the possibility that the sales may plateau or decrease once the entire book is online, but that's the beauty of the internet. I don't have to have the comic online forever. Maybe when my next comic begins to serialize, I might only have the first half of "Eye of the Gods" online, or certain scenes. I'm not that worried about the horse already being let out of the barn because there's only three kinds of readers. The ones who bought the book, the ones that would buy it if they knew about it, and the ones that were never going to pay for it anyway. If someone was never going to pay for it anyway, they might still read it and recommend it to someone who will buy the book.

For the rest, if the ENTIRE book is no longer available online, either they already bought a copy or they're interested enough that they will buy one. What's most important to me right now is to get someone to try a new comic they've never heard of, even if it's online for free. The story is genuinely entertaining and worth a reader's time, but in an industry flooded with so many talented creative voices, it's an epic battle. Maybe someone will read this comic and not buy it, but remember it when my next book comes out and they'll pick that one up.

Mind you, I'm no marketing expert. I'm figuring self-publishing out as I go along. I estimate it will require me publishing 2-3 graphic novels with minimal financial return before I build up enough readership that that I can start to make some sort of money doing comics. Everyone knows that this is the wrong gig to get into if you're looking to get rich. My goal (far off, it may be) is simply to be able to support myself doing something I love.

Examiner.com: In your book, I thought it was interesting how you decided to portray Sean's eyesight to the reader. What kind of art or design training do you have? Are you self-taught?

Gerimi Burleigh: Thank you. It took some trial and error before I found a look for Sean's "visions" that I was happy with. That's all Photoshop work. I do have a formal art education background. I have a BFA from UCLA, however, most of my focus there was painting. They don't really have an illustration program and I was a bit of an odd duck because the curriculum was geared toward the formal art gallery scene. There was more emphasis on the concepts behind the art, than on technique. Great for brainstorming and creativity, but I don't think I really started to learn how to draw until I started taking classes in the animation department.

After graduation, began taking jobs in graphic/web design and animation, because that's what was available. I consider myself a fairly competent designer, but most of what I know I was taught by art directors I worked under, picked up from co-workers, or just figured it out on the job. A couple of years ago, I started taking life drawing classes regularly and it's made a huge difference in my artistic growth. Prior to that, in high school and throughout college, I generally avoided life drawing because I simply wasn't good at it. I could draw things out of my head that looked cool (to me at least), and generally received a positive response from my peers, so why struggle with something that I found frustrating and gave me disappointing results?

I didn't begin to change until I had the epiphany that I'd spend a large chunk of my life thinking of myself as an artist, but didn't really know how to draw very well. It took time, but I slowly began to love life drawing. Even when drawings don't come out the way I want them to (which is most of the time), I no longer get frustrated. Each bad drawing is a learning opportunity. I can analyze it, figure out what I did wrong, and experiment with other ways of expressing the volumes and shapes I'm trying to convey until I find something that works. In the past, I wouldn't even have realized that I was doing something wrong. Being active about learning is key. If your kneecaps always look funny from a certain angle, it's never going to change, no matter how many you draw… unless you take the time to analyze what you're doing, flip though a bunch of anatomy books, make sketches of the anatomical concepts in your head and compare them to the life models, books, skeletons, if you can get a hold of one. I'm incredibly fascinated about learning these days. Each time I discover something I didn't know I was doing wrong, it's like figuring out an answer in the "New York Times" crossword puzzle.

Examiner.com: What are you reading these days?

Gerimi Burleigh: [Comicwise] I pretty much stick to trades these days. I’m reading “Bone: The Complete One Volume” by Jeff Smith; “Black Hole” Charles Burnes; “Kabuki: The Alchemy” by David Mack; “Earthboy Jacobus” by Doug TenNapel’ “Invincible: Volume 10” by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Ottley; and “Cosmic Odyssey” by Jim Starlin and Mike Mignola.
In prose, “The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Vol.ume 1 byArthur Conan Doyle and “From The Shadows” by Robert Gates.

Examiner.com: Who are your illustrative influences?

Gerimi Burleigh: Bill Sienkiewicz, Walt Simonson, John Byrne, Ashley Wood, David Mack, Brian Stelfreeze, Egon Schiele, Gustave Klimt, Gustave Dore, H.R. Giger, Dave McKean, Kent Williams and Kyle Baker.

Sienkiewicz is probably the most significant because my tastes are all over the map, but he brought together the best from a variety of mediums/styles in so many innovative ways. “Elektra: Assassin” and “Stray Tosters” were life changing reads for me. His influence isn't particularly representative in my current style because forced myself to take a step back from hyper-expressionistic painting/mixed-media. I found it was getting in the way of exploring basic draftsmanship and anatomy. As I become more confident in my draftsmanship, I will probably start doing more painted and experimental work.

Examiner.com: What are you listening to these days?

Gerimi Burleigh: Lots of podcasts while I draw: Art and Story, Comic Geek Speak, Sidebar Nation, Dafixer's Hideout, and Fanboy Radio.

When I write, I like having instrumental or classical music on like “The Fountain” soundtrack by Clint Mansel; “One Cello x 16: Natoma” by Zoe Keating; “Black Triage” by Teargas & Plateglass; and “…And Their Refinement Of The Decline” by the Stars of The Lid. “Untitled” by Sigur Ros - it's got lyrics, but I can't understand what the hell they're saying anyway; “Ghosts I-IV” by Nine Inch Nails; “Passion” by Peter Gabriel; and “Kind of Blue” by Miles Davis.

I've found I can listen to Radiohead when I'm doing almost anything or in any mood. A new musical favorite of mine is Blk Jks (Black Jacks) and A Hope For a Golden Summer.

Examiner.com: What advice can you give someone who's putting out their own book these days? What was the hardest lesson?

Gerimi Burleigh: Work quickly… I wish I had done a graphic novel a year for five years, instead of laboring on one book for five years. I feel like I would be so much farther ahead, in terms of knowledge about the craft.

Study business. Creatives tend not to be interested in business, sales, and marketing, but the ugly truth is that it's the only way you will ever earn the economic control to do whatever you want. Economic freedom = Creative freedom. Otherwise, you'll always be working to satisfy the whims of others. Note: I'm NOT saying don't do work-for-hire or enter contracts with publishers. Just understand the business ramifications of your creative decisions and tailor your choices to move you closer to your goals, whatever they may be. I still have a ton to learn about business. I'd rather be drawing, but sometimes you gotta do your homework.

Read Larry Young's “True Facts: Comics' Righteous Anger." The landscape is changing so rapidly that the book is probably due for an update, but it's extremely inspiring and will get you in the entrepreneurial mindset that one needs for self-publishing.
Ask questions about art, about business, whatever. Ask on online forums, ask face-to-face at conventions, ask the people around you. The world is full of information on how to deal with anything that stands in your way. It just takes a hell of a lot of time to sort through and process it all. Sometimes the hardest part is finding the right question to ask.

The hardest lesson to learn is that you're going to make mistakes. No mater how well-prepared or advised. In all likelihood, somewhere along the way, you will screw up royally and want to gouge your eyes out anguish. Do not let fear of making mistakes paralyze you! Accept that it will happen and try to learn from them when they do.

Examiner.com: Thanks, Gerimi.