"...the reality is we couldn't have done this the way we have, in any other medium." - Dysart

Here is part two of our interview with Josh Dysart on the Unknown Soldier, in which he talks about his future with Vertigo and a few noted insecurities about his highly acclaimed graphic novel.

the Unseen Eye: What I definitely want to say is that your comic should have won over Invincible Iron Man.

Josh: You know, I never read Invincible Iron Man; it could be an absolute work of genius.

UE: I thought it was good… but it was standard. I thought your comic was more innovative in it’s approach, and as you pointed out, very different in regards to what comics can do and what comics can be.

Josh: I will say this in defense of comics: I’ve received a lot of emails since the cancellation about ‘what’s wrong with comic book readers?’ that they can’t support this book or ‘what’s wrong with the market?’ … but the reality is, we couldn’t have done this the way we have in any other medium. A film wouldn’t support this, Hollywood certainly or even the low budget films aren’t going to be successful they tell a 90 minute story about a guy running around in bandages and killing children. And their certainly not going to get a T.V show out of it. You could possibly pull off a novel but nobody would read it because… nobody reads anymore. I really feel like comics is the only place this could have existed. And the fact that we pulled this off for two years, I think it’s a victory.

UE: In many  interviews prior to this, you are very concerned with ‘not messing this up’, which we saw in  your blog posts as well. And recently you wrote that because of the education level of the audience this appeals to, you were hoping they wouldn’t “call your bullshit”. What causes this hesitance?

Josh: Well, I’ll tell you this: it’s because I operate completely and solely from a place of fear and doubt in everything in my life. *laughs* No, I think that we were dealing with a very big subject and there was a lot for me to learn and a lot for me to comment on. I’ve been nervous to this day about it…  and you obviously picked up this on due to my incessant references to it. I think there are a lot of people in this world who are specialists on this region and the Acholi people. There was a big potential for me to get a lot wrong.

“When we set out on this book, that’s what I told my editor right off the bat. I said, ‘there’s a huge, huge chance that we’re going to really, really fuck this up.“

And I worked really hard not to do that. But if I can just be real personal and honest, it speaks to self doubt.

I’m a self educated person. I’m a high school drop-out, and suddenly I’m going and talking to colleges about this stuff. There’s insecurity there.   And so that manifests itself, even more so when I take on a really ambitious project where I’ve got to sit around and intellectualize pulp all day like this kind of book  demands.

UE: Do you see yourself ever doing a similar approach with Vertigo again? Or do you think you’ll be pursuing other interests?

Josh: Man, I don’t know what to do next. I just wrote an email to my editor, Pornsak… which is his actual name … I wrote an email yesterday about a pitch called ‘Stan’ which is supposed to be a Tartuffe-esque satire about an oil billionaire who is stuck in this dance around the Caspian Sea and has this religious experience, going on a Buddha-like journey. A man who is single-handedly responsible for 303 million dollars in fines and anti-trust laws and 104 oil spills in 2 years… and I thought it could be really funny. That would have definitely taken me back down this path of Unknown Solider. Although it would have been different because I would finally have taken the advice of Billy Wilder who said, “If you’ve got to tell the truth, you’ve got to make it funny or they’ll kill ya.”

But he wasn’t as responsive to that. So it’s going to be interesting to see what my next move with Vertigo is. One part of me really wants to do something fun and something I can write while I’m high.  But this is a real aspect of my character; there is a reason why Unknown Soldier is the book that…. well, I’ve been working for ten years and even though Unknown Solider is getting canceled, this is the book that really has broken me out and has unanimous acclaim. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a review of it that wasn’t impressed with the work and I think it’s because this is my real voice.

So it’s going to be interesting to see what comes next. From Vertigo, no matter what, it’s going to be something intelligent because Vertigo is the only place that lets me access that aspect of my character. Now we’ve just have to figure out a way to make that more commercially viable. But you’ll probably see a span of projects designed soley to pay my rent next. So don’t judge me.

UE: You made me think of T. Boone Pickins when you were talking about your character Stan.

Josh: Nice! Well, we’re both from Texas, T. Boone and I.

UE: But now California?

Josh: I escaped Texas.

And that’s it for Part 2 of our Josh Dysart Interview on the Unknown Soldier.

 Coming Soon! Part 3.

Have any comments about this interview or thoughts to share about the Unknown Soldier? Leave them below!

Related posts:

1. Josh Dysart Talks about Unknown Soldier: Interview Part One
2. Unknown Soldier is Put to Rest
3. Reviewing Unknown Soldier Volume 1