SHANNON ERIC DENTON ON ACES

[MattBrady]

by Ian Brill

When it comes to The Red Baron and comics most fans will either think of Snoopy or a brand of frozen pizza they can eat while reading their latest stack of Wednesday purchases. But Shannon Eric Denton is has created a new graphic novel that takes the legend of the feared World War I pilot and creates a tale that is part war story, part spy story, part buddy movie. Written with G. Willow Wilson (CAIRO) and art provided by Curtis Square-Briggs, ACES from AiT/Planet Lar starts with two men, both who think they shot down The Red Baron, and from there crafts a whole new adventure. We spoke with Denton about the book.

Newsarama: Rather then ask you the very dry "where did the idea come from" let me expand the question and ask you what is it about The Red Baron that is so damn fascinating?

Shannon Eric Denton: Almost everything. I have have always been fascinated by people who rise above and beyond the expectations of what a person is capable of. Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the Red Baron, was the most successful flying ace of World War I, being officially credited with 80 confirmed air combat victories. Richthofen was a member of an aristocratic family with many famous relatives so I always find it fascinating when people of privilege give that lifestyle up for these lives of adventure or for service to a good other than themselves. He was genius fighter pilot at the dawn of that era of flight. Not only was he a skilled pilot but he was also known to be a man of integrity. He did what his country asked of him but he was also known to show mercy in the skies and really lived up to that old time ideal of honor amongst fellow soldiers, even if sometimes they were the enemy. He also fought Snoopy. So I guess our story takes a bit of that stereotyped Red Baron and mixes it with the real person and hopefully we come up with an intriguing character in the process.

NRAMA: Four a project like this is research an integral part of crafting this story?

SD: It is because our story takes what you know as a jumping off point and then puts our spin on it. We aren't beholden to the reality but we did exploit reality for our story.

NRAMA: When you mention putting your own spin on things that really made me think of the ending of the main story. I don't want to give anything away but there is definitely a shift towards speculative fiction at the end. Why did you decide to take such a dramatic turn in the story?

SD: The ending always needs a dramatic turn! But seriously we have all kinds of stuff slowly happening throughout so hopefully the ending isn't seen as drastic but a an exciting progression of the subtle stuff we were dropping throughout the story. It's that Sixth Sense approach where stuff hopefully all comes crashing home in a cool and exiting way.

NRAMA: We've talked about the Red Baron but the book actually follows Frank and Heath, American and British pilots respectively, each who think they shot down the Baron. Why the choice to have these men, who develop a bond out of their sense of competition with each other, rather than just focus on one main character?
SD: Essentially our book is a buddy comedy in an adventure setting. I loved the Lethal Weapon franchise and Ross Lamanna's Rush Hour was great also. I wanted ACES to have that same kind of feel...I just chose to not make it a contemporary setting.

NRAMA: Because of the realties of who fought in WWI many of the stories of that war don't feature female characters in any role outside of love interest. But you have Wolf 1, one of the shady characters that represent the espionage side of the story. What inspired her?

SD: I'm a big fan of strong characters. I loved Ripley in Aliens and a big part of why she's such an amazing character is she's just a strong character, regardless of whether she's female. Willow did a great job of taking this character and really giving her a strong place in the story and a believability. I loved Willow's Cairo when I first read it years ago and can't wait to check out her upcoming book Air. Collaborating on this book with her has been great.

NRAMA: That's something I wanted to ask you about. The credits say you created Aces but the book is written by you and Wilson. When did she come into the fold?

SD: The incredible G. Willow Wilson (author of Cairo and the upcoming Air) started as an intern with us at Komikwerks. She told me she wanted to be a writer. I read her work and told her she was already a writer…her stuff was great! I had the story and characters for Aces and felt like teaming up with her would be a great way to get this thing to print sooner. There are only so many hours in the day for all the projects I'd like to do and I enjoy the collaboration so it was an easy choice to bring her onboard.

NRAMA: While we're on the subject of collaborators how did you end up working with Curtis Square-Briggs, the artist on the book?

SD: The esteemed Curtis Square-Gibbs (now working on Yo Gabba Gabba) met us online when we went looking for an artist and here we are. Hopefully everyone enjoys the book as much as we did making it.

NRAMA: It's no secret that AiT/Planet Lar is a company that likes high concept book. How did you pitch Aces to grand poobah Larry Young?

SD: Larry and I have a lot of the same loves…baseball, astronauts, whisky, etc. so I naturally assumed he'd also like ww1 era adventure tales with the ghost of the Red Baron jetting around and luckily I was right! Our booths were next to each other at SDCC, I pitched him the story, and here we are. The experience has been so enjoyable. I've actually got another upcoming book with AiT but with co-writer Christopher Long on board!

NRAMA: And as we finish up this interview I have to ask what's next for Shannon Denton? I know you have The World of Quest on Kids WB. Any more comics for us to expect?

SD: Lots of stuff will be coming out over this next year as my artists wrap up their books. Should be fun. Producing and writing on World of Quest is a blast. I'm hoping that Dimension makes Giffen's and my 10 into a movie. I sold a few other movies that should be announced soon and I'm busy editing Chuck for Wildstorm as well as a ton of other cool Wildstorm projects coming up. And feel free to MySpace me at www.myspace.com/actionopolis or check out shannondenton.com for all the updates.

[Jason Seaver]

Is this just the stuff that appeared in Negative Burn, or has more been added?

[EMeadow]

Please tell me there's a beagle cameo somewhere in the book.

Would be perfect.

[Blackbeard]

I look forward to checking this out. I loves me some WW1-WW2 books.

[Not From Around]

Sounds like the sort of adventure yarn that's right up Shannon Denton and company's alley! The art looks pretty impressive.

[Aaron Sowd]

Congrats buddy! Will working at Wildstorm slow you down or will you release twice as many books this year?