A Q&A with Dreamwalker creator Jenni Gregory.
by Matt Osterberg

CC: How did you originally get involved with comic writing? Did you used to read comics as a kid?

JG: I NEVER read, never looked at, never picked up, nor had any interest in comics until Barry introduced me to them about 6 years ago. He wanted to work in comics and I thought that sounded kinda fun. I've always loved art (art studio was one of my seven {or was it eight?} majors in college), and I thought comics might be something that I'd like to try.

CC: So, in all reality you never knew anything much about comics? So why did you do something like Dreamwalker? Also, who IS Barry?

JG: The last question's answer explain everything. Barry is my husband of 7 years. He is the reason I got into comics and the force behind Dreamwalker. It's kinda funny, when we first got married, I'd go into comic shops with him an he'd get kinda flustered with me. I didn't know the "etiquette" of putting comics back in the protective bags, and more often than not, I got the tape stuck to the cover of the comic I was looking at. I didn't think it was such a big deal--but I've learned. I also didn't understand why people got so upset when you are holding the comic book with the pages folded under like you do when you are reading a magazine. I've gotten much better at that now. I can honestly say that I never would have inked a comic, never read, let alone pick a comic, and certainly there would be no Dreamwalker without Barry's support, encouragement, and insight.

On Dreamwalker Barry is responsible for many things. He helps me hatch out the stories and then works closely with me on the dialogue, making sure everything sounds right. He's credited in the book with "story assist" because that's all he'll accept. Sometimes, he's closer to a co-writer though. He also colors my covers. It's fun to see how he takes the art I give him and makes it come alive. As for why I do something like Dreamwalker ... well, because it is a story I love through and through. It's a story I feel really strongly about and have more fun with than I ever thought possible.

CC: What is DreamWalker all about? Could you give me a brief summary?

JG: I always have trouble with this question. I've tried to boil it all down to one concise sentence that tells the potential reader everything that they need to know. But it just doesn't work. Given that, the protagonist of DreamWalker is a 20-something, young woman named Karen Brinson. One day she realizes that she has the ability to project herself into other people's dreams. At first she has trouble accepting this, and tries to prove to herself that it isn't really happening. As time goes by however, she comes to the realization that either she really is "dreamwalking" or else she's losing her mind. I've heard a lot of people refer to it as a "fantasy" story and while I certainly don't want to argue with people who are enjoying the series, I've always thought of DreamWalker as science fiction. There are no "magical elements" per se in the story. Karen's day-to-day world is strongly grounded in reality.

Most of the story arcs revolve around Karen's relationships with her friends, neighbors, and co-workers. All the "weird" and "fantastic" things happen in the dreams that Karen visits, and I'd like to think that the dreamwalking and such is somewhere out there on the far realm of scientifically possible (maybe far, far out there ... and I said "possible" not "probable"). Sorry if that wasn't very brief.

CC: How did she first become a "Dreamwalker" as you call it? Is it one of those freak incidents involving radiation or does it just start "happening"?

JG: Ahh, I can't tell you that. That's something that we get into in the first issue of the Tapestry series. I'd be ruining it if I told you. I can tell you that there is definitely no radiation involved and she is NOT a mutant.

CC: Where did you get the ideas for DreamWalker? Is it based on a friend of yours?

JG: I do use people (friends, relatives, total strangers) for the book. Certain characters are based on people I know. In the story, Cori (Karen's friend) is based on my best friend from college. Cori was one of the funniest, friendliest people I knew. I wanted to use her as a balance for Karen. I also used Barry in issue 3 of DW. He is the minister who presides over Mathew's funeral.

But the vast majority of the story is entirely fictional. I had been working in comics as a freelance inker for about 2 years and I was just getting tired of the whole thing ... working for other companies, not getting paid in some cases, and most importantly to me, not enjoying what I was doing. All the comics I worked on were super-hero books. Most of them I never even read while I was working on them -- there was nothing in them to appeal to me. I decided it was time to do something on my own. I wanted to develop a story that I would enjoy reading. I came up with the title "DreamWalker" even before I had a story. At first I had only two things I was sure of. I knew I wanted my main character to be an interesting, realistic female and I knew that there would be NO capes or tights. I wanted to do a book that would appeal to female readers, but not a book that would appeal ONLY to female readers. It's impossible to work in comics and not be very aware of the male/female reader demographics. I've tried to keep the appeal of the story as gender neutral (as well as age neutral) as possible. Barry and I bounced ideas off each other for a few weeks and then at some point the story just appeared. I don't know how else to say it. It's evolved a little bit, but for the most part the story just sprang to life fully realized in our brainstorming sessions.

CC: Why did you do the work if you sometimes you weren't getting paid? Do you enjoy the work THAT much?

JG: The problem is that you don't know beforehand that you're going to get stiffed. You accept the job, do the work, turn in a bill and then wait for the check. Most of the time it comes. But every freelance I know has a horror story. It's a REAL problem in this industry. You try to get the word around about who pays and who doesn't, but there are always people who want to work in comics so badly that they'll take their chances on a publisher with a bad reputation.

CC: Can you briefly list some of the other jobs you have done in comics as a whole?

JG: My first job was back in '93 for a company called Dagger. The first book I inked was called "Mavericks". Then I worked on another Dagger book titled Scorpion Corps. Next I worked for Kirk Lindo at Brainstorm Comics, again as an inker. I also inked a lot of backgrounds on comics published by just about every company out there ... Marvel, Malibu, Valiant, Image, Dark Horse. Since I didn't get listed in the credits, I'd put my name on buildings or my initials in computer keyboards -- that was kinda fun. Sneaky, but fun.

CC: What are some of your favorite comics, past or present?

JG: I've really only read comics done within the last 2 or 3 years and almost all of them are "small press" titles. Books I really like are: Rob Bihun's "The Hoon," David Lapham's "Stray Bullets," Terry Moore's "Strangers in Paradise," Randy Reynaldo's "Adventure Strip Digest," Terry Collins and Bill Neville's "The Explorers," Mike Meyer and Rich Johnston's "X-Flies," Mark Crilley's "Akiko," Ken Harrison's "StevieBear," Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo," Marcus Lusk's "Tales from the Bog," Batton Lash's "Wolff and Byrd," Andrew Ford's "RIB," Budd Root's "CaveWoman," and Greg Hyland's "Lethargic Lad."

CC: Have you ever tried any Batman, Superman, Spiderman, etc., that has NOT been printed in the last five years? If you haven't you should, they have some GREAT stuff.

JG: I tried. I really did. But 30 years of "continuity" makes it very hard for a new reader. Do you know how aggravating it can be to reach a plot point and find a little editorial box saying "see Spiderman 124" or some other book that was published 15 years ago? The big mainstream publishers have so pigeonholed themselves as to make it virtually impossible to attract new readers. I did read "The Watchmen" and "Dark Knight Returns" and a few other stand alone comics available in TPBs.

CC: What are the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing?

JG: In all honesty, I LOVED self-publishing, even the drudge work like packing boxes and filing invoices and running back and forth to the printer's or to the post office or to UPS. To me it was all fun. Barry and I never expected it to be easy so the difficulties we had (financial, low orders, long hours) were pretty much anticipated. We developed our "DreamWalker Survival plan" -- get the book out no matter what the orders, hope for the best and plan for the worst. I had heard how overwhelming the business aspect of self-publishing was and I was really apprehensive about that. While it was tough at times, it wasn't really as hard as I had expected. The total freedom is the big advantage. You get to do exactly what you want to do the way you want to do it without any editor standing of your shoulder second guessing you.

The big disadvantage is what I call the "credibility gap." Established publishers with whom most retailers are familiar have a certain credibility with those retailers. The retailers have some idea of what to expect when they do business with that publisher. They are banking on that publisher's credibility. It can be a little different with self-publishers. Sometimes an established professional creator will move into the self-publishing realm and in most cases that creator's name and reputation will fill in the credibility gap, but for self-publishers like me who were completely unknown there's this enormous canyon-like credibility gap. No one knew what to expect, no one knew if the book was going to be any good, if it was going to come out on time, etc. The retailers who did support DreamWalker were taking a real risk and I understand that. I think for most of them that risk has more than paid off. I have only anecdotal evidence to support this, but I am told that DreamWalker has a very high sell through rate. That, along with the critical praise and the loyal following DW has amassed, has helped fill in the credibility gap somewhat, but I still think it's quite a problem.

CC: I hear you are moving to a sub-company of Caliber. Are you excited about this? What is the Caliber sub-company called, and what other titles are currently planned?

JG: I couldn't be happier or more excited about DreamWalker moving to Caliber's new Tapestry line. There are some absolutely wonderful books in this line. Going back to your last question, one of the reasons I'm so excited about the whole Caliber/Tapestry thing is that because of Caliber's hands-off editorial stance I still have all the creative freedom I did as a self-publisher -- I put my whole comic together, send it to them, and they publish it -- and because Caliber is an established company with a solid reputation for quality and professionalism DreamWalker will (hopefully) share some of the credibility they have built up over the years with retailers. As for some of the other titles in the line ... I have to tell you that this was the thing more than anything else that convinced me to join Tapestry. When I heard about the rest of the lineup I was genuinely flattered to have DreamWalker included in such a group. Many of them are titles I mentioned earlier among my favorites, Robb Bihun's "The Hoon", Collins and Neville's "The Explorers as well as Scott Roberts' "Patty Cake", Gary and Rhoda Shipman's "Pakkins' Land", Steve Stegelin's "Boondoggle", Jimmy Gownley's "Shades of Gray". Then there's a book called "DragonWing and Sparrow" and "Trollords" which you may remember from the late 80s. It's a really, really strong lineup.

CC: If you like self-publishing so much why are you moving to Caliber? Is it BECAUSE of the credibility gap?

JG: Partly. I think that if a few circumstances were reversed Dreamwalker Press could probably have weathered the storm and in time the credibility gap would have been overcome. But like it or not we are living in interesting times in the comics industry. There's a new world order that has been imposed on us. I don't know how long Dreamwalker Press could have survived in the current climate. But even so, that's not the main reason I moved Dreawalker to Caliber/Tapestry. I signed with them before Diamond swallowed up Capital City. The simple answer is that Caliber's offer was just too good to turn down. They have the resources to promote Dreamwalker in ways that I couldn't. And I also really like Tapestry, and I don't mean just because it's an all ages line although I think that's a great thing, too. What I really like about Tapestry is the comics in the actual lineup. I think they're all great and I'm really happy, and flattered, to have Dreamwalker be a part of it.

CC: After the move are you still going to have complete ownership rights?

JG: Absolutely. That's one of the great things about Caliber. They really respect the rights of creators. I retain ALL the ancillary rights. They earn their money by promoting and publishing the books.

CC: Why did you decide to join a company? Are you hoping to get a larger audience?

JG: They approached me. I had never even considered the possibility of taking DreamWalker to another publisher. But they were nice folks and I listened to their proposal. I ultimately decided that their offer was just too good to turn down. The stability they could provide in this really topsy-turvy market was a strong persuader. I like to think of Caliber as my patron -- they are doing the advertising, getting the word out about DW, and will be handling all of the business, while I turn my full attention to doing the best book I can do. And, yes, I'm definitely hoping to reach a larger audience.

CC: If this doesn't go over well enough, do you think you would go back to self-publishing or would you look for another company to house you?

JG: I really hope that Caliber is pleased with DW. I have been so happy with the promotion and enthusiasm they have been generating for DW. I plan to be with them for as long as they want me around.

CC: Why did you decide to do black and white comics? When you join Caliber are the comics still going to be black and white or are they going to get colored?

JG: I happen to really like black and white comics. Most of my favorite comics are black and white. I expect DreamWalker will always be a black and white comic.

CC: What is it, exactly, that you enjoy so much? Is it all the extra details you can put in without coloring [getting] in the way? If not that, then what?

JG: There are so many things I like about black and white. My favorite being the strong contrasts you can create. It's like watching film noir. It's neat watching the strong light and dark on faces in the settings. One of my all-time favorite movies is Jean Cocteau's, "Beauty and the Beast". I love to watch it and see how the light plays on different surfaces. I also like classic Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers movies for the same reason. I think sometimes color can get in the way of a story.

CC: Did you get any help from friends or relatives at printing, writing, drawing the comic?

JG: Barry and I funded the whole DreamWalker series all on our own -- which was quite tough at times. Sometimes scraping up the money for the printer was very difficult especially since my orders were at times so low. We'd have to take the money from our freelance jobs (my inking and Barry's coloring) and pretty much devote all of it to DW. As for the writing and drawing, that was all mine. Barry did alot to help keep me on track.

CC: Have you ever gone to a comic con? How did it go?

JG: A few. Before I started publishing it was fun but there really didn't seem to be a purpose to it. Since I've put DW out, going to cons is alot more fun. I get to meet the people who read the book, and we get to meet the creators of books we really enjoy.

CC: Has going to comic cons gotten you more fans when they just happen to wander over to your booth? What is your main purpose for going to the conventions?

JG: Yes. I'll just be sitting at the table doodling or have some books out and people will come over to see what I'm doing. We start to talk, I tell them a little about the story, and then (hopefully) they buy the comics. I think it makes a big difference to your success if you are accessible to people. We didn't get to go to as many conventions as we wanted this year but, hopefully, in '97, we can do more. The more places you go to promote your book, the better.

CC: What are your plans for the future of DreamWalker?

JG: I never thought I would enjoy doing this as much as I do. Almost every day it's really hard to leave the studio to go home. I'm getting more comfortable with my art, my story, where everything is going. I plan on putting DW out for quite a while to come.

CC: So, do you think when the fun is gone from the comic it's time to quit, or maybe just move on to a new comic? If you ever do get tired of doing DW do you have plans for another possible comic to work on?

JG: I think it all comes down to direction. Do you know where you're going with the story? Do you have an ending in mind or are you just rambling? I think the creators who are just rambling are the ones more likely to end up in "the- thrill-is-gone" land. DW will end. Barry and I plotted the ending at the same time we plotted the first story. Not to worry, the ending is still QUITE a ways off. I've been working exclusively on DW for over a year now and if anything I am MORE excited about DW than ever before. I've got some other stories I'd like to tell someday, but that's down the road a ways. DW will be occupying my attention for the foreseeable future.

CC: As a final word, what advice can you give to aspiring comic writers/artists?

JG: Read, write and draw everyday. There will be days you'll get discouraged, days when your "muse" seems to have deserted you for greener pastures, but keep at it. The longer you go without writing or drawing the harder it is to come back to. And remember, this is comics, it's supposed to be fun.

Jenni Gregory can be reached at:
301 Humble Ave., Ste 130
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
http://www.netdoor.com/com/inferno/dw/drmwlker.html
JenGregory@juno.com