KAKOSA interviews Arnold Arre

KAKOSA interviews Arnold Arre
interview by Bosyo

http://www.kakosa.com/interview_aarre20021003.shtml

Arnold Arre does it again, covering new ground with his latest graphic novel "After Eden". Instead of populating his comic books with ridiculously dressed superheroes in tights he opts for the equally absurd life of Pinoy geeks in love.


KAKOSA: How much of this book is autobiographical?

Arnold: Hard to tell. I can say that most of the scenes were inspired by personal experiences. Some are from stories I heard from friends. But the book's message is really my own take on the subject of love & friendship. Sex and innocence. When you're writing a love or romance story there's this tendency to take a side. A writer usually spoon feeds the audience with his or her personal views and opinions (yes, I'm guilty of that too), not that it's wrong or anything, but the result is almost always the same - the main characters rule the story while the minor characters end up as either the comic relief, the forgotten confidante, or worse, second banana. If you can relate to the major characters then you got your money's worth. But what if you can't? What if you find injustice in the way the story handled the supporting cast of whom you relate to more? With "After Eden" The biggest challenge was that I didn't know how it was going to end! I avoided all that and came up with a story where there are no main characters. For me, love has so many interesting facets that it would be a shame to focus on one and ignore the rest. There are as many views on relationships as there are people on earth.

KAKOSA: From concept to finish what are the stages in writing a comic book like this? What challenges did you face in coming out with "After Eden" in particular?

Arnold: I usually come up with an outline before fleshing out the details of the story (plot, scenes, dialogue etc.). That's S.O.P., but in the case of "After Eden" I only did that up to chapter 3. The biggest challenge was that I didn't know how it was going to end! I had several endings, mostly sad endings and didn't know what to do with them (a love story is very difficult to write, believe me!). If it was going to be a sad ending it had to be in relation to the message I was trying to convey and, most importantly, it must be for a very very good reason and not the cheap "oh well, that's life" kind of route. On the other hand, a happy ending requires believability and should have enough conviction to gain the approval of even the most jaded of readers. Anyway, the book is finished so it's now up to the reader to decide whether I pulled it off or not.

KAKOSA: Your comic books have probably the most mature audience in the local scene. Do you plan to concentrate on stories like these for your next comic books?

Arnold: I believe so. I'm taking a break from fantasy and action adventure for the time being. There are enough comic books out there that deal with the subject so I guess they've got that side covered. :)

KAKOSA: You've got a great website for "After Eden" with a lot downloadable goodies? Any plans for merchandise based on any of your comic books? What's next for Arnold Arre and Cynthia Bauzon?

Arnold: Cynthia did a fantastic job on the site :) She asked me what I wanted for it and told her I'll be happy with a simple 'souvenir site'. The end result surpassed my expectations, as you can see. She never fails to amaze me :)

I'm still convincing her to do a children's comic book - ala 'scary godmother' or 'courageous princess' hehehe. I'll be helping with the illustrations.

KAKOSA: What are your wishes for the Pinoy conic book industry?

Arnold: More artists and writers, more stories, more books, more groups or companies, more diversity and, of course, more readers :)

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