Crawford Coutts of Insomnia Publications
So who are you then and what do you do?
I’m Crawford Coutts, the Editor and Publisher of Insomnia Publications
What have you done that we might recognize?
Daemon (illustration and covers, in my former life as a “comic artist”)
Edited and Published Layer Zero Anthology Volumes One, Two and, soon to be released, TPB
What have you done that we might not know about?
Edited and Published Cages, written by Xander Benner, illustrated by Melanie Cook, with cover by Jonathan Hickman and foreword by Ben Templesmith. Due out (fingers crossed, with the kind people at Diamond Distributions blessing) in July 2008.
What are you working on now that we should look out for?
Cancertown, written by Cy “Starship Troopers” Dethan, pencilled and inked by astounding new talent Stephen Downey, colored by the fantastic Melanie Cook and lettered by awesome Nic Wilkinson.
Several other products which I can’t name at the present time – sorry!
What piece of work are you most proud of and why?
That’s a very tough question. I can’t pin it down to one piece of work. It’s such an amazing experience and privilege to work with such talented, creative and exciting people… and they’re great fun too which is an added bonus!
if I could buy only one thing you have worked on what should it be?
Cages no, Layer Zero TPB, no Cages (shouldn’t be releasing both at the same time, dammit!)
Here we go… Cancertown (once you own your copies of Cages and LZ of course) ;-p
What book would you have been proud to have worked on and why?
Batman - Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth.
Working with Grant Morrison and Dave McKean to put my favourite character into a brilliant plotline with McKeans illustration; producing such a gorgeous book would have been an amazing experience.
If you could work on any book / character in comics what would it be and why?
Batman – he’s the Dark Knight don’t you know.
Who would you most like to collaborate with on an original story with and why?
I would like to put Ben Templesmith and Cy Dethan together to see what more weird ideas they could come up with together. Although, to be honest, it would probably be just something only the two of them could understand…
If you were allowed only five comics (does not have to be single issues a run counts as one) on a desert island (like Lost) what would they be?
Have we met the “others” yet as they’ve got a book club and obviously access to a library or amazon? If not:
•Cancertown (obviously – as it won’t be finished until the end of this year),
•Wildcats (the book that sparked my interest in comics),
•30 Days of Night (inspired by the quality of single issues and books by IDW and such a different art style),
•Swallow (Art collection with Ashley Wood – inspired everytime I flick through it)
•Girls, book 4 as I’ve not finished the series yet!
Do you have a website / blog where we can find out more?
The new and improved www.insomniapublications.com
If you were a sandwich what would your filling be?
Bacon, brie, cranberry, lettuce, tomato with olives (how’s that for being pretentious!)
Chocolate or Chips?
Chips (curly fries if that counts)
Judge Dredd or Batman?
Batman
What word do you think is underused
Dilapidated (everything is simplified so much now days; to buggered, f***ed and you can never tell if it’s a good thing or not. Dilapidated – you know it’s not good!)
If you could be granted one superpower which would you chose?
The ability to grow money trees in a very short space of time (emphasis on the short space of times… money trees exist… don’t they…?)
Save the world or rule the galaxy?
Rule the galaxy so you can “save” the cheer leader, then you can save the world.
What is your ultimate “who’d win” in comics?
Marvel vs Insomnia (ha!)
If you could be involved in telling a story featuring any two characters who would they be?
Batman and Emo Spiderman – a battle to the death… you know who’d win but I’d just love to see Spidey with his emo fringe getting his ass kicked over 120pages of gore!
What is the best and worst thing about working in comics?
Best thing: the people in the industry are amazing, the stories are diverse, and it’s living the dream…
Money trees do exist… they must…
Will you forward this to someone you know who works in comics. And who if so who is it likely to be?
Nic – she wants to read it to check I’ve put enough praise in it for Cancertown before it’s sent on to Manny!
[edit by CatFang : Never mind that, Ben Templesmith wrote the intro to Cages, Insomnia’s newest book, so I am on a campaign to get Crawford to get a questionnaire out of him!]
Any words of wisdom before you go?
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Layer Zero TPB
Release Date: 30 Apr 2008
Author: Various | Illustrator: Various | Cover Art By: Paul Cartwright
With over 30 creators involved; including some famous names in the industry including Simon “Cy” Dethan, Paul Green and Thomas Mauer (Starship Troopers) along with talents such as Paul Cartwright, Alasdair Duncan, Luke Hinchley, Mike Webster, Robert Robinson, Thommy Melanson and many more; and diverse creative styles on themes of Insomnia and Time, Layer Zero TPB combines volumes one and two of the critically acclaimed Layer Zero series. 120 pages full color.
