Kickstarter: Pariah Missouri’s Andres Salazar
Written by: Gary M. Kenny, CC2K Comics Editor
Pariah Missouri is a five book series by Andres Salazar and Jose Pescador. The year is 1857, the place is Pariah, Missouri. “A riverboat boom-town and haven for the unscrupulous. The charismatic and foppish cheat, Hiram Buchanan is an undercover spy who creates a rag-tag team to ferret out evil, both an underground crime syndicate and the supernatural.” It’s not your typical western, now is it?
Pariah Missouri is a spooky unique western and it’s starting to get a bit of recognition. I mean it has been funded two separate times by Kickstarter (Book 1 and just recently Book 2). There are still some time left to be part of this sale. Go to www.PariahMissouri.com which links to their Kickstarter page and check out this great title.
We recently got to meet with PM’s Andres Salazar and talk a little bit about the series. Plus what it is like working with a crowd funding website:
CC2K: Hi Andres, thank you for taking some time with us. I’m a big DC Comics: Jonah Hex fan, so I felt that Pariah Missouri was right down my alley. I have read that you aimed Pariah Missouri to be “part Huckleberry Finn part Twin Peaks,” so at first glance, i thought PM was a pre-Civil War Americana type coming of age story wrapped with voodoo, little people and murder. Having read just the preview of Pariah Missouri Book One I know I’m partially off. However, what intrigued me most from the preview was the mystical story element taking place inside this early Midwestern time and genre. What made you choose this setting?
AS: I grew up in Arkansas and have loved the mid-south. I have great, fond memories of it and the people there. I wanted to change the classic western formula and have it set in the American frontier and not in the plains, so Missouri was the place to make it. I have been to Missouri many times for my research and found out more about the religious and mystical aspects to the land there and wanted my story set there. I also want it to be pre-Civil War because I want to explore the issues of slavery and a border state and how that impacts a new society.
CC2K: Going back to the part Huck Finn part Twin Peaks reference, in both of these stories there is one common interest and that is the setting. Your title alone: Pariah Missouri tells the reader that the location is bigger then the story. Why is that? Why choose that?
AS: Pariah IS the story. Yes Hiram will be seen as the lead role for Book 1 and Nellie for book 2 and Toro for book 3, etc, but the main location is the main character, just like Baltimore is for the show the WIRE. I can’t go into why that is yet, until you read Book 2, there are some major spoilers about the town. I love ensemble stories so it’s more than about a certain character or group of characters. There will be people that come in and out of the story, and of course people die in Pariah, so don’t get too attached.
CC2K: Sounds fantastic! With so much going on and so many characters to write and draw, what is the process like for making these books (a five part series)? Since you do the writing, the inking and the coloring, while Jose Pescador is the artist, does this type of teamwork make it harder to finish the books or easier?
AS: It is quicker and slower. He can draw quicker than I can, so using Jose’s amazing talents helps, but also I am only one of the many projects that Jose is doing, so there are times that I am waiting for pencils. I think we could be faster, but it’s all about priority, and I am moving these stories as fast as my partner can go. He is a great guy and very agreeable, I love collaborating with him.
CC2K: We are big Kickstarter fans here at CC2K, why did you choose them? I have heard stories that even when you are fully funded sometimes it’s even harder not to take a loss or break even with Kickstarter. Have you had any issues or has this been a smooth blessing? Any tips?
AS: Kickstarter is awesome, I love crowd funding and I have backed a ton of projects. Tips would be to account for all the production and shipping before launching. It’s getting harder I think because so many people are using it, and while it’s more well known, people have been burned by it and sometimes the quality of a project is a concern and brings everyone down.
Thanks to Andres Salazar for taking some time with us. We are huge fans of original comic work and it’s great that this series has been getting lots of recognition. Please stop by Pariah Missouri’s Kickstarter page and Like their page on Facebook. Also tell your local comic shop to pick up this great title.