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Interview with Adventures of Ernie writer Vince Hernandez

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Writer Vince Hernandez helped create an acitvity comic book for fans to enjoy for Halloween ComicFest! Learn more about the book in addition to some of Vince's memories and plans regarding our favorite time of year, Halloween!

HCF: What can we expect to see in terms of story and art in your Halloween ComicFest title?
Vince Hernandez (VH):
"This year, we wanted to try something different and unique for the readers, so we decided to produce a one-of-a-kind coloring book! Fathom: The Adventures of Ernie the Seahorse will capture everything that’s wonderful about Aspen characters, but in an entirely new format. We felt a coloring book would play perfectly with the fun and interactive nature of Halloween, and this book will have plenty of activities to keep young and loyal readers busy."

HCF: What is your favorite part about your comic?Article Image
VH: "For me, it was getting the chance to collaborate with Agnes Garbowska, a close friend and brilliant artist. As readers will hopefully come to discover, her art combines an amazing youthful and comedic style that is the perfect fit for a book like this. It was easy to sit down and write this knowing that her vision would come alive on the page."

HCF: Tell HCF fans why they should pick up your comic first during the event.
VH: "I think our book offers a fun alternative to the standard comic book format—which I love, of course—but for Halloween it’s always fun to tap into your inner child! This book will offer both a new Aspen narrative featuring several of our leading ladies (including Aspen Matthews, Grace from Soulfire, Lola, and more) and a variety of activities for our younger readers. Hopefully, fans will find the best of both worlds with this book."

HCF: What is your favorite Halloween memory?
VH: "For several years we used to dress Aspen’s Director of Design and Production Mark Roslan in the silliest outfits we could find for a grown man and march him out into suburbia. I remember Pikachu and Beast Boy in particular. Unfortunately, maturity and marriage have ended this era for Roslan, but we still have the memories—and several pictures in the vault."

HCF: What has been your worst and best Halloween costume?
VH: "I honestly don’t know if I can ever truly proclaim one outfit as the “best,” perhaps only the best of the worst! My Halloween attire will never win any awards for originality. One particular outfit involved just a ski mask and black jumpsuit. Not sure why I wasn’t arrested for that one."

HCF: What is a Halloween tradition you have?
VH: "Sadly, I can’t say I have a tradition I’ve consistently maintained for Halloween, except for maybe a general lack of business and/or any serious matters taking place as much as I might try. Unfortunately, where I live there just aren’t too many trick or treaters that come knocking on my door, so unless I move to a better neighborhood I doubt much will change this year."

HCF: What are you going to do for Halloween?
VH: "Hmm, as of this writing I haven’t confirmed yet, but I can guarantee I will have a chocolate, candy-induced hangover the next day."

HCF: What other titles would you associate with your HCF book? “If a comic readers likes____, they should pick up my title?”
VH: "Once readers jump into the coloring book, they’ll discover that we reference quite a few of Aspen’s most popular titles and characters, such as Michael Turner’s Fathom, Soulfire, and Siya Oum’s Lola XOXO, so hopefully they’ll be much more inclined to check out whichever book strikes a chord with them. Of course, the main character Ernie has been a very sacred character in the Fathom Universe for some time, so hopefully fans will be interested in reading more about that world as well."Article Image

HCF: Do you have any favorite Halloween, Monster or Horror themed comics?
VH: "Well, actually, the very first comic title that I ever purchased as a kid was the old EC Comics Tales From The Crypt series that used to be produced in an oversized format in the late eighties. My parents would take us to Hi-De-Ho Comics in Santa Monica and I used to always come home with one of those. I still have several of them, so I suppose the horror theme stuck!"

HCF: Are there any comics that you are looking forward to getting on HCF or in the near future?
VH: "I’m excited to see all of the offerings from the different participating publishers. As a creator, it’s always fun to find inspiration in the great new titles I find on this holiday, and Free Comic Book Day!"

HCF: Any teasers about upcoming books or who you might be working with next?
VH: "In stores right now you can still purchase my new series, Damsels in Excess, a fairy tale adventure series I created with art by Mirka Andolfo and Simone Di Meo. I also have two new series, Lola XOXO: The Wasteland Madam with creator Siya Oum and Dellec: Volume 2 with my co-creator and writer Frank Mastromauro with art by Pasquale Qualano, coming out in 2015. I also continue to oversee all Aspen titles such as Michael Turner’s Fathom and Soulfire, Lola XOXO, The ZooHunters and more!


To see more of Vince's work, follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Get the Adventures of Ernie at your local participating comic shop on Saturday, October 25th!
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