Corrissa Grant talks about her Horror Comics.
It was recently my pleasure to interview the very talented Corissa Grant about her work in comics. Before we dived into her stories she was kind enough to share a few details about herself. Her fans may like to know that her favourite film is Nightmare on elm street 3, "First saw it when I was 6" she explained. Which in itself may explain a lot!
She also added her favourite meal is pizza even with pineapple on it, so she is already cool in my book, and that she has 4 cats!
Paul: As a comic creator could you please tell me the first comic you recall buying? Where was it from and what did it mean to you?
Corissa: The first comic I remember buying is Ghost Rider #8 in the 90's. It was in Bethel CT at a small comic book store. I loved it! I bought the graphic novel to cover 1-7 and started collecting every month. I still have them all.
Paul: Your choice of Ghost Rider is telling, did that influence your choice to create stories more towards the horror end of the spectrum? Were there any movies or TV show that may potentially have had a similar influence upon you?
Corissa: I’m not sure if Ghost Rider influenced me or not to be honest. Probably had something to do with it, as I have always loved horror since I was six. That’s when I saw Nightmare on elm 3, dream warriors, and that definitely had an influence! That’s probably what drew me to Ghost Rider. The thing that really did it though was Resident Evil 2, the original game. I was obsessed with playing it, and it’s the reason I started writing in the first place.
Paul: There may potentially be people that read our interview that are not familiar with your work. How would you like to be described? Would you say you have a style?
Corissa: It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Supernatural, in the town of Silent Hill, within the world of Resident Evil, with Good Omens and Evil Dead thrown in! Our style is a little unique because the two main characters are written by two completely different people. I write everything for Seraphina, the Angel descendant, and my co-writer writes everything for Draven, the demon descendant.
Paul: How difficult did you find it to get published? After all most writers and artists have a few rejection letters in a drawer somewhere.
Corissa: I’m self-published. I pay out of pocket for everything, and do Kickstarters in hopes of getting some of it back.
Paul: I apologise, I was just really asking if you had submitted much work to established publishers before starting to self publish? Writers require a thick skin sometimes to handle a few rejections before they are a success.
Corissa: Oh lol sorry. Yes I did but they wouldn't read my proposals because the story had 50 issues already written.
Paul: Could you tell me about your very first successful Kickstarter project please?
Corissa: My first kickstarter I had no idea what I was going, and no idea how to promote it so I only got $899 and 35 backers, all friends and family. Second was 2,800 and 75 backers, my best was 5k and 150 backers.
Paul: That is pretty impressive. How many Kickstarters have you done now?
Corissa: I am currently on my 12th Kickstarter right now. I do about 6-8 a year.
Paul: Could you tell me about a couple of your Kickstarters.? Perhaps the two Kickstarters you a proudest of please? How many have you done?
Corissa: As of today, I have done 11 Kickstarters in only a year in a half.
Paul: Do you attend a lot of convention and travel a great deal?
Corissa: I had my first guest spot at a horror con today, and next june 2025 I will be at the Nashville comic con.
Paul: What are you plans through 2024 to 2025?
Corissa: Our new plan is working on a new series though it’s technically a prequel, and it takes place in the wild west 1880's, where they get hunted by Angels and demons, while hunting hybrids, like vampires, Wendigo, jersey devils, wampus cat, etc. plus a few we created.
Paul: To end an interview I like to ask a couple of random questions. If you were a vampire who is the first person you would like to bite?
Corissa: If I was a vampire who would I bite!?
Paul: For pain or pleasure?
Corissa: Probably my husband because he is the closest to me!
Paul: If you could pick any superpower what would it be and why?
Corrissa: Only superpower I ever wanted was Teleportation so I can zap to cons, or visit people in seconds.
Paul: Wonderful, Thank you for your time.