Looking Back: 2007 Part 4 (of 4)

Respect the Dead

This is my action/zombie/horror/detective story, written for Coco -- I mean, Ramon Sierra -- and featuring one of the greatest pieces I have ever seen from him. This is the story that I wrote for Coco to make up for all of the minor human tragedies that he illustrated. I'm incredibly grateful to know Coco, for his friendship, his kindness and his generosity, and all that he has inspired and brought out in my writings. He is one of the people for which Hana would not have existed without -- someone who has more than welcomed my strangest ideas.

Respect the Dead is one of the stories I'm most proud of. It was one of my first stories to actually have a beginning, a middle and an end, for one thing. It also introduced locations, chains and characters that have become staples of my absurdist universe: places like the Very Convenience Variety Mart and Toothpick Street, and characters such as the Battler.

John Wilkins composed and performed the theme song for the story, which helped inspire the soundtrack concept for Radar.

The Battler

This is the big budget, over-the-top sequel to Respect the Dead, starring one of Coco's favourite characters from that story. This story is just insane fun: it is essentially a collection of fight scenes between the Battler and zombie versions of the various vigilantes. Coco created a series of badass comic book covers for each part. I feel this story was overshadowed by the first volume of Hana, as it was published on the site in the middle of Hana's serialisation. So, everyone, please check it out ! It's the story for the 13-year-old boy in all of us.