1. How did Dead to Rights come about as a graphic novel?
Mike Kennedy: The graphic novel is based on the video game from Namco, which takes its own inspiration from over-the-top noire-flavored action movies and comic books. Aside from gritty Hong Kong action films like Hard Boiled, The Killer, and Full Contact, the game drew some spirit from pulpy crime comics like Sin City, The Punisher, and 100 Bullets. It seemed only natural that this game, which has the big-show body-count and tough-guy style of a graphic novel, be explored in the same fashion and format as well.
2. How is the book related to the game?
MK: The game follows the story of K9 cop Jack Slate, who in the first level discovers his father's murdered body and goes on a vengeful search for answers that leads to his wrongful arrest for murder. He is sent to prison, where he must escape his scheduled execution and launch his campaign to find his father's killers. What he discovers while on the lam is a twisted tale of corruption and greed, providing a ton of two-fisted, gun-toting, fire-fight action gaming.
As the book isn't interactive, it offered a chance to tell a story with a little more nuance and controlled narrative pacing. The storyline in the book parallels key events in the game from the perspective of an undercover cop working within one of the Grant City crime syndicates. The situations in this plot are self-contained, but certain events tie directly into plot points that unfold in the game. It isn't required that you know what happens in the game, nor is it required that you read the comic to play the game, but the two stories support each other in a way that should make each one feel that much deeper and more complex. Certain secondary characters cross through both parallel storylines and shed additional light on events not evident in the other product. Questions from one might be answered in the other, etc.
3. What was your involvement with the game, and how did that help in writing the book?
MK: I joined the development team about halfway through the initial design, so my contribution to the story was mostly in adapting the characters and events that had been written by Andre Emerson (the Producer) and the original team into the mission structure of the game. At that point, I oversaw the production of narrative elements -- voice-over recording, CG movies, in-game story sequences, etc. This still left a good year-and-a-half of production time to become intimately familiar with the characters and world, so we had lots of time to imagine other details and situations that would have been cool to explore. When the discussion of doing a comic book came up, it seemed the most logical choice to develop it in-house with someone who already knew the world and events pretty thoroughly. And since I had some credits in the comic book field already, it helped justify the decision even further.
4. There are some fantastic artists featured in the book. How did they get involved?
MK: The gritty tone and grimy atmosphere of the game drew a lot of inspiration from the works of Frank Miller, Tim Bradstreet, Eduardo Risso, and countless others. Tim was the first choice for doing the cover, and had already done a couple of promotional pieces for the game (which are included in the book). His Punisher and Hellblazer covers perfectly matched the style we were hoping to exist within, and he really seemed to dig the whole thing.
As far as the interiors, I can't fully convey how lucky we were to get Francisco Paronzini on board. He's an amazing talent living in Argentina, and I believe this is his first published work in the US. I have a feeling he'll be swamped with jobs after this. His layouts and composition style is amazing - he's one of the most dynamic visual story-tellers on the scene. Combined with Randy Emberlin's inks and Dan Brown's colors, it turned out sharp and moody, in a murky, pulpy way.
And then to get the likes of Ryan Sook, Chris Bachalo, and Lenil Yu to contribute pinups... we really scored big time. Besides being hot talents at the top of the game, they're apparently players, too. We asked them to offer their take on the Dead to Rights world (game or book), and they came up with some great stuff.
5. The book also includes a supplemental section of concept art from the game. What can you tell us about that material?
MK: The art staff on Dead to Rights included some amazingly talented artists. Our primary conceptual artists, Hoang Nguyen and Khari Evans, created a wealth of sketches and drawings while developing the look and feel of Grant City and its primary characters. Hoang had spent several years in the comics industry, drawing books like Punisher: War Zone and Alien Legion, and he brought those same sensibilities and skills to bear as Lead Artist on Dead to Rights. The supplemental section in this book offers players and readers a glimpse at some of the wonderful artwork they created while fleshing out the details of the game.
6. When did you get started in the video game industry? How did that lead to writing comics?
MK: I've been in video game development for nearly 11 years, as an artist and animator. I started out doing sprite work for Macintosh games in the early 90's, and over the years graduated to larger projects at larger companies with more input and involvement in the direction of the designs. Dead to Rights is probably the best game I've worked on, and the team definitely contained the most impressive group of talents.
The comic writing actually came completely separate from the day job as animator. I've always written stories for my own entertainment, and have read comics since forever, attending conventions and whatnot on a fairly regular basis, hanging out with friends who happened to be in the industry. Then at ComicCon several years back, Chris Warner asked if I was interested in doing some writing for Dark Horse, and that was the proverbial that. I did a few issues of Ghost with him, which led to more issues of Ghost, then Ghost/Batgirl, Star Wars, and most recently Lone Wolf 2100. I'm not sure if the day job as an animator had any influence on my work as a writer, but I can safely say that my work as a writer has certainly affected how I approach the day job directing video game development.
7. What can those who play the game take from reading the book, and vice versa?
MK: Grant City is a big place, and the universe of Dead to Rights has a lot of room for a lot of awesome stories. Sorta like what the Wachowski brothers have done with The Matrix in opening their world up to other visual interpretations, this book offers a glimpse at Dead to Rights universe from the viewpoint of some of comics' hottest artistic talent. Game players will see sides of recognizable characters from a slightly different perspective in this book, which will further explain some of the mysteries and motivations of the game. Likewise, the book tries to capture the tough-as-nails attitude and pulp-noire atmosphere of the game. If you like the story and action in the book, you'll love acting them out yourself in the game! This is just the beginning of what could become a fabulous franchise.
Dead to Rights, a 64-page one-shot written by Mike Kennedy and illustrated by Francisco Paronzini and Randy Emberlin will be available in comics shops October 23. The book also features pin-ups by Tim Bradstreet, Ryan Sook, Chris Bachalo, and Lenil Yu as well as concept art from the Namco game.