insider look of the Man who is 'The Sharman'
 
1) What was the first comic you remember reading? and what about it struck you the most?

Well, technically that would be the Beano, as my Grandad used to buy it for me every week. As I got older that progressed to Look-In, like a lot of people my age. The defining comic moment, though, would be when I discovered the Marvel UK reprints of Secret Wars and that introduced me to the Marvel Universe. I was struck by this incredible world that was populated by so many fascinating characters. I seem to recall that one of the first issues I read also included a reprint of the story where Piotr Rasputin breaks up with Kitty Pryde (the fool!). Not only were these characters fantastic and amazing but they were also very real. I think that's something that's stuck with me ever since, that even though the characters in your story might have amazing powers and go to incredible places and do unbelievable things...at the end of the day they need to be real people, with real feelings and emotions, who react in very real ways.
 
2) What is your favourite story/arc?

Without a doubt it's Armour Wars from Iron Man. You can't beat a good Layton/Michelinie issue of Iron Man and those were the best.
 
3) Given the opportunity to work with any writer or artist, whom would it be?

Any writer? That would be Scott Lobdell. I loved his run on X-Men and he's also a great guy and an old friend. I've read rumours that this dream of mine might be coming true. I, of course, couldn't possibly comment on that. As for artists, it would have to be Travis Charest. His illustrative skills are simply inhuman. Seeing one of my stories brought to life by him would be incredible.
 
4) What is the driving force/idea behind Eleventh Hour?

It simply started as a way for me and Pete (Rogers, co-founder of Orang Utan Comics Studio) to get our writing out there. We'd both had a number of stories approved for publication elsewhere that had failed to see print through no fault of our own. Often circumstances would change at the eleventh hour and so the stories never made it out there, and so when we collected them together, "Eleventh Hour" seemed the obvious choice for the title. Wanting to get our writing "out there" is still very much a part of the reason why we continue to put together Eleventh Hour, as that's the only real way to break into the business as a writer...to get your work out there and make a name for yourself. It's great that a publisher like AAM/Markosia has now put its weight behind the book because it's no longer just us saying "Hey, read our stuff, it's really good," it has to be good else they won't publish it. That leads on to the second thing that drives Eleventh Hour, and that's quality. We've always tried to find the best possible artists for the book and we've tried to find people who are either good enough to work for Marvel or DC or are very nearly there. We've made the book into a showcase for new talent and that's really paid off for the artists that have worked with us. We've seen Azim Akberali go on to do covers for Bluewater's Ray Harryhausen books, Scott Larsen has worked on Kong: King of Skull Island for Markosia and Diego Simone is now working on Starship Troopers. The third thing that drives the creation of Eleventh Hour is that we wanted to create an anthology where anything goes. It's a total sandbox where creators are free to try out ideas and play with the medium in almost any way. So many other anthologies tie themselves to a theme, and that's great, but we really wanted to establish a real sense of freedom with the book. That's something that's proved attractive to writers, and we've got a few new contributors to Vol 2 who should be familiar to any comic fans reading this. Both Cy Dethan (Starship Troopers) and Dwight L MacPherson (Edgar Allen Poo) have contributed to Vol 2, and I'm also currently waiting on a script from a certain other famous writer.
 
5) What future projects are you working on?

I'm currently working on Young Gods, which is a super hero team book, which blends sci-fi with supernatural themes. We've almost completed a 46 page one-shot which introduces the team. The art is by rising Argentinian star, Ezequiel Pineda, with colours by Uruguayan Mauro Barbosa. You can read the first six pages on the Orang Utan Comics Studio website (www.orangutanomics.co.uk). I'm just putting the finishing touches to the script for the first issue of the six issue mini-series that follows on from the one-shot. We're hoping to find a publisher for Young Gods soon. Other than that, there's a ton of other stuff in the pipeline from Orang Utan Comics Studio, and you can find out more about it on our website. Outside of Orang Utan Comics I'm currently colouring part of the current Triple Threat storyline in Starship Troopers from AAM/Markosia and I'm inking a new series called Legendary from Fantomlight.
 
CHeck out Ian Sharmans comics at www.orangutancomics.co.uk