Comic Book Resources.com

...Seven Sons is a hoot. It’s a retelling of the Seven Chinese Brothers legend, but updated to America (fret not - they’re still Chinese). It’s a good idea, actually - Grecian uses the backdrop of the Taiping Rebellion in the 1850s (which was a really weird religious movement as well as a civil war) and the gold rush in California at the same time to illuminate not only the (unjustified) anger toward the brothers, but the racism against the “coolies” in the West during the frontier days (technically, the Brothers aren’t coolies, but the comparison still works).

It begins in the modern day, providing a framing episode that is important, though not essential, to the story. An old Chinese man who owns what appear to be a pawn shop catches a young girl who has been painting graffiti on his side wall reading about the Seven Chinese Brothers in a book, and he tells her the “true” story. The brothers and their mother come to America to escape the Taiping Rebellion, and when they arrive in California, they try to stay out of everyone’s way. One winter, though, some kids fall in the ice on the river, so the brother who can swallow the whole ocean sucks up the water to allow the miners to get the kids. They’re slow, though, and he can’t hold his breath long enough, and everyone dies. So the townspeople, of course, want revenge.

Of course, they don’t know that there are seven brothers, because they’re identical (in this version, this is a nice riff on the idea that racists think everyone who’s not, say, white “all look alike”), and as each one tries to reason with them in different ways, they exhibit their special abilities and resist the violence done to them. The sheriff of the town proves to be reasonable, but even he can’t stop the cycle of violence that has begun. It’s fascinating, because even as we can tell a tragedy is coming, when it happens, it’s still tragic, and what happens afterward is even worse. But I don’t want to give too much away.

What Grecian does nicely in this book is give us a sense of what it was like for immigrants to this country, and he links this, subtly, to the immigrant experience even today. These are people who come to this country and just want to work and be left alone, and when one of them tries to do something good, it backfires. The townspeople, we feel, get angry not because First Brother failed to hold the water, but because he’s Chinese, and therefore, of course he was going to fail. They fail to see that he tried to help, because they can’t see past their prejudice. We understand their despair, and even feel the need to blame someone, but it quickly morphs into a hatred of the race, not the act or even the person. It’s interesting to see how deftly Grecian shows how quickly things can change to racism. At first, we understand the anger of the townspeople, even though we know it’s misplaced. Then, when that anger turns to racism, it’s more repugnant to us, and it’s very effective.

"Rossmo’s art is beautiful..."

He does a nice job contrasting the Chinese Brothers, who are somewhat fastidious, with the rough-and-tumble Americans. This contrast shows the nice divide between an ancient culture and one just finding its way. The scenes of horror at the end are nicely done, too - the faces of the settlers are twisted with hatred, and the faces of the Brothers change to sadness from bewilderment at the Americans’ anger. It’s a nice book to look at, and it helps the story move along nicely.

This is a very good book. Grecian and Rossmo have taken an old legend and used it for their own purposes, which is why legends are fun - they’re infinitely malleable. And it has a nice text piece in the back about the legend itself.

–– Greg Burgas

From Booklist: Grecian, Alexander and Rossmo, Riley. Seven Sons. 2006. 88p. illus. AiT/Planet Lar, paper, $12.95 (9781932051469). 741.5.

The venerable Chinese folktale about identical brothers with remarkable powers here gets graphic-novel treatment. Its previous versions have been set in China, where the siblings run afoul of the emperor, but now the family immigrates to Gold Rush California to escape warring factions trying to enlist them during the Taiping Rebellion. The unusual locale adds conflict and commentary, as the previously established townspeople react with xenophobia and violence when they discover the brothers’ strange abilities. Tragic events lead to an ending that’s grimmer than Grimm (the brothers told a similar fairy tale), though a modern-day framing sequence adds hope. Grecian imaginatively imparts a contemporary sensibility to the legendary tale, and illustrator Rossmo’s tone is decidedly different from the whimsy of picture-book versions. Loosely expressionist black-and-white wash drawings accentuate the story’s drama, not its humor. The temptation to turn the family into a superhero team is admirably resisted. Come to think of it, however, with their elasticity, impenetrable skin, and other peculiarities, the seven sons would fit right in with the comics’ costumed crimefighters.

–– Gordon Flagg

Comic Book Resources.com

...There's an excellent text piece in the back of the book that explains the fable's history and some of the varieties that other retellings have put on it... I didn't need to know the history or the original tale to enjoy this book... a book that provided sympathetic lead characters, a believable historical setting, and a dash of whimsy.

SEVEN SONS is available today for just $13.

Chud.com

...Part of what makes Seven Sons work as well as it does is the foundation of research laid out in the fascinating appendix, tracing the various versions and transformation the story has undergone through the years: it’s an exemplary bit of folkways study.

...There’s more to the story than the simple retelling, though, as it takes some unique and interesting twists on its way to a bittersweet conclusion (there’s a reason why the book is titled Seven “Sons”, rather than the more conventional “Brothers”).

The juxtaposition of East and West is not “Kung Fu The Comic,” though: there’s no mingling of martial arts with gunslinging.

"Instead of high-kicking action, there’s a sense of Greek tragedy that’s closer to 'Deadwood' than 'Kung Fu.'"

Like many folk tales that become children’s stories, the tale of the Chinese brothers has a primal simplicity about it, that can be restrictive if not approached with imagination. That’s not a problem here.

...There is a nicely rough texture to Rossmo’s linework. The American West is often portrayed in comics with the perpetual “big country” vistas of a Cinemascope film—in this case, we’re looking at internal landscapes more than external ones, and the look is more that of delicate Chinese calligraphy than grand Frederic Remington oils.

A tale becomes oft-told because it has the elements to be re-told well. That’s very much the case with Seven Sons.

–– Jeb Dell

Comicbloc.com

...Without spoiling the ending, I will say this story doesn’t quite work out like the old fairy tale. The conclusion is darker, yet allows Grecian and Rossmo to make the story more their own. All in all, it’s a great graphic novel.

Finally, one of the bonuses in this graphic novel is the history of this fairy tale. Grecian goes through a lot of trouble explaining the settings and history of it. It makes for fascinating reading on its own.

The “It” Factor...
How often do you see classic fairy tales retold well? Or even better, retold in a way that makes it seem original? Alexander Grecian does a great job with this script. The veteran creator of Negative Burn and The Factor fame succeeds in keeping the spirit of the fairy tale alive, yet still instilling some new insights.

Rossmo’s pencils fit this story very well. They create a feeling similar to that of the original fairy tale, offering a good homage, yet also giving the book a bit of an ominous feel as well. Considering the setting and the ending, it fits the story perfectly. All in all, this book stands out very well.

"...Fans of stories like Sandman, Fables, Starchild and other storybook-like tales will appreciate this book..."

...and, of course, anyone that had fond memories of reading the original will enjoy it as well. All in all, it’s a great book and I can’t recommend it enough.

–– Joshua Pantalleresco

Binary Culture.net

...One of the prominent ideas in Seven Sons is that stories change over time, as one character says, “The best stories grow along with the people who tell them,” which is uniquely appropriate to the story at the center of the comic as [the Chinese folk tale] Seven Brothers has been steadily mutating from version to version over the decades and even centuries. Each time the number of brothers and their individual powers change subtly yet the main details remain unshakable. According to Alexander Grecian’s afterward on the history of the story, Turkey alone has somewhere in the region of 14...

...The climax and resolution of the story [are] where Grecian truly makes the story his own, balancing a tragic climax with an uplifting bookend that evokes the storybook pedigree of the tale in a whimsical, smile inducing sort of way.

The tone of Riley Rossmo’s art is pitch perfect for the writing, shifting the style as needed to match both the atmosphere and the content of the writing, something incredibly rare in mainstream comics these days outside of superlative talents like JH Williams III...

...Lines and brushstrokes that seem superfluous or out of place on their own, conspire together to complement the overall image. Probably the most impressive element of the art is the most subtle. One thing that I hear constant complaining about in comics these days is inconsistent, lazy, or inexpert coloring... making it ironic that you’d have to come to an indy black and white comic to see excellent use of tone and value, which Rossmo delivers in spades.

When you read Seven Sons, you don’t need color to see the shadows cast by firelight on a character’s face, a deep crimson to communicate blood, or a light blue to communicate water. Tone, value, and texture all do their part and do it well, so much so that it’s the first time since I reviewed Ross Campbell’s The Abandoned that it’s stood out so much that I’ve felt it necessary to discuss it specifically.

Beyond any one component of the comic, whether it’s the fascinating history of the narrative, the simple but elegant writing, or the art I’ve spent hours just staring at to find every brush stroke and every ghost of a pencil line...

"Seven Sons is important because of the space it occupies in the industry, in the canon of contemporary comics."

On one level it proves that there are emerging talents who can call up the same themes and ideas as the established creators and come out of it with a favorable comparison...

...It carries on the same killer app that drove Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan’s seminal Demo, that you can write a goddamn good comic about people with superpowers without capes and without a big name logo on it with the added benefit that Seven Sons is just as much about the idea of an enduring story so much as it is the ongoing evolution of one.

–– Mark Osborne

Jog Likes Comics.Blogspot.com

...There’s some truly impressive set pieces in here, sooty inks and curling lines wrapping themselves into smoke and destruction, and the rending might of fate that runs through so many old, passed-down stories of this type...

...It’s a good little package, assembled with some thought...

Comics Waiting Room.com

...The creative team has done a really good job with this book, not only adapting the story with faith and reverence, but also in how they juggle some of the more unsavory elements seen in the classic versions (which can read as more than a bit racist) and made them logical, working parts that make the book something you can give to any level of reader without shame. The real kicker comes at the end of the book, where Grecian provides a text piece on the history of the original fable and notes on how he and Rossmo adjusted their version to fit time periods and to deal with some of the racist elements head on. It shows just how meticulously this book was researched and enhances the reading experience. Seven Sons is a quality book that could make for a good gift idea this holiday season for a reader who loves classic literature or westerns. Give it a look.

–– Marc Mason

Lefty Brown.com

"Seven Sons Excels."

...Every once in a while a book comes out that I never thought to try and it knocks my socks off. Seven Sons delivers on that in more ways than one.

Seven Sons is an American retelling of the classic Chinese fable of seven brothers who outwit a mob who would have them die for a heroic tragedy. I was initially disinterested in the book based solely on the Riley Rossmo's art which seemed to me a bit garish, but when I sat down to read the book I discovered that the art takes its inspiration from calligraphy. Reading the book through that mindset revealed a stylish beauty in blacks and gray tones. The art style also includes an anime sense of framing a scene that works well in a modern retelling of the Chinese fable.

Seven Sons is set in the American West where our modern cities where built partly on the backs of Chinese immigrants. I was a bit worried that the book would gloss over the hazardous challenges many of the immigrants faced which included conscription, laws that stole their riches from them, racism, and other injustices. A tiny bit of this is addressed in the racism and quick judgment of the town mob, and since this is a fable and not a history lesson I did appreciate that the book was able to address this without being heavy-handed. The story works very much like a fable and so some of the situations the seven brothers find in themselves in are solved much in the same spirit of the original fable. Writer Alexander Grecian does a masterful job in the time period and I particularly liked framing the fable by book-ending it in the modern day and setting. As an added bonus, and one that teachers should make note of, at the end of the book is a short essay which details the history of the Seven Brothers fable that is concise and lends itself well to language scaffolding. The essay may not mention it directly, but I'm reminded that Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics suggests that comics are a modern tool of myth-making so it was neat to see Seven Sons living up to that grand tradition.

"...Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo have taken a concept that I initially had no interest in and have made me a fan."

This is a book that will get multiple readings from me, that is IF I ever get it back from my wife and her class of students. This experiment continues as I hand this graphic novel over to my wife for her own reading and then she'll put it in her classroom to see what her students think of it. I'll be sure to report back later with their impressions, but for now I have to say that is a book that deserves to be picked up, read, and then passed along... and in doing so you too join the history of storytelling (just slightly different with the printing press now involved).

Blog Critics.org

The title leads of Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo's black-&-white graphic novel Seven Sons (AiT/Planet Lar) are likely most familiar to American audiences as the Five Chinese Brothers of the Claire Huchet Bishop & Kurt Weise's 1938 illustrated children's book... A classic folk tale that also served as the inspiration for a song on REM's Reckoning album (lyricist Michael "Let's play Twister/Let' play Risk" Stipe long having shown an affinity for pulling in details from childhood), Grecian & Rossmo's adult version transplants the basic story to the American Gold Rush. The results are surprisingly effective.

...As told by Grecian & Rossmo, then, Seven Sons is a super-hero story (not much different from those early Justice League of America comics where super-types separated into individual chapters to defeat an overarching enemy, really), though the historical overlay add some intriguing subtexts to the story. That the immigrant brothers are nearly identical (right down to their freakishly large ear lobes) is, of course, an essential plot point that's been carried through in various countries' version of the folk tale, though, here, the townspeople's inability to see that there is more than one brother also stands in racist xenophobia. (To be fair, as presented in the book, about the only thing to distinguish the brothers is their powers – and the fact that the brother with super-sensitive eyesight wears sunglasses.) From X-Men on, super-hero tales have frequently been used to focus on the persecuted Other, of course, though in this case the metaphor has historical antecedent in the era's exploitation of Chinese immigrant laborers. At one level, you get the sense that – even if they weren't identical – most of the white townsfolk wouldn't be able to differentiate the Chinese brothers, anyway.

"Making the mother part of the story strengthens its family theme in some surprising ways..."

Riley Rossmo's loose art, filled with sensitive use of blacks and gray wash, is beautifully suited to the story: he is able to make the art look both super-hero comic bookish (e.g., the scenes where first brother swallows and lets go of the river; a bit where stretchable brother escapes the hangman's noose), than more darkly expressionistic (as in a scene where one of the brothers is cornered by the angry mob). It's a far cry from Kurt Weise's more whimsical storybook take on the characters, but it suits the graphic novel's more serious tone. Still, neither Grecian nor Rossmo forget their story's origins. For all their sturm & drang, super-hero comics remain – no matter how much fans or publishers may protest to the contrary – simple children's tales at heart...

–– Bill Sherman

Johnny Bacardi.Blogspot.com

...It's a clever idea, and fully realized- it's easy to mess this sort of thing up by striving to be too relevant or cynical or something...but Grecian manages to strike the right tone and maintain it throughout. Nice text piece in the back as well, citing and recalling the various iterations of the legend over the years. Although at first I was a bit reluctant, I came to really like Rossmo's loose and over-rendered art, it's reminiscent of Ted McKeever but a little clearer in its storytelling style...

Fossen.Blogspot.com

...What strikes me most about the book is the deep emotional power that Grecian and Rossmo wring from the triggering incident of the story. How have other tellings - children's books - glossed over the fact that this story hinges on the death of innocent children? In Seven Sons, that is brought to the terrible forefront in a sequence that's as riveting as any I've seen in comics. Rossmo's jagged art, filled with swirling blacks and expressionistic figures really sells the tragedy that lies at the heart of the story. He does so most notably in a beautiful panel that freezes time to show a single tear representing the struggle Brother One goes through as he tries to save both the children and their rescuers. It's a time dilation that brilliantly sets the emotional stage for the rest of the book.

Originally, this was to be called "Seven Brothers," but the name was changed to separate it from the Woo/Ennis Seven Brothers at Virgin Comics. In a strange twist, this renaming points to most interesting and fully-developed individual in the book. The mother anchors this story from the opening pages all the way through to the explosive climax. She is in many ways the fulcrum of the book, a silent mover. The business-driven title change points to a fundamental theme of the book: these are sons, and that definition makes this a story about family in a way that the idea of adult brothers does not. It is tighter, more fragile, and more filled with passion...

–– Mark Fossen

Real Tegan.Blogspot.com

... I read the Bishop/Wiese version of this story as a child. That version was written and drawn in 1938, and lacked some cultural sensitivity. I didn't know that as a kid, and as an adult I had fond memories of the book until my boss ordered some copies of it, thinking she was getting an updated version. After looking through it, she eventually decided that she couldn't shelve it despite its history. The stereotypes were too much for her, and she wanted to run a welcoming store.

I disagreed, since I felt that the whole point of the story was that the boys looked identical, but I accepted reality. I should've taken the opportunity to buy myself a copy of the book, but felt oddly bitter about it and disturbed that I couldn't see the levels of racism that other employees could see. I was afraid that my sensitivity was being clouded by pleasant memories of reading the book as a child.

Flash forward a few years to last week, when I opened the unexpected package from Larry [Young, publisher of AiT/Planet Lar comics] and found this book in it. Before I even opened it my mind was writing incredibly negative reviews. I was dead certain I would hate the book. I mean, mixing my pleasant memories with the recent bitterness, and adding a retelling of the tale... not at all promising.

"... I do want to make this absolutely clear: I was not inclined to give this book a chance. I started out disliking it and didn't expect that to change at all."

... I think I was caught when the old man asks the vandalist girl if she wants to hear the true story, and offers her tea. Everyone loves a good tale, and one that claims to be true is often better. This sets the tale in a specific time and place, and it didn't take me long to really begin to enjoy it, even while some part of my backbrain was yelling "no, no, you don't want to like this! Stop it!"

Ok. So I enjoyed it. I liked it a lot. It was far from perfect, but it so exceeded my expectations that I was practically blown away by it. The art is a tad too sketchy for my tastes, but manages to be detailed nonetheless. And the twists of the story (which I'm not going to spill here) added so much to the tale that it felt like a completely different story in some ways, while owing a lot to the older versions.

But the absolute BEST thing about this version is the notes in the back. Rivaling the story itself for my attention, the notes explain why Grecian and Rossmo decided to set the story where they did despite the perils involved, and the history of the tale, particularly in print. The notes ended up resolving a lot of the doubts I had about enjoying the tale as a child, and put the whole matter to rest in my mind.

So, my verdict? It was satisfying and surprisingly good.

"HIGHLY recommended."

Especially if you enjoyed the tale in another version as a child.

Note: For some insight into how divided people are about the Bishop/Wiese version of the story, check out the comments on its Amazon.com page.

–– Laura "Tegan" Gjovaag

Zilla's Comics.Blogspot.com

"Alexander Grecian & Riley Rossmo's Seven Sons is one of those graphic novels I look forward to sharing with my children someday..."

... Our authors claim the story to be a "...Western update of the classic fable with a comic-book twist" (and thoroughly prove the point w/ tons of great backmatter) though i'd never heard this tale in any form before i read it here.

Essentially what we have is the story of seven identical brothers, born in China in the late 1800s. These aren't your typical seven-tuplets (i know that's not the correct term but who can remember past "sextuplets"?) however, as each of them is born with a unique "talent"...

The boys live in seclusion with their mother when civil war breaks out in China. Having heard rumor of the boys abilities (and hoping to gain an advantage in the war), both sides of the conflict attempt to recruit them. Fearing for their safety (and obviously hoping to avoid their exploitation), the boys mother packs them up and moves them to a small, left-coast mining town in America (right about gold rush time), where they buy a plot and use their abilities to pan for soft yellow rocks...

Ok i'm not giving away the rest of the story, but let's just say that it ends as any good story should (well), and stacks up against most western classic fables i can remember. Great story, great B&W art (the layouts remind me a bit of TenNapel), and ultimately a must read-to/with my kids someday (when i have them ha). Don't let me pigeon-hole [Seven Sons] as a children's book though... there's enough here for graphic novel fans of any age.

Good stuff. A.

Comic Treadmill.com

"Proving that Bill Willingham doesn’t have the market cornered on being able to [tell] fresh and captivating versions of classic fables, Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo deliver a entrancingly told take on a very old story..."

... This is a powerful story of unavoidable tragedy and it grabbed my attention and held it for a reading of all 106 pages in one sitting. Rossmo and Grecian complement each other perfectly in this collaborative effort taking the parts of the story that are still compelling to a modern audience and putting it into a more dramatic setting than some earlier, stiffer versions of the tale.

Rossmo’s drawings are bleak yet distinctively attention-getting without sacrificing story flow. There’s always a palpable sadness surrounding the characters.

Similarly, Grecian’s ability to keep the story flowing with judicious use of dialog, which a story about seven modest good-hearted, misunderstood and tragically doomed brothers demands, is impressive. He also keeps a tone appropriate to the telling of a fairy tale.

Here's a Treadmill review summary that sticks with the seven theme:
Classic story + Tweaked to enhance the dramatic flow + Likable protagonists thrown into an unaccepting world + Super Powers + Inevitable tragedy + Beautifully Bleak Depictions + Excess-free storytelling = A darn good read.

PostModern Barney.com

...The events of the story play out more or less in the same pattern as in the traditional folk tale, but the new context that Grecian and Rossmo put that story into allows them to play with additional themes, such as racism and xenophobia, as well as good old fashioned fear-mongering. It makes for an interesting read, and a nice example of a stated theme within the book itself, that the best stories grow and change...

An Interview with Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo...

The Pulse @ Comicon.com

If you can't get enough of new takes on old fairy tales and fables, then you've got to check out Riley Rossmo and Alex Grecian's take on the seven brothers legend in the AiT/Planet Lar graphic novel, Seven Sons. Both men told us how they took their knowledge of this tale and crafted their own story ....

THE PULSE: For those of our readers unfamiliar with your lives in comics so far, what has each of you done before your work on Seven Sons?

RILEY ROSSMO: I’ve done mostly non-sequential stuff, pin-ups and covers for a wide variety of books. The bulk of my experience has been in editorial and advertising illustration.

ALEX GRECIAN: I started out drawing comics for anthologies like Negative Burn, Fringe and The Factor. I did a 24-hour Comic that Scott McCloud chose for his first collection (which also included stories by unknowns like Neil Gaiman and Steve Bissette). I got some nice feedback on the story, but not the art and I realized I was happier writing. Much better at it. Riley draws rings around me, so I’d rather leave that end of things to him.

THE PULSE: When did you first hear the story of the Seven Brothers and what version do you remember learning about initially?

GRECIAN: I read the story in grade school, in a textbook called Come Along. I was into comics and, even then, it struck me that "The Chinese Brothers" was essentially a superhero story and would make a great comic.

ROSSMO: I first heard the story in my third year of illustration classes in college. I didn’t think about it again until Alex sent me a script sample for an adaptation of it.

GRECIAN: Actually, you might not remember this, but when we started talking about doing a project together, I sent you a list of 16 story ideas. You picked this one to draw, so the story must have stuck with you.

THE PULSE: What was it about this particular fairy tale that stood with you and made it something you wanted to reimagine for a new generation?

ROSSMO: I like that "The Chinese Brothers" isn’t as common in North America as, say "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," which gave us a little more leeway to adapt the story without worrying about comparisons to other versions.

GRECIAN: "The Chinese Brothers" kept popping back up for me throughout my life, I think because it’s such a basic, iconic story that you can read virtually any meaning into it that you want to, depending on where your head’s at.

THE PULSE: Since there are so many different versions of this story, how did you begin when thinking about what you wanted to showcase in your incarnation? What elements did you feel were the most important to include?

GRECIAN: I didn’t want to retread the same ground and I thought it might work better for a Western audience if we brought the brothers to America. If you’re going to do that, there’s a kind of frontier justice feel even to the original story, the sense of a small community meting out punishment. That fits the American West as opposed to updating it to modern times. The first image that came to me when I decided to reimagine it as a Western was the brother pointing his finger and shooting, so the first brother I knew I’d need to have was the one with amazing eyesight.

THE PULSE: Once you had the idea to do this, how did you proceed? What were some of the things you had to do before any of it was ever written or drawn?

GRECIAN: Researching China and finding the right timeframe for this story was the biggest challenge. The Tai Ping Rebellion coinciding with the California Gold Rush made most of the choices pretty obvious. But the Gold Rush and all the little Chinatowns that sprang up at the time meant we were definitely going to have to deal with racial tension in Seven Sons, which I didn’t initially want to do.

ROSSMO: At the time we started I was working on another project involving Chinese culture. I was already immersed in the visual end of the research.

THE PULSE: What were some of the other challenges you faced in telling this story?

ROSSMO: Pacing was a huge problem for me at first because Alex’s script called for three to six panels per page and for some reason I felt three was more appropriate. I think it was mostly because ink washes got harder the more panels we had on each page.

GRECIAN: I didn’t know what our page count was going to be at first, since we didn’t officially have a publisher until we’d finished the book, so I wanted to squeeze as much story in there as possible and I wanted Riley to finish it before he burnt out or lost interest. Thankfully, he saw the whole thing through, which is amazing, and got better artistically as he went, instead of doing a rush job.

THE PULSE: How did you decide the art style to draw this in? You could have done it in so many ways ... why did you choose this?

ROSSMO: When we first pitched it to AiT/Planet Lar, Larry Young suggested we do it all in washes. We’d included the first few pages of completed art in our proposal and only the sequence set in China was done as a gray wash, to capture the feel of old scroll paintings. I had no intention of doing the whole thing that way, but after I got into it washes just gave it a more authentic feel, so that turned out to be the way to go. To contrast the rest of the book, I did the framing sequence with line and digital tone to give it a modern look.

THE PULSE: What were some of the most difficult scenes to render in this story? What made each a particular challenge?

ROSSMO: [Spoiler] There’s a sequence in the story where one of the brothers gets killed. It was hard to articulate the spatial relationships of the townsfolk to the brothers to the barricade behind them.

THE PULSE: What were some of the problems you faced collaborating in this? Were there any points where you differed on how to present the materials?

ROSSMO: Alex smells like pea soup and is obsessed with The Flash. He’s hard to deal with, mostly because of the smell. (Laughs.)

GRECIAN: Mmmm, pea soup. Hey, The Flash is cool. He runs fast. [The Flash has, despite its roller-coaster-like levels of quality, always been my favorite superhero comic book. I haven't eaten pea soup since I was a kid, though, so I'm pretty sure I don't smell like it.]

ROSSMO: The real challenge was condensing and expanding the page count to meet the needs of the story. Alex would write a five-panel page and I’d send it to him as three pages with three panels each.

GRECIAN: That got turned around with the framing story because I was experimenting with the pacing, setting it apart from the rest of the story and trying to get a more relaxed, rainy afternoon atmosphere. So I wrote that whole sequence as two panels per page and Riley sent it all back smashed together. It worked out really well, though. We were learning how to collaborate and, as it turned out, we’re a pretty good fit.

THE PULSE: How did AiT/Planet Lar get involved in publishing this story? Was that always where you wanted the story to wind up?

GRECIAN: AiT was our first choice and we sent them a proposal as soon as we’d completed eight pages of the story. It was a tough sell, though, because Seven Sons kind of falls between the cracks, genre-wise. It’s sort of a Western. It’s sort of a superhero book. It’s a weird hybrid and Riley and I were sort of newcomers. Larry seemed interested, but wanted to see the whole thing before committing to it. Once we finished it all and sent it back, Larry and Mimi at AiT were completely on board.

THE PULSE: What other projects in or out of comics are you working on?

GRECIAN: I’m working on a prose crime novel and a couple of other things I can’t really talk about yet.

ROSSMO: I just finished drawing the opening sequences for the X-Games on ESPN and we’re hard at work on a new comic book series called Proof.

GRECIAN: Riley just sent me the last page of issue two to letter and it looks great. I’m writing issue four as we speak. We’re in a situation a lot like the one we were in with Seven Sons. We love this project…

ROSSMO: It’s all about Bigfoot and The Loch Ness Monster and Springheel Jack and secret government agencies and vicious little fairies and giant squids and monsters hiding inside old ladies.

GRECIAN: Yeah, it’s another hybrid. Kind of lighthearted/dramatic horror/adventure stuff. Everything we both love rolled into one book and we’re just producing like crazy, writing it and drawing it and just now starting to shop it around. Hopefully we find a publisher for Proof before we finish the first 100 issues.

–– Interview by Jennifer M. Contino

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