Near the completion of Feather, I needed to do something different, something more organic, more "wigged out," more ugly, so to speak. I wanted something that could rightfully be considered the most original book of the year, without being pretentious. The idea came in bits and pieces, I don't really know how or when exactly it came about. That's just the way I work, I guess.

Now "Jova's Harvest" is told entirely through rhyme which was pulled off perfectly. What gave you the idea for this and was it always meant to be so?

The characters in Feather were dragons and half-breeds, characterized by their lack of noses. With Jova's Harvest, I was dealing with gods, and gods cannot simply be characterized by a physical trait such as invulnerability or super strength. That would be lazy. It had to be something deep, something that shows how superior they are to you and I, and seeing as to how doing a book in rhyme is a godlike struggle in itself, how godlike would it be to actually speak it in realtime as the characters in Jova do?

Of course, the idea of doing a whole series in rhyme isn't something to be taken lightly. No one ever just wakes up and decides to do a book that way. And considering how complex the story of Jova's Harvest is, telling it in rhyme was a near-impossible task in itself. But hey, I completed it, and I guess it must have been a success, right, for you to do this interview with me right now?

How did you come to work with Arcana and how has that been for you?

Sean was dead set on luring me over to Arcana, even before I started Jova's Harvest. And as I never like to do the same thing twice, as is evident in my works, my curiosity got the better of me. Now, of course, going from a big company like Image to a small indy publisher like Arcana is a huge risk, so only time, and the sales numbers will decide where I will go from here.

Are you currently working on other projects outside of "Jova's Harvest"?

I just finished up the entire series, so I have a couple other ideas floating about. Nothing in rhyme though.

Did you collect comics as a kid and do you remember your first book?

My first comic was a Superman annual which featured Supes and Wonder Woman going up against Darkseid. It wasn't until the early 90's that I really got serious into comics with Jim Lee's run on the X-Men and Image, however, after starting college so many years ago, I just about stopped buying books altogether.

What character title would you love to work on?

I suppose I'd love to have a crack at the Transformers, if that can be considered a character title. I learned to draw because of them, so I don't know if I could refuse a chance to draw them again. Perhaps the XMen as well, as I could really do a number on their superpowers (plus, I just know them). Batman might be interesting too, for the lighting effects.

Ok, now what title would you hate to work on?

Anything I'm not really familiar with. A character no one cares about, or a book that just isn't written in a cinematic way, I probably would have problems with.

Anything else you would like to make sure your fans know about you or your projects?

First off, I'll be at WW Boston this year, so find me at Artists Alley. Secondly, go to my website at www.steveuy.com, you'll find lots of info and things to read there. (Including the first 23 pages of Jova!)

And, Jova's Harvest is already available for preorder in Previews (item # SEP05 2744), but for anyone who cannot preorder through the regular means, I'm accepting preorders for a limited time by clicking on this link: http://www.steveuy.com/store/jovapreorder.html
Preordering through me will ensure SIGNED copies of the series, as well as a random piece of original production art used in the book itself!

To end yet another extremely fun interview at The Comic Avalanche is there anything you want to say to aspiring creators?

Make sure you proofread your books!

 

In Closing...

I want to thank Steve Uy for taking the time to chat with me and you folks here at The Comic Avalanche. You can check out info for "Jova's Harvest at Arcana Studios Site or at Steve Uy's homepage. Be sure to also check out the Arcana Studios forums and the store for all your Arcana goodness. Now head to the comic shop and preorder your copy of Jova's Harvest out November 2005.