An inteview by Alex Ness of Brian Haberlin
Readers here know that Brian Haberlin's art moves me deeply, but he is a greatly talented writer as well. In this piece we discuss ARIA. Haberlin with Brian Holguin, Jay Anacleto, created Aria with depth, interest in appearing on different dimensions, lands, times, And the term Aria alone often comes from a movement in an opera, is a work that received huge support and now is collected in all its forms.
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(My words are those in italics. Brian Haberlin is answering the questions)
With Lady Kildare being from the Faeries, why would she live among us normal humans? Isn't a world of magic, of beauty of stunning higher life forms and greater volumes of knowledge be worth whatever it takes to stay there?
(The world is Faerie…not the pural:) Faries are a species) I often point to when Russell T. Davies took over Doctor Who. You had this basically immortal character with all this power but he was always so amazed at humanity and what we have the potential to be. Kildare is an ex-pat Princess who really can’t stand all the trappings, the ritual, the fucking etiquette! :) She loves a great coffee, a great drink, and a great party! I think Brian Holguin wonderfully summed it all up in the original intro page to the series. The first part is in Kildare’s voice, the second is introduction.
Sometimes I look at this world and it moves me to tears.
The joy and terror and the mad bloody drama of it all.
And I wonder why THEY never seem to really see it.
Maybe one lifetime just isn't enough.
Or maybe it's too much. I can't say.
But the truth, to be perfectly plain, is that people are looking for MAGIC in all the wrong places...
Somewhere around the corner, just beyond the edge of perception, lies a world you never dreamed existed...
A world where creatures of ancient myth, and gods long thought dead, walk unnoticed along the crowded streets of Manhattan. Where ladies of Faerie dance lonely nights away, bathed in soft neon glare. Where every shadow holds a secret, and every secret has a price. Where danger and wonder can be found at any turn, if you only know where to look.
I know the Omnibus has over 600 pages, is there anything left out of it by accident, or editorial decision? Why is that?
No, but something has changed. We did an Aria/Angela crossover and had to change Angela to an Angel and remove all character markings…since Todd had lost the character to Marvel.
Aria sold so well it beat all DC comics and most of Marvel, as the #2 in sales in at least one sales report. How did the team create such a great popularity from a relatively new and different character than those popular in the era?
I think there was a certain amount of excitement about Whilce and I starting Avalon. So, there was some anticipation. Stone came out first and was Avalon alone as a publisher and we were the highest selling independent comic of the year in initial sales (Jay and Silent Bob eventually beat us with the reorders the movie brought to them. :) We then joined Image, and got some previews out for the book and the artwork was undeniable. That was back in the day when all you needed was an ad in Diamond and one in Wizard.
How much more interest did the omnibus draw by having new works within its pages?
:) No idea!
Placing Lady Kildare in the real time human world helped explore how a close to if not fully immortal being would see humans. But could a deeper exploration of the land of Faerie create even greater interest, as it would allow for many different looks at what immortals might create should they exist?
One of the other thousands of stories I could tell with her…though I am leaning towards an 1800 Western…Gunslinger Aria? :)
How much will the Omnibus weigh? 600 pages is dictionary or cyclopedia size. And, is there a hope that the collection will inspire new series of the same character and world?
About 12 pounds…and see previous reply.
How does one explore immortal lives? Do you limit the concept of time if you don't have to count the minutes, does immortality function as a curse as often as a benefit?
I think you limit them to individual stories and individual time periods. There could be some cross over with a modern day situation sparking her memories of a certain event or even still being part of that event. I think she is guarded now with human relationships as saying goodbye is not her strong suit.
Lady Kildare is an exile. How much does that limit someone who has fewer limits upon abilities, outlook, and passion. That is, what does love mean to someone who the word "forever" is reserved for others, those from the human world especially?
She’s more of an ex-pat. She can return whenever she wants to Faerie. She has the appreciation of what we humans can accomplish with so little. I don’t think she would allow herself to truly fall in love with a human again.
Thank you Brian, I appreciate your time and answers. And to my readers, ARIA is a work that is more than just a "comic" it is symphony of time, thought and people of substance.
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