With an emphasis on “U busted!”

Independent comic book creator Isaac Fox recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for the second issue of SuccuBUSTED!, a supernatural comedy book. We were fortunate enough to get a chance to discuss his latest SuccuBUSTED! campaign, which is available to support here. This is the second time we’ve had the opportunity to speak with Fox, and the first interview can be found here.

As always, the answers below are represented as closely to “as written” as possible with only minimal edits.

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The Splintering: What is something completely new that returning readers can expect to see in SuccuBUSTED! issue 2?

Isaac Fox: The lust-filled antics of Rita. In issue 1, we established the universe as well as Rita’s motives, but we didn’t get to see a ton of her personality. With Rita now serving as Liam’s partner on a demonic criminal case, we’re in store for plenty of lusty antics from this callipygous succubus. She’s a demon in love, but she’s a demon of lust. As such, she’s attempting to win Liam over with what she knows best — lewd and lascivious displays.

TS: Can the succubuses be killed by guns or other conventional weapons? Why would they comply with human authorities? Does the DCIA (Demonic Criminals Investigation Agency) have supernatural weapons and facilities to keep them at bay?

IF: Mortal weapons can certainly kill demons and succubi are no exception. How much damage they can take before dying varies from demon to demon with the older, more powerful ones being substantially harder to kill. Our law enforcement agency, the DCIA, carry 10 millimeter handguns for this very reason. While other firearms may be more practical, I’m a fan of the 10mm auto caliber and thought it’d be different enough to give the DCIA a more unique identity. Usually, when angels or demons take enough damage, they simply stop moving and enter a sort of catatonic state while the magical energies of their bodies focus on healing — and heal quickly they do. The DCIA possesses special tools for the job, such as brass knuckles forged by angels to give them some extra punch when dealing with demonic criminals. Agents like Liam, our protagonist, face extensive training in learning how to stop a demon without killing them, though under certain circumstances lethal force may be authorized.

As to why the demons obey human laws, it’s because they don’t want to get banned from the mortal realm. What few Hell rifts exist are monitored and controlled by both humans and powerful, cooperative demons alike. Succubi and incubi, as demons of lust, draw power from how much consensual attention they receive from humans. If they get banned from the human world, they will slowly lose all of their powers and die off. The same is true for other types of demons such as demons of Greed , who need to be close to the objects of their greed to maintain their power.

TS: Other than the fetching demon ladies and the comedic antics that follow them, there is also a larger mystery at play in the SuccuBUSTED! story. What can you tell us about the overarching conflict, particularly the villain(s) at work (the Demons of Greed)?

IF: Our story revolves around Liam and Rita being assigned a simple case to apprehend a demon of Greed who has overstayed his travel visa into our world. Little do they know, this particular demon is involved in a plot to open an illegal Hell Rift to allow the more wicked of his kin access to Earth and to take over the city of Jacksonville, Florida. Though in real life, as a resident of Jacksonville, I doubt anyone would care if demons did in fact succeed. That being the case, this Greed demon doesn’t seem too bright, meaning there must be a mastermind pulling the strings. The question is: who or what is this mastermind? For added fun, in our Kickstarter trailer this demon is voiced by the incredible Erik Braa (League of Legends Draven, Jax, Velkoz and more).

TS: Are some of the sins represented by each demon type considered to be more or less evil? Is the “lust” of the succubus types considered to be on the same moral footing as “greed” since lust is essentially “carnal greed”, in a sense?

IF: The demons of SuccuBUSTED! are not inherently good nor evil. The same is true of their eternal enemy, the angels. We have demons who are perfectly nice and fair individuals as well as angels who are entirely evil. These beings behave as individuals with their own motivations, interests, and distinct personalities. I used Dante’s Divine Comedy as the basis for what Hell in this universe is — nine circles guided by different sins. Though, in SuccuBUSTED!, lust, gluttony, etc., are not necessarily sins the demons have, but rather the source of their power. A demon of Hell’s second circle, lust, gains power from consensual attention from mortals. The more of this they have, the more powerful they are. Some denizens of Hell are outright banned altogether, such as those from the seventh circle, the circle of violence.

TS: I see that you’ve set the book in Jacksonville (hometown, no?). Is there anything unique about Jacksonville as the setting, perhaps some landmarks or local flare, or was it simply familiar territory?

IF: I’m not a native of Jacksonville, but I’ve been here for over ten years. I chose to use Jax as the setting for the story in part for its familiarity. While SuccuBUSTED! takes place in an alternate reality from our own, I wanted to ground it as close to reality as I could. The easiest way to do this was to use a location I knew well enough and one where I could easily get reference photos for my artists. That and, as a resident of this city, it gives me a chance to poke fun at it.

TS: You once again have tons of variant covers to choose from, this time with 22 different options. Some of them are uncensored versions, sure, but how many is too many in your mind? Have found that there are diminishing returns at a certain point? (perhaps 22, eh?) Does this ever cause headaches in fulfillment, if nothing else?

IF: We ended up with a few more than I intended. I got lucky in meeting some incredibly skilled artists and after reviewing their work, I was able to figure out exactly what characters I had which would suit their strengths and tastes. I pulled some covers before the campaign was launched to use for book #3. As far as fulfillment goes, it doesn’t create any extra troubles for me. I’ve been doing this for about five years now and have figured out a fairly efficient and simple system for packing and shipping. My team and I believe we’re in the business of making people happy. Our audience has a wide variety of tastes so we try to cater to those tastes by offering a little of everything they’ve requested of us.

TS: One of the variant cover designs features a nod to the Bayonetta video game series. Given the recent Bayonetta 3 voice acting drama, I have to ask, are you on team Hellena Taylor, Team Jennifer Hale, or Team “Don’t Give a $#!=”?

IF: The “Let’s Smash” cover by Astral Ticket lead artist Aldi Fauzan is more of a Smash Brothers cover. While it does have Chief Kimiko Tanigawa cosplaying Bayonetta, it also has Queen Basphyra, the queen of Hell’s second circle (lust), in a Palutena cosplay. While perhaps this a switch from what their actual personalities are, the outfits suited them better. The location is even a homage to one of Smash Ultimate’s most famous stages. We kept the references fairly loose and chose to do a Smash cosplay as “smash” is a commonly used slang term for having sex. Which of course, in a book about demons of lust putting people in handcuffs, seemed like a good opportunity for some fun wordplay.

TS: I noticed that you noted on your campaign page that the artwork is all “made by real people.” In your view, is AI artwork already changing the landscape with comics or other sequential artwork? Where do you see the future of AI artwork in terms of illustrated storytelling?

IF: I can’t say I’m a fan of the AI artwork world, but I’m a writer/manager so I may not have as strong of feelings about it as artists themselves I’m also likely not as qualified to speak on the matter as true artist are.That being said, I’m a firm believer a reader can sense an artist’s emotions and feelings when viewing their work. For this reason, I always ensure I assign my artists characters and stories they actually enjoy. I’ve been in book stores before and looked through comics/manga and could tell when an artist just wanted to be done with it and when the artist really adored the characters and universe they were drawing. If one of my artists is unhappy with a setting or character, I’ll work with them until we’ve found something they find interesting and fun. I noted our work is all done by humans to avoid any potential confusion on the matter.

Simply put, I believe a happy artist portrays love for their work with every stroke of the brush and this love is felt by readers. For this reason, I always listen closely to my team and consider myself more an assistant to them rather than a boss.

TS: I see that you’ve added dakimakura pillow cases and booty mouse pads as part of the add-on purchases. How would you describe the level of fan interest in these?

IF: Both the dakimakuras and mousepads were added by fan request. Izumi Fox and Brooke Astral, who work as mascots and customer support for me, interact quite a bit with our backers and fans. Through them, we ask our fans and readers what kind of items they would be interested in us creating in future campaigns. Dakimkuras were a popular request and after SuccuBUSTED! #1, mousepads also became a frequently requested item. As the old adage goes, give the people what they want. Not that we don’t enjoy these items, ourselves. I’m pretty sure Izumi has run out of room on her bed for all the dakimakuras we’ve made so far.

TS: Will issue 2 close out the SuccuBUSTED! story, or are there plans for more books in the series?

IF: Issue 2 is not the end of the story. Issue 3 is practically finished and will come out next year. The entirety of the “first arc” is written and wraps up the first story in a nice and complete way. I originally intended SuccuBUSTED! to be one arc but the series has proven so popular the book’s incredible lead artist, Mitsu-Blinger, and I have been working on a second arc which would see a new main character introduced with a new story and new villains for Liam and Rita to face off against I’m also working on a one shot side story about some other characters who have a sort of “B” story within the main series. You can expect SuccuBUSTED!: Queens at some point in the future with artwork led by Astral Ticket lead artist and chief colorist, Krius.

TS: Tell us again where people can follow your work or stay updated on upcoming Astral Ticket projects?

IF: We have Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram but the best option would be to join our official Discord fan server where you can chat with Izumi and gain access to freebies, sneak peaks, uncensored images, and even get to vote on facets of projects we work on. Of course following us on Kickstarter is also a wise decision!

TS: We already asked about the power of the Beyonder last conversation, so this time I’ll ask – what would you snap away forever with a fully powered-up Infinity Gauntlet?

IF: This is surprisingly difficult to answer. I’d rather give than take away from the world, but if I must take something perhaps it would be cancer. I’ve seen enough friends and family suffer from this and I think it’s one thing we as a species could simply do without.

We would like to once again thank Isaac Fox for taking the time to answer our questions and to have some fun with us. You can visit the SuccuBUSTED! 2 Kickstarter page here. And of course…

Thanks for reading!

You can read our first interview with Fox can be found here, and please consider following The Splintering on social media or bookmarking the site for more independent entertainment news, views, and commentary!

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