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He's the writer of two of the hottest "bad girl" (or are they "good girls?" I can never tell) titles on the market. But Dave Campiti has far more irons in the fire, and they extend beyond mere writing. In an e-mail interview, I had a chance to ask some serious (and a few not-so-serious) questions of the man who built the Glass House.
 

I'm used to interviewing someone I can pigeonhole -- a "writer," an "artist." But you're involved in more than just either, heading up Glass House Studios. What is that? Some sort of a sub-contractor for comic publishers?

It's many things to many people. When I tried to break into comics, there weren't any people willing to help and hone and train talent in any capacity. And if you didn't live in New York, the chances of breaking in were almost nil. But I finally did and thought, "It shouldn't be this ridiculously hard." So I changed the rules. I broke into comics in 1982 as a writer, and soon realized that most editors at smaller companies were more willing to buy a story if it had a good artist, maybe even a letterer and a colorist, as part of the deal -- so that way the editor didn't have to do much work. I was right. I went from writing to packaging complete books to developing entire publishing lines for companies. In 1988, I decided to be a publisher and founded Innovation Comics, where I offered up not only super-hero fare such as Hero Alliance, but a slew of licensed properties ranging from Anne Rice bestsellers to Lost in Space. Five years of that was enough. So I founded Glass House Graphics.

All this is my long-winded way of saying my background allows Glass House to be a studio, a consulting firm, an agency, a packaging house -- whatever somebody needs. For international artists -- we rep folks in the Philippines, Brazil, Australia, Canada, and so on -- we're an agency. We also rep certain American talents on a non-exclusive basis. For start-up companies, we can be a consulting firm, brought in to teach the craft of creating comics, soup to nuts. For publishers, we can do as little or as much as they need. Art supplier; supplier of writing, art, letters, coloring; film bureau services. Did you know we even handle printing? We can print and ship full-color comics on Spawn-type slick paper for roughtly three grand an issue less than the big guys, because we do it internationally.


You're in a position of power that's enviable to many comic fans. That is, you get to think of all these wild fantasy scenes and then have them drawn by Al Rio or Mike Deodato. Ever have to resist the call of the "dark side?"

The dark side? Al Rio and I just did Ana: Jungle Girl for Avatar Press, and it's my first "adult" story. Al's done many of them in Brazil, but it's my first time, so be gentle. Does that count?


I tried to stick Bob Ingersoll with the credit/blame for Hero Alliance's Golden Guard's powers of vasocongestion, but he informed me that was actually your idea. How did you come up with a concept like that, and what was the feedback of such a power appearing in a mainstream title?

It seemed logical to me to go in that direction for a character in Hero Alliance because I didn't see anybody else doing it. If the madder Hulk gets the stronger Hulk gets -- and it's all increased body chemicals -- why not try that direction? Nobody had a problem with it. A couple of folks wrote in to say, "It's about time."


Ever consider the implications of her participating in a battle that just went on too long? Would such a character perhaps become conditioned to enjoy violent fighting?

Truth to tell, I don't think I'd have staged a fight that went on too long. My head, as far as that book was concerned, wasn't in "fight mode." Hero Alliance was about what happens between the fights. But your suggestion sounds like a viable path to walk down for such a character. But if you think about it, my character Rage: The Starcorp Man was already conditioned to enjoy the pain he suffered -- he felt the equivalent amout of pain that he inflicted on somoene, ostensibly to be a trigger to stop him from going too far, and he found he liked it -- a hero suffering for his cause. You were talking about my "dark side?" :)


With Exposure, you get to push the envelope even further, with risque story ideas and the art to back them up. Would you have been able to publish the same type of story back in the days of Innovation? And what's the next level while staying in the mainstream of comics publishing?

Well, Exposure is X Files with babe females and two males. In fact, the basic stories were developed for the X Files comic book, which I was slated to write, since I was the guy who haggled the license for Topps. All I've done is add a veneer of playful sexiness to them, to appeal to the audience that Image Comics courts. I've done all sorts of books over the years. I remember another girlie book I did do in the Innovation days -- Legends of the Stargrazers. I guess Exposure is my latest riff on doing a babe book, in that sense. In both cases, I tried to layer them with interesting characters, histories, backgrounds, secrets, and so forth, so even if the art style was completely different, the characters would still grab the readers.

Predict the future? Heck, I have enough trouble foretelling the past! All I can say is, when I ran Innovation, we catered to a lot of female adult readers that the other companies just let get away when Innovation closed (for reasons that had nothing to do with sales and everything to do with tax write-offs). We need to recapture that market, in the kids market, with different forms of the product and some real distribution.


Are there any future products you're personally working on beyond Exposure and Jade Warriors?

Not really. The majority of my time is still based on getting work for other people. If someone wanted Deodato and me to expand out our Master Plan of several inter-related projects -- a collction of projects that tie into the Exposure and Jade Warriors continuities -- we could start tomorrow. Editors who've taken the time to check out those two series realize it's got some really good work.


How does an aspiring writer or artist get hooked up with Glass House? As a writer myself, this looks to be better opportunity than the standard submission process.

For a writer in today's comics climate, it's difficult. We currently rep eight very good writers -- some of them award-winning novelists -- and at any given time perhaps two of them are getting work. At least I'll tell you the truth editors won't tell you: If you want to write comics full-time, get a job on staff. I'm not kidding. Here's the proof: Delete the guys with a British accent and mailing address. Take away the artists who also write but started as artists. I think 95% of what you're left with as full-time writers are current or former staffers; the rest are the editor's best drinking buddies. Most hopeful writers don't want to believe me, but that's okay.

For an artist, it's simple: Do great work. I can get an artist a job with six pages, if they're teh right pages -- strong storytelling, great body language and facial expression, a consistent ability to draw everything well, and a commercial style. We have sample plots and scripts we hand out to put artists through their paces. The guys who've done it right are employed. I can't think of any exceptions to that.


The titles once held by Innovation are still available for purchase. Why not pick them up yourself and produce them under the Glass House imprint?

Because I am not a publisher. I haven't been since March 11, 1993. I cannot, will not, go into competition with the very publishers I sell artwork to for twenty-odd comic books every month!

Right off the bat, looking at my October schedule, we are producing art and/or stories and/or lettering and/or color on many many titles. Batman, Exposure, Gen 13, Jade Warriors, Chaos: Armageddon, Lady Death vs. Vampirella, Purgatori vs. Vampirella, Buffy, Eternals, X-51, Galaxy Girl, VC, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and a host of others. I won't jeopardize that. However, if a publisher wishes to pick up Dark Shadows or Lost in Space or Quantum Leap or Beauty and the Beast or whatever, I'll be happy to produce them.