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From Loch Ness to Riverdale, Seamonster & Samurai’s Chad Allan Thomas stopped by Comic Bits Online for an exclusive interview about his work on Archie Comics’ Sabrina.

Comic Bits Online: You graduated from Savannah

College in 2003. Were you friends and family supportive of you getting a degree in Sequential Art?

Chad Allan Thomas: Absolutely.  I’ve been drawing since I was very young and my parents saw something in that that they really wanted to nurture.  When I started collecting comics at eight, I pretty much decided myself that comics and illustration was the route I was interested in going.  After all that it was just a matter of finding a good place to help refine and develop those skills and everyone around me couldn’t have been more supportive.

Comic Bits Online: What comics have you been working on since graduation?

Chad Allan Thomas: Well I actually took a year or so off after graduation before I really got into the swing of things.  I did some short back up stories with Image in both Noble Causes and Hero Camp, and a slew of other illustration projects around the country.  It really wasn’t until I sat down and started doing mini comics for myself did things artistically and professionally really begin to click.

 

Comic Bits Online: How did Seamonsters & Samurai come about?

Chad Allan Thomas: I honestly don’t remember the original place for it.  But I think it came about from a discussion with friends about really weird ideas that just involved the things we really loved from growing up.  I always loved the Loch Ness Monster myth when I was a kid.  I totally understood that Bigfoot and all the “never-seen-but-exist” monsters were fake but when it came to Nessy I just lived the lie and totally bought into it.  I have no idea why I just wanted to!

But I’ve always loved samurai’s and medieval Japan and thought why not combine the two?  So Seamonsters & Samurai came about.  It’s an all ages book about a line of Scottish samurais who protect the Loch Ness Monster and keep it hidden from all prying eyes.  I’m doing the book with Viper Comics, and the guys over there couldn’t be more patient.  I completed the first chapter and suddenly got engaged and purposely took on an over abundance in jobs to keep us afloat before the wedding and our recent move.  I’m finishing the last bit of those up now so the plan is to kick that back into gear soon.

Comic Bits Online: What about Sushi Bar, is that an autobiographical comic?

Chad Allan Thomas: Ha!  No but that would be neat huh?  Actually girlfriend at the time, and now wife, and I had a rotating sushi bar near our apartments in

Nashville, and we joked about what a great commercial that would make.  A few weeks later I surprised her by drawing a comic about it for her.

Comic Bits Online: Both of these are mini-comics, were they done as art samples to show editors or were they designed as a serious project to make money?

Chad Allan Thomas: Man it would be nice to make mini comics for a living.  But no, they were intended for people to enjoy and to hopefully get it into the right hands whether that was an editor, or just someone who’s now a fan of my small amount of work is fine by me.  I just hope people like it.

Comic Bits Online: How did you get the job on Sabrina?

Chad Allan Thomas: Like most jobs that have come my way, it kind of landed in my lap!  I’ve been really blessed so far that I haven’t had to do a lot of digging for work.  But I’m sure I’ll go through times like that.  But this time I was lucky enough for Mike Pellerito to drop me a line and ask if I had room to do two issues for them.  I have no clue how he found my work but I’m glad he did.

Comic Bits Online: Were you a Sabrina fan prior to getting the job?

Chad Allan Thomas: I can’t say that I was.  I knew of course that it was out there and that it had recently changed styles to what Tania del Rio is doing now but I hadn’t gotten the chance to look at it.

 

Comic Bits Online: What is it like working with Tania?

Chad Allan Thomas: Easy?  Tania was pretty hands off and super supportive of everything that I was doing on the book which was really nice.  She pretty much gave me the thumbs up and a few pieces of reference and then said have at it.

Comic Bits Online: Is it easier of harder working with a writer that is also the series artist?

Chad Allan Thomas: There was never a point where I think either of us were frustrated with the process.  I found it to be easy in this case.  I hope she enjoyed the little break!

Comic Bits Online: What is “Salam’s Secret” about?

Chad Allan Thomas: To my knowledge it’s the first full story about Salem before he turned into a cat and ties into Tania’s previous arc on Sabrina. 

Salem is on the hunt for a powerful wand to achieve his goal of world domination and gets a taste of the good life if only for a moment.  From the past issues of Sabrina I’ve caught up on I think it’s safe to say there will be somethings in the story Tania may bring up again later on.

 

Comic Bits Online: How do you think Sabrina fans will react to two issues of Sabrina without much of Sabrina in them?

Chad Allan Thomas: I hope they like them for sure!  It was definitely different than most Sabrina comics before it and that was what really drew me into the project to begin with.  I didn’t have a lot of interest in drawing Sabrina and Harvey to be honest, but when I heard the pitch I was really intrigued.  Seamonsters, as you know I love, pirates, elves, magic towns and psychic bat ladies?  I really had fun drawing a lot of it.

Comic Bits Online: Are there any more issues of Sabrina in your future?

Chad Allan Thomas: You never know.  There’s nothing on the horizon at the moment.

Comic Bits Online: What else are you working on?Chad Allan Thomas: I work with a children’s band in Nashville called the Lads and I do a lot of branding and character work for them.  Seamonster & Samurai is about to kick back into full gear and there are a few other creators and publishers I’ve been talking to about getting something going for awhile now.  We’ll see what comes next….even I don’t know sometimes.