#gehms

February 8-14, 2016

This week, Dwayne Farver is a GEHM Among Us!

We honor our GEHM of the Week by sitting them down for a one-on-one conversation with the Editor-In-Chief, Lincoln Farquharson . . .

LF: Thank you, Dwayne. This is our second installment of our GEHM of the Week and we have the pleasure of honoring you. Where are you from?

DF: I’m from Berwick, a rural town in northeastern Pennsylvania.

LF: Do you still live there?

DF: Yes.

LF: I started reading comic books pre-teen, mainly X-Men. I would go to the comic book shop and get as many as my dad would buy. When did you start reading comic books? What makes you buy them?

DF: I think my interest in sci-fi/fantasy novels is what fuels my current interest in comics. I've been reading on and off for 35-plus-years. I was under 5-years-old when I got my first comic. It was at a newsstand. My father would go to pick up scratch-lottery tickets, and I could pick a comic from the spinner rack. Mostly Superman, Green Lantern, or Justice League - definitely a DC fan. Now, I'm still mostly a DC fan, but branch out into the independants. Kickstarter is a good source as well as conventions. I love walking artist alley and looking for new people excited to share their work. The story will keep me reading. I like conflicted characters that grow, not just stew in their angst or anger.

LF: My favorite question: who is your favorite character in the FarCorners Universe?

DF: All of the characters are so complex, it’s hard to pick just one. Stampede would be my one pick, though. I like his back story and want to see it evolve.

LF: Stampede? Nice!

DF: When did you know you wanted to venture into comics?

LF: I never had a passion to venture into comic books. I actually wanted to bypass it and go straight to television, but this opportunity to start with a comic book presented itself, so I took it. I settled with finally seeing the thoughts in my head become tangible, but my goal continues to be to see this in animation.

DF: Who is/was your biggest influence as a creator?

LF: I have no influencer as a creator; shocking I know. Is influencer a word? (laughs)

DF: I use it. (laughs)

LF: But no, I can think of no one who has influenced me actually. I know of these "legends" in the industry, more so within the last 12 months than I ever did in all my life. I just like great art with great stories, regardless of who writes or draws.

DF: I would have thought you had a literary influence. The story is unique, but has classic 50's sci-fi themes.

LF: It's interesting because I write, but don't read . . . as much as people think I should or do. I just know what I like, I know what others say they like, and I know what is mainly being pushed out there. I think my influence comes more from television than it does the comic books actually, even though I don't have cable. (laughs) For me, I am not trying to duplicate, but to perfect.

DF: I can understand that. I get a lot of, "I can't believe you're not watching or reading That New Thing.” Take the Walking Dead. I am not a fan of cheezy zombie movies/stories, but Kirkman made the story about the people. There just happens to be a lot of zombies trying to eat them. You're doing something similar. The story is about the people, they just happen to be GHEMs.

LF: Exactly! This story isn't about people running around fighting bad guys all day, or even saving the world! That just becomes a result of their actions. The story is really about one man trying to get back home.

DF: What power would you most like to have?

LF: If I can have any power . . . hmmm . . . that's tough. So many to choose from. I guess I would choose either time travel or flight. It's hard. I like to know stuff, so time travel will allow me to know what really happened or what will happen even if I don't live to actually see it all unfold. Flight, because I love the ability to escape it all, just fly away and regain my sanity.

DF: Time travel is up there for me too. I'm a sucker for a good time travel story, paradox and all.

LF: I guess I would choose time travel. That would probably be more exciting and I would definitely die happier. (laughs) And I will try my best to not cause irreparable harm to the space-time continuum. (laughs)

DF: (laughs) I don't know if I could just be an observer

LF: Oh man! You might commit suicide and don't even know it!! You have to be careful!!

DF: Exactly! But I’m a fan of the bootstrap paradox. Sometimes effect precedes cause.

LF: You mean you doing exactly what caused it to happen in the first place? You causing your own birth?

DF: That would be bizarre, but yes. Going back to meet someone, but finding them to be different than what you learned of them. So, you get them interested and on the track, you know.

LF: In TG (Team Genesis) there will be different types of temporal paradoxes explored.

DF: That’s great! I like seeing new takes on time. Where did the first thought to do it come from?

LF: Too much television growing up! (laughs) In our universe, time has no beginning or end. To linear beings, even in the story, that's not true, or it’s inconceivable.

DF: That's very close to my personal view. It isn't linear, only our perception of it. I'm not a scientist and have no math to back it up.

LF: Neither do I, but I do read up on the subject, just to get a better understanding of real theories. Like how Star Trek did. Although it's science fiction it should beg the question: is that possible?

DF: It's great when they use actual theory in the story.

LF: Indeed. So what is your message to  those who may want to venture into the FarCorners?

DF: To talk to you. The passion you showed for your story is what got me hooked. The artwork on the cover was great too, but you were really excited to share the concept in depth; not just a quick standard response.

LF: Thank you for that.

DF: You’re very welcome. I really look for that kind of excitement when I’m at a convention. It's the quickest way to make me reach for my wallet. (laughs)

LF: My first time ever going to a comic book convention was when Team Genesis launched in June of 2014, and what I realized was that the fans make the comic cons, the cosplay make the comic cons, and you are all not appreciated nearly enough in my opinion. To be honest, I probably wouldn't go if it wasn't part of the job of creating a following. So I respect the time, the money, and the patience you all spend in being there. Even when we are dead tired, we always try to find that energy to engage the people when they come to the table. So I thank you for that.

DF: You did a great job of hiding any exhaustion.

LF: Fans like you inspire us to keep pushing.

Get your copy of Team Genesis today and see why Stampede is Dwayne’s favorite!!