| | Promotional artwork for an upcoming graphic novel titled “Gunplay.” Dominick Vivona, a Richfield Springs native, is the illustrator of the comic. | |
Dominick Vivona has been burrowing in his Pennsylvania apartment trying to complete the final pages for the graphic novel, “Gunplay.” Vivona, along with writer Jorge Vega, won a national online contest through Platinum Studios, which made the publication of this graphic novel possible. All the memories of Vivona’s youth in Richfield Springs has fostered his imagination that has brought success today. Vivona’s “Gunplay” journey began at the Pittsburgh Comic Con. He was invited there by Jamal Walton, the writer of Warmageddon, the comic for which Vivona did illustrations. At Comic Con, Vivona met Vega, who took an interest in Vivona’s work. Vega told him about the contest and his desire to enter it with a concept he had been working on. Vega told Vivona that his writing style would pair well with his illustrations. The contest ran from May to August this past year. It’s been said that tens of thousands of people entered. Each contestant entered a pitch that consisted of three concept images and a short story synopsis. From there, the voting panel went through all submissions and picked 50 participants. At that point, one member of those finalists were flown to San Diego for a pitch in front of a panel of judges from Platinum. Out of those 50, 10 were chosen. Then judging continued publicly, which was sponsored by AT&T Blue Room Web site. From those 10 finalists, it was narrowed down to three, then the winner was chosen. Vivona thinks there are two characteristics that set their comic apart from others, the genre and collaboration of the art. “I know that it sounds very obvious, but it’s hard to find those two factors coming together and blending well with one another,” Vivona said. “The industry is filled with excellent ideas, but poor art and vice versa. It’s nice when both are melding into a strong product.” Vivona said the genre “is a cross between a western and supernatural. It’s a new approach to a western that hasn’t been seen in quite the same way anywhere else.” “Gunplay” is about “the haunting tale of a Buffalo Soldier named Abner, condemned to roam the Old West with a hellish curse slung at his waist; a demonic shootings iron that forces him to kill once a day or suffer soul-searing pain. His salvation lies in earning the trust of a boy he’s never met; a boy with an agonizing secret of his own,” Vivona said. The comic’s release is set for March 26. The comic book industry is not something new to Vivona. He remembers “running down to the Busy Bee to eagerly flip through the pages of the newest comics.” Some of Vivona’s favorite comic books are “Sin City” and “Dark Knight Returns” by Frank Miller, “Hellboy” by Mike Mignola and “Queen and Country” by Greg Rukka. Vivona said he really likes stories that deal with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, so, Spiderman and Batman are some of his favorite characters. “That’s why I had such a strong affinity for the main character in ‘Gunplay,’” Vivona said. “Abner is an ordinary man met with colossal circumstances. Characters that have to struggle with internal crises as well as environmental and/or situational adversity makes for an interesting story.” The first comic that Vivona ever read was “Spiderman.” He remembers that the first comics he ever owned were given to him by Brandon Dawley, a Richfield Springs resident. “Up until that point, I only flipped through those colorfully illustrated pages that ignite something fundamentally in tune with my own imaginations,” he said. Those imaginations brought him further back into his childhood where he would imagine ancient creatures near a huge clay embankment just beside the creek behind the public school in town. Vivona said he really doesn’t remember when he began to draw. “I think you would have to ask my folks when they particularly remember seeing me pick up a crayon or pencil for the first time. I don’t remember doing anything else really.” Today, Vivona feels illustrators like Jim Lee, Mignola, Miller, Travis Charest, David Mack and Dave McKean inspire him. “I’m a huge fantasy buff. J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis have had a huge impact on my life, as well as classical mythology and folklore. So, that will always be a genre that I default to when I have some time to go to my sketchbook without any pressure to achieve another vision.” As for memories, Vivona said he has so many fond reminiscences of his childhood in Richfield. “No place I’ve been since has quite the same magical scents in the air from the blooming spring – the green fertile fields and sweltering calm during the summer, the collected rainbow of leaves that fell like fire and begged to be jumped into, the harshest of cutting winds and towering snowbanks during a midnight storm as my hometown of Richfield Springs.”
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