The following is an interview with C. Edward Sellner. The co-creator and writer of the upcoming Savage World and Monarch of Manhattan comic book series.

Marx Pyle: If you weren't a writer, what would you be?

C. Edward Sellner: Well, I'm not JUST a writer, so I would just be what I am...more. I'm an outreach worker involved in ministry to families and youth in crisis. I run an agency dedicated to that. That work is my deepest passion.

Marx Pyle: If you could be any comic book character, who would you be and why?

C. Edward Sellner: Hmmm, these days, probably Captain America, because in his earliest days he had the honor of fighting alongside real world heroes, namely those soldiers who defend our country. I'm not saying I agree with all the politics of this war, but one of the young men I mentored, Stephen, is now a Marine and soon to ship out to Iraq. As proud as I am of him and the man he's become, if I had the chance to stand alongside him it would be an honor.

Or...Cyclops, so I could call Jean Grey my girl. :)

Marx Pyle: What is a typical workday for you, now that you are working for Kandora Publishing?

C. Edward Sellner: Typical? Writing is definitely not a 9 to 5 job. I initially spent about two weeks, every available moment, developing the story bibles for the two series. This is all the background and detail that adds depth to the worlds of Savage World and Monarch Of Manhattan. I then plotted out the story arcs for the first year, mapping out the four issue arcs that will each be collected into trade paperbacks. Once that is done, the actual script can take about three business days to write, since I am still getting comfortable with it, and since we are doing 32 pages each issue.

Marx Pyle: When did you start writing professionally?

C. Edward Sellner: My first published work came when I was in high school. I've written a number of articles, reviews, etc. etc. since then, but focused on my other career. I wrote extensively creatively, but went long years not trying to go professional. Kandora is my first published comics work, and my first mainstream published fiction work as well.

Marx Pyle: What's the main premise of Savage World?

C. Edward Sellner: Savage World is basically a story of teenage angst, growing up, finding the world and everything and everyone in it changing, sometimes turning on you, or at the least, facing it feeling alone. Having it set on a futuristic post-apocalyptic Earth with monsters, zombies and a fiery Hellhound is really just icing on the cake!

Savage lost everything he ever loved on the day he was supposed to become a man, now, he is humanity's only hope.

Marx Pyle: How did the idea for Savage World first come about?

C. Edward Sellner: When I was a kid, with an overactive imagination and a lot of freetime on my hands. I've done a lot of quality tweaking, but seriously, it was a story I plotted and wrote when I was a mere kid.

Marx Pyle: What's the main premise of Monarch of Manhattan?

C. Edward Sellner: Monarch of Manhattan is about coming to terms with the world we've created and imagining what it could be. It's about having the stones to make a difference in a way no one else would ever dare, and doing things in ways never before done.

Shakalla, our hero, is a man who was raised to be the absolute monarch of the largest empire of his world and time, a tribal like empire, it was a place of peace, harmony and learning. The people were primitive by choice to live in harmony with the world. Shakalla was then betrayed and exiled, his throne stolen by en evil wizard named Daemonn Thornne. Even as a boy he fought against the wizard, and was on the very verge of finally defeating him when Thornne stepped through a magic portal and was gone. Shakalla leapt after him, and arrived in Central Park, New York, 2005!

The whole series is taking someone who is a mixture of Julius Ceasar, Ghenghis Khan, Shaka of the Zulu and Alexander the Great, with an entirely different background and world view, and forcing him into our world. Monarch of Manhattan will be a bit controversial at times as I will be tackling real world, tough issues and Shakalla will not often approve of the way we run our world.

Marx Pyle: How did the idea for Monarch of Manhattan first come about?

C. Edward Sellner: Fellow Kandora writer Brian Augustyn and I are good at 'bouncing' off each other...ideas that is. I wanted to do a brand new property, one with no personal history, unlike Savage World. Brian mentioned the sub-genre of a human hero or heroine caught up in an alien world (a la Flash Gordon, Farscape). I got to thinking about turning that inside out and doing a completely alien man, different from anything we've known, though still human, living in our world. I hope Shakalla will grow into one of the most unique and complex heroes in comics.

Marx Pyle: When will Savage World & Monarch of Manhattan be coming out?

C. Edward Sellner: Savage World releases in May and Monarch of Manhattan in June, so they will be in the February and March Previews respectively.

Marx Pyle: How far do you have Savage World & Monarch of Manhattan plotted out, and do you already have an end in mind for each of the series?

C. Edward Sellner: Savage World having been a story I was writing on for some years, has plenty of material plotted out, which could fill the first 100 or so issues. Scary huh? Monarch of Manhattan is plotted in detail through the first year with several other 'arcs' forming in the subterranean layers of my mind that will probably take it through the first 24 some issues.

As for an end, I personally always map out the beginning and ultimate ending of any series/character I write, in terms of the BIG picture, but leave enough room for an endless middle. I never want to rob a reader by not ENDING a series, even it it's canceled, it should be resolved.

Marx Pyle: Do you have any other comic book projects coming up in the future?

C. Edward Sellner: I have a few other things in the works. I will be doing covers and promotional art for another new publisher debuting in 2005, and I also have two creator owned series I am trying to find a home for, both of which I am currently fully producing, writing, art, etc. It's too early in any of this to say more at the moment.

Marx Pyle: What presents the biggest challenge to you when writing a comic book?

C. Edward Sellner: Challenge? Hmmm. Every script is different, but if you want something general...

I try very hard to write every script as if every issue delivers a full 'story' with beginning, middle and end to that story, yet each story fits into a larger story, and each larger story fits into a larger mythos. That's not always easy to balance. I think almost anybody with a keyboard and half an imagination can write a single 'good' script, or come up with a cool 'concept' but creating something with depth, detail and range is where skill comes out and thus where I push myself hardest.

I also push myself to have something, plot twist, action scene, sub-plot, totally unexpected in almost every issue, at least one thing where the reader will stop and go..."whoa, didn't see that one coming!"

Marx Pyle: What would be your dream comic book project?

C. Edward Sellner: Okay, listen up big comic book guys...My dream project is to write and draw a monthly series that features crossovers with all the greatest characters from comics, as well as movies, novels, TV, classic stories, etc. in chapter stories that link together into a massive crossover storyline that would make Crisis on Inifinite Earths and Secret Wars pale in comparison! (Am I a comic geek or what?)

I've got the perfect one in my head! It would work! And, to make it a smidgeon more possible? I would take only a small page rate, and all profits would go to non-profit outreach programs. Any takers?

Marx Pyle: Who are some of your biggest influences?

C. Edward Sellner: In life: Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Christ (#1), Deitrich Bonhoeffer

In comics: John Byrne, George Perez, Neal Adams, Frank Miller, Joe Kubert, Wil Eisner, and of course, Jack Kirby!

Marx Pyle: How long have you been writing?

C. Edward Sellner: About 20 minutes now...Oh, you mean in life? Since I was about five! Still got the first Superman comic I made when I could barely handle crayons. Seriously, it was a seven page comic! It was horribly done, but for a five year old? It was probably the peak of my genius stage knowing my luck.

Marx Pyle: Are you planning to work exclusively in the comic's world or keep branching out into other areas?

C. Edward Sellner: Well, as I mentioned, I already am pretty acknowledged and recognized in my other fields of counseling, ministry and outreach, where I run my own agency and have now for several years. I am continuing my work there.

As for creative stuff, I plan to branch out. I currently write a weekly column comics on a major media site called Broken Frontier. I am working on two books right now, one fiction (horror/fantasy) and one non-fiction, Christian inspirational, that are going to both be considered by major publishers. The non-fiction is actually a solicited submission, so I am really excited about the possibility there. I also plan to expand the art end of my stuff, hoping to do illustrations for games, comics and other various tidbits. Finally, I would like to try my hand at screenplays and making moving comics someday (ie. movies, TV).

Marx Pyle: What does the publishing name Kandora stand for?

C. Edward Sellner: It is a play on a nickname our publisher had as a boy, Kandori, who is a mischevious, troublemaker figure, like Jerry the mouse from the cartoons, always pulling something and getting away with it because he's that smart.

Marx Pyle: Thanks for your time Chuck and best of luck to you and Kandora Publishing.

C. Edward Sellner: Thanks for your interest Marx!