Manchester born Cos is creater of Dead Ends, a graphic novel that tells the story of group of mates living and surviving in present day Worcester, 'with a hint of an upcoming apocalypse to mix things up a little.' But Cos doesn't do sugar coated drawings, the emphasis on real lives makes for an honest portrayal of what its like to be a twenty something. Relationships, work, drugs, alcohol, Cos tells us all with his distinctive style and attitude.
So Cos, give us a description of what it is you do?
I am the creator, writer and illustrator of a planned graphic novel series called Dead Ends. Until I can nab myself a publisher, or more realistically afford to publish myself, the comic is updated and available to read free of charge on the internet.
The plan is a series of 7 full length graphic novels. I'm part way through the first at the moment, having just uploading my fiftieth page. The way I work is way too logically - I first write out a script of the whole book, which when it's finished looks a lot like a screenplay. I then set about working out which dialogue goes where on the page and draw it out. After I've written out the script, which takes about a month if I've planned it right, the pages take about 4 hours to pencil, letter, ink and then colour. On a good day I can get up to three done. On a bad day I wake up late and play XBox. It's not an exact science.
Still with me? I don't know how interesting this is to someone who isn't me.
What have been the highlights of your work?
Me? I'm amazed when I find that someone who isn't a close friend or family member reads my work. Finding out this stuff is a highlight to me, but what's better is some one you've never met in your life telling you that they like it. Because that means that you're doing something right - you're making something that someone else has identified with, and to a writer that is an amazing feeling.
Everything might make perfect sense to me in my head - I wrote it after all - but to another it might not. So even if it's just one person - Mr. Simmons, I'm looking at you here - it's such a boost.
Another highlight for me is the learning I have done. I started making silly little webcomics in my first year at uni, in 2005. Looking at those strips now makes me cringe - the art was awful and the writing somewhat convoluted. I even had some comics in the Uni of Worcester student paper, and they're just as bad.
The thing I love about reading webcomics like Questionable Content (www.questionablecontent.net) is that if you start from the beginning and read to the present day, you can see how much the art has dramatically evolved and improved, and I notice that change in mine too. The internet is a remarkable tool - not only can I display my work, but there are thousands of fantastic resources for people like me - tutorials, articles, how-tos. There has never been a better time for People Who Do Comics.
And the biggest challenges?
Oh man, where to begin? The main challenge for me is motivation. Like I said, on a good day I can knock out 3 pages, but on my down days I can end up doing nothing. And let me tell you something I learned in university - nothing breeds nothing. If I'm lazy one day, it's all too easy to continue the trend. But then I think to myself, this is gonna be my living. In the future, I want to be able to do this full time, instead of taking mundane, shitty jobs in the meantime to pay the bills lest I starve. And if I'm going to be doing this as a day job, then I can't just take the week off. So yeah, motivation is always a big one for me.
The other is much more arbitrary - getting noticed. You could have the best, most amazing graphic novel in the history of the medium, but if no one knows of its existence then what's the point? Money is a big issue - advertising doesn't come cheap - but talking to people, getting involved in the comics scene helps to further widen the net.
My biggest challenge currently is getting my comic out there - getting people reading it. The more people read it, the closer I am to my goal of living this dream.
What events, shows, exhibitions do you have coming up?
Well I have one perpetual exhibition up at the site; the website is pretty much the hub of the whole endeavour - you can read the whole thing from the start to its current page, see the biographies of the characters, like it on Facebook; from the site, in theory, you can see anything you'd ever need to about Dead Ends.
In the future I'd love to be able to go to cons and get set up there. It's on my to do list, but I need to get more readers first, eh?
Where would you like to be in five years time?
If I am not running the world in five years time... that's probably a good thing. I'm not good at politics.
Where I would like to be is set up, self employed and making a living off my comics. I have a list in my head of the landmarks I'd like to hit before I can call myself successful - I've hit a fair few but I've got tons to go, and I'm looking forward to hitting every last one.
In five years, going by my current work, I should be working on the 6th book in the Dead Ends saga, and getting the script done for the 7th and final... in addition, I hope to have made it to the San Diego Comic Con as an artist. That, for me, is the big dream. To be able to hit the biggest con in the world as an artist and not a punter would be a dream come true for me.
Who inspires you? (other artists, designers, websites?)
The back page of each Dead Ends volume is going to be dedicated to all of the folks who inspire me, and it's become a running joke now, as more and more get added every single day. There are a few, however, who are more inspiring to me than others.
Questionable Content by Jeph Jacques: This is, without question, my favourite webcomic and has been since I discovered it 3 years ago. The storytelling and characterisation are amazing, and the art is sublime. Not only that, it's the fact that Jacques is making a living out of it that inspired me to create my own - if people DO make a living from comics, maybe I can too?
Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley: Being a big fan of director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Spaced, Hot Fuzz), I found a tweet of his saying he was making a movie called Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, based on a comic book series. So I went out and read the books - and I was hooked. Never in my life have I read a work of fiction that works on so many levels; it's the reason I planned Dead Ends in book form. The series showed me that you can write a 21st century multi-volume story. Shame the movie was awful.
The People I Know: I write what I know. The characters in Dead Ends are based a lot on me and my feelings, but they'd be nothing if I didn't draw on the people who enrich my life on a daily basis. I've worked in dozens of crappy jobs in all different fields, I've met people whilst at uni I'd never have met under different circumstances; I am the sum of everyone I've met and everything that's ever happened to me. The people I know and the stuff I've done are more of an inspiration than anything else.
