I had a chance to sit down with Alan Roberts and discuss his upcoming project Wire Hangers. Sounds like an awesome comic and it is coming at you in March 2010 from IDW.

Dan Royer: First of all lets talk about you. Who are you and what do you do?

Alan Robert: I’m best known for being a founding member and bassist of the hard rock band Life of Agony. I’m also the lead vocalist/bassist for the punk band Spoiler NYC. Recently, I’ve signed a worldwide deal with IDW Publishing to release a horror/conspiracy miniseries titled Wire Hangers which I’m writing and illustrating.

Dan Royer: How did you find yourself getting into making comics?

Alan Robert: I’ve always been into comics. Growing up I’d hit all the conventions. I was a huge Mike Zeck (Punisher, Captain America ) fan as a kid so I’d bug him for autographs and sketches at the Comic-Cons. I ended up going to the School of Visual Arts to become a penciler and had Walt Simonson (Mighty Thor) as a cartooning teacher. I learned a great deal from him in terms of storytelling and page layout. When I graduated in the early ‘90s, my band Life of Agony was offered a record deal from Roadrunner Records and we made an album title River Runs Red and toured for several years. I focused on my music career and put comics on the back burner for a while.

Around 1998, when I was touring with Ozzy, I started getting serious into comics again and started writing Wire Hangers. Over the last 10 years, in between various musical projects, I‘ve been refining the story and characters. This year I was determined to bring it to life. I illustrated about half of issue #1 and hooked up with IDW’s Editor in Chief, Chris Ryall. He dug the idea and decided to release the series next March.

Dan Royer: So what can you tell me about Wire Hangers?

Alan Robert: It’s a horror/conspiracy story that takes place in present day NY. The series starts in March 2010 with a 32-page ad-free first issue. Investigative reporter Anna Davis goes undercover to try and get an exclusive on a wave of abductions plaguing New York City only to find traces of what could be the biggest government conspiracy of our time. There are a slew of intense characters introduced in the first issue like a pill-popping detective, corrupt secret agents and a mysterious homeless man. I don’t want to give too much away, but throughout the series we find out that several of these characters are inter-connected.

Dan Royer: Who are the main characters?

Alan Robert: Anna Davis: Investigative Reporter Channel 12 News
Sam Bakersfield: Channel 12 News Producer
Charlie Moore: PA Channel 12 News
Jonathan Cypra: Mysterious Homeless Man
Detective Jason Barillo: Pill-popping Detective
General Lazar: Rogue Ops Commander
Agent Greer: Gen. Lazar’s right-hand man

Dan Royer: Where did this idea come from?

Alan Robert: Somewhere, in the deepest and darkest part of my brain…heh, heh. It comes from my love of horror and conspiracy stories plus I was probably dropped on my head at some point.

Dan Royer: Can we expect more from you horror comic wise in the future?

Alan Robert: I’d love to, sure! I have some other ideas brewing, actually. Also, the ending of this mini-series opens a lot of new doors for some spin-offs and continuations.

Dan Royer: Can you talk a bit about your experience with IDW?

Alan Robert: One of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys I’ve met so far in this business is IDW’s EIC, Chris Ryall. We started talking over Twitter about music and bands earlier in the year and somewhere along the line we started talking comics. I sent him a box of LOA/Spoiler NYC stuff and he sent me a box of IDW comics. I’m a big Ben Templesmith fan so he had a bunch of the stuff he did for them signed, which was pretty damn cool. We seemed to hit it off right from the start. Landing the comic deal with IDW was really a dream come true for me.

Dan Royer: How do you feel about the new rise of musicians and their relatives getting into the comic game?

Alan Robert: I can only speak for my own situation. Comics have always been a passion of mine. I’ve wanted to create comics long before I was a professional musician. I’m grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to get my series published through such a renowned company. Being a musician definitely helped me open that door, there’s no denying that. But, I’m confident that Wire Hangers will stand on its own two feet. I’m very excited to see what the comic fans have to say about it.

Dan Royer: What comics are you currently reading?

Alan Robert: Just got back from Forbidden Planet in NYC. I picked up Image Comics’ Haunt by Todd McFarlane and Robert Kirkman. I’ve been excited about this one, especially for the art. I used to love Spawn when it first came out. I’ve also been into The Walking Dead and Chew. Been reading 28 Days Later recently, too. Over the past year my favorite’s have been Welcome to Hoxford and Groom Lake miniseries from IDW. I’m a big fan Ben Templesmith’s 30 Days of Night and Wormwood: Gentleman’s Corpse. I like the darker, less traditional stuff in general.

Dan Royer: So in summary give me a quick recap on Wire Hangers and why fans should give it a try.

Alan Robert: Fans of horror, conspiracy and blood and guts should definitely check out Wire Hangers because the series is full of all that good stuff. The art is dark, full of textures and atmosphere and the characters are twisted and memorable. There are a lot of unexpected scenes and “No he didn’t…” moments throughout. There’s a quick teaser online at http://www.wirehangerscomic.com.

Dan Royer: Thanks Alan, I can not wait to check it out.

Comment on the Alan Robert Wire Hangers Interview.