Professional Geeks is a series of interviews with some of the coolest people I know; people who pay their bills being geeks. Mark London is the founder and CEO of Mad Cave Studios, the indie comics publisher behind Battlecats and Midnight Task Force. Mark serves as the creator and writer on all of their current comic book series.
The Modern Gafa: How did you come to be a professional geek?
Mark London: Well, I believed my career before comics was going great, but I couldn’t help but feel a void in the pit of my stomach. That void was a constant reminder that I was not following my true passion of writing stories, creating characters, developing concepts, and building fully realized worlds. I’ve always been compelled to daydream. Whether it was just a scene or an entire story, I would sit down and create my own little mockups. Finally, one day after much internal struggle, my wife just said “Enough, either you go all in and make your dream a reality or just stop talking about it because I’m going insane. Just know that if you want to follow your passion, you have my support.” and here we are today.
TMG: What is an average day of work like?
ML: Well, you know the name of the company starts with Mad, right? It's literally madness 24/7. But the way we see it, we harness the creative side of that madness and apply it to every project that comes out of Mad Cave. It sounds extreme, but it’s always fun. In a nutshell, I write at night for a few hours, then I go to bed and wake up early to go to the office and start the day meeting either with the Editor-in-Chief, Giovanna Orozco, who is also the production coordinator or I meet with the CSO, Christopher Fernandez, who oversees the marketing and publishing divisions at Mad Cave. From there, I plan out more of the writing and go over the pages of art turned in the previous day. I then go home, enjoy my family, and then back to writing. Weekends are all for the family though and I have some me time as well.
TMG: How has being a geek helped you succeed in your work?
ML: Well, it’s simple, because I’m the self-proclaimed king of geeks. Ha ha ha! All kidding aside, I’d say it has helped a lot since it’s given me a clear idea of the things I would like to see out in the market. And at the core of every project, we work on things that we would like to get made. And, hopefully, the fans can feel the heart poured on to every page through fun, cool concepts, and complex characters that entertain your brain. My influences tend to lean heavy towards the 80’s and 90’s, and I tend to explore those eras for content. I like to refer to my influences as my “Toy Box”, the idea being that I have all of these characters and worlds commingling in my brain just waiting to be played around with. But I am also aware of changing markets, so I try to do my best incorporating my influences with modern storytelling to take people on wild and crazy rides through a variety of worlds.
TMG: What is the best thing about your job?
ML: Hands down it’s the people that I work with. All of the artists, designers, editors, managers, I have never met so many talented people with a great work ethic that have a passion to make a difference. They want to produce the best possible comic books out there, their passion for the industry is evident, and that makes what we are doing so much more enjoyable and my job easier.
TMG: Do you still love what you do? Or has your hobby becoming a job tainted the enjoyment of it for you.
ML: No, I adore what I do on a daily basis and feel blessed to have this opportunity. Sure, there are days that I might have the urge to explode but that's part of this or any job. You always have to take the good with the bad. Last time I checked, we claim to be creative people, so when we are faced with a problem, we get creative and persevere. Just the other day, I was traveling with my family and my wife surprised me with a photo of me working on what I love. She made me realize, that working on what I love, no matter where I am, fills my spirit and I wouldn't have it any other way. Here’s Proof :)
You can follow Mark on Twitter @MarkLondonMCS and click here to find out more about Battlecats, Midnight Task Force, and the other unique comics coming from Mark and Mad Cave Studios.
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