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“It really creates some very different and weird characters in this world of The No Name. Like Gary and I we start with characters who embody and we have these emotional stories that Gary and I can really draw on because everything we do, we want to be emotional and intriguing and different.” “With that, Junkyard Joe is this soldier who was created for war and his stories of him bonding with another soldier, a human soldier in that war and then trying to find a place in the world afterwards, we thought was really a compelling, emotional and interesting story. And a fun story too. It contains It contains elements of everything but it really comes from a soldier’s journey home and trying to find his place in the world.”
In a sense, Junkyard Joe becomes a neutral vehicle for the reader, allowing him to make sense of the veteran’s experience. For Frank, that was exactly the goal – to create the visual story through art that allows the reader to put their own feelings into the story and experience.
“If you don’t fit it too firmly with a real person, which I don’t think would necessarily have been done given our limited experience, but by taking a nearly blank slate, people can put their emotional response to it,” Frank said. “His face obviously never changes. So, it’s all sort of, the angle of the head or the position of something, maybe on the eyes I could use a reflection shape or something, but because it’s such a blank slate, people bring their stuff to it. So , in that sense, you don’t necessarily need to relay everything. We don’t necessarily need to relay everything ourselves. People can sort of find it. And the fact that he never speaks well is another thing that seems to be a limitation that actually turns out to be something that works. People. They bring to him a lot themselves as he reads it.”
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Johns added that because Junkyard Joe is like a “blank slate,” the reader will also learn alongside the character – allowing for a greater understanding of the things the character and real-life veterans experience.
“So, in this first issue, when he starts to relate to these soldiers in the platoon, we see why,” Jones said. “We understand why. And when he acts the way he acts emotionally, we react to him.”
Jones also said that the story is very much about trauma, specifically the trauma experienced by people who were directly affected by others’ decisions to go to war.
“I would just say it’s about the trauma. It’s about the sadness. It’s about the loss and the struggle, and that’s what the story is about,” Jones said. “It’s not about the people who choose to go to wars or the people who make the decisions. It’s about the people who got caught up in their hurdles and then what that experience is. And so, yes, it’s more of an individual personal story than a global one.”
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But even though the story is a single character story, the first issue is poised to do well on a global scale. Part of the proceeds Junkyard Joe #1: Black and White Veterans Special Edition It will be donated to the National Alliance to Help Homeless Veterans and War Veterans. In addition, Mad Ghost Productions donates $2 for every issue purchased so that the entire cover price goes primarily toward helping veterans.
“We wanted to tell this story and I think it’s great that we can tell this human story and the comic book story, but then also raise awareness and shine a light on the fact that these organizations are out there, these charities that are really helping, specifically, homeless veterans. And not just homeless vets, but also helping veterans who are struggling not to end up homeless.” “And we did some research and found these two great charities, one in the US and one in the UK where Gary originally grew up and we worked with them and we partnered with them on this and we found a great way, with the support of Images, to raise money and support these organizations.”
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For both Johns and Frank, the effort to help veterans is a personal one. As noted above, John and Frank had grandparents who served in World War II and this cause pays tribute to them.
“There are two levels to me,” Jones said, “because there’s a kind of personal and emotional level to that side. I’ve never been able to meet my grandfather.” “He died before I was born. I wish I had heard stories about him, and my mom would talk about him, which is why I made her write his devotion, because she knows him. And just to be able to do something like that for her and my family meant the world.”
He added, “I don’t think my mum ever thought her dad would be remembered, and to be able to do something as small as this is so beneficial for us.”
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For Frank, he served both his grandfather and grandmother. Dedication to them was something important to his mother as well.
“I’ve never heard my mother get so excited about something I’ve been working on,” Frank said. “When I told her about it and when I was asking her for information, she wanted to know everything we were doing. I really cared about a way that, when you only draw superheroes, maybe it’s not quite so. Very interesting to people from the outside world.”
Frank said his mother ended up on a “treasure hunt” to develop an understanding of the things his grandmother did in particular during the war, and after putting it all together, the dedication complete with a photo of her parents in uniform is very important.
“I think it was the most important comic book page I’ve ever been on,” Frank said. “It was really cool.”
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He wants both Frank and Jones Junkyard Joe To be special to other veterans and their loved ones as well. The issue also includes an address for readers to submit their own dedications that will be included in future issues.
“These are pages that are special to us,” Jones said. “And we have a note in the back of the first issue, we want other readers to send in their dedications and we will put them in our book. We would like to thank everyone and allow people to thank everyone in their own way.”
Thanking people like this is just part of what Johns and Frank hope people will stay away from Junkyard Joe with. They also hope it helps people understand that soldiers and veterans just need to be welcomed home, listened to, and understood.
“We’re not saying anything about a particular war, we’re talking kind of about how people can go and how they can be traumatized after that and then really, just when they get home, that’s when people need to be there for them,” Frank said. “We have to understand that people are going through horrible things. And then when they come back, they don’t necessarily need to judge them based on the political merits of whatever the war was about at the time. They just need to say hello, and then get people to listen and understand.”
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You can find more information about Junkyard Joe less. You can find more information about helping veterans over here The National Coalition of Homeless Veterans over here. Junkyard Joe #1 will be released on October 5th.
• Junkyard Joe #1 Cover A by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220009
• Junkyard Joe #1 Cover B by Robert Love and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220010
• Junkyard Joe #1 Cover C by Andrea Mutti – Diamond Code AUG220011
• Junkyard Joe #1 Cover D by Jerry Ordway and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220012
• Junkyard Joe #1 Cover E by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220013
• Junkyard Joe #1: Black and White Veterans Special Edition Cover A by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220014
• Junkyard Joe #1: Black and White Veterans Special Edition Cover B by Robert Love and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220015
• Junkyard Joe #1: Black and White Veterans Special Edition Cover C by Andrea Mutti – Diamond Code AUG220016
• Junkyard Joe #1: Black and White Veterans Special Edition Cover D by Jerry Ordway and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220017
• Junkyard Joe #1: Black and White Veterans Special Edition Cover E by Gary Frank and Brad Anderson – Diamond Code AUG220018
Junkyard Joe #1 It will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
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