Witch Creek Road S3 Q&A Continued
Season 3 Q&A
Unlike the previous "WCR Explained" posts, this isn't a summary; rather, it's a continuation. There were a lot of good Q&A questions, and we couldn't get to most of them, so I've included a number of those questions here.
CHARACTER QUESTIONS
Q: Is the old man really, truly dead?
A: I'm afraid so. He overplayed his hand. He hoped that, once Pandora was reunited with her heart, he'd be safe – but he made the mistake of telling Pandora that a previous relationship with her (or, at least, her heart) existed. Pandora made the strategic decision to “eliminate the unknown” and killed him as a result.
He was too confident, and paid the price.
Q: How did the Scarred Woman lose her heart?
A: She was cut into pieces and scattered across the globe. She's spent the past few hundred years trying to rebuild herself - and she's almost done. In season 4, you'll see her reclaim the final piece...
Q: Does the detective know the Scarred Woman is his mother?
A: The detective now knows the old man was his biological father, but has no idea about his biological mother. And the Scarred Woman is aware that there had been a son, but has no idea what happened to him. The only person who knows the connection between the Scarred Woman and Detective Thompson is Grace.
Q: Why did the Wolves let the Detective live?
A: They could sense the angles in him. When Awesome approached him in the bar, the first thing she commented on was, "You're different." She follows this up with, "I don't smell any fear." These two pieces of dialogue occur in two different panels, so there's a pause between them - as in, they're two separate thoughts. Most people probably read it as, "You're different because I don't smell any fear," but it should be read as, "You're different. Also, I don't smell any fear."
In short, Awesome could sense the angles within the detective and understood that he was different from the others in the bar.
Unfortunately the Wolves didn't extend this courtesy to Hailey, as she was in possession of Gun. Though Hailey was easily dealt with, Gun (in the right hands) could do some real damage to the Wolves.
Q: What happened to the group that was being tracked by Edwin? Did they get “turned”?
A: No, Kevin wasn't shy about shooting people in the head – and, unfortunately, bodies are pretty useless without the brain to control them.
Q: What happened to Amity (the girl from the window)?
A: There's one final storyline that features Amity, which you'll see in season 4. It begins in a morgue, so... don't expect too much.
Q: When someone is unable to follow simple instructions, can we refer to it as "Doing a Sara"?
A: Yes, that would be awesome.
Q: Is Gun good or bad?
A: I'd say he's good.
Q: Will we ever get some backstory on Gun?
A: Maybe - but likely not in Season 4. But I would like to show a previous incarnation of Gun, like when he was a sword. I feel like that would be a fun story to tell.
Q: How did the Serpent get a human body?
A: This was part of his deal with the old man. The old man provided the Serpent with a body, along with a place to live and money, in exchange for the Serpent keeping Hailey hidden.
Of course we all know how that ended...
Q: What protects the Serpent, and how is he so confident all the time?
A: The Serpent alluded to this in Season 3 Episode 1, but he's covered his body in protective wards. (If you were to see him naked, you would see that the majority of his body is covered in writing). The wards prevent the Wolves from touching him.
Q: Why isn't Grace going after the Wolves, now that she has her newfound powers?
A: Oh, it's coming. Don't you worry.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Q: It was mentioned before that humans experience time "page wise" (that is, forced to experience time in order), while demons comprehend it "book wise" (that is, being able to jump around and have access to all pages and all times). It feels that Mediocre being replaced by Ruthless wasn't noticed by the rest of the crew because an entire book was rewritten. And thus curve-wise Ruthless has always been there and Mediocre never existed. So was Tenebris, who experienced the whole Shaleeta event, affected? And is there a greater dimension than Angles - like a metaphorical "library"?
A: This is an interesting question, and one that could have us falling down a rabbit hole. To put it simply, Shaleeta was summoned to the old man's house by the book. When she arrived, she saw her Wolf version injured, and decided to help. In the “revised” version, she still arrived at the old man's house. The reason for her arrival hadn't changed – she had been summoned by the book.
This is where things change.
Shaleeta arrived and saw her nemesis, the blonde Wolf. Shaleeta grabbed the book and, because the Wolves were distracted by Tenebris, she saw this as her chance to seek revenge. Shaleeta used the book to try to “kill” the Wolf while its attention was focused on Tenebris. Shaleeta, however, wasn't strong enough at this point, and the Wolf slashed out at Shaleeta, striking her in the neck. The sprinklers still went off, and Tenebris, at the end of his power, disappeared. So, in this, the circle was broken – at least for Shaleeta. But the outcome was the same: Shaleeta died. (In the revised timeline, Tenebris was aware that Shaleeta was in the room, but not aware that he killed her originally).
In addition, Wolf Shaleeta “saving” Shaleeta from other world Grace in Season 2 didn't need to happen. Shaleeta was strong enough at that point to save herself. She also would have realized (after being confronted by an alternate Grace) that the world was broken and set about fixing it.
What this all boils down to is, when Wolf Shaleeta was erased, the timeline was rewritten. But very little changed.
Q: Do you have a set story planned out, or is it more "on the fly"? Because one moment I think a character is important and going to make it to the end, and the next moment they die (like Shaleeta, for example).
A: I would probably describe the stories as "60% planned, 40% unplanned". That is, I always know where the story (and season) is going, but there are definitely times when characters deviate from the plan.
It's the same with character outcomes. I generally have a few ideas as to what might happen to any given character, but as the story progresses and certain actions are taken, some of these ideas are closed off, until there's just one outcome left. And sometimes the outcome I'm left with isn't even my favorite one! But it's usually the one that makes the most sense, given the situation and the events that lead up to it.
Q: If Witch Creek Road were made into a movie or series, who would you want to adapt it?
A: Greg Nicotero. He's known more for being a special effects artist, but he's got some experience as a director. And the guy really seems to know his horror. In terms of scripting? I'd be happy with someone who enjoyed the story and wanted to capture the overall “feel”, rather than someone who wanted to put their own “spin” on it.
And if we're talking about animation, then the team behind the “Castlevania” animated series would be amazing. If you haven't seen “Castlevania”, I highly recommend it.
THE TECHNICAL QUESTIONS
Q: What is your process for creating episodes? Do you create storyboards, add dialogue, and then clean up / finalize the art? Do you work off of a storyline? Or plot points? Or is it all just random and somehow not?
A: If I were a one-man show, this answer would be different. But I can't draw, so the process is fairly simple: I have a general outline for the entire season. Using this outline, I create scripts for episodes, breaking the story down by page and panel. Because Kenan and I plan on printing Witch Creek Road eventually, the art is created as traditional comic pages. After Kenan completes the line art, I send these to Anna, who colors them. And, once colored, the pages get cut up and placed in Webtoons' vertical scroll. I then use the scripts that I originally sent to Kenan to add the dialogue. Then it all gets sent to Dayna (our editor at Webtoons) to approve.
Q: How long does it take to create one episode on average?
A: It depends on the episode's length - but let's say, on average, we manage two episodes a month.
Q: How much does Webtoons pay?
A: Ah, this is something I can't answer because it gets into contracts, which are confidential. But I will say this: for the Featured creators who both write and draw, there's potential to make this your fulltime job. For me, I can't draw, which means all of the money I earn goes back into the comic (paying for art and colors). I have a “normal” 40-hours-a-week job that actually pays my bills.
But let me stress that Webtoons is awesome, and they take good care of us. Financially, I couldn't have kept going after season 1 if not for Webtoons.
Q: Will you and Kenan work on another Webtoon together?
A: Probably not – and this isn't because I don't want to! It's more due to the fact that Witch Creek Road keeps us pretty busy. Also, financially, I don't think I could afford to create another Webtoon unless it was Featured as well. And then there's also the fact that I honestly believe it's only a matter of time until Marvel or DC Comics hires Kenan to start drawing Batman or Spider-Man.
But I will continue to work with Kenan for as long as I can!
Q (for Kenan): How do you get your drawings so accurate?
A (from Kenan): "I would not say my drawings are very "accurate", but I do try to stay accurate when it's required - for example, some exteriors or interiors, or likenesses of some characters. In those cases, I use as much reference as I can. If you want anything to look remotely lifelike, reference is a must."
Q (for Kenan): What tools do you use for art?
A (from Kenan): "Because of time restraints, I exclusively work digitally with a Wacom Cintiq 16 using Clip Studio Paint software. This way I can shorten the process as much as I can but still keep the quality. I do draw traditionally, as well, from time to time."
Q: Can you make a Discord server?
A: Okay, full disclosure here: I have no idea what the deal is with Discord. And I'm so busy that I just don't have the time to invest in figuring it all out. That's not to say I'll never make on - it's more that I'll need to figure out what it is, first, and then decide from there...