MIKE JOZIC:What do you think of the cancellation of the Harsh Realm television series?

JAMES HUDNALL: I'm disappointed, obviously. For once I agree with Chris Carter. Fox botched the launch of the series badly and cancelled it before they had a chance to see if it would gain a following. It was one series of f-ups after another.

JOZIC: Do you think the cancellation had anything to do with the lawsuit and the pressure you guys were putting on FOX?

HUDNALL: No. Maybe a tiny part, but a very tiny part. Our lawsuit was nothing to Fox. Just a minor nuisance. The show was cancelled due to some weird politics over there that had nothing to do with us.

JOZIC: For anyone not keeping up with the 'controversy', can you explain what the situation with you, the creators, Harris comics and Fox was?

HUDNALL:The show is based on our comic book series of the same name but Carter made a bunch of changes, [so] the credits [now] read "CREATED BY CHRIS CARTER" and don't even mention us. We sued to get our rightful credit. They stuck on an inspired by credit on the third episode, the day before we went to court for the injunction hearing. Now we are talking a settlement that will involve a much better credit, but no agreement has been reached yet.

JOZIC: From what I've seen on the newsgroups and in the fan press, you seem to be taking the whole Realm thing in stride compared to the comments Andrew made to CBR recently. Is that just an interpretation, or is this just another day at the office for you?

HUDNALL: I got over my anger months before the show aired. I went through a lot of angst, but I have long ago learned that anger does not help you. So I have focused on solving the problem constructively. I also am realistic about how sleazy Hollywood can be. Andrew never ceases to be amazed and angered by it all. I just see it as a hurdle to cross.

JOZIC: Now that the show is off the air, what does that mean for everybody involved?

HUDNALL: No new episodes, but they shot nine, so they will make their way to SciFi channel or some place and probably get aired overseas. So it will not completely disappear. A high production show like this is likely to get a lot of airings on cable.

JOZIC: Problems with the show aside, did you think Carter and crew were doing a decent job with their interpretation of it?

HUDNALL: I'm split on this. In some ways they did an excellent job, but I think the characters were badly written, especially Thomas Hobbes and Sophie. I also think Carter's ellipical storytelling style is lazy and confusing. He should learn the three act structure for a change. So I would give it a 71/2 out of 10.

JOZIC: I recently heard about the cancellation of another deal of Carter's, this one with JMS and the new show they were going to do for CBS. It looks like FOX Studios pulled support for the show shortly after the cancellation of Harsh Realm, stating that Realm's failure was a result of it not being created entirely by Chris Carter, so anything he doesn't do solo will fail, I guess.

HUDNALL: Yeah, pretty obnoxious of them. In court they claimed the show was 100% Chris Carter except for the title and the VR idea. Now they are passing the buck. Lame.

JOZIC: I was wondering if you might have any comments on that being one of the actual creators of Harsh Realm?

HUDNALL: They should have stuck to my comic. It would have been more entertaining and attracted a wider audience. The military thing turned off a lot of potential viewers, especially women.

JOZIC: Let's put Harsh Realm aside for a while and talk about Aftermath. What is it, and when will we be able to see it?

HUDNALL: Aftermath is a new comic I am working on that was originally slated for an online comic company I was involved with. However, I am sorry to report that that company is not going to happen now, so I am looking for a new place to do it. The first episode is done, so at the very least it will appear on my site. The art is fantastic and I am extremely pleased with the comic in general. I hope to bring it to the world in 2000 one way or another.

JOZIC: Why was the choice made to go online with the series rather than the traditional print format?

HUDNALL: The print format is failing to make anyone money right now. Most comics coming out are done at a loss or are barely making a profit. I think the internet offers a way for people to see new comics and try them out for almost no money, which is how it used to be. Years ago, comics were so cheap it was no big deal to sample them and see if you liked some new book. Not anymore. It's so expensive now that we are losing new readers. So this is a way to hopefully get people reading comics in that vast internet audience which is approaching a billion people. I also think that accessability is a big thing. It's hard to find many comics these days in the stores. But if it's available 24/7 on the internet, and accessable from your house, that will make it more attractive to people. The trick is letting them know where to find it.

JOZIC: Where did you find Rafa? There's no panel work available, but the little preview character sketch looks great! I can't wait to see 'full page artwork'.

HUDNALL: He is a Spanish Artist I met when I went to a convention in Madrid early this year ('99). I had been talking to him previously when a friend of his sent me samples of his work.

JOZIC: Your website says that Aftermath will have animation and sound. Where is the line drawn between comic book and animation if it's presented in a multi-media format?

HUDNALL: Animation will be only incidental stuff. Like lights blinking on a console, or things oving in the background. It's still a comic, because it is presented in a panel to panel form. It is not presented as a film. But we are able to do things with movie direction style camera moves, like zooms, pans, tilts, etc, to make it more jazzy. Comics need to be sexied up for the internet generation. The old print version is too crude for kids today, I think. This is more interactive.

JOZIC: You've also been writing a book, The Secrets To Writing Comics for a while now. Where did the idea for the book come from and how long have you been working on it?

HUDNALL: I have been working on it for four years, on and off. It has been sitting on my computer for awhile now, because the market seems so dead, it's hard for me to justify putting it out right now. But I got the idea when I realized there was nothing worth a damn out there for writers. There are great books for artists and storytellers who can draw, but nothing for writers that gets into some essential story structure and characterization areas. Most people in comics don't understand the basics of story structure, which you need to know if you wan to write effectively. A lot of comics suck because of this.

JOZIC: When will the book be done and who is it being released through?

HUDNALL: Don't know. I keep meaning to finish it, but I keep being put off by the horrible state of the market right now. Hopefully soon is all I can say.

JOZIC: Again, on your website in one of your 'Naysayers' essays, you say that comics aren't actually dying, they're just not all that good at the moment. Some people say the future of comics has come and gone, what is your opinion on the 'State of the Industry'?

HUDNALL: The medium has a lot of potential to survive, but the people doing comics, and publishing them, for the most part, are only money oriented and are cranking out crap to try to second guess their dwindling audience. That is no way to build on readership. The industry is failing to do the simplest things needed to expand oor market. So we may see the industry eventually die as it is today, but I think comics have a chance to do the Phoenix trick again. It will just be in a way no one expects.

JOZIC: What projects do we have to look forward to from you in the coming months? Anything I might have overlooked that you would like to plug a little?

HUDNALL: Stalker is going to come out next year in print and to a degree on the internet. It's a revamp of the series I did called Twister. And it's got a cool artist named Angel Fernandez involved. I am also planning to do some illustrated fiction with John Ridgway. But for now, I am still kind of examining my options in the face of this rather dismal business.

As of this writing, FOX has confirmed that all eight episodes of Harsh Realm will, in fact, be aired in March of 2000. The episodes will appear on their sister network, FX.