Interview with Blue Phoenix Creator - Joe Archey

   I.C.U. had the chance to catch up Joe Archey about his creation - Blue Phoenix - Now funding on IndieGogo

To start off, can you tell our readers a little about yourself?
   I was born and raised in Pennsylvania near the steel city, Pittsburgh. I'm an Army Vet and a Penn State alum. I'm married to the girl I fell in love with in my teenage years and have two dogs (a Beagle and an AmStaff) and a cat named General Kit Fisto who you can see on my streams on Youtube.
   I've been drawing and creating since I can remember. My first art desk was an old green rough suitcase surrounded by random 80's Star Wars action figures! I was introduced to comics by my dad at a young age, starting with the old Conan the Barbarian, Batman, Superman, Captain America and Wolverine comics.
  I'm a Huge fan of the STAR WARS films, comics, toys and grew up with film franchises like Spider-Man and X-men. I started really collecting comics in 2006-2007 until I joined the U.S. Army Infantry.

    I found my love of art and comics again after I got out, and decided to go into the art program at Penn State with my G.I. Bill. In college I found that I loved doing narrative art, and was drawn to comics as an art form. After school, I found it challenging to find paying work as the market was saturated. I started freelancing, but it was not enough for me. I wasn't fulfilled as an artist.
    Having day jobs that related to my military experience, I kept on with my pursuit in art. I saw the fall of entertainment and comics by way of toxic politics and the rise of Comicsgate (through one of my artistic heroes Ethan Van Sciver's YouTube channel in early 2018) as an alternative to the politically filled comics and poor art coming from the mainstream. I realized that I had all the tools, skills, and community available to me to create my own IP and comics and be fulfilled as an artist. I wanted to tell a great story and make art that people would enjoy as much as I did. I started sketches and concepts for Blue Phoenix, put my own experiences and passion into it, and here we are!

Your project Blue Phoenix is currently funding on IndieGogo. What is Blue Phoenix about?
   Yes! This is my own fully developed character and world that I created with my experiences in real life to tell this deeper story.
   Here is my elevator pitch : We follow Will Wryneck, a rookie police officer fresh out of the academy as he learns to deal with his new job in these trying times and cope with the fact that an ancient Egyptian helmet that was given to him has incredible supernatural power.
   He learns that nothing is a coincidence when an outbreak of abnormal crime happens in his community and he’ll need to find answers to harness this new power and protect his hometown.

   What is this relic? Why did it come to him? Who can he turn to? How will he stop an unstoppable force? This is a story of heroism, detective work, ancient secrets, and godly power.

Discovering an ancient artifact gives the main character his powers. What kind of powers does he have?
   The Helmet is the source of his power. It gives him the ability of flight and to manipulate plasma energy. His mystical blue suit flames on and grants him additional strength, endurance, and some protection from outside forces and his own flames.
   His weaknesses are: The suit takes a tremendous toll on his body, sending heat thorough his mortal muscles. He needs rest after wearing it and more rest the more energy he uses. His powers are diminished at night, which will be unfortunate for our hero in the story.

What kind of adversaries will we see in the book?
   Will Wryneck will be forced to take on an unknown ancient Egyptian force, a hell of a lot of snakes, and his own fears about his new job as a police officer. He will need to gain control of his newfound power or see his hometown destroyed. Only the answers that he needs to uncover and the ancient power of the sun can give him a fighting chance of overcoming this invasion.

​You are handling every aspect of the creation of Blue Phoenix. What has that been like?
   It's a huge task to take on, doing everything from the layouts to the lettering. I love challenges and this one is energizing and means everything to me. I also like full control over my projects and making sure things are done on time. I don't have to wait on art or writing as I'm doing it myself. I'm not doing this all alone though! The trading cards and bookmark are done by my Dad and Brother!
   My dad, Rob Archey (Bat to the Future), is doing the free trading cards that you can see on the campaign now! AND my brother Luke Archey (The Rifleman) drew the bookmark! They are both fantastic, talented artists and it's great to have family I trust on board to create more free content for you to enjoy and collect! You can check out both of their art on Instagram! Rob Archey: @robarcheyart  Luke Archey: @lukearchey

​Are you drawing traditionally or digitally?
​    All Digital, though the head sketches (by me) and the original trading card and bookmark art for sale are traditional inks.

​How far along is the book?
​   I have 6 completed pages ready for print, the book started as 24 pages, but I'm on page 26 now and it will keep growing. There is so much story to tell and I will put as much as possible into the first issue.

This is planned to be book one in the story of Blue Phoenix. What can we expect for the future of the series?
   Yes, this is one complete story. That is the kind of comic I personally like to read, but I have two more planned to tell the full story of Will Wryneck. The world is built on ancient Egyptian secrets and the enigma of pre-recorded human history. It is unlimited in concepts and stories to tell. I hope to keep this universe alive for years and this is the first look! Future stories will be complete within themselves but will be a part of this universe.

Back Blue Phoenix on Indiegogo

Follow Joe Archey on Twitter: @gothic_arch