Interview with The Embrace Creator Michael Oden

Indie Comics Underground had the chance to talk to Michael Oden about his newest comic creation - The Embrace - Now in pre launch on Indiegogo

Your comic - The Embrace is currently in the pre-launch phase on Indiegogo. What is The Embrace?
​    The Embrace is our gothic take on superheroes that teams a mourning and angry father with the ghost of his son as they bring the people responsible for the son's death to justice.

You've said that the story is similar to things like The Crow and Haunt. Are there any other influences or inspirations that helped lead you to creating this story?
   I mean from a design and aesthetic standpoint I told Dean that I really wanted this suit to work like a symbiote. However, the biggest influence for me, creatively, wasn't a comic at all. 2020 was a rough year for a lot of people, and while it got me into comics (which was a HUGE positive), on the other hand, I lost my relationship with my wife.
​    Considering we have a son, going from being with him every day to only seeing him part of the time has been like tearing my heart out. The Embrace in no small way has been a way for me to channel that pain and loss that I have felt, and make something constructive out of it.

The description on Indiegogo talks about a father being saved by the ghost of his son. Without spoiling anything, how important is this to the heart of the story?
​    It's honestly the whole core of the book. The Embrace is a dark book, but in this dark universe where the world has robbed the life of this innocent kid and left the father seemingly void of closure or justice, his son David is the light. David is in no small way the soul of this book, and while Clarence (the father) may be the story's protagonist, David is its hero. 

What kind of abilities does The Embrace have?
​    So The Embrace is this suit that emerges from the bond of Clarence and David. it's activated by them coming together for a hug. David's soul serves as the core of the suit as that star on The Embrace's chest, and as for what the suit can do, well for one it makes him impervious to most bodily harm, he can jump higher, run faster, and the suit can summon hands out from it to grab hold of things. There is a lot of stuff the suit can do, but I don't want to give away too much, so for the rest, well, you'll just have to back it and see for yourself! 

Who is the team working on the book?
Dean James is my co-creator and is doing the linework on the book, I am handling the duties of storytelling, Es Kay is handling letters, Avery Ferdinand is the colorist, and Lee Byron Carver (Man called Kemosabee) is the editor! We have a lot of other artists attached to the project in various different ways such as the Barton Brothers from How To Draw Comics, who did a beautiful cover that we are using for the Limited edition of the book!

When do you plan on going live with the Indiegogo campaign?
   March 1st, 2021! We will be launching alongside Perfect 10 Issue 2 and so if you purchase both The Embrace and Perfect 10, you will get an exclusive pinup by the ever-talented Russ Leach (Only Death Can Save Us), featuring both 10 and The Embrace! 

Do you see plans for more stories with The Embrace or is this a one shot?
    This is issue 1 of the main story, The Embrace will be back! 

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Sign up for The Embrace on Indiegogo

Follow Michael on Twitter: @ElysianFields_0