FRANK BYRNS
What? You have no idea who Frank Byrns is?! Oh,callow youth!
Luckily for you CBO regular Ric Croxton is about to educate you - and thanks to Ric for another great interview!
RC:First off, what got you into writing comic book heroes as prose novels?
FB:That’s a bit of a misconception. My stories feature superheroes, true. I believe that superheroes can exist outside of comic books, just as comic books exist without superheroes. In other words, not every comic has superheroes; why should every superhero appear in comic books? I’d say that the millions of people who watch Heroes every week on NBC agree with me; so do the giant crowds that head out to the theater to see a Spider-Man movie. The numbers don’t lie; if every person who reads the Spider-Man comic on a monthly basis saw the movie ten times each, it would still be a colossal bomb. Clearly, people who don’t read comics like superheroes. So why not feature them in prose stories?
RC:What writers influenced you in your own writing?
FB:Probably every one that I’ve ever read, at least on a subconscious level, and I’ve read a lot. Some of my favorites: George Pelecanos, Richard Price, Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, Flannery O’Connor, Elmore Leonard, Jonathan Lethem, Charlie Huston, Larry McMurtry, Greg Rucka, Michael Chabon, Edward Wright, Jefferson Parker, Giles Blunt, Ken Bruen, Walter Mosley, Cormac McCarthy. Just to name a few.
As for comics, I’ll buy anything Ed Brubaker writes. Bendis. Busiek – Astro City is my favorite comic ever, and a big influence on my own view of superheroes. Vaughn. Tons more. I read a lot.
RC:What books have you written?
FB:I have two collections of short superhero fiction: “My Father’s Son” and “Requiem”. Both of them are available for order wherever fine books are sold. There are stories and excerpts from each available at my website (www.frankbyrns.com).
I am also writing a superhero webcomic, The Order of Valor, over at Drunk Duck, collaborating with talented artist Joe Jarin. We’re into the third issue now, featuring a time-traveling Viking Horde. I know you’re interested now. You can check it out at www.drunkduck.com/the_order_vol_1
And, this past year, I installed myself as the editor and publisher of “A Thousand Faces.”
RC:What is “A Thousand Faces”?
FB: A Thousand Faces is the quarterly journal of superhuman fiction. Four times a year, we publish some of the best original superhero short stories around, from some of the finest up and coming writers around the world. We also have reviews, articles, and interviews related to other superhero fiction that’s being produced and read at a ever-growing rate. The April issue will feature interviews with Christopher Bennett, author of “Spider Man: Drowned in Thunder”, and Rob Rogers, who wrote the upcoming “Devil’s Cape”. I received an advance copy of Rob’s novel, and it is phenomenal. Well worth checking out.
Our primary form of delivery is our website, www.thousand-faces.com, but we also produce a print edition of each issue, for old-fashioned folks (like myself) who prefer to hold what they’re reading in their hands. I know we’re a dying breed, though.
RC:Where can fans buy it?
FB:The print edition is available through our website. The online edition, of course, is absolutely free.
RC:Who are the writers for “A Thousand Faces”?
FB:We take open submissions from writers around the world. Just this week I received an excellent story from a writer in Australia, which we’ll publish later this year.
Some of our “repeat offenders”, i.e. writers who have appeared in multiple issues, include Gilbert Stack, with his Guardian Spirit stories; Andrew Salmon, who has crafted several 
adventures featuring Project X; and Scott Harper’s vampire series.
RC:Any plans on making any of the characters into comics?
FB:That would be up to the individual writers; they own all the rights to the characters that appear in A Thousand Faces. I think that there are several that would make for interesting comics, though. I hope to see some one day.
RC:Do you plan to add illustrations to “A Thousand Faces”?
FB:I don’t think so. The premise of the magazine was to show the world that superheroes could exist outside of comic books, and are just as viable a storytelling engine as detectives, or spies, or any other type of character you see in genre fiction. I think adding illustrations would only weaken that argument.
RC:Will any of the characters have its’ own novel?
FB:Again, that would be up to the individual writers.
RC:When you created “A Thousand Faces” , were you influenced by the Wild Card series?
FB:Definitely. George Martin’s Wild Card books are a touchstone for anyone who’s ever written or read superhero fiction; they were the originals. I haven’t read them all, but I own several of the novels. Walter Jon Williams’ “Witness” in the first volume is one of my favorite stories in any genre. We hope to have a review / retrospective of Wild Cards in a future issue.
RC:Are any of the characters told in different eras like the past or future?
FB:Thus far, all of our stories have been set in the modern age, the recent past or future at the very most. But I think a look at some past heroes would be very interesting, something with a Golden or Silver Age feel. Anybody have something like that they’d be interested in sending our way?
RC:Are you looking for more writers for “A Thousand Faces”?
FB:Sure. We are open for submissions 365 days a year. Details and guidelines are available on our website.
RC:What does the future hold for “A Thousand Faces”?
FB:We just finished our first year of publishing, and I am very proud of the four issues that we produced. My hope and belief is that the next year’s crop will be even better; the quality of the fiction submissions has grown leaps and bounds. I think the addition of more nonfiction features – the interviews, reviews, etc – will help us grow to the next level, whatever that may be. It should be interesting.
