Creator Spotlight: Håvard and Eddie of Grapple Seed

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these.  I’ve actually been working on this interview with comic team Eddie Jensen and Håvard Heggenhougen since April!  Whelp, here it is, better late than never.  Check out what these two awesome dudes have to say about themselves and their excellent comic, Grapple Seed.

D: Alright, tell me a bit about yourselves.

E: Hi I’m Eddie, I draw Grapple Seed, I’m 24, I don’t really sleep, sometimes I eat. I’ve been making webcomics since I was 11, and if you were on drunkduck around 2003-2004 I was that punk kid who undeservingly took up the #1 spot far more often than I should have.

I live in Norway, I’m barely educated, unemployed and chasing a pipe dream. Currently I live above my parents garage as if I were some sort of sitcom uncle, stowed away in my mothers sewing room. It’s great.

H: My name is Håvard Heggenhougen. I write Grapple Seed. I’m 25 and studying for a master’s degree in architecture, which hopefully should suffice as a serviceable backup job should my career as writer/comic-book creator ultimately prove to be fruitless. I live in Oslo, in a small bedsit apartment right next to my school. Also right next to me are all the amenities I could possibly need, Gym, library, cinema, stores, public transport, cafes and pubs. I like having everything close to where I live, even though I don’t leave my apartment at all.

D: So what are some of the best things about living in Norway?

H: Free health care, low poverty rate, low crime rate, high life expectancy, social support, much freedom, high levels of education, great nature, and even our cities are extremely green and full of parks and trees everywhere.

E: Governmental comic grants.

D: How did you guys meet and start working together?

H: After graduating high school, Eddie and I met at a sort of one-year boarding school, which offered a course in comic book creating. This type of school is a thing unique to Norway and is called Folkehøgskole (Folk high school). It’s a place that offers courses in different popular hobbies and activities, and is meant to make you learn just as much from outside of class as inside it, by forcing you to live together with other people.

E: We started working together back when I was freelancing full-time, and I was having trouble making rent and eating at the same time. So I wanted a project that I could practice getting faster with, but I was way too worn out and mentally dead to think of anything, So I asked my good friend Håvard if he could write me up a SHORT story, or like a gag strip, something simple that I could use for practice, and he comes back with Grapple Seed, which while far from being short, is just the thing I want to work on, so I fell in love with it right away, and that’s been my main focus since.

D: Tell us about your creative projects.

E: I have loads of projects, the only ones I care about right now though are Grapple Seed, which Håvard can speak more on and Master of Theft which is a comic I used to draw in my teenage years that I am thinking of relaunching after I figure out how to make it work. Master of Theft is the story of rich inventor Leon Brinks seeking new thrills as he attempts to become a Master Thief but ends up betrayed by someone he hired to be his mentor. The comic
starts around when Leon escapes from jail to make chase of his former mentor and free himself of charges. Did I mention it’s a whacky scifi adventure comedy? cause it is. Imagine like a giant chase scene in space, with a heavily character driven narrative. IF I can make it work.

H: Eddie and I are collaborating on the webcomic Grapple Seed. An adventure story set in an upside-down world, where life has adapted to hang from the surface. The plot follows a boy named Turner on a quest to figure this world out, and help others along the way.

Grapple Seed is really my first fair attempt at any kind of project that involves actual publishing, online or otherwise. Since we started making Grapple Seed though, I’ve been in regular contact with some of the editors of the European Donald Duck magazine. I wrote a script that they bought from me, and I have plans on making even more. Other than this I try to incorporate comics into my school projects and presentations as much as I am allowed.

D: Can you give my unfamiliar readers the elevator pitch for Grapple Seed?

H: In a world where gravity is turned on its head, people live in small societies in the ground unable to traverse the land without falling into the sky below them. But one boy’s determination sets him off on an adventure to climb the surface, meet new people, see all sorts of wonderful places, and through a series of ordeals make the world a better place.

D: That sounds pretty cool! What inspired the story and world of GS?

H: The core story and general plot progression of Grapple Seed is inspired by different lighthearted adventure stories. Some of it comes from a couple of animated TV series that both Eddie and I enjoy, like Avatar: The last airbender, Oban star racers and Jim Button. For me personally I also see myself inspired by the Donald Duck stories of Carl Barks and Don Rosa, novels by Astrid Lindgren and classic Norwegian fairy tales as well as stories from one thousand and one nights.

As for the world, that came to me as I was looking at settings from Zelda: Skyward Sword, Bioshock: Infinite and Laputa: the castle in the sky, and thinking to myself “There must be lots of unused space under all those floating islands and such. But how would somebody live under a floating island or a floating continent for that matter? They would probably prefer to live on top of the ground” And then I thought “What if they had no choice? What if the whole planet’s gravity was reversed so that everything would fall away from the earth? The ground would be above everybody, and an endless abyss of sky would lie below.” This lead to another series of interesting thoughts, like “Well, the planet itself had to be unaffected of course, or else it would disintegrate and crumble into atoms. But let’s say that the planet forced anything that wasn’t made out of the same as its main components away from it. This would not only mean that all biological life had to evolve in ways that made them adaptable to such a world, but also that rocks and dirt would fall up towards the earth.” This is what laid the basis of the whole premise. I decided that the best story to tell in a world as unique as this would have to be an adventure story, that could take the reader on a grand journey, and Eddie agreed.

D: Where do you see GS going? What are your plans for it?

E: I’ve often joked about wanting to be mad boss famous on Twitter and other social media. But all jokes aside, I think if anything’s going to skyrocket my popularity it’ll be Grapple Seed, and that series and concept really has the potential to be anything. A game, a show, a movie, kids book, novel and definitely toys. Though we are without a doubt just focusing on getting the comic done first. So right now I’m just working towards being able to put out two updates per week in the near future, and then someday maybe three updates per week.

H: Like Eddie, I also see the potential for this IP. There is nothing quite like it out there, and sometimes I actually kind of fear we need to get recognized fast, so that somebody from Hollywood or something doesn’t just sweep in and steal our concept without anybody giving us proper credit.  I’d love it if Grapple Seed did manage to get some main stream appeal though. Actually making a profit would be wonderful, but as of right now we’re not making any money on the project. We need to make people notice us, through advertising and such. We are also planning on publishing the first part of our story as a printed edition featuring Norwegian dialogue, in an effort to get noticed by an audience in our own country. We’ll probably have this issue ready sometime during the summer.

Once we do get noticed though, we plan on getting famous, and once we get famous, we plan on selling out like cheap prostitutes on a dirty street corner. You won’t be able to walk 20 yards without seeing an ad for the Grapple Seed videogame, or the award winning Netflix series. In a window across the street you’ll see a toy on display. “Buy the new Turner action figure from Grapple Seed. Now with real Grapple action!”

D: Hehe, I’d buy one 😉

So, what do your workstations look like, and what tools and programs and etc do you use?

E: Haha, I live in my mom’s sewing room, BUT it used to be my brothers room, so there’s this really long table in the middle that was supposed to be for LAN parties that I sit on with my Cintiq and my laptop and my TV right in front of me so I can watch old shows I’ve seen a million times before while working.

I use Photoshop. That’s about it. I used to ink traditionally but the disconnect between the stages was slowing me down, scanning and whatnot. It just left room for pause, and I’d rather plow through everything at once, especially now that I work on 2 pages at once.

H: My workstation is the desk in my apartment, and it’s really messy. It is completely filled up with paper and sheets of drawings, notes and storyboards. It’s an organized mess though. I always know exactly where everything is. When I work I use Photoshop and a Bamboo tablet from Wacom, as well as any blank paper and drawing utensils nearby.

D: What have been some of the biggest perks and challenges of producing your own story?

E: I get to do what I want to do, exactly how I want to do it. But I also have no money and live with my parents.

H: Hmm, I guess producing our own story gives us freedom and complete control. However, we’re two years in and we still haven’t made any money on it. And it sort of underlines the big risk you take of doing a ton of work for little to no payoff in such a scenario. We’re still optimistic though, although it’s easier for me as I am simultaneously educating myself into a pretty secure profession as an architect.

D: What advice would you give to anyone wanting to produce their own comic?

E: I don’t know? Just do it and put everything of yourself in it, don’t imitate your idols, just do you, don’t do what’s popular, make what you do popular instead.

H: I think self-insight is key. Know your limitations and adjust your expectations accordingly. If you feel more comfortable in some aspects of production than others, then maybe think about partnering up with someone who completes your own set of skills. And remember that even if you don’t succeed at first, every experience makes you grow.

D: Do you plan on including any deeper themes or thoughts in GS that you hope to make your readers think about?

H: Yes actually. Pretty soon we’re going to introduce some big conflicts with major sociological ramifications that are unique to the world of Grapple Seed. In layman’s terms; Characters in our story are going to be on opposite sides of big issues, with great potential consequences. And we make a point out of not having one side be inherently evil, stupid or plainly wrong. Both sides are hopefully going to make points that are relatable and reasonable, so as to make the readers stay sceptical and form their own opinions. Though first and foremost we just want the readers to come along for the ride and enjoy, but if we can make them ponder and speculate as well that would be fantastic.

D: Anything else you’d like to add?

H: I hope everyone is enjoying Grapple Seed. We work hard creating a product that we ourselves think is interesting, and knowing that it appeals to others as well keeps us motivated. Both Eddie and I keep improving ourselves so as to bring you a product that we are proud of, so don’t be afraid to let us know what you all think. And if you the readers have any questions of your own, just ask us in our comment sections.

D: That’s all I have, folks!  I recommend you check out Grapple Seed, as it’s cute, fun, and well made.  They’re on Facebook, and also on Tapastic if you prefer that reader 🙂