Today, our friend Ethan Georgi is interviewing Daniel from Steam Crow.
Tell us a little about the spark that started Steam Crow and how that has changed over the years.
I’ve always had this desire to create monsters and imaginary worlds, and I’ve been doing that my entire life. It’s just what I do, and I can’t UNDO that.
When we started Steam Crow, I knew that I needed to stay true to my roots and not chase easy money – but stick to creating the things that I was most passionate about; cartoony monsters, toys, Halloween, D&D stuff, circuses, music, puppets… all those things rolled together.
I don’t think that’s changed at all over the years, though how I explore expressing it probably has.
You have an amazing booth at comic and art conventions and it looks like you have a lot of fun. Would you say that’s more business or pleasure?
Yeah, we really enjoy doing events, that’s for sure.
I want to say 100% Pleasure, but that’s not entirely true. As we make the business side work, I get to have a LOT more fun. They’re tied together. However, the compass needle is almost entirely driven by passion rather than business concerns.
Recently you went full time with Steam Crow. Do you miss doodling in meetings?
Keen Halloween almost perfectly marks my 1 year anniversary of going solo.
Oh, I still doodle… but I find corporate meetings incredibly painful.
You’ve gone from illustration to comics to toys, and now events. What made you decide that Keen Halloween absolutely needed to happen?
I think that Halloween is the most creative of all holidays, with all of the decorated parties, hand-made costumes, and frontyard graveyards. But it feels like most folks have forgotten a lot of that, with all of the big media character costumes, and pre-gen plastic junk. Don’t get me started on the booty-call costumes that seem to be the main choice offered to little girls.
Also, I’ve been frustrated with the kinds of Halloween events available. They seem to fall into 1 of 3 camps: 1) Kid Festivals that have extracted most of the Halloween vibe (corn maze harvest festivals), 2) Horror Festivals/Haunted Houses, and/or 3) Adult Parties.
All have their place, but none seemed to focus on the culture of HALLOWEEN itself, the Maker aspect, and of glorifying the retro Halloween of the past. We wanted an event for kids & adults, that celebrates spooky art, music, costumes, and gets people inspired about Halloween!
If we didn’t do it, I’m certain that somebody else would.
Aside from a giant fire-breathing pumpkin robot, what will Steam Crow be bringing to Keen Halloween?
I have to state (Mr. Fire Marshal Sir) that there will be no fire-breathing anything at this year’s Keen Halloween! But the Scarecrow King (Morrow Thatch) will be there on his Harvest Throne, for photos.
Steam Crow will be bringing our entire stock of poison bottles, our new Halloween Countdown print, the Keen Halloween exclusive print, our books, and maybe a new Monster Identification Trading Card.
You’re not particularly thrilled with the way Halloween is “celebrated” these days, and neither am I. If I could magically change one thing about the holiday, I’d abolish disposable movie-tie-in costumes. What would you change?
Where I live, Mall Trick-er-Treating and Cul-de-Sac candy buffets are all the rage.
Kids can wander up and fill up a pillowcase of candy in one stop – with no effort or adventure at all. I understand the need for safety, but there’s something to be said for getting out and knocking on the door of your neighbors once per year, and saying “hi”. Maybe parents are just too lazy, but when I go trick-er-treating with the Goblin Boy (my son) I have a perpetual smile on my face.
What is missing from monster media today? Or, if you prefer, what is present in monster media today that should not be?
Again, I’d go back to a “Classic Halloween” focus. More Hammer Film vibe. Less “I’m sawing-off-your-limbs” torture stuff, and more of the joy of Halloween and spookiness. Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, City of Lost Children, and maybe even ParaNorman (not seen yet) seem to capture this. I think that Tim Burton would enjoy this.
Your family has been part of Steam Crow from the very beginning.
I wanted to be sure to include my family on this ride, and I’m so glad that I did.
Are you building a dynasty? Is Goblin Boy being groomed as the future Indie Beast Lord?
Oh, that’s really up to him. If you ask him today, he’d say 100% he’s already IN Steam Crow.
He’s an artist today, but maybe one day he’ll decide to be an accountant, or a business guy, or a dentist or scientist. He can do any of those things, and I won’t be disappointed.
If he decides to join up and work for Steam Crow someday, his desk can be right here next to mine and Dawna’s. I’d encourage him to go and work for some other folks first though, and to earn his spot here.
If you were going to start a band and the name had to be inspired by a silent film, what would that band be called?
The Hands of Orloc? That sounds pretty cool. We’d all wear black, head to toe, with black instruments – but with pure white hands so that they’d look disembodied.
If you could invite any writer living or dead (or undead, ha ha, could not resist) to Keen Halloween, who would it be?
Well, um… Edger Allen Poe, HP Lovecraft… those guys would fit in pretty well. Mary Shelley. Bram Stoker. Neil Gaiman. Mike Mignola.
The list is probably too obvious, but still… could you imagine?
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