Please post all thoughts and comments here, thanks!

Very insightful interview, Karen. You always do such a great job.

I didn't know Arvid was a member of JDR. Guess I've been hiding out.

Waiting for #4 -- impatiently.

Thanks for posting this.

Holly

Thanks so much, you all know I admire and appreciate all of our authors! Some of these were questions that you all submitted, some were similar in subject and some I combined into one question and some were mine.

Yes he joined last week and has said that he'd like to post something for us! Isn't he nice!

WOW!! That is a great Q&A Karen, congratulations. :D

Thank you so much for your time and trouble Mr Nelson, that is a really interesting read.

Crikey!! All those years to get your comics published, that must have been so frustrating. But it was well worth it.

Mr Nelson sounds like a really nice guy....and he likes Johnny too, so added bonus!! :lol:

I can't wait to read more. woohoo

Anne x

He's a very nice guy!

That was a terrific Q&A Karen! And yes he does seem like a nice guy. Humble too, calling this 'his little story'.
I can't wait to read the next issues. woohoo

I just want to echo all that's been said-----great reading his responses. Thank you Karen for making this all happen. I was also surprised at how long it's taken him to write these stories, but he's correct in that there is so much "history" to include that it makes sense.

His remarks about Johnny were nice to hear and I also think that Johnny would love the Paris setting in the '30s, even though a fantasy one. I wonder if he's read our discussion questions :blink: Glad that he'll be posting at times here!

Y'all are welcome...I love talking to authors about their craft! Arvid was very giving and very accessable. I hope he does find the time to stop by.

Awesome interview! Thanks to Mr. Nelson for his replies and for Karen for taking the time to make this all happen-great way to wind down the discussion. woohoo

Great interview Karen. He sounds like a very nice man. It will be great to hear from him again.
Joanie

We have been really blessed to have had the range of authors speak with us that we have. All have been most kind and gracious. Arvid is certainly one of my favs! But then, I have several! lol When you think about how many authors have talked to us.... it's really awe inspiring. LOL No pun intended. :captainjack

In a little over 2 years we've spoken with Arvid, Greg Roberts, James Meek, JP Donleavy, Stephen Jeffreys, Jason Surrell, Nick Hornby, Joe Gangemi and Larry Karazewski. And we have Lord Whimsey himself up next. :)

Hello Karen, all!

thanks again, Karen, for the interview. I would have posted this sooner, but I've been very busy, and I'm in the midst of a 19-day fast. Which tires me out. :)

To answer some of your questions -- YES, I am a notoriously nice guy, and I'm also very, very humble!

If anyone would like to know anything else about Rex Mundi, or whatever, just let me know. And please call me "Arvid". :)

HI Arvid,

And many thanks for stopping by JDR, we really are loving this series and can't wait for the next installment!

Many thanks, and as we like to tell all new members here Welcome to :jdr


~K

Well.. I have to admit at first when it was decided to discuss Rex Mundi.. I just wasnt too sure about it and passed.. but now after reading some of the discussion and the Q&A's from Mr Nelson.. thank you.. I'm definitely more intrigued with it now.. and will be trying to locate it for myself and my older son who I mentioned it too as he showed an interest too.

~ Mary Kay

Yes, I freely admit the first few issues are a little rocky -- I was still trying to figure out what I was doing! In fact, I still am. But I think the story improves a lot as it progresses. Of course, please don't feel obligated to read it, but I'm always interested to know what people think of it long-term. One of the best things for me about reading comics is watching the writers and artists get better as the number of issues climbs. :)

Hi Arvid :welcome

It's great to meet you at last. :D

I just wanted to say how much I love your comics. I am now officially addicted to Rex Mundi, and can't wait for the next collection to come out. I have read several graphic novels, but yours beat them all.

My only complaint is the difficulty in getting them in the UK, I had to get the first 3 books from the US, but fortunately I have now found a comic shop in my neighbourhood that will get them for me. woohoo

I do have a question though. How many books will we be buying to get the full story?

Anne x

WOW! This is awesome that you came here to talk to us Arvid! This is such a cool place! I've never been able to send a message to a real author before. woohoo

I wish I had something smart to say but I don't. I just wanted you to know that I loved it and can't wait to read the rest of them. My little brother is reading them now and he loves them too. Thanx

Welcome Arvid, nice of you to take time out to post here at JDR. I have to say that these Rex Mundi books are not only interesting to read, but the illustrations are beautiful which adds to the story for me. I love the idea of putting the newspaper pages in with the story-------makes a make believe world more real.

Do you enjoy doing all of the historical research? I've enjoyed the twists you've made with some of the history. Also, the scattering of pop culture references in the newspaper pages gives me a chuckle.

Hello Arvid!
Welcome, and it is very exciting to be able to send a message to you!

It was such a pleasant surprise for me to get hooked on your novels having never been into comics or graphic novels. And whether it was your intention to or not, I find myself looking at the illustrations very carefully in case there is 'something more there than meets the eye'!

Looking forward to reading the next issues and thank you for taking the time to spend with us!

-Rose

Sorry to be so late in replying to this topic. (but I was on dial up and it took forever to just load a page). First off.... :thanks Karen for another great author interview. I always look forward to your interviews and you did not let me down with this one. :thumbsup Secondly, :welcome to :jdr Mr Nelson. I will admit that with catching the flu bug and then spring break that I have not had a chance to finish reading the books I have, YET. But I have been enjoying reading them. My husband has always been a collector of comic books, so he is enjoying that I am getting into them now lol. It is taking us a while, but we are trying to get each individual comic book and not the compilation set.

Thanks for everyones time in getting this great interview to us. :thanks

Hey there, everyone!

Sorry to respond en masse, but I have a few deadlines impinging on my sanity, and I'm in the middle of my yearly fast -- just five days to go!

captainjacksparrow -- thanks for tracking down the individual issues. I know it's not easy, but we really do depend on sales of the "singles" to subsidize the collected volumes. Comics are in a transitional period right now, away from single issues to collected volumes. It's hard for the likes of me, because I can't afford the costs of producing and writing 160+ pages all at once, but fewer and fewer people are reading single issues.
:banghead

Rose Sparrow -- yes, we spend lots of time trying to make the illustrations as historically accurate and full of symbolic meaning as possible. Look for apples, bees, fish, lilies and roses. They all allude to deeper meanings.

herestoyou -- researching Rex Mundi has been one of the greatest undertakings for me personally. I grew up Christian, without realizing what a strange, beautiful and complicated religion it really is. I feel like I can really appreciate Christianity -- and all religions -- in a much deeper way.

Deppsdarling -- shucks, thanks. As far as this author is concerned, saying you love Rex Mundi is just about the smartest thing you could possibly say! :)

jeppody -- Six books altogether. 36 issues. Book 4 is coming out soon, probably in the summer. I actually get a lot of mail from the UK, from Europe in general. It's very gratifying.

Thanks, everyone, for being so sweet and so friendly. I really appreciate you doing the interview, and being so welcoming.

Thanks for the reply. I did not know that the way we collect comic books (or as my husband calls them...graphic novels) is the better route for the writer. We just prefer the single issues. And it has been a struggle to find them. But I think it is worth the extra effort. I have the first 8 of Rex Mundi and am still looking for the rest. I did buy the compilation books so that I could read the story. At my house we prefer the single issues. And thanks to your insight that is the way we will continue to go. And, I wish you luck with your fast.

Hello once again Arvid and good grief!
I am way off base! Didn't check out the bees and apples and I'll have to look more carefully at the flowers!
Thank you for your response!

-Rose

Hi Arvid! Good to see that you stopped by this morning! OK I have to ask about your annual fast. I think you said 19 days? Lent?

Apples, bees, fish, lilies and roses...off to look more carefully at the art work, thanks for the heads up!


And thanks for explaining how important it is for you that the single issues sell, I'll be haunting my local comic store guy more often then, but I do like the compilations as well. :)

Again, many thanks for taking time out of your schedule to stop by today! Hang on only 5 more days of your fast. I feel so humbled, I can barely fast on Good Friday.

Thanks also Arvid for linking to us on your RexMundi.net home page!

http://www.rexmundi.net/main/index.html


:snoopy :thanks Arvid!