VC/PMS Q&A - Ask your story & art questions here!

[Ravenhull]

[could I get a sticky on this?]

Are we going to see any of the rest of the creative team here on the forums?

[Adam Arnold]

Ian's hard at work drawing the 2nd PMS story right now, but I'll see if I can't wrangle him into stopping by at some point.

If you have any questions for our artist, though. Feel free to ask and I'll pass them along. ^_^

[Ravenhull]

I assume that when I buy VC#2, PMS#2 will be there too.

And looking at the store, if I wanted to pick up the whole Aoi House in print, do I just need get the two omnibus books?

[Adam Arnold]

I assume that when I buy VC#2, PMS#2 will be there too.

Yes, Vampire Cheerleaders Vol. 2 will have the second installments of Vampire Cheerleaders and Paranormal Mystery Squad. The stories are titled...
[spoiler] (VC2) "High Stakes" and (PMS2) "What Happens in Vegas, Dies in Vegas." [spoiler]

And looking at the store, if I wanted to pick up the whole Aoi House in print, do I just need get the two omnibus books?

Yes, the two Aoi House omnibus collections give you the entire series (all four volume's worth story chapters and all of the 4-koma gag strips we did for Newtype USA).

[Ravenhull]

While there are cameo's in each other's books, are you planing any kind of full PMS/VC crossover anytime soon?

[Adam Arnold]

While there are cameo's in each other's books, are you planing any kind of full PMS/VC crossover anytime soon?

Everyone's currently focused on getting volume 2 done right now... but you could say that the seeds are there.

[Iceman]

If you don't mind, do you frequently incorporate human/animal hybrids into your work?

[Adam Arnold]

If you don't mind, do you frequently incorporate human/animal hybrids into your work?

Aoi House had a really bizarre character show up called "Scully the Cow" towards the end. I'm not sure I do it that frequently, though. Paranormal Mystery Squad (and Vampire Cheerleaders) tends to be more of a mix of actual cryptids with supernatural monsters and creatures from folklore and myth. But I wouldn't ever rule it out because sometimes it's fun to forge your own creative path.

[Ravenhull]

I stumbled on both volumes of the Aoi House Omnibuses and have been devoring them. Are we going to see any cameo's from them? Admittedly, unlike PMS/VC, there is a greater age difference, but I could see Steph seeing one of her old clasemates, or maybe Jessica's little brothers... And about how long between the end of Aoi House and 'current events'?

[Adam Arnold]

I stumbled on both volumes of the Aoi House Omnibuses and have been devoring them. Are we going to see any cameo's from them? Admittedly, unlike PMS/VC, there is a greater age difference, but I could see Steph seeing one of her old classmates, or maybe Jessica's little brothers...

While not a full on cameo, there are a handful of Aoi House references in the first PMS story. There are also a few in the second story that we're working on as well. An actual cameo, though... that'll probably be a bit down the line for the PMS crew.

And about how long between the end of Aoi House and 'current events'?

It's hard to really say exactly when the end of Aoi House is, so I'll list out a couple of events from my timeline...

Stephanie joined Aoi House three and a half years before the start of the first PMS story. So she was around 18~19 at the time and is now 22. She was only in college for about 5 semesters before she had to leave to take care of Katie, who was was in the 8th grade at the time (middle school).

[Ravenhull]

Just fished Aoi House, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, the end felt a bit rushed. Also, did you already have PMS in mind when you introduced young Miss Kane?

[Adam Arnold]

Just fished Aoi House, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, the end felt a bit rushed.

Yeah, some readers find the ending a bit polarizing. Clearly, the series could've gone on for a while. However, Aoi House would've had to shift back from extended story arcs to being episodic again (which is what we were already doing with the 4-koma we were running monthly in Newtype USA). It just felt like the time to wind things down. Still, we did get Echibond out of it and that was awesome!

Also, did you already have PMS in mind when you introduced young Miss Kane?

Not initially.

Stephanie was introduced as both a tongue-in-cheek reference to Love Hina and how they forced in Kanako in at book 9 just to drag it out another couple of volumes...and as a way to sate my long-standing desire to have a goth girl in the mix. After seeing Shiei's design for Stephanie, though, I knew that Stephanie was something really special, and she became so much more than a simple "passing the torch" character to just connect Aoi House 1 to Aoi House 2.

As for the story, I had wanted to do some kind of Ghost Hunters-style story at some point. You know a group of people looking for paranormal stuff with video cameras and such. It would've had Oniisan and crew in some fashion, but I knew that never would've gone anywhere. Instead, I REALLY wanted to do something along the lines of "The Girly Ghosthunters" (a short-lived canadian ghost show with a group of girls driving to various haunted spots in an RV)...but with actual monsters and stuff a la Supernatural. Stephanie Kane was the perfect character for that type of story, and I spent a car ride thinking up with the perfect name that worked with the initials "p.m.s."

[MonCappy]

I have a question about Paranormal Mystery Squad. Is there any chance that you might do color pages at some point? I really like the art and I happen to think bringing in a splash of color would really add some real vibrancy to the art. It would certainly be nice as an occasional treat as is done with Japanese manga from time to time where they'll have a couple of pages in color.

[Adam Arnold]

I have a question about Paranormal Mystery Squad. Is there any chance that you might do color pages at some point? I really like the art and I happen to think bringing in a splash of color would really add some real vibrancy to the art. It would certainly be nice as an occasional treat as is done with Japanese manga from time to time where they'll have a couple of pages in color.

Sure, there's always a chance. Probably not for the first two storylines, since those are being drawn and toned as part of Vampire Cheerleaders Vol. 1 and 2. Hopefully we can get some more color pin-ups, though. Right now, we just have one piece of color art. @_@

[Ian Cang]

Hello all. First off, I'd like to thank you all for supporting Paranormal Mystery Squad. We're having an awesome time working on the second book and we look forward to having you guys read it when it comes out.

In the meantime, I'd be happy to answer any questions you guys might have for me or the other artists working with me here at Groundbreakers Studios. I won't be giving away any plot points though since I'd be out of a job if I did. lol Anyhow, any story related questions should go to Adam as PMS is his baby after all.

Looking forward to hearing from you all. Please do give me some time to address any of your inquiries as I'm currently hard at work on the book itself and won't be able to check in as often as I'd like. Rest assured, I'll drop by as often as I time allows.