“The back matter is interesting too. It’s written by some guy named The PR guy and it itself is an engaging essay. All in all, Genesis feels less like a comic and more of a rock band kind of feel. with the talents involved jamming out an album inside of an issue. The styles clash, mesh and create something worth reading. I highly recommend it.
I contacted the crew on Twitter and managed to convince the entire creative team to do an interview, keeping up with the jam session style that these four individuals create for themselves. I”m glad I did. All four of them are bright, charming and passionate individuals. Even their names feel like classic rock or metal. I introduce to the world Alan Steath, Dhalia, J and the Pr Guy. They are the School of Bitches.
Joshua Pantalleresco: Introduce yourselves and what you contribute to the comic
Alan Stealth: Well I am the resident artist, creator, and lead on the project. I contribute pretty much my entire life to the comic. Like a sacrificial lamb… who is also somehow actually in charge.
David Dhalia: They call me Dhalia. But that’s not my real name. I can never quite describe my part in all of this, but I’m often credited as a Letterer/Writer.
AS: Even though you haven’t wrote anything.
DD: Nothing that’s been released…. *trails off*
Judas: They call me Judas. My contribution is small, yet effective.
PRGUY: I’m actually the only person here with a real job. I work in Public Relations, and handle their public relations. Although I would just like to state for the record, I am not necessarily responsible for all the of the relations with the public these guys participate in.
PRGUY: I feel like I’m in court. This will probably be used in court.
JP: I never judge on the first interview. Second one, maybe. Why the name School of B*tches?
J: *Looks to left, at Stealth*

AS: I guess I should answer this one. The name is taken from a comic strip that I started to draw back in 1998. I was still at school at the time. This comic is no longer public domain, but the events that take place in that comic are continually referenced throughout the story of Genesis, and almost all of the main characters resurface, albeit older now. School Of B*tches now primarily refers to the collective responsible for the storytelling, as opposed to the title of the comic itself. Essentially School Of B*tches “publish” the works, and Genesis and the Chapter are the title. The idea in keeping the name, is the essence of the original comic remains, I’ve just got a bit older and smarter.
PRGUY: Well apparently not as you still have b*tch in the title. Which makes it a hard sell for kids and er, ‘bitches’.
AS: That’s not true.
PRGUY: It sounds derogative. Hell, it is derogative. It’s a stupid name… its misleading, as it is offensive.
PRGUY: As you can probably tell, I had nothing to do with the name. I thought it was some niche porn website. I think iGenesis would actually sell better… or if it had zombies in it that might help…. or I don’t know some actual ‘b*tches’.
DD: I still think we should go with the name ‘Giant Fighting Zombie Robots’.
PRGUY: I like this guys idea. Let’s change the name.
AS: We’re NOT changing the name.
JP: huh. Like the giant fighting zombie robots name. (PRGUY) considering what you said in there, I gotta wonder about your porn choices.
PRGUY: I’m pure class. In fact, even my porn has more class than any of these guys.
AS: … that’s probably true.
JP: How does your creative process work?
J: *Looks to left, at Stealth*
AS: *Looks to Judas* Judas apparently has no creative process. His creative process is ‘chipping in’.
AS: We spend a lot of time bouncing ideas off each other. (DD) and I spend time discussing everything from layout to story…
DD: (AS) and I work very closely on almost all aspects of the School of Bitches, from story writing, storyboarding, research, social networking and completing final edits of the publications themselves. It usually begins with the inhalation of various permanent marker fumes before quickly transcending into a scene reminiscent of the film ‘Trainspotting’, but when we arise on the other side, the project has developed slightly further than it had before. I like to think of it as a spiritual process sponsored by ‘Sharpie’.
AS: None of anything but the first and maybe some of the last sentence is true… the bit about somehow the project has moved further…
AS: …but… meetings lots of meetings. Judas has an almost third person perspective on the project in comparison to (DD), which really is useful, a fresh pair of eyes when your eyes have bled and fell out… can really help maintain some… aspect… of quality control.
AS: For this Chapter it’s different. Chapter XVI had essentially already been completely written and storyboarded, but still a lot of discussion took place on style, or which way to take it… but as we move forward Chapters are being entirely written by other people and eventually other artists will contribute too. The idea is to switch up the style every Chapter, perhaps revisiting or refining certain styles later on. This concept leaves it open for other artists to contribute and explore styles that accentuate the work or story, without ever compromising the continuity.
AS: But story is gone over with a fine tooth comb. We have meticulously mapped out the story to take place in real places, actual locations to the street names, all drawn from life. Events that take place from bombs to targets are worked out down to the f*cking wind patterns on the day they drop. So much of Genesis is sublminal, it won’t be truly apparent for many years but when things start to come to light, people will look back and go “fuck..they planned this from the beginning”…
DD: …then the world will look up and shout “save us”. And I’ll whisper no…
AS: *Laughs*
PRGUY: I know that’s from ‘Watchmen’. And that is entirely their fault…
JP: Tell me how you guys came together to produce Genesis Chapter XVI?
AS: Well I’ve been working on the Genesis project for approximately 10 years on and off, in various forms. As I said Chapter XVI was already under way, before anyone else had really come onboard. That’s not to say there hasn’t been significant changes to style and development of Chapter XVI since (DD & J) got involved.
DD: I was living in Malta when I joined School of Bitches in mid 2012. I was sitting naked upon my house roof in the blistering Mediterranean heat at 2 in the morning when I came up with a (yet unreleased) chapter plot for (AS). (Chapter 14: Things To Do In Gloucester When You’re Dead) He liked it and I continued to influence a wider range of the projects development. Since I was already a friend, I moved to Cardiff to become… ‘Sergeant in Arms’ of School of Bitches.
AS: …
DD: Its ‘self described’ you *expletive deleted*… Anyway, I now share a house with (AS) and we worked to bring the story of Genesis to the public in late 2012 before releasing further issues throughout the year …
AS: …And Judas helped.
J: (AS) offered me the chance to write a story for a future chapter, (Chapter: Requiem For A Submarine) and after getting some insight into what he and (DD), had planned, I had to be a part of it.
AS: Judas is being coy, he’s like that. He massively influenced the style of Chapter XVI, or more accurately, the presentation of the style. The comic adopted it’s militant obsession with no frames shortly after Judas’s interference.
PRGUY: And I thought you were the one who actually liked comics… why..what’s up with that? … if you leave now you can probably still salvage a reputable career in another industry.
J: ….
AS: …
PRGUY: I was a rap*st in a former life… that’s my only conclusion to how I might have ended up here.
JP: What are your favorite parts of the story so far?
PRGUY: It’s so hard to pick a favorite part…
AS: …
AS: well..so far….? It’s just difficult because I know what’s coming, but I’d say the introduction of 2Police in the latest Issue has definitely been my favorite “part” so far. Not only were they immense fun to draw, and characterize but they’ve really set the tone for what’s to come…
J: I like the bit with trees.
AS: *laughs*
DD: I really like the lettering, I think that the dialogue in itself is a true piece of art, the pictures aren’t as impressive as the letters…
AS: Like one person has ever commented on the lettering…without being prompted…
I know about you guys, but I’ve had a blast so far with this interview. Part one can be read right at this link right here. I encourage a quick read of it before starting down this, but regardless, it’s entertaining and insightful. I’m not going to add much more than what I said last time. These guys are passionate individuals. David Dhalia (DD) , Judas (J), Alan Stealth (AS) and the PR Guy are a fun unit to talk to and together produce an amazing comic. I encourage you to all check it out.
Onward to the rest of the interview…
JP: Dhalia – cool you’re from Malta. My family is from there. Whereabouts did you live?
AS: Madagascar.
DD: …Marsaskala, it’s a small fishing town on the south of the island. My family returned there in 2008, after I grew up in Leeston, New Zealand. I moved around a lot as a kid… PRGUY: You’re still a kid.
JP: This one is primarily for Judas, (others feel free to contribute as well), what is your reason for your hatred of frames in this comic? Is there a specific reason to this interesting choice of presentation? 
J: Hate is a strong word. I understand their importance. And in the right story, they are necessary. I’m just frustrated with how stagnant the much of the story-telling devices used in the industry are. The language is old, and doesn’t seem to be developing, when it has so much potential. A cinema screen has to look like it does, a TV screen the same, words are printed in a novel only one way, but a comic book, or a graphic novel, or sequential art, or whatever you want to dress it as, it has room to move. There are exceptions, but for the most part, books are designed to look like the books the creator has read. For certain books, that is not an issue, but when the story suits, I want to find new ways to put across the information. There’s nothing wrong with the standard, I just don’t want that to be all there is. In 50 years from now, comics still look basically the same as they did 50 years ago, we may as well have been making Happy Meals.
I didn’t come in, demanding the frames be removed. (AS) and I were looking through ‘The Preview Issue’, and some of his draft sketches, when I ended up seeing the art which was being wasted by trying to force it into something he thought a comic book is expected to be. I ended up on some spew about how I want to experiment with the whole format; no panels, size of the page, shape of the page and some other ideas that we’ll keep under wraps. That’s all I did. After that, (AS) took the ball, and he ran. He ran like Tom Cruise in the last act of MI3. He ran like Will Smith in the opening scene of MiB. He ran like Matt Damon did from that chalkboard in the corridor at MIT.
*(AS) (PRGUY) (J) (DD) laugh*
J: ….And he created the style which we’re seeing develop in these opening issues.
JP: What are your influences?
J: Too many to mention. Comic-wise, Will Eisner and Herge. Then Jack Cole and Joe Kubert. It might look like I’m contradicting things I’ve said about pushing the boundaries by listing so many old artists, but they pushed boundaries for their time. Eisner’s is still probably ahead of some of the current product. Currently working though, David Mack gets the idea. Almost anything Matt Fraction writes is incredible. Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips never fail. Jean-David Morvan and Phillippe Buchet fail even less. Outside of comics, Aaron Sorkin and Michael Chabon are the big two. Wes Anderson is nearby too. Too many other writers, directors, and cinematographers to list. Everything. And Otis Redding.
D
D: I have managed to live the majority of my life ‘under a rock’. I used to read a lot of novels when I was younger, but I was never really into TV and movies. I still can’t really say I enjoy watching films, I get distracted too easily. I discovered a few incredible graphic novels I have enjoyed recently, but didn’t get too into comics when I was younger. So I guess the majority of my influences come from novelists, and real life characters from history also fascinate me. Serial killers, world leaders, and notable characters all have their own story they have created with their lives.
AS: My most notable influences especially so in relation to the storytelling adopted, have come from the stylised methods TV shows have adopted over the last decade or so Genesis has been in production. In terms of comics…
PRGUY: …here we go…
AS: …well, I used to start this with “I don’t like comics”… but I think what is more appropriate is I don’t like the superhero agenda the comic industry is dominated by. I studied Fine Art, achieving my B/a (HONS) before retiring from the self loathing of academic non-achievement. Art whether you like it or not, has continually developed and changed throughout its history. From the height of Neo-Classicism to the often deliberately conceptually ambiguous contemporary works of Post- Modernism, art has seen many conventions shattered with each passing movement. Yet add the word “sequential” in front, and suddenly the history of this subject becomes very small and very narrow. So I would say, my Fine Art background motivates and influences me to ensure Genesis is as aesthetically satisfying throughout, as the story will be when it’s finished.
AS: All three of us have very different influences… but it works. So well. If nothing the past year working with these guys, has encouraged me even more to work with people that have a different approach – but “get” Genesis. It’s invigorating.
JP: Is anyone working on anything else at the moment? Might as well promote everything.
AS: When I’m not working on this, I’m working on sleep, sometimes food. That is all.
J: I’m starting to script two projects. Early days. Looking for artists.
DD: I’m working on a graphic novel titled ‘Enigma’ with Maltese artist, Maria Isabella Grech. I’ve written the story, Maria will do the art and we’ll edit it together, it’s currently due to be released in late 2014 and further information will be available as the project develops.
I also write my own short stories under my ‘Sweet Animosity’ banner, but they’re more of a ‘creative outlet’ away from School of Bitches work. I enjoy going a bit mad from time to time, and writing these stories is a safer option than going out into the real world and …*Expletive Deleted*…
AS: *Expletive Deleted*
PRGUY: That’s not going to press.
JP: Okay, so I’m taking that world building is very important based on the answers I’ve been given. So I guess what I want to know is how many chapters are there going to be? Is the five issues the end will you have multiple stories?
J: It is vast….
AS: …..There’s room for 50 Chapters. That’s what’s planned… as a maximum total moving parts to this story. Not to say we will use necessarily all of those Chapters..to tell the story. We’re following the framework of obviously the more famous works of Genesis.
PRGUY: Depeche Mode…I don’t see it.
AS: ………….The first five issues tells Chapter XVI: Virtue’s Chronicles, this Chapter focuses on James. Issues Six, Seven, Eight tells Chapter XII: Tonight, The City Sleeps focusing on Ant. Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve tells Chapter: One Love…etc. Each introduces different characters that will interact on a much larger scale in the Chapters to come, but if you’re smart, and reading and watching intently, you’ll be able to start seeing the dots join between Chapters.
JP: Why Chapter XVI and not Chapter I?
J: You’ll see.
PRGUY: *Inaudible*
AS: ….
AS: It’s a non linear narrative, deliberately conceived to withhold certain information from the reader. So it truly is Chapter XVI. Fifteen Chapters that came before will eventually be released. Eventually, you would be able to read the entire story chronologically and it would make sense, albeit a different kind of sense. eg. Chapter 8 is entitled The Event… this chapter details exactly what transpired that led to the birth of the “new world” you’ve caught a glimpse at reading Issue’s One and Two. It would be a very different story if you say knew what happened, before you actually SAW what happened… and truly this is just the tip of the iceberg. At the time you’ll read that Chapter The Event will be so irrelevant…
PRGUY: Irrelevant. I was just thinking about that word.
JP: How have your styles changed? I’m really interested in Alan’s answer here in particular, but hey, everything is a growing process.
AS: My style hasn’t changed dramatically since starting Chapter XVI, but its presentation, its delivery has. Making the jump from no frames meant the original storyboards had to change, the dialogue too, which had both previously been realised in traditional methods. This ‘freedom’ can often be crippling, as frames make it very easy for an artist intent in terms of chronological sequence… but trying out different things, and being encouraged to do so, has really helped me build the confidence in the product you see in Issue Two… this will only continue to develop…
J: …We’re all still learning the language.
AS: Yes. Yes we are… and the ‘language’ will switch completely and deliberately for the next Chapter… so it’s going to be interesting, seeing how people react to that change once finally getting used to the current.
JP: What have each of you learned from doing this?
J: This is what I want to do with my life.
AS: …you have to give everything else up. If you really want it, everything else in your life just gets in the way. I know people that say they want to do stuff. Write books, make comics, do art. That’s typically all they end up doing. Saying they want to do it. It takes sacrifice. I’m not talking about a limb or your daughter. But your time. Sitting in a room, an doing something and not getting a pat on the back for it. For a really long time. Maybe never.
DD: I’ve learnt a lot in terms of writing and artistic styles. The way I vision storytelling and art has developed greatly in the last year by talking to the artists and writers themselves, you see a different perspective than if you just simply saw the piece of art. I’ve learnt a lot more about computers too, something I’m not too happy about. I don’t like computers or technology in general. It’s nothing personal…bring me my pad and a pen.
PRGUY: … Here is wisdom. “I never learn anything new, I only have things I already know confirmed by somebody different.”
JP: What’s coming up in the next issue?
J: Some people walk past some burned out buildings.
PRGUY: I’ve got a feeling they’ll be a lot of that before it’s all said and done.
DD: Well there could be a new character, there could be fighting zombie robots, or there could be cuddly vampire bears…we haven’t quite decided which one will stick around the longest yet.
AS: *sigh* …
AS: A religious man, and an internal email from the (PRGUY).
PRGUY: …What? Take me off speaker.”