When it came time for Ahoy Comics to assemble their next great anthology series, they recruited a who’s who of writing and artistic talent. Bringing in a number of familiar faces while also reaching out to talented newcomers to the Ahoy brand. One of these was prolific urban fantasy writer Melissa F. Olson. Melissa had already garnered fans with her “Old World Universe” of novels.
Recently we had the opportunity to talk to Melissa about her literary beginnings and first novels, her involvement with Ted talks, and how she got connected with Ahoy and Project: Cryptid. So, let’s welcome the multi-talented Melissa F. Olson to GVN Talking Comics.
GVN: Thank you very much for sharing a bit of your time, Melissa. We really appreciate it. As is my norm when being fortunate enough to talk to a creator, I haven’t had the pleasure of speaking to, I would like to start with some background. You are an academic and an author of over a dozen different books. I am always interested when a person is talented enough to bridge that gap between Academician and Writer. What put you on the path of writing and when someone asks you what is your main profession, Academic or book author, what do you tell them?
Beginnings, Writing and Academics
Melissa F Olson: Ooh, it’s been forever since I walked through my origin story. When people ask about my job, I usually just say “writer.” I might explain that I write urban fantasy or comic books, but I certainly never think of myself as an academic. I do like to tell people that creative writing was my backup plan, because it really was that ridiculous. When I was doing my undergrad at USC, I majored in what was then called Film and Television–Critical Studies, and I added a double major in English Literature, “just for fun,” because I was a high school overachiever like that. But my intention was to work in TV development.
Six months after graduation, though, I had already been laid off from two jobs at TV studios, and I was out of money and sick of Hollywood. I realized that the way things are done at studios, at least back then, was not compatible with my brain, body, or personality. So, I moved to Madison, Wisconsin (still somewhere where you could get Chinese food delivered at midnight, but only a three-hour drive from my family in northern Wisconsin) and took a receptionist job.
I’d spent so much time learning about storytelling, though, that I had this creative itch. I started taking creative writing classes online through UW-Extension, and eventually got to messing around with novels. While my first urban fantasy novel, “Dead Spots,” was out on submission, I decided to apply to grad school in the hopes of improving my writing and getting the credentials to teach. Timing is a funny thing, though. When I started the first day of grad school, I had recently signed a contract to sell “Dead Spots” to a publisher.
This put me in a very weird position. One of the points of grad school, at least when I attended, is to teach the superiority of “literary fiction” over “genre fiction.” The idea is that suffering for your Great American Novel is noble, but getting a paycheck for making up vampire hijinks is not. And there I was, a twentysomething who had a book deal when many of my professors didn’t. That made it very hard for them to teach me the importance of writing Great Literature. To this day, when I think about my masters, I think of the Dr. Seuss story about the Sneetches.
In the end, I did do a little bit of teaching, but most of my academic work was a little bit, shall we say, unconventional. The first paper I published argued my theory about the movie Dracula 2000, and the next one compared the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic series to Watchmen. I think my professors thought I didn’t take my work as seriously as I should, while I thought they didn’t take genre as seriously as they should. I published a paper last year on the movie Colossal, and I’m going to do another one this fall, but I just never think of myself as an academic.
Ted Talks
GVN: Well, you are a COOL Academic. I would have found your topics much more palatable. You are also a Tedx Presenter. If you don’t mind, please explain to our readers what that is and why the sharing of information in this format is so important.
Melissa F. Olson: Most people have heard of TED talks: speeches of up to 18 minutes that make an argument for or about a positive change in the world. The official TED organization puts together flagship events where a number of people deliver these talks, but at some point there were more great ideas than TED could keep up with. That’s how they came up with TEDx talks, which are put on by community organizers in cities all over the world. The TED organization wants these events to meet their high standard of excellence, so they put the volunteers through rigorous training and set guidelines for each event. To put it more simply, McDonalds owns most McDonalds restaurants, but there are also independent licensees who own and run their own McDonalds. But a Big Mac is a Big Mac, and a TED talk is a TED talk.
Four years ago, I was fortunate to make friends with one of these community organizers, Rick Talbot, when we interacted on Twitter. He was putting together a TEDx event in Orillia, Ontario, and I wound up giving one of the talks, which was called “Rethinking the Friendship Paradigm.” Of all my writing, I’m probably most proud of that talk. It’s really a love letter to my daughter Mattie, who is on the autism spectrum. She’s always struggled to understand social nuances, which means making and keeping friends is really hard. She’s also been a big reader her whole life, and at some point, I realized that all the books and kids’ movies she was enjoying were about kids who find perfect, evergreen social lives by gaining a group of ride-or-die friends early in their stories. Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Hiccup, even Luke Skywalker–they all start their story as outcasts and almost immediately gain a lifelong friend group. Because stories are how we teach kids about the world, that paradigm is very confusing for a kid who struggles to make friends, or kids whose friends change for reasons like relocation or diverging interests. My TEDx talk was a call for more stories that emphasize things like teamwork and friendships that wobble and change– because that’s what I wanted for Mattie.
Ahoy Comics ‘Project: Cryptid’
GVN: I can appreciate this being the father of an autistic son. Kudos to you for addressing that subject. Now, if you were not busy enough, you are also contributing your story writing talents for Ahoy Comics newest anthology Project: Cryptid. How did this opportunity come about, and which artist did you work with on your story?
Melissa F. Olson: I’ve been a fiction writer for a long time but getting into comics is a very different thing. For example, during pandemic lockdown I had an idea that I thought would work best as a comic book, because it was more visual than my other fiction. Over many years doing conventions, I’d made some great friends who work in comics writing, including Paul Cornell. (Paul and I originally bonded over his urban fantasy novels, and it took me a few years to realize he’s also a big deal in comics.) He gave me a lot of advice so I could turn my idea into a pitch and a first issue, but I still needed a way into the industry. I had to put it aside.
Meanwhile, Paul had worked with AHOY in the past, and when he learned about their cryptid anthology, he suggested it might be a good bridge between the work I’ve done and the work I wanted to do in the future. He was right, and the anthology editor, Sarah Litt, was also gracious and open-minded enough to agree to a Zoom meeting with a completely untested comics writer.
Before the meeting I’d prepared ideas for three different cryptids, but we spent most of the time talking about the hodag, because it’s just such a strange mix of famous and unknown. The hodag originated in early Paul Bunyan stories from the logging boom in the nineteenth century. Where I grew up in northwestern Wisconsin, everyone learns about the logging boom and Paul Bunyan folk tales in elementary school. Hodags are one of the “Fearsome Critters” that Paul has to fight or outsmart during these stories. But Sarah had quite reasonably never heard of hodags, and although we were joking about how strange and specific they are, that conversation really got me thinking about why we hold onto these legends, and what they come to mean to the places where they’re born. A lot of that eventually came through in my story, “The Tall Tale Tour.”
Artist Lane Lloyd
As a new comics writer who quite frankly doesn’t know a lot of names yet, I trusted Sarah to choose an artist who would best fit what she wanted for the anthology. Boy, she did not disappoint. I haven’t met the artist for my piece, Lane Lloyd, but the art they created for my story has blown me away. I can’t wait for others to see it too.
Working with Ahoy
GVN: I have had the pleasure of talking to Paul a couple of times for Ahoy projects. Speaking of Ahoy, you are working with them for this project. (With their willingness to embrace the unusual and the diverse, while blending in their renowned sense of humor, you couldn’t have picked a better launch pad). How has that experience gone?
Melissa F. Olson: I know this is going to sound like a PR talking point, but I have been absolutely delighted with AHOY, truly. You hear a lot of horror stories about the comics industry, and having worked in Hollywood and publishing, I had no idea what to expect. But at every step, they’ve been responsive, collaborative, ethical, and good-humored. I think my only problem with AHOY is that I’ve been very spoiled working with them. It’s going to be a tough example for other comics companies to live up to.
Coming Up Next for Ahoy
GVN: In addition, now that you have had the opportunity to write for a comic anthology, is it something you would consider doing more of? Perhaps a series of your own?
Melissa F. Olson: Funny you mention that! The comic I mentioned earlier, which I developed during lockdown and which Paul helped me fine-tune, will be coming out from AHOY at the end of next year. Sarah Litt will be my editor again, and I’m working with Sally Cantirino on the art. I’m not allowed to reveal the title yet, but it’s about a sentient island that shelters (or imprisons) the retired gods and legends from dead civilizations. So, it’s sort of a retirement home for mythological creatures. The story is about the single mom who’s tapped to become the island’s new liaison with humanity.
GVN: That sounds like a great story and right up Ahoy’s alley. I look forward to reading it. Thanks again for giving us a few moments, Melissa. Before I let you go, I want to give you an opportunity to promote any other new projects you are working on and where folks can follow you on social media or the web.
Melissa F. Olson: “The Tall Tale Tour” will be my next published project when it comes out in January. For those who don’t want to wait around to check out my work, though, I’ve got twenty-some urban fantasy novels to keep you busy in the meantime. I also have a fun Substack, Dispatches from the Blanket Fort, with book recommendations, original fiction, and posts from my weirdo dog who is much more popular than me on the internet. And I’m on all the socials, because if there’s one thing writers love, it’s any excuse to not work for a little bit.
The first issue of Ahoy Comics Project: Cryptid is available now where great comics are sold. Issue 2 comes out in October. You should also check out Melissa’s web site here: The Worlds of Melissa F. Olson (melissafolson.com)
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
