The following is an interview with Russell Nohelty, who is the creator of the Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter series from Viper Comics.  In this interview, Fanboy Comics President Bryant Dillon talks with Nohelty about the anti-hero that is his title character, the future for Ichabod Jones, and why digital comics are here to stay.

This interview was conducted on July 4, 2012.

Russell Nohelty: Absolutely. Ichabod Jones is a psychopath that escapes from a mental asylum and becomes a monster hunter during the Apocalypse. It’s pretty brutal. If you’re a fan of the disgusting, this book delivers in spades. But, what I really love about it is that you never know if he’s really in the Apocalypse, if it’s all in his head, or if he’s killing people but believes they are monsters. [Artist] Renzo Podestá does a great job of conveying that sense of altered reality.

BD: Were there any specific inspirations for the series?
RN: I wanted to tell a story with the most unlikely hero I could. Ichabod isn’t your normal hero. In fact he’s one of the most unlikely heroes you could imagine. This guy is a psychopath. He’s been interred at an asylum for the murder of countless people. Yet, he becomes humanity’s last hope for survival.

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ICHABOD JONES – MONSTER HUNTER

Now there are only a hand full of people I can think of who have made the big leap from broadcasting media to the printed page. For example: Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Dan Didio, Seth Green, Leonard Nimoy, and Barbra Streisand, just to name a few. However, out of this motley crew, I can only think of one other person who has the tenacity and the guile to make this leap stick. My mate Russell Nohelty. Here, check out a conversation I had with him just the other day about his new comic book, ‘Ichabod Jones : Monster Hunter’, whilst getting art lessons from Barry Manilow.

Graphicly Meets Monster Hunter

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Russell Nohelty’s Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter

In preparation for this column, I was sent a PDF of Ichabod Jones:Monster Hunter issues 1 & 2. Upon “cracking the page” one is entered into an insane twirling landscape coming from the mind of creator/writer Russell Nohelty. The blistering manic artwork is provided by the talented Renzo Podesta. I just sat down and chatted with Russell for an hour. The rambling interview is below.

Who are you and Where are you from?

My name is Russell Nohelty. I grew up in Northern Va before moving to Los Angeles 4 years ago.

Were you always a comic book fan? If so, do you remember the first one your read?

I have always been a comic book fan. I collected as a kid, but when I got to college I just didn’t have to time or money to collect any more.
Luckily, when I started working in comics, I was able to start collecting again.
It’s hard to remember the exact first comic I read. I distinctly remember arc of comics I read as a kid like Knightfall, Death/Return of superman, Spider-Man clone saga. In fact, when I went home this year and found the first issue of Spider-Man 2099.

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Ichabod Jones Monster Hunter is a pretty unique story. What were the origins of the story? And for those who haven’t read a single issue can you give everyone a quick recap of what Ichabod Jones Monster Hunter is all about?

Sure. Ichabod is about a psychopath that escapes from an asylum and becomes a monster hunter during the Apocalypse because the voice in his head tells him it’s his purpose. But what Ichabod’s really about, what makes Ichabod really cool (besides all the disgusting monsters Ichabod brutalizes) is this idea of perspective. You never know if Ichabod is really in the Apocalypse, if he’s dreaming the whole thing, or if he’s killing real people and thinks they are monsters.

As for the origin, sometimes a story just comes to you. I was driving to a meeting, trying to figure out my next comic. I wanted an anti-hero, somebody that’s hard to sympathize with, and Ichabod popped into my head. I would like to say that it was some huge struggle and it took me forever, but Ichabod just flowed out of me.

I have a few friends that want to choke me whenever I tell that story though because stories aren’t generally that easy to break. And they don’t generally come that easy to me either. They usually have to fester for months or years before I finally write them down.

FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE!

Writer: Rusell Nohelty

Art & Letters: Renzo Podesta

Cover: Renzo Podesta

Editor: Gwendolyn Borgen

Publisher: Viper Comics

Review: 3 1/2 Stars

As a series Ichabod Jones is extremely fun, hilarious and bloody violent. As an issue Ichabod Jones goes into some creative territory. He fights a slug, gets eaten almost gets dissolved in acid, and gets covered in blood, again. Who wouldn’t love that? Personally I believe that Russell Nohelty has this great little humor about his work, it’s not there on the surface you have to search for it.

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Ichabod Jones Monster Hunter Number 1

Written by Russell Nohelty

Edited by Gwendolyn Borgen

Art and Letters by Renzo Podesta

Cover by Renzo Podesta

Published by Viper Comics

I love Viper Comics; there I said it, so when Russell dropped me a note yesterday to take a look at the Ichabod Jones Monster Hunter series I simply could not say no to this one. Viper is at the top of their game with this comic book, and in all I found this one pretty cool. Our hero Ichabod is in an insane asylum, because he is a killer. Or is he an instrument of god doomed to fight the monsters from hell that inhabit the earth and make our lives short and miserable. Alone in a corner in a padded cell Ichabod is responding to the voices in his head, or are they in his head? Are they divine guidance or the internal stimuli of a person who is a psychopath killer? Did the guard leave the door to the padded cell unlocked, or did God open the door so that Ichabod could see the monster in the hall way chowing down on a mental home attendant? Is the monster real, or is it all in Ichabod’s brain? That is why this is a very groovy comic book.

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By Jesse Miller, MoreHorror.com

Creator / Writer: Russell Nohelty
Art and Letters: Renzo Podestá

From Viper Comics comes Writer Russell Nohelty and artist Renzo Podestá’s direct-to-digital series Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, a dark fantasy about a fractured, insane man who escapes his asylum under the influence of the voice in his head that tells him he’s destined for much greater things – mind you, this is the same voice that got him into the asylum in the first place.

The voice pushes him along, claiming that Ichabod is the hand of god and that there still despicable monsters out there needed to be slain – but the mystery here is what exactly is real and what isn’t?

FULL REVIEW CLICK HERE!

ICHABOD JONES: MONSTER HUNTER #1-3

Writer: Russell Nohelty
Artist: Renzo Podesta
Publisher: Viper Comics

Reviewer: Optimous Douche

The overwhelming success of GLEE indicates that America loves mash-ups, which makes me feel obligated to find an award winning combination of past entertainment to describe ICHABOD JONES.

Put simply, Viper Comics’ latest brain child presented an alternate reality where the creepy cuteness of CORALINE collides with the reality-bending mind-fuck that was INCEPTION, and garnishes in a little SILENCE OF THE LAMBS for good measure.

Ichabod Jones is insane…maybe. This waffling has less to do with my lack of commitment and stems more from writer Nohelty’s ability to blur the line between what lives in Ichabod’s head versus what the rest of the world actually sees. Ichabod Jones is insane by some standards, but that insanity is going to help him save the world…maybe.

FULL REVIEW CLICK HERE

Hello nerds and nerdettes!  Welcome to another exciting review with yours truly. Today I’ll be reviewing a brand new title from Viper Comics called Ichabod Jones Monster Hunter. In its debut issue we are introduced to Ichabod Jones. Ichabod is anything but what you would think the stereotypical hero would be. It is the time of the apocalypse and monsters have been unleashed upon the world. It seems that Ichabod must embark on a mission to save the planet from this threat but first he has to escape from the mental institution that he has been committed to.
“…if you’re looking for something different with exceptional artwork and an original creative story then don’t pass this one up.”

Full Review Click HERE!

Ichabod may be a seriously disturbed killer, but he might also find a way to become a hero. And that would surely be an interesting and fun story. I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets there.

FULL REVIEW CLICK HERE!