Comixology: For readers who haven't seen the book, explain what Twilight Guardian is about-- characters, story, any relevant info about the world.

Troy: Twilight Guardian is the story of a woman who patrols the nine-block area around her neighborhood each night. She is the only main character, but her world is populated by myriad "night people" that she runs into or sees during her patrols. We don't know much about her personal life yet, beyond the fact that she's been through some sort of romantic break-up, and she seems to have a kind of OCD. Her existence has raised a number of questions with readers. Is she mentally disturbed? Is she a superhero? What do those terms mean?

The world she lives in is our world. The only conventional "superheroes" you see in the book are from the comic books she reads each night for inspiration. She doesn't get into sense-shattering slugfests, nor does she get her backside handed to her night after night.

And making the book enjoyable and compelling within that context is where it gets fun for me.

Cmxlgy: You previously had some success with Common Grounds, also published by Top Cow. Tell us about your history as a writer-- are there other comics you've created? What are your other works?

Troy: I've actually done very few pro comics so far. I did a one-shot for Acclaim, Turok: Adon's Curse, in the late 90s. Then Top Cow contacted me in 2004 about republishing my mini-comic Holey Crullers, which became the aforementioned Eisner-nominated Common Grounds series. I did two issues of Witchblade where I create the Celestine character (currently appearing in their Broken Trinity series), followed by an arc in the City of Heroes comic #4-6 (which has since been incorporated into the game, and which they were kind enough to ask me to script). I did a Hulk story with Bill Loebs for ACTOR Comics Presents, and now Twilight Guardian.

All my other stuff (Tales of the Pathetic Club, which is where TG first appeared, Made-Up Stuff is Stranger than Fiction, Yoyo the Dieting Clown, etc.) has been for mini-comics or small independents, most of which now fill up boxes in my bedroom!

Cmxlgy: I understand you teach college; what do you teach?

Troy: I teach creative writing and English at a state college here in Indiana. I enjoy the job itself, and folks tell me I'm good at it. I'm going to have to move on sometime soon, though, as I can't really support myself sufficiently this way (thank goodness for the occasional comic gig). I'd like to be writing full-time if I can ever line up sufficient comic work.

Cmxlgy: Winning contests to get your comic published (in print or online) is a little bit of a trend right now, with the Pilot Season and Zuda as two major examples. It takes a lot of promotion to get the votes to come out on top-- how did you manage to win out?

Troy: Y'know, if I weren't a writer, I think my best bet in this industry would be as a PR man. In a short amount of time, I've learned most of what there is to know about getting the word out there. In the month that Pilot Season voting was going on, I think I hit just about every message board, myspace and facebook page, website, doghouse, outhouse, and International House of Pancakes on the internet. I talked up the comic, pointed out where people could read the preview (and eventually the entirety) of it, and I urged them to check it out and vote for it if they were so moved. Moreover, I was able to enlist a lot of wonderful folks to do the same and turn this thing "viral," as the young people say!

And boy, was it exhausting. A lot of fun, though, and I met a bunch of great new people. Er...why does this sound like a promo for Matchmaker.com?

Cmxlgy: Can you tell us a little bit about the process of getting into the contest in the first place? What did you submit to Top Cow and how did you get selected to be in the Pilot Season?

Troy: Actually, I didn't submit anything to Top Cow. They contacted me about including Twilight Guardian (which they'd had an interest in since they first talked to me about Common Grounds) in the competition. I'm sure glad they did, because I probably wouldn't have attempted it myself. I think I'm a good writer, but I'm not very good yet at selling myself. Truth be told, I've never really submitted a proposal to a comics publisher; I've just been lucky enough that they came to me. I'm learning quickly, though, that I can't just sit on my backside and continue to get lucky. If I want to work consistently, I'm going to have to get out there and do more...ugh..."networking," and letting folks know that I'm not only available, but very ready to work (this would be a good time to mention that I'm both available and very ready to work).

Cmxlgy: Now that you've won, what's the timeframe going to be on seeing the series come out?

Troy: I'm not sure yet. All I know is that the book will begin sometime next year. I've already started preliminary work on the scripts, though, so I'm...uh...available and ready to work

Cmxlgy: For readers who haven't seen the book, explain what Genius is about--
characters, story, any relevant info about the world.

Marc: In a nutshell, what if the most naturally-gifted military mind of our generation was born in South Central LA and what if this 17-year-old girl decided that "the system" was to blame for all of the ills that afflict her and her neighbors? What if she declared war on the LAPD?

Adam: It follows the story of Destiny, a young girl born with a gift she doesn't understand but has found a misguided purpose for it.

Cmxlgy: You've previously collaborated on a couple of comics. Tell us about your history as a writing team-- how did you start working together, and are there other comics you've created? What are your other works?

Marc: We've been friends since the 5th grade and with a couple of exceptions our interests fall right in line with each other's. We both wanted to try and make a living in dramatic writing and once we got to a certain point in our respective careers--Adam's a TV producer, I'm a magazine editor--we agreed to pool our resources and give it a go.

Adam: We went to all the same schools until college, played in a shitty band together, my wife and I introduced him to his future wife, he is the Godfather to my youngest daughter...I'm sorry what was the question?

Cmxlgy: Winning contests to get your comic published (in print or online) is a little bit of a trend right now, with the Pilot Season and Zuda as two major examples. It takes a lot of promotion to get the votes to come out on top-- how did you manage to win out?

Adam: Sounds simple, but I guess people liked it. We did the usual mass e-mails and facebook groups etc. but when you look at the big picture - the number of votes logged - I don't know if our feeble attempts were the difference. It didn't hurt that Warren Ellis put it on his homepage.

Marc: Bribes. And lots of goodwill.

Cmxlgy: Can you tell us a little bit about the process of getting into the
contest in the first place? What did you submit to Top Cow and how did you get selected to be in the Pilot Season?

Marc: A couple of years ago, I sat down with Top Cow editor Rob Levin at the New York Comic Con and pitched him Genius. He really dug the idea, but knew it would be a hard sell. Not to the Top Cow brass, but in the marketplace. To limit everyone's exposure, he suggested slotting it into Pilot Season.

Adam: Books without capes don't sell well, books featuring black characters don't sell well, and books with female leads don't sell well. With "Genius" we created the perfect storm for what could have been the "Gigli" of comics. By making it a Pilot Season book EVERYONE wins. We get a book made that scared off almost every publisher on the planet and Top Cow gets to test the waters to see if readers respond before committing to a series.

Cmxlgy: Now that you've won, what's the timeframe going to be on seeing the series come out?

Marc: I'd like to say we'll be ready to rock and roll in time for next year's San Diego Comic Con, but there are a number of factors that have to align for that to happen. But we're definitely gonna hustle; we don't want to keep those folks who voted for Genius to have to wait for too long!