this interview is with david hopkins. david is coming out with a comic in july 2005 called karma incorporated. top notch stuff. david hopkins is always an inspiration for me when it comes to writing. it was an honor to interview him. enjoy! -jordan
DAVID HOPKINS

GERNATION-ZERO: who are you, and what do you do? DAVID HOPKINS: my name is david hopkins. i am a high school english teacher and a comic book writer. i'm also a husband and a dad. i do coca-cola. lots ot it. GENERATION-ZERO: which, out of your two professions, gives you the most satisfaction? why? DAVID HOPKINS: both are satisfying in very different ways. writing is a solitary late night activity, while teaching is always in a social context with lots of people all around. writing is satisfying in subtle ways. i don't get immediate response from whatever i do. whereas with teaching, i'm dealing with young people at a very exciting time in their lives. it's contagious. i need both professions, because they each fulfill certain areas of life. GENERATION-ZERO: what is karma incorporated? DAVID HOPKINS: karma incorporated is a bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? "karma", being a natural force in the world, and "incorporated", implies some sort of artificial business structure. okay, nevermind. karma incorporated is a comic book series that i've written, which is coming out in july. tom kurzanski is the artist. marlena hall is the colorist. it's the story of these people who form a company. they get paid to pull pranks on individuals and mess with them. however, in this particular story, everything backfires on them, and the victim retaliates. GENATION-ZERO: it's all your own characters, and it is being published by viper comics. is this the biggest project you've worked on? DAVID HOPKINS: so far, most definitely. there came a moment when all the hypotheticals of "what if i wrote my own series" disappeared, and i realized it was happening, whether i was ready or not. i love it. now it's simply a matter of improving as a writer, and to keep pushing forward. GENERATION-ZERO: that sounds really exciting. what do you see in the future for your writing career? DAVID HOPKINS: there's a lot of things i hope for, but no guarantees with anything. i'd like to write more karma incorporated. it'd be exciting to develop these characters. i would like to write a few more titles on a regular basis. three sounds like a good number. it'd also be cool to write for an already pre-existing property. moonstone does some great books with classic figures like sherlock holmes and the phantom. i like small press publishing, but i'd love to write for a larger company as well. GENERATION-ZERO: how long have you been writing or reading comics? DAVID HOPKINS: i've been reading comics since i was ten years old, maybe a little younger. i quit reading for about ten years. i completely missed the '90s, and started up again when my friend steven loaned me his usagi yojimbo trade paperbacks. i also stumbled across bendis' work and realized i was missing out as far as writing, i've been writing for as long as i could hold a pencil. from my earlier memories, i've been a storyteller. however, i didn't take the idea of professional writing seriously until around the time i got married. it became this huge impossible goal, that after three years i've made some important first steps. GENERATION-ZERO: end the interview. wrap it up as you see fit. mention anything you wanted to but didn't get the chance to. this is open ended for david hopkins. DAVID HOPKINS: the dreaded open-ended question. thank you for taking an interest in what i'm doing. hopefully, i can make it worthwhile. comics are great. i love this art form. it has so much power and potential. karma incorporated - limited series publshed by viper comics. tom kurzanski - artist of viper comic's karma incorporated. marlena hall - colorist and letterer of viper comic's karma incorporated. viper comics - comic book publisher based in dallas, texas. moonstone books - comic book publisher based in chicago, illinois. sherlock holmes - fictional detective created by arthur conan doyle. the phantom - comic strip created by lee falk. usagi yojimbo - comic book series set in edo period japan. brian michael bendis - writer and creator of goldfish, jinx, powers, and torso. +JUNE, 2005 +JORDAN MICHAEL +THANK YOU -david hopkins (for your amazing interview) -gloria (for helping me edit this interview)