While I’m clearly no expert on westerns, The Enfield Gang Massacre nonetheless stole my heart. If you too would like to see what the hullabaloo is about, you’re in luck thanks to the forthcoming Enfield Gang Massacre trade paperback.
There’s a few reasons why Enfield Gang Massacre feels really special. For one, while writer Chris Condon and artist Jacob Phillips clearly have an interest/affinity for Texas, this book aims an even more unflinching eye toward the golden-hearted scoundrels of the Lone Star State. It’s also a slice of American history that also speaks to modern issues of us vs. them, the corruptive nature of power, and even how hard it is to stake your own claim in an increasingly smaller world. Maybe you just like cool shoot-outs, or comics that feel like True Grit and 3:10 to Yuma. Either way, Enfield Gang Massacre is a book that blurs past/present, human morality, and the fight for the future into a truly compelling narrative.
The Enfield Gang Massacre TPB is due out April 9 via Image Comics. (The FOC, however, is Monday, March 4). In addition to collecting issues #1-6, the book also features a new six-page story titled “Blew It,” and you can read the exclusive first page at the bottom of this here article. In the meantime, Condon and Phillips were kind enough to answer a few questions ahead of the release, including why trades are so important, the response to Enfield Gang Massacre in general, and some tidbits into the “Blew It” story.
Courtesy of Image Comics.
AIPT: Now that the story’s wrapped up, do you have some idea about how it was perceived? And does that shape your approach or feelings going into the trade?
Chris Condon: Yeah, I think we do. We have a very good relationship with our readers. I’m not sure how it is for other creators, but for Jake and myself, we have an email that’s open to the public as well as our Patreon account, so we always hear from folks as they’re reading. I had told you in our previous exchange for Night People that I was worried about how Enfield six would land and, luckily, it landed just as I wanted it to. It made people talk, for one thing. It hit some in the heart, others in the head.
I’m really pleased with the response, and yes, that goes right into how I feel about the trade. I think that it’ll be great to read every issue together as one complete block, including the back matter. We made the decision to include the fictional Texas Record back matter in the trade which we usually don’t do but we thought it was necessary for the full experience of understanding and feeling the story.
AIPT: You’ve worked together before, but what does this story/book specifically represent in terms of your partnership? What about individually as creators?
CC: I think it really shows how much of a partnership we are. It’s not just one or the other, or one and then the other. It’s a collaborative process from the start. The whole reason that Enfield even came about is because of Jake. I had thrown a mention of “The Enfield Gang Massacre” as a fictional historical event in the back matter of That Texas Blood issue seven and Jake had latched onto that idea and asked if we were ever going to see that. I had loosely planned to mention it again as part of a later story arc but had never planned on doing a full miniseries on the subject. But it was Jake’s interest in the idea that really got me thinking about it and I felt that, yeah, it could work as its own thing. In terms of ourselves as individual creators, I think that we both bolster and bring the best out of each other. I feel pretty strongly that the first and last issues of Enfield are some of the best things I’ve put down to paper. I think a strong argument can be made about Jake’s work in this book as well.
Art from The Enfield Gang Massacre #1. Courtesy of Image Comics.
Jacob Phillips: Yeah, even down to how the pages are constructed is a collaborative effort that was discussed before we even began the book. I thought it would be cool to lay out the pages in wide, horizontally stacked panels wherever we could to achieved that western movie widescreen look, which we did manage for almost every page of the series. I think we are able to have a unique working relationship of back and forth which you just don’t get working on most projects, especially if you are working through an editor or the script is written before an artist is even brought on board.
AIPT: I think we hear a lot about the larger value (monetary, creative, etc.) of trades for creators. Briefly, can you explain why these trades are so dang important?
CC: Well, that’s a big part of it. Single issues are great, and they are key to the idea of comics as a digestible, serialized medium. We always include something in the single issues that we don’t include in the trade and there’s a reason for that. We want to make those single issues just as special for readers as the single issues Jake or myself read before we were creators. I love going month-to-month with a story, ending on a good cliffhanger and leaving folks wanting more. With a trade, you don’t get that. It’s like binge watching television. Sure, you’ve seen the show, but you don’t get that exciting feeling of how the hell are they going to get out of this one? Why? Because the answer is on the next page. You’ll know immediately if there’s a way out or not.
That said, the importance of trades is that they stay in print. That’s how we make our money, really. We make royalties on the sales. Each sale is important because Jake and I both work on the backend, meaning that we make no money upfront for these issues. We do it on spec, essentially, hoping that they will sell. To that end, we’ve really tried to make this Enfield trade special, to make it a companion piece and celebration of what we did in those single issues. Jake’s designed a beautiful book and we’ve included a new six-page short story set before the events of The Enfield Gang Massacre that you won’t find anywhere but in this trade.
Art from The Enfield Gang Massacre #3. Courtesy of Image Comics.
JP: I think trades also work as a perfect opportunity for people to come to the book that may have missed out on the single issues. Because of the state of things in the industry and the way the direct market works, shops are often unable to order many, if any, more copies than are pre-ordered by customers. This means if you don’t know about the series ahead of time you could easily miss out on getting your hands on a copy of the first issue. But luckily the trade comes along and anyone that missed it the first time round have a chance to read it.
AIPT: Do you think that this story works or feels differently (or is better somehow?) as collected in full versus the monthly single issues?
CC: I think that our story works just as well in both formats and I think that’s the way it’s got to be. If you don’t do that as a creator, you’re failing. I really love the additional story we’ve included, for one thing. It helps further the lore a bit. I also think that it will work very well as a trade because the story is pretty dense, especially when including the back matter.
JP: Yeah, I hope it works for both formats! Like Chris mentioned earlier, you do miss out on that feeling of anticipation between issues but there is something so satisfying about being able to tear through the entire story.
AIPT: In hindsight, do you have a favorite page or moment from the story? Is there anything that you think didn’t work as well or land quite as fully?
CC: I think my favorite moment is from the first issue. It’s the page where Enfield is up on a cliff, smoking a hand-rolled cigarette by himself until Bloom comes up to join him. It’s just a nice, quiet moment of contemplation before the figurative storm of the massacre descends and rips these people’s lives to shreds.
JP: Yeah, I love that scene but there’s a bunch I love throughout the series. I love the shoot out in the bar in issue #2 and the altercation in the barn later on.
Art from The Enfield Gang Massacre #6. Courtesy of Image Comics.
AIPT: What can you tell us about the new six-page story featured in the trade?
CC: Well, for one thing, it’s called “Blew It.” It’s a fun little story that’s set in 1868, a few years prior to the events of The Enfield Gang Massacre. I wanted to include something fun because our main story is very intense and very sad. I think it’ll be a nice way to end the trade because it sort of promises that there may be more to come from the gang, considering that they have a history beyond this miniseries.
JP: My personal favourite part of this new story is the fact I got to draw a steam train. I really loved drawing the solid metal of the machine. Hopefully that comes across when you read it!
AIPT: Are there more Condon-Phillips collabs in the future? Will they be Texas-centric or can we push you to write, say, a space opera or steampunk drama?
CC: Yes, there are. We can’t talk about the next one because it’s a top-secret project, but we will be coming back with some more That Texas Blood in the next year. What I will say about that top-secret project is this: it ain’t in Texas.
JP: Ooooooohhh, mysteries mysteries.
AIPT: In 15 words or less, why should anyone buy the trade?
CC: I hope folks buy the trade because they want a good, human story that is thrilling, intense, and emotional. I love these characters and I hope that readers, both new and old, will grow to love them as well.
JP: Chris, that’s way over 15 words!
Page one of “Blew It.” Courtesy of Image Comics.
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