We also never got around to pointing out that Rantz Hoseley — editor of Comic Book Tattoo and head of the Longbox Project, the “iTunes for comics” program that’s been getting a lot of buzz recently — name-dropped Brandon in an interview he did with the Word Balloon podcast.

On the podcast, Rantz was talking about the mindset of some creators who feel like worrying about the business side of comics makes them ’sellouts’ — and he uses Brandon as an example of someone who, in his words, “gets it.”

I can tell the people who ‘get it’ right away — and if they don’t understand the nuances of it, then they’re open to, I don’t want to say the experience of it, but the kind of mindset-difference that it takes.

Brandon Seifert is a perfect example. He does a book called Witch Doctor which he’s been putting out independently. And I think he’s going to end up being a massively huge success, as a writer and as a creator. He’s got really unique, brilliant ideas that touch on the same kinds of themes and standards that people love in comics, but he does that wonderful thing of bringing his own unique flavor and twist to it in the same way that people like Brubaker and Fraction and Bendis do, in making it identifiably and distinctively their own.

I think people like that — at the risk of sounding all Whitney-fucking-Houston here — are the future.

Also, Witch Doctor: First Incision got a nice review from the folks at Comics Should Be Good, which was a pleasant thing for us to wake up to today.

Should’ve mentioned this sooner, better late than never: Lukas and I are exhibiting at the Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend, here in our very own Portland, Oregon. We’re pretty much right when you walk in the door, so you’ll probably have trouble missing us.

And we have new things for you. Ooh, exciting things! Like what? Like a new comic!

And for those of you who can’t make it — here’s a preview of the first page, the one we posted the pencils and graytones for!

For First Incision, Lukas used a pretty standard process — pencil the pages, and then ink them. This time around, he’s trying something different, the technique he used on his MySpace Dark Horse Presents story. He did the pencils normally — but then he scanned them in and did graytones over them, and now he’s printing them out and doing the inking over them. This, right here, is what it looks like with just pencils and graytones — so picture inks on top of this.

This is the first page of the story, just so we don’t give too much away.

What do you think?

Incidentally — are you Witch Doctor’s MySpace friend?

A very long interview.

Scott was kind of at a loss with what to do with it (it would’ve taken a really long time to transcribe, for one thing), and ended up releasing it as a podcast on his website. Be aware that it’s really long and involved, and it’s really just the three of us talking — nobody was in “radio mode,” so we’re all really chill and not worrying about sounding interesting to a listening audience. But damn, there’s a lot of information in there, so Witch Doctor fans should definitely check it out!

“I was instantly reminded of a childhood spent reading classic horror comics like Creepy and Eerie… [Seifert and Ketner's] real-world medical/zoological approach is really intriguing!” — Vampire bat biologist Bill Schutt (Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures)

I just got done reading Dark Banquet, and it’s the most intriguing, personably-written book on the dark side of biology I’ve read since Carl Zimmer’s Parasite Rex (aka the Witch Doctor Bible). Getting a quote from Bill is a big deal for me — especially since it’s great to know we managed to make a story about vampires that a specialist in blood-feeders didn’t cringe at!

And then of course there’s this quote:

“Nice.” — Warren Ellis (Transmetropolitan, The Authority, Black Summer)

which just makes me all sort of pleased.

And he gives me this:

The plan is pretty much the same as last year — release the stories for free online, and debut a print edition at Stumptown Comics Fest here in Portland in April. But this time around, we’re doing a set of three eight-page stories focusing on different elements of the Witch Doctor universe, and showcasing different story tones we plan to use it future stories — from action/comedy to suspense to existential horror! We’ll release the stories online as we go, and publish them as a 22-page comic called New Strains.

In the next couple weeks, you’re going to see a lot more from us — but more details on New Strains and the release date of the first story, but also lots more concept art and long-delayed looks at our revised cast! So you should totally keep checking back.

“One guy I’m real excited about is Lukas Ketner. He does a book called Witch Doctor with Brandon Seifert. It’s a great book, and they have a lot of talent.” Ketner’s “Creepy” short story, “Om Nom Nom,” appeared in the November issue of “MySpace Dark Horse Presents.” “Lukas interned at Dark Horse a long time ago, and I don’t think I ever talked to him. Then one of the editors sent around a link to his new work, and I loved it at first sight. He’s got a fantastic horror style in the vein of Wrightson, Ingels and Powell.”

How awesome is that?

Scott’s been a supporter of Witch Doctor since the weekend the book debuted at the Stumptown Comics Festival, when we were in the running to do a story on MySpace Dark Horse Presents. We didn’t get the story then, but it’s what led to Lukas’ MSDHP story in November, and Scott gave us some absolutely dynamite tips about telling successful genre fiction that he learned from people like Mike Mignola, Eric Powell and Joss Whedon (our collective idols)!

So, thanks again Scott!