Demi-God Artist Andy Smith On Ominous's Latest Kickstarter-Funded Project

Demi-God: The Complete Series, currently being crowdfunded from Ominous Press, will collect the [...]

Demi-God: The Complete Series, currently being crowdfunded from Ominous Press, will collect the four-issue series from the publisher, including the not-previously-published third and fourth issues by Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Witchblade) and Andy Smith (Quasar, The Avengers) . Currently funding on Kickstarter, the collection has flown somewhat under the radar for a lot of people given the current pandemic that has frozen much of the entertainment industry. And while it's difficult to focus on entertainment just now, the parts of the community that are still working to deliver new content are likely going to come under more of a focus as comic shops join movie theaters in being largely dark for the time being.

To that end, we caught up with Smith to answer a few questions about Demi-God, what the series itself is about, and what makes the character tick. The project is expected to "ship" its digital rewards in May, with an eye toward getting physical copies of the comics and collected edition out in July.

You can check it out below, complete with a few new images from the series.

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(Photo: Ominous Press)

So for the uninitiated, what is Demi-God: The Complete Series about?

It's about a loser, and that's the truth. Jason McAndros is a 19-year-old slacker with zero ambition and even less of a future that works at a sports bar and pines for his friend, a waitress at the bar. His best friend, the manager, works there as well which is lucky for Jason, who'd probably have been fired by now if they weren't buddies. Through a series of unfortunate events (Including- SPOILER ALERT- seeing his best friend die), Jason is granted the powers of Hercules. If you want to know how, well, you'll just have to back the project to find out!

Behind the scenes, we liked to say that once he's got the power of Hercules, Demi-God becomes equal parts Deadpool, breaking the fourth wall and being kind of a jerk, with the powers of a God like Thor.

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(Photo: Ominous Press)

Well then, more importantly, who could win in a fight: Demi-God or Deadpool?

Seriously, Demi-God! He has the powers of a god, it's right there in his name! Deadpool's guns and stuff have no chance against Demi-God's impenetrable hide!

You mentioned Thor, before so who's the cooler pantheon: the Greek Gods or the Norse Gods?

Much like my salads, I've gotta go Greek. The book is about a dude called Hercules! Duh! If I chose the Norse Gods, my contract would be null and void.

What's your working relationship like with Ron Marz?

It's a thrill of a lifetime.

Seriously though, I've known Ron for almost 30 years, and we've worked together on many a project in the past. He is one of my favorite writers to work with; he's a very visual thinker when he is writing his scripts, it's easy to picture what he's asking for. Ron also always likes to talk with the artist he is working with so we can get on the same page and really collaborate together. He's very open to ideas. Don't tell him I said that though. He likes to think he's in control.

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(Photo: Ominous Press)

If you had the power of Hercules, what would you do with it?

Abuse it, most likely. If I got the powers of Hercules back in my single days, I would definitely use them to impress the ladies; they'd have to dig it more than my early receding hairline did! If I got them now, being married, I would try and make as much money off of them as possible to provide lots of cool stuff for my family! Priorities certainly do change when we have kids.

Hard to believe your premature Male Pattern Baldness didn't wow the ladies. You've been around a while and worked for pretty much every publisher. What are the pros and cons of funding a project via Kickstarter?

I think on the pro side, it's a great way to reach fans that might not hear about it otherwise. Also, there is the monetary factor. If we're lucky enough to be able to pull in more than our funding goal, we'd be able to go on and produce even more Demi-God; there are a lot of stories to tell with this slacker-turned-hero. On the con side, the only one that comes to mind is not getting funded but, with all of your help. that won't happen!

You're one of the hardest working guys in comics. What's next after this?

I'd really love to be able to do more Demi-God but right now, I'm working on a creator- owned project, a 44-page comic book with two stories. Best of all, it's a flip-book! The first story, Jungle Lords, takes up the first half and then flip it over to read a fun super-hero story about a guy named Ultra!

[Note: You can keep up on that project by following Smith on Facebook.]

Sounds cool. Any final words before we wrap up?

Demi-God has been a labor of love for Ron and I and we want to share that love with you all. When you have a minute, please click the link and check it out! With your help backing Demi-God, we'll be able to get it funded and get the complete series out there!

You had something for our readers in particular, right?

They are some of the smartest, brightest comic book fans out there and I'm not just saying that hoping they'll back our project. ComicBook.com readers know what a good comic is and once they read Demi-God, they'll absolutely be hooked from page one. They know good writing and good art; this project has both! Plus, we're holding a special raffle for ComicBook.com readers that back the project. Just leave a comment with the words, "ComicBook.com loves Demi-God" [on the Kickstarter page] and we'll choose one backer at random to receive, absolutely free, our Black Book Bundle, all five volumes of our "Art of..." books from Bart Sears, Jim Starlin, Darryl Banks, Graham Nolan and myself.

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