Komikazee Interviews Pariah Creator Orlando Harding

by: curvezilla April 30 2006

Check out this Orlando Hardings thoughts on his hot new book, Pariah!

Curvezilla:Orlando Harding is with us from Revolution Comics and he is here to talk about their new project Pariah.  The art looks amazing and I love the premise of the story.  So Orlando how are you doing today?

Orlando Harding:I am doing great and very happy to speak with you. We just did our first show at the APE Expo and things went really well for us.

Curvezilla:First off tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved with comics.

Orlando Harding:I am actually a drug and alcohol counselor and help people with substance abuse problems. I went to San Diego State Univ. and fell back in love with comics while attending school. When I was young I used to collect Spiderman and GI Joe but as I got older, started to concentrate on girls. I happened to go into a local comic store with a friend of mine and just lost my mind. I ended up staying in the store for and hour and probably spent about $30.00 this is on a starving students budget so I knew I was going to be in trouble. From then on I started going once a week on delivery day.

Curvezilla:Give us the low down on Pariah.  Who is he, whatâ??s his motivation, paper or plastic, Chevy or Ford?

Orlando Harding:Thatâ??s the beautiful thing about him. Heâ??s not sure and neither am I. Heâ??s a guy that is like all the rest of us vulnerable sometimes confused and looking for a sense of purpose. Heâ??s back on Earth and not sure about what is going on or how he got back there. Heâ??s a guy like the rest of us that will make some bad choices that will influence mankind but he does not know that. Think about it, most of us can think back to times when we made some choices that if we had a chance to do all over again would make a different decision. The hook about Pariah is that this is his ultimate role and purpose because the result of his decisions will bring about what has been prophesized since the dawn of mankind. Pariah is similar to Judas the one that betrayed Jesus. Someone had to betray Jesus. It was just Judas that was chosen for that role. Pariah will have to make these choices to fulfill his purpose but when he thinks that he is doing the right thing it is ultimately wrong. Never mind the fact that he will also be influenced by Hell.

Curvezilla:Why should people add this book to their pull list?

Orlando Harding:I think our book is different than a lot of others and the story is unique. Pariah is a book that will entertain but will also speak about events that are going on now in todayâ??s world. Morality, good and evil, sometimes there are some pretty serious gray areas. The world is not black and white and it is the gray areas that Hell will use to exploit Pariah. The funny thing is that the reader will have to distinguish between Heaven and Hell and which one is good and which one is evil. Second, the story is told from the point of view of a Demon that Pariah just defeated. The demon does not have much time left and must warn mankind of the impending doom but there is one catch. The demon must tell the story to a true believer and how many of those can you find when you need one. Not every day you get a demon confessing their sins to a mortal.

Curvezilla:Where can we get issues of Pariah?

Orlando Harding:At any comic store that actually ordered the book. I will also make them available on line through our website. Pariah #2 is spotlighted this month in Previews on page 321

Curvezilla:What were some of your influences when you created Pariah?

Orlando Harding:Lets keep it real. No doubt Spawn influenced it and a book called Breed by Jim Starlin. I have always liked the Heaven and Hell conflict and felt that I could put a different spin on it by having a fallen angel back on Earth and not being able to leave the city of Oakland Ca. Think about it what if you could never leave Oakland Ca. You might try to make the best out of a bad situation or you might try to fight it and end up letting obsession of getting out drive you crazy.

Curvezilla:Can you tell us the unpardonable transgression that David Howard committed?  You can break the big story here to the Komikazee Nation!

Orlando Harding:Not yet but I do give some hints. What he did was totally wrong but indeed understandable.  Looking at it from his point of view there is no doubt that he thought he was totally right. If I were in his situation I donâ??t know what I would doâ?¦those damn gray areas

Curvezilla:It looks as though you have put together a great team for Pariah.  Tell us a little about the guys you are working with and what projects they have worked on before.

Orlando Harding:I saw David Miller at the SD Con when he brought his work to our portfolio review. I really liked it and saw his talent. I appreciated it because he took a chance on us. All the aspiring artist were hitting the Marvel and Darkhorse booth but some came to see us and I knew they had to really be hungry and really eager to work so we went from there. Our colorist Roderic Rodriguez answered our add in Digital Webbing. He actually lives in the Phillippines and is very talented. Rod also designed the website.
I’m David Miller the artist on Pariah. Orlando Ultimately nabbed me from what I like to call the San Diego Comic Con “Artist pit”. You’d know what I mean if you’ve seen it. Especially if you’re an artist. I’m from the NY area so the travel costs took a big chunk of my wallet. Just when I thought the trip was a loss I got the call from Orlando. Since then it’s been a blast making a great comic. I absolutely love being a part of Developing a comic from the ground up and I’m very pleased with the way Pariah is unfolding. Other projects I’ve worked on have been mostly short eight page stories for various anthologies including Nightmare World, Komikwerks and Ronin Studios.

Curvezilla:Itâ??s time to come clean Orlando, who is your favorite Superhero of all time?

Orlando Harding:WOW what a tough question. Pound for pound I think it would have to be Spiderman. He should be dead but he keeps coming back and you got to respect that. However, I was really starting to dig a hero named ASH created by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti. I think they discontinued ASH because Joe Quesada ended up getting a new job at some company.

Curvezilla:It was great talking to you and we hope the book is a big success.  Keep us updated on Pariah and any other projects you have.

Orlando Harding:For sure and thank you for your time-Orlando