MCCC: Trico Lutkins & Joshua Werner Celebrate Classic Pulp Noir with Jack of Spades

If you’re a fan of pulp noir, hardboiled detective stories, or classic pulp horror then check out what Source Point Press has in store for you.

At Motor City Comic Con, I was able to catch up with Trico Lutkins and Joshua Werner, co-creators of Jack of Spades, which seamlessly blends the feel of a 1930s pulp noir detective story with the thrill of a superhero adventure.

Let’s say I’m new to comics. Why should I buy your comic?

Trico: Because it’s awesome!

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Clik here to view. Nice. What story is it telling?

Trico: The main character, Jack of Spades, is a 1930s noir detective in a more modern setting, and a lot of his cases involve hunting down superhumans. You have the best of both genres; you have a superhero book and a 1930s detective drama.

Joshua: It definitely has a visual style that’s a throwback to old pulp noir films. It’s very gritty, very dark looking. And yet you still have all of the action and excitement that come with superhero books that are popular today. So it’s definitely something that feels very familiar the first time you read it, but it’s a complete new take on comics and storytelling.

Do you have other titles that you work on, or is this your main book?

Trico: Jack of Spades is the flagship title for our company, Source Point Press. We’ve also released Classic Pulp. Issue #1, “Horror,” is a reprint of classic horror tales and issue #2 is going to be “Detective.”

Joshua: We have Serial, a comic book series about serial killers. We also do a lot of anthologies. Trico comes from a background in writing so he has a lot of awesome short stories. I also write a little bit, but I’m mostly an illustrator. Once we got together, a lot of these titles just started happening. I’ve done a lot of little things in the past, but I would say that Jack of Spades is the first thing that’s gone as far as it has.

What have been some of the biggest challenges that you’ve had to overcome as a small publisher, creator-owned comic?

Trico: There’s printing, files, things like that. But mostly I would say we tackle that pretty easily. Really, it comes to promotion, not having the proper budget to advertise something, but getting the word out there anyway. Word of mouth, the Internet, social media, friends, and fans have really help spread the word around the world. Even though it’s really a Detroit local thing, we have fans in Scotland now, the UK, and Europe. It’s really exciting to see how it’s growing. It’s pretty fun.

Is it easier now to publish than it was when you first started?Image may be NSFW.
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Joshua: The ’90s would have been the best time, but I would say now is the best time since then to promote indie books and to get it out there. The fact that the pop culture aspect of comic books is becoming more mainstream, it only helps things, because it introduces people who were never likely to buy comics in the past. And for fans of comic books that might feel like the [superhero] realm is oversaturated, they’re actually pushing away and buying more indie titles and not spending all of their money on Marvel and DC. So I would say, yeah, it’s a really good time for people like us to have a chance. No matter how talented or how incredible the art or storytelling is in a comic, it’s quite likely that no one will ever see it. Nowadays with social media and comic books becoming more popular again, it is really the best time for people to see and recognize the hard work and all the talent (especially in Michigan) that there is to enjoy.

Trico: Social media is really helping out. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, there’s a million ways for people to try to find you and get in touch with you. It’s really awesome. Back in the ’90s, a lot of small companies were starting back then, but unless you went to a con or could find a comic book store to carry your book, it was hard for people to find you. Now, it’s really easy for people to find you, so that really helps a lot.

Joshua: It gets a conversation started. People can actually converse with the creators, they can talk about what they liked and disliked about the books. And that makes a world of difference because it personalizes everything. Our favorite part about this is having those conversations, being able to connect with readers. It makes everything so much more worthwhile.

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Tammie Philpott

Tammie Philpott is a Spartan/Wings fan, Code Monkey, Super Mom, Gamer, and Comics Enthusiast. She's been reading comics for slightly longer than Image or Vertigo have existed, and had to bear witness to the unfortunate Supermullet.

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