Exclusive Interview: LMS creator Dan Luvisi

Everything you need to know about next month's highly anticipated release of LMS: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter

GCD: So what exactly is LMS?
Dan LuVisi: I get this question a lot and never know how to truly go about it. As for the story, Last Man Standing, or LMS, takes place 600 years in the future, in an alternate universe and is about Gabriel, this invincible soldier, who's been created to help win a a war Earth got itself too deep into with Mars. After Gabe wins the war, he comes back down to Earth and is celebrated as this incredible hero. From there, he becomes somewhat of a celebrity, a Superman of this story, but then it all takes a quick turn. Gabriel is framed for an atrocious crime, by a terrorist organization known as Pandemonium and their leader, Dante. He is then sent to Level-9 Facility, where he'll spend the next nine years in the worst prison of all time. Once Gabriel breaks out, only then does his true story begin, and the lies and twists unravel.

As for the entire series, it's a story of mine I've been crafting over the past two and a half years. I want it to be a graphic novel series, but start it in a non-traditional type way. Where most comics start off with a first issue, this starts off with a 230-page bible of a book, Killbook of a Bounty Hunter, that sets up the entire universe of the LMS world. But not only that, the audience gets an incredibly deep perspective on the protagonist, Gabriel, and what his plans are now that he's escaped from Level-9.

GCD: How did you come up with the concept for it?
LuVisi: It was a combination of things. It originally started with just one simple image, of this character named Alice, a girl with a gun-guitar. A lot of my friends really responded to it, so I began to design more characters. It was going to be just a cool character book, nothing more. But then I designed Gabriel, and that's when everyone got excited. I then began to create a story, which then turned into history, which then turned into a universe and so forth. But I figured, how do I do this? What's the best way to start it off? And I realized it might be a cool idea to hand the audience the entire world, and tease them with all these characters, their back stories, weapons and so forth and then release a comic book down the line.

GCD: Does your role in Last Man Standing go beyond the artwork?
Yes, for the first book, I did absolutely everything. From designing it, the art, the type, the story and all the other nooks and crannies. I didn't have any money to hire anyone, so this was really a labor of love. It was incredibly difficult and really took a lot out of me mentally and physically. But looking back at it now, I'm really happy that I just took it all on. I hope to stay along for the whole ride, but I want some other talent to come in now. I have no issues with that!

GCD: Is there a plan for Last Man Standing to become a feature film?
LuVisi: There is. We have gotten some fantastic feedback from a preview book I've shown. We've met with several studios and it's really been surreal. But yes, there is definitely some interest.

GCD: What kind of music do you listen to while you draw?
LuVisi: A lot of classical, rock, electronic. The LMS world is very 60s/80s meets sci-fi. So I listen to a lot of golden classics, and then some Justice, NIN, Muse, Daft Punk, Kavinsky, Ryan Johnson and Danger to get into that weird-mode. I can't draw without music, I owe a lot to those amazing artists for the constant company.

GCD: OK, so exactly how much longer does the world have to wait to see this?
LuVisi: The first book will come out, LMS: Killbook of a Bounty Hunter, and we'll be doing a full unveil of it. It's been two and a half years in the making. The book is a scrapbook filled with: maps, history, over 40 character biographies, full dossiers on each character, tons of faux advertisements and much, much more. It's a fun book and I can only hope people really enjoy it! And for the GCD readers, enjoy these two exclusive posters [one is pictured here, the other one can be viewed by clicking here] that will be at San Diego Comic-Con!

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