5 years (and now 15 years old!) on since our last sit down and Kevin LaPorte has yet to slow down when it comes to running Inverse and creating quality content for us Comic Book Lovers! Case in point, his most recent Body Horror Graphic Novel known as Chainsaw Nosejob! So with that in mind, let’s read on!
1. Well holy donuts! Its been a long while since we last chit chatted back in 2020, how ya been!?
Its Kevin!
Been doing great, getting a ton of writing in, on both comics and Substack (about comics on Kickstarter). We’re reworking our line over the next couple of years, so that’s been exciting to work up and put into action.
2. Inverse/Flatline/Squared Circle is now nearly 15 years of being active, what do you think the next 15 will be like for you guys?
Well, in 15 years, I’ll be almost 70, so, hopefully, still kicking and making comics from my rocking chair. Seriously, though, I hope to grow as a writer and overall creator just as much over the next 15 as I have the past 15. I want stories with more depth, more eloquence and more awesome moments in our future.
3. You currently have a Kickstarter going for a new project called ‘Chainsaw Nosejob‘ with Oscar Pinto on the artwork, what can you tell us about the story?
Chainsaw Nosejob is the story of the last rhinoceros on Earth and the race between greedy poachers, corrupt environmentalists, and a secretive witch doctor to claim her horn, each for their own selfish purposes. Lots of magic and monsters and the macabre along the way.
4. What led to you recruiting Oscar for ‘Chainsaw Nosejob?’
Oscar is a friend and masterful storyteller in his own right. Since 2021, we created 96 pages of Halloween stories featuring the killer clowns of our Vicious Circus horror comics, and he wanted a project to draw between spooky seasons. So, in a way, he really recruited me. His amazing style and profound knack for composition and sequencing are too good to turn down, so I dusted off this undrawn script, and we got to work.
5. Originally, the title was much shorter until it was changed to its current title, is it safe to say the title fits given the subject matter?
Yeah, I didn’t feel the “Nosejob” moniker alone really conveyed enough of the story of the book. One of the really bizarre interventions implemented by rhino preservationists is to cut off the horns of live rhinos to reduce their appeal to poachers, who sell the horns on the black market. They use a chainsaw to remove the horn. Thus, the title shift.
6. I gotta say, a Social Media post of yours promoting ‘Chainsaw Nosejob‘ definitely caught my attention as I wasn’t expecting to see a figure with a Rhino horn on their face that day! What inspired you to come up with the entire concept?
Wow, it’s been a long time since I wrote that script, probably 11 years, so the original inspiration is a little murky, but, as I recall, a local artist (who later flaked on me) approached me to collaborate on a comic and wanted something with some “social value”. So, I developed this conservationist story but with a hard horror twist.
7. Do you think there’s a chance this title will help bring more awareness in efforts to save the Rhino?
I doubt it, unfortunately. We’re a small, boutique publisher with limited reach, and I won’t pretend this comic is going to reach the hands of anyone who can truly impact the fate of the rhinos.
8. While checking out the Kickstarter for ‘Chainsaw Nosejob‘, I noticed the funding goal being set at 500 dollars. What made you decide to set it at such a low goal? Interestingly enough this seems to be part of a trend with your projects.
Yeah, that’s more about ensuring a quick fund and bumping the Kickstarter search algorithm to feature the campaign with a little more priority. Now, whether that actually works, I can’t really say, but it’s worth a try.
9. While on the subject of Kickstarter content, is there too much NSFW on there in your view? As it seems to have become a staple on the platform.
As you’ve probably read in my Substack posts, the real launch and funding data show that NSFW books absolutely own the Kickstarter Comics category now. Whether that’s “too much” is not really for me to say, but it’s enough to damage the ability of non-NSFW comics to fund as successfully as they once did on the platform. And that’s a shame.
10. With CN being a success with plenty of time left for folks to make a pledge and offering a sweet deal on collected editions of past titles, what’s next for you and the publisher?
2025 has a lot of meat left on the bone for me and Flatline Comics. By the end of the year, I’m collecting my respective, 96-page Vicious Circus Halloween and Christmas series into complete editions, and I hope to finish my long-running steampunk epic, Last Ride of the 4 Horsemen and publish issue 2 of the new Gothic Horror Team-Up comic, this time featuring Dracula joining forces with the vengeful white whale, Moby Dick! Whew, that’s a lot.
11. Thoughts on Diamond’s recent troubles and being bought by another company?
My primary thought is that I’m glad I never trusted Diamond with my products or my money, as their bankruptcy is absolutely destroying small (and some large) comics publishers right now. I had enough bad experiences with Diamond during the years I was a retailer to be suspicious of their greed and disregard for their clients, both publishers and retailers.
12. As not only a fan of Wrestling but also a publisher of Wrestling titles, what’s your thoughts on the current state of Wrestling? Will AEW last as long as TNA?
I must confess that I’m woefully out of touch with the modern state of Wrestling. We actually shuttered the Squared Circle line a few years back, and I lost touch with the medium. However, I’ll speculate that AEW will last longer than TNA simply because of Tony’s money.
13. Moving back to CN, is the title a one and done? Or is there a potential sequel?
Chainsaw Nosejob is a complete one-shot and a closed ended story. It ends just as it should.
14. As someone who uses Substack to promote their work, would you say it’s been proving to be beneficial?
From a promotional standpoint, Substack is essentially an email list, so it’s helped in that capacity. However, it’s an amazing networking and network-building tool.
15. You mentioned earlier of intentions to rework the catalog, what exactly does that entail?
It means I’m closing loose ends from series running a decade or more and starting fresh with new titles that better reflect my growth and my voice as a writer. Gothic Horror Team-Up was the first of those new titles, and the rebranded, updated Chainsaw Nosejob is a part of that effort as well.
16. You also mentioned shuttering the Squared Circle line sometime ago, what led to that happening? And I have to say, preservationists cutting off the Rhino horns as a means to protect them is… well… horrible.
Squared Circle was fun, informative and meaningful, but it never attracted the audience it deserved. In the end, closing it down was a strictly business decision that allowed me to tighten our focus on fiction, rather than biographical projects, which is my preferred genre.
17. For my last question, what are your thoughts on AI?
While I won’t use AI in any creative context, it can be very useful for the organizational and marketing aspects of publishing. That said, AI is only becoming more ingrained in every aspect of life with every passing day, so creators will have to use their own discretion and ethics to make decisions about using AI in a creative capacity. It’s not going away.
Editor’s Note: Huge thanks to Kevin for taking part in this interview! Currently, Chainsaw Nosejob is at 1,341 dollars of its 500 dollar goal with 9 days left. Giving you plenty of time to get your pledge in! Especially if you’re looking to check out more of the catalog thanks in part to the Library tiers!
Interview by: Rob Wrecks
