I interviewed Cisco Davis, Jr. about his groundbreaking photographic novel, The Pure and Hidden Truth.  Part paranormal thriller, part sci-fi, Davis is exploring a new way to tell his story on his own terms.

 LT:  Tell us about how you came up with the format for your  novel.

CD:  The Pure and Hidden Truth actually started out as a television show idea that I wanted to produce. Unfortunately, a low-budget production probably wouldn’t have turned out they way I originally intended so I decided to scrap the script and just write out the series as a set of novels. Somehow I got the notion that I could have illustrations to go along in the books and illustrations turned to photographs and photographs snowballed into a photographic novel. The evolution of the series baffles me every single time I think about it.

LT:   Your stories cross many boundaries, blending sci-fi with paranoramal entities, but still set in the “real world”.  What are the  advantages/disadvantages of this?

CD:  We live in a world full of fantasy. Our culture is familiar with aliens, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, zombies, etc. I wanted to create a world that was just as openly fantastic as our imaginative cultures. That’s why I had a pair of paranormal journalist as the leads so they can cover everything from what goes bump in the night to an impending alien invasion. The only downside for me really is how far I make parallels between our universe and the Pure and Hiddenverse. Pretty soon some big differences will be noticable.

LT:  Tell our readers about your three main characters.

CD:  Art and Jillian are the two primary leads in the story and they are freelance staff writers for the popular paranormal magazine called the “Hidden Truth Magazine.” Unbeknownst to the readers of their work and their employers, Art is a werewolf and Jillian is a psychic who can see and talk to ghosts and has a whole mess of other supernatural tricks and abilities up her sleeve. Dakota Dynamite is a vigilante and vampire hunter who is immortal and currently tracking down Art in order to kill him.

LT:  How did you set the “rules” for the supernatural creatures in your story?

CD:  The rules in the Pure and Hiddenverse are tough to work with sometimes and I’m STILL in the process of getting just right. Most of the rules I come up with are to make the world more believable. Vampires for instance can be out in sunlight but only after they’ve recently fed on fresh blood — so this means that your principal or even your family doctor can be a vampire and you wouldn’t even know. Assimilation into modern society of the supernatural Otherworld is one biggest.

LT:   What challenges do you face blending photography with art?

CD:  The biggest challenge I’ve faced in creating this webcomic using photography as its artform is that photocomics aren’t that popular to begin with. Anyone can take a picture — you just point a camera at something and push a button. A lot of sacrifice goes into creating my pages because I always get some great shots that I can’t use the full photos for because my page layout is key into making the comic more attractive to look at for someone who doesn’t like photocomics. I spend a great amount of effort to keep my comic from looking like a series of static photos you could find in a family photo album.

The “show don’t tell” philosophy doesn’t apply to photocomics, “show AND tell” does. A successful photocomic has to balance both.

LT:   How did you find the actors in your cast?

CD:  Finding the actors was actually one of the easiest parts of the whole process. Since I have a background in film making and television production (I work as a news cameraman), I already had working relationships with local actors and models who were looking to get exposure. Filling extra roles took nothing more than sending a few e-mails or asking a few friends. For my principle cast however I wanted to cast people with a certain look.

So I just put an ad up on the Baltimore Craigslist with some samples of my work and got tons of responses with people looking to try out for the project since it seemed so new and unique. Most of my e-mail is flooded with people looking to star in the comic. I wish I could create a role for everyone!

LT:   What is a day of production for The Pure and Hidden Truth like?

CD:  Photoshoots for the comic are actually pretty short and limited to a few scenes at a time. We’re not a huge production and we actually pride ourselves in the fact that we don’t take ourselves too seriously when it comes to producing this comic. Basically, we show up at the location and I direct the cast based on what I know I want to happen in the scene. I stopped worrying about following my script 100% because when I get to the page-making stage it’s hard for my script to fit within the pages (I tend to write….A LOT, haha!) If you look through the pages of Truth everyone’s picture is of them talking about random, mundane things like what they had for breakfast that morning or the last movie they saw in the theater. A typical line of direction from me would be “Tell me what you had for breakfast this morning, but say it in a mean face.” Let’s just say we’re all lucky The Pure and Hidden Truth has made it this far with such a lazy approach.

LT:   What are your goals for this project?

CD:  My goal is to pad my resume with a completed project. The Pure and Hidden Truth is my premier ticket to any kind of future in the world of entertainment, be it visually or literary. It would be nice to be able to use this comic as a means to leverage funding to actually film “The Pure and Hidden Truth” as a television series pilot or made-for-TV movie. Film-making got me into this whole webcomic business and I’d definitely like to get back into the film-making part.

LT:  What kind of storylines can readers expect to see in the future?

CD:  The current “Friends in High Places” story arc sets up a series of adventures for Art, Jillian and company will go on. I want to explore a lot more of the mythology aspects of the paranormal underworld such as the history of the werewolves especially.

And I’ll announce it right here, I think the title for the next story arc in the saga will be titled “Big Bad Wolves.” Haha! I also haven’t mentioned much about witches or wizards in the Truth series yet and I’d like to get more into their role in the modern world as well.

But I think the major things readers should be on the look out for are the expansions to the Pure and Hiddenverse I’m putting together like the spin-off series “Hidden Truth Radio” and “The Peculiars.” Hidden Truth Radio is a live-action webseries that takes place in the comic universe about two paranormal radio show hosts who are co-workers of Art and Jillian. “The Peculiars” is another spin-off taking place in the same universe about a team of superheroes that is formed behind the scenes during the “Friends in High Places” arc.

LT:   Movies and books that deal with paranormal are very popular right now. Do you see this as a momentary trend, or a shift in popular thinking?

CD:  This is definitely a shift in popular thinking. The entertainment industry is strapped for new ideas, so it is only natural that everyone is starting to gravitate towards imaginative fiction because of the limitless possibilities it holds as a means of storytelling.

Plus, there’s something attractive about the “unknown” characteristic of the paranormal genre. Paranormal and supernatural entertainment is here to stay and will definitely be one of the defining popular culture standards of the 21st century.

LT:   Have you grown as an artist (photographer, writer, visual artist) since you started working on Truth?

CD:  I most definitely have. I learned not to expect too much from myself in being a creator. In the beginning I was very hard on myself and pushed myself to the brink of not being happy with anything I was putting out. But it wasn’t very long before I realized that what matters most is that I’m actually getting something done rather than nothing at all. In all honesty I have no idea what I would be doing with my life had I never decided to do this comic and I sometimes kick myself for not starting it sooner — who knows how far along I’d be in the grand scheme of things. I learned first hand that “if there’s a will, there’s a way” because the only thing that ever held me back from doing anything was myself. This project has taught me so much about myself in terms of just being a better person — the best person that I can be.

LT:   Is there anything that you’d like to add?

CD:  I just want to add that if you have a dream to do anything, follow it. Nothing is holding you back from what you want in life besides yourself.

The Pure and Hidden Truth is proof that anyone — ANYONE — can do anything they want if they put their minds to it.

 

©2009 Lori Titus

Interested in learning more about Cisco Davis Jr.’s Pure and Hidden Truth?

The story updates every Friday and the first Monday of every month. Click here:    http: www.pureandhiddentruth.com/characters

Shea sat up straight in bed with his ears ringing.  He knew it was beginning.

Two sources of light existed.  The blue analog of the bed side clock read 2:25AM.  The one window in the room emitted a soft yellow glow through the blind and curtain.

He grasped his head at his ears.  His head was throbbing and the breeze was beginning.  It wasn’t really a breeze he knew but that is how it felt, like sticking your head out a car window going sixty miles per hour.

I wonder where this time. 

His heart was racing and the pain came, hot and jabbing in his eyes.
Oh god, oh god, here it comes.  The ear ringing was excruciating, his eyes burned and then the bright light.

A second later he was laying face down on cold earth.  He scrambled to a crouched position, his hands slipping on wet leaves.

He knew two things; it was dark and the ground was dirt and leaves.

A forest…?

A dog was barking somewhere in the distance. Cold, in his boxer shorts he stood straight up, breaking a branch under his foot.  He screamed out in pain and hopped on one foot.  He felt the warm blood trickling to his heel.

Realizing that it was not a single dog but a pack, he froze.  Trying to concentrate and listen. 

They were getting closer. 
 
Was that muffled yelling?  Was it men with dogs? Where were they? Where was he?

They were very close now, suddenly, as if they had crested a rise somewhere in front of him or turned some corner that he was unaware of.  He turned to run and his other foot got tangled in a root and he fell forward, his head striking a huge object.

Grasping his head and rolling backwards against the object, he used his hands to brace himself.  He could hardly stand and was blacking out.  It was a tree.

He was falling down, back scraping on rough bark.  But the dogs were closer.

Shea pressed a hand against his bloody forehead and sat back against the tree. 

They are right on you!

Can’t stand let alone run.

He was acutely aware of the dogs barking and upon him as they surrounded his location.  Then a human command from deeper into the darkness snapped him back slightly into alertness.

The barking was so loud and unorganized.  His ears ringing, the breeze came and his eyes were hurting again.

A paw was on his leg and hot, acrid breath was in his face.  A final bark, a bite of his cheek and he was gone again.

***
Shea was heavily clothed and running through a wooded area.  He followed a man with a large flashlight.

His hands were heavily gloved in leather and both grasped a large shotgun.

He stared at the weapon in his hand and ran into the back of the man in front of him who had stopped.  The dogs were frenzied and everywhere.
“Watch where the fuck you’re going, Murphy!” the man snapped over his shoulder.

“Silence!” the man commanded and the dogs were silent.  Shea could still feel them panting and shuffling.

I am Murphy…

He was unsure of what was going on but he was considerably safer than he had been before the last “trip”.

“Hancock,” the man who he had run into said, “take care of this…and let’s get the hell outta here.  My missus has cobbler cooling.”

Shea noticed four other additional men, three of which had lights.
The man who must have been Hancock stepped forward and raised a rifle pointing it directly to his front.  The three men with flashlights aimed their beams in the same direction.

Shea froze.  The lights and rifle were aimed directly at him.

He sat against a tree breathing heavily.  Half conscious a large wound was open and drooling blood from his forehead to his face and chest.  His cheek had been torn open.

He was looking directly at the Shea who had initially dropped into the wooded area.

The Shea against the tree looked up and squinted into the lights.
Hancock drew back the bolt on the rifle and then drove it forward.  He sighted in on the Shea at the tree.

“You still thinking about my daughter now you dirty bastard?” Hancock said.

A rattling blast and Shea watched as head exploded against the tree.
His ears were ringing.  The breeze came, hot stab in the eyes and the bright light.

As Shea left again he stared at what remained of his head.   One of the men lit a cigarette and he was gone.

How can I see that!

He dropped to his bed, bounced once and landed hard on the floor.
Shea was in his boxers, barefooted and wore thick heavy gloves.  The large shotgun slammed to the ground next to him. His feet were dirty and stuck with leaves.

Hitting his bedroom floor had hurt but he knew that would be the extent of his injuries.  During every trip that he had gone on in the last six months two things were always the same.  One, he was always extremely hurt during each one trip and, second, he never brought any of that pain back.

Other things came back with him, like the gloves and shotgun, but never the wounds.

Thank God…

He stood up and checked the clock at his bedside. It read 2:25AM.  If not for the various things he brought back with him he could have easily convinced himself that he was psychotic.

He tore of the gloves and saw that they were brown rawhide.  He picked up the shotgun and brought it to his closet.  He placed the weapon and gloves gently amongst the other items; a tusk of some sort, a pocket watch, sea shell necklace, and a feathered spear.

When would it all end?

Shea headed to the shower.  He still could sleep the rest of the night. 
  

©2009 Kenneth Muise, Jr.

 Ken Muise has been active-duty soldier for fifteen years.  When he isn’t soldiering, reading or writing he enjoys tormenting his three teenage daughters via facebook and eating his wife’s cooking.  He has been known to get into heated debates with his Quaker parrot, Boom Boom.