Fantasy Book Critic: SPOTLIGHT: Headless Horseman: The Two Kings Kickstarter and Interview with Hazen Ameen & Deepak Thomas

Read Chapter 1 of Headless Horselord: The Two Kings

Q] Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic Deepak. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer in the first place?

DT: I’ve wanted to tell stories from a very young age. I still have comics I drew when I was 5 years old. It probably started because I was brought up in family that cherished books, stories and storytelling. Some of my best memories were my grandma, uncles and father telling stories from the Bible, the Epics and their own childhood. I believe good art entertains you, but great art inspires you to create your own work.

Q] Let’s talk about your collaboration with Hazem Ameen for The Headless Horselord. How did both of you decide to work together?

DT: I first reached out to Hazem in 2020 to work on the cover for my novella The Lion of Bharat. From the first time I saw his art on Artstation I was a fan. It had beautiful colours, creative designs and super expressive characters. It reminded me of all the illustrated mythology books I’d grown up on. He worked with me on the cover of my second book as well. After I was done with my second book, he reached out to me asking if I’d like to work with him on a graphic novel. My answer was h*ll yeah! And 3 years later, here we are.

HA: I’ve been a fan of fantasy books for a long time, and had worked extensively for TTRPG games and such, but the only fantasy author who contacted me to do a cover for them was Deepak! After receiving ‘the Lion of Bharat’ and reading through its fast paced action revenge story, I thought to myself, this could be a great comic! Though it was only a year later, with my own personal projects dragging due to life and a lack of motivation, I pitched the idea to Deepak, for if I had someone, I was beholden to, I’d just finish the work instead of dallying around and hopefully publish it! (with some help)

Q] What was the main inspiration for The Headless Horselord graphic novel? Where did the idea come from and what compelled you both to see it through to the end?

HA: The original inspiration for me was an article I read of the different varieties of the Headless Horseman myth across the world. The mythologically inclined might’ve heard of the Irish Dullahan and its later spooky equivalent in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, but apparently there’s a native Maharashtrian version of the tale as well! In it, the Horseman isn’t necessarily a negative malevolent figure, but a brave warrior who was decapitated in the act of saving his people and how has returned to life in grotesque (albeit cool) form. This inspired me to make a painting of it, and I pitched the idea to Deepak and the rest is history.

DT: The main inspiration was a piece that Hazem did which featured a Headless Warrior talking to a young girl while eating mangoes. And Hazem also had read this book called the Lords of the Deccan by Anirudh Kanniseti about Medieval India. Based on both these, I came up with a pitch and Hazem loved it and we got to work. Seeing it through the end was easy for me as making a comic in any form had always been a childhood dream. But also, at my stage to have an artist of Hazem’s caliber collaborate with me was not something I’d ever imagined happening. So, having these opportunities coincide made it easy for me to see it through.

Q] Why did you both decide to go the kickstarter way for this story?

DT: Kickstarter is step one in our publishing journey. It was to do two things: 1. To fund a limited collectible edition of the book 2. To prove that there was an audience for an India-inspired fantasy comic. Kickstarter already has a large inbuilt audience of comic loving readers who can help us spread the word. Once the campaign is done, our next goal is to put out a retail edition in India. And then probably approach publishers for the rest of the world as well. Meanwhile, we’ll continue finishing the rest of Headless Horselord saga.

Q] The artwork for The Headless Horselord is so gorgeous. Hazem you have previously worked with Zamil Akhtar for his books. How did you approach this new project as you are doing everything from art to inks & coloring, etc. Did it seem Herculean to begin with? Did it feel manageable once you were in the midst of it?

HA: It took a while for us to settle on how big a story we wanted to do, and it took a few months of brainstorming to get it down to the trilogy plan we have at the moment. For any beginners out there, there’s a reason many tell you to start small. As for the graphic novel itself, I was confident we both could pull it off. Deepak had published three novels by the time we started, and that required a level of creative discipline I knew I could work with.

As for myself, I’ve already completed a Worldbuilding Fantasy artbook called ‘the Shrines of Araartu’ and self-published it a year prior. That self-confidence carried me some way, but making a graphic novel turned out to be a whole different beast altogether. It is a *lot* of work and takes a long time, but hopefully we’ve learned a lot of things on the way for future projects.

Q] Let’s talk about Headless Horselord, it’s a graphic novel set in a fantasy land reminiscent of the Indian Deccan. This is such a unique story idea focusing on elements of horror, sword & sorcery mixed in with Indian mythological aspects. Can you both tell us about how tricky/easy it was from a worldbuilding perspective?

DT: It was surprisingly easy. One of the big advantages of the Indian Deccan was that it’s an unusual setting even for Indian fantasy stories. However, this region has a very rich and dynamic history. The more difficult aspect was not putting everything we wanted to put into the story. The Sword and Sorcery aspect was so obvious once we chose the setting. There’re so many cool legends, and historical details to pull from. There’s been crazy battles, weird rituals and sacrifices and iconic characters throughout the Medieval era that this story is based on.

Q] As a desi SFF reader, this graphic novel is a breath of fresh air. There might be non-desi readers who might not be aware of the cool aspects within and hence might be a tad apprehensive. So what can readers expect from The Headless Horselord and what should they be looking forward to according to you both?

DT: First of all, the art! Hazem has knocked this out of the park…out of the city on this one. The art is so gorgeous, detailed and the storytelling is top notch. I’ve been showing the book to some of the biggest creators in comics and their jaws dropped seeing the beautiful work in this book. So if nothing else, have this book on your shelf just as a gorgeous collectible.

But for this into it for the story, if you’re a fan of Witcher or Berserk, you’ll love this story. It has all the familiar elements of those stories, but it is imbued with a fresh setting. By the end of it, you will be fascinated with the history of this era, and the hope is that you’ll go and look for more books to read about this time.

Q] Can you tell us more about the world that the Headless Horselord is set in? What are the curiosities (geographical, mystical, etc.) of this world?

DT: The story is set in a fictionalized version of the Indian Deccan region called Dakshina. It’s a story that goes through two timelines: a “Golden Age” before the land was overrun by monsters. This is the era that shows you gorgeous cities, big battles and the rituals and culture of that era. This is followed by the “Dark Age” when Dakshina has fallen and is now ruled by the Monster King. But we wanted to avoid the obvious dichotomy of good versus bad.

Hence, both eras have golden and dark aspects to it. In the Golden Era we have lot of bloodshed…even genocides. While in the Dark Ages, jungles are lush again and wildlife is thriving. The story keeps moving between the two eras and you slowly uncover the mystery of how the world fell and how the Headless Horselord lost his head. Regarding the mystical aspects, we’ve borrowed myths from Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Folk religions of the region and combined them so that the reader is experiencing something new and not just a retread of familiar tropes.

Q] Can you talk to our readers about some of the story’s major characters?

DT: The most important character is of course the Headless Horselord himself. He’s immortal and self-healing, so like a medieval Wolverine. And just like the mutant, he’s a phenomenal fighter who acts very stoic and gruffy but has a strong sense of justice and need to help the defenseless. Doesn’t have a mouth so doesn’t talk much. Which is compensated by his brother, who at this stage is just a decapitated head. Headless’ brother is the more friendly and intellectual of the two. He’s very trusting and kind which can and does get him into trouble.

Then we have Vajra i.e. Headless’ Horse. He’s a beautiful, smart creature who is very loyal and courageous but also has a short fuse and can quickly get riled up. There’s Huan Wang, inspired by real life Chinese travelers, who is a foreigner trying to make sense of this weird world he finds himself in. He’s also very potty-mouthed, constantly swearing highlighting the irony of someone who claims to be a spiritual guide on paper but is very material and worldly in real life. He wants nothing to do with Headless’ mission but finds himself constantly caught in the crosshairs. Then there are several other interesting characters that I can’t give too many details about without spoiling the story.

Q] So for someone who hasn't read any of your previous work Deepak, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for Headless Horselord?

DT: I write fantasy and sci-fi inspired by Indian culture and history. My works are inspired by blockbuster cinema, anime and of course comics from all parts of the world. I write fast-paced, action-focused stories and my primary goal is to introduce readers to the rich, vast world of Indian civilization. If you like stories like the Witcher, or Conan and want to read something set in a world that’s not the usual European or East Asian setting, then give Headless Horselord a shot.

Q] With Headless Horselord: The Two Kings being the first volume of a series, what can you reveal about your plans for the series (number of books, etc)?

DT: This volume is first in a trilogy. We already have the outline for volume 2 and 3 and as soon as the editing wraps on The Two Kings, I’ll start working on volume 2. We are committed to completing the trilogy up to book 3 which will wrap the full saga. After that, based on if we have more stories to tell in this world, we’ll take it forward.

Q] In closing, do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to share with our readers?

DT: To all those who have shown your support by following us on Kickstarter, or downloading the first issue, thank you! We have been blown away by the response from the audience. You can support us by backing us on Kickstarter. If you haven’t yet, you can read Chapter 1 for free.

The hope is that this book inspires other creators to tell stories set in new and interesting worlds inspired by less- explored parts of history. And for me and Hazem, this is just the start of our journey into the wonderful world of comics, hope all of you will join us for the ride! Cheers!