Independent comic writer Mark Bertolini shared his recent ComiXology Submit graphic novel Long Gone and its take on superheroes gone bad.

Not only is that a favorite topic around here at The Cosmic Treadmill and Triple Shot, but we also talk about the comic market and some very cool upcoming projects coming our way from his lair in Ontario.

Mark, thanks for joining us today here at Forces of Geek! We first heard of you while flipping the virtual spinner rack at ComiXology for your creator owned, Broken through ComiXology Submit. You have a few books up on the store—how has it been actually submitting your comics from a creator’s perspective? What is your relationship with 215 Ink?

I have a great relationship with 215 Ink. They’re an incredibly supportive publisher, and always have an ear open for me. I’m very happy with how things work, because I don’t have to do the behind-the-scenes work. I get to create, and 215 does the business work. I haven’t submitted any of my own work to Comixology, the publisher handles all of that for me, which I appreciate immensely. All the books on the site are courtesy of 215 Ink’s hard work.

We loved the story in Broken, a twist on the Batman origin in a way, plus playing with some other tropes in comics. How did fans react to the book?

There has been some pretty great feedback about Broken.

Now, most of that feedback was about how brutal and depressing the story was, but I consider that good. People who read Broken really picked up on the Batman theme, and how I was able to adapt it into something new-ish.