Freshly Pressed Interviews : Mark Bertolini
Q: A Brief background about yourself and how you got into comics?
A: My name is Mark Bertolini, I live just outside of Toronto, I’m a dad and step-dad to 4 boys, and a very lucky man to be married to my wife. I’ve been a lifelong comic book fan, I feel like I practically learned to read from comics, and I was always artistic and in my early teen years decided I wanted to draw comic books for a living, but I didn’t have the patience or technical skill to really be successful on the art side, and I always loved writing stories for my own characters, so I switched to writing comics and never looked back.
Q: What are your favourite comic book characters, Indie and/or mainstream?
A: My all-time favorite Marvel character is Daredevil, and my all-time favorite DC character is The Question - I love the more street-level characters, the kind where you can blend superheroes with crime stories. That’s my bread and butter right there. Currently, I’m really digging the characters in Doug Wagner and Daniel Hillyard’s Image books like Plastic, Plush, and Narco. I also love more horror-oriented characters like Hellboy and Erica Slaughter from Something is Killing the Children.
About your Creative Inspirations
Q: What kind of characters excite you in comics?
A: I love a character who is pushed to do the opposite of what they would normally do. I love characters that are put into uncomfortable situations and have to figure things out, like taking a villain and forcing him to be heroic, or to go against all their natural instincts.
Q: What kind of stories should your audience expect from you?
A: I write and have written all kinds of stuff, from goofball superhero stuff like Breakneck, to 1980s-style crime like Feeder, to sci-fi like The Argus, and more lighthearted mashups like Bigfoot Frankenstein. My two more recent releases were a straightforward revenge story called Nothing Makes Sense, and a Twin Peaks/haunted forest story called El Bosque de Dios (the Godwood).
Q: What’s the last comic book you read?
A: I’m a big-time trade paperback waiter, so I don’t read a lot of monthly comics, but I did pick up the first issue of the new Daredevil by Stephanie Phillips and Lee Garbett, which I really enjoyed. I also recently completed picking up the full trade paperback run of Brian Michael Bendis’ New Avengers title from the mid-2000s, which I absolutely love.
About your recent project
Q: Can you describe your latest project without spoilers?
A: My latest comic is called WOLVES OF A FEATHER, and it’s an H.P. Lovecraft/Cthulhu Mythos-inspired crime story about a group of criminals who have a heist go very, very wrong, and it might just bring about the end of the world. The first issue is currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter, and we’d love to get more eyes on the project!
Q: How did you develop the concept behind your latest project?
A: Like a lot of my ideas, it began life as two separate stories, a crime story and a separate cosmic horror story, and then at some point the two ideas slammed into each other and I realized they fit together really well. It took a while to get the core concepts down, but eventually, like all good stories, it took on a life of its own and practically wrote itself!
Q: Who else other than you collaborated on the project?
A: My co-creator on the comic is artist Steve Mardo, who has been the absolute best partner, he’s really kicked ass on the art and colors, as well as the creation of the Kickstarter page and the rewards we’re offering. The third man in our Wolves band is letterer Rick Joseph, a fellow Canadian and dynamite design guy.
Q: How was your experience collaborating with the rest of the team?
A: Excellent! In my day job, I work nights, so Steve and I are on opposite schedules, but we stay in pretty close contact via email and that’s how Wolves of a Feather was born and brought to life - with a 12-hour gap in our communication, but we made it work. Steve and I have been working on this idea for a few years now, and at the end of 2025 we decided to kick it into high gear and get it into the world, and hopefully the Kickstarter will help us do that. You can find the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolvesofafeather/wolves-of-a-feather
Q: What's your next project, any ideas you're working with?
A: I’m a man of many ideas, so I always have new projects coming together, usually in the form of publisher’s pitches. Besides hopefully starting work on Wolves of a Feather issue 2 at some point in the near future, I have some pretty cool pitches being developed, as well as some really excellent stuff making the rounds to publishers right now as well. In addition, I’ve been working on a kung fu/pulp miniseries called Secret City, created with artist Francesco Iaquinta, and we’re deep into our third issue - the first two can be read on the Comix.One app right now!
Q: Where can people buy your books?
A: As mentioned above, I have all kinds of digital comics available on Comix.One, from short stories to miniseries to full-on graphic novels. You can also find my work in physical form on Amazon, or direct from the publishers as well.
Q: Any words for fellow creators?
A: For sure - the biggest thing I would say, especially for creators who are just starting out, just getting their feet wet - you don’t need anyone’s permission to make comics. You don’t need any fancy programs. You do need consistency and you need manners and you need perspective. Comics are a collaborative medium (unless you’re uber-talented and can do it all yourself), so just like any other venture, you need to be able to form relationships with other creators, editors, and publishers. Be open and friendly, but also know your value as a creator. And always, always say no to AI.
You can Back Wolves of a Feather on Kickstarter this month - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolvesofafeather/wolves-of-a-feather
