Founders_
CPT SIMONE ASKEW
JOEY COSTA
NICK COSTON
A journalist by trade, Nick Coston has transferred his investigative writing skills to dramatic storytelling. He brings with him a particular passion for the lives and stories of Detroit, the birthplace of his Balkan family’s American identity.
Nick earned BAs in Journalism and Creative Writing from the University of Michigan, where his senior thesis screenplay In One Nest won the Hubert I. Cohen Award for Best Screenplay. He earned his MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where his thesis script Cineribus was a finalist in the NYU Screenplay Showcase competition.
Nick’s writing seeks to explore nationalism and ethnicity against the oft-forgotten landscapes of the Rust Belt and beyond. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Tanisha.
Joey Costa has a lifelong passion for developing original content and high performing teams. He has successfully secured funding for three full length graphic novels including one fully financed through a Kickstarter campaign. Joey manages the entire production lifecycle including story and script development, financing, talent sourcing and management, contracting and other functions critical to a project's success. He brings a business-conscious and entrepreneurial approach to original production and ensures everyone who touches an Excavation project is as passionate about it as he is.
Joey earned his undergraduate degree in International Relations with a minor in Italian and also studied screenwriting at the renowned S.I. Newhouse School at Syracuse University. He also earned his Master of Public Health in Management from Columbia University.
Joey lives in New York City with his wife, Nicole, and his long-haired dachshund, Chief, the true celebrity in the family with a passionate online fanbase (ig: @tiny_chief).
Simone Askew currently serves as a US Army Engineer and creative writer at Excavation Pictures. She brings with her experiences as a Black woman, an Army Officer and an activist for social justice to the stories and characters she creates.
Integral to this work is Simone’s experience as the first African American female First Captain of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Serving in that role sparked in her a passion to use the power of graphic novels to create worlds different than the ones we currently see, using the power of imagination to create the world we want to inhabit.
Simone earned her undergraduate degree in International History with a focus on Genocide Studies at the United States Military Academy. She then earned two graduate degrees in Refugee Studies and Public Policy from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.