CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL and TYLER CROOK Revisit the Escapades of OUT OF ALCATRAZ
- Luis Godoy II
- May 29, 2025
- 5 min read
Our newest writer, Luis Godoy, welcomes Christopher Cantwell and Tyler Crook to the Yeti Cave today! Out of Alcatraz is under discussion, out now through Oni Press.
COMIC BOOK YETI: So Christopher and Tyler, welcome to the Yeti Cave! I’ve been to San Francisco once in my life, but did not make the time to visit Alcatraz. I knew of the escape and that officially the three prisoners drowned but in the back of my mind there was that question lingering, “what if that was not the case?”
Which of you contacted the other first about Out of Alcatraz and why were you convinced they were the right person to work with on this project?
CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL: Bess, our editor, reached out to Tyler and immediately I became very hopeful he would say yes, because he’s an enormous talent. That, and there is a pastoral, emotional quality to Tyler’s work even when it’s at its most kinetic. That’s hard to pull off and it just elevates the story to another level.
TYLER CROOK: Bess sent me Chris’ original screenplay version. And usually I'm very suspicious when someone sends me a screenplay, but I've known Bess for a long time so I gave it a shot, and I absolutely fell in love with the story. The themes were so strong and clear, and I was instantly drawn to the setting. I love working on period pieces and I have never done anything set in the '60s before, so that got me very excited.
CBY: Christopher, I have seen your TV work on Paper Girls and I really enjoyed Namor the Sub-Mariner: Conquered Shores (it struck me as flowing in the vein of Old Man Wolverine and Hawkeye). Tyler, I’ve gotten to know your work through your frequent collaboration with Cullen Bunn. You’ve both covered a range of topics with your other publications; what inspired you to tell this story other than it being an officially unsolved case that was open for imagination?
CC: I wanted to write a story that engaged with questions of American freedom. I also love stories about second chances, and if they’re actually real or not.
TC: The questions about freedom are also what attracted me to this project. Every character is dealing with their own questions and challenges about how to get free. And I liked how every character approached their problems in different ways.
CBY: The art in Out of Alcatraz is just spectacular. It’s perfect for a 1960s San Francisco and Modesto, CA-area crime comic. If each of you were to pick a favorite scene, which issue is it in?
CC: I really love the scene from Issue #3 where the two federal agents Cy and Bob argue with each other about their feelings and destinies with Mount Shasta in the background. I also love the very last page of the series so much, because it just nails the book in one single image.
TC: Dang, It's hard to pick a favorite scene. It's probably gonna be one of the scenes in the final issue. So I don’t want to spoil it here. The way things come together at the end it's just really good, I think.
CBY: What prompted the decision to split the escapees who left Alcatraz, and was there any disagreement on which direction you were planning to take with each of the characters??
CC: I think we had to be honest with how treacherous the currents and temperatures are in San Francisco Bay. But that led to the interesting dramatic tension of prisoners being split up. I also love moments in movies like We’re No Angels and The Fugitive where escapees are split up and come back into the primary story at moments of real surprise and potency.
TC: Splitting up the characters also gave us another perspective to explore. The convict who has to make his escape alone comes to wildly different conclusions about the nature of freedom. I think it adds a lot to the story.
CBY: The woman that helps the escapees, is her personality based on someone either of you know personally? Do we get to know more of the woman’s backstory in the later issues?
CC: It’s only based on people we all know who are backed into corners in their lives or refuse to play by society’s rules. And we will certainly get to know more about her in Issues #4 and 5.
TC: It's difficult to talk about without getting into spoilers. I don't know anyone who's had her specific lived experience. But out of all the characters, I think her motivations end up being the most reasonable.
CBY: The colors you’ve chosen set the mood and it feels like it was made in that 1960’s era. Can you share a bit about your discussion around the style and tone of this story?
CC: From the beginning this story was always going to feel more like John Steinbeck than Clint Eastwood’s Escape From Alcatraz. Those beautiful California vistas as the backdrop for heartbreak and intense violence. That’s what I wanted. Tyler spent many years in California and has perfectly captured it.
TC: Thanks, Chris! A lot of what I tried to do with the art was to capture the feeling of riding my bike in the California heat. The color choices and lighting I went with were always about trying to capture that physical feeling.
CBY: In light of all that went into creating and producing this comic, what do you hope people will get out of this story?
CC: A good time. A brief respite from the harrowing present reality we are all mired in. But also I’d love for readers to question what they might be running from, and think about how in a sense we are all running from something, and why things so often shake out that way.
TC: Yeah, I agree with Chris. I want a story that people will enjoy, but also leads them to think about what it means to be free. I think the story doesn't necessarily provide answers, but asks some very good questions.
CBY: Can you tell us some of the other creative work that has been inspiring both of you lately? What should our readers check out once they read Out of Alcatraz?
CC: I really loved season 2 of Andor. I also watched The Changeling with George C. Scott recently and it really freaked me out. If people want things that are more in the vein of our book, I’d read Pastures of Heaven by Steinbeck, Flannery O’Connor stories, movies like Badlands or Vanishing Point. Comics I’m loving right now are We’re Taking Everybody Down With Us and Crush Depth, also Assorted Crisis Events.
TC: We just finished watching season two of Severance and I friggin' loved it! I found it very surreal and beautiful and absolutely terrifying.
CBY: Thank you for stopping by to chat, Christopher and Tyler! Can you share any links to your work and social media where our audience can see more of what you do?
CC: I’m on Bluesky. I’ve also got a new Star Trek book coming out this July called RED SHIRTS. Also look out for some exciting DC news soon. And the television series I was showrunner on, the third season of THE TERROR called THE TERROR: DEVIL IN SILVER, will premiere on AMC next year.
TC: I'm on blue sky as @mrtylercrook.bsky.social And I'm also on YouTube where I do a weekly live stream called the Comic Book Cool Down on Friday nights at 7 PM Pacific time.
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