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Ride into a Round-up of the DARK HORSE Stables this Halloween Season

Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, welcomes Christopher Monfette, Soo Lee, Eric Powell, and Amy Chu to chat about their horror comic careers and their favorite Halloween traditions.

COMIC BOOK YETI: We’ve got a rather unique interview to feature today, with four Dark Horse creators stopping by to talk about their spookier titles in the lead-up to Halloween.


Welcome to the Yeti Cave everyone! Let’s start by talking a bit about your introduction to the genre; how did you get into writing horror?



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CHRISTOPHER MONFETTE: When I was incredibly young – too young – I remember my earliest novel purchases being Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King and Thief of Always by Clive Barker. They felt vaguely YA and my mother approved – she was just happy to have her kid eager to read – so she really didn’t question when I followed those up with The Stand and Imajica! I’ve been consuming and creating horror fiction for as long as I can remember. I grew up on King and Barker; Dean Koontz and John Saul; Lovecraft, Poe. I’ve been fortunate in my adult life to have had Clive Barker as a dear friend and mentor – to have adapted work by Stephen King – to have played in the horror sandbox with so many other incredible craftsmen and collaborators. For such a dark and shadowed genre – where we’re always striving to create these isolated, monstrous, terrifying experiences – horror itself is a phenomenally joyful and creative community. The imaginations, the personalities, the enthusiasm of its fans and creators make it a safe space to be strange, to be bold, to explore our fears and walk our nightmares with more support than our protagonists ever have behind them. The freedom to be so delightfully brazen and to exorcise our demons in plain sight – to share our anxieties and hang masks on their faces – it’s just the one genre that’s always felt the most like home.


AMY CHU: I enjoy writing all genres including horror. There isn't one thing that propelled me into writing it, other than I think it's very effective combined with another genre; say, mystery or sci-fi.


SOO LEE: It was something I really wanted to jump into, and when Carmilla came to my lap, I knew this was the perfect opportunity to try some visually interesting things. Different from things I've done before! 


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ERIC POWELL: I suppose it was just personal preference. I just gravitated towards it. I loved the genre as a kid and have always been steered in that direction with my project choices. But I’m not sure there’s a “why?” Some people prefer chocolate over vanilla ice cream and some people love horror fiction.



CBY: Exhibiting a range of depth in experience with the form amongst each of you, it seems. Are there any movies (or comics or books) that influenced TexArcanum, The Goon: Them That Don't Stay Dead, Carmilla, or any of your other horror works?

 

CM: TexArcanum is influenced most heavily by horror noir – my love for characters like Barker’s Harry D’Amour or stories like Angel Heart. The elevator pitch for the series was always to take John Constantine out of London and put him in a cowboy hat – how do we evolve the archetypical horror-PI into an arena we have yet seen him? And to pair that character against my love of Elmore Leonard – to mash together Harry D’Amour and Raylan Givens, Supernatural and Justified – as a lens through which to explore American myth-making felt like a unique way into a familiar character. But beyond that, for as much as I grew up a horror fan, I grew up a child of the 1990’s indie-movie boom – embracing writers with sharply unique, distinctive voices; oddball sensibilities, an ear for dialogue – no line too clever, no monologue too long. And I think that love of horror prose on the page and cinematic writing on-screen really collided in my head. So whether it’s in the concept or the characters or the dialogue itself, I’ve always loved horror writers with genuinely distinct voices. Whether it’s the latest novel by China Mieville or Jason Pargin or whatever Mike Flanagan chooses to tackle next, I’ll always gravitate toward horror writers who aren’t afraid to let the writing show…


AC: Some of Carmilla was definitely influenced by the 1983 movie The Hunger with David Bowie, Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve, and Hong Kong cinema like Mr. Vampire and Rigor Mortis.


SL: I really loved the Interview With The Vampire series and maybe it was perfect timing but it definitely helped find a lot of my creative flow. 


EP: Too many to mention them all. But definitely the EC comics. Will Eisner’s The Spirit for its atmosphere and story telling, Judge Dredd for it’s satire, Bernie’s Swamp Thing for its big monster action.  



CBY: You've all provided so many diverse influences from across the decades for horror fans amongst our readers to dig into over the coming week (and beyond). Do you have any favorite horror movies to watch (or even comics or books to read) around Halloween? Or have you watched any recent horror films that you'd recommend?



CM: My wife and I have a few odd go-to selections every Halloween. We’ll always make sure to re-watch The Exorcist III – which is such a wildly underrated gem – as well Pontypool – which is just about the best, most sideways execution of a zombie film I’ve ever seen. I have Flanagan’s Haunting of Hill House on yearly rotation. And, of course, all the old classics you can’t flip a channel without seeing on TV during October.


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AC:  I just watched A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and Barbarian, both which I enjoyed immensely, but the Alien franchise is my all time favorite.


SL: Horror movies are things that's a year round treat for me. Horror and romance dramas are my comfort genres. Some of my favorites are The Last Voyage of the Demeter, The Craft, and The Wailing. I watched Sinners recently and I think it's not a perfect movie but what a fantastic subversive and cultural take on horror. I want more of this stuff; something more with deep substance that connects with humans in a way that truly frightens us. 


EP: Again, too many to list but I have my favorites. The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Shining, Evil Dead 2, Halloween 1-3, and American Werewolf in London are definitely watched in our house every Halloween Season. 


 

CBY: So many of favorite classics amongst the selection above, and with a handful of new options to add to the watchlist, I don't think I'll be bored exploring new horror. What's your favorite Halloween tradition and why? 



CM: I’d love to say some heady Halloween custom or rattle off an obscure bit of arcane folklore that cements my reputation as a horror enthusiast – but mostly it’s the candy. That and our yearly trek to Halloween Horror Nights where I shove my wife screaming gleefuly toward some axe-wielding day-player. That’s been a yearly tradition for nearly a decade now. 


SL: I'll be honest, between life and work I haven't celebrated Halloween in a long time and I've become old and a bit of a "stay off my lawn" curmudgeon. I don't even eat candy! But I'll take suggestions!


EP: Baking and watching horror movies. Because I like to eat and watch horror movies. I also love haunted houses and decorating the yard.



CBY: You've shared plenty of activities to look forward to in the coming week, and we look forward to seeing more work from each of you in the future! In the meantime, thanks for stopping by to make our Halloween festivities all the more fitting here in the Yeti Cave.


Check out the latest Dark Horse releases from our guests today:

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