Comic Book Yeti contributor Alex Breen recently corresponded with Steven S. DeKnight, creator and showrunner of Spartacus and writer of the supernatural horror-noir OGN Hard Bargain, to discuss the comic's initial inspirations, favorite moments from his work on Daredevil Season 1, and tips on how to write a first draft. Hard Bargain is available on Kickstarter HERE until Thursday, July 25th.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Steven, thank you so much for joining me today. First, I've read you describe Hard Bargain as a mash-up of your love of hard-boiled detective stories and creature features. Now, you already had me sold from that statement alone, but I'm curious; can you share some stories from both genres that helped inspire Hard Bargain?
STEVEN S. DEKNIGHT: Thanks so much for having me! My greatest inspiration for Hard Bargain came from the fantastic two-fisted, hardboiled private detective novels and short stories of the legendary mystery writer Raymond Chandler. I fell in love with his work as a kid in the late 70s when I caught the movie Murder, My Sweet on TV. This was based on Chandler’s crackerjack novel Farewell, My Lovely and was filled to bursting with tough guys in fedoras, femme fatales, a plot with more twists and turns than a rollercoaster, and a career-changing role for song and dance man Dick Powell. There simply wouldn’t be a Hard Bargain without Raymond Chandler.
On the creature feature side, it all started with the crackling 1957 British film Night of the Demon (released in the U.S. under the punchier title Curse of the Demon) which was based on the M.R. James story Casting the Runes. Beautifully directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie) and starring Dana Andrews (Laura, The Best Years of Our Lives), the story revolves around an American psychiatrist investigating a series of deaths that lead to a satanic cult. Interestingly enough, a decade earlier Tourneur directed the hardboiled noir classic Out of the Past (released in the UK as the infinitely cooler Build My Gallows High) starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas.
CBY: I also read that Hard Bargain was an idea that's been 30 years in the making. Was this a concept that you've always wanted to produce as a comic? For an idea that long in the making, did you feel any internal pressure to "get it right?” Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who are "too precious" with their ideas?
SDK: Hard Bargain was specifically conceived as a comic book. I didn’t want any budgetary constraints dictating what I could and couldn’t do with this one. A comic, or as it turned out a graphic novel, is not only the perfect delivery system for bringing Hard Bargain to life but also just the most rewarding as a lifelong fan of the medium.
I actually didn’t feel any internal pressure with Hard Bargain. It was such a joy to finally get this long-percolating tale out into the world. That coupled with the incredible support of my friends at Humanoids made this one of the most laid back experiences of my creative career.
My advice to aspiring writers is to just get in there and let fly, man. Swing for fences every single time. Then come back to what you’ve written with a more critical eye and start my favourite part of the process: the rewrite! Get in there and be merciless with yourself in service to the story.
"...You could have the coolest story in the world but if your characters don’t draw the audience in, no one’s going to care. "
CBY: How would you describe your approach to writing stories? Does it change when writing for comics vs film or TV?
SDK: I always start with the loose framework of a story and then concentrate on the characters before I actually start outlining. You could have the coolest story in the world but if your characters don’t draw the audience in, no one’s going to care. This approach is the same for me regardless if I’m working in television, features, or comics.
CBY: I'd be remiss not to bring up Hard Bargain's stunning artwork, which gives me some wonderful late 2000’s Marvel vibes. Artist Leno Carvalho & colorist Bruno Hang are killing it with the preview pages. Can you describe what it's been like working with them so far, and provide a window into your collaborative process?
SDK: Artist Leno Carvahlo and colorist Bruno Hang are just simply the best to collaborate with. With Leno, I hand over the scripts and just let him have at it. What he comes back with is not only absolutely brilliant but also very often leagues better than I ever could have imagined. And then Bruno comes in with his sumptuous color work and kicks the whole thing into the stratosphere. I owe these two guys an incredible debt of gratitude for so vividly bringing my passion project to fruition. And a special shout out to letterer extraordinaire Troy Peteri for making all of my words look so damn good.
CBY: Would you be open to exploring follow-up stories for Hard Bargain or is this intended to be a one-and-done story?
SDK: I actually have four more volumes of Hard Bargain roughed out along with several other volumes of standalone tales that will focus on contained mysteries and supporting characters. For example, there’s a bouncer at the club Frank Harding takes his gal to in this first volume. All you know is the guy’s name and that he’s a boxer. I have a whole story planned out for him that I’m dying to tell. Hopefully this initial volume of Hard Bargain will find a receptive audience, and we’ll have many, many more to come!
CBY: Steven, I wanted to save this for near the end, but I just wanted to say I absolutely adored season one of Daredevil. If you don't mind me asking one question about your time working on it, is there a particular storytelling moment or episode from season 1 that you're most proud of executing?
SDK: Thank you so much! Daredevil was a real labor of love for all of us working on it. The moment that I’m most proud of visually is that awesome one-shot hallway fight between The Man in Black and the Russian mob so beautifully realized by director Phil Abraham, stunt choreographer Phil Silvera, and the entire team. I’m still stunned we were able to pull that one off! Dramatically, I’m most proud of how we were able to honestly and authentically portray Matt Murdock’s Catholicism on the show. It’s such an important aspect of his character in the comics, and we really wanted it to resonate. I’m actually an atheist myself, but as a writer you need to put your personal beliefs aside to craft a realistic, three-dimensional character that resonates with the audience.
CBY: Steven, thank you so much for your time!
SDK: My absolute pleasure!