Broken Frontier

I doubt you will be able to resist Elsinore’s insanity. I know I couldn’t. During the book’s all-too-short run at Alias Enterprises, I was enthralled by a world of prophecy gone mad, plague doctors, lemurs, mad patients and madder doctors at Elsinore Asylum.

When Elsinore vanished late last year, I was certain I would go crazy. If any one book in the last 12 months broke the mould, if any book showed me what it took to tell a unique tale - this was it.

Thankfully, Elsinore is back. Taking us once again into that mad, warped world is series writer and creator, Ken Lillie-Paetz. Here are 13 questions for the writer of one of comics’ most wicked tales.

Jason Berek-Lewis: Ken, Welcome to Industrial Evolution. We have been talking about this for so long, it is an honour to finally interview you! First question, how did you find yourself writing comics?

Ken Lillie-Paetz: Thanks Jason, for the interview and for spelling honour with the extra letter u. Being Canadian, that immediately set me at ease.  Now can you properly pronounce the word “about” (a-boot)? 

Sorry, I don’t think I can pull that off. Back to the question!

To answer your question about how I found myself writing comics... well, I have to say, I don't feel that I have “found myself” by writing comics at all.  In fact, I would have to say I am more confused, stressed and generally out of sorts than I have ever been. Sure, I thought that writing comics would lead to inner peace and a oneness with the universe.  But it's not really like that.  There should really be some sort of surgeon general’s warning about this sort of activity.

Yes, I wish they would have told me that too! I remember you once told me that you write your scripts in a pretty innovative way. Care to explain this process?

I’m not sure whether I would refer to it as innovative, but I have been writing a lot of my scripts in Adobe Illustrator.  It gives me the opportunity to show the artist the panel structure and a more precise amount of caption size or dialogue that I am looking for. 

With Elsinore , I have been writing the description of the panel and only a rough version or a hint at what the text will be.  With this book, I have really enjoyed being influenced by the finished art.  So I don’t finish the text until I can see the artist’s take on the scene. 

In a traditional script format, I don’t feel I would be able to do that.  The trade paperback for Elsinore will include some samples of this and some pretty hideous drawings done by me to mark out where a character should be, etc.  Really, my computer-drawn stick people are just so awful it is embarrassing, but I think it is important to show the process.  (My apologies in advance.)

Where has Elsinore been, and how did you find your way to Devil's Due?

Elsinore has been stuck in the limbo that occurs when a comic book switches companies mid-run.  Elsinore was accepted by Devil’s Due soon after my split from Alias, so basically the gap between issues 3 and 4 is just the time that it takes to re-solicit a book with a new company.  The story of how Elsinore really came to be at Devil’s Due involved a lot of Canadian beer, and for some reason, it all seems a little hazy and hard to remember.

So Canadian beer must be a lot like Australian beer! Talking about drinking, how did you come up with this concept?

The story came out of a question inspired by a psychology class I was taking.  What if insanity was part of the process of humankind’s evolution?  Could it be something we are circumventing by using medication to hopefully balance or at least sedate patients? 

In Victorian times (and earlier), insane patients received little or often inhumane treatment, and were usually housed in conditions that seemed more likely to drive someone to madness than cure them of it.  I looked at how some patients suffering from forms of religious mania came up with rather uniform descriptions of Heaven and Hell.

I started to develop a story of what the world would be like if it was recognized that the insane were both our prophets and our ultimate salvation. The rest was just about connecting some historical dots and giving a purpose and personality to my characters, and to tell a story where madness is the only way to stop the Apocalypse.

           

Can you fill us in on the story to date? How can new readers catch up?

Sure thing... a disgraced psychiatrist has found himself the new doctor for the unusual patients in sub-basement level 10 of the Elsinore Mental Hospital. His predecessor had gouged out his own eyes and lost his mind within these strange halls, and so far Dr Murchison has not fared much better. He has met patients who are undergoing some sort of change and manifesting strange supernatural powers. All of this seems to be fulfilling a prophecy controlled by the asylum’s true guardians, a secret society that has existed since the time of the great plague.

Despite witnessing unspeakable horrors and oddities, Dr. Murchison has survived his first day.  Almost killed by a powerful psychic and psychopath, he has persevered in this madhouse where blood can become a weapon, nightmares or even hell itself become real, and lemurs and monkeys run loose in the halls.
He has now just discovered the knowledge of how he has really come to be here. The unexplainable and horrific have become the status quo, but will this information be the final piece that strips him of his sanity?

Also people can read the entire series so far online at the Devil’s Due site for issues 1-3.

Who are some of the artists that have brought this eerie and horrific world to life? I know that you have worked with Brian Denham. How much longer is he on the book, and who else is contributing to the art? Who else is on the creative team?

Brian’s run on the book ends with issue 4. He’ll still be providing the covers for the series, but Mark Sparacio will be taking over the art chores for the second part of Elsinore . Jean-Francois Beaulieu will still be providing his coloring genius to keep the feel of the book consistent. I am really pleased with the look that Mark’s highly rendered penciling and Jean-Francois’ colors achieve. There will be a few guest artists for particular scenes, just to keep things even more strange, wonderful or interesting. 

The book has been very enigmatic thus far... When will the dank fog floating up from Elsinore’s cells dissipate? Can you give us some clues as to the story’s direction?

A lot more is made clear in the prelude pages of Issue 4. 

Also, the trade paperback of issues 1-4, which will be released in April, will contain some text that was unfortunately omitted. These pages contain some information that the reader should have had knowledge of by now, were it not for some technical difficulties in the publishing process. The dream issue (number 4) also gives a look into the subconscious of the inmates and staff of Elsinore.  There are definitely some answers buried in there. 

The first half of Elsinore is about unraveling the mystery of the secret society of plague doctors and the relationship between madness and the Apocalypse. Previously, we have been seeing Elsinore through the eyes of its newest observer, Dr. Murchison. We learn that he is the doctor mentioned in the prophecy, but we still have uncertainty about what the prophecy entails.

In the second half, we will see that the story is much more about carrying out the secret society’s plan of attack. Dr. Murchison is no longer reacting to the strange events around him. He is a very different man in the remaining issues, and his part in this prophecy as well as those of his patients is quickly made clear.

Elsinore has such a dark and foreboding presence. Do you get yourself into goth makeup before you write an issue? Do you tie yourself up in a straight jacket? Or are you just one of those polite, silent types we should be afraid of? How do you get into the minds of the crazies at Elsinore Asylum?

This story has been in my head long enough now that it doesn’t need much convincing to come out. The characters have become non-paying tenants who make too much noise to be ignored. I’m pretty sure I’d be allergic to goth make-up, and while I did have a straight-jacket made for promoting the book, it is only a prop, and not something I wear when I sit down at my desk and try to give the characters of Elsinore their chance to be heard. 

Right...

Am I someone who people should be afraid of...? Hmm, characters living in my head, devising plans to attack Heaven and Hell, being overly obsessed by the greatness of lemurs... nope, I would have to say I am a pretty well-balanced individual. 

Unfortunately, I really only have my own self-diagnosis to go on here.  I stopped listening to the teams of doctors and psychiatrists long ago.  They’re the ones who are crazy. Not me.

[Jason backs away a little.] I have always wondered where the name Monkey Pharmacy comes from. My father is a pharmacist, and he wasn’t impressed at all! Are you out to defame, embarrass and terrorize monkeys, pharmacists, or both? Is there a grander creative conspiracy at work?

The name actually came from a slogan for the studio. I wanted to use the phrase “for all you sick monkeys...”  So taking that direction of thought further, it was obvious that if the clientele I was aiming for were sick monkeys, I would need to offer a service that sick monkeys would find helpful. A monkey pharmacy would be necessary to treat my audience. 

So by no means was I trying to defame, embarrass and terrorize monkeys or pharmacists.  I am rather fond of both.  In fact, now that I know you have a family member who has constant access to pharmaceutical drugs... (err, actually we should talk more about this privately).

Yes, I’ll pass you my “special email” another time... ahh... Who are your collaborators at Monkey Pharmacy? What are their roles?

For the artists and creators, Monkey Pharmacy will be a sort of reverse of the Witness Protection Program. We hope that the artists we have chosen for our projects will be discovered and become recognizable faces in the comics industry. The artists involved so far have been Mark Sparacio, Ian Dorian, Fernando Granea, Julie Faulkner, Fiona Staples and Michael P. Sincavage.  Projects like Elsinore and Monkey vs. Lemur allow for different styles of art to be used, and it is a great way to showcase some new talent. The everyday hassle of organizing it all falls on the shoulders of Jody Roberts, Rowan Rozanski, my wife Jenn, and myself. 

What other projects are you working on at Monkey Pharmacy? Is Monkey In A Wagon vs. Lemur On A Big Wheel still being produced? Will this be published through Devil's Due, or would you consider self-publishing?

The ultimate battle for primate supremacy will continue! Monkey In A Wagon vs. Lemur In A Big Wheel is coming out in April through Silent Devil Productions. We have pitches for projects going out that include other comic book properties, as well as some for television and film, since Elsinore has had some Hollywood interest.

Oh WOW! An Elsinore movie would rock! Elsinore and Monkey Pharmacy have had a rocky road over the last few months. What is your view of the current state of the comic book market?

The comic book market is pretty grim, there’s no denying that. It is really tough for independents right now. I think this last year was a wake-up call to creators, publishers, retailers and fans.  With the numbers of issues being sold going down and the cost of comics going up, it is going to be extremely difficult for people to break in or turn a profit. Hopefully, this will change soon, and this is just a passing storm that needs to be weathered. The last thing I think anyone in the industry wants is for independent books to become a publishing impossibility. We would lose part of the talent pool that gives us the great comic book writers and artists of tomorrow.

I think comics are getting a lot of attention though, and this medium of storytelling is gaining respect. People are beginning to see that comics can be both literature and art.  I think working in comics, or being a comic book fan, doesn’t have the “that’s kid’s stuff” stigma anymore. So I think we can be guardedly optimistic that it is going to get better.

Lastly, is Elsinore truly the first sign of the coming apocalypse? Should I be stocking up on water and crackers?

Yes. Yes it is. But I like to think of Elsinore as a practical guide on how to avoid the Apocalypse and the Final judgment of God, as outlined in the Book of Revelation. This comic is my public service announcement stating that humankind still has a chance.

Thank the heavens for Ken!

The interview is over now.

Could you please let me out of this straight-jacket? Please!

And... GET THAT LEMUR AWAY FROM ME!