Broken Frontier

Originally conceived as a novel back in 2001, Bartholomew of the Scissors was a labor of love for writer/teacher Chad Helder, but still remained unpublished. That’s when comics came in to save the day. As Helder explains, “I asked Darren Davis from Bluewater to be a guest speaker in my English class when my students were writing an essay about comic book heroes.  At that point, Bartholomew was an unfinished novel, but while I was listening to Darren in my class, it occurred to me to pitch the story as a comic book, and that's where it began.”

Initially released as a 4 issue mini-series from Bluewater, Bartholomew of the Scissors garnered attention for its unusual name and its even more unusual premise. When the first issue was released late last year, it soon sold out, with people responding to its unashamed horror story. And just what does that story entail?

  “The whole story revolves around an undead boy named Bartholomew,” explains Helder, “ who commands the Scissor Swarm, which is like this supernatural storm of scissor blades.  Very nasty--you wouldn't want to run into it.” Indeed.

But every good story needs a hook. That came in the form of the titular character - a strange, undead boy with intriguing, but frightening abilities. Helder confirms that, “Bartholomew is the center of the story, and he was also the first character that I created.  He started it all.  Bartholomew is part of an entire supernatural story-world with paranormal investigators, blobs, spectral phantasms, and a doppelganger made of fire, but it would all fall apart without Bartholomew.  His story connects all of the other sub-plots.”

Besides the eerie title character, the other attraction for many would be the book’s off-center artwork. Once Bluewater decided to publish Bartholomew, Davis got in touch with artist Daniel Crosier, whose interpretations of Helder’s world came in a form unseen by most fanboys – woodburning. Unsurprisingly Helder admits, “I didn't get it at first.  I couldn't really imagine what comic books in wood would look like.” That hesitation is understandable as the old school technique is not something associated with the digital creation of the majority of comics. It didn’t take long for the writer to see what Crosier was up to with his pine planks though.

“When I saw Bartholomew's evil little face for the first time, I was in love with it,” says Helder. “I think the art is completely amazing, and as soon as comic book readers get the book in their hands, they're going to love it too.”

Since Bartholomew of the Scissors has wrapped, with the TPB now available, Helder has continued to work in horror with Bluewater, as the lead writer and editor for the company’s Vincent Price Presents series. The series re-presents the legendary English actor of the classic Hammer films, to a new audience as the host of a series of done in one horror tales ranging every genre imaginable.

And he also remains involved in education, but according to Helder now that he’s a comic book writer, he’s not necessarily the big man on campus. Helder admits that his students grant him, “some cool points, but they still see me as ‘the teacher.’”  If you want a lesson in unique horror, sit up and pay attention to what Bartholomew and his Scissor Swarm have to say.

The Bartholomew of the Scissors trade paperback is out March 25 from Bluewater priced $14.99.