Broken Frontier

Earlier this year, a group of horror and comic book junkies released the surprising smash hit graphic novel, The Black Forest. Yet instead of forcing fans to wait a year or more for their next collaboration, writers Todd Livingston and Robert Tinnell and artist Neil Vokes are already geared up to introduce their follow-up, The Wicked West.

Due October 20, The Wicked West is a tale of the ol’ West that horror fans can really sink their teeth into. The action-packed page turner has cowboys and vampires; silent heroes and gruesome villains; gun fights and stakes to the heart. Heck, there’s even a sexy damsel in distress thrown in for good measure. And like their previous book, the creators have a few added surprises in store to give fans more bang for their buck.

After thoroughly enjoying the advance preview, I just had to sit down with these guys…

BROKEN FRONTIER: Cowboys vs. Vampires. It’s a match made in Heaven (or Hell, maybe). Is this an idea you’ve been tossing around for awhile?
TODD LIVINGSTON: We talked about doing a western long before The Black Forest.

ROBERT TINNELL: Well, the central character of Cotton Coleridge was created as part of a larger mythos. He has a very definite back-story and origin and so on. And the thing is we always described him as a "lightning rod for the supernatural." And it just seemed natural to start by having him mix it up with vampires.

TL: I wanted to match Cotton up against a herd of evil donkeys, but the boys vetoed me.

RT: Everything we do, Todd tries to work in a donkey. Way too much time in Tiajuana

BF: I enjoyed the narrative technique in The Wicked West in which we essentially see two versions of the same event. It was a very unique idea. How did this technique come about?
RT: I'm not sure exactly where that came from. I think it was a desire to give Neil the chance to do some interesting things as an artist. And it gave us a chance to do, yet again, a classic ‘30s horror film. Thirties classic horror is a common inspiration for the three of us, obviously. And it echoes throughout The Wicked West.

BF: Todd and Robert, you’re both listed as writer for both of your graphic novel collaborations. Tell me, how exactly do two writers create one story?
RT: We certainly don’t do it in the same room. [laughs]

TL: We tried that once and blew out the windows. [laughs] We email a lot at first, talking about the generalities…what we want to do, how we want to do it. We eventually begin an outline, where one of us will stop and the other will take over. And that carries on into script.

RT: Mostly it's like this: Todd will write five pages, send it to me, and I'll rewrite it and then do the next five and send it back. He rewrites me and so on. So we have the luxury of polishing as we go.

NEIL VOKES: Then I change everything and they have to start from scratch.

BF: With your group scattered across the country, you must have a pretty good system in place to create a graphic novel. And from what you just said, it sounds like the writers have it down. But what about Neil?
NV: If I didn't have a solid framework to work from I'd just meander through the pages. It’s not pretty. So these two have given me two solid stories to play with.

RT: He's lying. He's a de facto editor and he's made both books ten times better.

TL: We're happy he lets us put our names on the cover.

NV: They’re right. All the magic is from me alone. [laughs] I've found that most times I don't "see" the characters until I'm drawing the story, as in the new thing I'm doing, Zombee (shameless plug). Save for The Black Forest — I saw those characters right away! You see, Forest had an advantage over most original stories — it starred several of the horror genre's most recognizable icons: Frankenstein's monster, Nosferatu, and the werewolf! Those characters already have a long visual and literary history for me to draw from — I needed only to put my own style to the basic concepts.
With The Wicked West, my love of the western genre made drawing this story a pure joy, but I drew very few character designs, and with Zombee, I'm actually jumping right into the story breakdowns while working out the designs. The one thing I do require before starting is at least that solid framework. My good fortune has been the chance to work with very talented, natural storytellers like Steve Engleheart, Kurt Busiek, Mike Baron, Mark Evanier, Miles Gunter and many others — that list includes Bob and Todd.

BF: How did you hook up with one another in the first place?
TL: At a horror con years ago. It was my first one; Bob and Neil were regulars. My first night, I went to the lounge and Bob, Neil, and another friend were sitting there talking about Frankenstein and Me. I horned in on the conversation and hung out with Bob a lot the rest of the con.

BF: Did you immediately talk about collaborating, or did that come later?
RT: Todd and I talked about it for a while. He'd written a really funny script called Joey Got His Head Cut Off and I was going through a period where I wanted to kick my writing up a level. I thought collaboration with a like-minded guy who could write was a good idea. And it was.

NV: I talked to Bob for years about storyboarding a film with him, which may still happen. Then we talked about West at a bar, and I suggested making it a comic.

TL: You’ll notice a lot of these answers involve a bar.

BF: Neil, I enjoyed your art in The Black Forest, but I have to admit that I liked the look of The Wicked West even more. I couldn’t get enough of it this time around. It looks like you’ve improved your touch. It’s more crisp, and more consistent from panel to panel. Would you agree with this assessment? If so, what did you do to improve your art?
RT: If I may, I think the fact that The Wicked West was written to be a graphic novel as opposed to a screenplay made it easier for Neil to adapt. But he may disagree.

NV: Actually, I try to draw each book a little differently. West needed this particular style. Forest was a different kind of story. And Zombee will look different as well. Each story dictates a unique look. For me, drawing Parliament, West, Forest, and Zombee the same way is not only wrong for the stories they tell but wrong for me as an artist. Like that proverbial shark in the ocean, should he stop moving he'd drown. Creatively, I need to keep progressing or become stagnant as an artist, which is both a disservice to my fans and myself.

BF: While I feel the overall look of the book has improved, I think your group’s storytelling has improved as well. It seems more fluid. More refined. Agree or disagree?
RT: Agree. Again, West was written specifically for the medium. We were trying to write something that worked as a comic, pure and simple. I love the comic medium. I read and collect comics. And I love reading about comic history — I'm a huge fan of Comic Book Artist, for example. Todd loves comics and collects as well. So we have a sense of history and a sense of...obligation...when we're doing this. We want it to be right as a book. Particularly when measured against other books, past and present. Not a film "pitch," not a "calling card." As a story. Period.

BF: Robert, you mentioned the trailer, which I thought was a great way to promote your books. It’s something you don't see every day in association with a graphic novel.
TL: Yeah, we did a trailer for The Black Forest and that worked out really well. Andy Kubiszewski, who composes now for Monster Garage, did the music for both.

RT: It's a great tool, a trailer. I think the one for The Black Forest probably sold an extra thousand books initially. We did a radio show for Forest also that folks can download. It's a prequel to the events in the book.

BF: Robert and Todd, with the trailer idea and all this talk about film, it’s obvious you’re both filmmakers. How does your experience in the film industry come into play when you’re creating a graphic novel?
RT: Well, to be blunt, the comics experience has been a lot more gratifying. No one bothers us, Image deals straight, and we get feedback from the fans directly. And obviously, Neil does a fabulous job bringing our stuff to life. And no one is bitching about the budget.

TL: I approach a GN like I do a film. I just want to tell the best story I can—and have the best craft service and catering. Comics are also a lot less work. And I like that because I'm lazy. In fact, I can't believe I've answered this many questions.

BF: Two collaborations, and two books in which an attractive, voluptuous female plays a crucial role as a…well…I don’t want to give anything away. Let’s just say it usually doesn’t bode well for the hero. What would your psychologists say about that?
RT: I was just thinking of that line in The Last Seduction: "I've been hurt real bad. Will that do?" as a way of explanation. But I'd be bullshitting. You know, I had flawed moms in my first two films and people started asking me all these questions about if I had a problem with my mom. No, I'm a writer. It's my job to create conflict.

TL: I love writing different and interesting female characters. It makes girl readers happy and boy readers happy. All of our females are strong characters. And as in life, you never quite know how they're going to surprise you. In Forest, Ilsa performs an act of heroics normally reserved for male characters. And by that, I mean she doesn't lie about her golf game.

BF: There’s some great dark, violent imagery in The Wicked West, along with some language and situations for the more mature audience members. At the same time, however, the quick, fast-paced adventure seems perfectly suitable for the younger readers. Who do you see as the primary audience for The Wicked West?
RT: I think from twelve up you're okay. I mean, I was reading some pretty heavy stuff in Dracula Lives back in the day.

NV: I think that West comes across as a kind of Hammer film: violence and sex. But not to the point of offense. There's a good story that carries the book, and the violence stems from the character and situations, not just because it sells. I'd let my kid read it. I think that we have become way too protective of what our children see or hear. They need to be guided, not have blinders on. Some of the oldest, most classical stories there are have moments of conflict, horror, and tragedy in them. That being said, gratuitous violence or sexual situations are just that: gratuitous. We feel that the horrors that occur within West advance the story; they're there for a reason beyond the obvious homage to past westerns or horror films. 

BF: After working so hard on The Black Forest, what’s it like to see it go back to press for its second printing?
NV: Miraculous?

RT: Very gratifying. We weren't expected to do much business at all. I mean, Neil was the only one of us known. Another rewarding aspect has been the non-traditional comic buyers we've attracted. Lots of support from the horror film fans, for example. I think the second printing would have been an even bigger deal to us if it hadn't been for the deal to do the collectible busts. Shaun Nagle sculpted it and ReelArt Studios is releasing it this month (shameless plug).

TL: The busts are amazing!

BF: When you sent The Wicked West to the printer, did you feel any pressure to measure the success of your previous collaboration?
NV: Nah. I've had to follow too many other books that were loved with something people weren't expecting. So far, I’ve continued to surprise my fans…in a good way. [laughs]

RT: I'm almost embarrassed to answer. Hell yeah! I'm real competitive like that.

BF: I had a hell of a time tracking down a copy of The Black Forest. As creators of a graphic novel that’s obviously in demand, what’s it like knowing that the fans can’t easily get a hold of the book?
NV: Frustrating!

TL: I was just in my comic store the other day when the clerk said, "I still haven't read your book. We don't have any here.” I said, "Order some.”

RT: It's damned annoying not being able to send people to a store to buy it. But part of the problem is it doesn't stay on the shelves. I went to a store and the guy said they sold out, and I said, "Why not order some more?" And he literally said, "You know, maybe we should." I respect the tough choices retailers have to make. And the limited resources fans have. But there are times I just want to scream!

BF: Knowing what you know from the creator side of things, what do you think about the state of the industry?
NV: It's scary at times. I feel I’m gonna out live the industry...and I ain't that young. [laughs]

TL: I think it's all about the retailers. There's amazing product out there that isn't just DC and Marvel. The industry does not live and die by DC and Marvel. I'm not saying that the majors put out inferior work or all indies are ballsy and innovative — I collect a lot of DC titles. But sometimes I feel that from the look of some stores' shelves, Previews is only 20 pages long.

RT: I'm optimistic. I think the web is going to continue to get the word out on books and create new opportunities. I see ways to cultivate new readers. But we're going to have to do that practically one reader and one store at a time. And we've got to get a larger presence in the larger book stores. And that is happening—for us at least.

BF: What would you say to a comic fan who is hesitant to buy The Wicked West?
RT: We're delivering a beefy, beautifully drawn book for under $10. You want affordable graphic novels? Support this one. And if you're still worried, read the reviews from the last one. If that doesn't work, I would try intimidation or extortion. [laughs] I still like our somewhat overused tagline: "What if Josey Wales rode into Salem's Lot?" If you like cowboys and vampires you'll enjoy it. If you want mutants, you should move over an aisle.

TL: I would say open it up and look at it. You cannot look at Neil's art and not buy one of his books

NV: If the fans want a fun, scary, exciting, and well-written, drawn, and colored GN for 10 bucks, well, there it is!

- James Powell