With the release of the first issue of Night People from Oni Press today, we are delighted to be joined by writer Chris Condon. Chris is best known for his work on That Texas Blood and The Enfield Gang Massacre.
Hi Chris, it’s so wonderful to have you here with us.
Could you please tell us a little about yourself?
CC: My name is Chris Condon and I’m a writer. The work that I’m most well known for is That Texas Blood and The Enfield Gang Massacre for Image Comics, though I’ve written for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, Oni, and a few others. As you know, I’ve also just wrapped up writing duties on Night People for Oni Press.
How did you get involved with the Night People comic?
CC: Hunter Gorinson, the president and publisher of Oni Press loved my book That Texas Blood and thought I’d be a good fit for an adaptation of Night People. He had wanted to adapt the book for a number of years but he really thought it had a chance at happening with Oni. As you can see, he was right!
Were you familiar with the Night People novel by Barry Gifford?
CC: I was not, actually. I knew of Barry but didn’t even know it. I knew some titles, I knew the Black Lizard imprint, but not the man behind them. That said, I’ve since grown to become quite a fan of his. How can you not?
What was it about the Night People novel that made you want to be involved with bringing it to the comic format?
CC: It has a unique perspective, which is in part because Barry has such a distinctive voice. It also seemed to be quite a challenging proposition. How do you adapt something like Night People into a comic? I love a challenge, so I was excited to tackle it.
Did you write a full script for Night People?
CC: Of course. It wouldn’t be an adaptation if I didn’t. I wrote four full scripts for four full issues. I’m really proud of the work.
How would you describe the Night People comic?
CC: Dark, funny, edgy, and violent–a wonderfully volatile cocktail.
Each issue of Night People features a different artist; how were the artists selected?
CC: I didn’t select any of the artists, personally. Oni Press handled those duties. However, we discussed whether we wanted to use one artist across all four issues or four artists for each single issue before I ever started scripting.
What has it been like working with Barry Gifford, Brian Level, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Artyom Topilin, Marco Finnegan and Oni Press?
CC: It’s been easy. Everybody is here to tell the best story they can. Barry is happy with how I’ve handled things and our relationship is really great. I love talking with him. As for Brian, Alexandre, Artyom, and Marco–they’re all unique in terms of artistic styles but everybody is extremely communicative and open to collaboration, just as I am. I couldn’t ask for a better collective of artists than the four we’ve got onboard. As for Oni, I love them. They’re doing new and interesting things in this industry, pushing themselves as a publisher into uncharted territory. It’s all exciting.
The Night People comics are ad free and 30 pages long; how did that come about?
CC: My thought from the beginning was that we should do lengthy issues because I felt with an adaptation that it might be necessary to let things breathe every once in a while. That’s a luxury of prose that you lose in a comic, I think. Oni agreed and that’s why we have 30 pages per issue. The ad decision was all theirs, though.
The Series has a number of variant covers; do you have a favourite?
CC: Oh, boy. I don’t know. They’re all so good. I really love Dani’s cover for issue three. Jacob Phillips’ for issue four is amazing. That hasn’t been revealed yet, but it’s going to impress people, I’m sure. I’m really fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing talent on this and every project.
What can you tell us about Night People #1?
CC: It is a dark journey through the American South at the tailend of the twentieth century. In this first issue, we follow the murderous ex-con zealots Big Betty Stalcup and Miss Cutie Early as they travel along a Florida highway and kidnap a lawyer named Rollo Lamar in an effort to ‘re-educate’ him in the ways of their lord and savior, Ms. Jesus.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
CC: I hope that folks pick up Night People. More than anything, I hope that this series will help draw people to Barry’s work who, like me, might not have otherwise found it. It’s a series unlike any other at the moment. If you want to read something truly unique, read Night People.
We would like to say thank you to Chris for chatting with us. We would like to wish Chris and the entire Night People team the best of luck with the release of the series
