With the release of Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End from Oni Press on December 9th, we are delighted to welcome writer George Northy and Eisner Award–nominated artist Caitlin Yarsky. George is known for writing Yuletide, EC’s Shiver SuspenStories, and Caitlin Yarsky for Dead Teenagers, Black Hammer, and Living Hell.
Hi George and Caitlin, it’s so nice to have you both here.
Could you please introduce yourselves?
GN: Of course! Thanks for having us. I’m George Northy the writer and co-creator of PROMETHEUS GRAFT. I live in Los Angeles and write for TV, film, theater and comics. I wrote a feature called G.B.F. and I’ve written for shows like MTV’s FAKING IT, The CW’s CHARMED and XO KITTY on Netflix. I also co-created the comic book miniseries YULETIDE with Rachele Arango which was also published by ONI Press.
CY: Hi! I’m Caitlin Yarsky, the artist of PROMETHEUS GRAFT. I have drawn a bunch of comics over the last ten years, including DEAD TEENAGERS (Oni), MAGIC THE GATHERING and BLACK HAMMER REBORN (Dark Horse), BLISS and COYOTES (Image), some DC stuff (WONDER WOMAN, SUPERMAN etc), and a couple years ago wrote and drew my first solo series called LIVING HELL with Dark Horse. I play music (violin and vocals), make sourdough bread and pet all the dogs. Because they are good dogs.
Could you tell us about the origins of Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End?
GN: I’d become obsessed with old-fashioned whodunnit-style murder mysteries and wanted to create my own with a supernatural twist, using the lore of Vampyrs, Witches, Werewolves and other night-creatures to breathe new life (or death) into the genre. But the idea only really began to take shape when I realized who the detective for a puzzle-box mystery like this should be: The legendary ‘living puzzle’ himself, the man once known as Frankenstein’s Monster.
George, who is Prometheus Graft?
GN: Prometheus Graft is the chosen name of our reimagination of Frankenstein’s Creature from the iconic Mary Shelley novel. Our tale takes place nearly 100 years after the events of the novel, and in the intervening time while searching for answers about who he really is (or once was) Prometheus discovered a talent for solving supernatural mysteries and has built a reputation as one of the world’s greatest detectives. He still longs to solve the mystery of his own creation, but in the meantime has found his calling helping to solve the strangest cases Europe and beyond has to offer.
Caitlin, visually, can you talk us through the look of Prometheus Graft?
CY: The look-and-feel of Prometheus Graft takes inspiration from so many sources I couldn’t name them all here. But largely, I got a lot from old Disney films (think 101 Dalmations), Laika films, French animation (mostly the Triplets of Belleville and the Illusionist) and European comic art. I also dug through lots of folk horror and folk art for the whimsical-but-eerie effect.
George, at what stage of the writing process did you think about an artist? How did Caitlin’s name come up?
GN: Caitlin was my first choice from Day One! We actually first met when we collaborated on my published comics debut, an 8-page story in the first of ONI Press & EC Comics holiday-themed anthology SHIVER SUSPENSTORIES. I wasn’t sure if my script had properly conveyed my vision or not, but then I got Caitlin’s pages and it was like she’d read my mind! Combining that ‘mind-meld’ with her spectacular ability to draw unique, expressive diverse characters and her incredible eye for detail (both must haves for a whodunnit) and there was really no other choice.
Caitlin, you created all of the art for Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End. What part of that process did you enjoy the most?
CY: Well, the first issue was primarily colored by Marissa Louise, but I will be coloring the rest. For my part, I think the early stages where you can take your time developing and designing characters is always my favorite. It’s relaxing, you can play around a lot, and it helps you envision the whole world. I’ve also really enjoyed working traditionally, which I don’t always have the time or energy to do. It’s more challenging but very rewarding to have tangible pages when you’re done inking.
What can you tell us about Ramsy?
GN: Ramsy is a lowly servant at Death’s End Castle…who also happens to be a Ghoul. For this project, I wanted to reimagine and redefine ghouls as the lowest caste of the supernatural creatures because they are scavengers who, while they do eat the flesh of the dead, cannot kill or even harm any creature. This is why they’re seen as the ‘untouchables’ in this world. This makes Ramsy the only person who could not have possibly committed the Slayings at Death’s End and therefore the perfect crime-solving assistant to Prometheus Graft.
Can you tell us about the world Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End is set in?
GN: It’s a gothic, turn-of-the-century world where legendary creatures of myth and literary icons of that era intermingle. It’s like if the worlds of HELLBOY, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and BUFFY were all mashed together. I’m looking forward to expand it even further into other realms of folklore and literature, if we are lucky enough to do more Prometheus Graft mysteries.
As Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End is a whodunnit. Are there enough clues for readers to solve the murder mystery, or will readers be surprised?
GN: That is absolutely the goal! It’s a true whodunnit, so one (or more) of the characters we meet in Issue One will ultimately be revealed as the culprit and there will be clues in every issue that build toward that final result. But with all the supernatural lore we’re adding into the mix, there’s also a lot of room for genre-defying twists that only the magic and mayhem of vampires, werewolves and witches could provide. The hope is that as each issue is released, readers can speculate about their theories and try to work it out, only to see if they’re right in our climactic Fourth Issue.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
GN: Please add our four issue mini-series to your pull list at your local comic shops, we promise a complete, satisfying murder mystery like none you’ve ever seen and definitely hit Caitlin and I up on social media to tell us your ‘whodunnit’ theories. We hope that PROMETHEUS GRAFT can become a regular character in Oni Press’s stable and have a lot of amazing sequel mysteries planned…but that all depends on how well this first arc does!
We would like to say a big thank you to George and Caitlin for chatting with us and wish them the best of luck with Prometheus Graft: The Slayings at Death’s End.
