With the Kickstarter live for Dracula-Book II: The Brides, we are delighted to be joined by writer/artist Matt Wagner and artist Kelley Jones. Matt is best known for his creator-owned titles, Grendel and Mage. Matt has worked on numerous comics, including Sandman Mystery Theatre, Dr. Mid-Nite, Green Arrow, Trinity, Madame Xanadu, Zorro and Green Hornet. Kelley is an artist who has worked on many comics, including Deadman, Sandman, Batman and Swamp Thing.
Hi Matt and Kelley, It is wonderful to have you both here with us.
Could you please introduce yourselves to our readers?
M—I’ve always wanted to be a comics artist, ever since I was little…and that’s eventually led to a career that’s lasted over four decades in the industry. I’m one of the original wave of creator-owners that first arose to prominence in the 1980s and I’m best known for my epic series GRENDEL which is available from Dark Horse Comics in brand new Omnibus editions and for my more personal fantasy saga, MAGE, published by Image Comics. I’ve also worked on a variety of mainstream characters over the years and have written and drawn many BATMAN projects, including LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT: FACES, BATMAN & THE MONSTER MEN, BATMAN & THE MAD MONK, the TRINITY mini-series and two crossover series starring Batman and my own character, Grendel—the very first such crossover between one of DC’s flagship icons and an independently owned character. I also co-created and wrote SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE for Vertigo Comics as well having written a variety of other classic characters including Will Eisner’s THE SPIRIT, THE SHADOW, THE GREEN HORNET and ZORRO. I co-wrote famed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino’s only original foray into comics with a DJANGO/ZORRO crossover series.
K—I started my career in comics with Marvel Comics as an inker then was made a penciller drawing MICRONAUTS for a couple years until I was hired by DC. I finally got to draw horror doing a DEADMAN prestige series and never looked back. I went on to do SANDMAN for several issues notably ‘DREAM OF A THOUSAND CATS’ and the ‘SEASON OF MISTS’ arc. These led to BATMAN -DRACULA REDRAIN and the BATMAN monthly for three years. I was also the cover artist for ‘KNIGHTFALL’ for DETECTIVE COMICS and BATMAN.I drew a VENOM mini series and an X-MEN mini series as well as ALIENS.
I got to do SWAMP THING with Len Wein and FRANKENSTEIN with Bernie Wrightson as well.
Matt, can you tell us about the origins of Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler?
M—I’ve long had a fascination with vampires, which have shown up in other examples of my work, including GRENDEL. Of the three horror archetypes that horror maestro Stephen King outlines in his non-fiction analysis of the genre, DANSE MACABRE—Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf-man—I’ve always gravitated to the former. Part of that was the cool sense of style and aristocratic charm combined with bat visual motifs but I’m sure an even bigger part was the sexual subtext that underlies so many vampire tales. Over the years, I always wanted to try my hand at the OG vampire…Dracula himself. But, of course, there are a ton of both Dracula and vampire narratives in many, many different media and so I struggled over the years trying to come up with an original take on this classic character—who I describe as the most famous character in literary history. Eventually, I hit on what I thought was an innovative approach to Dracula, telling the stories and histories that are only hinted at and thus hidden in the shadows of the original novel…without attempting just another adaptation of said novel—of which are there almost too many in every medium! Kelley Jones and I have been friends and colleagues for over thirty years and we’d always regularly said to each other, “We’ve really gotta work on something together someday!” It was during one of these exchanges a few years back that I finally had an answer to Kelley’s repeating that familiar phrase. “Are you really serious about that, dude? Because now I think I actually have something in mind that would be absolutely perfect for both of our skill sets and interests. And…it’s fucking epic!” Much to my utter delight…Kelley said yes!
Kelley, what did you think when you first heard the pitch for Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler?
K— I was completely blown away by Matt’s ideas and enthralled by his actual story! I felt like I was reading DRACULA for the first time! That excitement hasn’t diminished a drop from BOOK I—THE IMPALER through BOOK II—THE BRIDES. I love doing this because I feel something of real value and note is being added to Dracula’s literary legend. This is gory and gorgeous to be sure but it has real gravitas as an important chapter of which Dracula aficionados (I’m certainly one!) will feel satisfied. I am so proud of this.
How would you describe Dracula-Book II: The Brides?
M—Bigger, badder and bloodier than ever! Seriously…this volume is thirty pages longer than BOOK I; that means thirty more pages of Kelley’s incredibly sumptuous and atmospheric art! One of the challenging factors in writing DRACULA: BOOK I—THE IMPALER was the aspect that it involved his origin as a vampire. As a result, he really doesn’t become one of the undead until near the end of that volume. With this volume, we’re addressing another infamous motif from the original book…the reality of Dracula’s three vampiric brides. Their appearance in Stoker’s 1897 novel is mesmerizing…and yet that depiction, in fact, only lasts for a handful of pages. It’s such a searing narrative scenario that the brides always show up with equally compelling presence in almost every screen adaptation as well. But, as with so much else in the novel, the details about the specific brides are deliberately vague due to the author’s desire to keep them mysterious and thus, more sinister. One of the women does appear to be a bit aristocratic or of a higher social class than the other two, who both defer to her the privilege of first feeding on their victim. This, of course, left me with a completely blank slate in regards to the portrayal of these women as actual characters. I knew I needed to portray three entirely different women whom Dracula chooses as his brides for three entirely different reasons. And, of course, I had to make them accurate to the time period that we’re portraying as well. Our Dracula is an imperious monster and, as with every aspect in his life, he expects to be the master of all he surveys so his brides are definitely not on an equal footing with their vampiric lord. As I’ve already said, we’re trying to stay completely true to the novel’s parameters and that’s how Stoker portrays their dynamic. But, despite his authoritarian nature, Dracula’s relationship with his three brides is complex and, I hope, compelling on many levels.
K—Terrifying and mesmerizing. How Dracula comes to these women and why he chooses them is something we never knew before in any tale. It couldn’t simply be the need to drink their blood. Lust and loneliness? Just lust? These women had to stand apart because over time Dracula has taken many women yet these three stood apart. Immortality isn’t the gift we all believe it is. That fact makes Dracula even more cursed. His darkness truly grows in gouts of blood.
Kelley, when creating the art for Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler, what reference materials did you use?
K—I did a lot of research on medieval architecture and the geography of the terrain of Romania. Also of the Romani people of that time. I wanted to not look at anything dealing with Dracula or the Brides in other movies or anywhere. I wanted the Brides to be as original as I could make them.
What kind of feedback did you get from Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler?
M—On a sheer commercial level, it was a huge success with the campaign wrapping up among the top 20 graphic novels in Kickstarter history. But, more importantly to us, reader response has been unanimously glowing. We’ve both heard so much feedback from our backers that this was one of their favorite KS products of all time and that it was the best book of the year. One writer for The Comics Journal told me that BOOK I—THE IMPALER was the Dracula book that nobody knew they wanted…and yet felt like exactly what they needed.
K— Universally positive…which made me feel good beyond the obvious reasons as those were the same reactions as mine when Matt sent his great story for me to read for the first time. That it has sold so well was just so amazing too. I feel we delivered something special
How did José Villarrubia and Rob Leigh join the team?
M—Part of our aim with our DRACULA series was to recapture the thrilling allure of the horror comics from the 70s that meant so much to both Kelley and me. I immediately thought of asking José to come on board based on the lovely restorative work he’d recently been doing on the original Bernie Wrightson run of SWAMP THING and the newly collected Richard Corben library for Dark Horse. I’ve long had the feeling that Kelley’s work often received the wrong color treatment from other artists—too many of them try to color his work as dark and moody when, in fact, the exact opposite is true. Kelley already draws the dark and moody parts himself…what we need are bright and vibrant colors to let his lovely line-work and shadows show through. And José fully understood my art direction in that regard and delivered so beautifully on all counts. One very effective little thing that José does for these books…he colors the gutters in and around the panels as a subtle, off-white. It’s almost the color of the faded paper of older comics and so the final effect feels both classic and contemporary all at the same time. Absolutely brilliant! Kelley brought Rob on board as they’d worked together previously. Kell claimed that he loved the way Rob knew how to make everything fit and flow. And that’s a real concern because Kelley’s art is so detailed and beautiful, it’s hard to know what to cover up with the word balloons and captions. And, yes, he was right…in addition to being incredibly stylish, Rob has an uncanny knack for placing those necessary narrative elements where they’ll affect the absolute least intrusion overtop of Kelley’s art. I couldn’t be happier with this creative crew…Team Dracula!
K—I wanted Rob because I’d worked with him before and his skill and judgement is second to none. Rob could be an editor. Matt wanted José because of how well he was color restoring Corben and Wrightson. I think José has been incredibly powerful on this and now cannot imagine anyone else coloring it. Matt told me I’d be pleased and I sure have been.
Matt, how did Dark Horse Comics get involved with Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler?
M—Kelley and I knew from the beginning that we wanted to launch each of these DRACULA books as a Kickstarter campaign. This has definitely become a newly viable publishing model in recent years and it was the first foray into this end of the industry for both of us. But we knew that we also wanted to reach the largest possible audience for our epic DRACULA saga. I’ve had an incredibly gratifying publishing relationship with Dark Horse for close to forty years and so they just seemed like the natural choice so far as who to approach about releasing a more mainstream edition of the books. And, of course, DH was super enthusiastic about the project as soon I presented it to them. Dark Horse Comics will be releasing the TPB version of each volume, and each will feature lovely French flaps…but all of the hardcover editions will be exclusive to our Kickstarter campaigns. So, if hardcover is your jam, get in on things at the early stage of each book.
Kelley, was it challenging to create the art for Dracula Volume 1: The Impaler?
K—I was born to do this. The only difficult thing is I want to work on it ALL the time and my wife and family have to understand, I hope! Seriously…it draws itself, I see this story so clearly that it just flows from my pencil.
As you are crowdfunding Dracula-Book II: The Brides and dealing directly with consumers, does that make Dracula-Book II: The Brides more special for you?
M—I’ve gotta say yes…it feels like we have a more direct connection with our readers in many regards. And that’s saying something because I feel like both Kelley and I already have a particularly strong relationship with our reading public. I remember one time Kell and I were sitting next to each other at a con and there was one guy who was a particularly knowledgable fan of both our work. He was super enthusiastic and he’d excitedly talk to Kelley about some aspect of his career and then smoothly turn to me and do the same, back and forth…it was very convivial in all regards. And the guy was wearing a set of semi-permanent fangs as well, which just made the whole experience that much more memorable…and more than a little prophetic! So, yeah…the Kickstarter campaign has brought that established connection just a bit closer.
K— Yes it does. I’m working with my dear friend Matt and that is huge. The book feels closer to the fans as if Matt and I are telling them this on a rainy dark night! It simply flows from us to them. It’s so free a feeling to not worry about the content I draw, so I can tell this tale with complete sincerity.
Matt, what can you tell us about Orlok Press?
M—We had to create a business entity in order to run the KS campaign and, very early on, I’d mentioned to Kelley that I thought we should call it Orlok Press. If that reference isn’t evident to everyone, “Count Orlok” is the name of the vampire in the very first screen adaptation of DRACULA, from 1922. Director F. W. Murnau and his production team never bothered to secure the film rights from Bran Stoker’s widow thus the film was unauthorized and so they tried, rather half-heartedly, to disguise this fact by changing the character names. Kelley’s response to my suggestion was, “YES! Oh, my god…yes. It has to be Orlok Press!” And we have had some discussions about possibly expanding Orlok Press beyond the limits of our series of DRACULA graphic novels. Exactly how that will play out remains to be seen.
Do you have a favorite Kickstarter reward?
M—For the first campaign, I’d say it was the limited edition art portfolios we produced that featured seven beautifully printed plates of Kelley’s B&W art from the book. Again, this was a nod to our earliest days as comic fans ourselves, when such folios were somewhat ubiquitous. This time around…we’ve got merch! We didn’t want to get to broad with our offered rewards with our first book because we were fresh out of the gate to this and, let’s face it, there are more than a few Kickstarter campaigns that don’t pan out very well in regards to both coming to fruition in a timely manner and the ultimate fulfillment of the backer’s orders. We knew we had to first establish Orlok Press as being reliable and our product had to live up to the hype. As we said earlier, response to Book I—The Impaler had been universally great and so, this time around, we’ll have a nice array of t-shirts available and, hopefully, a few hats as well. So this is a great opportunity for our backers to not only rep some Orlok Press buzz but they can, quite literally, get their DRACULA on.
K—I want a shirt that just has the DRACULA Logo with Matt and my credits on it.
M—Done! And quite a few others as well.
For any comic fans who have not read Dracula: Book I—The Impaler, what can they expect from The Impaler and The Brides?
M—Kelley and I are all about pure comics…story matters before all else, backed up by incredible art. Our PR manager, David Hyde of Superfan Promotions, told me that when he received and opened his comp copy he commented, “Now this is what a real comic book feels like!” Beyond that, both Kelley and I bring a combined 80+ years of experience to our craft and this project. We both love Dracula and horror narratives in general and, as so many other commentators have told me, this is Dracula like you’ve never seen him before…and yet it feels exactly like Dracula as he was meant to be portrayed. Our Dracula isn’t a romantic figure…he’s an unrepentant monster. Yet he’s also a very human monster…the breed you kinda like in spite of yourself. And, after forty-plus years of writing GRENDEL, I’ve got more than a little talent for depicting such conflicting characters. Think Darth Vader or Hannibal Lecter’s stories as told from their own point of view and you’ll have some concept of what to expect in the pages of our DRACULA books. Enter freely…and of your own will.
K—They can know that each volume is a stand alone story while still being part of a much larger narrative. If you read this without Book One you will still be knocked out. If you read this but have read Book One you will feel like you are now in the midst of a great epic. The horror builds…and builds…and builds.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
M—Reading comics does produce a definite buzz! Keep that party rollin’!
K—Trust in Matt Wagner that he will tell a tale that you have never read before…and never forget.
We would like to say a big thank you to Matt and Kelley for chatting with us. We would like to wish them the best of luck with Dracula-Book II: The Brides.
Feel free to check out Dracula-Book II: The Brides on Kickstarter.
