With the release of Devil’s Luck: A Hailstone Story #1 from Comixology Originals, we are delighted to be joined by the writer, Rafael Scavone. Rafael has written many comics, including Wonder Woman, All-Star Batman, Hit-Girl, Hidden Society, Hailstone Season 1, Sliced, Funny Creek, and Red Tag.
Hi Rafael, it’s so great to have you here with us.
Thanks for having me!
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m a Brazilian writer who has been writing comics for US publishers since 2017. I’ve written for DC Comics, Marvel, Image and Dark Horse. Since 2019 I’m focusing on creating original series and graphic novels, collaborating with terrific artists such Rafael Albuquerque, Roger Cruz, Rafael de Latorre, Eduardo Medeiros among others, mostly for Comixology Originals. Some of my previous books with Comixology are Sliced, Red Tag and Hailstone.
Can you tell us about the origins of Devil’s Luck: A Hailstone Story?
Devil’s Luck is a story I have written for this fictional town in northern Montana, the same place where Hailstone Volume 1 (2022) is set, but almost a century later. There’s nothing tying both stories, they’re self-contained, just sharing the location and the genre: horror. The spark for Devil’s Luck started from an obsession I have with dentists, maybe because I had a surgery in the past and spent a lot of hours in a dental chair, I don’t know… but I thought a dentist could be a cool character for an horror story, then I start researching, and assembling pieces while drafting.
Who is Tim Beacon?
Tim is a dentist who saw his dreams shattered by the Crash and the Great Depression. Even though he lives well compared to most of his fellow townspeople, he feels stuck in that town and unable to fulfill his dreams of moving to California. But Tim’s fortune changes when he crosses Leopold Auberon and the three miners, and gets a few “lectures” in faith, greed and betrayal.
What made Eduardo Ferigato the right artist for Devil’s Luck: A Hailstone Story?
Devil’s Luck was sort of written with Ferigato’s art in mind. This is because we’ve been talking to each other for a long time about collaborating on a comic, and when our schedules aligned, I already knew what kind of story he would like and which would fit perfectly to his art style. He also took the role of colorist in this series and it’s coming out fantastic, it’s like a colored noir. Storywise, Ferigato added a lot to the series’ ending, bringing a super cool idea we wouldn’t dare let out.
For any of our readers who are unfamiliar with the Hailstone universe, what can you tell us about it?
It’s a super simple universe: Hailstone is a snowbound small town in northern Montana, up in the mountains. Since the first story, Hailstone Volume 1 (2022), it was conceived to serve as a set for the stories that use the main element of this universe: horror. The idea has never been to connect them or stick with continuity. Hailstone is like my sandbox for horror stories. Hailstone Volume 1 dealt with fear, hunger and oppression. Devil’s Luck is in the other corner, it shows greed, betrayal and violence. In Hailstone Volume 1, you had characters with a good heart, in Devil’s Luck, we’re not so sure of that. To be short, the stories aren’t connected apart from the town and the Horror genre.
What can you tell us about Devil’s Luck: A Hailstone Story?
Devil’s Luck is set in 1935 during the worst year of the Great Depression. We follow Tim, a dentist who ends up in a sinister plot to make money from the golden teeth of one of his patients, a mysterious rich man. It’s a horror tale on greed, betrayal and faith, beautifully drawn and colored by Eduardo Ferigato, with lettering by Deyvison Manes, covers by Rafael Albuquerque and Eduardo Ferigato and editing by Greg Lockard. This series finale will be one thing by itself, so it’s worth following all five issues.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Drink water, exercise yourselves and read comics – my comics too!
We would like to say a big thank you to Rafael for chatting with us and wish him the best of luck with the release of Devil’s Luck: A Hailstone Story.
