With the release of Thanksgiving today from AHOY Comics, we are delighted to be joined by author Marl Russell again. Mark has written books such as Bible: God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha. He has also written comics such as Harley Quinn, The Gang of Harleys, Dastardly & Muttley, Future Quest, Star Wars Adventures, Swine, Creepshow, Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror and Project: Cryptid.
Hi Mark, it’s so lovely to have you here with us again.
Can you tell us about the origins of Thanksgiving?
It’s based on the increasing realization that, as an American, I know longer recognize the people sitting across the table from me. That, somehow, people I thought I’d known all my life had taken a dark turn when I wasn’t looking. The story of a family realizing the same thing over Thanksgiving Dinner just seemed to be the right allegory.
What can you tell us about the Grandt family?
The Grandts are a pretty typical American family with one major exception. One of the people at the table, Uncle Stan, is rich and famous. He is known to people all over the country as a popular game show host and within the family as someone they all look up to.
As a holiday, do you like Thanksgiving?
It’s one of my favorites. Mostly because it revolves around food and conversation. It’s also pretty much the only time of year I eat any of those foods, so it’s nice to scratch that itch and have some turkey or pumpkin pie once in a great while.
When you conceived the idea for Thanksgiving, visually, what did you want for the comic?
I wanted it to be played straight. I wanted it to look, not only realistic, but also for the characters to respond how we might to learning something monstrous about the people in the family. I wanted it to be at once surprising but to make perfect sense.
Artwise, why was Mauricet the right artist for Thanksgiving?
I think he’s a great artist for rendering that naturalistic hometown feeling, but he also handled the violence and the dark humor very well. I think the way to draw humor is to realize that, to the characters in the story, nothing about this is funny. And I love how he handled that.
How long have you been working on Thanksgiving?
I wrote it surprisingly quick. It just sort of poured onto the page, which is usually a good sign. Most of the time was spent revising and changing little things and getting the dialogue just right.
When you approached AHOY Comics with Thanksgiving, what was their reaction?
They immediately said yes. I think because they felt the same way I did and realized that this was a story that was best told while the emotions ran high and the anger was still raw. When the sense of shock I, and I think millions of others, feel was what was driving the story.
Could we see more of the Grandt family in the future?
No, probably not.
What can you tell us about Thanksgiving?
I think it ended up being a damn good crime story.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Please read this and think about whether or not this makes sense of your feelings in 2025.
We would like to say a big thank you to Mark for chatting with us again and wish him the best of luck with Thanksgiving.
