Exclusive: Cullen Bunn on Dark Ark’s Horror Biblical Twist
Jonathan Barkan
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Coming this September to comic book stores is writer Cullen Bunn’s new series Dark Ark. A twisted horror take on the Ark story from the Book of Genesis, Bunn’s series asks the questions, “What if there were other arks? What kinds of creatures would they hold?” It’s a fascinating concept and such a simple yet clever twist on one of the oldest stories in humanity’s history.
Today, we’ve got an interview with Bunn about the series, including what fans can expect from the story, how it originated, and more.
Dark Ark #1 comes out September 20th from AfterShock Comics. The series is written by Cullen Bunn (X-Men Blue, Deadpool, Venom) with artist Juan Doe (American Monster, World Reader). Lettering was done by Ryane Hill. You can buy it digitally right here.
Synopsis:
The wickedness of mankind has moved the Creator to destroy the world by way of the flood. Noah has been tasked with building an ark to save his family and the animals of the world. But this is not Noah’s story. For darker powers have commanded the sorcerer Shrae to build his own ark and save the unnatural creatures of the world—such as the vampires, the dragons, the naga, and the manticore. But what will happen on a vessel crawling with monsters, where insidious intrigue and horrific violence are the rule of law?
Dread Central: The story of Noah and his Ark is one of the most famous stories of all time. However, I never thought that there might be other arks out there! Can you tell me how you got the idea and how you then proceeded to flesh it out?
Cullen Bunn: It started with a simple enough concept: what if someone built an Ark to save monsters the way Noah built an Ark to save the creatures of the natural world?
I turned that idea over and over in my head for a while, making lists of monsters, dwelling on some of the fun interactions between creatures, thinking about how certain monsters might react to being stuck on a ship for a long time. But I knew it needed more in order to make a great comic.
I started layering in other elements. Why was this Ark constructed in the first place? Who built it? How does it work in terms of food stores and the like? What kind of factions might grow among the monsters? What do each of these monsters want? And what do they think of the other Ark that’s out there somewhere?
The more questions I answered, the more the story took shape.
DC: Biblically, the Book of Revelation has some rather horrific monsters. However, it seems like you’re pulling from myths and legends across cultures and religions for “Dark Ark”. Can you talk a bit about your inspiration for the creatures we see in this series?
CB: Yeah, the monsters in Dark Ark came from all over the place. Vampires, naga, bugbears, werewolves, manticore, harpies, dragons, goblins–you name it, it is probably a passenger on this voyage. I really wanted a wide range of monsters, and I wanted them to be fairly recognizable to the readers. I spent a lot of time researching these creatures, making a huge list of the monsters you might see in the comic. Not all of them get starring roles in every issue, of course, but they are there!
DC: In the original Ark story, there was rain for 40 days and 40 nights, which means Shrae’s ark has quite a long time for all sorts of issues to occur. What kinds of shenanigans can we expect to occur during the story?
CB: When you’re dealing with all these creatures, there are just countless stories to be told. These creatures aren’t happy to sit back and follow the orders of Shrae, a mortal. There are some of these beasts who want to seize control of the ark, and they won’t feel bad about shedding a little blood in order to get what they want. And some of these monsters hate each other, and they will gladly lie, cheat, maim, and kill as they jockey for dominance over one another.
Beyond the monsters, we’re going to be seeing the humans on board dealing with their lot in life. Shrae is striving for redemption and safety for his family. Shrae’s son, Orin, is looking for love. His daughter, Khalee, is fascinated by the monsters. And then there are the poor souls being held prisoner down below, those who are used as food for the more monstrous passengers…
There are many angles to be explored and many stories to be told.
DC: Alternatively, the rain and flooding subsided at a certain point, whereupon all the animals could roam free. Will we see a point in “Dark Ark” where Shrae’s ark is no longer the setting of the stories?
CB: That’s definitely a possibility. Eventually Shrae’s ark will find land. At least, the ark will find land if it survives. If that happens, there are plenty of stories to be told. At that point, we’d be seeing the rebirth of the world, with the survivors of mankind learning to cope and survive alongside the survivors of monster-kind.
DC: Is there a chance that we’ll see Shrae’s story connect with other stories from the Bible, just with your own unique twists?
CB: I guess there’s always the possibility of connecting this story to other Biblical tales, but It’s not really my plan. I wanted to tell this story because it meant something to me. It’s my kind of story to tell. I can envision lots of potential stories, but I think I’ll focus on this one and let others have their chance to craft those tales. Then again, never say never.
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