Keating, Barry (Re-Animator Comic)
Dread Central Staff
|
I really can’t remember the first time I saw Re-Animator, though I can tell you for sure that I was way too young to be watching such things when I did. Of course, where would I be now if I waited until I was an adult to start watching horror movies?
Anyone who’s a fan of the series (yes, even the goofy sequels, which I adore in their own right) knows that there are a lot of gaps between the events of the first and second movies, and a helluva lot left explained between the second and the third. Well, producer/director Brian Yuzna is looking to fill in those gaps with the first official Re-Animator comic series, to be written by the news editor of the UK mag DVD Review, Barry Keating, as we first told you about right here.
Barry was gracious enough to allow us to pick his brain recently to find out what’s being planned for the comics and just how far into the mythology they’re going to go; not to mention how goddamn lucky he is to have such a sweet gig! Check out the results below!
Johnny Butane: What can you tell us about the new Re-Animator comic you’re working on with Brian Yuzna? What will set it apart from the old Re-Animator comic series?
Barry Keating: First up it’s official. It’s 100% Brian Yuzna endorsed and I’ve been working with Brian to ensure this. There have been a number of Re-Animator comics announced in the past like Army Of Darkness Vs Re-Animator and I think there’s one on the way from Zenescope; these haven’t been given the nod by Brian at all. I’m not sure what it is Zenescope are doing exactly with the story but it shouldn’t have anything to do with the movie because Brian holds the rights and to my knowledge I’m the only one working on an official Re-Animator comic.
What we aim to do in the long run is to tell a complete story by not just bringing the movies to comics, but by filling in the blanks. Like what happened in between Re-Animator and Bride when Dan and West are at war and when Dan eventually turns on West in between Bride and Beyond. Plus I’d like to tell the story of how Hill’s head ended up going missing in between the first two!
This first venture is also kind of director’s cut, too. We’ve added additional scenes like the Meg dream sequence and a cool moment where Hill teaches his class via videotape after West chops his head off. The original Malibu series from way back when was cool but it kind of downsized the movie a little too much for me, so here I’m trying to keep as much of it intact as possible rather than shredding it down too much for comics. I appreciate the fact that Steve Jones had to keep it tight as hell back then but this time out I want to bring the best possible Re-Animator experience to comics.
JB: Are there any publishers lined up yet for the series? It seems like it’d be a pretty big deal for anyone who got on board.
BK: Not at the moment, no. That said I have been talking to someone who’s banner I think is perfect for Re-Animator to come out under but it’s all very early days at the moment. Essentially though, that is Brian’s call as he’s the man with the muscle so we’ll just have to wait and see…
JB: Any ideas how long the series will be, issue-wise? That’s a lot of ground to cover for a limited series.
BK: In an ideal world I’d see the prequel as a four issue series along with the movie. The spin-off’s that fill in the gaps between the movies could be either 3/4 issues or even a one shot in the case of Hill’s wandering head. That one would be a cool story to tell and I really think one issue is all you need to do it. But it’s really early days to be locking down the number of issues on subsequent series’.
JB: So who will be doing the artwork for the comic and how did you come about their works?
BK: Way back at the beginning we did a load of tests for the art, which was really cool but in the end it boiled down to a guy who goes by the name of Melo. He’s based in Brazil as far as I know – I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet. Basically Brian sourced him through a fellah called Dario Mario Gulli, who has been working in comics for a very long time, right now he’s on Italy’s Star Comics label that put out books like Wall After Wall and Metamorphosis, another collaboration with Brian. He also worked with Brian on the Brian Yuzna’s Horrorama series so they’ve been banging projects back and forth a long time before I came on the scene.
JB: How would you describe the look for the artwork in the book? Is it a more traditional, simplistic style or a grittier feel like some of the newer horro books have?
BK: Melo’s likeness’ are bang on. They’re really something else. I wouldn’t say it belongs in the same category as say the new wave of horror books; it’s there on its own. Very, very cool with that macabre feel to it.
JB: So why you? Why did Yuzna bring the idea to your plate to work on?
BK: Actually it was the other way around, man!
I had met Brian a couple of year backs through a guy called Jay Slater (Brian had contributed to his book Eaten Alive) when I had pitched the idea of doing a book charting the entire history of the Re-Animator movies. It never happened through my own fault, but you never know – it may well someday. Anyway, I hadn’t spoken to Brian in ages and was just itching to get into comics so I’m sifting through my DVD collection looking for something to watch one night and I pull out Re-Animator. About halfway in I start to remember the Malibu book so I dig out the comic collection and start sifting through the pages and think ‘Man I wish I could have had the chance to do that!’
The next day I emailed Brian to see if it would be something he was interested in and it was, so I guess it was a bit about good timing, sheer luck and Brian’s willingness to take another stab at telling the story again in comics.
I went away and wrote a sample, told him my take on where the books would go, handed it to him and the rest is history. I’d say I’m a lucky bastard to be honest, but you know Brian’s been awesome giving me this opportunity and I can’t thank him enough. It’s so weird to think I’m working on a Re-Animator comic after feeding on fright flicks like this as a young lad.
JB: Now that is a cool story; almost like how every fan wishes they could be in the buisness, just a few phone calls and you’re on your way. What kind of credentials did you have to show that you could handle such a big project?
BK: I studied screenwriting in university but my background is mostly in journalism like yourself. I started out working on a Playstation magazine, then moved on to movies with DVD Review and now I’m heading back to the world of Playstation in a month with a kick ass mag called PSW. I write every day, fellah. It’s my bread and butter and if I don’t do it I don’t get paid so I’ve been honing my craft every day since I got into this mad publishing world. I love it and like I said, I’m one lucky bastard! But mostly it was down to Brian taking the chance, digging the sample script and where I want to take the books. It is very much a fanboy dream come true.
JB: So is Re-Animator will be your first stab at comics?
BK: Yeah it’ll be my first shot at comics – but hopefully not my last! I’ve got plenty of stories left in me!
JB: Have you ever met Stuart Gordon or Dennis Paoli? I’d be curious to know what they thought of the idea…
No, I haven’t met Stuart or Dennis. I have interviewed Stuart back when he was promoting Masters Of Horror season 1 on DVD over here and more recently I actually interviewed him for the new Re-Animator special edition from Anchor Bay and he seemed really cool that I was doing the book, so that was a great. And also a relief!
JB: Do you think if the comic series does well it will help Yuzna see the next thee Re-Animator films finally made?
BK: I hope so, man. I really, really hope so! I want to see Herbert in the Whitehouse!!!
JB: As do I man, as do I! Such a great concept it would a shame if something like money prevented it from going through. Though I guess that is what makes the world go ’round…
BK: Yeah, I think it will happen. It’s a matter of time, man. When I spoke to Stuart he was dead keen for it to go off and now there’s that rumor about Masters Of Horror, so maybe we’ll be seeing it sooner rather than later. I think the thing to remember is that everyone wants to a part of it so the passion there’s – it’s just a matter of budget, timing etc…
But I can tell you this – Brian’s intention is to do them in comic book form too so maybe we might see the comic before the movie as a way of sorting greasing the wheels of fan interest.
JB: So when does the down ‘n dirty work on the comics start?
BK: Well the dirty work has already started – I’m nearing the end of the script now, with the hope of finishing up in the next few weeks. Personally I’d like to see the book hit shelves in time for Halloween or thereabouts.
JB: Wow, that soon? That would be great, I would love to see it out by then!
BK: Yeah – I hope it’s that soon but I don’t want to promise anything because in comics in can alter so much with release dates. That said, I’d love to see it out this year.
JB: I had no idea he was planning on making the sequels comics, too, though I guess it makes sense. Would you work on those, as well?
BK: Brian’s intention is to have the complete Herbert West saga; the prequel, the movies, what happens in between and the new trilogy. I think it’ll be cool. In terms of me writing them – I’d love to, man. I’m getting great feedback from this first book from Brian and when we talked about where the stories would go in between the movies so fingers crossed we can keep working together into the future.
JB: That’s really cool; a fan’s dream come true, being able to do something like this! To be honest I think it’d almost better to keep it to comic form for now since it seems to take so long to get a film made these days! No one wants a geriatric Herbert West!
BK: Ha! That’s very true. Well, hopefully I can be the one to take Herbert on his journey through comicdom where he’ll live forever, cheating death and age! And it’s cool you know because doing this has opened new doors for me and I’m hoping to stay in comics for a very long time if I can. I’m already working on an idea I hope to bring to the table in the future that’s piqued a publisher’s interest so hopefully that’ll work out.
Thanks to Barry for taking the time to talk with us all the way from his home in the UK! Keep it on Dread Central for the latest updates on the first official Re-Animator comic series, which sounds like it has some very big plans for the near future!
Categorized:Interviews News
