‘The Axe’ Exclusive: ‘Evil Dead’ Meets ‘Hellraiser’ in New Comic From Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman, Comedian Brian Posehn [Interview]
Mary Beth McAndrews
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Recently, iconic magazine Heavy Metal announced their collaboration on a new comic book series co-created by Joe Trohman, guitarist of Fall Out Boy, and Brian Posehn, stand-up comedian. Trohman and Posehn’s story The Axe will be featured as an ongoing serial in the legendary illustrated horror, sci-fi, and fantasy Heavy Metal Magazine and then collected into a comic book series. The horror-comedy adventure kicks off in the April issue of the magazine, which hits newsstands on March 23.
The Axe follows three nerdy, skatepunk, metalhead teens that, upon stealing an old, cursed guitar, open a portal to an interdimensional hell-scape, Sheol. The kids then fall into a world where they must fend-off hideous ancient creatures—that would very much like to kill and eat them—while trying to get back to Earth.
Trohman and Posehn are teaming up again with artist Scott Koblish, who’s illustrating The Axe; Koblish and Posehn previously collaborated on a stellar run of Marvel’s Deadpool comic series, and all three creators recently contributed to the Anthrax: Among The Living graphic novel.
The origins of The Axe was first heard in an episode of the Heavy Metal audio drama podcast, WonderWerk, titled “Axe Origins,” which was written and directed by Joe Trohman, featuring Brian Posehn as the main narrator, with episode music created by Trohman and Matthew Medney.
Dread Central was lucky enough to grab an exclusive look at the upcoming comic. We also sat down with Trohman, Posehn, and Koblish to chat about their love of comic books, campy horror, and creating some very nasty monsters.
Dread Central: How long have you been into the world of comics? What were some of your favorites growing up? Likewise, what is your history with Heavy Metal Magazine?
Joe Trohman: I got into comics in the early 90s. I didn’t have an older brother to usher me in, but that era bolstered the X-Men and Batman animated series, not to mention ‘89 Batman just prior, which I had gotten into right around that same timeframe. Once I was hooked on Marvel and DC, through film and TV, I had my dad take me to the local shops. From there I got into Miller, Claremont, Moore, etc. Similarly, with Heavy Metal, I didn’t read the magazine until I saw the movie, also in the early 90s. Once I learned it was also a magazine, I got my hands on it and I’ve been obsessed with Frazetta and Mœbius ever since.
Brian Posehn: I think I’m the oldest one here, so I got into comics first. I was born in the 60s, so naturally I’m a Silver age and Bronze age guy. Spider-Man and Batman were my first two favorite heroes, and still are. In my preteens, I got more into it, loving both Marvel and DC, never picking one over the other. In the 90s, I got into Image Comics and then back into Marvel and DC, when some of the big writers like Frank Miller and Alan Moore were doing their best work.
As far as Heavy Metal Magazine, I remember first seeing it at my friend’s house. My Cub Scout leader’s husband was a total nerd in the 60s and 70s. I was already into comic books, but that was my intro into the idea that comic books could be sexy or scary. This cool, nerdy dad had a Vampirella statue and all these crazy books in his home office, a.k.a. nerd cave, like Heavy Metal and The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. So I first looked at that stuff on my friend’s bedroom floor, and later I would buy it at 7-Eleven when the clerk would sell it to me. I was drawn to the art first, but loved the stories. The way it was presented and the overall adult nature of the book made it seem like it was something you shouldn’t be looking at as an underage kid. Which of course added to its appeal. When the Heavy Metal movie came out in the early 80s, it played out that even more, but added the humor of John Candy and Harold Ramis into the mix, which was even more appealing to a young me.
Scott Koblish: I got into comics in the summer of 1977, which was a wonderful time to get into comics. But, I didn’t know at the time that was the summer when Heavy Metal first started too! I wasn’t aware of it until I was a teenager, but it was very exciting when I finally found it. I was so entranced by the skill and talent of the artists. And the writing was so daring. I’m really eager to explore the world of Heavy Metal with this project and play with all the strengths the magazine has had for the last 45 years!
Joe and Brian, what was it like writing The Axe and collaborating with Scott?
Joe: Brian, along with Gerry Duggan, already had a close relationship with Scott through writing Deadpool for years. But when I got a chance to work with Scott, I found it so easy. Not only is he a wonderful guy, but he’s a storyteller in his own right. He has the same sensibilities as Brian and I and pulls from the same 80s and 90s film, TV, and comic touchstones. He gets us. We get him. Do I hear wedding bells?
Brian: Oh man, writing this comic series with Joe was a breeze. Joe is so easy to write with, he came to me with this idea and it was pretty well formed. I loved it right away and we jumped in on it immediately. It didn’t write itself, but almost. Joe had a strong outline we fleshed out and threw jokes at it. I had just finished a book, Anthrax: Among the Living with Koblish, so he was fresh on my mind. But beyond that, he’s the best dude out there for this kind of book. He’s great with humor and knowing him from Deadpool, I also know that he’s great with violence and storytelling. And with our recent Anthrax experience, I knew he was into horror too, and could draw the shit out of it. I mentioned him to Joe and that was it. Easy Peezy.
Scott, likewise, what was your experience like creating the artwork for The Axe, and what was it like to collaborate with Joe and Brian on this?
Scott: Both Joe and Brian are wonderful to collaborate with! They are really well-prepared and their outline was fantastic. The scripts have been a joy to work with. A good script is a great place for me to start, because then I can just be my weird self and focus on the visuals and the storytelling, knowing that the story is locked in and thought out beforehand. They and the editors at Heavy Metal are just a breeze to work with, they give great notes whenever they are needed and they push me to play around a lot visually. I’ve been intrigued by how much freedom I have in doing creepy and brazen designs working at Heavy Metal. My imagination gets to be unshackled a bit, and it’s a wonderful feeling.
Where did you pull inspiration (from comics, movies, etc)? What are some of your favorite horror stories/movies/shows and how do you think those have influenced you as a creator?
Joe: When I pitched this to Heavy Metal I said it was The Goonies meets Army of Darkness. So those are definitely touchstones. The Axe itself is the guitar version of the Necronomicon. The Ancient Monsters have some Hellraiser inspiration, to a small extent. The NeverEnding Story has a bit of influence as well. In comics, I know I was thinking about Garth Ennis and Grant Morrison a lot. Those guys know how to write truly funny stuff without sacrificing what’s compelling about their stories.
Brian: What Joe said, those flicks we’re definitely all thrown in a blender when we got into fleshing this story out. I always had Nightbreed in my head when we discussed Sheol and the demons that inhabited it. Sure, we were writing a comic, but I always wanted it to feel cinematic, so I channeled as much John Carpenter and George Romero as I could. Character development and storytelling being as important as the scares and gross out moments.
Scott: I really enjoy the horror genre. Visually it’s a very interesting world, full of goo and gore and weird teeth. I’ve seen all the big movie hits when it comes to horror, and enjoyed them all. Well, as much as someone can enjoy being scared, but I guess that’s the point — to role-play being scared in a safe environment. Horror works best as a very visceral and immediate genre. It’s so much fun to throw my art skills at something new and so inherently inventive.
Where did you start with the incredible monster design? Any notable monsters that inspired you?
Joe: Brian and I knew what we wanted the monsters to look like, to an extent. We had pretty detailed descriptions, accompanied by images we pulled from various places. Lovecraft had an overall inspiration for all four creatures. Oddly enough, Mortal Kombat’s Goro influenced Harvestman’s look to an extent. I always really loved that character. And, as mentioned prior, the BDSM elements of Hellraiser definitely played a small role, too. Also, I always think about what Bong Joon-ho did with his monster in The Host, how undeniably original it was, and hoped we could get at least 25% close to as original. Lucky for us, Scott took the ball and ran with it.
Brian: Same as the last answer. Lovecraft, Barker’s Nightbreed, and the inhabitants of Midian drove me visually in cobbling these guys together. I knew Scott could nail anything we threw at him and he did. I remember being giddy as I saw early character designs and as pages continue to come in, it’s like “holy shit”, I can’t wait to see what he does with the end of this thing, when it really gets crazy.
Scott: Brian and Joe’s notes are where I started, definitely, and then I added and shifted things where I thought I could take it. Working at Heavy Metal has given me the most freedom I’ve ever had visually and design-wise and I’ve really enjoyed taking advantage of that. I’ve tried to look at the real world and incorporate the strange things I see there, weird fish and bugs and skin-tags and adding some sado-masochistic elements to the designs.
Can you tease a little bit of what fans can expect from this wild horror-comedy series?
Joe: Without spoiling much, it gets a lot more fucked up for our teen heroes. We’ll spend a lot of time on a horrible hell-planet, see lots of horrible things, mostly laugh at those horrible things, sometimes get aroused, and will always, never not feel the urge to vomit, just a tad.
Brian: Yeah, hang on. Following the structure of this book, it gets nuts in the second act and then cranked up even harder in the third act, with hopefully a super satisfying outcome. And we promise to deliver metal, funny dialogue, brutal violence and gore, shocking turns and twists, and funny dialogue.
Scott: I don’t think I can prepare the reader for where this series will go. It takes a wild turn at the end of the first issue and never looks back. It’s a real gas to draw all these monsters in action. Definitely stay tuned for the crazy adventures with David, Ruthie and Noah!
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