When
Fangoria Magazine named Steve Niles as one of its “13 rising
talents”, they weren’t kidding. They were lying, a little, since
“rising” is a bit of an understatement. Since
30 Days of Night
appeared in 2002, Niles has exploded on the comic book scene. Ever
since then, pretty much everything even vaguely related to horror has
had Niles’ name somewhere on the cover. A film adaptation of
30
Days Of Night will be released in theaters in October, but Niles
has certainly not been resting on his laurels. The sequel,
Dark
Days was also a huge hit, as was his
Criminal Macabre
series for Dark Horse. Collaborations with Rob Zombie (
Bigfoot,
The Nail) and Thomas Jane (
Bad Planet) followed, as
Niles expanded his horror universe. Niles has been working with Dark
Horse comics for quite some time, and currently, he’s is working on
City of Others for the company, as well several upcoming
Criminal Macabre stories. As well, he’s executive produced
David Arquette’s directorial debut
The Tripper (review to be
posted on the Bin shortly). Steve was kind enough to take the time to
answer some of the Comic Book Bin’s questions as part of Dark Horse
Month.
CBB: Tell us about your start in
the industry. You worked at Horror Online prior to working in comics,
correct? How did that lead to where you are now?
SN:
I got my start pretty early, when I was around 17-18. I was playing
in a band at the time and we’d put out our own records and put of
shows ourselves, book tours, so when I decided to try doing some
comics I started my own publishing company called Arcane Comix. I was
a terrible business man, but I managed to put out a few books and set
of lithographs (Clive Barker Books of Blood covers) before I folded
and used Arcane as a label for packaging books with Eclipse Comics. I
did I AM LEGEND there and FRITZ LANG’S M and a tone of Barker
material. Horror Online was a brief pit stop between getting fired
from Disney and starting to work for McFarlane. How I wound up here
is anybody’s guess. I just kept at out of stubbornness and lack of
other options as much as anything, but I’m glad I wound up here.
CBB: Were you always interested in
writing comics? Was working in comics part of your career plan?
SN:
I developed a love of films, comics and music at a really young age
and I always wanted to do something either in writing or film. I
never thought I’d be in comics. I thought I’d just be a fan and
collector who wrote things on the side, but I’m happy to have a
career in writing. I’m very lucky.
CBB:Tell us about Arcane, the
publishing company you started out with.
SN: I just had too much energy as
a kid. I was spaz. One day I have an idea so I can get some comics
out and the next thing I know I’m taking on investors and Clive
Barker. Things sort of snowballed on me, but in a good way.
CBB: Obviously, horror was an
interest of yours prior to working in the comic book industry, and
your output so far has primarily been in the horror genre.
SN:
I love horror and I’m pretty sure I’ll wind up being labeled the
horror guy, but I love and am capable of writing all sorts of other
material. I’d love to write some crime books someday as well as
some children’s books and even some humor.
CBB:
Do you foresee that changing?
SN:
People are very eager to label, so I think I’m stuck being spooky
boy, but I don’t mind. I have a true love of horror. The movies,
the classics good and bad, are like comfort food to me. Put on The
Wolfman and I feel all warm inside.
CBB: Would you like it to change?
SN: I’d like to be seen as a
creator of all sorts of stuff, but if people want me to do horror, I
won’t complain.
CBB: Fused was more of a
sci-fi/action comic than a horror book. Did you find that more
difficult to write?
SN:
Nope. I really enjoy writing other genres. I’m doing it more and
more with books like BAD PLANET and FUSED.
CBB: Does working with a
particular artist change how you write? For example, if you know
you're going to be doing a project with Ben Templesmith, would you be
inspired to write it differently than if you were working with Ashley
Wood?
SN:
I adjust to the artist. Like with Bernie Wrightson and Bill
Sienkiewicz I write 22 pages of tight scrip for a 26 page book so
they can pace it the way they like and play to their storytelling
strengths. Every artist is different and I try to write to their
strengths. Some artist love lots of detail and some want freedom. For
me it’s all about getting the best work out of them so I want to
make them happy by working as a team.
CBB:
Without burning any career bridges, are there any major differences
between the various different comic book publishers you're working
with, or have worked with? Is writing a book for Dark Horse different
than writing a book for DC, or for Image?
SN:
I’ve only done a couple things for Marvel and enjoyed it a lot. I
grew up on Marvel so I know those characters instinctively. I’ve
pitched them lots of stuff, Hulk, Spiderman, Morbius, even a Son of
Satan, but so far nothing has happened. DC on the other hand, has
welcomed me with open arms and I really like working with them. So
far I’ve done Batman, The Creeper and now I’m doing SIMON DARK,
which is a creator owned character by me and Scott Hampton which DC
is allowing to exist in the DCU. THAT is amazing. Not many people get
that chance. What it all boils down to for me is the editor. I have
great editors at DC, Dark Horse and that makes the whole thing work.
A good editor is the most important thing for me.
CBB: Could you tell us a
little bit about your partnership with Rob Zombie? Is it still
active?
SN:
We started it because we were too busy, so we could help each other
out, but now we’re both so busy we can’t even do that. I love THE
NAIL and BIGFOOT. Both were fun to work on, but there’s no talk of
any future projects.
CBB: How did you partnership
with Thomas Jane begin?
SN:
He was touring and promoting THE PUNISHER and approached me at a con.
He said he had a story to pitch me (Bad Planet) and said he wanted to
play Cal. Then we went out to lunch and got to talking only to
discover we had both grown up in Washington DC area and he used to
buy records by my band, GRAY MATTER. Forming RAW with Tom was one of
the best things I’ve ever done. He’s a creative juggernaut and so
far, in just a few years working together we’ve created four comic
series, sold three films and a TV show. And it never feels like work.
It’s fun like when I made Super 8 movies with my buddies as a kid.
CBB:
What's going on with Bad Planet? When do I get to read issue #2?
SN: Come this San Diego we should
have a reissue of #1 and #2. ALL of the books are completed and we’re
going to release them like machinegun fire.
CBB:
In terms of your comic book output, what are you most proud of?
SN: Freaks of the Heartland is one
of my favorites because Greg Ruth did an amazing job. That’s the
one book that I wrote a ton of narrative for and then threw it all
out because the art told the story so well. I have a place in my
heart for everything Cal McDonald too. I love that loser.
CBB: Is there something that
you've put out that you had hoped would come out better, or done
better financially ?
SN: Oh boy, yes! But I don’t
want to single anything out. Sometimes people just don’t buy stuff.
I always remind myself that initial orders on the first 30 Days of
Night were just a little over 4 thousand. We were devastated at the
time, but look what happened. Sometimes failures in comics make
success in other mediums.
CBB:
Could you tell us a little bit about City of Others, and your other
Dark Horse projects past and future?
SN:
I’ve worked with Dark Horse for a long time. I spoke to Mike
Richardson the other day and realized we’ve known each other for
almost 20 years now. My first gig with them was doing Cal McDonald in
a run of DH Presents (which happened to feature a Bernie Wrightson
Alien story). The story was HAIRBALL. I then did a bunch of Harlan
Ellison adaptations and years later we hooked up again and put out
FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND, FUSED, and CRIMINAL MACABRE (which contuse
even today). CITY OF OTHERS is a dream come true for me. I am
literarily working with a childhood idol of mine on a book that is
all about monsters.
CBB: What's coming up next?
SN:
A whole mess of stuff including CRIMINAL MACABRE: MY DEMON BABY with
new artist Nick Stakal, a collection of the CRIMINAL MACABRE prose
novels and short stories, SIMON DARK, THE SINNER, and as they say,
much, much more.
CBB: I know you've got a number of
projects in various stages of development in Hollywood. Could you
give us a run down as to what they are, and how they're coming along?
What has your experience with Hollywood been so far?
SN:
Right now I’m finishing THE LURKERS and starting work on a TV show
Tom and I created. I really want to get a Cal McDonald movie off the
ground, but I’m having a tough time finding a studio that won’t
sanitize him.
CBB: The trailer for 30 Days Of
Night has just been released. Thoughts? What was working on that
screenplay like?
SN:
I’m thrilled beyond words. I think it looks great. David Slade is
amazing. Working on the script was a little surreal because I went
from writing comics alone in my apartment to driving out to Sony
twice a week to develop the script with Sam Raimi. I was so nervous
at first. I was star struck and had to get past that so I could
write!
CBB: Tell us about
The Tripper.
SN:
The TRIPPER is a film written by David Arquette and Joe Harris.
David, who is the brother of Tom’s wife, also directed. He came to
me and Tom wanting us to help make the film and we liked it
immediately. I mean come on; it’s Ronald Reagan in the woods with
an axe! What’s not to like?
CBB: What inspires you as a
writer? What kinds of films, novels, music do you draw upon in your
work?
SN:
They all inspire me on some level. The way I look at it, all these
great directors, writers, artists and other creators gave us all this
great stuff to consume. Naturally if you are creative, it all seeps
in and one day we regurgitate what we’ve taken in and give back.
Wait…did I just explain inspiration akin to vomiting? Well, yeah.
Sometime it is I suppose.
CBB: Obvious film is a big
influence, as much of your comic book work has been described as
being cinematic. Is this deliberate? Can you tell us about some of
your favorite movies?
SN:
I always point to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, but not just because it’s
a horror film. It’s also because I am Legend, one of my favorite
books, was the inspiration. It was also that George Romero was a
maverick and made it outside the system. He did it himself which
inspired me a lot.
CBB: Were you a comic fan as a
child?
SN:Yes.
I read CREEPY and EERIE, as well as BATMAN and a ton of Marvel
titles. I bailed on comics in the late 80’s when everybody in
comics drew characters with mullets. I just couldn’t take that.
CBB: What are you reading right
now, both comic and otherwise?
SN: Book-wise, I’m reading
HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill. I read all sorts of comics. I dig what
Brubaker does. His CRIMINAL series is a knock-out crime book.
CBB: What's the last movie you
saw and enjoyed?
SN:
I just saw BEHIND THE MASK and I enjoyed it. Some of the performances
were hideous but they played out a tough concept (a documentary of a
masked killer) pretty damn well.
CBB: What's in your CD player
right now? Okay, fine. iPod.
SN:
CD player. Right now THE OMEN soundtrack. It’s good to write to. :D
CBB: That's
all I've got for now, Steve. Thanks so much for taking the time to do
this interview, and I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks again,
SN:
Cool. Thank YOU!