I talk to creators Nathan Edmondson and Brett Weldele about their upcoming Image series The Light, their influences, and what we can expect to see from them in the near future. Check out the three page preview of The Light below the interview!
Dan Horn (CBB): Nathan and Brett, your new horror series
The Light from Image Comics begins April 14th. How would
you describe the series?
Nathan Edmondson (NHE):
Two words: Awesome. (It is two words if you say it
right.) But seriously… I think I’d It’s a series
that is as much about mood as it is about story.
Brett’s art is so subtle but fantastically evocative and it reflects
the characters and their internal struggles. It’s a story about
the violence inside of the characters—and a very strange kind of violence
in the world outside.
CBB: I recently had the privilege of reading
the first two issues of the series. Where did the idea for this deadly,
electric light-triggered disease come from?
NHE: I’m not sure, really.
I think it began with this simple idea, that something so unavoidable
could be a the antagonist in a story. All though, in THE LIGHT,
the villain is a little bit more complicated.
CBB: You guys have really succeeded in turning
light into this sort of antithetical nightmare version of itself. How
did the two of you achieve that portrayal of this thing which most people
see as the embodiment of security?
NHE:
You gotta turn to Brett for this one.
In my mind, I have to consider each panel, and what the characters would
see. If you approach, say, a house at night, where are the lights?
Are there streetlights? What about reflections?
Things like that. But in a broader sense, I think you used a key
word: security. The characters are suddenly forced to be fully
conscious of something that is taken completely for granted. That
for me is a dynamic worth telling a story about.
CBB: What kind of message are you hoping
to send with this series?
NHE: I tend not to think in
terms of sending a message specifically. I mean, the story, like
any other, certainly has a message. But it’s not meant
to be transmitted (like the virus through
light waves), but rather, experienced. If I’ve told the story
successfully, then the reader will experience those
things which change the characters and then the reader will thus experience
a change, however remote and minuscule, in themselves. What that
change is: as always, you must read to find out.
CBB: This story definitely has a Stephen
King vibe going on. What are some stories that inspired the basis for
The Light?
NHE: I’m not sure I can
really pinpoint any specific inspirations. Mentioning Stephen
King—as several others have done—is a good starting point.
I can certainly look to books like
It and Dreamcatcher,
stories like The Mist and The Man in the Black Suit and
see where I was influenced by his ability to make mood itself a primary
mode of communication. But I’d be sure to mention others like
Dracula, Turn of the Screw
or even Hound of the Baskervilles where the same effect is achieved
as well.
CBB: Can you give readers an idea of what
to expect in the upcoming issues of The Light?
NHE: More action. More
characters. Some more really vicious moments; and hopefully a
few surprises. It’s a simple story, and it unravels at a steady
pace, but toward the end the threads will cinch, and pressure will build.
Also, you’ll see, shall we say, some areas that are better
lit.
CBB: If the main character Coyle and his daughter make it outside
of the city limits, what kind of danger will they run into in the dark
woodlands beyond?
NHE: Assuming it’s the woodlands
they’re aiming for, I think the danger of lights actually increases.
Lights are everywhere. Next time you’re on a country road, try
to measure how far it is between lights. These days it’s never
that far. And if you’re in an area you suppose to be safer…you
drop your guard.
CBB: What other characters will we see thrown
into the mix?
NHE: I prefer not to say with
any specificity, but each survivor will have a very different agenda,
a very different mode of survival, and—and this is what’s most important—a
very different goal in terms of what is dear to them.
CBB: Coyle’s interactions with his daughter
are very organic and genuine. Were there any real-life events that inspired
the dysfunctional father-daughter dynamic?
NHE: More than anything, my
everyday observation of broken families around me.
CBB: Brett, your artwork in The Light is
reminiscent of Ben Templesmith’s work on 30 Days of Night, but still
retains a distinguished uniqueness. Was Ben a major influence on your
work? What other artists have had a strong influence on your art?
Brett Weldele (BW): No, not really.
I've been working in this style
since around '98 if my memory is right. I met Ben a couple years later
online (pre-30 Days) and we hit it off because we both had similar aspirations.
We're both heavily influenced by Ashley Wood's digital techniques, but
going back farther I've been into Bill Sienkiewicz since I was in elementary
school. In middle school maybe, I discovered the Epic
line which had tons of significant painters and influences.
I guess
there's so few people doing painted expressive work in comics anymore,
that the few that remain all get lumped together.
CBB: You’ve both garnered quite a fan
following. Brett’s extensive work spans several titles from numerous
publishers and includes The Surrogates, now a major motion picture from
Touchstone Pictures. Nathan, your work on the Image title Olympus was
very highly acclaimed by critics, readers, and your peers. What brought
you two industry heavyweights together for this series?
NHE: Our simultaneous endurance
of troublesome cats.
CBB: What has the joint effort been like
for the two of you, and can we hope to see future collaborations from
you?
NHE: We can hope for it.
But…one thing at a time.
CBB: Nathan, you have another new series
coming soon. Can you tell us anything about that?
NHE: I have three lined up
for this year and next. The next project (assuming no last minute
scheduling changes, and as we all know, those are not unheard of!)
will be a post Cold War espionage story with a sci-fi twist. And
if we’ve measured these chemicals just right, it’s going to be one
hell of a bang when it all comes together.