By Chris Ryall
There is an Alaskan town called Barrow, which is located on the northernmost tip of the state. It sits in a region 340 miles north of the frozen Artic Circle, and is the recipient of one of the harshest polar climates in the nation. From mid-November through late January every year, the town and its 4500 residents are bathed entirely in darkness, as the sun never rises above the skyline during this period. An isolated town in which the sun never shines for over a month straight. Sounds like a perfect place for vampires to take over, doesn’t it?
It’s one of those premises you hear and think it’s so obvious that someone must have told this tale before. But up until 2002, no one had. That was when writer Steve Niles and Australian artist Ben Templesmith captivated comic book audiences with 30 Days of Night, their tale of Barrow, overrun by vampires during the period of darkness. The three-issue mini-series, published by little-known IDW Publishing, thrust Niles and Templesmith into the public eye. The book garnered even more attention when it became the focus of a public bidding war, with DreamWorks SKG, MGM and Sam Raimi’s Senator International all vying for the rights.
In the end, it was Raimi’s production company that acquired the property, which is now out with Raimi attached as one of the film’s producers. Niles and Templesmith have produced two sequels: Dark Days, which follows one of the survivors on her quest to expose vampires to the world, and Return to Barrow, a look at the town since the initial attacks.
Niles has quickly become one of comics’ most prolific writers and one of the key individuals responsible for horror comics’ recent resurgence. He has numerous film projects in development: Dimension is producing adaptations of Wake the Dead, Niles’ Frankenstein update, and Hyde, a re-telling of the tale of Dr. Jekyll and his alter-ego. Criminal Macabre, featuring his recurring character Cal McDonald (a drug-addled, monster-hunting private dick), is also in active development.
In addition to his other ongoing comic and film projects, Niles also formed Creep Entertainment with rocker Rob Zombie. The two released their first co-written project, The Nail, a blending of horror, black humor and professional wrestling.
But what of the man who allows all these demons to burst forth from his head and be given free reign on the page? Is he as disturbed as his work would seem to imply or is he perhaps more normal than the rest of us, who keep such thoughts hidden away in the recesses of our mind?
Niles took time away from horror conventions and meetings with video game designers, which in turn take time away from his writing desk (which might be more appropriately titled his crawlspace) and talked to us about getting his start, his body of work and the many film adaptations of his comics in the works.
PENNY BLOOD: Growing up, what sorts of movies and comics captivated you? What really spurred on your love of horror? Specifically, what writers or filmmakers have you always admired?
NILES: Everything always goes back to Richard Matheson and George Romero. Those were my first heroes and influences. As a young, young kid I was scared to death of horror movies but I'd always watch them anyway, then one day I saw Night of the Living Dead and my whole life change. For the first time I was frightened and exhilarated. It was later I learned that Romero was influenced by Matheson's novel I Am Legend which became my favorite book of all time. Others that have hugely effected me are the early Universal monster movies, and the AIP films of the ‘50s like I Was a Teenage Werewolf.
PENNY BLOOD: Speaking of the ‘50s, horror comics seemed to peak around that same time, but they also suffered maybe more than any other genre with the advent of the Comics Code Authority. Consequently, horror comics when you grew up were, pardon the expression, defanged. It got so bad that in the 1970s, the biggest publisher at the time, Marvel Comics, was forced to refer to the walking dead as “zuvembies,” a nonsense word used in place of “zombies.” Yet Tomb of Dracula and other comics still managed to find their audience. Did that comic make an impression on you? Were there others that you felt worked even with the restrictions set upon them?
NILES: The Comic Code Authority did a lot of damage to comics, I think, but actually horror was affected the least when you look at the big picture. The code cut the balls off comics and guaranteed comics would be kid’s stuff for decades while the rest of the world explored comics for all ages. I liked Tomb because of Gene Colan's art. None of that Marvel stuff was scary, but it was really cool. Actually that's not completely true. The Tales of the Zombie covers were scary. DC had the edge with the post-code horror stuff. They had [Bernie] Wrightson and they also realized that you didn't need blood and guts to scare while Marvel was off putting vampires in leotards. What the hell was that?!
PENNY BLOOD: That was the ‘70s…anyway, when did you decide you wanted to make a living as a writer? Was it something you’d always done?
NILES: I always wanted to write, but I never thought I'd be able to make a living off it. I wrote stories for my friends and later began self-publishing to get them out there, but I never expected or dreamed I'd have the luck I've had in the last couple years.
PENNY BLOOD: When and where was your first published work?
NILES: First time self-published, Arcane Comix #1. First time published-published was probably with Eclipse way back in a time we called the Eighties.
PENNY BLOOD: Let’s talk about Arcane Comix, your first attempt at self-publishing. How did this come about?
NILES: I was living in Washington D.C. at the time and was involved in the punk scene. In D.C. it was all about doing it yourself, make your own records, your own shows and so on, so when I decided I wanted to do some comics I knew I wanted to do it myself. I blame punk rock for getting me into comics.
PENNY BLOOD: Your early works are adaptations of works by renowned writers like Harlan Ellison, Richard Matheson and a young Clive Barker. How did these adaptations come about? Did you personally meet with any of these writers? Do you feel you did justice to their works? More importantly in the case of fiery, outspoken folks like Harlan Ellison, do they feel you did them justice?
NILES: I was lucky enough to meet Clive early on before he became a giant superstar. We got along very well and became friends. At first I wasn't even going to do the adaptations. We gave them out to other writers and the scripts came back terrible so I took a crack with the goal being to keep the original story intact - something the other writers wouldn't or couldn't do - and that seemed to work well. I'm most proud of those single-volume Barker adaptations like The Yattering and Jack, Son of Celluloid, and Rawhead Rex. Those felt like Clive's stories. Adapting I Am Legend was different and slightly before Barker's. I was in awe of the novel and I didn't want to cut anything so I didn't. I think of I Am Legend as an illustrated novel more than a comic adaptation. I mean, aren't adaptations supposed to be shorter than the original source material? With Ellison I never spoke to him once, but I heard through the editors at Dark Horse that he was quite happy with what I did which was just sticking to the story and not trying to inject myself into it.
PENNY BLOOD: From Arcane, you relocated to L.A. to work first for Disney Interactive and then for Todd McFarlane [publisher of Spawn]. How did McFarlane first become aware of your work and come to hire you?
NILES: Disney Interactive laid me off after a year and after working at some book stores I ran into Ted Adams who was an editor at TMP at the time. He got me the work, then he went off and formed IDW and left me alone with McFarlane!
PENNY BLOOD: You worked on Spawn: The Dark Ages for McFarlane, a sword-and-sorcery comic that nevertheless featured its share of demons and horror elements. Was this a genre you’d previously had interest in? And is it one you’d care to revisit at some point? Is there a good Conan story in you waiting to come out?
NILES: Spawn: the Dark Ages was a lot of fun, but we never really got a chance to do much because we were confined by the Spawn character. Someday I'd love to do a full-blown barbarian story. In fact, I have one called...never mind. I won't start pitching you.
PENNY BLOOD: Even as you worked on Spawn: The Dark Ages, you were working on your own creations like Cal McDonald. Tell us about this character’s creation. Was Cal influenced by the works of Raymond Chandler or other writers of hard-boiled detective fiction?
NILES: I discovered Chandler and Jim Thompson at the same time and read everything I could get my hands on. I also binged on Hammett, Goodis and eventually Elroy. I love hard-boiled writing. It's so spare and cold but at the same time emotional. I wrote two hard-boiled characters before Cal. I was pretty much imitating Chandler, trying to add modern bits here and there, trying to find something new, but it all sucked. Then one day I threw in this ghoul named Mo'Lock who talked to Cal in an alleyway and suddenly stories started coming fast. I remember writing Hairball [one of the first comics featuring Cal] and making all my friends read it.
PENNY BLOOD: Similarly, when did the idea for 30 Days of Night first come to you? When the book was announced, I imagine writers the nation over slapping their foreheads and cursing that they hadn’t thought of this idea first.
NILES: I thought of it years ago when I was living in Minneapolis. It wasn't a big deal. At least I didn't think so. It was Ted at IDW who saw the idea on my pitch list and saw some potential.
PENNY BLOOD: Vampires throughout history, and especially since the days of Anne Rice, have been increasingly romanticized in their portrayal. The act of a vampire biting a woman’s neck under cover of night is shown as a sensual, almost loving, act. Not with you, though. In your works, vampires are, for the most part, dirty lowlifes who view humans as nothing but playthings and foodstuff. Necks aren’t caressed and lovingly sucked, they’re torn out and feasted upon. Is this portrayal a reaction to the overly romantic depiction over the years or just simply the way you see vampirism affecting someone? Bloodlust over lust?
NILES: I love Anne Rice's vampires for their drama and stories but I never bought all of that gothic romantic vampire stuff. To me, vampires, and all monsters, aren't all one thing, one emotion, one purpose. I like the idea that some vampires are assholes and some aren't, just like people. Plus, I like my vampires scary and there's nothing scary about the romanticized vampire...except maybe their fashion sense.
PENNY BLOOD: 30 Days of Night was originally conceived as a screenplay, correct? And yet it took the act of turning that screenplay into a well-received comic book to then interest people into turning it back into a screenplay. How gratifying was it to you to see this project finally take off and then result in a big bidding war?
NILES: Actually I never wrote the screenplay. I only had it written up as a pitch that I pitched all over the place and got a lot of blank stares and flat-out rejections. It was extremely gratifying when it sold, but not because I wanted to thumb my nose at the people who hadn't bought it. I don't like to think like that. It was gratifying to me because IDW, Ben [Templesmith, the artist] and I had done it ourselves and paved the way for more work.
PENNY BLOOD: Suddenly this property you’ve shopped for a number of years is being embraced by the comic book and film communities. Did many people who had previously passed on your work try to get in touch with you now?
NILES: Sure, but like I said, I don't hold any grudge. Life's too short. Besides I put a hex on every last one of them. Did you ever turn me down for work?
PENNY BLOOD: Not yet, I haven’t. How involved are you in the process of adapting your comics for the big screen? You’re writing the screenplays for both 30 Days of Night and a Cal McDonald movie, correct?
NILES: I wrote the screenplay for 30 Days of Night and I'm currently writing the screenplay for Criminal Macabre. We set up Wake the Dead and Hyde at Dimension as well, but for those I'm serving as producer.
PENNY BLOOD: How has it been working with Sam Raimi and his production company on the 30 Days of Night movie thus far? His pedigree alone is sure to entice horror buffs to check it out.
NILES: Working with Raimi was really fun. For about two and a half months we met once or twice a week to pound out the comic-to-film story. He pays special attention to character and how each one fits into the story and changes the flow of the story. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience besides also being one of the crowning horror geek moments of my life. I mean, the guy made Evil Dead, after all.
PENNY BLOOD: Another project, Wake the Dead, is being adapted by X2 screenwriter Michael Dougherty. How is it seeing someone else develop your project? Are you working with him at all on the script or does he just take his lead from the comics and run with things himself?
NILES: Man, I love seeing what other people do with my stuff. I really enjoy collaboration and so does Mike so we've worked very closely on a couple versions of Wake the Dead and it's coming along great. We're this close to getting a director.
PENNY BLOOD: Let’s talk about the process of writing comics in this time of Hollywood’s fevered optioning of these properties. You start to develop an idea like Hyde, a retelling of Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous work, as a comic book. Months before an issue of the comic is ever released, an announcement is made that the story has been optioned. How does this come about so quickly? Do you shop the property as a comic and potential movie at the same time?
NILES: First of all, Mr. Stevenson will be spinning in his grave when my version comes out! Compared to Wake the Dead, it's a very loose spin on the original. It's been different every time. When Dimension picked up Wake the Dead, we happened to have the pitch for Hyde ready so they snagged that up as well having seen the concept and the art.
PENNY BLOOD: Talking about Hyde specifically, how do you see the character? He’s made some recent movie appearances, in the less-than-acclaimed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and also as a cameo in the less-than-acclaimed Van Helsing. Will your version be more of a definitive retelling? And regarding the cinematic version, do you envision Hyde as an all-CGI creation or as an actor in makeup?
NILES: I always thought the Hyde character has been handled pretty light, that is until [Alan] Moore [author of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen graphic novel] did what he did, but I want to push it even further. If Hyde is supposed to be pure evil, then I want to see a character stripped of any semblance of reason or goodness. That's what he is in Hyde.
PENNY BLOOD: Looking at Hyde and Wake the Dead, a theme of some of your books has been a retelling or redefining of known entities, like Frankenstein’s monster, Mr. Hyde or Bigfoot. Is this an effort on your part to introduce new audiences to these famous monsters, to make them relevant again? Or is the appeal the same as writing James Bond for the spy genre, the chance to put your mark on characters that have captured your imagination since childhood?
NILES: I'm not sure it's all one or the other. I love writing and I love writing horror and monsters. The idea that I might introduce somebody to any aspect of the genre, reading comics, or just reading in general really excites me. So does the opportunity to play with iconic characters, but the motivation is always very simple for me; I'd be writing anyway. The fact that people want to publish it and read it just blows me away.
PENNY BLOOD: Are there other existing properties you’d like to take a crack at updating? Mothra or Them! or maybe even The Creature from the Black Lagoon?
NILES: I'd give my left nut to write Creature from the Black Lagoon.
PENNY BLOOD: Let’s say you were offered the chance to develop a script for more current monster-movie characters. Could you make Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger interesting again?
NILES: No contest, Mike Myers. I think he has the most going on inside his head and I'd love a chance to crack it open.
PENNY BLOOD: You recently formed Creep Entertainment Intl., a horror-themed production company, with Rob Zombie. How did this collaboration first come about?
NILES: Rob begged and pleaded just to hang out with me. I got sick of listening to him whine day after day so I finally suggested we form a company. Turns out we want to do a lot of similar stuff.
PENNY BLOOD: Rob’s visual acuity is evident in his art, his music and his movie, House of 1000 Corpses. Does the collaborative process become easier when writing alongside someone as visually oriented as Rob? What other strengths does he bring to your joint efforts?
NILES: I’m very character- and big concept- oriented and Rob is into detail and visual aspects of the work. I think we each bring different things to the table, but the biggest is a love of what we do.
PENNY BLOOD: Thus far, Creep Entertainment has served as an imprint for properties you and Rob have developed together, The Nail, Bigfoot and Lords of Salem. Do you see the company expanding beyond these efforts? Will you ever look to produce projects that you didn’t develop yourself? Or possibly move into other pop-culture arenas like magazines, video games or even television? Will Cal McDonald ever become a first-person shooter or an HBO drama?
NILES: We have no plans to expand for the first few years. Rob and I are still working out the kinks working together so we want to concentrate on that before we take on more. Eventually we would like the comics to lead to films and videogames as I would with everything else I'm doing. The day I have either a Cal figure or game is the day I lay in my grave a happy man. How sad is that?
PENNY BLOOD: You and Rob both had Bigfoot projects in mind when you first met. Whose version won out in the project you’re working on together? What’s your take on Bigfoot going to be?
NILES: Without giving too much away, Bigfoot is going back to the idea that these creatures are scary, they are monsters who will kill and eat anyone and anything that gets in their path. This will not be the Bigfoot from Harry and the Hendersons. That pansy-ass Wookie rip-off would cry like a baby if he ran into the Bigfoot Rob and I are creating.
PENNY BLOOD: As immersed in the horror genre as you are, you no doubt read and hear lots of interesting tales of the supernatural. What are your personal beliefs as to the existence of any of these more fantastic elements? Could a giant serpent really be at the bottom of a Scottish lake? Are goats really being drained of blood by demonic animals? And could the missing link between ape and man really be prowling the woods of the Northwest, among other places?
NILES: I have a very odd view of spiritual matters. I'm open to everything, but I believe in nothing. I hope and pray there's more out there in the world than what meets the eye, but I'm not going to waste too much time worrying about it. I think there could be Bigfeets and Loch Ness monsters, but I haven't seen them so until then I'll reserve judgment.
PENNY BLOOD: When you first started writing, did you always intend to focus on the horror genre? You’ve since written books that are decidedly non-horror, like Fused (a tale of a scientist trapped inside a robotic body), but the majority of your books could be lumped together by the unenlightened as “horror.”
NILES: I started writing as a kid. I sucked, but I couldn't draw like my friends so I wrote these zombie stories and eventually started making Super 8 movies - yes, I'm 114 years old - and they were horror, too...and horrible. I don't mind the horror label. People need to label for some reason. I think of myself as a writer who writes a lot of scary shit, but I write other genres too.
PENNY BLOOD: So you don’t feel the description of you as a “horror writer” is too limiting or are you comfortable being seen in this light? Does this description make critics less apt to take your work as seriously as they might other genre writers?
NILES: For me it's doubly weird because I think my stuff wanders all over the place. I think Cal is more humor than horror. I think some of the 30 Days stuff is more drama than horror, but if people want me to be the horror guy, I'll do it. I love horror. I don't mind.
PENNY BLOOD: You grew up in Washington D.C., home to many scary folks and horror stories of its own. Yet your work seems decidedly apolitical. Did growing up in a political town make any impression on you or your work?
NILES: I feel the same way about my politics as I do about my spiritual beliefs, they are all over the place. I really hate it when people force either on me so I generally try to avoid injecting my beliefs. I like creating characters with their own fucked up ideas.
PENNY BLOOD: Your more recent comic book efforts have moved beyond strictly the horror genre. Alistair Arcane, the story of a late-night schlock movie host, was quite touching in places. Freaks of the Heartland is horrific as much for the vision of Americana presented within its pages as it is for any of the real monsters. Do you have plans to write anything that crosses into other genres? Straight superhero books? Westerns? A romantic comedy? I guess what I’m asking is, do you have a soft side you want to show to the world?
NILES: I just turned in my first superhero book into DC Comics. It was a blast and a half. As for other genres, sure, if I have the story or a character. That's where it starts for me. I don't really have a soft side or a desperate need to show the world that I'm 'not just a horror guy' because I like who I am and what I do. But if I do decide to show my soft spot, you'll be the first to know.
