Tagged: Dark Horse

One of this year’s big additions to the Hellboy universe has been the series BPRD: 1946, which puts the spotlight on Trevor Bruttenholm as he investigates the occult legacy of the Third Reich.

I recently caught up with series co-writer Joshua Dysart to talk about BPRD, working with Mike Mignola and Dysart’s strange journey into comics writing. Dysart also touched on the wealth of other projects he’s working on, including one based on musician Neil Young’s life and music.

COMICMIX: How did you end up working on BPRD: 1946 and being so closely involved with the Hellboy books for Dark Horse? 

JOSHUA DYSART: It was kind of a long and winding road, as these things mostly are. I first met Mignola and [Editor] Scott Allie in Dallas, Texas at the first Wizard World there in 2004. We hung out by the pool table in the bar together and just talked. Our aesthetic was very similar. About six to eight months later, Scott got me the job on the Van Helsing comic. Which, despite its source material, I’m still really proud of. When Mike was moving out to Los Angeles he showed interest in finding a local writer to work with. Scott mentioned my name. Then Mike went out to a local comic book shop and the owner, a close personal friend of mine, recommended me. We set up a luncheon date and I was terribly, terribly nervous. But I did my little song and dance and it worked out. That was late in 2006.

CMix: That has to be a little intimidating to go pitch yourself to somebody like Mignola.

JD: I was late to the meeting as well, by the way. I ride a bicycle everywhere and at the time didn’t have a cellphone. So on top of being terribly intimidated, I was late with no way to contact him. I thought for sure that being without a cellphone and a car was not going to bode well for me as a professional. But it turned out that Mike didn’t have a car or a cellphone either, and I think there was a sense of a shared value system in this — like two Luddites finding each other amongst the Blackberry/BMW wasteland of Santa Monica, CA. But all the way around it was a pretty terrifying thing, the notion of the meeting.

But in the end, it was fine. Mike is so enthusiastic about his creation — and as a reader, so am I — so I was put at ease very quickly. I don’t think he even noticed I was late.

The advice I got from Scott Allie before the meeting was, “Don’t act like such a fucking hippie.” (more…)

For longtime readers of Nicholas Gurewitch’s weekly, syndicated webcomic Perry Bible Fellowship, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when, late last year, the first print collection of the popular series became the fastest-selling graphic novel in the history of online bookseller Amazon.com.

What did come as a surprise, however, was the announcement that Gurewitch made a few months later.

"I feel I owe it to myself and the Perry Bible Fellowship not to turn a joyful diversion into a long career," wrote Gurewitch in a widely publicized mid-February message to the newspaper and magazine editors running his PBF strips.

Just a few months after The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories, made big news in the publishing world by selling more than $300,000 copies in pre-orders alone, Gurewitch made headlines once again by announcing that he would be cutting back on production of the strip — moving from a weekly schedule to a more manageable routine.

"I’m making this decision for a variety of reasons," he explained, "but mainly because I want to do other things besides be a cartoonist."

According to Gurewitch, the decision was made after realizing that the success of PBF had placed him at a series of creative, personal and professional crossroads, and there was no better time to begin walking a different path.

I spoke with Gurewitch recently about the decision to move Perry Bible Fellowship into "semi-retirement," what he’s doing with his time these days and the frustrating divide between creator’s intent and audience’s interpretation.

COMICMIX: Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Nick. Now that you have a bit more free time, how are you spending it?

NICHOLAS GUREWITCH: I’m working on a few more books to come out through Dark Horse and I’m writing a feature-length movie script that I’ve wanted to write for years. That’s at the forefront of my mind right now. I’m really excited about it.

CMix:  The books you’re working on, are they related to PBF or are they different projects entirely?

NG: One is a sequel or replacement for the Colonel Sweeto book. It’s a more expensive book that has more comics in it. The other would be a spin-off, if you wanted to call it that — it’s a continuation of one of the stories.

CMix: What story?

NG: It’s the one with the French title that looks like a woodcut. It’s about the Grim Reaper trying to dispose of a baby. He fails, and it’s kind of a sad moment that makes you think, because it’s sad that he didn’t kill a baby. But I’m trying to play with that irony a little more in this small book that I’m doing.

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