I had a blast working with Count Crowley creator David Dastmalchian on our brand new one-shot, Criminal Macabre/Count Crowley: From The Pit They Came. This special issue has Cal McDonald and Jerri Bartman (Count Crowley) meet and join forces chasing monsters. Hitting stores on October 26th from Dark Horse, David and I decided to do a back and forth interview. Here it is below, enjoy!
David: Do you remember the first horror film you saw and what is the lasting memory of that experience?
Steve: You know, thinking back, it was more like a shotgun blast than a single bullet that started me loving horror. There were many films I saw as a kid like THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN’T DIE that blew me away. That was the first time I saw gore and was completely floored. I remember seeing NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD way too young and being repelled and attracted at the same time. If I had to really think back, I’d have to say FRANKENSTEIN made the single biggest impression. That scene where he is revealed turning in the door gives me chills to this day. It was also where I found my love of monsters.
Steve: What was your first love of horror experience, TV, Comics, a film? When did you realize you loved monsters?
David: I have this very vivid memory of sneaking down into the basement of my childhood home in Kansas to watch “Cremate Mortem’s Creature Feature” and she was playing the Hammer classic “Curse of the Werewolf. My heart broke for Oliver Reed while simultaneously being absolutely horrified of his lupine ferocity when the transformation took place. I really got “bit” and have never been cured.
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David: When you were creating Cal McDonald, were there any personal, literary or cinematic inspirations that you felt help shape the character?
Steve: Cal initially came out of my love of Raymond Chandler and Hunter S. Thompson. My first couple attempts were, well, pretty cliche and weird. We’re talking the mid-eighties here to age myself. I added monsters and a ghoul and things started to fall into place. When I created Cal I had next to no hope of getting published so my audience was my friends. A lot of the outrageousness and drug use came out of that. I was trying to make my friends laugh, but in many ways he has reflected my own life, too.
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Steve: Along the same lines, where did Jerri and Count Crowley come from and how does she reflect you personally? Also, what are your plans for her future?
David: Ever since gluing my eyes to Crematia’s Creature Feature, I would imagine a heroic monster-hunter who was living a secret life as small town horror host. As I grew up and faced my own personal monsters, I decided to take that age-old (and very wise) advice that says “writer you know”. I made my hero a person battling addiction, depression and imposter syndrome while up against creatures ripped from the sets or pages of my favorite monster books and movies! Up next for Jerri is the massive battle she must face to prove her theory that some monsters can be redeemed. Things are about to get VERY bloody.
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David: When you’re writing, do you factor scares into the script? Speaking of scares, can you think of a moment you wrote into the script that you worried might be too gruesome for publication?
Steve: I’m always aware of getting some scares into a story. Sometimes it’s a visual, sometimes a creepy bit of dialogue, sometimes a (hopefully) disturbing caption. It’s funny because the three times I think I pushed it with an especially gruesome scene, it’s been in prose stories I’ve written. There’s one in particular, a Cal McDonald story actually, where he is forced to eat a piece of himself. Nasty stuff.
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Steve: Last question. When is comes to acting, is there a classic horror character or theme you’ve always wanted to do?
David: STEVE! This is the hardest question! I’m afraid that if I say one above the other, I will somehow not get to do one of the other characters… but alas, if there is a silver-bullet loaded revolver to my head and I have to choose just ONE, I will say… Lawrence Talbot. The Wolfman himself. I am so haunted by the idea of a werewolf. The fear of something lurking within yourself that may or may not be real, that may or may not be deadly. I suppose every vampire, mummy, creature, slasher and possessed priest comes just behind a lycanthropic lad.
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David: And now the final question for you, good sir. What is the advice you wish someone had given you when you embarked on the mad journey of a writer/creator? For those comic-collecting, film-fanatic, horror-hounding scribes out there… what say you?
Steve: I think the one bit of advice I wish I’d heard was that nothing happens overnight. You have to stick with it. You have to spend years, decades sometimes, honing your skills. I started in my teens and worked years and years before anything happened. Not many realize it but I was in my thirties when 30 Days of Night happened. Though I had written for years, that was the beginning of my career in many ways. It took a while. So yeah, that’s the best advice I can give, stick with it and never give up.
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A huge shout-out to Count Crowley artist Lukas Ketner, colorist Lauren Affe, and letterer Frank Cvetkovic who provide the amazing art for this special crossover collaboration issue. Go to Dark Horse Comics to learn more!