Steve Niles | Horror Writer

David Dastmalchian Steve Niles Dual Interview!

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!

'October Faction' explores family and monster drama

'October Faction' explores family and monster drama

 Brian Truitt, USA TODAY5:38 p.m. EDT October 6, 2014

Sorry, Reggie Jackson. Steve Niles is now Mr. October.

The horror writer is infamous for his works meant to be read around Halloween — 30 Days of Night, anyone? — but his latest comic book The October Faction, debuting Wednesday from IDW Publishing, is actually more about the human drama than the supernatural type.

"We live in a world where monsters come in all shapes and sizes," says Niles, who co-created The October Faction with artist Damien Worm. "Yes, we all have these preconceived notions of what a monster is, and that's something we want to explore. It is a little self-reflective.

"The creepy stuff is what comes naturally to me. What's exciting is finding these relationships and exploring them."

Niles' new effort revolves around retired monster hunter Frederick Allan trying to save his family, including ever-more-estranged wife Deloris and his kids Geoff and Vivian.

As The October Faction opens, the Allans are pretty much shattered, according to Niles. Frederick has been more focused on teaching his classics and lectures about various monsters than connecting with his clan. And it shows: Deloris is sneaking around doing something sketchy behind everyone's back while his son and daughter — both of whom have interesting abilities when it comes to specters — brainstorm on how they can win their father's attention.

"They want to impress their dad by summoning a ghost and capturing it — like all kids do," Niles says with a laugh. "But if your dad was a retired monster hunter, that'd be the kind of stuff you're aspiring for."

First, however, Frederick has to figure out that there's an issue in the first place because, well, he's kind of a jerk.

"He wants to forget about the past because he think it's going to bring danger to the family so he's not listening to his family at all," Niles says. "His family is desperate for his attention and he thinks he's helping them but he's not."

Memories are a hard thing for Frederick to shake, especially when his old partner Lucas shows up with some news and they reminisce about their 1970s heyday fighting monsters, specifically the mysterious Harlow family incident.

Many years have passed between them "and they both have a lot of regrets," Niles says. "Things have changed and so they're just now coming back together to sort out their memories."

Lucas also happens to be a werewolf, the writer adds, though "being the werewolf isn't the problem. It's something else."

 

While Niles has long avoided "team books," October Faction has a big cast with more families than just the Allans. One supporting character to watch out for is Dante, a 16-year-old "little Frankenstein kid" with the nickname Robot Face who doesn't know who he is or why somebody strapped a steel head on him in a lab.

Niles admits that everyone immediately thinks The Addams Family or The Munsterswhen they see the Allans' spooky façade — and their haunted-looking house — but he's not being that tongue-in-cheek thing.

Instead The October Faction reflects themes from some of Niles' favorite films likeFrankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon and King Kong.

"Those all have the same kind of thing in common where they wouldn't have been monsters if you hadn't messed with them," the writer says. "If you poke them with a stick long enough they're monsters, but they're not monsters by nature."

Niles, who loves all kinds of things that everybody else thinks is dark and terrifying, sees those kinds of notions often up close and personal.

"Like right now, everybody's decorating their house for Halloween, and I've gotta go buy pumpkins. That's it," Niles says. "It's a thing that happens to me in my own life where people refer to things as ugly and nasty and so monsters must be evil. You know, that's not always the case.

"That's something I like to talk about and definitely will be a part of The October Faction. A lot of what we perceive as horror is very normal for the Allan family."

 

HALLOWEEN ALL YEAR ROUND

Where Hav all the Editors Gon?

Over the years I've gotten lazy about editing. I've always relied on the fact that I've had great editors who would catch most errors or challenge weak plot points. Those days are all but gone it seems. I have maybe one or two real editors now. The rest are just trafficking projects. I almost never read my books once printed but I picked one up recently and my hair stood on end. Basically my rough draft had been published. It was horrible. Mistake after mistake and not one note about any of it from my editor. Not one.

That's fine. It's my fault. I got lazy. I wasn't looking.

Because of this I have made two major changes. One, I proofread the hell out of everything and I DO NOT rely of Spell Check or anything automated (that's what made me lazy in the first place). 

I have also brought on a couple freelance editors to call me out when I screw up. A good editor isn't just a spell checker. I good editor helps shape the story and make sure the final product is up to snuff. Seems those days are long gone. I am lucky to have the editors I do have. Those books are consistently better reviewed.

Most of this is just more adapting to this brave new world we are stumbling into blindfolded and gagged. I don't fault the publishers who don't hire editors (and there are more every day). I blame myself for allowing some mistake-riddled books get published and I'm saying it won't happen again. 

Anyway, I miss editors. 

Thanks! 

-Steve

 

Added: Guys. I'm not trashing any specific publisher at all so please stop writing my editors and trying to stir things up. Are we all Bleeding Cool now? I have just noticed more errors in all media, not just my own. I catch errors all day long online and even in new books. It's not about good publishers or bad publishers. It's about people giving into technology too much and too soon. It would be great if the push of a button did what a human editor can do but it can't and that's all I was saying. I have longterm relationships with my editors at IDW and Dark Horse. I love these people and they help make the comics readable. So please, this was not a trash session. Just wanted to discuss something I've noticed. Thanks.

 

Added: I am all covered on proofreaders and I have two freelance editors now I can use. Really what I was commenting on is the disappearing editor in all forms of media. It's a disturbing trend where something that shouldn't be phased out is being phased out and I think work is suffering for it.

Added: And to clarify, I still have some great editors that I have worked with for a long time at companies like IDW and Dark Horse; editors who make notes and challenge story. This is just something that's disappearing and I'm not sure why. Like newspapers firing photographers and giving reporters iphone training, it just seems like we are giving in to technology a bit too soon.

 

BREATH OF BONES INSTAGRAM CONTEST

A British plane crashes in a Jewish village, sparking a Nazi invasion. Using clay and mud from the river, the villagers bring to life a giant monster to battle for their freedom and future. 

Now it's YOUR turn to build a Golem

We're giving away five limited edition golem figures and copies of Steve Niles' Breath of Bones hardcover book in physical and digital versions to those with the best crafting skills!

 

To enter, create your own Golem figure, post it to Instagram and tag @darkhorsecomics. Make sure to include the hashtag #mygolem.  

 

You can make your Golem out of any substance—clay, peanut butter, blocks, etc—just as long as it doesn't come alive and start terrorizing your neighborhood. We're not covered for that. 

Contest ends March 4th. Have fun!  

 

 

FINE PRINT: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. CONTEST IS NOT ENDORSED, SPONSORED, OR ADMINISTERED BY INSTAGRAM. MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE BY ENTRY DATE. CONTEST ENTRIES ONLY ACCEPTED IF SUBMITTED BY 11:59PM (PDT), MAR 3, 2014. FIVE WINNERS WILL BE SELECTED FROM ALL APPLICABLE ENTRIES BY DARK HORSE'S STAFF BASED ON MERIT. DETERMINATION OF MERIT WILL BE AT DARK HORSE'S SOLE DISCRETION AND ITS JUDGMENT IS FINAL AND UNAPPEALABLE. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED BY MAR 7TH, 2014. ENTRY BECOMES THE PROPERTY OF DARK HORSE UPON RECEIPT. ENTRY CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT BY WINNERS TO BE PUBLICIZED AND PERMISSION TO USE EACH WINNER'S NAME FOR THE PURPOSES OF PROMOTION OF THE CONTEST WITHOUT FURTHER COMPENSATION. CONTEST VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.