Towards the tail end of last year and ramping up big time with the beginning of this one, BOOM! has been endeavoring to expand their publishing line with all kinds of comics. While the publisher had certainly developed a positive reputation amongst its fanbase, it appears that 2014 was the year when they will push beyond that and try out new things, different things, different creators for different content — whether that be something like “Curse,” Max Bemis’ “Evil Empire” or the highly anticipated “Dead Letters.”
And today, BOOM! brings us “The Returning” by Jason Starr and Andrea Mutti, in which a young woman named Beth wakes up from a Near-Death Experience, only to find herself changed and in a world that has a zero tolerance policy for those who don’t stay dead. You don’t want to miss it.
“The Returning” is in stores right now. Take a look below at our chat with Jason Starr and Andrea Mutti and don’t forget to pick up a copy when you head to your local comic emporium today.
Tell me a bit about the series. How did the two of you originally come to work together?
Jason Starr: We met several years ago in New York City after we had both worked on graphic novels for Vertigo. We hit it off and started brainstorming about potential original projects to work on together. I love Andrea’s stark, realistic style and thought it would work well with my writing, and we share a dark, twisted vision.
Andrea Mutti: We met together in NY during a DC party. I was a fan of his books published in Italy and, damn, when I talked with him….yay! Blood brothers! I love his writing touch…gritty, violent, essential and realistic.
BOOM! refers to the book as a genre mash-up between fantasy, horror and mystery — can you talk a bit about how these different elements play into one another?
JS: Well, I guess I am known primarily as a crime, thriller writer, but I don’t feel bound by any genre or labels and am really just interested in writing stories that excite me, no matter what the genre. For example, early in my career I wrote several noir/crime novels, but I think they can also be classified as psychological horror novels, or even really dark comedies. Recently I wrote two novels for Penguin, “The Pack” and “The Craving,” which have a crime/thriller/mystery element but also have a big fantasy, paranormal element. So I am all for genre bending, and only care about story. I think “The Returning” certainly has a lot of psychological horror in it, but there’s also a lot of physical horror and suspense. Who knows? Maybe we create a new genre with this book. I think that’s what it’s all about–pushing the boundaries, and hopefully giving readers something unique.
AM: So the concept at the beginning was focused on just one hero, and was maybe too supernatural. But we moved the POV on a new character, Beth, and everything became more realistic… but the elements remained supernatural and start from the NDE’s experiences….a dark mix of genres with a very solid and realistic language, so close to the TV shows that we see in these years, and I think that the psychological part is really interesting and cool.
One thing that I find fascinating is, I think there are sort of obvious genre-ties to the idea of “dying” and “coming back to life,” but this book doesn’t go all the way down that road. What inspired the different take on this genre-staple?
JS: I wanted it to make this world feel real, make readers believe this could actually happen. So, yeah, it’s about near death experiences and people coming back “changed,” at its core it’s a humanistic story about Beth, a teenager, and the real horror she experiences.
AM: I agree, it’s not just a super-hero-supernatural series —is about real life, and asks some real questions about “what happens when you come back?” Of course there are lots of fictional things inside, but we are focused on the real people that can live an extraordinary experience…in this case not always a happy one!
Continued belowIt also sounds like there’s certainly going to be some political and social ideas explored in the book as well. Is there anything you guys are looking at towards inspiration, both story wise and visually?
JS: I think the book probably does explore some social points and political ideas, and hopefully it’s going to feel very current and real. When I’m writing I’m so wrapped up, thinking about the story and characters, that I rarely consciously try to make points about anything. I want this sort of stuff to come out naturally, almost by accident. But, yeah, I think this is a provocative story that will get people riled up and talking.
AM: I think that can be scary to have your sweet uncle that becomes a crazy fool killer with fool ideas in his mind…like “hey…who is insane and who is not here?” We put the DOUBT in the reader’s mind with several twists and shocking events. We close the page with a question mark and we open with a big: !!!!!!! Does that make sense?
What kind of research was done in order to prepare for the book? It sounds like there was quite a bit of extensive look into the science of Near-Death Experiences?
JS: I try to do just enough research to make my books seem real. Personally, I love learning something new when I read any fiction, but I don’t like being hit over the head by the writer. So I’m very conscious of this when I’m writing, because I wanted to write the kind of stuff I love to read, and in “The Returning” we only know as much as Beth knows. Ultimately, there’s some science involved, but just enough that makes sense. Mostly it’s Andrea and me using our imaginations, doing a lot of world building, which honestly is much more fun–for me–than going to the library and doing research.
AM: I was fascinated about NDE’s. I am a fan of everything that does not have a clear answer. I saw several docs about that and read several articles on the net. I think that there is a LINK between us. I prefer, like Jason, to start with a real thing and go on with imagination, fiction, entertainment, but credible.
It seems like there are certainly some twisted roads this book can travel down. Are you guys hoping to push boundaries or limits with this series in terms of the horror aspect? How dark are you planning to get?
JS: There won’t be anything gratuitous, or that isn’t organic to the characters and story. That said, this is a story about dying and killing and vengeance, so there’s going to be a lot of violence and, and as far as dark twists, yeah, we’re going all the way, baby!
AM: Sure! No gratuitous violence or blood, but if we need…hey, we aren’t shy with RED! Of course the first thing is to tell a SOLID and TWISTED story—that is our goal!
What can you tell me about our heroine, Beth? What kind of a person is she, and what is she like when we meet her?
JS: She’s led a normal life in an abnormal world. The story is set in Elkhart, Indiana, but it’s Elkhart in the near future. There’s a lot of paranoia in the world, a lot of distrust, but despite this Beth’s lived a relatively happy life. Of course this is about to change.
AM: A normal girl that THINKS that her world can’t change. Linear life, home, parents, school, guys…is it not perfect in this little village? No…it’s not.
So what about your work are you hoping to push or explore different sides of in this series?
JS: There is more world building, and more horror, than there has been in anything I have written to this point. I also love writing from the point of view of a teenager, which I have done in my novels, like “Tough Luck,” but I haven’t done this in a comic. But while there are mystery and crime elements in the story, this is probably closer to “The Hunger Games,” and “The Walking Dead,” and “Carrie” than to my crime fiction.
Continued belowAM: Yes, that’s correct, but I can see the STARR’s touch in the dialogue and in the rhythm…It’s so cool!
Andrea, one thing I’ve noticed about your work is you sort of excel at gloomy, moody artwork. How are you hoping to play with that in regards to this series?
AM: I am a super fan of the climax of a story. I have a new graphic style here—more gritty, nervous, and rough. My intention is to make the readers more and more tense, page by page. I play with the expressions, especially in the first issue. I hope to transmit the same “bad feeling” that I have when I draw the pages, like in the TV show HARPERS ISLAND. High tension frame by frame, so…I hope that I can nail that!
Is there anything in particular you hope this book evokes with the readers? Are you hoping to shock or bring up thematic debates, or perhaps a mix of both?
JS: My intention is to write a cool, twisted, story–that’s pretty much it. I just want to entertain people. But, yeah, if we get people talking and debating that will be a bonus.
AM: I hope that the readers do not see the same things we do in this comic, in their neighbors! 😉 BEWARE!
