To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Chaos and the 10th anniversary of Dynamite, the Chaos universe is coming to Dynamite Entertainment in the form of a six issue mini-series written by none-other than Tim Seeley. Writer Ande Parks interviewed Seeley about this series and how the book came to be.
ANDE PARKS: Okay… I have to open with a confession. I have not read the Chaos characters before. That either makes me a perfect interviewer for this issue, or a lousy one. Forgive me if it's the latter. That said, I thought your first issue did a great job re-introducing the characters and setting things in motion. It must have been quite a chore, getting everyone in play so efficiently. Can you talk about that process? How do you balance bringing new readers along vs. satisfying long-term fans?
TIM SEELEY: Ha, well, you're not the only modern comic creator who didn't read the CHAOS! books back in the day. I think most people who work in the industry now were reading Vertigo comics when Chaos! debuted. I was one of those weirdos reading both.
AP: Did you come to this book as a long-time fan of this set of characters?
TS: I did. I was a teenage horror fan in the early 90s looking for something, and Evil Ernie came along at a perfect moment. To me, Brian Pulido figured out a perfect combination of heavy metal, punk rock, Jack Kirby world building and slasher movies.
My idea was to reintroduce the characters given what I believed was the most important aspect of what made that character unique, special and lovable (or hate-able.) So, the characters determined the plot really, instead of the plot determining what I did with the characters. That made it weirdly easy actually. And, I guess knowing that was my process I fekt like old-school/long time fans would be satisfied, knowing that despite starting fresh this was about the characters they loved first and foremost.
AP: Describe the logistics of this series, if you can. I gather this book marks the introduction of these Chaos characters at Dynamite. Is it your job to set up a number of other series, as well as tell this big, sis-issue story?
TS: Right, exactly. This is a series that introduces the world these people live in, and tells a contained tale. BUT, it also sets them up to go on in their own stories after this, and play within the shiny new world they live in.
AP: Will this six-issue series have a definite, self-contained ending?
TS: It does.
AP: How do you go about putting together such an expansive story? Was it hard to confine yourself to six issues?
TS: Yeah, kinda. I have sympathy for writers orchestrating big event books, but mine was even tougher since I didn’t have other titles to explore little moments or parallel events. It all had to happen in the six issues. Tha tsaid, I think that made for a tighter, more focused story.
AP: I Mirka Andolfo's work a lot. It's got tons of energy, and the story always flows nicely. Can you talk about the collaboration, and what the artists brings to this series? Feel free to expand to the other creators involved, as well. I'm a fan of the whole lot!
TS: I knew I wanted an artist who brought something different to the table. I think CHAOS! has had a certain look associated with it. I wanted to keep the sexiness but change the 'vibe" of the whole thing. More "dark fantasy" than "heavy metal." More "punk" than "death metal."
AP: What else are you busy with these days?
TS: Oy. So much!
I have REVIVAL every month. And SUNDOWNERS from DARK HORSE in July! I'm also working on BATMAN ETERNAL and GRAYSON at DC. WHEW!
CHAOS is available today at your LCS. Check out a preview of the first 5 pages here.
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