1) What was the inspiration behind your graphic
novel?
I grew up in the
80s, and when I was a kid I recorded two movies from HBO onto one videotape. Weird Science and Lifeforce. Ever since, those two films have been connected in my
head. Nerd fantasy gone wrong and naked hot chick killing everyone she meets.
Combine these with a healthy dose of paranoia of the “other” from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (the only
two versions that count), and you start laying the foundations for Lesbian Zombies from Outer Space.
And then there’s
Fashion and Pornography. Driving around Los Angeles, I noticed a billboard one
day for perfume or makeup or something. And the girl was young and naked and
alone. Her eyes sinking into the dark makeup around them said she had no real
soul, no real volition. She could be told to do anything. And I saw this theme
everywhere: thin, underdressed girls lounging around, their eyes zoned out like
zombies, their bodies looking too much like corpses, their desire omnipresent, their
sexual appetite voracious and diverse. And my next thought was Lesbian Zombies.
Unlike the hero
of our story, Ace, I don’t watch a lot of porn because my imagination can take
care of any arousal duties when needed. But, like many guys out there, the
thought of two girls rubbing and kissing and fondling one another is a big turn
on. Lesbians: but lesbians who ultimately want to be finished off by the real
protagonist of the fantasy, me. I mean, yeah, it’s absurd. So I thought more
and more about the absurdity. Not just why and how lesbians would have any
interest in the male reproductive organ, but also why there were so many people
out there against – and disgusted by – the idea of homosexuality; yet still they
were turned on by the female version of it.
I guess there’s
a lot of ways you could go with that line of thought. But if these women on the
billboards and in these porn movies were our slaves, our creatures, what
happens when those creatures rebel and turn the fantasy into a nightmare?
2) Why choose the graphic novel over
say a regular novel? What drew you into the world of comics?
I love writing,
but novels are too damned long (for writing, not for reading). I got interested
in writing movie scripts years ago over a beer-induced dare, and I’ve been
writing scripts ever since. Movie scripts and comic scripts are similar in
that, even when the script is done, it is not a finished product. It is only a
plan for a product. In other words, if movie studios aren’t throwing money at
you to write their next blockbuster, writing scripts can get pretty frustrating
since you rarely get to see them become their fully-formed selves.
I initially
wrote Lesbian Zombies from Outer Space
as a low-budget feature film. I had just graduated from film school, and I was
somehow going to raise half a million dollars and direct the thing. Yeah,
right. While that budget is miniscule in comparison to most films out there,
it’s way beyond my circle of family and friends. Sadly, I had to accept that Lesbian Zombies was going to be another
useless file on my hard drive like so many others.
But then two
summers ago, a friend of mine threatened to cut off my balls if I didn’t at
least try to turn it into a comic book. Well, my balls were on the line. I
loved reading comics as a kid, and the interest had recently been reignited
with the deluge of comics being turned into movies and TV shows. So I started
doing my research and putting a team together, and here I am. Instead of words on a page, I have a flesh
and blood (lots of blood) (… and flesh, for that matter) story.
3) Which character do you think you identified
with most?
Well, if Ace is my Id, Gwen is my Superego. I’m
not sure that I directly identify with either of them though.
4) What do you hope readers will take
away from your graphic novel?
Ultimately, I just want people to laugh and have fun.
And, if I’m being honest and a bit sadistic, I’d like them to have a brief
flash of fear the next time they’re getting a blowjob…
5) What are some other horror comedies that have
inspired you to write this story?
Two of my
favorite splatter movies are Rodriquez’ Planet
Terror (2007) and James Gunn’s Slither
(2006). Both of these are very self-aware of what they are, and what past films
they comment on. Both are also zombie movies, though not necessarily in the
strict Romero sense of the term.
One of my
favorite movies though, another non-Romero zombie movie, and one which has had
what some might consider an unlikely influence, is Invasion of the Body Snatchers – both the 1956 and 1978 versions
(the rest be damned). I watched both of these films as a kid, and they had a
big impact on me. When Sutherland turns and points with that horrifying shriek
at the end of the 1978 version, it’s one of the most disturbing moments of my
life.
But Lesbian
Zombies for me isn’t all about horror and exploitation. It’s also about sex,
and the anxiety and terror that the idea of sex can bestow. While Shaun
of the Dead called itself a zombie romantic comedy, for me LZfOS is a
zombie teen sex comedy. It’s Porky’s
and it’s American Pie. But most of
all it’s John Hugh’s Weird Science. That
movie, and the sight of Kelly LeBrock in tight leotards, had a big impact on my
childhood, and this story.
6) What are your plans for the future? What is
the future for Ace and company in Lesbian Zombies From Outer Space?
As I write this
I am about to publish the 7th and final issue of the story. If you
missed the individual issues, it will be available digitally in two volumes,
and in print as one continuous graphic novel. While the last page of the book
can be interpreted as leaving room for a sequel, I very much doubt I will be
going for a Lesbian Zombies round
two.
As for me, I’m
working on my next comic book series, and it is very different from this first
venture. I’ve long been fascinated by Ancient Greece, and I’m preparing an
historical adventure/war story about the Peloponnesian War, called Polis. I hope you’ll check it out when it’s done!