|
Al Ewing gives us some background behind Zombo and Henry Flint provides some caption-free artwork.
To start with, how would you sum up Zombo?
The glorious return of the 'Death Planet' genre. Every week another gruesome death! It's punk comics - here's a character, here's another, here's a third, now form a OH NO! THEY WERE ALL EATEN BY A TREE!
The credits for Zombo mention that the concept was Henry's and the script was your's - how does this collaboration work?
A melding of two twisted imaginations.
Basically, I got an email from Tharg saying that Henry had submitted a plot, and could I tighten it up and script it? Henry's original plot was ten episodes, following the same basic formula - the river trip, the cannibals, and finally the Death Shadow - and Tharg wanted it cut down to eight.
While doing this there was a lot of back and forth, working out the flashbacks, coming up with new bits, extrapolating what was there and generally altering it so much that Henry doesn't get a plot credit, har har my evil scheeeme was a success etc.
Actually, keeping the essential 'Henryness' of it all was a number one priority, and while I did try and get clever-clever to begin with - a mistake I'm glad didn't make it into the final thing - I quickly came around to the beauty that lies in simple, lurid, thrill-powered trash comics for kids with behavioural problems.
With I zombie, cyborg zombies in Tempest and now Zombo, you seem have a considerable degree of interest in this area - any plans for the further zombification of 2000AD?
I'm really not that interested in Zombies as a genre, it's all a terrible mistake...
if you look at I, Zombie, it's more of an alien invasion epic disguised as a zombie novel. I suppose the Electric Heads are kind of like zombies if you squint, but they were meant to be a bit more body horror - your body walking around with a toaster stapled to your neck, while your severed head is cannibalised for something else.
Even in Zombo, it was my idea to have the zombies talking - they're very big on making people... LIKE THEM! Which is a very Millsian sort of catchphrase rather than 'wurrrgh' or 'braaaains' which is what ordinary zombies say. We're having loads of zombies in the second series, though, so I'm looking forward to lots and lots of them bursting out of places shouting 'LIKE US! Soon you will be LIKE US!'
Whose idea was the "death count", and what was the inspiration? And how do you decide on the nasty deaths for the characters - especially when Agent Ying describes the deathworlds?
The death count was, like so many things, a collaboration from all concerned. In his original pitch, Henry wrote things like '(seven left)' after every death to help keep count, and I made those into the next prog lines when I came to write the script. I imagine it's Simon who came up with the plastic price-tagger font, and calling it a 'death-count' was presumably Tharg's idea as editor. Some combination of those elements.
As for the deaths... some of them came from Henry's pitch. The face-eating fruit was his, and the Death Shadow. I came up with the Stinging Wringing Tree and the deaths in the flashback - the tone of that very much based on old 2000AD covers, a frankly appalling number of which used to display, not any of the hyper heroes, but hapless background characters shouting things like 'NOOOOO! NOT -- THE GRINDERS!' and 'PLEASE LET ME DROWN BEFORE THE GIANT SCORPIONS GET ME!'
Part of me was really hoping that 'That's not the Commander, it's Bees' would be made into the cover of that issue, but it wasn't to be. Maybe next series Zombo will get a NOOOO-style cover and the cycle will be complete. Or even a tagline: "2000AD... the comic that makes you... LIKE US!!"
In some places, the series depends on surprises as the reader turns the page - specifically the wipe out of the first boat. Is there an agreement with Tharg as to how to place certain pages in the comic?
Well, I rigged the big shock bloodbath in episode 2 by making it a double-page spread, which forces Tharg to do a page-turn reveal - besides that, though, it's all in his green hands, and it's his decision where he puts it in the comic.
With the concept of the deathworlds and Zombo himself, there seems a lot of scope for the continuation of the series beyond its 8 parts. Given the extremely positive reaction from readers, are you thinking of a follow up yet, and are there any ideas you'd like to explore further?
Yeah, we've had a chat about Zombo II and even verbally pitched it to Tharg, who's alright with it in theory - although when the TRUE UNSPEAKABLE HORROR arrives in his inbox he may have second thoughts. Henry's got a lot planned for the character, but I've got more control of the plot for the next one.
Current ideas include a more thorough exploration of the Orbital Station and a youth movement who are half-chav, half-Adam Ant and half-dressed. And lots of zombies, obviously.
Finally - what can we expect from you next?
Tempest II, featuring the senses-shattering -- and face-shattering -- return of Deathfist! But first, Tempest has to fight Hyper Panda Xong Mao, Overlord of Old Chinatown! It's actually a bit more creepy than that blurb suggests, but there's plenty of good old-fashioned action and madness the way some people like it.
Also I'm writing some Dredds that will be winging your way soon, and I'm working on a pitch for something a bit space-y. And that's just for 2000AD!
|
