Kevin Gentilcore Swamp Thing Interview

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*Interview: Kevin Gentilcore Discusses His Unpublished Swamp Thing* Work by Rich Handley Oct. 30, 2010** Last month, Roots of the Swamp Thing site posted the outline and script to Weedkiller, an unpublished Swamp Thing miniseries from author Kevin Gentilcore and artist Daniel Crosier. Crosier graciously answered several questions about his woodburning illustrations that would have accompanied that script had it been published by Vertigo, and now Gentilcore takes the mic: RICH HANDLEY: When did you write this outline and script, and when did you submit it to Vertigo? What was the company's reaction to the pitch? And how did Daniel Crosier come to be your collaborator? KEVIN GENTILCORE: I believe we conceived the idea in January or Febuary of 2009 and the flushed it out over the next couple months when I wrote the first issues script. The plan was for Dan to show it to a contact he had at Vertigo at the Seattle Comicon that year. I think he ended up chatting with them via e-mail instead. The reaction was that Dan's art was impressive but the story may be a bit to existential and maybe not the best match for Dan to prove to an editor at a big company he can do progressive story telling. HANDLEY: Weedkiller seems to build upon several ideas introduced by Alan Moore: Swamp Thing's ability to travel through the Green, his ability to jump to other planets, etc. How influenced by Moore's work were you when conceiving this storyline? GENTILCORE: Oh, very much. Dan originally came up with the general concept and I put it together trying to firmly keep it in line with the work Moore did and the character as a whole. HANDLEY: Had the story been fully written, how would you have explained the very accelerated timescale of creation and evolution on the alien world? GENTILCORE: LOL. That is a good question. I imagine it would be explained by being created from part of Swamp Things being in the green. HANDLEY: Would Weekiller have incorporated any elements of the previous two Swamp Thing series, from Brian Vaughan, Andy Diggle and Josh Dysart? How much continuity would there have been with Swamp Thing's history? GENTILCORE: Weedkiller was intended to be a four-issue miniseries. While I intended to keep it faithful to the series and previous incarnations, it would have been a standalone story featuring only Swamp Thing and the characters we created for the story. I would love to throw in Tefé or Constantine or Arcane, but I don't think they had a place in Weedkiller. *HANDLEY: How familiar are you with Swamp Thing's literary history? Which writers and artists stand out the most for you, and why?* GENTILCORE: The Alan Moore run is my favorite of his history. I think the concepts he injected into the character were brilliant. I would hold his run on Swamp Thing over Watchmen. So many great issues, but the one that stands out to me is the one where he goes to Gotham to get back Abby. I love how Batman even gives in and is like, "Do what he wants he could kill us all." I do love the pulpiness of the Berni Wrightson and Len Wein run as well, Wrightson being one of my favorite artists. I wish DC would collect more of the series, as I haven't read much of the Vaughn run or the Collins run, and would really like to. The last series I was really into, the one Andy Diggle, Will Pfeifer and Joshua Dysart worked on. It was pretty good for Swamp Thing fans and horror fans, especially the issues that Richard Corben drew and man those Eric Powell covers were killer! HANDLEY: There seems to be a metaphor at play in Weedkiller. Do the Old God, the New Gods, the Chancellor and the Scientists represent aspects of human society? And if so, what message were you conveying? GENTILCORE: Originally, it was going to be kind of a story about climate change. I forget if me or Dan suggested the old and new gods, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was Dan. He deals with religion in his work from time to time. I think on some level it was our way of commenting on how certain beliefs can blind you from the facts, and how far some people may go to keep believing what you want them to. HANDLEY: Did you have the other issues mapped out in your head, beyond what was included in the outline? If so, what can you tell us about them? GENTILCORE: The outline pretty much summed up the series. If we needed to, I could have written full scripts for each issue. I think it picked up when Swamp Thing shows up and it becomes this sort of road adventure story. HANDLEY: What do you see as the greatest challenge in writing a Swamp Thing miniseries? The mood? His... stilted... ellipsis-filled... way of... speaking? The "green" message? Something else entirely? GENTILCORE: Keeping him faithful to the established character. Swamp Thing and Alec Holland have such an in-depth history, and a lot of it is kind of existential or subject to interpretation. In some ways, I decided to just sidestep, in hopes readers knew the history, i.e., the Green and his involvement with the Parliament of Trees. HANDLEY: Will you ever try to pitch this series again to Vertigo? Or have you moved on to other projects and left the swamp behind? Please tell us about some of your upcoming work, by the way, so that those who enjoyed your writing on the script can seek out other works. GENTILCORE: I think it is a fun concept, especially with Dan's art. I would love to revisit it some day and retool it a bit and get it a bit more approachable to a new Swamp Thing reader. I think Vertigo is missing a huge part of its collection without having a Swamp Thing book out, and it would be nice to see that spot filled by somebody. Dan and I have both moved on as working artists; we never stop moving. Dan runs so many projects, I am starting to think he either never sleeps or is maybe some kind of robot or alien fueled by having so many projects floating around him. We just shot a trailer for a movie Dan hopes to direct, called Sons of Soil, based on a graphic novel of his. I am currently working on my webcomic Teenage Love Zombies (www.teenagelovezombies.com). It updates with a new page once a week. It is a romantic rock-n-roll horror story with zombies, mad scientists, monsters and car chases. I also have an imprint called Creephouse, with another collaborator, Will Tooker. We have two horror books out through that, called Spirits in the Well and Grandfather Bones. We are currently working on our next book, Never Send a Monster. HANDLEY: Finally, what was your reaction to the (recent announcement that Vertigo was laying off members of its editorial staff? GENTILCORE: I keep hearing news about Vertigo suffering, and it is quite distressing. I am mostly a trade kind of guy, and I would say that a majority of what I buy is Vertigo. I don't really read much mainstream work from the Big 2 these days, and I would hate to see Vertigo fold after providing so many great books and allowing creators to do things the way they want. Vertigo has been a shining example of how great comics can be, and at the same time, how fun they can be. If a friend of mine asks for a comic recommendation, a Vertigo title (usually Swamp Thing or Y) is the first thing I suggest. I understand what DC is trying to do by moving some of their Vertigo characters back to the normal DCU, but those characters have existed in the Vertigo world for so long and that setting and tone has helped define them, almost completely absent of the superheroes, it is what I think makes these characters so great. Am I against the idea of Constantine or Swamp Thing showing up in Batman or Green Lantern more frequently? No, I just think it is going to be a hard sell for both fans, and I most likely will miss it. Archived News >

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