INTERVIEW: MILES GUNTER and KELSEY SHANNON ON IMAGE’S DARK FANG

by eeajc Anime

This post is Filed Under:

Home page Highlights,
Interviews and Columns

Dark Fang #1

Writer Miles Gunter and artist Kelsey Shannon have worked together on Bastard Samurai, Yeti vs. Vampire, and Shannon supplied covers for the Gunter-written Demon Cleaner. Now, they’re teaming up again for Dark Fang from Image, the story of a vampire battling climate change. They recently told Westfield’s Roger Ash a lot more about this appealing project.

Westfield: Where did the idea for Dark Fang come from?

Kelsey Shannon: What I can remember is it started small as somewhat of a fluff piece just for fun, but she grew into her own and had things to say. It’s been fun to see things from her particular point of view. I feel like my kid has grown up to be something a lot more than I’d ever dared hope for. I’m proud.

Miles Gunter: annually we see the effects of climate change intensify. Summers get hotter. Storms get bigger. a lot more arctic ice melts. Yet the oil companies keep drilling. The frackers keep fracking. and people in power keep denying the danger of the situation we’re sliding into. It can feel pretty hopeless at times. As a writer I started day dreaming. who could force these all powerful oil companies to stop? I started thinking about vampires and how they would be alarmed by climate change because if mankind gets wiped out, they’d lose their blood supply. That was the spark that gave birth to Fang.

Dark Fang #1 preview page 1

Westfield: how did you two come together for the series?

Gunter: Kelsey and I met by means of Mike Oeming, when we all did a book together at image called Bastard Samurai. We’ve been pals ever considering that and are always talking about story and developing projects. Fang was something that we both sparked to because it was timely but it was also a premise we felt like we could have a lot of fun with.

Shannon: much like Jack Torrance at the ignore Lodge, we’ve always been here. Miles and I creating things is as regular as tea. I’ve busied myself with go nowhere projects trying to pay bills and never thought I would be able to do a designer owned project, but this book is happening regardless of my intentions. Valla is holding the reins and I’m just trying to keep up. It also feels like just plain and basic good timing. The universe has its plans for us all, we just got to be ready for it.

Dark Fang #1 preview page 2

Westfield: What can readers look forward to in Dark Fang?

Gunter: There may be some people rolling their eyes at the prospect of a comic about climate change. but this is not a 22 page lecture on science every month. We aren’t interestied in yammering about the benefits of solar power or what the reader can do to leave less of a carbon footprint. This is a comic where the main character can turn into a terrific white shark with teeth covered in fire. We want to give you a comic that feels like a meal every month instead of a collection of scenes created for a trade.

Shannon: Comics let loose again! remember when comics had no limitations? I sure do and I miss them dearly. readers can look forward to a comic that isn’t terrified to be a comic.

Dark Fang #1 preview page 3

Westfield: who are the main characters readers will meet?

Gunter: The main character is Valla. She’s a vampire that’s been living on the bottom of the ocean for the last 100 years. Valla is very powerful. She can shape shift and easily bend humans to her will. She is not jaded about being a vampire. She doesn’t wear black and mope about lost love. She embraces her vampirism and uses her immortality to cultivate her knowledge base and grow as a person. but she has a substantial appetite which is often a weakness. Appetite is one of the main themes of Dark Fang. In the first issue we see how Valla can get carried away in that regard when she arrives on the surface and finds a world very different from when she walked into the ocean a century ago.

Then there’s Cody, who is Valla’s familiar. He’s sort of like Microchip to Valla’s Punisher. He helps her to navigate the modern world and learn how to use things like a smartphone. sort of like if Renfield was a gamer minus the “I’m outrageous and eat bugs” part.

When you have a powerful main character, you have to have adversaries that are just as powerful if not a lot more so. There are some crazy villains that will pop up as the series progresses and give Valla a run for her money.

Dark Fang #1 preview page 4

Westfield: What is your collaboration process?

Shannon: Miles has a terrific way of combining and rearranging things in ways I’ve never seen before. one of my terrific pleasures is when he says he wants to run something by me because I know there’s something pretty neat about to happen.

Gunter: normally it starts with me pitching things to Kelsey on Skype/email. If I can make him laugh then I know I’m on the ideal track. We’ve known each other a long time and have a lot of the same tastes. I know what Kelsey likes and try to write imagery that will inspire him to make the best pages he can.

Westfield: any closing comments?

Gunter: The newest issue of Image+ features Dark Fang on the back cover as well as an post and 4 page preview inside. Dark Fang #1 will be out November 15th. If you want a copy, be sure to let your merchant know! The Previews buy code is SEP170613.

Purchase

Dark Fang #1