GARY WHITTA ON DEATH, JR.

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

Everyone knows becoming a teenager can be a real horror, but imagine how terrifying middle school must be for the only son of the Grim Reaper.

That's the focus of Death, Jr., a new mini-series from Image that debuts in April. As he attempts to live up to the family name of his infamous father, "DJ" hooks up with a group of similarly nightmarish friends -- from Stigmartha, who bleeds when she gets nervous, to The Seep, an armless, legless foreign exchange student in a jar.

Originally conceived as a video game, Death Jr. is being developed as a comic book story by a writer who knows video game characters well. Screenwriter Gary Whitta, known for his work in magazines like PC Gamer and appearances on G4tech-TV, will author the mini, with Ted (Courtney Crumrin) Naifeh doing art.

As he finishes the Death Jr. comic as well as writing a screenplay based on the character, Gary Whitta took a few moments to talk to Newsarama about the concept behind Death Jr. and why it's an appealing story.

Newsarama: Death, Jr. marks your first time writing a comic book, but most of our readers have seen your work in other media. Tell us a little about your background and what you've done before getting the chance to write the Death, Jr. comic.

Gary Whitta: I'm originally from England, and for 15 years I worked as a video game and movie journalist. I edited magazines such as PC Gamer and Total Movie. I still write about videogames, in a regular column in PC Gamer. Recently I've made the transition to a screenwriter and comic-book writer, which is something I've wanted to do for years.

NRAMA: With all of your work writing about video games, it's obvious you're a gaming fan. Have you also been a comic book fan?

GW: I have always been a fan of comics. In terms of my favorites, my choices are a bit on the obvious side: Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns, Hellblazer, Preacher, Sin City, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Transmetropolitan, you know the drill.

Probably Watchmen and Dark Knight were the two comics that most inspired me when I first read them. In much the same way that the sight of the Star Destroyer flying overhead at the beginning of Star Wars inspired a generation of film-makers, I think those two comics helped inspire a generation of comic-book writers and artists.

NRAMA: Death, Jr. was originally developed by Backbone Entertainment as a video game concept. How did the video game idea make the transition to being developed as a comic book story?

GW: I think they recognized almost immediately that the characters and the world they'd created had potential beyond just a game, and so they came up with a prototype comic-book that Terri Selting at Backbone wrote and Ted Naifeh illustrated. They took this to Comic-Con and got a really strong reaction, including some interest from movie companies.

NRAMA: How did you get involved with the project?

GW: I used to work with a couple of the Backbone guys when we were all videogame journalists together, and they knew I'd since become a screenwriter so they asked me to take a look at the characters and see if I could help flesh out some of the story for a possible movie proposal. They had the basic characters and the set-up, but not really enough for a fully-formed movie or comic-book story, just enough of a premise to kick off the game.

I fell in love with the characters immediately and showed them to my managers in LA, who had a similar reaction. They immediately set about developing Death, Jr. as a comic-book and movie.

NRAMA: There are a lot of video games out there, but very few become comics. What made this video game concept so uniquely suited for a comic book?

GW: The look of the characters and the style of story we're telling here just fits the comic-book medium perfectly. It's like Ted Naifeh was born to draw these characters. It will also tie in nicely with the videogame and help tell a more fleshed-out version of the game's backstory, and hopefully it be helpful in promoting the movie version too.

NRAMA: You keep mentioning the characters as being the real strength behind this story, and looking at the short list of "who's who" in Death, Jr., there seems to be quite a quirky cast of characters. Tell us more about these young monstrosities who are the main characters in the world of Death, Jr.

GW: Obviously the lead character is Death, Jr., who we affectionately refer to as DJ. He's the 13 year-old son of the Grim Reaper, and he can't wait for the day that he takes over the family business from his father and gets to wield his impressive-looking scythe.

Among his friends are Pandora, a goth girl who can't resist opening boxes, Stigmartha, whose hands bleed when she gets nervous, Smith & Weston, a pair of genius identical twins joined at the head, and Seep, a foreign exchange student from Chernobyl. As you can imagine, they don't have an easy time making friends and so all they really have is each other.

NRAMA: With a cast like that, there's obviously more to this comic then just passing notes and hanging around the lockers at school. What will readers see happen to "DJ" and his friends?

GW: Due to a combination of DJ's impetuosity and Pandora's curiosity, the gang inadvertently release Moloch, an evil necromancer who's been locked away in a magical prison for years, and he's determined to upset the delicate balance that exists between life and death. After Moloch kidnaps DJ's father, it's up to the gang to rescue him and put right all the damage Moloch is causing.

NRAMA: Everyone knows that surviving middle school can be a nightmare even a normal situation. Is this just an exaggeration of real life?

GW: DJ's life is a kind of an exaggeration of all the problems of being a teenager. All the problems that kids have -- trying to be popular, to get a boy/girl interested in them, to discover who they really are and what they want out of life -- are compounded ten times over for DJ because of his unique destiny. So his character has been a fun, distorted lens with which to look at the real life problems kids of his age typically face.

NRAMA: It sounds like a subject most people can identify with even though they are such unusual characters.

GW: I'd like to think there's a little something to identify with each one of them, but on the whole the common factor that unites DJ and his friends is that they're outcasts. Because each one of them is different to the "normal" kids, they're ostracized at school and DJ in particular has to come to terms with the fact that he's destined to grow up and assume a job in which nobody will ever really like him and everyone will be afraid of him. I think anyone who's ever felt alone or exiled during those difficult years growing up will identify with DJ.

NRAMA: As you get to see your first comic get to print, what do you hope to achieve with the story?

GW: It's essentially a comedy so hopefully it will make people laugh, but it's also very dark in places and touches on the big themes of life and death and the relationship between fathers and sons, so if it also succeeds in communicating that to readers, I'll be thrilled.

NRAMA: Do you think there are any other aspects of the comic that will appeal to readers?

GW: Ted Naifeh's art is absolutely a joy to behold. I just saw the complete finished art for the first 48-page issue, and it blew me away. It's the first full-color book that Ted's done, and everything from the character design to the finer points of the coloring and the million little touches he's added is absolutely stunning. I think it's his best work ever, I think his fans will agree, and I think it will win him a lot of new fans as well. Plus, although the two story lines are not exactly the same, it's a pretty good preview of the movie, too!

NRAMA: Can you tell us more about the Death, Jr. video game and feature film?

GW: The Death, Jr. videogame is in the final stages of development and will be released exclusively on Sony's new Portable Playstation handheld game console (PSP). The movie version is coming along nicely. I'm working on the screenplay, we have a very well-known director and producers attached, and the project is currently being pitched to major Hollywood studios.

NRAMA: What other projects are you working on?

GW: Strangely enough, I am also currently working on another Grim Reaper project, a feature film entitled Reaper which is currently in pre-production and will be filming later this year. It's a much darker story than Death, Jr., about a private detective dying of cancer who makes a deal with the Grim Reaper in order to postpone his own death. I'm also working on a couple of other very exciting comic-book projects with a couple of very well-known comics artists that hopefully I'll be talking to you about later this year!

[Gurl Reader]

Great article,Moonbeam. Death Jr. sounds interesting and a little gory. I think I'll check it out when it come out. The artwork is cool loooking. I wonder how the video game will turn out.

[Peter Geddes]

Nice interview, Vaneta!

I saw a preview for this (in Previews I think, oddly enough!) and it really appealed to my sense of humour!

I've got the first issue on Advance Order already, and I'll do the same with the subsequent issues. I don't often stray TOO far from the M-U or DCU, but when I see something that appeals as much as this, I've got to go for it!

[hamsterdance]

When I saw this in the January Previews I wanted it. Plus, I'm a fan of Ted Naifeh. His Courtney Crumrin is always a great read.

I'm not so much interested in the video game but the comic is on my gotta buy list.

[gredenko]

The art is charming. I'll be on the lookout for it.

[Erikonil]

Who knew the Grim Reaper partisapated in Take Your Kid To Work Day? Looks intersting. The art defenetly is worth taking a look at.

[JAYCEprime2791]

My good friend David Chapman had an interview with Ted Naifeh over at GameSpy.com on August 17, 2004 last year. If you're interested, you can find it over here.

Just FYI....

[GeorgeG]

Isn't there a cartoon featuring the Grim Reaper in it? I think it's either the Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon. As far as a movie goes, it would seem to be a bit overkill.

[hamsterdance]

My good friend David Chapman had an interview with Ted Naifeh over at GameSpy.com on August 17, 2004 last year.

and

Ted Naifeh: I've been drawing comics professionally (more or less) since 1991. I've worked for most of the comics companies in the market, but it was Gloom Cookie that earned me a fan following in 1999. In 2002, I created Courtney Crumrin, taking on the writing chores as well as the art.

The first mini-series received a huge amount of praise from the industry, and a nomination for an Eisner Award. It's been followed by two more series, and continues to gain popularity. Fox Pictures just bought the movie rights, and it's now in development as a live action feature at Stan Winston studios. All three series are collected into paperbacks, and are carried in the manga section of bookstores all over the country.

Courtney Crumrin is in development as a movie? That's great news!

[NYCEvolution]

This looks like a cross between Nightmare Before Christmas and Grim Fandango.

[Louis Lane]

Courtney Crumrin news from ICV2.com --

Competition among the studios appears to be a factor in Fox's acquisition of Ted Naifeh's Courtney Crumrin graphic novels, since the deal will give Fox a teen fantasy property at a time when the Harry Potter franchise has proven to be a consistent moneymaker for Warner Bros. Fox has acquired the rights to Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things, Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics, and Courtney Crumrin in the Twilight Kingdom, all of which are published by Oni Press.

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/5406.html

The COURTNEY script is being written by the writer of "Dick" --

http://www.efavata.com/CBM/courtneyCrumrin.htm

LL

[kingofcities]

That artwork is terrific. Nice interview!