BRINGING THE DARKNESS: TALKING TO PHIL HESTER

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

This fall, there will be a new Darkness in the Top Cow universe and his name is Phil Hester.

Yes, the acclaimed creator will be writing the new adventures of Jackie Estacado (yeah, the mafia hitman will still be the wielder of The Darkness. You didn’t think that Hester’d write himself as the new Darkness, did you?) and he will be joined by up-and-coming artist Michael Broussard.

For those who’re unfamiliar with the writing credentials of Hester, he’s the co-creator of The Coffin, a science fiction horror tale about an amoral scientist who creates an automaton to encase his body upon death, allowing his soul to live on. Originally published by Oni Press, The Coffin is optioned by James Cameron and slated to be directed by Guillermo del Toro.

There’s also Deep Sleeper, a dark tale about a man who discovers an unexpected link between the waking and dreaming worlds and his role in both. He loses not only his body, but his family and must literally move Heaven and Earth to regain them. Hester co-created the series with his Coffin artist Mike Huddleston and it was originally published by Oni Press before the creators moved their creation to Image Comics in 2004.

Others include The Wretch, a strange horror/super-hero/humor short stories collected in three trades by Slave Labor; Holy Terror, an Image project which he co-created with Jason Caskey and tells of a struggling young professional wrestler dons a possessed mask that gives him fame, fortune and a terrible curse; and The Atheist (now called Antoine Sharpe), sort of a bad-ass Dr. Who series from Desperado, which Hester co-created with artist John McCrea, about a skeptical and autistic hyper-intelligent special agent travels the world solving strange and frightening mysteries with only his wits and ruthlessness

Good enough for you to find out what he has in store for The Darkness? Read on…

Newsarama: First of all, how did this gig come about?

Phil Hester: You might have to ask [Top Cow President and COO] Matt [Hawkins] and [Managing Editor] Rob [Levin] about the ultimate decision, but my fantasy football rival and buddy Ron Marz recommended me for the gig. I sent in a number of pitches and one in particular struck a chord with Rob and away we went!

NRAMA: Let's get this out of the way first. You're currently drawing Robert Kirkman's The Irredeemable Ant-Man for Marvel Comics. Will you be leaving the title now that you're writing Jackie Estacado every month?

PH: No. I'll be on Ant-Man until I'm dragged away. My schedule allows for me to draw one book a month and write one or two. I only write when I can no longer draw on a given day. I wrote about that much material a month previously, I just didn't get paid for it.

NRAMA: All right then. Moving on, in an earlier interview, Hawkins said that the company has a "very long run planned" and you'd even mentioned in a separate interview that you'd like to "string together a long run" yourself. This is not a six-issue stint where you hit and then run off to another project?

PH: Nope. I hope to be on the book for a matter of years, not months. I have quite a few things planned for Jackie. I will say that I love to shake things up a lot, so the book will be changing quite a bit from arc to arc. My hope is that will keep it fresh for both me and the readers.

NRAMA: Having been the creator/co-creator/writer/artist of such highly acclaimed independent comic book projects as The Coffin, The Wretch, Holy Terror, The Atheist, Deep Sleeper, how do you compare a book like The Darkness with those that you'd done before?

PH: From my standpoint I was surprised at how similar the processes were. I'm feeling the same sense of ownership and the same desire to take chances. I know it's work for hire, but I'm approaching it as if The Darkness were an indie start-up.

From a reader's standpoint, I hope I bring the same sense of creeping dread, high strangeness and unexpected humor people tell me they've enjoyed in my earlier projects.

NRAMA: That said, you're not working on an outline from Top Cow? Are you given a free hand to re-establish Jackie Estacado/The Darkness?

PH: “Free hand" is exactly how I'd describe it. We're really blowing things up and dropping both Jackie and The Darkness readers into unfamiliar places. It's not a retcon by any means. Jackie's history is still there, but his motivation, his powers and his locale all change drastically.

NRAMA: Right. And Hawkins' also revealed that ongoing series "comes out of the First Born crossover where Jackie is in a different place… he runs away, and tries to start his life over again, outside of the United States." Also, this new run will not be another one where Jackie fights mobsters, mobsters, and oh yeah, mobsters, with very few enemies that were on his power level.

Before we talk more about the premise for the new series, what does a new reader have to know about Jackie Estacado and The Darkness before checking out the new monthly?

PH: This is both the most exciting and scariest aspect of the project for me. To make things fresh for long time fans you have to really shake things up, but still make it accessible to new readers. I think writers sometimes dumb down stories to make them accessible, but we're not going that route. We're dropping even the new readers into a mystery and relying on a compelling story and gorgeous art to make them want to hang around long enough to learn what's going on.

NRAMA: In your opinion, what worked and what didn't in the first two volumes of The Darkness, where creators like Garth Ennis, David Wohl, Marc Silvestri, Paul Jenkins, Ron Marz, and Frank Tieri had had various takes on the character and his world?

PH: That's a funny question because I think they are the same thing. Contrasting horror with mob drama is so cool that it can become addictive. If you can slam dunk every time why learn a jump shot? All the talented folk you mentioned exploited that combination really well, but the time had come for something else. There's only so many times you can watch Jackie turn out the lights on a room full of gangsters and let the darklings eat 'em up, as cool as that looked.

NRAMA: In saying that, what are you bringing into the world of Jackie Estacado and The Darkness?

PH: The great thing about his history is that it builds in an instant bad-ass status for Jackie. Anyone with even a passing familiarity knows that Jackie is a bad man and capable of scary things. There's an innate tension there that gives weight to all his actions. I think my goal is to humanize Jackie without necessarily turning him into a good person. I think the best way to do that is to give him a dream and to make that dream come crashing down around him.

NRAMA: So, the birth of Pez's child in First Born ties into the relaunch of the new Darkness series, right? And the Angelus is coming back? Will she be The Angelus from the first run?

PH: I had originally written The Angelus into my first arc, but First Born changes so much we thought it best to let that character cool off for a while.

NRAMA: What's your take on the morality struggle between good and evil, a tale that transcends both time and space?

PH: That's the funny thing about Jackie. I'm not sure he believes in good and evil, despite his role as almost an avatar of nastiness. He's a mobster because he was born into it, he's the wielder of The Darkness because of his genes. His idea of "good" is loyalty and his idea of "evil" is betrayal. Beyond that his motto appears to be "get yours". That's why his irreverence in the middle of all these apocalyptic wars is so refreshing. He thinks it's all a put-on. I think that changes by then end of the first arc. By the end he knows that true evil exists and it makes him look like the good guy by comparison.

NRAMA: Everything seems to be connected in the Top Cow mythology/universe. The Darkness is tied into the 13 Artifacts of the Top Cow universe – 13 artifacts that are mystically tied together, including the Witchblade, the Angelus, the Bloodsword, the Rapture, and Magdalena's Spear of Destiny. Even the Witchblade's former bearer Sara Pezzini has appeared in the original series, with a crossover or two in between all those appearances. How closely are you working with Witchblade writer Ron Marz? In saying that, are you planning an appearance or a crossover with the current bearer of the Blade, Danielle Baptiste?

PH: First Born is so sprawling and involved that I think Top Cow wants The Darkness to stand on it's own for a while. That said, I'm a big fan of Ron's, and I imagine if I'm around as long as I'd like to be we'll be collaborating on something soon enough.

NRAMA: How far ahead have you planned for the new series?

PH: About a year, maybe a little more.

NRAMA: Any plans for the Magdalenas, Mariella and Patience, to pop up in the book? What about Jackie's friends, Wenders, Jenny, Butcher Joyce, Tom Judge?

PH: We're trying to start fresh, so most of those characters will be history in the first arc. There's a character from the Tom Judge saga that will pop in the second arc, I think. We'll see.

NRAMA: Lastly, while you're not about to spoil things for everyone now, but how about lifting the veil of secrecy for a bit and let it shine through the darkness (no pun intended)? What have you planned for the introductory arc?

NRAMA: Jackie has grown, or at least his ambition has grown, and his powers have grown along with it. He's no longer content to be a mobster, or even a mob boss, and the tiny South American country of Sierra Munoz will pay the price for his new thirst for power. He has a new family, new powers and new enemies, both good and bad, that want him dead. Let's just say we're trading mob armies for real ones.

[deathshead2]

The Coffin is optioned by James Cameron and slated to be directed by Guillermo del Toro.
A tag team of greatness.

[AbbaZabba39]

So wait, Jackie is no longer with the Mob? That was one of the best parts of this book. Oh well, I'll still check it out though. Darkness has always been a fun read for me.

[Kody]

Hester rocks!

I'll be checking this one out.

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Phil is one of the classiest and most underrated talents in the industry. I don't have a ton of experience with The Darkness, though I've always thought it was a cool concept and I've had a lot of interest in getting into it. With one of my of my all-time favorites at the helm for a substantial run, I'm definitely going to check it out. Maybe I've missed it, but when does the book start?

Congrats on the gig, Phil! Are there any trades/storylines that are required reading for getting the full experience from your upcoming run?

[dchart1]

As I've said before Phil is a double threat, and he doesn't forget where he came from. Best dude!

[Dark Light]

Looks good right now. I never heard of the artist, but that drawing is great. You can see the Darklings in Jackie's coat. The Darkness was my favorite when it first started, but got boring over time. The second volume was really boring. Hopefully this will be good enough to be on my pull list.

[Phil Hester]

Thanks for the early support. I hope I can give you guys and gals a decent read.

[mhawkins]

Phil rocks! I can't tell you how excited I am about this book =)

Matt Hawkins

[filipsablik]

To echo what Matt said, everyone here at Top Cow is incredibly stoked about what Phil has planned for the new The Darkness series! He's an incredibly gifted creator and his approach to horror is undeniable.

Filip Sablik
Vice President - Marketing & Sales
Top Cow Productions, Inc.

[Black Beetle]

I'm embarassed to say the only experience I have with Mr. Hester is Ant-Man. And you're kicking ass like nobody's business on that one. I'm glad you'll still be wroking on that book as well as this one. This sounds like fun so I'll definitely be giving it a try as well.

[Arvandor]

I'm looking forward to this. Jackie is such a great character, and this does look good.

Just a shame about Witchblade. I've grown sick of Marz' take, and had to drop it.

[estacado_200]

i just sold my entire darkness, witchblade and tomb raider collection which were the full runs up till witchblade #103 so im afraid i wont be starting again...

[Rob Levin]

Originally Posted by estacado_200

i just sold my entire darkness, witchblade and tomb raider collection which were the full runs up till witchblade #103 so im afraid i wont be starting again...

While that would be the perfect opportunity to now purchase a Compendium of each, let me just say, you'll want to give this a try. Phil's crafting something really special, and every time I get a new e-mail from him, I smile a little and just know it's only going to get better.

This is a ground floor read. We're not throwing anything out, but we're not requiring you to brush up on ten years of The Darkness either. This is a ground-floor read that pays off just as well for die-hards as newbies. If you want a little more background on how things lead to the way they do at the start of Phil's run, read this summer's First Born event, starting with a 99-cent First Look in June.

This is going to be a really stellar book, and I'm warning you now so you don't miss out.

Rob Levin
VP - Editorial
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
www.topcow.com

[stasisbal]

That artwork is stellar. I'll be checking this out. I love Ant-Man but haven't read any other Hester. Is there any particular title I should check out?

[Ye Olde Iowa]

Originally Posted by stasisbal

That artwork is stellar. I'll be checking this out. I love Ant-Man but haven't read any other Hester. Is there any particular title I should check out?

As far as his art goes, you can't go wrong with picking up his run on Green Arrow, which starts with #1 of the current series and runs through storylines by Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer, and Judd Winick (I own a page from this run and cherish it dearly). The artwork is just as great as it has been on Ant-Man, only he gets to use larger spaces because there aren't any insane 16-panel grids.

As far as his writing goes, The Athiest is pretty awesome, but I'm really partial to The Wretch, which you can pick up in its entirity over three trades. They are incredibly well put together, mixing horror with comedy in an incredibly charming way. I haven't checked out any of his other stuff that is listed here, but I'm guessing you can't go wrong.

[Phil Hester]

Originally Posted by Rob Levin

This is going to be a really stellar book, and I'm warning you now so you don't miss out.

Rob Levin
VP - Editorial
Top Cow Productions, Inc.
www.topcow.com

Okay, now I'm terrified.

[Hellspawn]

Originally Posted by filipsablik

To echo what Matt said, everyone here at Top Cow is incredibly stoked about what Phil has planned for the new The Darkness series! He's an incredibly gifted creator and his approach to horror is undeniable.

Filip Sablik
Vice President - Marketing & Sales
Top Cow Productions, Inc.

Well first of all I have to say that I'm more than happy to see The Darkness return with a talented writer.
But PLEASE boys and girls at Top Cow do me a favour:

Make sure that the series has a constant artist, too, I don't wanna see three artists and nine inkers on one issue, some of your books were really ruined by that.

However, I'll get it!

[Plantagenet]

Originally Posted by stasisbal

That artwork is stellar. I'll be checking this out. I love Ant-Man but haven't read any other Hester. Is there any particular title I should check out?

I thought he did phenomenal work on Swamp Thing with Mark Millar. I hope DC starts collecting that run in TPBs soon, after they finish with Rick Veitch.

[dchart1]

Originally Posted by stasisbal

That artwork is stellar. I'll be checking this out. I love Ant-Man but haven't read any other Hester. Is there any particular title I should check out?

For a great display of Phil's writing talent, find "The Coffin," and "Deep Sleeper." Those two projects showcase his impressive prowess as a wordsmith. For fun pick up the collected edition of "Firebreather."

[Vydas]

Any info on the artist? What work he has done before, and other place to view his art?

[kryptothedog]

Here is another book I will have to add to what I read!
I can't wait!
Good luck Phil!