BEN TEMPLESMITH - MOVING INTO DEAD SPACE

[MattBrady]

by Steve Ekstrom

Several weeks ago, Electronic Arts and Image Comics announced a new six issue mini-series to serve as a prequel to the release of the new a new survival horror game, Dead Space. The prequel mini is described by Image and EA as a “gut-wrenching tale of a deep space mining colony that unexpectedly pulls an ancient and vicious alien life force from the dark rock.” Written by Antony Johnston, noted for his work on Greg Rucka’s Queen & Country series, and drawn by co-creator of 30 Days of Night, Ben Templesmith. The Dead Space videogame by EA does not hit shelves until Fall 2008 and has yet to be given an rating by PEGI or ERSB. It will be available for Playstation 3, X-Box 360, and for the PC.

Fans of the survival horror genre won’t have to wait so long however, with the Dead Space mini hitting shelves March 3rd. Newsarama contacted Ben Templesmith to discuss his work on the project.

Newsarama: How did you get involved with the Dead Space project?

Ben Templesmith: Through a simple e-mail at—well, about 4 AM one morning my time—maybe back in April last year. It was ages ago…whenever it was. I simply said "yes" and it's eventually, at long last come around to now.

NRAMA: How is working with Antony Johnston—when you're working with a writer—what, in your mind, is the most crucial factor in a successful creative relationship between words and pictures?

BT: It's super hard working with Antony actually. I don't really know why but he's always mailing me pictures of my family members and including cute little notes with them saying things like "I know where they live" or "time is running out" and stuff like that (ahem).

Apart from that, the most important thing in my mind is can I work from the script. And well, hopefully that answer is yes, you'll just have to judge the results. In truth, Antony is/has been working closely with the Deadspace guys to get it all right and locked; rather than me, I am really just the art guy on this. I can tell you he's been working his arse off, and the scripts are pretty damn dense as he has to fit so much in. I haven't worked on many comics where the actual script is maybe double the end comic page count like this except for Fell of course, which Warren near kills himself on when he writes.

NRAMA: What can you tell readers about the premise of Dead Space?

BT: Space. Mining planets. Nasty, nasty alien things. Lots of buildup—feeds my love of the movie The Thing quite a bit.

NRAMA: When you're working on an IP that has other mediums connected to it—Dead Space is a prequel to EA's videogame—are there creative constraints or are you involved in this concept beyond just the comic book?

BT: Well, not sure really. I've been involved in some other IP, a computer game actually, that I did a comic for that'll ever see the light of day, but they went back and changed the game to look a bit more like that comic. I'm not going to name the game, but it'd be funny if that happened again. Honestly though, I'm just trying to riff as much as I can on their constructed world as possible. However, I'm drawing pretty much everything that's not in the game...lots of civvies in civilian clothing and such I'm making up and fleshing out a bit. I’m trying to bring mood to the general sense of the world we're creating, rather than focusing on slavishly reproducing every single tech panel that would be on a door frame in the game. Know what I mean? It's the nasties in this world I'm most in sync with. I'm always going to want to jump straight into the parts where people start dying and have their bowels exploded by some mutant with a thyroid problem and low self-esteem. That's the bit I'm most looking forward to in working on this comic. This is not a book for happy people.

But to finish…yes, of course there are constraints; but in saying that, there's so far really only been a couple instances where they've wanted me to change anything, or reinterpret what I've done, to fit more with their designs—which has to say something about the freedom I'm having.

NRAMA: When you're considering sci-fi/ horror stuff like Dead Space—what are some of your inspirations?

BT: Really, they're the inspirations that have driven all this sort of work I do. People think I'm some massive horror guy; but really, what gets me off is that sub-genre of horror, the one with heavy sci-fi elements. John Carpenters The Thing is the big one that fuels me on this (as it did for 30 Days of Night) as well as films like Aliens, Dark City and Event Horizon. I'm really a dark sci-fi guy, rather than a straight horror/ slasher fan.

Except for my other book Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, which is based more on the old British sci-fi and weirdness of Doctor Who and other works by Douglas Adams. Anyways, that's why this book was pushing all the right buttons for me. Damn, is it me or am I making this all sound far too sexual in my reasoning for drawing certain things?

NRAMA: We’ll have to let the readers judge that. Are there any other mediums besides comics and film that inspire you--like literature or music?

BT: Earwax sculpting. But this isn't about my sex life, it's about the comics right?

Actually, good music can always set a tone and make me imagine cool scenes for things. Every time I read a history book I also get the urge to jump in and do some epic history type projects...

NRAMA: How are you challenged to evoke atmosphere or moods in your projects? Do you ever catch yourself saying, "How can I approach this in such a manner that is different from other things I've created?" Do writers and their scripts function to set the tone for you or is there an artistic vision that tends to blur the lines of control of the content?

BT: Well, if I'm doing my job right, I'm trying to at least bring something a little different to each project I take on. Hopefully people can see a difference between my 30 Days work and my Fell work. I do seem to work within a certain sphere though, which does play to my strengths, but that shouldn't mean all my art should always be the same. I definitely can riff off what a writer gives me in different ways for different people. It also depends how constrictive or lose a writer is, in regards to conception of a project and how far I'm really doing a collaboration, etc.

NRAMA: You've become quite a perennial figure in arena of horror comics with the success of 30 Days and various other horror projects, such as Halloween at Devil’s Due—are there other genres outside of sci-fi and horror that you'd like to try? Is there Ben Templesmith romance comic floating around in that head of yours?

BT: (laughs) I was freaking out on the Myers cover, as the other artists had already done the classic poses...so I had to try and make mine look different without wanting to go for some sort of lame super heroic action pose...which is not exactly moody for that sort of thing. So I hope I carried it off ok with a bit of an "ominous" look to it.

As for the horror projects/genre stuff...well, I think I already dabble in different genres quite a bit, from the more straight horror that's a direct indulgence (Dead Space, 30 Days, etc…) to the sort of black humor work (Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse) and dark crime (Fell) I guess anything I do, even were it a romance is going to have to have a dark spin on it. It just comes out in the work.

Thinking more and more about taking a crack at something not expected of me, but it's still going to have a certain bent to it. I don't think I'll really be changing the way I draw anytime soon so that I'd be able to fit neatly into any other particular genre. The happy
couple in any romance comic I'd ever do are still going to end up as cannibals eating each other.

NRAMA: Are there any other new projects coming your way in the near future?

BT: Lots! But I'm in a state of flux right now, finishing up the last bits of the things currently starting to come out...and around the next couple weeks I'll be finding out what exactly is on the agenda for me after that for quite some time, now that I'm more closely based with IDW. Boy, do they have some plans...

NRAMA: Before we end this: What scares Ben Templesmith?

BT: Owing taxes. People with no sense of humor who take themselves far too seriously. And being nude.

For more information on Dead Space, check out the website.

[alaska1125]

Sounds cool, but some preview pages would've been nice. Ah well, I guess it's only a weeks wait.

[Blackbeard]

Oh, man... I can't wait for this! Anything Templesmith does is a must-buy comic for me.

[kingofcities]

That game preview looks AWESOME. Very moody and dark. Hope the gameplay is the same.

[JamesSime]

I had a chance to read one of those preview copies of issue #1 that were floating around WonderCon, and I think this might be the most enjoyable comic/videogame tie-in I've ever read.

Nice job, Johnston and Templesmith!

[zombie bill]

Originally Posted by Blackbeard

Oh, man... I can't wait for this! Anything Templesmith does is a must-buy comic for me.

Indeed! And yet for some reason Wormwood and Fell stay on the rack for way too long at my LCS...

[Tremnar]

I wonder what other game Ben worked on....for some reason I want to say Max Payne's graphic novel story telling reminds me of his style at times, but I can't be sure.

-T-

[shoeshine]

I too recieved one of the special editions of issue one at Wondercon, and it was pretty enjoyable. Wish they would have explained more about the cult that's a central piece of the story, but I'm sure more will come out as the mini continues.