Brothers Zack and Nick Keller are bringing childhood horrors and much more to Dark Horse comics with Death Head, in stores this July. Death Head pits a family on a camping trip against a Plague Doctor…and that’s about all that needs to be said to get the chills going up and down my spine. The Keller brothers graciously gave Comicosity the scoop on the upcoming series, which hits FOC on Monday, and brought along the unreleased cover of the third issue (found below):
Heather Joy: Horror comics have become increasingly popular over the past couple years. Where did you draw your inspiration from for this story, and how long have you been crafting Death Head?
Death Head #1 Cover by E.M. Grist
Zack Keller: Normally, the haunted places and urban legends we hear about in our daily lives are fake, but in this story, they’re all real. That’s something I’ve always been interested in. Why does a place become “haunted?” Where do urban legends come from? Nick and I drew inspiration from our childhood, in particular, places that scared us growing up such as a sewer that ran through our town’s cemetery and a redwood forest perpetually covered in fog. Both of these locations appear in the first issue, but we visit them repeatedly throughout the series as the mystery behind why they are haunted is uncovered.
Nick Keller: This story was in the works for about a year before we were introduced to the folks at Dark Horse. We knew we wanted to tell a horror story about a Plague Doctor, but we wanted it to have heart. The family dynamic gave the story more life than your typical slasher. The blood will definitely flow in Death Head, but the Burton family and their relationships are the focus of the story.
HJ: What was it like working with your brother on this project?
ZK: We’ve been brothers for twenty-six years and creative partners for five so we’ve had a long history of beating each other up. Thankfully, that’s all been on the “brother” section, not the “creative partner” section which is how it should be. Having two writers allows one of us to be the first critic so our first drafts are much more polished than if we had written alone. For a mystery, which can easily be gunned down with plot-holes, it’s incredibly valuable to have two brains.
NK: We’ll often finish each other’s thoughts when writing because we know each other so well. We both have our separate strengths in writing so it’s worked out well crafting this story together. As Zack mentioned, we’re very critical on our first drafts and happy that no one sees them but our editor. The final draft that becomes the comic is very different than the first one we turn in. Because we’re brothers, we’re brutally honest with the criticisms of our writing so it can be the best possible story it can be.
HJ: Can you discuss the setting and main cast of Death Head? What sort of world is Death Head set in?
ZK: Death Head takes places in a modern American suburb known as Pinecrest, an amalgamation of the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. We’re striving for an unsettling vibe so we filled each setting with some “off” element that gives the reader pause to worry if there’s something very wrong going on. Reyes, a rain-beaten sea-side town we visit later in the series, is a place stricken by constant tragedy so the people, the animals, and even the weather have a sense of impending death around every corner.
NK: The main cast is the Burton family. Issue 1 starts with the parents Niles and Justine on a camping trip in the woods to escape their life for a weekend. After they discover a cursed mask in an abandoned town, the Plague Doctor hunts them down to get it back. Their kids, Maggie and Bee, are brought into the mix when the parents return home with the mask. They’re being hunted…and the Plague Doctor will only satisfied once their dead. Another main player is Rosie, a young girl who has a history with the Plague Doctor. She befriends Bee and is very important throughout these first six issues.
Death Head #3 cover by E.M. Grist
HJ: What can you tell us about the villainous “Plague Doctor” in regards to backstory and/or motivation to…well…be a villain?
ZK: Plague Doctors are the perfect horror villain. That’s why Nick and I were surprised that we hadn’t seen them used in mainstream horror comics or movies. You couldn’t design a more terrifying creature if you tried—long black cloak, a mask that looks like a crow’s skull, and a leather bag stuffed with sharp medical implements. They pretty much look like the Grim Reaper. Our story starts out with an urban legend about a plague doctor that lures children into the sewer to perform gruesome experiments on them, but as more backstory is revealed, readers will learn his true motivation. In this story, nothing is as it initially seems.
NK: The Plague Doctor’s motivation is shrouded in mystery. What does he want? Why is he trying to kill this family? What’s his origin? We want the reader to ask those questions and keep reading to experience this journey with the Burtons. At the beginning of the story, the family is targeted by the Plague Doctor and he won’t stop until they’re dead. The mystery will slowly be revealed as the story continues.
HJ: Joanna Estep is handling visuals for Death Head, how did you she get involved with the series and what has it been like watching your collaboration come to life?
ZK: Joanna is an amazingly talented artist who we’re incredibly lucky to be working with. Her work has such style. Each issue she surprises us by taking our boring old words and turning them into visual magic. Pairing her with Kelly Fitzpatrick for color, John J. Hill for lettering, and EM Gist for our covers, we have an unstoppable artist team that was assembled by Jim Gibbons, our amazing editor at Dark Horse. We’re unbelievably thankful for everything Dark Horse has done to put this comic on store shelves.
NK: Comics take an incredible amount of effort from all the members of the team and we’ve been so lucky to have such talented people working on this story. Everytime I get new pages in my inbox from Joanna or Kelly, I’m inspired all over again. We just write these ideas down but they bring it to life. Both of them are doing such fantastic work and it’s very humbling seeing their art week after week. I’m very excited for people to see what they’ve created.
HJ: Any final words for Comicosity’s readers regarding Death Head?
ZK: Issue 1 will be coming out monthly starting July 15th. If your local comic shop isn’t carrying it, just ask for the manager and give them this code: MAY150099. We’ve already had several fans do this! Nick and I wanted to create a story that readers everywhere will enjoy that combines the best elements of the horror genre with characters that you’ll root for no matter how desperate things get. It’s going to be an entertaining read from Page 1. We’d love your support by picking up the comic in July and you can follow the comic, creators and artists now at www.deathheadcomic.com or pre-order the comic now www.tfaw.com/deathhead.
NK: If you like the series, tell a friend! Lend them your copy, buy them one, or just tell your friends and family about it. Feel free to send us any Plague Doctor fan art, personal scary stories, or any thoughts on our comic to deathhead@darkhorse.com and you might be printed in a future issue!
Death Head #1 hits stores July 15th. Final order cutoff is June 22, 2015 and retailers can use code MAY150099.