Consequences of getting onto the wrong bus usually range between a mild annoyance to a having pay deducted for arriving to work late. When Skye boards the wrong summer camp bus, she ends up in a world of monsters.







The rebellious Skye now has to acclimate to a world she never knew existed as she tries to keep her identity as a human secret from the rest of the paranormal campers.







Already nominated for a YALSA award as Best Book for Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association. Steven T. Seagle and Jason Adam Katzenstein's all-ages horror comedy graphic novel, “Camp Midnight” just hit shelves, and an excerpt is available as Image Comic's Gold Book for Free Comic Book Day.







Seagle is known to comic audiences for works including “It's a Bird...”Genius” and his time writing Superman and the X-Men. As part of Man of Action, his work on “Ben 10,” “Generator Rex” and “Big Hero 6” has been seen by audiences worldwide.







The Swerve Magazine: When did you have the idea for “Camp Midnight?” Was it a story that came together easily or was it a more nuanced development?



Steven T. Seagle: “Camp Midnight” came to me all at once and very suddenly. I had just seen Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” – right when it was released theatrically in the US – and I had the idea of Skye and her out-of-place camp experience. I wrote myself some notes about a possible story, then put it away because I was on other things and didn’t have an artist in mind for it.



SM: Jason Adam Katzenstein's art is immediately striking. How did you come to work with him on Camp Midnight and what was the collaboration process like on this project?



SS: I have a writer’s group that meets at a Korean spa in LA once a week. One week, the actor Daryl Sabara (“Weeds,” “Spy Kids”) brought Jason to the group. Jason sat all day drawing on his tablet. Once I saw the work Jason was doing, I immediately thought of “Camp Midnight” which had been languishing in a file on my desktop for almost a decade. We started doing 7 pages a week and polishing them at the group. A year and a half later, we had our book.



SM: In addition to “Camp Midnight,” you have also tackled horror-tinged youth titles with “Batula” and “Frankie Stein.” What is the allure of all-ages horror that keeps revisiting that genre?



SS: Most of the publishing work I do in comics and graphic novels is PG-13 and up. My interests are a bit more mature, a bit more genre, a bit darker. But having over a decade of success with younger audience properties under the Man of Action belt like “Ben 10” and “Big Hero 6,” I wanted to make a book for our younger fans.



SM: At what point in the production process was “Camp Midnight” selected as Image's Gold level Free Comic Book Day title? Did the selection surprise you?



SS: It completely surprised Jason and me. We had all 240 pages of “Camp Midnight” completed and ready to go for October of 2015. It was even solicited to the comics market. Then we got news that Scholastic might be interested, but didn’t have enough time to make a decision about the book. And that bookstores wanted more time to position the release. So Image asked if we would consider delaying until spring 2016. We did, and only good things happened after – including that Image made us the Free Comic Book Day Gold book. We’re very appreciative of Eric Stephenson’s instincts about the delay..







SM: What is your process when developing a story? Does it differ depending on the medium in which you are working?







SS: No, I always start with character and theme. I tend to work backwards from a definitive ending. I like structural challenges in my writing so I will often set a structure before I start breaking down the story. And once I have all that in place I try to figure out which medium best suits the story I have.



SM: While you have told comic stories both as complete works and serialized installments, it seems that you produce a higher ratio of complete graphic novels than many creators. What is the appeal of that format for you?



SS: I tend to have a complete thought in mind for most of my projects, and so releasing it all at once usually feels like the best way to get that thought across. In publishing, I’m not really interested in doing hundreds of issues of one thing. I’m more interested in doing one volume each of hundreds of things.



SM: When Man of Action is tackling a larger project such as Ben 10, how does the creative process work? Is it full collaboration, or do certain members take the lead?







SS: Man of Action works in a lot of different ways. Some things we split up and tackle parts separately with one MAN in charge of polishing it out once it’s put together. Sometimes we work in pairs on different aspects of a project and then combine it. Sometimes we round-robin things. Other times we all sit in our office and work collectively. The best thing is that for any project we have a Writers Room pre-assembled with 16 years of experience of working together.



SM: When Man of Action is tasked with developing a new version of an existing IP, such as Ultimate Spider-Man or Avengers Assemble, is it challenging to keep it at an entry-level narrative, rather than delving into the character's history and development?



SS: It is challenging, but it’s also really critical to think “entry level”. We’re all fanboys, and we love and respect what’s come before. But when doing a new Spider-Man, or Avengers, or even Ben10 for a new audience, we have to make the show that speaks to the new audience rather than a show that speaks just to the lifers. That said, we’re also lifers! So we also make sure to infuse enough tips of the hat to the existing fans, but the show itself has to be focused on the new viewers we want to fall in love with these classic characters. And 100% nostalgia is not the way to make that happen.







