On February 10th, Vertigo will launch its new series “The Dark and Bloody” from Shawn Aldridge and Scott Godlewski. The series will follow the story of Iris, an Iraq war veteran as he struggles with his life now back home. To help his family, Iris teams up with a former ranking officer to run moonshine in the backwoods of Kentucky. Now Iris finds himself facing past sins and present nightmares. Guns, moonshine, and monsters fill the pages of “The Dark and Bloody.”

We were lucky enough to get to speak to the creative team of Shawn Aldridge and Scott Godlewski about the book, as well as share some exclusive artwork with us. A big thanks to the guys for taking the time to talk their new series.

First off thanks so much guys! So excited for “The Dark and Bloody.”

Shawn Aldridge: Thanks for having us.

How did the book come about? What can readers expect from the series in terms of story and art that maybe they might not be glean from the solicitations?

SA: It all kinda popped from just one word: moonshiner. One night I was thinking about how much I liked that word, how it sounded, and how I’d like do a story about a moonshiner. I’ve always wanted to do a story set in Kentucky, too. So, I kinda married those things together. Eventually, the story became about small town folks being caught in circumstances beyond their control, but in a way, of their own making. It’s also about war and the monsters, human and otherwise, it creates. It’s about how the choices we don’t make can effect us just as much as the ones we do. Really it’s about being human, and we can all relate to that, can’t we? I think the biggest thing the solicits can’t convey is how great Scott’s art is in the book. I mean, buy it for the art, if for nothing else. It’s gorgeous to look at. The art and story, I hope, meld to give the book a different vibe than what people are used to in horror. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but I think it has it’s own, different feel.

I think one of the toughest themes and feelings in comics is horror. Lacking the visual effects/tricks and jump scares of movies or being able to play with the reader’s imagination in novels, comics always seems to be starting at a bit of a disadvantage. What do you guys think is the key to effective horror in comics and how do you bring that to “The Dark and Bloody?”

SA: I think it’s building an atmosphere of dread and creepiness, then using them to put the reader on edge. You want to worm you’re way into their brain enough that, hours later, they shiver a little thinking back on what they read. Maybe you can’t shock them, but you can try to linger for a few days. You can do that with how you stage a scene or how you have a character speak, but really a lot of the lifting is done by the art. Scott and colorist Trish Mulvihill do a fantastic job with the atmosphere and mood of the book. Scott also does a killer job of selling tension in his panel and staging choices.

Scott Godlewski: You’re right. In comics you don’t have the benefit of sound, movement or quick, unpredictable cuts. You are able to do a fair bit of leading the eye with layout and composition and you have the reveal every two pages with the page turn. My strongest quality as an artist is, I think, getting my figures to act and emote convincingly. When you combine that with Shawn’s dialogue and plot, you get really strong, believable characters. When you combine characters that readers connect and identify with and the knowledge that you’re reading a horror story in which awful things will inevitably happen, you get tension and genuine concern for these people. And that’s a horrific feeling.

The settings of the southern backwoods and Iraq for the series are obviously vastly different worlds but also feel like great backdrops for a horror story. Will the setting be important characters in their own right?

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SA: The settings do provide great catalysts for a lot of what drives the story. That goes beyond just visually, too. I think a lot of what they provide is how they shape the characters themselves. The unique set of circumstances, war and isolation, they create and how the characters react and grow from them is a good chunk of the book. Even though their vastly different, visually, I think there’s a vein they share, that unshakable burden of just being born where you were. There’s almost a horror of place layer to it.

SG: I don’t think too much about the settings being different. My concern with any setting is making it convincing. Aesthetically, there’s a huge difference between Kentucky and Iraq, but it’s still all about recognition and believability. Sorry, that’s a long-winded way of saying there’s no difference to me.

It sounds like there will also be a back and forth with past sins and present struggles for Iris, the main character. How has it been juggling that narrative especially with a first issue?

SA: The hardest part is figuring out when and which pieces of the past catch up to the present. You want to give the reader enough to remain interested, but give too much away and you lose tension. You also don’t want flashbacks going on for too long and lose the reader’s connection to the present. I tried to vary how I conveyed past events, maybe it’s Iris’ internal monologue, or a photo, or even a gesture. With the first issue, I know where I needed the characters to be by the end of the issue, after it just came down to dropping enough bread crumbs that the reader would follow them there.

For Shawn, it sounds like a personal story in many ways with your experiences in Kentucky. How have those experiences made its way into the series?

SA: The pace of the book definitely comes from growing up in Kentucky. There’s a slow, Southern drawl to it. A lot of the characters, even some of the events, are based on people I know or things I’ve done, though some a little more loosely than others. And there’s probably a little more of me, both good and bad, in Iris than I probably care to admit. Also, the thoughts on small towns and reflections on woods and the escape they can provide are distilled from my own experiences living in both.

With subjects like war vets, running moonshine and even elements of folklore, was there a lot of prep to get a look and feel? On the other end, has there been a lot of room for creative in terms of the horror elements (there was mention of monsters!)?

SA: Oh, indeed. There was a lot of pre-story work that went in to it. I did a lot of digging around in Middle Eastern, and even Turkish, folklore. I wanted something, in the monster, that pulled from that region, but I also wanted it to be unique to our story. As for war vets and running moonshine, I knew people who fell into those categories so I knew a bit about both before diving in. Most of my uncles and a few cousins are vets of some war or another. Having grown up around them, I knew how war could change you for better or worse. I do think there is some uniqueness to our monster. I gave Scott some ideas for the look, but he took it to another level. His design work is fantastic. He also does a beautiful job of staging, of giving the book its own world.. There’s little bits he’s added to the background and characters that just sell the feel of the scene and the overall story so well. So, thankful to have him.

SG:There was a bit of pre-production work on my end but probably not any more than usual. The monster was the hardest to pin down. I love drawing creatures and this one was a real challenge. It ended up being the coolest design I’ve ever done and certainly my favorite part of the book.

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Scott’s work on Copperhead has been some of my favorite art in comics the past 2 years. How has the transition been to “The Dark and Bloody?” Have you had to adjust your style or been able to experiment going into this series?

SG: Thanks so much. They are different worlds, to be sure. My process hasn’t really changed except for doing layouts before going to the page. I mean, I always do layouts, but on “Copperhead” I don’t do them for pages beyond the one that’s currently on the drawing board. I still pencil digitally, still ink traditionally and still use the same tools. If anything, I might say that my line work is a little more loose. In part because it’s a horror book and because I think it benefits the material more than a clean line would. It should feel a little more unstable.

After finishing issue one, what do you hope readers feel?

SA:I hope they feel like buying issue #2, if I’m being honest. haha. Joking aside, I hope the feel like sittin’ on the back porch with us and watchin’ coming storm roll on in.

SG: What he said.

Tyler Crook’s covers are amazing right?

SA: They are absolutely wonderful. They do such a beautiful job of capturing the mood of the book and each issue. So lucky to have him.

SG:I hope people won’t be disappointed when they open the book 😉

Last one, what scares you the most? Deadlines right?

SA: That no one will like the book. haha. Sorry, jokes are my defense mechanism. If I had to choose one thing that scares me it would be an inescapable situation where death is the only way out, like being buried alive or trapped underwater. I guess that ties into the theme of “The Dark and Bloody,” itself: being in a situation where your control of it is non-existent.

SG: Summer vacation and having three kids home for two months. And snakes.