I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Brereton last year at the San Diego Comic Con, where we spoke shortly regarding his current works, as well as my personal favorite of his, Giant Killer. But I first noticed Dan’s work on a little series called The Nocturnals. It had everything going for it: monsters, action, humor, and monsters. Now, Dan has taken his dark family of supernatural heroes to Oni Press for an all-new mini-series. Dan was generous enough to take time out of his busy schedule to discuss The Nocturnals’ next move, and what’s next for this talented writer/artist…

Previews: In a nutshell, describe The Nocturnals for those unfamiliar with the characters and situations.

Dan Brereton: In a nutshell, huh? The Hollywood pitch I’ve heard before is "Sleepy Hollow meets the X-Men." But I don’t know that that covers it. Basically, the stories combine Horror, Crime, Action and a sort of Halloween flavor… call it ‘Monster Noir.’ The Nocturnals are seven heroic creatures who've formed a familial bond, centered around the notorious underworld figure and occultist, Doc Horror, and his teenage daughter, Eve (a.k.a. Halloween Girl). Eve is a friendly, fearless witch-girl, a sort of spectral conduit who communes with the spirits living inside her spooky collection of toys. They live in a small coastal town called Pacific City, which is mostly a haven for retired gangsters and the occasional supernatural menace. The book doesn’t take itself too seriously, and its a lot of fun.

P: What was your inspiration for The Nocturnals?

DB: I had come up with this character I was calling Halloween Girl — a name coined by my daughter — that instantly inspired the character. She had a father who was like the epitome of the Pulp Hero, and I named him Doc Horror. The idea originally was that he offered a safe haven to monsters who were misunderstood and needed help, in return for his help, he exacted their loyalty and aide in the service of fighting Evil. The Gunwitch was based on this idea I had form a few years ago for a character that was a sort of a gun-fighting scarecrow. The name 'Gunwitch' sprang to mind, and stuck firmly. The rest of the Nocturnals — Starfish, Polychrome, Firelion and the Raccoon—were all revamps of characters I'd created as a teenager. They were the monster contingent, Doc was the fearless, mysterious leader, and Eve was sort of the kid mascot — only in this case, Eve is the most powerful member of the group, despite the fact that the others always try, in vain, to keep her out of harm’s way! The original title was something like, Doc Horror's Pawn Shop. The name 'Nocturnals' came later, sort of on its own. After that, I knew I had something on my hands I could sink my teeth into!

P: What's the story behind this latest Nocturnals mini-series, "The Dark Forever?"

DB: The Nocturnals have all been away from Pacific City, pursuing their own personal quests and journeys. Doc and a few others have stayed behind, and things are getting boring… until a plague of the Undead strikes the town. Around this time, Eve, who has been attending a private school for spooky kids like herself, comes back home for Thanksgiving weekend. Not long after, more of the wayward Nocturnals straggle back in from their travels, and just in the nick of time, because Doc has gone missing in the caves below their underground fortress, and the zombie-count is just the beginning of the monster-parade they'll have to face down! This one is more in tune with the feel of the original Black Planet mini-series from 1995 (now available as a trade paperback by Oni Press!), darker, more pulp-fiction oriented. It still has the humor of the Hallowen Specials I’ve done (Witching Hour and Troll Bridge), but with a hard-boiled edge.

DB: It feels great! I love that I don’t have to draw everything I write — and I love that Ted Naifeh is involved. The book looks so damn good and he’s doing wonders with the script I wrote. When it’s an artist that I admire, it’s an honor to have your characters portrayed by them. Troll Bridge was a wonderful experience in this regard — one story as told by 12 artists. Incredible experience and a really fun read too. I would love to team with Ted again on another Nocturnals story, but I fear after this, he’s going to get snapped up by Marvel or something. He’s really an incredible draftsman! Anyone who knows his work from Gloomcookie will be delighted, but also surprised I think, by his versatility. He’s captured the universe of darkness that the Nocturnals live in perfectly.

P: You've worked with many higher profile publishers in the past, yet you seem to have made your "home" with Oni Press. Is there anything that they do differently from the others?

DB: Yes. When they tell me they are going to publish a Nocturnals project, they actually publish a Nocturnals project! Oni Press are a great company. They are supportive and have a real vision for comics as a medium, and they have real affection for the books they publish. You can’t say this for some of the bigger guns out there. I work well with them and they 'get' the material in ways other publishers have failed to. I’ll always be grateful to Mike Richardson and Dave Olbrich for their involvement with past Nocturnals projects, but I owe Oni a debt of gratitude for their continued support of Nocturnals. They were the ones who came to me with the idea of the Gunwitch spin-off, something no publisher would have ever gone for. I’d been told in the past that there was no way readers would buy a Nocturnals book I didn’t draw or paint. Oni is out to prove them wrong. and with Ted Naifeh on board, its an easy sell!

P: Are there any set plans for the Nocturnals after The Dark Forever? How far do you have their story mapped out?

DB: I have a story I want to do next, concentrating on the more crime-fiction aspects of the series, and departing somewhat from the horror or Lovecraftian elements. Its amazing how much we owe to H.P. Lovecraft for the wonderful things he brought to pulp, sci-fi, and now comics. I want to pay homage to the hard-boiled writers I admire, like Raymond Chandler, Dashiel Hammet, and James Ellroy. So a future Nocturnals storyline would be as close to crime fiction as you can get with these characters. I’d like to do another Gunwitch story too. Oni and I have plans to take the Hideous League (who debuted in Troll Bridge) and give them a one-shot also, probably with Halloween Girl. I don’t have a specific time-line of events planned for the Nocs, except that I want to explore the background of each of the characters in a way that brings them forward into the future together.

DB: A little, sure. Right now Eve, Doc, Gunwitch and Polychrome are sculpted, and they make up the first launch of figures. Once I approve them and I feel they are ready to represent my style as much as they can, we’ll go forward. I’m trying not to get too excited by it all, simply because its never for sure until they actually hit stores. Then I’ll be crowing. So far, though, they look really sharp and I can’t wait for them to hit! The details on their accessories alone are startlingly faithful to the books — just wait until you see Eve's pumpkin full of toys...!

DB: The Gunwitch bust is a beauty, and was originally sculpted by Beverly Gilroy, based on my designs — she’s done a remarkable job, and I an anxious to see the Dynamic Forces bust. I love the thing because the Gunwitch looks he came right out of the book! Exactly what I expect from these kinds of items. Another thing I like is that this bust has two arms and they are weilding guns!

DB: Graphitti Designs will be offering a full-color shirt this summer, and Dynamic Forces and I have plans to do more merchandise, possibly a lunchbox. And there are the prints from Fanboy Entertainment that are really slick. Beverly Gilroy (Hourglass Studios) and I have plans for a Halloween Girl sculpt — we hope to have something to show on that this summer in San Diego.

DB: Right now I’m working ont the two Nocturnals projects. After that I’m not sure. There’s the Hideous League special (a spooky sort of superhero team; sort of a cross between the Justice League and The Groovy Ghoulies) that I’ve been talking to Jay Stephens about possibly drawing. Mike Manley and I are doing a sort of crime-horror remake of Red Riding Hood called Autumn. This is something I’m pretty jazzed about! It’s basically an urban crime-war between a the daughter of a mobster and a clan of werewolves bent on reclaiming the forest city they all share. It’s wild!

Also, Brian Bendis and I have plans to do an arc for the Ultimate Marvels Team-Up books. Spider-Man and ? not sure… we’re still talking over who we want to do. I’ve spoken with Dan Raspler about doing something with some of the core JLA characters... but to be honest, I’m betting on getting back to Pacific City for more Nocturnals.

P: Who/what would you consider to be your greatest influences?

DB: Frazetta and Toth. Dean Cornwell and N.C. Wyeth. Kirby, Buscema, Colan from the late 60's and early 70's. The month of October. The Herculoids, Space Ghost, Speed Racer, Scooby Doo. The OZ books. Being afraid of the covers to the Marvel monster mags of the 70's, and of the dark, as a kid. The Universal Monster movies. Monster children’s books by Mercer Mayer. Japanese giant monster movies. The old Batman TV show. Where the Wild Things Are. Dr Seuss. Spagetti Westerns. Samurai Westerns. Crime fiction from the 20's thru the 50's. Film Noir. Lovecraft, Howard, Bradbury, Burroughs, Wells, Jules Verne...The list goes on and on!

DB: Not at DC, I don’t think. If I do more with Jack and Jill, I suspect it will be in the pages of the Nocturnals. Jill was a character I rescued from a Nocturnals outline I never got to do.

DB: Swamp Thing. Man-thing. The Shadow. Conan. Elric. Red Sonja. Godzilla.

P: Is Godzilla the King of all Monsters?

DB: Yes he is. He is the King, and the very comprehension of Godzilla and his ways are not meant for mortals to understand (except possibly for Arthur Adams). Godzilla is the god of the Fanboy. In Giantkiller, the theme was "Monsters were out here for one reason; to destroy." In Japanese, the word is "hakai." Destruction. That was a seductive premise for me and why I created Giantkiller.

DB: I’d like to thank them for their support, for buying the books. I think some readers think we don’t think about the readers when we are working away in our studios. And there are some creators who will actually tell their readers they don’t do it for them. Well, no, we don’t, exactly — but we do make comics because we ourselves are readers and fans. And if I’m trying to please myself, you can bet I’m a harsher critic than they are, by far! I would never pretend to know what the collective wants or likes — all I can do is show them what I love, like a kid who’s just put the finishing touches on his or her dream tree-fort. After I’ve climbed up, all I can do is hope others will want to climb up too. Because we all know the best tree-forts always have good comic books lying around!

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