Exclusive interview by Pete Bangs, over at UGO
Brian Pulido's comics certainly have their fans. As the founder and publisher of the now-defunct Chaos! Comics, he rolled out a legion of characters that have since found their way into the four-color lexicon. The most prominent of these was arguably Lady Death, and when Chaos! went under, Pulido brought his star creation over to CrossGen. Along with an ongoing series, Pulido has now launched a related miniseries, entitled Lady Death: The Wild Hunt. He recently spoke to UGO about his latest project.
UGO: Brian, thanks for taking the time to talk to us about Lady Death and particularly the new series, Lady Death: The Wild Hunt. This is Lady Death's tenth anniversary year, I believe. Why do you think she has survived when so much else from the nineties' boom has vanished?
BRIAN: My best guess is that she's an archetype. She is the female personification of death. Also she's angry, in control and not a victim. Even when she was running around in a thong bikini she was calling the shots.
UGO: She's changed constantly during her existence, from supporting character/villain to anti-hero but the last miniseries, Medieval Tale, has involved relaunching her as a fantasy heroine in an almost classic style. What was the inspiration behind the change?
BRIAN: Mark Alessi at CGE wanted to try her in a "wholesome" action/adventure/fantasy direction. After writing edgy books for over a decade, the thought was refreshing.
UGO: The new miniseries and its CrossGen predecessor draw heavily on European legend and myth to provide a lot of the back drop for the story. Is this an area that interests you and how did you decide it was a suitable arena for Lady Death to make a fresh start?
BRIAN: I don't have a particular interest in the era. I'm not remotely an expert, but I was given the latitude to set it anywhere during the medieval or dark ages. I researched those times and picked the era where knights were considered godly and Christianity was dominant. I wanted to cast the church as part of the problem -- if you do your homework you'll learn that some Popes were adulterers and all kinds of bad stuff.
UGO: Can we look forward to seeing your interpretation of the mythical Wild Hunt with its huntsman in this or have you taken the name intending to attach other meanings to it?
BRIAN: I'm using the term metaphorically. Lady Death and her free men are the Eldritch's last opposition. They are out to get them, so the whole thing is a "wild hunt." Also, in the story, the Eldritch refer to hunting -- and thinning out -- humans as the wild hunt.
UGO: Outside of the press blurbs we've all seen, can you give us any hint of what's coming up for Lady Death in this series?
BRIAN: There's a real family feud quality to this series. Lady' Death's father Tvarus -- once her champion -- is really out to stamp her out.
UGO: One thing I noticed, with her black armour and white skin, is a superficial resemblance to Michael Moorcock's Elric. Was this an intentional tribute or something that grew more out of the way you envision the character? Black and white certainly is incredibly striking in a colour comic.
BRIAN: That's all Jimmy Chueng. He came up with the armor, so you'd have to ask him. I'm an Elric fan, so I take that as an extreme compliment.
UGO: Well, following on from that, you're working with Jim Cheung on Lady Death:The Wild Hunt and, to my mind, he's one of the few successors to the late John Buscema when it comes to adventure comics. Amazingly, he seems to have come along at a time when the opportunity to do comics like this actually exists in the mainstream. How did you come to be working with him?
BRIAN: I'm pretty sure Jim was assigned to the book by Mark Alessi. He wanted the book to have a great look. If you've seen the pages, it is mission accomplished.
UGO: What sort of input has Jim had into how you've approached the story? His art has a finesse about it that can successfully pull off more quietly emotional scenes and is very different from some of the more bombastic artists you've worked with before.
BRIAN: I initiated the story, but Jim's put his own spin on it. Lady Death's current look is all his. We are on the third issue and we've both learned a lot about working together. Our editor Barbara Kesel likens it to Axl Rose collaborating with John Lennon (you figure out who is who). What makes Jim perfect is his ability to tell a story in dynamic images, to take written ideas and visualize them in unforeseen ways, and to contribute to the plot to make it more entertaining to the readers. His pages are radical. Wait until we reveal a few plot twists with Lady Death and what he does to her costume design.
UGO: How has your approach differed this time round from when you wrote Medieval Tale?
BRIAN: When I knew Jim would be on board, I figured I needed to write a story that would utilize his talents. Besides being a good storyteller, his stuff is very explosive. Literally. He draws magical and power like nobody. Up until now Lady Death didn't have much command of her powers. With Jim on board I thought it would be a waste not to tap into his wild displays of power. So I put it year later imagining Lady Death is a warrior now.
Also, Bill Rosemann challenged me to up the ante on the story. He didn't mind if I moved it to a darker place. Of curse that immediately appealed to me. Darkness. Apocalyptic vision? Where do I sign up?
UGO: On the subject of artists, you have a crossover with CrossGen's Sojourn due out shortly, drawn by George Perez. George Perez has got to be the dream artist for most comics writers. There seems to be nothing he cannot draw and draw believably. What was your reaction to landing George drawing the crossover? And can you give away anything about the plot for the book?
BRIAN: Well, Chuck wound up writing the first issue and I'm writing the second. I talked to George the other day and we pow-wowed on how to play to his strengths. I'm also busting out the old Superman vs. Spider-Man crossover and taking notes. George wants to draw epic, big scale stuff. I want to write explosive, passionate battle scenes.
UGO: What does the future hold for Brian Pulido, outside of more Lady Death? Are you planning to work on other types of books?
BRIAN: I've completed principal photography on a 15-minute horror short shot on film. It's called There's Something Out There. It's about a couple menaced by a murderous garden gnome! We had an 18-person crew and we had a blast. It's coming together easily and I intend to complete it around May 1st. I will use T.S.O.T as my calling card (or director's reel if you will) to my contacts in LA. I plan to offer it to the comics market in October. The DVD will have a "Scary" version and a "Bloody" version, a "making of" featurette, over 350 production stills and lots more.
On April 2nd, we launched an all-new collectible mail order company called www.chaos-store.com. I've banded together with several people and we will present over 600 Chaos! Comics-related items to fans across the globe. We've been working on the back end of the site since January. The site itself is really informative and provides background information and my personal opinion on the books I published at Chaos! Comics.
After Chaos! imploded I never intended to write comics other than Lady Death. Then Avatar publisher William Christensen lured me back to the darkside offering me complete me creative freedom. He wanted and encouraged my over-the-top sensibilities. So I created Belladonna, Unholy and Gypsy for Avatar.
Belladonna will appeal to fans of CGE'S Lady Death and to fans of the old-school Lady Death. It takes place in Wexford Ireland in 951 AD. On Colleen MacGrath's wedding night, which will unite two powerful Irish families, they are all slaughtered by Viking hordes. Now a year later, the spirit of the Celtic goddess Morrigan possesses Colleen and she wants vengeance!
Unholy is set in modern-day Detroit. It's about a rebel teen named Penny who is a non-believer. After a fatal accident she's "drafted" by God to be His assassin. As a fallen angel she is caught in a shadow war waged on city streets, in plain clothes, between Heaven and Hell.
Gypsy is a work-in-progress. This story has that crazed Chaos! flavor, but for the moment we want to keep the details under wraps. Suffice to say it is a period piece that deals with the prejudice leveled against the gypsies of Europe in a dark, supernatural way.
I am also spearheading the CBLDF Celebrity Auction at WizardWorld Chicago this year. Expect a rip-roaring good time with booze, great donations, celebrity auctioneers, and did I mention booze? This is an election year and that is a sure sign that politicians are going to look to restrict our freedoms. Look at what is happening to Howard Stern right now. I'm looking to raise mucho dinero to fill the funds buckets in anticipation of the inevitable attack. George Perez has generously donated one of the Sojourn/Lady Death covers to the cause and that quality of donation is representative of what we are looking for. Interested fans and creators can check cbldf.org for more info in the coming weeks.
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