The following is an interview with writers Shannon Eric Denton and Dirk Blackman regarding the recent launch of a Zoop crowdfunding campaign for the comic book series, Savager, through PANICK Entertainment. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Denton and Blackman about their shared creative process in bringing the post-apocalyptic world and characters to life on the page, why they are excited to be partnering with horror publisher PANICK Entertainment for the series, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the launch of your Zoop crowdfunding campaign for Savager! For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you share with us about the premise of the story?
Shannon Eric Denton and Dirk Blackman: It’s a post-apocalyptic revenge story. Think The Mist meets Road Warrior. Ten years from now, there is a “Lovecraftian Apocalypse. A Cthulhu event.” Rifts open all across the sky and billions of creatures swarm earth and take over the bodies of animals – humans, bears, wolves, whales – by burrowing into them and puppeting them with countless tentacles that work themselves throughout the body. We call them Dwellers.
A hundred years later – in our story’s timeline – our hero is the lone survivor of that apocalypse. How he survived is a key part of the story. He’s alone on Earth, surrounded by a dead world, half crazy, full of rage. His sole driving force is revenge for the deaths of every human being on Earth. He wants to kill as many of the Dwellers as he can before he finally dies. Then one day, he finds another reason to keep living…
BD: What can you tell us about your shared creative process in working with artist Kewber Ball and cover artist Tehani Farr to bring this invaded world and characters to life on the page?
SED / DB: Kewber and Tehani are exceptional artists, with strong styles. Kewber is very cinematic. We gave him very specific directions for each frame, and he built on those and instilled them with his own dynamism and detail. For instance, we wanted our hero to carry a sword, but not like every other sword. It was something he made himself out of found material. From that, Kewber drew up a blade whose handle was the fused jaw of a big plumber’s wrench. It’s a small, wonderful detail.
Tehani’s artwork is sensually iconic. She’s so good at expressing a project’s feelings. We sat down with her and went over his backstory, his emotions, what’s driving him. She chose a color palette that accentuated the hero’s emotional mileage, the villain’s bloody nature, and the beauty of the world in which the story takes place.
BD: What are you most excited for readers to experience as they follow Savager’s journey in finding the last hope for humanity?
SED / DB: Well, we want them to become invested in the characters, of course. And we want them to think ‘WTF?’ when they see some of the weird creatures in the world. But we really want to wow them with a colorful, wild vision of this post-apocalyptic landscape. It’s sad – there are no animals left – but it’s also beautiful and strange. I mean, who knows what happens to a world when you open thousands of rifts to another dimension? Maybe there are now ice tornadoes in the Sahara. Maybe gravity doesn’t quite work over the ruins of Poughkeepsie. Maybe a small town from 1970 got ripped out of time and plunked down at the end of the world. Come along and see.
BD: What makes PANICK the perfect home for this series?
SED / DB: Oh, these guys know horror. Perfect place for a Monster Forge project, where the world is overrun by monsters. They know how to talk about it, how to edit it. They’re pros. They’ve been very respectful of the creative process while still pushing us when we need to be pushed. And most importantly, Panick is their baby. They have time, money, love, and dreams wrapped up in it. They’re gonna fight to make it work.
BD: Are there any other projects that you would like highlight for our readers?
SED: Aside from really wanting everyone to love Savager and the other Panick books, keep an eye out for Monster Forge’s Return of the Monsters and our Monster Forge Halloween Special gHosts (with fellow Panick comics amigo David Dastmalchian).
DB: I have a book coming out in 2025 called What the F*** Was I Thinking: A How-Not-To of Screenwriting that humorously points out common pitfalls faced by young writers. I also have an upcoming webinar called Making the Right Mistakes to Stay Relevant in Cinema. It’s part of Christie Digital’s cinesparks series this October 10. It’s free and you can sign up here.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Savager?
SED / DB: Zoop! Sign up and follow for all the details on how to get a copy of Savager! Also, our respective social medias.
