The following is an interview with concept designer, writer, and illustrator Ricardo Delgado regarding the Kickstarter campaign launch for Vampire: A Costa Rican Folktale in collaboration with Clover Press. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Delgado about how his own family’s journey was integrated into the story, the incredible backer rewards available through the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You recently returned to Kickstarter in conjunction with Clover Press for Vampire: A Costa Rican Folktale. What were you most interested in tackling with this new book when returning to the world of Dracula of Transylvania?
Ricardo Delgado: There’s a combination of history, art, culture, and 1980s monster VFX that I was going for in this project. I remain obsessed with movies like THE THING, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, and LEGEND, yet all of the folklore that I read about vampires for my DRACULA novel left me thinking that it would be interesting to weave the personal history of my family in Costa Rica with all the amazing stuff done by heroes of mine like Rob Bottin, Rick Baker, and Stan Winston. Many times, at least for me, my ideas are all from different places in my imagination and life, and they get melded together into a story, and that’s what happened here.
BD: How would you describe your creative process in bringing this story to life on the page while infusing your own family history into the mythology?
RD: It’s a combination of my process for my comic book stories, visual development for animation, and concept art for film. I figure out my story in the broader sense, like an elaborate outline, then as I start to tear the outline apart into a first draft, I start to design stuff on my own. Sometimes, they are images that I have already figured out in my draft. Other times, it’s a design that I have NOT figured out in writing, and my sketching ability comes into play. Sometimes, it takes a long time, lol, but it does all get figured out.
BD: In addition to its stunning artwork, the book will contain incredible bonus features in both English and Spanish. What can readers anticipate to be included with this amazing collection?
RD: Like with DRACULA OF TRANSYLVANIA, I wanted to simulate the process of concept design/visual development for feature films, yet this time I added the facet of a process within the process and came up with different versions of the creature design in the story. The Nosferatu here within is a strong shapeshifter, so there are a few different iterations of each transformation, which approximates the process in live action and feature animation film design, where many different versions of a VFX character are created to show to the director and/or studio in hopes of narrowing down a design direction. Annotated in Spanish as well, as are the rest of the texts in the book, simply because I wanted everyone here in the states and family back in Costa Rica to be able to read and enjoy.
BD: What do you feel makes Dracula and his world of nightmares such a lasting staple in horror, no matter the artistic medium?
RD: Oh, the idea that cadavers get up at night, bounce around town, break into people’s houses, and rip their throats out in order to drink their blood is a pretty good barometer, lol. If you watch the blu-ray or DVD of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, in one of the documentaries John Landis recounts an episode in the former Yugoslavia where he witnessed someone being buried at a crossroads, and that line of belief/disbelief, the realization that the supernatural is upon you, is always a part of telling ghost stories. It’s something that I wanted to explore here, how a small town realizes that a specter is haunting them, killing one person a night, and how do the citizens react to it. I found that fertile territory, and fun to write about.
BD: In light of the Kickstarter campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
RD: Yeah, there’s a really cool skeleton pen that’s part of the campaign. I’ve gotta get me one of those, to paraphrase ROBOCOP. Also, some print goodies of the concept art that I’m particularly excited about. But to be honest, the highlight is a deluxe slipcover with a crimson cover that really wowed me. Has one of my beasties on the cover, all in black, it’s so cool. Honestly, I’m happy with Clover’s support through all this, they’ve been wonderful.
BD: Lastly, what makes Clover Press the ideal publishing partner for Vampire: A Costa Rican Folktale?
RD: My creative sandbox or crayon pack is mine, and I use it on my own and send in the stuff to Clover, and they simply print and publish it. What I’m explaining is a thorough belief in the so-called Creative by the fine folks at Clover. Specifically, I pitch my ideas to Hank Kanalz and Robbie Robbins, usually over a meal at San Diego Comic-Con, and they both just say that it sounds cool and that I should go for it, and that kind of belief in a writer/artist is worth its weight in gold, and I am forever grateful to them and the whole Clover Gang. I love how they publish those amazing MARVEL ART OF and DC ART OF books yet still find time to venture into creative paintboxes of the universe like mine. Super appreciative. My next book is an alien spy thing called WARHEAD. Go to my social media to see the current variant of the cover. Super excited for that one, as well! But none of this happens without Clover’s support.
