Halloween Hellraiser Update? Sort Of.

As a writer I am in a position that is giving me a headache.
   I'm trying to pitch this comic script for Halloween & Hellraiser crossover (a what if story), I've got agents interested so far, even got hold of Clive Barker to make it happen, but the response from his end is that Hellraiser work has an exclusive contract signed to Boom! Studios. So before he looks any further into it he wants me to get permission on the Halloween side. Now let me tell you, that is proving tough!

I have the added problem too that Halloween comics are released exclusively elsewhere! So I would need to foster an agreement between various rights holders or encourage a two company collaboration.

I personally like the sound of the latter. Imagine getting two great companies to work together on putting out a memorable piece of comic book horror fiction for a simple 6 issue run.

So, the project is stalled in the red tape business right now, but if we can find a way through that I will be delighted to present the work to you all.

Here's keeping fingers crossed...toes too.

Halloween Hellraiser Back On Track?

After five years of simply sitting on it, we're getting HH back on track again. I've been in talks with an agent recently, with first impressions going well, and we're in the process of talking to artists to render our excerpt pages of copy ready for publisher handouts and the like. Proof of concept will help us I hope. I say I hope, because we're paying for it off our own backs.

We still need to get in touch with Clive and John too. That doesn't feel like it will be an easy task...

Another Possible Artist

We are in comms with another possible artist right now. I don't want to give details yet until I have something solid, but if I do, I'll link you to her DeviantArt gallery page.

This would be with the intention of creating a few pages of demo comic to include in our comic pitch pack.

I have created 4 PDF's of script with chosen pages specifically for this purpose.

Issues 0-6 Full Story Script Completed.

That's the whole principle scripting process for the entire story complete as of tonight. All that's left now is for someone to pick it up!

Extended Issue, Some Thoughts On Writing

We've decided that to get the intensity of the last fight across and really do the characters justice, we're going to extend issue six by perhaps another 10 pages. This means that it might come out as a 32 pager.
Of course, how all of this presents in its final version may be different, based on Editor input if published, but here I'm giving you the raw information on my end as it is written.

When you consider how long a fight Freddy versus Jason had at the end of it, we really see that the fans deserve to see more of our ideas with the characters they love so much.

Sometimes, through the writing you get these little pangs of concern: Would Clive Barker like this? Would the die hard fans? Then you have to remind yourself that if you let such thoughts carry on, you'll drive yourself nuts.

You can't please everyone and you can't write while trying to do that in your mind because you get a surge of energetic inspiration and you simply have to pursue that, to put down what is real from you, on the page.

We know as fans that the events taking place here please us. We really wanted to see this match up. If anyone had put it out there as a comic professionally already, we wouldn't have bothered (if we'd liked it). But now we're satisfying our curiosity in the exciting adventure that comes with writing a story.

So Much More We'd Like To Show You

My thought of the day:
Just like a movie that ends up needing cuts and deleted scenes, we've had to forget about showing elements of other things happening at the same time as any given action in the story because there simply wouldn't be enough room. As it is we're running at six issues, with a forty-four page issue zero into the bargain.
The fact that we still have material that we'd have liked to have shown you is evidence of our many flowing ideas on this project.

I'm really happy and proud to have been part of a collaboration team for a story that is so gutsy and dark, so strongly aimed towards the originals of their respective series.

Sickens Even Me...

Writing the last fight for the last issue of H/H has been great, but for the first time in the entire 176 total pages of comic book written/planned, this is the first time I've actually felt a bit sickened. Sickened by my own writing! Some of the stuff that's going down in this last fight really won't be for the faint of heart! That's...that's all I'm going to say...

Although, I'm pretty sure that's a good sign for you horror loving folks out there too.

There's Gore, Then There's Gore

Working on this series is about striking the right balance between the gore levels of the two licences. They are after all on very different scales.

Hellraiser is quite upfront with its visuals, sometimes showing you something that is horrifying in a visceral way!

Halloween is more about suspense and "is the boogeyman here yet?". Where we see kills, they're not very bloody, with the use of cutaways to minimize gore.

We've not aimed right down the middle of the two, instead opting to let the licences be what they should be when on the page. Cenobite kills and effects will be a lot more bloody but with purpose. Michael's are a lot more psychological in nature.

Once they're fighting each other, well, you'll have to wait and see  ;)

Muscle Pain Spasms, Piston Pins

I've been working on issue six, sending a google email back and forth to get the final combat sequences incrementally better when I spotted google's own subject relative adverts on the right of the screen window. I had to laugh.
it read: More about...
Arm Tattoos »
Fence Pin »
Muscle Pain Spasms »
Piston Pins »

Above it was:
Collar Pin
Screw End Collar Pin
For Collar pin shirts
http://www.classicwardrobe.co.uk/
Silicon Microarray Pins
Ultra high precision and low cost silicon microcontact spotting pins
http://www.parallel-synthesis.com/
Flashing NFL Pins
Light Up NFL Pins - Very Hot Item Many Teams, Order Online or Call Us
http://www.flashingblinkylights.com/
We offer secondhand Chain
Stud & Open link Chain 24 to 86 mm. Large Stock.
http://www.subestandar.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This really made me chuckle, seeing how the google links could get things so very mis-interpreted. Of course, it also gives an indication what we've been writing about, but in a clever way that makes you use your imagination.

Artist Wanted For Preliminary Pitching

Work has begun slowly on the last issue, number six.

With the script almost finished, we are putting this advert out there for anyone who thinks they're interested:

Artist(s) required, penciller, colourist, inker needed for horror crossover comic book product development pitch pack, with the intent towards formal proposals to Clive Barker, John Carpenter, various agents and publishers.
 You would be creating a sample front cover image and a minimum of 5 pages of the actual comic to submit.

Please get in touch or send samples of your work to Rob & Pete at: robafett@gmail.com.

Be advised there would be no guaranteed monetary gain, but your work will be seen by professionals in the industry who would then be able to assess if your talent would be best paired with our script.

This could be a great opportunity to further develop your portfolio and chance of later job prospects.

Issue 5 Complete

Issue five is fully scripted.
Six will continue on the action where five leaves off and will be the final issue to script.

Plans For Next Issue...

We're sorting out and choreographing the final fight of the comic while we push on with issue five.

This one is gonna be a big 'un and I can announce here that the comic will end on issue six.

With  issue zero being a double lengther, we will have technically written 8 comics worth!

I'm really hoping you guys enjoy it. I know you can't please everyone, but we're really excited about what we're doing. Once it gets put out there, it belongs to the people.
I know that I've been disappointed with crossover titles before, but they just seemed to lack the ballsy brilliance that the originals had. In the case of many, just seeming utterly pointless. You can rest easy in knowing that the writers of this comic have that in mind.

Issue 5 In Progress

Work is well underway, with about 10 pages scripted.

Issue 4 Script Complete

Issue four is scripted now. 22 more pages of script, working out as 24 pages of Final Draft. I've been good this time, trying to keep the printed script page count down...

I'm ready to begin on issue five already.

Issue 4, writing

I can announce that the actual writing of issue four script is under way. I'm on page 5 to be precise!

Writing slower due to multi-tasked commitments. It's okay, we're not contracted...yet.

Printing and Pitching

Several issues of issue zero script are being printed today so that Pete can take them off to a convention he'll be attending.

A Preliminary pitch has been written and will be included with each issue zero script.

Issues 1-3 fully scripted.

Issues one, two and three are scripted, with a minor start made on issue four thus far.

Each comic has been written as 22 pages long. 

I will make it clear now, issue four is not the final issue.

We're very excited by the story that we've been able to achieve here. Some great ideas that are paying off.

Halloween/Hellraiser - Character Appearances

I will use this space to tell you about some of the recognizable supporting characters you can expect to see in the limited series comic. We'll keep some of them unlisted so they will remain as a surprise for you. The names below are not an attempt at a comprehensive list but more a teaser of just some of the content being worked on.

• Leviathan
• Dr Samual Loomis
• Dr David Loomis
• Kirsty Cotton
• Leigh Brackett
• Tommy Doyle
• Kara Strode
• Danny Strode
• Stephen Doyle
• Sister Nikoletta (Female Cenobite)
• Butterball
• Chatterer
• Chatterbeast

Halloween/Hellraiser Comic Issue 0 Script Complete

Issue 0 is fully scripted and in pdf form.

This has been written as a prelude, a set up for the main story.

It's a 44 page comic, so yes we went for a double sized issue to really get a lot of backstory across.

We're dealing with a concept crossover AU here, so we felt that proper character integration was integral to making the whole project more believable when characters from the two universes begin meeting, not just Michael and the Cenobites. We really are asking the question: What would happen if these two licences existed in the same universe? What would have been different in the past?

It also gives us some opportunities to tie so many of the movies into the happenings here. Especially issue 0. In #0 we have ties/cut ins to the first five Hellraiser movies alone!
We can show little things that happened in between, little things that the fans would remember and appreciate. We can explore the two licences deeper than the movies would allow. Will will be showing you a new state of Leviathan. We like to call it his 'order absorption state', kinda like him sleeping, to name a concept closer for a human to understand, but a lot more complicated because he's a high lord of Hell. He does this to "download" new information from existence around him so that he might make the informed decisions that a leader such as he is required to. When he's in this state he'll visually even look different than what you've ever seen. It's all in the beams, baby. ;)

Halloween/Hellraiser - Prognatus Quondam Iterum

Peter Davis Parker (yes the name, yes I know, I'll blog about that some other time) and I are writing a horror crossover comic with the above title.

The big issue with such a project is of course owner permission. Two lots of permission required!

I'll say it now though, we're not at all scared of that. We are writing a good story. If it takes off then so be it, if it doesn't then that's ok too. We'll have built one heck of a script and we'd look into trying to put it online instead. That would require an artist to work for free in such a case.
Something existing online would remain as an easily viewable portfolio of talent for us and any potential artist that worked on it.

That's a worst case scenario though. We're just aware that trying to gain usage permission from two different sources will be statistically harder, not impossible.

We're getting it done, with teaser pitching on the horizon.

More information to follow!