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Richv1
Jazma V.P.
Canada
1062 Posts |
 Posted - 01/08/2010 : 09:07:01 AM
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Nick Percival
Creator/Writer/Artist for Legends: The Enchanted
Publisher: Radical Comics
Interviewed by: Richard Vasseur
Posted: 01/08/2010
Rich: Why did you decide to create "Legends"?
Nick: Legends: The Enchanted contains a lot of themes and ideas that I’ve wanted to explore for a long time both in the storyline and visuals. Classic fairytales and folklore have always been a strong interest of mine but I also wanted to create a dark, compelling tale of my own where I could use characters from these fairytales that everyone would be familiar with and then revamp them, give them a new look and style and introduce a threat that would bring them all together in a unique adventure.
Rich: What genre is "Legends"?
Nick: I think it’s a real mix of action, urban fantasy and horror with some healthy dark humor thrown in for good measure.
Rich: Who are the Enchanted?
Nick: The Enchanted are a fragmented group of powerful characters whose origins are taken from the classic fairytale stories. Imagine the X-Men but inspired by the Brothers Grimm and then given a twisted, gritty polish with horror spiked battery acid. These characters exist as vigilantes, outlaws, bounty hunters, warriors and such trying to get on with their lives in a dangerous creature infested world. Using their wits, super-natural powers and customized weaponry, they discover that someone (or something) has found a way to break through their mystic immortality and started hunting them down, killing them one by one, beginning with the murder of Pinocchio – a powerful warrior man built from bionics, muscle and wood.
There’s a large cast made up of the core fairytale characters but depicted in the twisted Legends style such as the thief/mercenary, Goldilox and her partner in crime, the head breaker, Bear – a nine foot half man/half bear. Rapunzel, a soldier with unbreakable hair that she controls to attack and bind her enemies. Humpty Dumpty, a crime lord aided by the Billy Goats Gruff Biker Gang. Hansel and Gretel are Paranormal Exterminators who hunt down demons and all things dark and dangerous. There are also cameo appearances from other characters such as Miss Muffet, Jack Nimble, Rumplestiltskin (cyborg goblin), Jack and Jill, Tom Thumb, the Pied Piper, etc all given the Legends makeover so they all have their place in this strange world.
Also making an appearance are things such as Punk/Goth Giants, killer fairies, cyber witches, wolf creatures, demon street gangs and a huge, unstoppable Troll from under the bridge – all healthy stuff!
Rich: What are Red Hood and Jack like?
Nick: Red Hood and Jack the Giant Killer are our main characters. Red Hood lives in a harsh land called the Bionic Woodlands - this area is violently overgrown with spiked bio-mechanical trees and living, mutated plant life, populated by deadly wolf creatures. Red’s a loner, living in these woods with her young daughter. However, the brutal murder of Pinocchio forces her to seek out help from the other Enchanted as the protection of her daughter becomes a big part in the larger story.
Jack is the opposite. He’s rebellious, a heavy drinker and burns around on his customized motorcycle killing all manner of Giants (for the right price). He has a supply of ‘magic beans’ that he takes to grant him different special powers for a limited period, which only adds to his cockiness and attitude problems. After he gets himself seriously injured for the first time in his career, it acts as a harsh wakeup call as he too becomes involved in the bigger picture and the gathering of other Enchanted.
Rich: How is this fairy tale world different than the children's stories?
Nick: Very, very different. Legends is set in a violent and corrupt post-industrial / decayed steampunk style world swarming with vicious creatures and where cities are ruled by corrupt powerful tyrants. It’s a place where modern technology, twisted nature and dark magic battle for dominance – not a world for the faint-hearted.
Rich: Why have you chosen a gothic painted look for your art style?
Nick: I guess there’s a strong gothic element in my art style but also I hope with a unique modern, urban slant to it. I like to paint images with hard shadows that direct the eye, bold lighting and lots of fades to black. Certainly for Legends, I’ve been aiming for a unique look for painted comic interiors, spending a lot of time in the design stages for the world, characters, creatures, vehicles, etc - even the average Legends civilian has a weird look about them, so I’ve put a lot of effort into that.
Rich: Why do you enjoy drawing creatures?
Nick: I’ve always loved monsters, creatures and the darker stuff and have been creating various beasties and so on since I could first pick up a pencil. I think a large part of it is having no boundaries in the creation process. You’re only limited by your own imagination so you can be as extreme or subtle as you want in the design process. The creatures in Legends, whilst all very different still have a continuity about them in their look, so you can accept that they would fit in with the world I’ve created.
Rich: What did you enjoy about working on "Dead of Night" from Marvel?
Nick: That series was fun to do since it was essentially a homage to the EC horror comics of the 50’s. The gravedigger character I painted in my sequences was a throwback to the Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt. I guess this guy was pretty much the first Marvel Zombie. It had everything I like to paint – graveyards, night scenes, spooky castles, etc - all the classic horror stuff of old.
Rich: What can you tell us about your animated horror project?
Nick: That’s something I started way, way back about a couple of years after the original Toy Story, so was some time ago. I’ve been tinkering with it on and off between my various other projects. It’s all CGI animation and focuses on a strange evil carnival that takes over a small isolated town. So we’ve got all manner of warped Clown creatures, Freak Show attractions and killer fairground rides as the town’s population face a fight for survival against this Carnival. It was originally developed to test out some CGI animation techniques and styles but evolved into a much larger project that I’d like to revisit at a later date and really get back into it again. I’ve had some good meetings with various film studios over the years but whether the world is finally ready for an all CGI horror feature, I don’t know, but eventually I’ll dig it up again, I’m sure.
Rich: What do you have in the works next comic wise?
Nick: I have a lot of covers and concept artwork lined up after Legends as well as a possible new graphic novel with a Hollywood screenwriter to develop. I’m also writing a new original graphic novel project of my own that I’ll be painting which I’m keeping under wraps for the moment and hopefully another adventure in the Legends universe, since I’ve got some cool new story ideas lined up for these characters and ways to further expand their world.
Rich: Did you read lots of fairy tales as a child?
Nick: I did and they always stayed with me. I was never really drawn to the Disney versions – it was always the original darker tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. There’s an amazing old German book called Der Struwwelpeter which has these scratchy illustrated children’s rhymes and stories where each kid seems to come to a grisly end – that really stuck with me and was the sort of thing I was into.
Rich: Would you like to visit the world of the Enchanted?
Nick: Only if I was packing some serious firepower and backup. It’s a dangerous place and I probably wouldn’t last long out there.
Rich: How can someone contact you?
Nick: My website www.nickpercival.com is one way but it’s in need of a huge update which I’ll eventually get around to (ha!) and I’m around on Facebook on a sporadic basis listed as ‘Nick Percival Art’.
Rich: Any last words of advice?
Nick: I guess for potential comic book creators or creators of any original material, I think you have be extremely dedicated and driven in what you want to achieve. It’s a very solitary job and you’ve really got to believe in what you’re doing to get past that. But I think with today’s technology, there’s nothing stopping people getting their work or vision out there for folks to see, so it’s just a matter of getting off your arse and doing it.....(so says Doctor Nick...)
Richard Vasseur |
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Nick Percival-Creator/Writer/Artist for Legends
