Viva Las Buffy cover
by Lee and Horton
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ith the culmination of the Angel comic book series from Dark Horse in June of 2002, whose second series was penned by Joss Whedon himself along with Brett Matthews, and the much anticipated final two issues of Fray (expected to launch in April of this year), a new comic book arrives rich with Whedon influence. Dark Horse's Scott Allie presents his first original, 4-issue miniseries: The Devil's Footprints; bringing to life vivid characters and a sense of metaphoric resolve which warns: Beware in what you dabble, or in this case, where you tread! Joining Scott on his adventures into the dark are writers/artists Paul Lee, Brian Horton and Dave Stewart. All three of these creative talents are of familiarity to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel comic readers; Brian and Paul have just completed the cover for Buffy #53 (part 3 of "Viva Las Buffy") not to mention the cover for the novel "Creatures of Habit", and Dave colored Buffy's "Ring of Fire" , Joss' Angel series, as well as Fray. There is no doubt what this ensemble can bring forth in a world of monsters, metaphor and the macabre.
FROM INSPIRATION COMES FOOTPRINTS
Original character design of Brandon
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"They've been involved in the series for quite some time," explains Scott, "with their only specific Angel contribution being the Dark Horse Presents comic book that Chris Golden and Tom Sniegoski wrote. Brian painted the covers, Paul penciled the story, and Brian inked it. The story was collected in Angel: Hunting Ground, my favorite of the Angel trades. One of the covers was honored in the Spectrum magazine review of the year's illustration, which is a pretty nice honor, and rare for a licensed comic book," he admits. "It's the only time one of my Buffy comics has made it in there." When Scott was preparing to finally launch The Devil's Footprints, Paul and Brian were the best choices for the job according to Scott. "Brian designs incredible monsters, which the book has plenty of, and Paul has fantastic storytelling--he draws comics just the way I would if I could draw," Scott confesses. "These are the easiest guys for me to work with, as we have such similar ideas. We interact really great on this book, with each of us chiming in on story, layouts, covers, colors." This also allows them to expand in their own unique, creative directions not limited by pre-established parameters as Paul Lee explains, "Work on Buffy (and Angel) is based on an existing show with an existing world. Characters are established and likenesses are an important factor when working on licensed material. So when we do Buffy, we have to conform our choices to fit Buffy. In the case of Devil's Footprints, we have the opportunity to really define the world as we see it. We aren't bound by existing material. The freedom we have creatively is the main difference between the two projects." Original illustrations for the book were first drawn in Dark Horse Presents #142, which came out in 1998, by Galen Showman best known for his work on Renfield, the story of the bug eating inmate from Bram Stoker's Dracula novel.
The Devil's Footprints Issue #2 coverart
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Amidst all this genius comes the story of Brandon Waite, a young man who has spent his teenage years studying magic and now, in trying to protect his family, must conceal from them what his true motives are; and thus the similarities to the worlds Whedon has created. "The book has some influence from Joss," Scott offers, "in that the supernatural elements go hand in hand with the more emotional, human aspects of the story. The book's about miscommunication, and all the reasons we have to lie to one another, or speak unclearly. At the same time, Brandon learns that magic requires one to speak very precisely, as a few of his spells are compromised by his inability to be really accurate and in control. A demon conjuration goes awry when he asks the wrong question." Combining his love for Hellboy, old-fashioned monster movies, and the allegorical substructure Joss has created, there is one element that stands out for Scott. "The thing I always thought was really superior about Buffy as opposed to the X-Files is that Buffy's about the characters. They have lives and they have emotions and they have complicated reasons for doing what they do. With Devil's Footprints, we've tried to balance our love for horror fiction, monsters, demons and magic with a more literary approach to characters."
As a publisher, editor, and writer, Scott is no stranger to ideas and imaginings of the occult, being an avid fan of the comics and monster movies since a child; he has had more than his share of inspiration as to his own comic creation which began over 5-years ago. Regarding its title, the original legend of the 'Devil's Footprints' dates back to 1855, in Devonshire, England when on February 7 an unexplained occurrence left strange footprints across one hundred miles of British countryside. Scott refers to an urban legend more close to home in Ipswich, Massachusetts, whose own details are just as eerie. You can read the complete story on the DF website, (link below).
The first pencil scketches from pages 16-17 of Issue #1
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He explains the story concept for The Devils' Footprints came from Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. "From there it's changed a lot," admits Scott. "In Foucault's Pendulum, Eco created a novel structured around the Kabalistic Tree of Life--Hebrew mysticism which I've been studying ever since reading the book. I decided I'd try structuring a story around the major Arcana of the Tarot." That original concept was abandoned but it led to the idea of having the story be about a magician with the twist: his ultimate magic trick, transforming himself into gold.
"I thought that was a novel idea," he says, "but as I became more involved in magic, I realized that that is the goal of magic. The alchemists' idea of turning base lead into pure gold was a metaphor. They were trying to turn themselves into something better, through magic. Magic is religion in practice. So I realized that the idea behind my, sort of, hack monster story was based in real tradition. The story evolved from there. This first series takes Brandon's early life and tears it apart, leaves him with nothing--despite the fact that he essentially succeeds in what he tries to do. I hope that's a confusing enough spoiler," Scott laughs. In keeping with that theme, they plan to do several short stories while Brandon is still young then return to him a few years later, exploring all the changes he has gone through as he tries to put the pieces of his life back together. With much buzz already starting to surface on The Devil's Footprints we can predict that Scott will be taking his creation to the far boundaries of his imagination. In the meantime, be sure to check out Tales of the Slayer, Volume II by Pocket Books where Scott gets his first crack at writing Buffy along side series executive producer/writer Jane Espenson, available in bookstores now!
Written by CoA Writer, Kristy Bratton
CityofAngel would like to extend our Thanks to Scott Allie for allowing us to preview The Devil's Footprints.
The Devil's Footprints #1 in this month's Diamond Previews and on the web at: www.DevilsFootprints.com
If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Happenings' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com
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