INTERVIEW: Tim Seeley is ready to rock with ‘The Roadie’
Image courtesy of Dark Horse / Provided by press rep with permission.
Just in time for the annual New York Comic Con extravaganza, Dark Horse has released issue #1 of a new miniseries called The Roadie by writer Tim Seeley, perhaps best known for Hack/Slash and Revival. He’s joined by artist Fran Galán, and together the dynamic duo bring to readers a blend of horror and rock ‘n’ roll.
Get those devil horns out for this one.
The central character in The Roadie is a retired heavy metal roadie who is pulled back into the business … well, not quite the roadie business. When he was touring with metal acts back in the day, he also had a side job as an exorcist on the backroads of the United States. It’s this demonic duty that he’s inspired to resurrect, and The Roadie follows his adventures of getting back in the exorcising gig, according to press notes. One reason for the return: He needs to save his daughter.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Seeley about his new comic miniseries. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Where did the idea for The Roadie come from? Are you a fan of heavy metal?
I’m not a ‘metal head’ honestly. I know a lot of those people, and I’m not one. I’m more of a hip hop/synth/goth sort of dude, but I have huge affection for a certain era of metal. And that’s the glam stuff of the ’80s and early ’90s. It was what played on the playground, spilling from giant boomboxes when I was a kid, and what was in the background during my first kiss. As I’ve gotten older, beyond the nostalgia, I’ve become really fascinated with the Satanic Panic and how a bunch of stoners who loved Cheap Trick and the New York Dolls created this entire genre, specially to piss [off] Christians and politicians … and got insanely rich doing it.
This may seem obvious, but why do heavy metal and the horror genre go so well together?
Beyond the imagery and such, both were engineered specifically to fly in the face of ‘good taste.’ And, both flirt with ‘danger.’ They compel you to engage with them by scaring you a little. Being a little freaked out is something I’ve chased my whole life … the ‘safe scare.’
What’s it like working with artist Fran Galán?
He’s an incredible storyteller and designer. I usually do sketches to go along with my scripts, especially creator-owned one[s], and I just decided not to do it with Fran. He gets it.
Did you always envision this as a miniseries? Does that place any limitations on you as the storyteller?
I envisioned it as a sort of Hellboy-type serial — a series of series, where each tale was essentially self-contained, but a larger narrative was at play. It’s one of the reason[s] I brought his to Dark Horse first.
Did the story change once you saw Galán’s art?
Not really, as this was fairly well figured out. I did realize though I could really lean into the emotionality though because Fran draws awesomely expressive faces. I didn’t need to be subtle.
Not to get too cerebral, but after you see the art, do you imagine/dream of the characters looking like that artistic creation, or do they remain what you first envisioned before there was an artist?
Hm. That’s a really interesting question. And yes, I have one version in my head when I write the first issue, and by the time art rolls in, I have that interpretation in my head for the second issue. I tend to ‘see’ in my head, in comic book form, which makes writing scripts a little easier, but the style is mine at first. Then, the real artist’s style takes over.
Do you get more satisfaction writing characters you have created or characters from the canon?
It kind of depends I guess. I probably don’t really get ‘satisfaction’ from anything I wrote if I’m being honest. Maybe not until like five years after I’ve done it, and I don’t remember the pain and frustration anymore. 😉 I think I’ve done company-owned stuff that was as good or better than my creator-owned stuff, but I’m probably more often able to put myself into stuff I’ve made up. No matter what I think though, the readers definitely associate me more with Hack/Slash or Revival or Money Shot than Batman or Lobo or Ant-Man. Maybe The Roadie will get added to that list!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Roadie #1 is now available from Dark Horse. Click here for more information.
