In part three of CBR’s week long chat with Steve Niles the writer talks about the line-up of books he has coming from IDW Publishing, including ‘Remains,’ ‘Sacred Hearts,’ the ‘30 Days of Night’ annual, plus news on the ‘Complete 30 Days of Night’ hard cover and two new series: ‘Hyde,’ Niles’ take on ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ and the next ‘30 Days’ spin-off, ‘Return To Barrow.’ Click Here to read the interview.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT ANNUAL SHIPS IN JANUARY

While December will see the conclusion of Steve Niles’ and Ben Templesmith’s Dark Days, the sequel to 30 Days of Night, the two creators, and select guests, are headed back into the world of vampires in January with the 30 Days of Night Annual 2004, a collection of four short stories.

“The main reason to do the Annual was because I love short comic stories that explore a little side of something interesting but might not sustain an entire issue or series,” Niles told Newsarama. “I had all these scattered ideas; some left over from 30 Days and some new ones which came about doing Dark Days. As I do more and more, I’m realizing that the 30 Days ‘universe’ is really huge and full of possibilities.”

Readers looking for tales of how the vampires in Niles’ and Templesmith’s particular mythology came to be organized will have to wait for another time though – the stories in this annual are contemporary to the work that will have just been completed a month earlier.

“The stories are all set after Dark Days and a couple characters make returns for a small solo adventure,” Niles explained. “I’ve also created a few new characters and follow the repercussions of Stella Olemaun telling the world that vampires really do exist in Dark Days.”

Templesmith will illustrate one of the stories as well as provide the cover, while the remaining three tales will be illustrated by Josh Medors, Brandon Hovet and Szymon Kudranski, all fairly new names when it comes to comics.

As for securing the artists, for Niles, it wasn’t a matter of going out and finding them – they came to him. “Most of them, and I love this, posted art on my message board,” Niles explained. “I liked their stuff and asked if they’d like to work together. Josh Medors and I met on the board and immediately started concocting plans. He’s also the new artist on the new Fused series. Brandon Hovet came to me through Jeff Mariotte. He’s got a Wrightson meets Big Daddy Roth thing going that I really like. Syzmon Kudranski posted on my board –In Ben’s Art Saloon- and I pounced right away. He has the moodiness of Templesmith, maybe a bit darker. Ben and I met online as well… but how we met is a seedy tale and this is a nice clean site.”

30 Days of Night Annual 2004 is a full color, 48-page comic book with a retail price of $4.99.

From www.newsarama.com