Official Press Release

San Diego, CA, December 31, 2003. Unlike fairy tales that are wrapped up in a tidy happy ending, the saga of 30 Days of Night goes on beyond the dates on a calendar. In March 2004, Steve Niles and IDW Publishing will prove that time… and vampires… wait for no one.

30 Days Of Night: Return To Barrow will expose deep secrets that no one expected. The trail of blood and deception left by the vampires has only begun. With the return to Barrow to learn what happened to his brother, Wayne Kitka will be racing not only to find the truth, but to also beat the oncoming thirty days of darkness.

Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith return to add another heavy layer of horror to the 30 Days Of Night story. The original 30 Days Of Night was the breakout hit of the year and one of the most sought-after comic books in the last five years. It garnered attention from the film and entertainment world as well, bringing new non-traditional readers into the comic stores. 30 Days Of Night: Return To Barrow promises to do more of the same.

According to writer Steve Niles, “I think readers will be pleasantly horrified by Return. It’s a sequel much like Dark Days was, in that it follows certain characters in the aftermath of the vampire massacre. In Return to Barrow it’s the town itself that’s the lead character.”

30 Days Of Night: Return To Barrow is something that retailers have been asking for from IDW Publishing. They continue to comment that it will command sales that rival the flood that the first series brought on.

30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow is a 32-page, full color comic book with a retail price of $3.99, debuting in March.

Kelley Jones at Newsarama!

From Newsarama…

TALKING TO THE BASTARD: CAL McDONALD
by Aaron Weisbrod

It’s only fair to warn everyone that this interview came about under somewhat dubious circumstances.

While attempts were originally made to contact writer Steve Niles about the latest upcoming Cal McDonald mini-series, The Last Train to Deadsville, it turns out that the writer himself was too busy writing another slew of horror titles and selling the film option to his grocery list from last week…

Initially distraught, we thought that we were going to be left out in the cold… until it was suggested that we could speak with Cal himself. Being that one doesn’t get an opportunity to chat with a fictional character too often (put your hand down Grant Morrison), we went for it.

As you about to read, while we did get some information about the upcoming mini-series from the “star” of the series itself (and we use that term extremely loosely), things soon flew off the tracks as…

Well…

Read on and see for yourself… and then stay tuned for the much more civil interview with artist Kelley Jones later this week.

Newsarama: OK… let’s start by talking about Cal McDonald, the person.

Cal McDonald: Look Oprah, If you’re gonna get all touchy-feely with me, there’s gonna be trouble!

NRAMA: Well, what I was getting at was this: fans of your various exploits in both the comic book and literary genres usually only see you popping pills, slugging back drinks, and shooting monsters… but surely your life consists of more than that, right? What do you do during your time-off - you know… during the quiet moments?

CM: Those are my quiet moments.

Okay, that’s not the whole truth. I get a little rest when I’m in the hospital or knocked out. Last week this big ugly freak-job with a fist the size of a Buick knocked me out cold for an hour and I kinda enjoyed it…until I woke up and he was trying to chew my leg off.

NRAMA: Speaking of things that chew people’s legs off… you make your living killing monsters, yet your best friend is an undead ghoul. How did the two of you meet, and how have you gone about maintaining your friendship despite what some may call “irreconcilable difference”?

CM: I met Mo’Lock in an alley in Washington D.C. I didn’t think much of it at first, but then the big dead lug saved me from a werewolf and we’ve been buds ever since. The reason I look past our “irreconcilable difference” as you put it, college boy, is because ghouls don’t hurt people. That’s where I’m misunderstood. I don’t hate monsters because they’re monsters. I hate them because they eat people.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Well, to shift gears slightly, you’ve been lucky enough to have your visage portrayed by some of the hottest artists in comicdom, including Ben Templesmith and now, in the upcoming mini-series The Last Train to Deadsville, Kelley Jones. Honestly, though, who’s your favorite? Who draws the best Cal?

CM: Look, I don’t give a sh*t about the funny books! Niles didn’t even tell about them until they were already on the stands and I had to slap his big head around because of it. As far as the likeness, I guess they’re all okay. Templesmith… the Australian punk’s got a lot of mood. And that Kelley Jones…I gotta admit it looks pretty damn great. He’s got a cool style. But I can’t believe grown men make a living drawing funny books. I mean, do these guys ever get laid?

NRAMA: Uh… that kind of information is strictly for a certain column at another website all together, Cal. So how about Steve Niles, then? He writes about all of your exploits and seems to be quite the golden-boy in comics these days. I mean, he’s writing something along the lines of six dozen horror-based mini-series at the moment, and he also recently formed a partnership with heavy-metal musician Rob Zombie. What’s the deal with this cat? Tell us the truth, Cal… who does he have blackmail-worthy information on?

CM: Niles is okay. He’s what I call “a reader”. He’s got all kinds of shit going on in his brain that has nothing to do with real life. I checked out one the comics, something about vampires. It was pretty cool, I guess. The reason I let him write about my stuff is ‘cuz he listens and doesn’t exaggerate. I talk. He types.

Look, between you and me the guy’s a little bit of a freak, but he’s a good kid and people seem to like his stupid-ass stories, so who am I to judge?

NRAMA: I don’t know if you’ve heard this or not, but the word on the street is that, in The Last Train to Deadsville, all of the various types of monsters are joining forces to take you out once and for all by any means necessary. Is this true?

CM: I was at Niles’ place last week and I saw the script. I told him that some of it was all wrong. What happened in the town got pretty sticky, but it wasn’t just monsters that were after my ass…it was something much more sinister. Look… see this scar? Two thousand freakin’ stitches!!!

NRAMA: What, is that like head to foot? You’ve tussled with everything from werewolves to vampires to zombies in your… uh… illustrious career. Which type of monster worries you the most or gives you the most trouble?

CM: Vampires. Those fancy-pants bastards can’t be trusted and they’re smart. Not only that, but they’re freakin’ everywhere! I think right now the blood-sucker population in most major US cities outnumbers the rat population. I sh*t you not.

NRAMA: Right… Well, Cal, you’re an “expert” on paranormal phenomenon, so tell me, based on your “expert” opinion, who’d win in a fight between Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster? Several years ago “Celebrity Death Match” have it to Nessie, but me… I’m not so sure. I mean, I think that Bigfoot fella could be quite a scrapper if he got in close…

CM: You making fun of me? You think this is all a joke? Tell you what, they’d both kick your ass!

NRAMA: Uh-huh. And why do aliens predominantly abduct low-income blue-collar folks from the southwestern parts of the United States? Any thoughts on that?

CM: Because the dumb-asses walk right up to the ship thinking it’s some kind of new model trailer, probably.

NRAMA: And speaking of aliens, what’s the fascination with anal probing, anyway? Do you have any “inside knowledge” on this? C’mon, man - inquiring minds want to know!

CM: I assume it’s because most people talk out their ass – just like yourself, comic-reporter-boy – so they think that’s where all the pertinent information is. That, or they care and want to make sure there are no obstructions in the intestinal tract before they enslave you.

NRAMA: OK, OK… on a more serious note… who’d win in a barroom brawl between you and that other occult rabble-rouser John “Hellblazer” Constantine? Hmmm?

CM: I hate to tell you this, but that blonde-haired Sting look-alike is a fictional character… but if he did exist I’d ram his head up his hocus-pocus ass and use him as a hoola-hoop. Then I’d suggest a good dentist.

NRAMA: I take it the outcome would be similar in a drinking contest?

CM: Please. Are we almost finished?

NRAMA: OK, fine. Finally, Cal, is there anything else you’d like to mention before we wrap this up?

CM: Yeah, buy everything Niles puts out so he can pay me back the money he owes me!

http://newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7290

This interview was conducted by Jonah Weiland and originally appeared at Comic Book Resources.

First, let’s start with this partnership. The two of you have been working together on “The Nail” together. Was the experience so good it just lead to the development of Creep Entertainment International? Who approached who first and what’s the story about it’s creation?

Zombie: Originally we wanted to call it The Marvel Comics Group, but our lawyer informed us that it was apparently already in use somewhere. Go figure.

Niles: Rob and I started toying with some ideas and the next thing we knew we had a freakin’ slate of material. Then when it came time to write scripts, I wrote some, Rob wrote and bang we had a book in half the time. Forming some sort of team seemed obvious.

Why form this partnership? What advantages does it provide the two of you? What goals do the two of you have?

Zombie: It is a rare moment when you can find someone to collaborate with. Most people assume that if you work alone it is because you are a control freak. That’s not always the case, it is just that finding a person who sees things in a similar way is almost impossible. So when it happen you’ve got to take advantage of it before said person kills himself with cheap booze and hookers..

Niles: Rob’s busy as hell. I getting busier and by pooling our resources we can get more work done. That’s basically it; two like-minded freaks putting our big mutated heads together and branding the stuff CREEP so it’s easy for people to find. It’s like a comic studio or a record label… for horror.

What are the plans for this partnership? You mentioned comics, film, etc.

Niles: Hopefully a little bit of everything; comics, films, music, books.

Zombie: Exactly. But more than anything we feel the world need superhero books based on the works of Charles Dickens.

What will your roles be in the company outside of partner? Will both of you be developing new comics talent? Shepherding new artists or writers? Or is this a label specifically for the two of you?

Zombie: Well, one thing is for sure. We don’t want to go crazy at first. We want to develop quality projects over quantity. The big mistake people make with something like this is trying and over expand too quickly. Thus, chaos ensues. We got plenty of time to over expand and fuck it all up.

Niles: Right now CREEP is just a way to label our stuff, but as we move on…who knows? I’ve always like introducing new artists and if there are more projects there will certainly be more new talent.

When it comes to published comic work, who do you see yourself teaming up with? IDW? Dark Horse? Devil’s Due? Image?

Niles: We plan to maintain the partnerships we have already with IDW and Dark Horse with (hopefully) the CREEP name being a unifying factor. It’s really about bringing the world together. We’re hippies now.

Zombie: Being able to spread it around is a good thing. Neither of us wants to get tied down to any one company. Unless of course there is a truck load of cash being back up to my front door. ( hint, hint)

What role will the formation of this company play in currently planned books, say like “Hyde,” “Remains,” “Spookshow International,” etc. … is this company just for work you two do together, or is it more than that?

Niles: Pre-existing projects will remain what they are. Projects Rob and I come up with together will be CREEP projects. I won’t be showing up in Rob’s videos. Nobody wants to see that.

Rob currently has a publishing agreement with MV Creations. Will the formation of this new company change anything in that regard?

Niles: Rob…Rob, wake up.

Zombie: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ… huh? What… we decided from the get go that anything we want separate will stay as such. That’s the beauty of the situation. Right now I am in pre-production on the sequel to House of 100 Corpses, that will remain separate.

From what I understand your first comics production together will be “Bigfoot.” What’s the genesis of this project? How long did you have the idea before anything was done with it? What inspired the story? Steve, I understand that you sent Rob an outline you did for the book and he ran with it, creating a full script.

Niles: Actually it’s “The Nail” for Dark Horse. Hopefully that will carry the CREEP seal. IDW is onboard. By the way, when you say CREEP you have to sort of yell it out of the corner of your mouth, “CREEP!”

Zombie: “The Nail” came first. That was originally a movie treatment I wrote two summers ago while I was on tour with Ozzfest. We dusted it off and turned it into funny book gold.

Talk about the process of working together on this project. Who took which role?

Zombie: The process is basically whatever works. With the Nail Steve started the script first from my treatment and with Bigfoot I started the script first from his treatment. We send it back and forth, over and over changing things. But since we have similar writing style it all works out. I never thought this would work but it does.

Niles: I write a little, send it to Rob. He writes, sends it back and bang, we have a comic. It’s cool because Rob and I are very like-minded but we each bring something different to the table. It’s not quite “Spookshow International,” but it’s not really “Dark Days.” It’s something new.

While the “Bigfoot” legend seems like one a lot of writers would try to put their own spin on, off the top of my head the only one I can think of is the comedy “Harry and the Henderson’s.” What approach did you take with this story? Talk about the story a bit. What will we find in the pages of this book?

Niles: I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but when I was a kid Bigfoot was fucking scary. I remember seeing that Patterson footage and a chill running up my arm (shut-up, I was like . We just want to make Bigfoot scary again.

Zombie: Bigfoot is definitely something that freaked us both out as kids. Obviously it has been perverted into something stupid over the years, but we are ignoring that and turning it back into something fucking cool. This ain’t your Mamma’s Bigfoot.

Once Rob had your beginnings, what did he use as inspiration to take the story to the next level?

Niles: We pooled our ideas. I wrote an outline and Rob went nuts. I turned around to pick up something and when I turned back he had the script written. That was when I knew this would work. I’d forgotten I already started the story a year or so ago and when we compared them they were almost identical. We either think alike or Zombie’s been busting into my computer.

Zombie: It’s funny but I had a Bigfoot story in the back of my mind for years. I guess any kid of the seventies does. So bringing this to life was easy.

Who’s the artist on “Bigfoot?” How’d you find him?

Zombie: Steve found him. The day we saw his sample page is the day we knew this would work. The art was always our biggest fear with this book. If the creature didn’t look scary then it was all over.

Niles: His name is… Joker IX. He’s yet another jaw-dropping, unbelievably great artist. And Marvel better stay away this time! And I found him the way I find a lot of artists these days, on mine or Ben’s message boards.

What’s the deal with Malaysian artists and you? Do you have some sort of natural Malaysian attraction or something?

Niles: I wish I knew. There’s just a group of extremely talented artists in Malaysia,
Chee, Joker, Adijin are just a few. I can’t believe how good they are.

Zombie: Must be something in the water.

When should we expect to see this published and by whom? How many issues?

Zombie: Early 2004.

Niles: He wants dates. I don’t have dates. “The Nail” (with Nat Jones) is moving just ahead of “Bigfoot.” “The Nail” is Dark Horse. “Bigfoot” is IDW. I’d say they should start hitting stands this spring.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HORROR MASTERS ROB ZOMBIE AND STEVE NILES JOIN FORCES TO FORM CREEP ENTERTAINMENT INTERNATIONAL

Los Angeles, CA: Horror masterminds Rob Zombie and Steve Niles today announced the creation of Creep Entertainment International, a horror inspired production company that will be based in Los Angeles, CA.

Through this new venture, Zombie and Niles will co-create and develop horror based projects ranging from comic books, motion pictures, video games, books and music.

The first three projects from the duo are entitled The Nail (Dark Horse Comics) a tale of survival set in the world of Satanic bikers and 70’s wrestling, Bigfoot (IDW Comics) which follows a man’s quest to avenge his family and annihilate the creature who destroyed them and The Lords of Salem a comic/music cross over project. All series will be co-written by Zombie and Niles. The books will be illustrated by some of the top talents working in comics today.

“Both Steve and I are life long horror fanatics. This helps give us a unique perceptive on the genre. We are intent on branching out into every aspect of the field including comic books, toys, music, television and movies. We are approaching this joint venture with an enthusiasm that only true horror fans can bring to the table,” says Zombie.

Niles added, “I think this is a perfect opportunity. Zombie and I are very like-minded and we’ve spent our lives digesting horror, and we both have our own take on the genre at the same time. I think combining our unique imaginations will result in some enjoyably twisted material.”

2003 was an unprecedented year of success for Zombie, his cinematic debut House of 1000 Corpses film (written and directed by Zombie) was a box office smash, debuting in the Top 10 and has quickly become a cult favorite. The HIKC DVD was a Top 5 staple on the sales charts. Zombie is now in pre-production on the sequel to the film, which he will again write and direct.

On the music front Zombie released a career retrospective CD/DVD package entitled Past, Present and Future. This collection spent two weeks as #1 on Billboard’s Top Music Video Charts.

And last but not least, October saw the release Zombie’s first comic book venture entitled Spookshow International. Spookshow’s first issue quickly sold out its initial run and is now in its second printing.

2003 was a banner year for Steve Niles. The rights to Niles’s 1# selling vampire epic 30 Days of Night was recently acquired by Columbia Pictures for release as a motion picture. Sam (Spiderman) Rami is set to produce, and Niles has already written the screenplay.

In addition Niles’s film noir/horror character Cal McDonald (featured in the hit books The Criminal Macabre, The Savage Membrane and Gun, Drugs and Monsters, and Dial M for Monster ) has been scooped up by MGM, also be turned in a major motion picture later this year which Niles is slated to script.

If that wasn’t enough, Dimension Films has just most recently acquired the rights to Niles’s Wake the Dead, a modern Frankenstein tale. X-Men 2 scribe Mike Dougherty is set to write the script.

Rob Zombie is represented by Andy Gould for The Firm and Steve Niles is represented by Jon Levin at CAA.

Contact: Deborah Radel at DRPR, 310.360.3997 or email Deborah@drpr.us

This weekend Steve appeared at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, California, and below you’ll find a handfull of pictures from the event and some of the people who came out to say hello. Click the images to enlarge.

Steve!	Steve and Dan Wickline
Steve and Gris Grimley	Steve meets online comic pros Janet and Charlie

From www.moviepoopshoot.com

Dimension Films has acquired film rights to Steve Niles’ “Hyde,” a comic book proposal that re-imagines the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde horror story, in a deal worth mid-six figures. Mike Fleiss is producing.

“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was written in 1886 by Robert Louis Stevenson. The book, considered a Gothic horror classic, tells the tale of a wealthy doctor-scientist named Dr. Jekyll who unleashes the dark monster within himself by drinking a potion that he developed. The brutish monster is Hyde.

Niles wrote a proposal for a comic book with his take on the tale, which Dimension liked. The comic will be

published by IDW Publishing next year.

Niles and IDW’s Ted Adams are executive producing. Brad Weston and Andrew Rona are overseeing the project for Dimension.

No writer has yet been tapped to adapt it.

The sale continues Niles’ hot streak: His “30 Days of Night” is set up at Columbia Pictures, with Sam Raimi attached to produce, and his “Criminal Macabre” is set up at MGM. Last month, Dimension optioned his “Wake the Dead,” which “X2: X-Men United” co-writer Michael Dougherty is adapting.

Niles is repped by Jon Levin of CAA and Gretchen Rush of Hanson, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman & Warren. Fleiss is repped by CAA. Adams and IDW Publishing are repped by CAA as well as AniManagement. (Item courtesy of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)