TIM SEELEY chats about DEATHSTALKER

Vault Comics lately introduced their partnership with the legendary Slash of Guns N’ Roses, Shout! Studios, and Raven Banner Entertainment for the comedian guide adaptation of the cult traditional sword-and-sorcery film franchise, Deathstalker. Part of the writer’s Headshell imprint, there’s a Kickstarter marketing campaign at present operating for the primary situation.

Based on a narrative by author, director, and creature results artist Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman, The Void), the guide will function the staff of author Tim Seeley (Grayson, Hack/Slash, Money Shot) and acclaimed artist Jim Terry (Come Home, Indio).

I caught up with Seeley at NYCC 2023 to talk about the collection.

Deanna Destito: What is Deathstalker about?

Tim Seeley: Well, Deathstalker relies on a movie collection, a Roger Corman manufacturing. The first film got here out in 1982, I imagine, or 1983. And it’s primarily like a barbarian story, so much like Conan or one thing, nevertheless it comes via this filter of being like a trashy, awesomely, sleazy ’80s film.

Our comedian is a sequel to the 4 movies, and it kind of bridges a spot. There’s been a bunch of years since Deathstalker (since we final noticed him), and he’s an older man now, and he can’t cease messing up his life. He’s only a horrible particular person. He’s making an attempt to be a hero, which is type of the theme of the collection, however his impulses are at all times fallacious.

He’s been employed to escort this priestess, a gorgeous priestess whose purity is meant to be a remedy for what ails the world. And she’s purported to be a virgin, and he sleeps together with her, and now the cult desires to kill him. So that’s how we open it up, after which it will get worse for him from there.

Destito: Were you a fan of this film?

Seeley: When I used to be like 5 or 6 years previous, my dad received a VCR, which was a giant deal in 1982. It was like the large, scorching new know-how. You may get films at residence. My dad was an enormous film buff, so each weekend he would hire like, 5 or 6 films, and we might simply sit and watch them, despite the fact that we have been manner too younger to observe them. But it was the ’80s, so I should have seen Deathstalker ten, fifteen occasions. It was at all times on. That and Conan. Again, you’re too younger for these, however there’s this entire collection of, like, the sword and sorcerer and Sorceress and Barbarian Queen, all these low-budget knockoffs of Conan after we have been youngsters, you didn’t know the distinction. You simply thought they have been all superior. So, yeah, I used to be an enormous fan and watched manner an excessive amount of of it, and it most likely ruined my life.

Destito: So how did you get into this mission?

Seeley: Well, so working with Vault on plenty of different stuff, we did Money Shot and West of Sundown collectively, they usually began this new factor, Headshell, which is their music branding factor that they’re working with Metallica. And they requested me for a distinct mission, and I used to be completely prepared to do this one. Then that received stalled. They stated, nicely, we now have this different factor. Would you need to do Deathstalker with Slash? I used to be like, Yep, signal me up. Don’t even want to inform me anymore. I’m already in.

Destito: How is it working with Slash?

Seeley: I imply, it’s tremendous mellow. We simply have Zoom calls. I feel he, Steve, Jim, and I are on the identical stage. We perceive what that is purported to be, so we by no means actually argue about it or something. So far, working with Slash is simply plenty of him being like, “That’s awesome.”

Storywise, it’s type of a collaboration of the tough define of it. Steve Kostanski, Slash, myself, Adrian, we type of all got here up with the fundamentals, after which I do the writing, after which these guys proof it.

Destito: So for any person who doesn’t know this property, doesn’t have that nostalgia from the ’80s, how would you promote this to them to learn?

Seeley: Yeah. You positively should not have to have nostalgia for it. You don’t must have seen the flicks in any respect. We set you up instantly with what you’ll want to know, nevertheless it’s a really darkish and dirty barbarian story, so it’s fantasy, nevertheless it’s not like, a pleasant, fairly clear fantasy world. It’s a world that’s principally falling aside, and the one heroes left should not actually heroes. They’re making an attempt to be good, however they’ll take something. And so this can be a story of a type of guys. He’s a thief. He’s not particular person, however when one thing horrible occurs, ultimately he’ll step as much as do one thing. So it’s very a lot an anti-hero type of story.

Destito: Who’s your favourite character?

Seeley: I imply, up to now, it’s Evie, who’s his girlfriend within the second Deathstalker film. But we do a really totally different tackle her as a result of it’s been plenty of years, and he or she was a princess in the second. She’s now a queen, and he or she has simply had sufficient shit. So he runs to her for assist, and he or she is aware of what he’s. They have been married briefly, so she’s nice. She’s similar to whereas the world type of falls aside, she’s received her personal little nook of it. She simply has to maintain that organized as a result of she is aware of the second that Deathstalker reveals up, all the pieces’s going to go to hell. So she’s type of hanging on to her little moments of peace when she will be able to.

Destito: Have you modified something or added new characters?

Seeley: Yeah, we added plenty of new characters. So a practice within the films, whether or not they knew it or not, was that Deathstalker would meet a bunch of individuals and they’d turn out to be sidekicks, after which they’d all die. So we’re retaining that up. He makes buddies, after which he endangers them, after which they don’t all make it. And so this one, we now have a bunch of recent characters, a bunch of buddies. We type of develop the world as a result of we’re not restricted by the funds of a movie. So you see much more monsters. You see a bit of bit extra of the mythology of the world, the way it works, nevertheless it’s positively one thing that you may come into having by no means even heard of these items.