Since then, not only have we managed to get our grubby mitts on the first issue (full review coming soon, but rest assured our minds are indeed blown), we've also been given the wonderful opportunity to chat to the lovely chaps what wrote it to find out more about their inspirations and plans for the future.
Where did the idea for Death Sentence come from?
Monty: Well, I was at the Hi-Ex comic con expounding my theories on how to make comics more relevant to our lives. On the drive home it struck me how thoughtless it was to sound off on this subject when I hadn’t done anything about it myself. My wife was three months pregnant at the time and everyone was telling us that our lives would effectively be over when the baby came. There were all these dark warnings that we’d just become these baby caring automatons, or something. So it felt like we only had six months left to do something creative – which turned out to be nonsense, but that’s how it felt. So this idea of ‘enhanced abilities, but just six months to live’ came from that. By the time we got home I had the basic plot worked out, and started work on some character designs the next day
How did the relationship with Titan Comics come about? We read something about you door-stepping Mark Millar and Nick Landau at Kapow...
Monty: Yeah, that’s pretty much true. Mike and I made a professional looking comic out of the first ten pages of Death Sentence and took it to Kapow, just handing it out to people on the floor and bothering guests after panels. We showed it to hundreds of people, but the two guys who got really excited about it were Nick and Mark, independently of each other.
Mike: I think you got Death Sentence into Mark’s hands moments before you had to go and catch your flight, didn’t you? It was all very dramatic!
Monty: Sort of. I’d collared Mark on Saturday when he was running back to his hotel to change his shirt, and didn’t really expect him to read it or anything. People tend to lose these things. As I was settling my bill at the hotel on Sunday Mark stepped out of this door, just random chance, and said ‘Are you the Death Sentence guy? Your comic’s brilliant man, I’d love to serialise it.’ He’d read it while waiting for a panel to start. So that was really exciting. I went straight over to the bar to tell Mike and we were ecstatic. The sun was shining, the drinks were flowing, and we were walking on air. Then I got a phone call from Nick a few months later, making an offer for the whole series, but I was set on self-publishing at that time. About a year later Titan came back with a better offer, so Mike and I talked about it and said yes. And Titan have been great to deal with, I recommend them.
Why spread the virus via a STD?
Monty: Because it’s more dramatic. Basically, a fatal virus isn’t dramatic - it’s just tragic. For something to be dramatic the protagonist has to be conflicted and be able to make choices – to drive the story. By making it sexually transmitted you open up the questions of whether you expose yourself to the risk, or even catch it deliberately to get the enhanced capabilities. The satirical possibilities were also very appealing.
Tell us about Verity, Weasel and Monty - why these three characters?
Monty: They just entertain me – and hopefully you! They’re funny and vibrant. Verity’s easy to relate to. She’s very frustrated and unfulfilled – temp job, shitty bedsit, no significant other. She sleeps around and parties a lot, to get attention really – stemming from a deep sense of creative frustration. She longs for something more - to be a fine artist if she can. Weasel’s a rock star with a lot of adulation and no real talent, and he wants more than anything to be taken seriously as a credible musician. And Monty’s a wild comedian with profound talent and sex appeal, but he gets away with a lot that he shouldn’t. Celebrities are often cut a lot of slack in our society. Why is that? Cutting between these three perspectives lets us say things about life, and tell the story in a thrilling and innovative way.
It might just be us, but there's something very 'Russell Brand' about Monty. Are the characters inspired by real life people?
Monty: There’s bits of people I feel I know in all of them. And bits of me, of course. But, really, it’s just a matter of looking at what’s going on around you and reflecting it. That’s where all the humour comes from. It doesn’t matter how grave the situation is, people will take the piss. Once I figured that out, the script pretty much wrote itself.
How did you decide on the powers that you'd give them?
Monty: They’re a dramatic extension of the story and the characters themselves. Verity’s abilities are creative, Monty’s are all about control, and Weasel brings chaos. The more creative they are the more abilities they develop, so it really escalates. Just wait for issue three – it’ll blow your socks off.
As well as our heroes, if we can call them that, you've given us antagonists in GCHQ - what can you tell us about the organisation and its purpose?
Monty: GCHQ is a real listening and surveillance organisation monitoring the virus and helping to contain its spread. The PRISM thing’s brought GCHQ and the NSA a lot of attention, but I got fascinated by them years ago. They feed certain information to the Department of National Security who are trying to contain the virus as best they can. It’s a pandemic emergency, and a lot of the antagonists are very conflicted and ambiguous in their roles and motivations. It all helps the drama feel credible – one step removed from the real world.
Something tells us that this story isn't going to end happily for everybody, are we right?
Monty: We can’t tell you that!!!! Let’s just say there are huge surprises – right up till the end.
Do you have a favourite scene or moment?
Monty: My favourite scene so far is in issue two, when we suddenly open out the story in a really surprising direction. You know the one I mean?
Mike: Yeah, yeah, I like that scene too. It’s a quiet moment in an awesome landscape.
Monty: So the big reveal is entirely silent. I love all our silent panels - Mike’s magic moments I call them – they make for ‘good comics’. The scene’s based on a place on the northern tip of Scotland I visited with my wife when she was eight months pregnant. So it has a real personal connection. Mike gave me the original art, too, which was very thoughtful.
How did your partnership come about?
Monty: I just saw Mike’s work at a con and loved it. I chatted him up, but my advances were cruelly rebuffed…
Mike: True, you hit on me pretty hard – I was flattered but I didn’t give in straight away, I’m not that easy plus I had to ask around, make sure you weren’t a crazy person!
Monty: I eventually wore Mike down by sending him the script, some character paintings and a synopsis. He loved it so much he made it his main focus – which he probably regrets now given the amount of work involved. I suspect it was the chance to draw something meaningful that swung it? .
Mike: Yeah, when you actually sent me the script I could see right away that it was going to be good. I cleared the decks and jumped in.
What's your working process like? Is Death Sentence a collaborative effort?
Mike: Normally Monty sends me the script and I work up the layouts and get them back to him. Then we figure out if any improvements could be made. Monty’s real strength, I think, is dialogue and I generally see it as my job to make sure all the characters are expressive and getting that dialogue across properly.
Monty: We’re always talking about tweaking this or that element, sending each other ref, or clarifying issues. The detail is everything in comics, the nuances and little touches that make sequential magic. That’s what we’re striving for and it takes a lot of effort.
With the world you've created Death Sentence could go on forever - do you have a plan for a second series?
Monty: Yup, all plotted out. If people buy the first issue today we can get straight on with it.
What else have you got in the pipeline?
Monty: I’ve got a Terror Tale in 2000ad #1838, which I wrote and drew, and then I’m doing all the covers and bonus material for the remaining issues of Death Sentence.
Mike: And I’ll be starting work on a Judge Anderson story for 2000 AD later in the year.
Comics have hit the mainstream recently, what do you think that means for indie creators such as yourselves?
Mike: Well, the films have hit the mainstream – I’m not sure it’s affected the books that much. Still, I think this is one of the best times to be producing creator owned work. Image and other companies have proven that you don’t need to rely on long established heroes to have great reading and selling books. I hope that’s what Death Sentence is as well – a book that anyone who enjoys good comics can enjoy.
Monty: Yeah, to be honest, it makes no difference to what we do at all - which is trying to make interesting comics.
Finally, if it's not too personal, what would you do with only six months to live?
Mike: Look for a cure!
Monty: Ha-ha! Good call. I think I’d just make graphic novels and spend most of my time with friends and family. No one ever sat on their death bed wishing they’d worked more, you know? You’ve gotta have your priorities straight.
Death Sentence #1 from Titan Comics hits stores on October 9, 2013. The series will also be available to read day and date on the iPad, iPhone, Web, Android and Kindle Fire, exclusively through the comiXology app and comiXology.com.
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