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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Joshua Fialkov Stops By To Talk Top Cow’s ‘Echoes’!

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Top Cow has teamed up with Joshua Hale Fialkov, and Rahsan Ekedal to present “ECHOES”. This sharply written story takes you inside the head of Brian Cohn, a man dealing with Schizophrenia among a multitude of other issues. The third installment of this five issue series is scheduled to hit shelves on the 23rd of this month.

WARNING: The Following Interview Contains Spoilers

Johnny_Trouble:“Josh, thanks for agreeing to talk to us here at Bloody-Disgusting about the five-issue series of Echoes.

In the series, you portray the world through the eyes of Brian Cohn, a schizophrenic, who has to deal with a father dying of Alzheimer’s, a child on the way, and a myriad of demons from his past. As a result, the stresses in his life wreak havoc upon his mental condition and his grip on reality. Throughout the storyline you turn Brian’s world into a complex compilation of problems that are commonplace, as well as some that are extraordinary, making him relatable as well as alien in a sense. With this being said, where did you come up with the idea for the series as well as Brian’s character?

Joshua Fialkov:“Pretty much step one in anything I work on, intentionally or not, is some aspect of my own personality or life that’s hanging on me. The book came to me pretty much right alongside the deicison to have a kid. And suddenly, my relationship with my father was that much more important to me, because, y’know, I want to be the best father I possibly can, but, I’m moody and sullen and a little bit crazy. And, well, so’s my dad (although far less crazy than me.) And as I get older and it becomes more and more clear that I’m becoming my father, and it’s only a hop step and a jump to ECHOES from there. “

Johnny_Trouble:“Why did you choose Monroeville for the location of the story?

Joshua Fialkov:“It’s where I grew up. It’s sort of that perfect suburb. Not too fancy, not too poor, but with pockets of both, and for me, it represents that middle ground. Lots of my friends from high school are still there, and I know that when I go back, while there’s a feeling of nostalgia, there’s also a feeling of claustrophobia. Being in a place where everyone doesn’t just know you, but knows what you did when you were eight years old, or, even worse, what your parents did when THEY were eight years old is far more frightening than comforting to me.

So the idea was a place that was both small enough to be claustrophobic and big enough that a killer could plausibly stalk the streets. Plus, I feel like I have a duty to restore the cities horror cred after the Dawn of the Dead remake so unceremoniously dumped the city. “

Johnny_Trouble:“Something that I noticed, and I always appreciate is that throughout the story there are numerous little details you have included: Brian’s use of Clozapine and Cymbalta, his address is a real residence, Detective Neville has the real Municipality of Monroeville’s phone number on his business card, Echolalia’s presence in both Schizophrenics and Alzheimer’s patients, ect. How much research and preparation did it take to ensure the accuracy of these details, and why did you choose to incorporate them the way you did?

Joshua Fialkov:“Realism is key when you’re asking your readers to take what is ultimately a huge logistical jump. Part of the success of the book, for me, is nobody says, “Why didn’t he just go to the police?” which, obviously, is what any sane person would do. I think the detail work in the book, as well as Rahsan’s amazing illustrations make it clear that he’s NOT a sane person, and can’t possibly make rational decisions. In fact, I don’t know that he makes a single rational decision until it’s far too late. “

Johnny_Trouble:“It isn’t uncommon for serial killers to collect some sort of personal item from their victims to remember the murder. In the story, the victims’ body parts have been sewn into little dolls. Where did you get the idea for the dolls?

Joshua Fialkov:“I was working a while back on a New Orleans based crime book with a Voodoo angle. I ended up scrapping it after I read Kody Chamberlain’s amazing series Sweets, cause, y’know, there’s no way I could do something that protrayed New Orleans as vibrantly as an actual native, especially one as talented as Kody, could. During that research in to the darker aspects, I came across the sort of higher end vodou dolls, made out of flesh and bone of animals. Which in and of itself is pretty gross, but, the thought of a serial killer doing the same was just too haunting to get rid of. While working on the concept of Echoes, the idea of the killer actually MAKING an echo of the victim seemed too good to pass up. “

Johnny_Trouble:“Detective Neville is a character that starts out seeming like a good cop who is out to solve problems. As the story develops, not only do you show his true intentions, you show readers how his occupation allows him to deny the rights of others as well as the ability to manipulate the justice system. Is this an underlying social commentary on the amount of power police officers have in this country, or was there some other message you were trying to portray?

Joshua Fialkov:“I’m Public Enemy and NWA all rolled into one, right? I don’t think so, really, I have the same authoritarial anxiety as most creative types, but, mine comes less from the position of power and more of the fact that people are scum bags, and a good percentage of them are trying to fuck you anyway they can.

Ultimately though, the police other than Neville, aren’t corrupt or evil, I think they’re just doing their job, and because of the inevitability of the set up, Brian’s hosed either way. “

Johnny_Trouble:“How did you and Rahsan Ekedal team up for this series?

Joshua Fialkov:“We’d worked together a bit in the past on a book for Dark Horse called The Cleaners, which unfortunately did not set the world on fire. Between then and now, Rahsan and I had stayed in touch, and I watched him evolved from a competent creator to a true master of the medium. Once I saw the work he was doing in the Creepy anthology, I knew it was time for us to put the band back together.“

Johnny_Trouble:“Were there any significant challenges that you came across when developing the storyline for Echoes?

Joshua Fialkov:“The ending was really the only point of contention, because it’s sort of a non-ending. I mean, everything is certainly wrapped up, but, it’s so fucking bleak. And that’s less coming from Top Cow and more coming from me. I always write downer endings, but usually they’re at least presented as ‘wins.’ Here, the only person who wins is, well, the one person who absolutely deserves not to.

Especially now as we’re developing the movie, it becomes really clear that benefit of comics. That ending is one of them, for me. We can do whatever we want, and we can leave things open ended and bleak, because our readers are just more select and, therefore, more sophisticated than the average summer blockbuster theater goer. “

Johnny_Trouble:“What projects can we expect to see from you in the near future?

Joshua Fialkov:“Up next is a new graphic novel called HELLTOWN with artist Steve Bryant that’ll be syndicated on the MTV Geek site, alongside brand new PUNKS comics with my co-creator (and Sweets creator) Kody Chamberlain. Along with those, I’ve got a graphic novel series over at Oni Press with co-writer and illustrator Tony Fleecs that hasn’t been quite announced yet. And then there’s a creator owned ongoing series with Brent Peeples that’s in the early stages, but I hope will make it out by year’s end.“

“ECHOES” has the attention to detail that Fialkov has shown us before with his book “TUMOR”. Not only does Fialkov provide a complex story, but he also seamlessly integrates facts within the fiction, making the world he creates one that is multi-dimensional. The series will run through April of this year and is available in local comic shops and is available at Top Cow’sonline store.

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[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.

“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”

Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.

Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.

Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.

Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re  reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.

Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.

Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.

Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.

Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion. 

Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.

‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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