Last week, this writer reviewed Dark Horse’s new horror comic Count Crowley. Created and penned by actor David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight, The Belko Experiment) and drawn by Lukas Ketner (Kill the Minotaur, Witch Doctor), Count Crowley concerns Jerri Bartman, a recently appointed local TV station horror host who finds herself drawn into a conspiracy that reveals a world of actual monsters hiding just out of humanity’s sight. In trying to handle this revelation and determine the nature of her mysterious predecessor’s disappearance, Jerri finds herself battling monsters both supernatural and very real-world, ranging from werewolves and vampires to alcoholism, sexism and sexual assault.

It’s a fun, fantastic tale anchored by weighty themes, and it comes with this reviewer’s highest recommendation.

To tell us more about this comic and its origins, creator Dastmalchian was kind enough to sit down and chat all things Count Crowley with Bloody Disgusting.

Mr. Dastmalchian! Thanks so much for taking time out of your schedule to chat Count Crowley with us. My first question has to be – what drew you to telling this particular story, in this particular medium? Have you always been a comic book fan?

I grew up outside of Kansas City, and in the 1980s I discovered two things right around the same time. One was comic books. On top of comic books, I started to collect and fall in love with magazines and specialty trades ranging … from Fangoria, and then I worked my way backwards to Famous Monsters. And then the storytelling stuff – the Eeries, the Creepys, Ghost Castle, Tomb of Dracula. I had this special fondness for horror comics. And all of that was stoked by my first crush, the first person who really introduced me to the cinema and a lot of the actors who would shape my journey as a storyteller: the local Friday Nightmare “Ghostess with the Mostest” – Crematia Mortem.

She had this incredible show on TV 41 in Kansas City that ran for nine years. She was on at that perfect time when I was starting to sneak downstairs at night, on a Friday night after my family had gone to bed, to watch her show. And she introduced me to everyone from Lon Chaney, to Boris Karloff, to Peter Cushing and Peter Lorre. All of my favorite heroes. I always had this dream and idea about how cool it would be to have someone who hosts the horror movies and has that knowledge of monsters and horror – [who would use that] and begin this journey as a super heroic monster hunter, like a present day Van Helsing. And then over the years that idea grew and morphed and evolved, into like – “What if there was a network of monsters hunters, and they were all in disguises as creature feature hosts around the country, and ultimately around the world?”

And then I continued to get older, and I personally had a pretty near-death battle with addiction and depression. I’ll be eighteen years clean and sober in May, which is kind of wonderful because my sober birthday is going to be a few weeks on the heels of the release of the trade paperback. About five years ago, my wife Eve – who is just such an incredible supporter of my work – she said “You know, my favorite idea that you ever talk about is this horror host thing.” I said “It’s mine, too! I just don’t know what to do with it.” [I thought] a serialized version of this story would make a really neat television series. But … “what’s it about?” And then it really hit me. It’s about me. When I first got clean and sober, [I remember] how frustrating it was when I actually started to do the right things, and follow the right steps, and then some crazy outlandish thing would happen. I mean, maybe I didn’t get into a fight with a zombie, but something crazy would always inevitably happen and then I’d go to the people I love to get their help, and no one believed me because I’d been such a mess before.

And then we entered this new era that we live in right now, where there are monsters in plain sight: they’re on our television, they’re in our government, and they are basically spinning and controlling news and information in ways that we didn’t think were possible since the rise of the Third Reich. And I go “Holy shit! … Here’s the breakthrough that I needed.” The monsters are absolutely real. They’ve been living and growing and raising their minions throughout society over millennia, and their strength is their understanding that humans are so easily manipulated through information and news. And so they’ve been spinning all of this fake news and information into our society about them and what they are and how to defeat them, so that when they do ultimately want to lead their assault against humanity, the demons can defeat us.

And I wanted to explore the rise of cable television, so I thought setting it in the 1980s would be really interesting. And the last big discovery I made was that – Jerri to me was always a guy. Like J-E-R-R-Y, because he was like me, who had this big brother who ran this station that he grew up around. And then I had a number of really powerful, badass women around me in my circle of friends and family. All of whom had had pretty horrific things [happen to them] – basically the equivalent of rich, powerful men grabbing them and getting away with it [or worse] because they were rich and powerful. Then I was like, “I believe that Jerry is actually a woman, and she’s going to try and do this job that people had never thought a woman could do before.” Which is being an appointed monster hunter. And she’s probably going to have monsters that she faces in our world that are much scarier than werewolves or vampires.

And so. I work on the TV reimagining of MacGyver on CBS. I play the supervillain Murdoc there. I was talking to my boss … Peter Lenkov there, who created the comic book R.I.P.D. I told him [about Count Crowley], and he flipped out. He then came up with this idea – “I’d like to introduce you to [Dark Horse], and see if they’d be interested in developing this with you.” And it was love at first bite, man. And they just gave me the keys to the castle. A great editor, who then paired me with a great artist, and a great colorist, and a great letterer. They’ve been so cool, and so supportive.

And I’m at my desk, and I’ve got a framed picture of Crematia Mortem, back from 1985. A signed headshot, sitting on my desk. And she’s like glaring at me, but I choose to believe she’s looking at me with pride.

How did you go about creating the strong, complicated, three-dimensional Jerri for your tale?

There are so many things about storytelling, but one of my favorite things, when I can get it right, is to usurp expectation and to pull the proverbial rug out from underneath the audience’s feet as often as possible. I wanted to create a character with Jerri that really could get under your skin, but yet be endearing at the same time – that you could be so frustrated with because of the choices she makes, and yet be cheering for her at the exact same time. I wanted her to represent so many of the people, both men and women, that I know in my real life who … ultimately during their darkest times felt alone.

I think that’s one of the greatest evils of the human experience … the supernaturally evil illusion of this idea that we’re alone. And I think that’s something that always seems to haunt people – no matter where they are, no matter how many people they’re surrounded by. It’s this nagging sense that people have, I think, that they’re alone. And that’s such a sad feeling. And I love, with stories, when you can do your best to remind people that we’re in this together.

So I wanted a character that does believe that she’s alone, and doesn’t think she’s got anything left to fight for. And I just took a lot of inspiration from the people around me – from the kickass heroines that I’ve always loved, and the heroes I’ve always loved…and as a man, writing this woman, I wanted to find a way to find her voice that was authentic, and felt interesting and exciting in a way that people would respond to. So I just dug in and tried to find the connection to myself. I looked at all of the things that scare me the most, the things that frustrate me the most, the things that excite me the most. And I put them into Jerri, and she happens to be a woman. And we’re going to discover, she will be one of the very few humans who fate has called to fight this noble battle.

And it’s interesting – badass women have existed and been portrayed in comics, television and film for decades, generations – obviously throughout literature – but I did want to try and take a totally new axe to this thing and find a way that somebody who happens to be a woman could battle monsters without us needing peeks at her exposed skin. I wanted her in jeans, in a fucking T-Shirt – beaten up, ragged. I’d like to think there’s something really alluring and cool about her – but she ain’t nobody’s pinup, that’s for damn sure.

The story is set in 1983, and nostalgia for 80s genre storytelling certainly seems to be at an all-time high. Other than placing your story in a time when horror hosts were more likely to be visible on TV stations around the country, what was your intention with setting the story a few decades in the past?

Four very important reasons why I needed to set this in 1983: First, horror hosts were in their prime. Regional television and localized television stations that were sub-affiliates of major networks were a special, particular kind of broadcast media. So there was that. Wherever you were living at that time, you would be able to turn on the TV on a Friday or Saturday night and see your local horror host introducing you to classic horror.

The second reason: because of the nature of the way we are going to explore the mythology of the monsters and the way that they’ve infiltrated our society, putting them in the era of the Internet and cell phones … it wouldn’t make complete sense with the type of story I was trying to tell.

The third reason: that was a time – even though, as messed up that the time we’re living in is when it comes to gender disparity in the workplace and I think the way that people are treated who are not men – I think that there was a devil’s playground when it came to men in power getting away with behaviors and the treatment of women in a certain way that I really wanted to explore. Because something that happens in that world is a big motivating factor behind Jerri’s descent into alcoholism and self-destruction.

And the fourth, and the most important: the reason I was starting to build this bigger idea when it came to monsters manipulating news and media was the idea that there are a group of monsters in my story who are going to be trying to take a major power move and set up one of the first cable news networks. Cable in 1983 was in its genesis. It is the beginning … [of] cable television and what that meant and how that was going to affect our society. And so, as you’ll see in the future of the story if I can be so lucky as to get to continue telling it, even though Jerri is at a local small town TV station, she’s going to start to connect the dots and thread the nefarious agendas to some very powerful organizations that are trying to really spin fake news and information into our society so that they can control us by using cable.

I’ve noted this in my review, but I wanted to ask you – though the story is set in the 80s, by the time we reach the final issue the story seems quite timely, what with Jerri’s very “Me Too” backstory and its impact on her career, the sexism she has to deal with on her new job as a monster hunter, and even the nature of the vampire sects and how they control through various forms of media. By setting the story in the past, it seems to throw these issues into very sharp relief. Was that the intention, and how important was it to you to deal with weighty subject matter under the surface of a fun horror tale?

Very important to me. I think that’s what’s made it so rewarding for me. I think that, for many years, I had a cool idea – this horror host that hunts monsters and networks of monsters, and the idea of revisiting classic monster mythology and trying to turn it on its head. Those were all of the paints and pigments that I was assembling over years of dreaming up this story that made a really cool palette. But I’ve never told a story that was worth telling if I didn’t have some personal stake and skin in the actual questions that were being asked throughout the process of the storytelling itself. So when I started to try and overcome my fear of implementing my ideas and my fears about addiction, and mental health, and mental illness, in the story…the hair on the werewolves’ faces just got much more visceral to me. The sharpness of the fangs all became stark and clear, and the blood shone a lot brighter in my imagination as I started to actually put myself and my own fears and ideas into this.

And then we hit 2015, and we started to hear people on our televisions bragging about things like sexual assaults and being cheered. And I was horrified, and I was truly asking really important questions that I didn’t know the answers to. So to me, utilizing the story on a selfish level just to explore questions that I don’t know the answers to, became really important. I definitely don’t want to explore any of those tougher issues that Count Crowley delves into lightly, and I certainly would never want to exploit them because they happen to be headline news items of 2020.

Can you tell us a bit about Lukas Ketner’s art and Lauren Affe’s color work? Their contributions to the comic are immense, and their combined talents give the story the feel of a modernized Warren comic.

I give so much credit to Megan Walker. She’s our editor, and she just knew who the right people were going to be for this. Lukas got the script for issue one when we were pitching to him to see if he wanted to draw for us, and he responded with so much passion for the idea. He just, within a day, sent me a sketch card that he had cooked up of what he imagined Jerri looking like in her Count Crowley attire. There were like three versions of it, all of which had her in stonewashed jeans, or ripped jeans, or combat boots, or Chuck Taylors. And the shirt with the red cape, and just the way that I had described her, and the way that he interprets my words into his pen – it was like a match made in heaven. He takes all my ideas and elevates them. I write pretty specific stage directions in my comic, and every time I get Lukas’ pencils, I just go for a walk of excitement around my house.

And then Lauren – we’d created a really pretty specific board of inspirations, from both comics and film and photography, and she just took it and ran with it. Between the two of them, sometimes it’s like you’re looking at old Al Feldstein artwork. And yet it’s something that’s totally new that you’ve never seen before. It’s such an honor for me to be looking at each issue of the comic – every cover that comes in, every page that comes in, and know that these artists are putting their talent into a story that I’m writing. It’s really amazing

The covers, too, are just really stunning. Each one of them could be a poster. Speaking of which – when is Dark Horse gonna put some Count Crowley merch out into the world?

Good question! I don’t know. My wife made me some really cool enamel pins as a congratulations when the comic came out, and I started handing them out to people at signings when the comic came out. And I feel like Jerri‘s image lends itself really nicely to merch. The cosplay has started, and I just fucking love it. The fan art has started to come in, and I love that there are so many talented people out there that seem to have been really excited by and inspired by the look of Jerri and the world of Count Crowley.

I did an interview with Famous Monsters of Filmland, which was a big deal for me because I’ve been reading and collecting Famous Monsters for decades, and sadly they’re now closing their doors and they’re no more. But they did an interview with me, and I told Lukas that Famous Monsters was doing an interview with me … and he drew this amazing image of Jerri studying one of the ancient texts about monsters, but like she’s totally playing hooky and she’s got a copy of Famous Monsters tucked in there. So Famous Monsters printed two T-shirts with that graphic on it, and I’m like – man, I bet people would buy that shit at a con if I had them to hand out.

So hey, your lips to God’s ears, but I hope my good friends at Dark Horse read this article and they go “You know what? We gotta make some cool Jerri stuff.”

By the time the story reaches its conclusion, readers will have been treated to a complete tale with a beginning, middle and end. And yet, there are enough dangling story threads left that could easily be picked up in further tales with Count Crowley. It very much reads as a comic book adaptation of a TV pilot, in that this first “episode” very deftly sets up a world, characters, and story engine to drive many more adventures down the line. How likely is it that we’ll be seeing more of Jerri and Co. in the future? And are there any plans at the moment to introduce her into another medium?

I’ve got stories that I would love to tell about Jerri for generations to come. I would like to keep telling Jerri stories until I could share it with my grandkids. But for now, I’m just trying to enjoy the moment and appreciate the amazing support the Dark Horse has given me, and the trade paperback that’s coming out soon. I just hope we can reach as many readers, monster kids, horror hounds, comic collectors and neophytes as possible, because the future of Jerri honestly lies with the people who go and pick up her story and let us know how much they like it.

Finally, what would you like to say to all the fans-to-be out there who haven’t yet given Count Crowley a shot, or may have never even picked up a horror comic in their life?

Whether you’re a horror hound – and I’m only assuming you are if you’re reading Bloody Disgusting – but whether or not you’re a horror hound, whether or not you’ve ever read a comic book, whether or not you’ve ever had interest in reading a horror comic, I implore you to please pick up issue #1 of Count Crowley at your local comic shop, or the trade paperback which is coming out shortly. And get under your covers, before you go to bed. Get your flashlight from your camping gear, or just the one that’s on your phone, and read this comic and give it a chance. And I certainly hope that you enjoy getting to know Jerri even a fraction as much as I have enjoyed creating and telling her story.

Thanks again to Mr. Dastmalchian for his time.

Make certain to seek out all four issues of Count Crowley at your local comic book shop.