DF Interview: Joe Pruett pits Norsemen against werewolves in the blood-curdling barbaric adventure, ‘Viking Moon’
By Byron Brewer
Vikings vs. werewolves! The real reason the Vikings fled North America. This barbaric adventure begins in 1003, when Leif Erikson established a Viking settlement in Vneland (present-day Newfoundland), a strange new world of plenty. But this untamed frontier is populated by more than an indigenous people. There is something unnatural that stalks the night. Twenty years after the original expedition ended in disaster, a new attempt to settle this wilderness is made. Ulf and his hardened tribe of Vikings soon discover that the whisper of creatures who are both human and beast are not primitive legend, but death-bringing reality!
Eisner Award-winning writer Joe Pruett (Voices In My Head, Cable, Domino) and legendary artist Marcelo Frusin (Hellblazer, Loveless, Kick-Ass: The New Girl) team up for an all-new tale of horror in Viking Moon. I caught up to Joe and here is what the scribe told me about this five-issue miniseries.
Byron Brewer: Joe, I gather that Viking Moon is a story you have been wanting to tell for some time. What was the genesis of this long brewing tale, and why is now the right time to tell the story?
Joe Pruett: An artist friend of mine (Jordan Raskin) years back had drawn an image of a werewolf on a battleground with dead soldiers or barbarians around it while he was getting himself into the mood for drawing a Werewolf by Night short story that I had written for Marvel’s Tomb of Terror one-shot they did back in 2010 That image gave me the spark of an idea that eventually turned into werewolves versus Vikings and, fifteen years later, that idea is finally becoming a story. I’ve wanted to do it for quite a while, but then I got sidetracked being the Publisher at AfterShock Comics, and they did not really want me to write as they wanted me to focus on the business side of things, so it got put on the back burner until I became a freelancer again. Viking Moon was the first thing I decided I wanted to try to get published and when Marcelo and I started talking about working together again, I pitched it to him and he immediately said “yes!”
Byron: Describe the world you and Marcelo Frusin are building, will be welcoming readers into come September.
Joe Pruett: It’s pretty commonly accepted knowledge now that the Vikings were actually the first European explorers to reach the New World in present-day Newfoundland, Canada, centuries before the Christopher Columbus voyage. There were a couple of expeditions by the sons of Erik the Red, and even an attempt at establishing a settlement there, but it was abandoned after only a few short years. Our story takes place several years later, when a new, determined and hopeful clan of Vikings decide they will attempt to claim their own stake in this “land of plenty.” This new group is aware of the potential of conflict with the original Native inhabitants, but the tales of this land’s abundance and their own arrogance outweighs any dangers that they might encounter…even the tales of things inhuman and supernatural whispered from survivors of previous voyages.
Byron: Introduce us please to your protagonists and tell us how who they are and what they may discover brings Viking Moon about.
Joe Pruett: The primary focus of our story rests upon the leader of this Viking clan, Ulf, and his family (his wife Astrid and his daughter Yrsa). Ulf has lead his family and this hardened, ambition group of Vikings to a land of legend, seeking a new and better life (the “American Dream” before it was ever called such) from the harsh one that has been left behind. Ulf is a strong, confident leader, but also a husband and father, which has its own challenges. The daughter, Yrsa, is no different than any teenager: rebellious, unafraid, seeks thrills and challenges. But it is her curiosity and strength (and compassion) that will stir this tale into previously unimagined directions. For the Native population, this is not the first time that they have been invaded by the Norse, and they fully expect the same outcome as the previous attempts, with the Norse returning to the land from whence they came. But there is an unexpected variable that threatens to change the course of the conflict and the outcome of our story. All I can say is to not to expect what you might expect.
Byron: Tell readers the werewolves we are dealing with in this miniseries. Are there any specifics unique to these werewolves outside the “Wolf Man” norm that you can share without spoilers?
Joe Pruett: We’re going to be gravitating more toward Native American folklore of “Skinwalkers” than Golden Age of Hollywood “Wolf Man.” Our creatures are men who willingly transform into our were-beasts, rather than a man who can’t help but transform into a werewolf. Skinwalkers myths are not confined to wolf transformations, as it could be any number of animals, but we’re going to stick to just the wolf form, as that is more visual and familiar to our audience (and Marcelo and I want to play with werewolves).
Byron: Is there a key big-bad at large or behind the scenes?
Joe Pruett: Well, I don’t want to give too much detail away, but I will say that the Native Americans are not the “bad guys,” nor are the Vikings. There is another dynamic involved that is adversarial toward both parties.
Byron: Did you or Marcelo or both do any research on this historic period? (Such things fascinate me!)
Joe Pruett: Of course! I’ve read up on the voyages of the Erikson brothers (Leif and Thorvald) and the attempted colonization by Thorfinn Karlsefni. I really would love to make a trip to L’Anse aux Meadows on the north tip of Newfoundland where they have excavated a Norse settlement (the only direct evidence of the Vikings in North America), but missed my opportunity when I traveled to Halifax (as close as I’ve come) with Garth Ennis a few years back. If I had known that this story would one day come to life, I might have travelled the extra distance to see it.
Byron: Talk about your collaboration with Marcelo. What does his art bring to this mini?
Joe Pruett: Marcelo is a master. He brings mood, atmosphere, a sense of place, and a sense of character to every page he draws. His colors perfectly fit the art as well. Nice having him do both.
We did a story together 20 or so years ago for Weird Western Tales at Vertigo. Not sure if that was his first work at Vertigo, but it was mine (and my only work there, alas). But I was amazed by his talent then and only became more in love with his work as he graduated upward to Hellblazer and Loveless and beyond. I’ve always wanted to work with him again, but the opportunity never presented itself until now.
With Marcelo, I know he can tell a story, so I try to let him. We work in the old Marvel-style (which I haven’t done since I worked in the X-Men family of books several years back). I send him a script with about four panels per page (telling him to add panels if he feels the need), but no dialogue. He follows my outlines, tweaking panels and such as he visualizes it, always making it better, and sends each page back to me to dialogue. Each page is always beautiful and I’ve never had to ask him to make an adjustment. Why mess with perfection?
Byron: Joe, what other projects in which you have been involved can you tell readers about?
Joe Pruett: I made my name more as an editor back in the day with an anthology called Negative Burn from Caliber Comics. It was nominated for several Eisner, Harvey and Eagle Awards, giving me individual Eisner nominations for “Best Short Story” and “Best Editor” as well. It’s the series that made my career, but also helped to launch the careers of such now legendary creators as John Cassaday, Paul Pope, Mike Wieringo, Paul Jenkins, Phil Hester, Mike Perkins, etc. I did a lot of writing back in those black and white comic days, including Dusty Star at Image and Kilroy Is Here at Caliber, but probably first got really noticed when I was writing X-Men Unlimited, Cable, Domino, Magneto Rex, among others at Marvel. More recently, I created the series BEK (Black-Eyed Kids) at AfterShock and last year had a one-shot of original short stories called Voices In My Head at Image Comics. In the coming year, I have a few projects lined up at Image, some short stories at Bad Idea, a Belit short story for Savage Sword of Conan, an original graphic album The Territory with French publisher Lombard and probably one or two other things to be announced shortly. Writing comics is my first love, so I am very excited to be able to embrace this passion once again.
Dynamic Forces would like to thank Joe Pruett for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Viking Moon #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale September 24!
