DF Interview: Peter J. Tomasi confronts the battle of nature vs. nurture in ‘Blood Tree’



By Byron Brewer

Two obsessed NYPD detectives hunt for a vicious butcher called the Angel Killer, a sociopath who preys on the innocent family members of known murderers in order to "purify" the rest of society.

From comics super team Peter J. Tomasi (Batman and Robin, Superman, Black Adam: The Dark Age, Super-Sons, Detective Comics) and Maxim Šimić (Escape from New York, Conan) comes Blood Tree, a story that confronts the battle of nature versus nurture, considers how present and future generations are tainted by past generations, and asks the age-old question: Who must pay for the sins of the fathers – and perhaps even the sins of the mothers?
I caught up to scribe Tomasi and here’s what he had to say about the new book.


Byron Brewer: Peter, at least one version of Blood Tree has been running weekly through the online newsletter, Zestworld. Will the Image comic be an opportunity for readers to see those issues in print? And if so, will there be new material coming from artist Maxim Šimić and yourself?



Peter J. Tomasi: Yes, exactly. Blood Tree came out initially through Zestworld.com in only a digital version. They were great to work with. The Image comic will be the first time it's out in print, an actual floppy. Being as old school as I am, it doesn't feel real until I can hold it in my hands, tangible so to speak. Also, for me, writing all day and staring at my Macbook screen, reading for pleasure is something I like to do without a screen. Books, comics, newspapers, magazines. I catch crap from my wife all the time with all the stacks around. There is no new material included in the monthly floppies, but there will be a bunch of stuff for the trade paperback.



Byron: The inspiration for Blood Tree, as I have heard it, not only demonstrates you are an author with patience, but it is one of the funniest tales I have ever heard. Would you please share the inspiration that, if memory serves, begins with you walking in Central Park?



Peter J. Tomasi: Well, I was walking in Central Park one day having just watched a re-release of Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen, and a white feather fluttered down in front of me. I looked closer and discovered it was spotted with blood. So, as my mind took off on its usual free association roller-coaster, I imagined that unseen in the heavens above some angels were duking it out and one of them crashed down into the park. Heading home on the 'A' train, I took out my handy dandy pocket notebook that I always have on my person, and jotted it down. Over the years I kept embellishing upon that singular premise and formed a story I kinda geared on.



Byron: Talk a little about the canvas here, the world/mood/atmosphere Maxim and you are weaving.



Peter J. Tomasi: For me, my creator-owned books, up till now, have all been non-superhero stories except The Mighty (plug plug: check out the recently released Image trade paper back), and I've been focused in staying in the 'real' world, so to speak, instead of continuing to delve into worlds/cityscapes filled with capes and cowls that I've been doing for 30 years. I love super-heroes but I felt to keep any of my future superhero work fresh, I needed to step away for a bit. Anyway, the main objective was to give this story a very straight ahead point of view. We purposefully steered away from getting too operatic in a way, by which I mean lots of big splash pages and crazy angles or distorted shots. We wanted to go with a humanistic eye level, no bombastic superhero tropes. This is a story about several characters going down a severe road that breaks away from their mundane daily life and job expectations and forcing them towards a self-realization that they might not want to look at. Seven, Dexter, and Silence of the Lambs are films/TV that Maxim and I spoke about in regards to the tonal vibe we were shooting for.



Byron: Introduce us to protagonists Dario and Maria. Who are they, what is their relationship and chemistry, and what type of personal challenges await them in the series?



Peter J. Tomasi: Well, I went with the tried and true template of Dario Azzaro as our grizzled NYC detective who's seen it all -- or at least has thought so until the strange killings begin. And of course the younger detective, Maria Diaz, who's got her own world view that deviates from the beliefs of her veteran partner. It's always fun to take a template and shake it up in an unusual way while also peeling away some layers and seeing how this particular case affects their mental and physical stability, and of course their family life. They've got some insane obstacles to face and I hope readers are emotionally invested in their journey because I feel there's some real unexpected twists heading their way.



Byron: What other characters loom large as this series progresses? Can you spotlight a few?



Peter J. Tomasi: I don't wanna give anything away this early, but what I can say is that every character has a specific arc, even the smallest ones who you might not expect.

Byron: Talk more about the collaboration between artist Maxim Šimić and yourself. What does his awesome art bring to this gritty gathering?


Peter J. Tomasi: Working with Maxim has been great. He's got this organic, raw vibe to his art that really works well with Blood Tree and he's a talented storyteller who puts ya right into the heart of the story. Also, the work on the book from colorist John Kalisz and letterer Rob Leigh has been great, not to mention the beautiful covers by Christian Alamy and the cool variant cover to issue #1 by Gary Frank. And then of course there's Brian Cunningham, who's helping juggle all the plates!



Byron: Peter, what other coming projects of yours, inside or outside comics, can you tell readers about?



Peter J. Tomasi: My next creator-owned book from Image will be out either in late 2023 or early 2024 called Snipe and Slug with my storytelling partner the uber-talented Brad Walker. The first three issues are complete and colored and they look unbelievable. Also putting together some other creator-owned books, but all hush-hush for the moment. Not sure if anyone caught my first Marvel work, but I wrote the Old Man Logan: Wastelanders series for Sirius that I was proud of, and there's some TV stuff percolating that's better left unsaid until it firms up some more. There's also a DC series in the works that will be out in late 2023, but again, too early to tell ya much about. And I'm also excited about some DC Omnibuses that are on the horizon.



Dynamic Forces would like to thank Peter J. Tomasi for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Blood Tree #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale February 1st!



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