DF Interview: Christopher Sebela brings found footage horror to the comic book page with ‘Blink’



By Byron Brewer

Wren Booker was three when she was found catatonic and covered in blood on the streets of New York. Since that day, she's been haunted by a childhood she can't remember. After decades of searching, Wren stumbles upon a cryptic website streaming multiple CCT feeds from strange rooms in a ruined building and something clicks, setting off hidden memories that lead her back to a place she's seen in lifelong nightmares. Hunting for answers, Wren breaks into the building, but instead finds herself entangled in the camera-filled dark mazes of a decayed social experiment known only as Blink.

Eisner-nominated Christopher Sebela (Dirtbag Rapture), Hayden Sherman (Thumbs), and Nick Filardi (Rogue Planet) team up for a found footage horror where uncovering your past will leave you trapped inside it.
Truth? Oni Press had me at “Christopher Sebela”. So I sat down with the scribe to chat Blink!


Byron Brewer: Chris, I am not sure this is the case for everyone, but I myself have had recurring nightmares that I sometimes imagine (?) to be repressed childhood memories. Talk about how this works into your coming comic Blink, and was there any occurrence of these in your life that may have been inspiration?



Christopher Sebela: Actually, a lot of Blink is inspired by nightmare stuff for me. I’ve been plagued most of my life by dreams/nightmares about mazes and labyrinthian places. Enough that I’m almost aware, when the dream starts, that it’s a dream. I’ve even had crossover with real life with people I’ve told about these dreams showing up in them and I tell them, “Hey, you’re in the dream I was telling you about.” So I definitely mined a lot of that for this book, if only to try and purge it from my brain once and for all, though I doubt that will actually work.



Byron: Wow!… Introduce readers to Wren Booker and talk about what experiences – or lack of memory thereof – have brought her to the point we find her in Blink. How have lifelong nightmares formed the person Wren is now?

Christopher Sebela: Wren is a freelance writer/journalist who investigates missing persons cases, because she’s a missing person herself. She has no memories of where she came from before she was found wandering the streets as a little kid, barely any memories of who her parents were, it’s a big blank spot. A side-effect of that is she’s plagued with sleep paralysis and the sort of demonic presences that people who suffer from it report. Whether that’s related to where she came from, well, that remains to be seen.



Byron: Can you give us an overview of the series, a summation of sorts… without spoilers, of course.



Christopher Sebela: Blink is the story of Wren Booker, who has spent her life in search of her past, discovering the biggest clue to the answers she’s been seeking from a website that appears online and immediately vanishes full of video feeds of a space that she recognizes deep down in her bones. Wren manages to track down where the feeds were coming from and she goes to find out what this place is and what happened to her. But once she’s inside, she’s trapped with a lot of darkness, monsters and mysteries she has to solve to escape with her life. There’s a lot of found footage horror elements and lots of stuff much weirder than that packed in here, all translated to amazing effect by Hayden Sherman and Nick Filardi.



Byron: What other important characters might readers need to know about? Can you spotlight some here?



Christopher Sebela: This really is Wren’s story, through and through. There are some secondary characters here and there but the important character is Wren and the most important thing to her is solving the mystery of herself and her origins. She’s truly obsessed to the point of letting the rest of her life slip, so any other people are just help or hindrance in that mission as far as Wren is concerned. And once she gets trapped inside, the sides get a lot blurrier.



Byron: I love the fact that Wren discovers the most important of clues to her lifelong search for answers on a random website. How else today would folks find anything BUT on a website? Talk about this important story tool and how it may reflect our times, as do things she later finds in the ruined building.



Christopher Sebela: Blink is really my first attempt at incorporating things from one of my favorite sub-genres — found footage horror. You can’t really do a direct translation of that kind of movie into comics, but I tried to harness the vibes and feeling of them into this narrative. So a lot of the storytelling comes from things that Wren watches or listens to, and her own storytelling comes in the forms of writing for an audience on a Patreon-like platform. But the heart of this story is a lot about surveillance, about the privacies we give up willingly and what kind of effect they have on us and on the world around us.



Byron: Tell readers about your collaboration on this comic with artist Hayden Sherman. Why are they the right artist for this mag?



Christopher Sebela: Hayden and I worked together on a creator-owned book at AfterShock called Cold War and it was my first time working with them but I was immediately blown away. And Blink was a story I’d been wanting to tell for years at that point, but I could never find a collaborator who I thought fit really well. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I knew when it wasn’t what I was looking for. I just thought Hayden would do some really interesting stuff if nothing else, so I asked them right after we wrapped up that book if they’d want to do a horror thing and they said yes. It took a couple of years until we could actually work on it because Hayden is rightfully in demand all over the place, but I think it worked out really well because Hayden’s storytelling chops and experimentalism have only gotten better in the ensuing years. It was one of those instinct kind of decisions on my part and it’s really paid off. No one else could have drawn Blink and told the story the same way.



Byron: Chris, what other projects do you have coming that you can tell readers about?



Christopher Sebela: I’m currently writing the last two issues of Foulbrood, a book about bees and crime that we’ve been kickstarting in batches of two. Our new campaign is coming up in June and Claire Roe, my collaborator, is starting in on issue 5 right now. The trade paperback for my supernatural stoner comedy book, Dirtbag Rapture, is coming out in August from Oni Press and it’s really dang good. Besides that, I have a couple of unannounced books, one from Vault Comics and another with AfterShock and I’ve got a jillion things in progress in various forms as always.



Dynamic Forces would like to thank Christopher Sebela for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Blink #1 from Oni Press is slated to be on sale July 27th!



For more news and up-to-date announcements, join us here at Dynamic Forces, www.dynamicforces.com/htmlfiles/, “LIKE” us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/dynamicforcesinc, and follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/dynamicforces.

In a twist worthy of a Hollywood script, Ryan Coogler’s breakout horror film Sinners—a 2025 box office juggernaut—owes part of its haunting aesthetic to a Marvel movie that never made it to set. The film’s eerie, period-perfect costumes were originally designed for Marvel Studios’ long-delayed Blade reboot, which remains in production limbo. According to Sinners producer Sev Ohanian, the film’s costume designer, Oscar-winner Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther), had been working on Blade when the project was shelved indefinitely. That version of Blade, starring Mahershala Ali, was once envisioned as a 1920s-set vampire thriller—eerily similar in tone and era to Sinners. When Sinners was greenlit on a tight schedule, Carter had a warehouse full of unused, period-appropriate costumes. Marvel, in a rare behind-the-scenes collaboration, allowed Coogler’s team to purchase the wardrobe “at price”. While the main cast including Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, and others wore custom-designed costumes tailored specifically for their characters, many of the extras in Sinners were dressed in the repurposed Blade costumes, giving the film a rich, textured authenticity without the usual prep time. First announced in 2019, Marvel’s Blade reboot has faced repeated delays due to creative changes, director exits, and industry strikes. The film was removed from Disney’s release calendar in 2024 and remains without a confirmed production date. Despite the setbacks, Mahershala Ali has expressed continued interest in the role, recently telling reporters, “Call Marvel. I’m ready”. 

Nearly 50 years after One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest became a cinematic landmark, a new television spinoff is in the works—this time told through the eyes of the character who saw everything but said very little: Chief Bromden. Producer Paul Zaentz, nephew of the original film’s producer Saul Zaentz, revealed on the CK Café podcast that he has signed an agreement with the widow of author Ken Kesey to develop a TV series based on the 1962 novel. The first season will be told entirely from the perspective of Chief Bromden, the towering half-Native American patient who pretended to be deaf and mute in the original story. Zaentz explained that the series will begin within the psychiatric hospital, as in the original, but will then follow Chief’s journey after his dramatic escape—territory the original film never explored. While Milos Forman’s 1975 film adaptation won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Jack Nicholson, it famously diverged from Kesey’s novel by shifting the narrative focus from Chief Bromden to Randle McMurphy. Kesey was openly critical of this change. The upcoming series aims to restore the novel’s original point of view and delve deeper into the Chief’s inner world. Chief Bromden’s character—played by Will Sampson in the film—was a symbol of silent resistance and eventual emancipation. The new series promises to explore his backstory, his psychological trauma, and his life beyond the institution. It’s a chance to reframe the narrative around Indigenous identity, mental health, and the long shadow of institutionalization. 

Julian McMahon, the charismatic Australian actor known for his iconic roles in Nip/Tuck, Charmed, and the Fantastic Four films, has passed away at the age of 56 following a private battle with cancer. His wife, Kelly McMahon, confirmed that he died peacefully on July 2, 2025, in Clearwater, Florida. Born in Sydney on July 27, 1968, McMahon was the son of former Australian Prime Minister William McMahon. He began his career as a model before transitioning to acting in Australian soaps like The Power, The Passion and Home and Away. His move to Hollywood led to breakout roles in Profiler and Charmed, where he played the complex and seductive demon Cole Turner. But it was his portrayal of Dr. Christian Troy in FX’s Nip/Tuck that cemented his status as a television icon. The role earned him a Golden Globe nomination and showcased his ability to balance charm, darkness, and vulnerability. He later brought gravitas to the role of Victor Von Doom in the Fantastic Four films, becoming one of Marvel’s earliest cinematic villains. McMahon’s career spanned decades and genres. He starred in FBI: Most Wanted as Jess LaCroix, appeared in Hulu’s Runaways, and most recently played the Australian Prime Minister in Netflix’s The Residence—a poignant nod to his real-life heritage. McMahon is survived by his wife Kelly and his daughter Madison, whom he shared with ex-wife Brooke Burns. In her statement, Kelly described him as a man who “loved life… and whose deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible”. 

Jim Shooter was a towering figure in the comic book industry—both literally and professionally. He began his career at just 14 years old, writing for DC Comics, where he made a splash with stories for the Legion of Super-Heroes. His early creations included characters like Karate Kid, Ferro Lad, and Princess Projectra, as well as the villain group Fatal Five. Here’s a snapshot of his legacy: <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->DC Comics: Started as a teenage writer, contributing to Adventure Comics and Action Comics. <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Marvel Comics: Rose to become Editor-in-Chief from 1978 to 1987. Under his leadership: <!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Oversaw iconic runs like Uncanny X-Men by Claremont & Byrne, Daredevil by Frank Miller, and Thor by Walt Simonson. <!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Introduced creator royalties and launched the Epic imprint for creator-owned work. <!--[if !supportLists]-->o    <!--[endif]-->Created the first major crossover event: Secret Wars. <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Valiant Comics: Co-founded the publisher in the early '90s, bringing characters like Solar: Man of the Atom and Harbinger to life. <!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Also founded Defiant Comics and Broadway Comics, though both were short-lived. Shooter was known for his strict editorial style, which helped Marvel stay on schedule but also led to clashes with many creators. Despite the friction, his tenure is credited with revitalizing Marvel during a critical period. Jim Shooter passed away on June 30, 2025, at the age of 73. His influence on comics—both in storytelling and industry practices—remains profound. 

In the ever-watchful world of fandom sleuthing, even a simple Instagram follow can ignite a firestorm of speculation. That’s exactly what happened when filmmaker and DC Studios co-head James Gunn followed actress Adria Arjona on Instagram—a move that fans quickly interpreted as a hint she might be cast as the next Wonder Woman. But Gunn was quick to clarify: “I followed Adria on Instagram, but everybody came out, ‘He just followed her, that means she’s Wonder Woman!’” he said in a recent interview with Extra. “She’d be a great Wonder Woman, by the way. But she was in a movie that I made seven years ago. We’ve been friends and have known each other since that time. I followed her then, I didn’t just follow her.” The film Gunn referred to is The Belko Experiment (2016), which he produced and in which Arjona appeared. Their professional relationship and friendship date back to that project, making the social media follow less of a casting clue and more of a long-standing connection. Still, Gunn’s comment that Arjona “would be a great Wonder Woman” has only fueled fan enthusiasm. With a new Wonder Woman film currently in development and the DC Universe undergoing a major reboot, speculation remains high—even if Gunn insists fans shouldn’t read too much into his Instagram activity. 

In a move that blends personal branding with practical necessity, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star and co-creator Rob McElhenney has officially filed to change his name to Rob Mac. The decision, confirmed by McElhenney himself, marks a significant shift for the actor, writer, and entrepreneur whose surname has long been a source of confusion—and comedy. McElhenney, whose last name has famously stumped fans and media alike (despite Ryan Reynolds’ musical pronunciation tutorial), cited global business expansion as the primary reason. As his company, More Better Industries, continues to invest internationally—including ventures in Colombia and Mexico—he found that “McElhenney” was often mispronounced or misunderstood. “As our business and our storytelling is expanding into other regions of the world and other languages in which my name is even harder to pronounce, I’m just going by Rob Mac,” he told Variety. Interestingly, the name “Mac” isn’t just a simplification—it’s also a nod to his iconic Always Sunny character, known simply as Mac. It’s a full-circle moment that blends his personal identity with his pop culture persona. The name change is already being reflected in FX press materials for both It’s Always Sunny and Welcome to Wrexham, the Emmy-winning docuseries chronicling McElhenney and Reynolds’ ownership of Wrexham AFC. 

ABC has officially pulled the plug on Doctor Odyssey, the high-concept medical drama from prolific creator Ryan Murphy, after just one season. The show, which followed a team of doctors navigating emergencies aboard a luxury cruise ship, will not return for a second voyage. Premiering in fall 2024, Doctor Odyssey starred Joshua Jackson as Dr. Max Bankman, alongside Phillipa Soo, Sean Teale, and Don Johnson. The series blended medical drama with high-seas spectacle, drawing comparisons to The Love Boat with a modern, campy twist. Its trailer broke records with 77.8 million views in 48 hours, and the premiere drew 13.6 million cross-platform viewers. Despite the flashy debut and a loyal cult following, the show struggled to maintain momentum. Ratings dipped over the season, and its linear performance lagged behind other ABC dramas. While ABC has yet to issue a formal cancellation statement, the cast contracts are expiring on Monday with no sign of renewal and the sets are being dismantled. And while the ship has sailed on ABC, Ryan Murphy retains creative control and could potentially revive the series elsewhere, such as Hulu, where it performed well on streaming platforms. 

Is The Batman Part II script finally done? It appears so. Writer/Director Matt Reeves just posted to social media a blurry picture of himself and co-writer Mattson Tomlin that shows the title page for a script with the logo from The Batman and appears to have the title "The Batman: Part II". Co-head of DC Studios James Gunn said recently that he was expecting to get the script soon but denied that the deadline had already passed. If the script is complete and ready to move forward, it is still in plenty of time to make the current release date of October 2027. This should be good news to fans of the director and franchise and also to actor Robert Pattinson who had commented recently that he was worrying he was going to age out of the role if it took too much longer.  

Prime Video’s hit action-thriller Reacher is shaking things up for its fourth season, and one of the most notable changes is the addition of Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette to the cast. The Barry actor steps into the role of Jacob Merrick, a small-town policeman, in a recasting that follows the departure of Jay Baruchel due to personal reasons. Rodriguez-Marquette’s casting came together at lightning speed—he was reportedly selected the same day the role breakdown was released and flown to set within days. His character, Merrick, is said to play a significant role in the upcoming season, which adapts Lee Child’s 13th Jack Reacher novel, Gone Tomorrow. The story kicks off with a tense encounter on a train that spirals into a deadly conspiracy involving powerful enemies. Season 4 also welcomes a host of new faces, including Sydelle Noel, Agnez Mo, Anggun, Kevin Corrigan, Kevin Weisman, Marc Blucas, and Kathleen Robertson. Alan Ritchson returns as the titular Jack Reacher, with Maria Sten reprising her role as Frances Neagley. Rodriguez-Marquette brings a diverse résumé to the series, with recent appearances in Barry, Mozart in the Jungle, and indie films like Grind and Fear, Inc.. 

In a move that’s sending ripples through both Hollywood and Her Majesty’s Secret Service, acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve has officially been named the director of the next James Bond movie. This marks the first 007 installment under Amazon MGM Studios’ creative leadership, following their acquisition of the franchise’s rights in 2022. Villeneuve, the visionary behind Dune, Arrival, and Blade Runner 2049, brings a reputation for cerebral storytelling and breathtaking visuals. His appointment signals a bold new chapter for the Bond saga—one that may blend the franchise’s signature espionage thrills with a deeper, more atmospheric tone. “Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,” Villeneuve said in a statement. “I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr. No with Sean Connery. I’m a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come”. The film will be produced by Amy Pascal and David Heyman, with Villeneuve also serving as executive producer alongside Tanya Lapointe. While no release date has been announced, production is expected to begin after Villeneuve completes work on Dune: Part Three, slated for release in late 2026. As for who will don the tuxedo next, speculation continues to swirl. Aaron Taylor-Johnson remains a frontrunner, but no official casting has been confirmed.