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.

You may have noticed that I’m not the biggest fan of ‘Industry Insiders’ who have paywalls set up to dole out rumors like… well, I couldn’t find a metaphor that wasn’t extremely insulting so we’ll just move on. Those ‘insiders’ need to have a ready supply of rumors to keep their subscribers coming back and since there is no accountability for erroneous rumors, one has to wonder if some of them are just made up out of thin air. James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, has a times come out and addressed a batch of rumors that fans ask him about on social media. He did this again recently and here are some of the rumors he addressed along with his response. A report that the upcoming Man of Tomorrow has changed its title to Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Gunn has said before that this was more than a Superman movie and confirms the title has NOT changed by simply saying, “Nope.” Another report says that the film with begin filming in a few weeks, and while it will begin shortly, he says “by strict definition of Few, nope.” Reports say that he’s trying to rush through Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga so he can then get to Brave and the Bold. That’s another ‘Nope’. Scoopers claim that Paradise Lost, the Wonder Woman prequel series was now dead or shelved. I know this will surprise you, but he said, “Nope”. And he did confirm one thing, that Superman does not believe in Santa Claus because, “He’s an adult.” Rumors can be fun to talk about and debate, but if they set unrealistic expectations that ruin the film for someone, then that’s a problem. And paying for rumors… that seems a bit crazy to me. 

Many MCU fans wonder why the events of Daredevil: Born Again won’t be even referenced in upcoming films like Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In Born Again, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio) is the new Mayor of New York and has declared martial law along with creating a taskforce to hunt down vigilantes and you would think someone like Spider-Man (Tom Holland) would be on his radar. But that’s not going to happen on the big screen, no Fisk in BND and SFX Magazine thought that would be a good thing to ask Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane about. “I’d be into it, because I dig the comics! But no, that’s been kind of a fun and challenging thing. We know there’s a huge world out there of the MCU. This corner of it has crossovers. We’ve seen Daredevil in other shows, there are other characters that are going to be popping up in movies and stuff, and that all goes into the larger MCU of it all. The joke we make is, ‘Oh, those guys are uptown – we’re downtown!’ We kind of have a pocket that’s in this world of Hell’s Kitchen, in this world of New York. I always think that maybe these characters take a little vacation into the larger world but the story that we’re focusing on is really granular.” Let me translate that, “They can borrow our toys, but we can’t touch there’s.” A shame as we all want a real Daredevil/Spider-Man crossover.   

“You have failed this beach!” Okay, there is probably no way Stephen Amell will say that line in the new Baywatch reboot, but I can’t be the only one who thought about it. Fox announced yesterday that the former Arrow, Heels and Suits LA star would be the lead in the networks bid to recapture the popularity of their lifeguard themed drama from the 90s. Amell will be playing the role of Hobie Buchannon, a role first introduced in the OG series. Hobie’s world turns upside down when Charlie, the daughter he didn’t know he had, shows up ready to put on the red bathing suit and follow in the family business. The show got a straight-to-series 12-episode order back in September, so the network is moving quickly. An interesting note is that Amell is the right age if the network wanted to bring back David Hasselhoff to reprise the role of Hobie’s father Mitch for an episode or two. 

You may not have known this, but in 2021 a Zatanna movie was in the works. J.J. Abrams had given the project to Emerald Fennell to script as she was coming off 2020 directorial debut, A Promising Young Woman. So, what happened? According to Fennell, who recently joined the Happy Sad Confused podcast, what she had written was “probably too far away from the genre.” She was very honest about the work, saying: “I think it was demented because I was probably going through it at the time. And the thing is, I think what I can’t help but—and then, I’d just finished A Promising Young Woman, and there was this huge thing in this world I’d never operated in. And again, it was a kind of superhero movie, and I was like, ‘How do I make the version of a superhero movie that I would connect to emotionally?’ Which is sort of the woman in the middle of a nervous breakdown, so it’s a script reflective of a woman in the middle of a nervous breakdown. And in terms of what that means, I suppose it just meant that it was probably too far away from the genre.” For those of you who are not familiar with Zatanna, she was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson in the pages of November 1964’s Hawkman and has been a consistent magical character in the DC Universe ever since, regularly teaming up with Batman, John Constantine and was a member of the Justice League. Fennell went on to describe the script, “It was really dark. I haven’t read it for a really long time, because I found it really difficult. Because, also the thing is, I love JJ [Abrams] so much, and he took a chance offering me to do it, and I really wanted to deliver something amazing for them. And I always felt like I hadn’t quite maybe delivered the thing that they wanted. So, I haven’t read it since, and I wonder if I read it now, I’d be more generous toward myself. But I felt like, I wished I’d been able to deliver the thing they wanted. They were really lovely about it, it’s even just remembering. You’re making me remember scenes, I’m like, ‘Nobody would have made that.'” I have to admit I totally want to read that script now. 

Don’t expect to see Vincent D’Onofrio show up in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. It seems the rights to the character still precludes him from appearing in a film unless Sony wants him to. Which, yes, Brand New Day is a Sony/Marvel production… but while visiting the Bingworthy podcast, the Kingpin actor responded to the question about the current mayor of the MCU NYC showing up by saying, “No. I think I’ll just wait until they have the rights to my character and they put me in one of those movies, and then I’ll figure it all out.” This makes sense that Marvel can’t just have the character show up in any random film, like The Thunderbolts, without Sony saying okay, but he is available for television appearances. Why Sony has chosen to not let the character show up in a Sony film though seems a little odd, unless the actor is using the rights issue as a cover to keep from telling us that Wilson Fisk will not be the mayor after the events of the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again season two, which is scheduled to release in March and complete well before Brand New Day hits theaters. 

In 1989 writer/artist John Byrne was working on the West Coast Avengers title for Marvel and decided to have some fun. Since there was both an east and west coast version of the team, he decided to make a third one, in the middle of the country, and keeping with the body of water theme to the names… we got the Great Lakes Avengers. The team was made up of five founding members: Mr. Immortal, Flat Man, Big Bertha, Dinah Soar and Doorman and while the team has probably had more cease-and-desist lawsuits filed against them than real battles, they have been around for years now and have popped up a lot. The interesting thing though is that two of these members have now made appearances in the MCU. And not just blink-and-you-missed-it moments. Both Mr. Immortal and Doorman have had at least half, if not a full episode of a series dedicated to them. In She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, David Pasquesi plays Craig Hollis aka Mr. Immortal who has his immortal ability and uses it to get out a marriages, which he has a lot of. When pressured by his own attorneys, he leapt out of a high-rise window and plummeted to the street below, slamming into the roof of a car, only to pop right back up and walk away. It doesn’t end well for him though as he is forced to pay off all of his exes. Then we get to meet DeMarr Davis aka the Doorman in the new Wonder Man series. Byron Bowers plays the man with the ability to use his body as a door in and out of the dark dimension. While he is a mutant in the comics, in the MCU he gets his abilities by touching toxic waste from Roxxon, similar to how Cloak & Dagger got their powers. DeMarr becomes a cautionary tale about chasing fortune and fame in Hollywood that may have cost the life of beloved actor Josh Gad. It also made the industry enact a law banning superpowered people from working in show business. This is a major plot point in the series. With two of the five characters both located in Southern California, could we end up getting the rest of the team at some point and them relocating for a fresh start? Sounds like the perfect idea for one of those Marvel Spotlight one-hour specials. 

Fans are eager to see the upcoming Lanterns series on HBO and besides a still shot and a few seconds of footage, very little about the series is known at this point. We got our first comments about it from series star Kyle Chandler who will be playing one of the most well-known Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan. Chandler was being interviewed on the Today Show for his new film The RIP with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. During the interview he was asked about Lanterns and said, “I’ve never had as much fun shooting something as I did that. The people from the top to the bottom. I can’t say enough about Chris Mundy, and the producers, the DC folks. It was an excellent experience. I expect the show to be as good as the experience I had. Aaron Pierre, who I worked with, he and I had a great time.” The series is slated to be released later this year and comes from Mundy, Damon Lindelof and Tom King. Joining Chandler and Pierre in the cast are Ulrich Thomsen as Sinestro, Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner and then Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Jason Ritter, Poorna Jagannathan, and Paul Ben-Victor. There will be eight episodes and it is said to be mostly an Earth-based mystery set in the heartland of America with a True Detective vibe. 

Netflix’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. has stirred plenty of speculation across Hollywood, but one message from the streamer’s leadership has been unusually clear: the theatrical experience isn’t going anywhere. In fact, if the sale closes, Netflix says it will strengthen Warner Bros.’ traditional theatrical model rather than shrink it. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co‑CEO, has repeatedly emphasized that Warner Bros. films will continue to enjoy a 45‑day exclusive theatrical window—a stance that directly counters fears that Netflix would rush major releases to streaming. Sarandos described Warner Bros.’ theatrical distribution as a “phenomenal” engine that generates billions in revenue, insisting Netflix has no intention of putting that at risk. This commitment marks a notable shift in tone for Netflix, which historically prioritized streaming-first strategies. But after reviewing Warner Bros.’ financials, Sarandos acknowledged that the economics of theatrical releases are stronger than Netflix had previously modeled. He framed the 45‑day window not as a compromise but as a competitive strategy: Netflix wants to “win opening weekend” and “win box office,” embracing the same metrics that drive traditional studios. Industry observers have taken notice. While some feared the acquisition would accelerate the decline of theatrical exclusivity, Netflix’s public stance suggests a more balanced future—one where streaming power and box office ambition coexist. For now, at least, moviegoers can expect Warner Bros. films to keep lighting up big screens for a full month and a half before landing on Netflix’s platform. 

The DCU is expanding with the casting of one of the universe’s biggest bads… Darkseid. While this seems to go against something co-studio head James Gunn has said previously about staying away from the cosmic threat, but this casting isn’t for Man of Tomorrow, but rather the upcoming Mister. Miracle animated series and you can’t really tell the story of Scott Free with mentioning his adopted daddy. Writer Tom King was on the Word Balloon podcast when he talked about the series that he is showrunning and said that they had cast Darkseid and Orion along with Mr. Miracle and Big Barda. If you’re not familiar with these characters, they are all part of the Fourth World Saga created by comic legend Jack Kirby during his short stint with DC Comics. It tells the story of two warring factions, the New Gods and the planet Apokolips and a deal that was made in an attempt for peace. The leaders of the factions, High Father and Darkseid, would exchange children… this sent Scott Free to be raised on the oppressive planet while Orion was sent to the peaceful New Genesis. Scott would become and escape artist, finding a way off of Apokolips with the female warrior, Barda, and eventually come to Earth. Exactly what part of that history the series will focus on is unclear, but we do know that Darkseid and the others will be involved. Gunn also confirmed on social media that the series will be cannon to the DCU that includes the recent Superman movie, the Peacemaker series and the animated Creature Commandos. This means that whoever is voicing these characters in the series would also play them in live action in the future and King has said that the Mister Miracle series will have big ramifications on the DCU as a whole. No word on when the series will debut, but with the casting already made, we can expect an announcement in the near future. 

Takashi Yamazaki’s follow-up to the 2023 Godzilla Minus One is set to hit North American theaters on November 6th, 2026, three days after its premier in Japan. The Academy Award winning film took in $11.4 million in the US on its opening weekend and $57 million total during its domestic box office run. Godzilla Minus Zero is the second film in the franchise from Gkids since taking Toho acquired the company in 2024. David Jesteadt, president of Gkids, said in a statement: “Gkids is proud to bring Godzilla Minus Zero to North American audiences, following the incredible global reception of Godzilla Minus One. This next chapter is sure to become another defining moment for the most colossal monster ever to dominate the screen. It is only fitting that this bold, new Godzilla event be experienced in its fullest theatrical glory, and we’re honored that Toho has entrusted us to carry this legacy forward.”