Review Fix Exclusive: Q & A with Dark Horse Comics’ Caitlin R. Kiernan

Review Fix chats with Dark Horse’s about her new series, “Alabaster: Wolves.”

Review Fix: How is this comic different from your other writing over the years?

Caitlin R. Kiernan: I’m not sure it differs from my earlier prose writing. Daughter of Hounds and the novels before that. The short stories before about 2005 or so. But certainly it differs from my later prose, my two most recent novels, wherein the fantasy element is far more subtle. As for my earlier comics writing, yeah. Alabaster is very different. Mostly in that I’ve learned how to let the artist tell a lot of the story and weigh it all down with too much text. Pare it down. And, of course, when I last did comics, I was mostly writing someone else’s characters in a pre-established world, Neil Gaiman’s characters in the world of The Sandman, and, to a lesser extent, in the DC universe as a whole. But this is my world and my alone. There’s nothing here that isn’t me.

RF: What was the inspiration for Dancy Flammarion?

CRK: She came to me all the way back in 1998, when I was writing my second novel, Threshold. Honestly, I can’t remember precisely how she came together. All I clearly recall is that I was doing paleontological field work in central Alabama on a hideously hot summer day, well over 100˚F in the shade, and I passed by a road sign for a tiny town, a place called Dancy. And I knew that was going to be a character in one of my stories. Her last name, that was borrowed from the astronomer and spiritualist Nicolas Camille Flammarion. The two names just seemed to fit together perfectly.

RF: Greg Ruth’s cover is amazing. How closely did you work with him on it?

CRK: Well, given that the series has not yet been released, or finished, and that this review will appear well before the work on Alabaster: Wolves is finished, even if we assume there will only be this one mini-series, I’m still working with Greg. And he is amazing, isn’t he? Truly, truly amazing. We were so luck to get him. He’ll produce a cover, and I think, well that’s as good as it can get. Until I see the next cover, and wow, it beats the last cover hands down. Greg Ruth is brilliant.

RF: What was it like to work with Steve Lieber?

CRK: Again, we’re still working together, and will be for some time to come. Steve has what I see as the unenviable task of bringing Dancy and her world to life, but he’s more than equal to the challenge. It’s like watching a cinematographer create a movie from my work. When new pages come in, there’s always this anxiety. Will Steve have nailed it again. But he always does, and my anxiety is always vanquished. He’s got the sense of place that’s so crucial to the story, that smothering South Carolina Lowcountry bayou summer, and his creature design, that’s been a big thing that’s making this work. Plus, we worked together on getting Dancy just right, and he’s done it, as has Greg. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention our colorist, Rachelle Rosenberg. We were so lucky to get her. She’s a perfect match for the rest of the team, and, again, she’s done so much for capturing the story’s sense of place, that hostile environment through which Dancy’s is walking.

RF: Who do you think will enjoy this series the most?

CRK: I know my longtime readers are going to be very happy with it. Dancy has always been one of my most popular characters. But I also think it has the potential to appeal to a wide range of comics readers, from fans ofBuffy the Vampire Slayer – a book it only superficially resembles-and Hellboy and…well, Alabaster: Wolves is it’s own thing, and it covers a lot of territory, in terms of theme and story. I’ve always been lousy at predicting who’s going to like or dislike any given bit of my writing. I hope it is widely enjoyed. How about that?

RF: What’s your favorite element of the series?

CRK: Easy. Getting to write Dancy again, something I haven’t done since 2005. Seven years away from her was a long, long time.

RF: Anything you’d change?

CRK: At this point, nope, not at all. I think I’m telling exactly the story that I want to tell.

RF: How do you want this comic to be remembered a year from now?

CRK: As the beginning.