Review Fix Exclusive: Tony Deans Talks ‘Spring Heeled Jack’

Review Fix chats with “Spring Heeled Jack” creator Tony Deans, who discusses the new comic book series that pits Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his mentor against a baddie they’ve never quite encountered before. Discussing everything from the creation process behind the tale, as well as the future of the series, Deans gives us an inside look at one of the cooler independent comic book series of 2014.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for the book?

Tony Deans: I’ve always wanted to do a story based on Spring Heeled Jack as he was one of the figures who used to keep me up at night as a kid mainly due to the fact that they never actually found him. I remember getting a book as a child which detailed myths and there were two or three pages dedicated to his exploits and it scared the hell out of me. When it came time to create my debut comic I thought it only apt that I use it to spread some of the fear to readers.

As for our detective duo based on actual figures, that came about because I originally wanted to use Sherlock Holmes but considering how cliché that has become I looked for the inspiration that Doyle had used to create the character. It turns out that his mentor when he was a student had the same power of deduction as Holmes and had in fact sent a letter to the Police detailing who Jack The Ripper was. Once it was sent the murders stopped! Add in the fact that the real Doyle worked with the police force as a consultant on cases, I thought it’d be perfect to match the duo up with Jack.

Review Fix: What do you think makes the book special?

Deans: I think the book offers a scenario that I for one haven’t seen before with its mixture of historical characters with an urban legend that combines both Horror and Mystery. Plus I’ve inserted a ton of historical in-jokes that fans of Sherlock Holmes, Doyle, Jack the Ripper and Spring Heeled Jack will be able to recognise. The story (hopefully) works on multiple levels and will provide the reader with a unique experience where they enjoy the plot whilst also catching some of the details I’ve snuck in to raise a smile; or indeed smiling half an hour later after they’ve gone for a look on Wikipedia to understand the reference.

Review Fix: What have you learned about yourself through the creation of this book?

Deans: As my debut comic I’ve discovered that at the very least I have the ability to structure a story out over several issues. My short stories never really got anywhere so to have my first (paid) published work to be a comic at normal length is a good feeling. As a British Writer usually we start out with the short five pagers before moving onto to bigger things but that didn’t really work for me. American Writers have the same method of starting out big and going bigger so I suppose that shows me maybe I’m in the wrong country.

One other thing is that my writing pace has increased tremendously. Knowing there’s an artist and letterer waiting for the pages makes you increase your speed and I’ve found that’s a good thing. I never understood how writers like Alan Moore, Geoff Johns or any of these other guys who are writing multiple comics a month did it all but now I do. Once you get started you don’t want to stop so I suppose that I’ve learnt how to be hyperactive.

Review Fix: What did you read as a kid? How do you think it shaped your creative vision?

Deans: I read a whole ton of stuff, some odder than others. I remember buying second hand books on famous killers, myths and other things that expanded my horizon of the world although I’m sure in a different life in that I was setting up to be a particularly creative serial killer!

I do like literature, mainly beige prose and Cormac McCarthy as well as Ernest Hemingway were big influences. McCarthy especially with the character of Judge Holden changed my view of how stories work. The strongest and most memorable character doesn’t have to be the protagonist and let’s face it the villain is often the best character. Those books made me see that if there’s a mystery, never explain it. Always leave room for doubt.

As for comics my main guys are Alan Moore, Frank Miller and Garth Ennis all of whom I think have been consistently good writers for sustained periods although their work might have waned a little now for some of them. Miller’s Dark Knight Returns was the first graphic novel I read and it blew my mind… This kind of stuff wasn’t for kids and even now I read it and realise that this was way above what we’re taught that comics can be.

I think I want to be like those guys, contrasting the more “comic book” elements of the medium with deep emotional impacts that child, teenager or adult alike can enjoy.  I do also admire the canon of great writers e.g. Stan Lee but we’d be here all day if we spoke about them all!

Review Fix: Any plans to continue the series?

Deans: That really does depend. At the moment I’m working on some scripts for other projects I want to get out so Spring Heeled Jack would be on the back burner for at least a year and a half as I write these various books (the scripts for Volume 1 of Spring Heeled Jack are complete). I do have several ideas for a sequel but I’m not sure what direction I would take it. Do we go back to Jack? Or do we go back to the Ripper case which is touched on in the series and explore the history. I’m also playing with the idea of Van Helsing calling on our duo for assistance but I have no idea what for.

That said I think Spring Heeled Jack is dormant for now after Volume 1 is fully released. We’ll be printing it as a graphic novel once the digital run is complete and if we get a lot of demand from fans then I’d certainly consider making a sequel. But for now my other projects I’m working on take precedent unless I get a burning idea I just have to tell.

Review Fix: With such a unique look, the series would work great as a video game. Any intention to move it into a different medium?

Deans: I think that’s credit to Martha’s art as she is studying to work in animation so I think she’s managed to blend her mediums well. As for adaptions I am currently working on an interactive fiction game using Twine which will be available for free to bide over our fans whilst they wait for the next issue (we’ll be releasing bi-monthly). It’ll give fans a chance to see whether they could outsmart Jack.

As for live-action, animation and more complex video games then that depend really on demand. Personally I wouldn’t like to see the comic in live-action or animation form because   it’s not created for that medium although I’d happily change my mind if a large enough offer comes along!

As for video games I’d love to see it like the Walking Dead games or The Wolf Among Us where they expand on the universe and the player makes the choices. If that was done I’d base it on the Ripper case and really explore the characters. The game wouldn’t necessarily look like those games though and I’d love to see it in forms like Broken Sword and Beneath a Steel Sky or The Cat Lady but again we’ll see how the book fares when it comes out.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Deans: I’d like it to be remembered as the debut of a creative team who later went out to even greater heights in the industry and as a book that showed their potential.

Failing that I’d be happy with it being a book so bad that it destroyed the creator’s careers before it even started, getting them blacklisted from all publishers and that comic fans still talk about its dreadful quality to this day.