Welcome to day three of the Wizard World interviews! Today's subject is Brian Pulido, creator of many horror/fantasy icons, such as EVIL ERNIE, LADY DEATH, and PURGATORI. He is currently writing a new LADY DEATH series for Avatar. This is the second interview I've conducted with him, so I had to come up with new and interesting questions. I hope I succeeded. Enjoy!
John Bruni: Aside from being your own boss, what was different between working with Chaos and Avatar?
Brian Pulido: Obviously the day to day work that was associated with publishing, I was no longer accountable to that, so it allowed me to focus a bit more on the creative. It gave me a different perspective that allowed me to just be concerned about that. I think that’s the biggest difference.
JB: Last time, we talked about the possibility that characters like Belladonna, War Angel, Gypsy, and the others might show up in the new LADY DEATH book. Have you and William Christensen talked any further about that?
BP: Actually, we discussed those characters, and we’re in the formative stages of discussing a series, whose name will be decided, that will involve Belladonna, Medieval Lady Death, and their requisite villains. We’re not calling it a crossover, but those two characters are coming back for more action.
JB: Lady Death has survived longer than any of your other characters. They tried bringing back Evil Ernie and Purgatori with another company, but it was short lived. What do you think is Lady Death’s appeal?
BP: Lady Death is iconic. She really is the ultimate expression of the bitch goddess. There’s something about her. She’s equally loved by men and women. Men want to be with her, and women want to be her.
JB: Is there any chance of some background Chaos characters, like Bedlam or Cremator, making an appearance in the new Lady Death book?
BP: It would be fun if some of the older Chaos characters could, but legally, we’re limited to just Lady Death and characters who appear in her title. Characters like Leviatha, for example.
JB: Now that you’ve done THE GRAVES, what was it like to work with Bill Moseley and Tony Todd?
BP: It was fun working with them both. They’re professionals. Really nice. They were fun, and they brought a lot of energy and invention to the story. They were respectful all around. They’re fun. You hear people talk about actors, oh, they were so great, but they really were.
JB: I really liked Bill Moseley in this movie. His character was amazing.
BP: Writing that character came naturally to me. When Bill brought the idea to me about the pig nose, I was able to revise the dialogue and tailor it more towards a man who thinks like a pig.
JB: I remember when you came back to writing EVIL ERNIE, you watched a bunch of horror movies to bone up on the genre. Nowadays, what kind of horror movies do you enjoy?
BP: I watch any horror movie I think will be good. My favorites from the last few years are things like CARRIERS. I liked END OF THE LINE and BEFORE THE FALL. I like indie horror. I see remakes as kind of an obligation. The DAWN OF THE DEAD remake was a stand-out for me. I liked 28 DAYS LATER. So, the last five, ten years, those are some of the movies I was thinking about. I liked a small indie film called THE OTHER SIDE. I seek out obscure stuff. I’ve seen all the French new wave horror. HIGH TENSION. Even a movie like PULSE, I thought the American and the original, there’s just some cool stuff in them. I like slasher films, but it’s hard for them to be exciting. The NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake, not so great.
JB: I was about to ask, since you wrote for Freddy, what you thought of the remake.
BP: Yeah, not so great. Very unimaginative given the fact that the guy’s a dream demon. I don’t know why they went that way. I tend to like stuff that’s apocalyptic, like THE END OF THE LINE or BEFORE THE FALL, but I’m always tracking horror films. I have zero interest in stuff like SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE, it’s just not my bag. I like horrific stuff that tends to be apocalyptic, heaven and hell, extreme supernatural stuff.
JB: What are you reading these days?
BP: Comics-wise, I’m reading CAPTAIN AMERICA and THE WALKING DEAD.
JB: Looking forward to the AMC series?
BP: Totally. It’s like a dream come true. You gotta’ love that stuff. Obviously, I like the zombie stuff, I liked it before it was trendy. I loved it when I was a child.
JB: Do you have any film projects coming up?
BP: We do have a ghost story in development. I can’t talk about it yet, but our specific goal is to scare people. Like, in THE GRAVES, there were a lot of different goals. Fun, action, gross. This one, we’re saying SCARE. Scare only.
JB: After the new LADY DEATH, what’s new for you?
BP: There’s a lot to do, and not a lot I can discuss. But what I can tell you is, in the world of film, television, and comics, there is new stuff coming in 2011 and 2012. This year has been a percolating year. There are some things that might surprise you.
Tune in tomorrow, for I have saved the best interview for last: Brian Azzarello! Some of you might remember the last time I interviewed him, and you're probably thinking, "Best? Whatever." Don't be too sure. This one will knock your cock off.
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