Well, hello there comic book fans, Ambush Bug here from AICN Comics. The film SE7EN was one of those special flicks that struck a chord with a lot of people. Director David Fincher opened up the world of detectives and serial killers and made it slick and mainstream, while not holding back when it came to scares and shocks. The film followed seven days where a methodical serial killer carefully plots a series of murders all set to the Seven Deadly Sins. Since this flick came out, scores of movies and television shows have followed suit by focusing on procedure and the methodology of madmen. Now, eleven years later, Zenescope Entertainment is releasing a seven issue comic book miniseries, each issue focusing on a different sin, what lead up to John Doe (the movie’s serial killer) choosing his victims, and the gruesome details behind their deaths. It’s a sort of origin of the scene of the crime series. Raven Gregory (writer of the @$$hole approved THE GIFT series) wrote the first issue of this miniseries; SE7EN: GLUTTONY.
After reading the book, I had a chance to chat with Mr. Gregory about his current comic book projects, his writing style, and what it was like burrowing into the mind of a madman like SE7EN’s John Doe. And as a special bonus, he’s allowed us to publish a first look at the first seven pages of the book for all of you. Look for those pages at the end of the column, but first let’s hear what Mr. Gregory has to say about SE7EN: GLUTTONY.
AMBUSH BUG (BUG): After reading SE7EN: GLUTTONY, it’s obvious you’re a fan of the movie. What was it about the movie that attracted you to this project?
RAVEN GREGORY (RG): Damn near everything. The style, the feel, the mood of the film, the story, the characters...it's one of those rare gems where everything seems to click. Not to mention it had by far one of the, if not the best endings of all time.BUG: Did you have much contact with any of the people who made the movie?
RG: Besides MySpace...unfortunately no. Would've been nice but David and Andrew are pretty busy people.BUG: SE7EN came out about 11 years ago. Why is now the right time for a SE7EN comic book?
RG: I really want to make a corny seven eleven joke right now but nothing's coming to mind. But if you think about it, it was just a matter of time before someone decided to tell this story. It's one of those things that's right there in front of your face and is so obvious that everyone misses it.BUG: Why did you choose to write about Gluttony?
RG: Originally I had pitched a variety of plots to Zenescope entertainment (the publishers of the SE7EN series) and they were most taken with my take on the Gluttony sin. Also, being a big guy, it wasn't all that hard to get into the head of the Fat Man. I wanted to show how horrible it feels mentally and physically to be that big and let the reader sympathize with the victim as much as be disgusted with his sickness.BUG: This is a book and a movie not for the faint at heart. I remember when I first saw the movie in the theaters a few people left because of the intensity of the film and one man burst out in hysterics in the middle of the theater and couldn’t stop laughing/gasping. Eventually, he had to be escorted out. This is some pretty disturbing material you’re working with. How do you go to a place where you can write from the perspective of a serial killer?
RG: Well I have to say cutting the skin off my fingertips is usually a good place to start. But we can save that stuff for the arraignment. But seriously, just watching the last half hour of the movie and listening to how John Doe talks, how he moves, his point of view on the world...makes it really easy to get inside the characters' head. He's sick but also very easy to relate with. He sees something wrong and wants it to stop...but unlike the rest of us he's willing to cut someone's head off to do so. 
BUG: The cool thing about this book is that it seems as if pages from John Doe’s journals in the movie were actually referenced and sometimes used in the production of this comic. The DVD commentary of the book said that SE7EN was filled with minute details, most of which never were seen clearly in the film. Did you get to read the actual journals from the film themselves?
RG: Me and my buddy, Kirk Eaton, stayed up for hours watching and rewatching the movie. Every time a journal page came up on the screen we'd freeze the screen and zoom in trying to read as much of it as possible. I think the Zenescope guys, Ralph Tedesco and Joe Brusha (GRIMM FAIRY TALES writers) who are writing the GREED issue, got access to the actual journals from New Line Cinema from the movie...but being the "greedy" bastards that they are they wouldn't share.
BUG: SE7EN is a film with a pretty big following, how do you think the fans of the film will react to this “fleshing out” of John Doe’s days before he was captured?
RG: I think most fans will really dig it. I was asked in an earlier interview if the series would reveal how John Doe got the way he is...as soon as I got asked that question I called the guys at Zenescope and asked if they planned to tell that part of the story. Because as a fan, I wanted to know how John Doe got so fucked up. Like what happened to him as a kid to make him this way. They told me Christian Beranek (DRACULA VS. KING ARTHUR/UNHAPPY WHITE GIRLS creator/writer) would be addressing just that in the LUST issue. I was quite "envious" to say the least.BUG: One of the things that made the film so effective was that no one knew anything about John Doe. It made him all the scarier that he was this man living outside of the system—leaving no traces or evidence other than what he wanted the police to find. To me, that’s what made him such an effective movie monster. He was more like a maniacal and scheming force of nature rather than an actual human being. This miniseries pulls the curtain back and shows some of the thought processes going on in John Doe’s mind. Do you worry that revealing too much about John Doe will endanger the mystique of the character?
RG: For me, it was one of those things where I just let the story tell itself. I read the finished version a few nights ago and I realized he's never referred to by his name in the entire issue. Even with the look inside his head, he still remains very mysterious. If nothing else, I don't think it's endangers the mythology as much as adds to it. I'm very "proud" of how well the first issue came out.BUG: This story stays very faithful to the continuity of the film. Did you find it challenging trying to fit your story in with the structure set up in the film? Were there times when you had a good idea, but were unable to find a way to fit it in with the way the movie played out?
RG: It actually wasn't that hard. Since the story plays out before the first murder and ends with the Fat Man’s death I had a lot of room to play with. Fitting it into the structure and weaving it all together just added so much more to the story telling aspect of what was already a great movie. It's like another director’s cut. Where the commentary tells you all these things that were in the film that unless you watched it with a microscope you would never have seen. There were a few things that we wanted to get in but just didn't fit in this story. The cutting of the fingertips was a big one. It wasn't so much that we couldn't fit it in and make it work but rather me knowing that one of the other writers would use it later and make it the awesome scene in their story that it deserves to be.BUG: Which of the Seven Deadly Sins are you the guiltiest of?
RG: Sloth. And I'm not just saying that because that one would be a bitch to work into a sentence.BUG: How much contact did you have with the artist of the book, Tommy Castillo? Can you describe your collaborative process? Would you try this process again with other artists?
RG: I called him all the time. We talked for hours about the movie and the feel we wanted the comic to have. There was so much stuff we wanted to throw in there. Tommy wanted to cram it all in there (he really wanted the whole cutting the fingertips) but I wanted to leave some goodies for the rest of the guys in the series. He flew to my house and beat on me for quite a bit but I held strong. He also had great feedback on the story itself. He helped me take things out that really didn't move the story forward and made it a much more streamlined issue. It was a very zen-like process since we both come from that EC school of horror comics fan base. That and the fact that he has a mad man crush on me (just kidding, Tommy). Did I mention he might be drawing the WRATH issue too? Just doing my part to get him in the right mindset. 
BUG: How was writing this book different from your work on THE GIFT?
RG: Writing SE7EN I had boundaries I had to work within. I knew the basic story I had to tell and where I could go and not go. With THE GIFT I'm free to do whatever to whoever I want. There's no limits other than what the story will and will not allow. The only rule THE GIFT has is no costumes, other than that it's all up for grabs.
BUG: You dealt with themes of vengeance and redemption in both this book and THE GIFT, are these themes that you are drawn to or is it just sheer coincidence?
RG: Pretty soon we're gonna start talking about how I was picked on as a kid, and how I always wanted revenge on all the girls that dissed me growing up, and how I never got a fucking Pony!!!!!!!.........breathe, breathe. But seriously, I think it's more of a mind set for me. When I first started writing I was really pissed off, I wanted to show the comic world what I could do and it was a real take no prisoners attitude. I took all the bad shit that ever happened to me, and all the negative stuff in my life, and threw it into my writing. So it tended to move toward a darker side than most. But eventually my writing started to evolve a bit more where it didn't always have to be about the dark and things that go bump in the night. And then SE7EN came along...and they pulled me right back in.BUG: So are there any other movie monsters you'd like to take a "stab" at or do you prefer to focus on your own stuff?
RG: Well, since Zenescope has got me on this serial killer genre, I'd love to write a Hannibal/Silence of the Lambs prequel. Dealing with Hannibal as he begins his killing spree and his subsequent capture. That would be cool. A C.H.U.D. comic would be nice. Does anyone even remember C.H.U.D.? And I would love, just fucking love to write a new BLOB or FLY story.BUG: Are there any mainstream properties from the Big Two that you'd like to write someday?
RG: I'd love to do a story where there is an honest to goodness super powered serial killer running through the Marvel or DC universe. That the heroes and the villains can't stop him because he's too smart or too powerful. Living in Arizona we just dealt with having two serial killers running loose and there's a sense of helplessness I'd really like to play out in a super hero comic. There, now let's see who grabs that idea first!!!I'd also love to write a Parasite or Darkseid mini series for DC or tackle Blade over at Marvel for a couple issues. Other than that the only other book I want to write, other than my creator stuff, is the big green guy who likes to smash a lot and talks like a child. I think Marvel used to publish his book back in the day. But seriously, I'd love to write a HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT prequel (Peter David is my master). That would be the end all be all book for me.
BUG: What’s going on with THE GIFT?
RG: A big announcement that has been in the works over the last year is "finally" about to be made. Stay tuned. As for the series, there's a relaunch coming up that was planned for next year but keeps getting pushed back until I can find the right artist to finish off the series. When the book does start up again, there's about a dozen or so issues left before the series reaches its end. These issues will mainly deal with all the individual "gift" bearers returning and what part they all play in the master plan that was revealed in issue #14 and conclude with the final battle between the two factions that form.BUG: Any other upcoming projects we might want to know about?
RG: Everybody should go out and read DEATH COMES TO DILLINGER (From Silent Devil Productions). I didn't write it but it's one of the best comics I've read in years. As for stuff I have in the works, I have a book called THE WAKING that I'm hoping will be out next year as well as an Alice in Wonderland story.BUG: I reviewed DEATH COMES TO DILLINGER recently in Indie Jones. I liked it a lot as well. Last chance, why should people pick up SE7EN: GLUTTONY?
RG: Just look at the cover and tell me you don't want that last piece of cheesecake.BUG: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Raven.
RG: Thanks, this was a very cool interviewBUG: You can pick up Raven Gregory’s SE7EN: GLUTTONY (the first in a seven part miniseries from Zenescope Entertainment) at the coolest of comic shops on September 20th. Check out this preview of the book by clicking on the images below.
