As Lucifer's plan to kick-start the Armageddon blossoms its wicked fruit, these 13 new tales of terror peer into the lives of those both immediately and distantly affected by his diabolical scheme! Including a ruthless yet unsuspecting TV executive, a conniving rock star wannabe, a desperate abused teenager, a pair of star-crossed Mafioso lovers, and even the world's last ultra-hero who must choose - staying with the love of his life while the world goes to Hell (literally), or go fight the Great Cthulhu in a desperate (and most likely futile) attempt to save the remnants of humanity from being destroyed.

We caught up with Dirk Manning to talk about Nightmare World - Volume 2.

Decapitated Dan: Hey Dirk, thanks for taking time to talk with me about Nightmare World Vol. 2 "Leave the Light On".  First of all lets talk about you. Who are you and what do you do?

Dirk Manning: Well, as you mentioned ny name is DIrk Manning most people know me as the writer/creator of the online horror comic series NIGHTMARE WORLD from Image Comics/Shadowline... although I'm also the co-creator of FARSEEKER with artist Len O'Grady at www.ACT-I-VATE.com.

Decapitated Dan: How did you find yourselves getting into making comics?

Dirk Manning: Honestly, it was a long and tedious journey! [laughs] I actually write an online column called "Write or Wrong" (you can Google it) that talks all about how I, as a writer, got into the "business" of creating my own comics and working with so many artists from all over the world on NIGHTMARE WORLD.

Decapitated Dan: So what can you tell me about the Nightmare World Vol. 2?

Dirk Manning: NIGHTMARE WORLD Volume 2: "Leave the Light On" collects more 13 stories from the online series and collects them in print for the first time, many of them with re-mastered or "touched-up" art to boot! Just like with NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 1: "Thirteen Tales of Terror", the thirteen short stories in NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 can (and should) all be ready as individual stand-alone short strories... but at the same time in this volume we're really starting to focus more on the "uber-story" of the series, which revolves around Lucifer awakening Cthulhu to kick-start the Armageddon and the final war with Heaven.

Decapitated Dan: Are there any main characters, that we wil see in more than one short?

Dirk Manning: Oh yeah! In fact, one of the great pleasures for me in selecting the 13 stories for NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 was picking ones that allow us to "follow-up" on characters we saw in NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 1 -- even if it's only in cameo or "Easter Egg" type appearances. In NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 you will see appearances by Brian Carter from "You Oughta Know" (as he now, completely insane after teh events in the first book, is trying to awaken Cthulhu) as well as dozens of other little "connections" to both other stories in this collection and NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 1... even including seemingly minor characters like the woman who was kidnapped from the  carry-out in "Break Stuff" in the first book. As people who already read NIGHTMARE WORLD online know, seeminly minor characters oftentimes end-up playing *MAJOR* parts in the series as time goes on... [laughs]

Decapitated Dan: Where did this ideas for these stories come from?

Dirk Manning: A life of pain and suffering. [laughs] No... I'm kidding... sort of. Basically, with NIGHTMARE WORLD I wanted to create an anthology-style series silimar to TALES FROM THE CRYPT or THE TWILIGHT ZONE where each individual story can be enjoyed on its own stand-alone merits... but at the same time do something that was never done before by having all of the stories slowly start to interlock to tell one giant uber-story... which is exactly what happens by the time you get to the 52nd and final story in the series. Not only do you have these 52 really cool stand-alone horror stories that can be read and enjoyed on their own, but you can then also take a step back and enjoy the whole NIGHTMARE WORLD series as one giant story, too... depending how you want to read it.

Decapitated Dan: If you were to give this book a movie style rating (G, PG, PG-13, R,  X) what would it get, and why would you say that?

Dirk Manning: I'd say PG-13 because of teh fact that I follow a strict policy of no swearing and no nudity... and truth be told, even the on-screen violence is pretty minimal in regards to what people might expect from a "horror" comic. Don't get me wrong: There are monsters and all sorts of other nasty bits scattered about in NIGHTMARE WORLD... but we rarely rely on gore or violence to try and scare the readers. We rely on cerebral horror that will unsettle you and make you think about it for a long time after you read it. My goal was to make it so that you will remember every NIGHTMARE WORLD story you read for a long, long time to come...

Decapitated Dan: In terms of horror what can we expect?

Dirk Manning: Like I said a moment ago, with NIGHTMARE WORLD we create stories intended to stick with you for a long time to come... much like the better episodes of THE TWLIGHT ZONE. Also, we take a lot of non-traditional approaches to horror, too. Many of our stories are scary, but also steeped in romance, comedy and other genres... all while staying true to the foundations of a good horror story. Yes, you'll be scared... but we like to tap into your other emotions too.

Decapitated Dan: What are you hoping readers can take away from this volume?

Dirk Manning: My goal with creating NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2: "Leave the Light On" was to create a book that people who like good short horror stories will pick-up and re-read often. Also, I  really wanted to make this a "companion piece" to NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 1: "Thirteen Tales of Terror" wherein people will read NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 and then go back and re-read Vol. 1 again to see how it all is starting to fit together.

Decapitated Dan: How was the reaction to Vol. 1?

Dirk Manning: NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 1: "Thirteen Tales of Terror" sold really well, which was a relief especially considering how people can go online and read the whole series for free. [laughs] What it did was back-up the claim I've been making for years: That if your comic is good you shouldn't be afraid to put it out there online for people to try... and then you can offer print versions with some added extras for people that like it enough they want to own a copy in print. I mean, yeah, people can read NIGHTMARE WORLD online for free on the web... but if you really dig it you can order a copy of the TPB collections from your local comic shop or www.Amazon.com and get c really nice print collection with some touched-up art and othe rbonus material (such as a gorgeous two-part wrap-around cover and new prose story in each collection) that's not available online.

Decapitated Dan: Can we expect a Vol. 3?

Dirk Manning: I certainly hope so! [laughs] My goal is that NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 3 and Vol. 4 are released over the next two Halloweens. Jim Valentino (the head of Shadowline Comics at Image) once told me that he considers NIGHTMARE WORLD Shadowline's "Halloween Book", and I'm good with that. At this point the stories for the next two volumes are planned out and everything... so it's my hope that people continue to support NIGHTMARE WORLD in print enough that over the next year or so we can collect the whole series in four nice TPB collections.

Decapitated Dan: So how did you come to work with Image?

Dirk Manning: It's funny how it happened. I originally self-published the whole NIGHTMAREW ORLD series myself online, and right after we published the 52nd and final story in the series Shadowline started a webcomic line. I sort of knew Shadowline editor Kris Simon and got to talking to her about it... and two months later we started re-running the whole series online through Shadowline. The series quickly became such a big hit online that they then agreed to start to take NIGHTMARE WORLD to print in TPB form... and th rest is history. [laughs]

Decapitated Dan: Can we expect more titles from you in the future?

Dirk Manning: Absolutely! Along with FARSEEKER, which is not necessarily a horor comic but something I'm very happy about,. when NIGHTMARE WORLD runs its big finale online with story #52 this October (ironically, right around the time the second TPB will be coming out) we're going right into the NIGHTMARE WORLD spin-off series TALES OF MR. RHEE by myself, artist Josh Ross, colorist Austin McKinley and letterer Jim Reddington. Unlike NIGHTMARE WORLD, TALES OF MR. RHEE follows one central character -- an occult trouble-shooter named "Mr. Rhee" -- throughout the course of the series. We originally published six TALES OF MR. RHEE stories online in our old self-publishing days, but now that we're at Image/Shadowline we'll be starting from the beginning and also going on to publish the second six stories of TALES OF MR. RHEE Volume One as well, which I'm *VERY* excited about. A lot of people have been clamoring for his return... and with good reason. Mr. Rhee kicks major butt, and I can't wait for him to return to old and new readers alike.

Decapitated Dan: Can you talk a bit about your experiences so far with working in comics?

Dirk Manning: To paraphrase the late, great Harvey Pekar: Comics are words and pictures, and you can do anything with words and pictures. Considering this, I'm living a pretty charmed life these days, and I'm just very thankful that so many people read and enjoy my work.

Decapitated Dan: Any strange or interesting stories from shows you care to share?

Dirk Manning: I'm always really happy to meet the people who read my work or that I talk to online at shows...  so sadly, there's nothing too crazy to report. Most of the people who read NIGHTMARE WORLD are actually surprisingly normal and well-adjusted people... unlike the guy who writes it! [laughs]

Decapitated Dan: Were you into any horror titles growing up that lead you to want to create a book like this?

Dirk Manning: THE TWILIGHT ZONE was probably the single greatest influence on me in regards to horror. The fact that the show could do so much to freak you out with so little -- that economy of story-telling Rod Sterling (and friends) mastered in that series was a *HUGE* influence on me and especially NIGHTMARE WORLD.

Decapitated Dan: What comics are you currently reading?

Dirk Manning: My top reads right now are THE WALKING DEAD, THE GOON, HELLBOY, B.P.R.D., FABLES and JONAH HEX... although I'm also a huge fan of Alan Moore, Garth Ennis, Brian Azarello and David Lampham.

Decapitated Dan: So where can readers find out more about this book?

Dirk Manning: Honestly, I'd say just go to www.NightmareWorld.com or to our sister-site over at the Soul Geek Webcomics Hub and check it out for free. Each story is different, to read a few and see what you think... although, honestly, I've yet to hear of anyone ever reading it and being disappointed. [laughs] If you like it you can then order the first two print editions, each containing 13 stories from the online series (along with extras) at any local comic shop, book store or ever www.Amazon.com. Oh... I've also posted details about the 13 stories in NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 on my Facebook page, so people can look me up there and get in on the action there too. Just let me know "Decapitated Dan" sent ya'! [laughs]

Decapitated Dan: So in summary give me a quick recap on Nightmare World Vol. 2  and why fans should give it a try.

Dirk Manning: NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 offers readers 13 well-written and wonderfully illustrated short horror stories that, when read together, also go on to tell a giant story about Lucifer awakening Cthulhu to kick-start the Armageddon. NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 features stories featuring everything from chupacabras to zombies to star-crossed mafioso lovers to a heavy-metal music parody to even a straight-up (and extremely) moving superhero story... so we really offer a strong variety of consistently good stuff... as any good anthology-style book should. If you're still in doubt as to whether or not you'll like it, again, go check out the series online for free at the website... and then if you like what you're reading order yourself a copy of NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 1 and pre-order a copy of NIGHTMARE WORLD Vol. 2 which will be hitting shelves nation-wide in October.
 

Decapitated Dan: Thanks so much for your time Dirk.

Dirk Manning: Thank you, Dan! Happy Nightmares!

Decapitated Dan: Comment on this interview here or on our forum.