When young, attractive, Erin Wheeler finds herself lost at a seedy roadside diner en route to a meeting with her business partner and an important client, her troubles are only beginning. Looking for directions, but finding only the lecherous advances of a seedy trucker and the unnerving stare of a sociopathic state trooper, Erin drives off alone into the fog. Followed by the ethereal forms of ghostly children reaching out for her at every turn, Erin soon finds herself alone on the highway after being involved in a brutal car crash. Wracked with guilt over causing the apparent deaths of a woman and infant in the crash, Erin reluctantly accepts help from the mysterious trucker and begins to fear for both her life and her sanity as the world around her begins to unravel. After a bizarre second encounter at the diner - now the location of an apparent rip in the fabric of time itself - Erin soon comes to realize that the strange truck driver may be much more than he appears, and that her own involvement in this particular location might be even more bizarre than she could imagine.

We caught up with writer, Glenn Arseneau, to talk about The Price.

Horror News Network: How did you come up with the concept for The Price?

Glenn Arseneau: The book actually has a bit bit of a long and varied history, in that it's really the combined end result of several ideas I've toyed with over the years and a few projects that never really got off the ground. The initial concept came from a short story I started writing more than a decade ago, but never finished. The oldest piece that directly became a part of The Price is a 15-minute film script I wrote about eight years ago, first called 'Dead Line', and then later 'Drifters' -- that's where the character of Marcus the trucker, and the idea behind his true supernatural nature, came from. That script did well in a few screenwriting contests and even had interest from a few producers, but a 15-minute film that involves CGI effects and a high-speed 18-wheeler crash is (understandably) a bit of a tough sell.

In 2010, I entered the NYC Midnight Screenwriter's Challenge competition, in which entrants are given a genre and a theme and one week to complete a script. I was given Horror and Isolation, if I recall correctly, and the script that came out of that (and was a finalist) contained Erin's arc from what would eventually become The Price. When I realized that these two stories would work extremely well together, it was a logical evolution of their combined plot lines to add the 'double twist' ending and underlying storyline that the comic contains.

When I decided that I wanted to bring the script to life as a comic, I posted an ad on some web forums, looking for just the right artist who would have the kind of surrealist, atmospheric feel that I felt the story deserved. Allen Byrns was one of the first respondents and the only one who was ever under serious consideration. His work is amazing and I feel very fortunate to have worked with him on what I believe was his first full-length comic.  


Horror News Network: Can you tell us about the main character in the comic, Erin Wheeler?

Glenn Arseneau: It's a little tough to really get into the meat of Erin's character without giving away the ending of the book. I wanted to explore and update the traditional role of women in horror stories a bit, so I made a conscious effort to write Erin as a generic 'every woman', who then flips the traditional horror film convention of the 'damsel in distress' on its head. The whole idea behind the comic is that the reader is on a journey of discovery, riding along with Erin as she uncovers the truth about herself and her purpose. I'm a huge fan of twist endings, but I made a conscious effort with The Price to do a bit of a 'bait and switch', where the clichéd twist the reader thinks is coming turns out to not be the real twist at all. I'll let readers decide whether or not I succeeded in that endeavor, but so far reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, so I definitely take that as a good sign.


Horror News Network: What can we expect from this book in terms of creepiness?

Glenn Arseneau: I really wanted this book to derive a good portion of its 'creep factor' from atmosphere and situational themes, as opposed to gore or shock value (though those both certainly have their place as well). Allen's artwork has a huge part to play in that, and I think he did a tremendous job in giving vision to the emotions I was trying to portray. The Price is, at its core, about isolation, loneliness, and fear of death and what lies on the other side of the veil. I think the universality of these themes allows me to paint a certain degree of natural creepiness into the tale that forms a core part of why I needed to tell it in the first place. Of course, there's also a heavy dose of more traditional horror themes, like vengeful ghosts, isolation on a fog-soaked highway in the dead of night, and a serial killer who also happens to be a state trooper, so there's that as well.


Horror News Network: The Price is listed as a one-shot. Would you like to return to write more tales about The Price?

Glenn Arseneau: Absolutely. It's funny, though -- while writing the book, I was convinced that I wanted to end it in such a way that there would be no chance of coming back. Pretty soon, though, I came to love the characters and a whole rich world started to unravel itself in my mind. I can definitely envision more stories involving the characters and setting of The Price. I can't really go into exactly what those stories would look like without giving away the underlying concept of this book, but I think readers of The Price will have a pretty good idea of where we might be going from here.


Horror News Network: Where can our readers find out more about The Price?

Glenn Arseneau: The best place for updates and news is probably our Facebook page: 

http://www.facebook.com/thepricecomic

You can also check out my personal Twitter @glennarseneau

For readers who would like to purchase the book (which we would love, of course), the print version is available for preorder now (through Oct. 26) at your local comic shop under Diamond order code:  OCT11 1231

It can also be ordered online through Things From Another World:
http://www.tfaw.com/Comics/Companies/215+Ink/Profile/Price-One-Shot___395099

For those who prefer their comics digitally, the book is available on Graphicly:
http://graphicly.com/215ink/price/1

Or via 215Ink's iPad app:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/215-ink/id449585609?mt=8 


Horror News Network: In closing, what would you like to say about The Price?

Glenn Arseneau: Simply that I hope readers will check out the book, and I hope they enjoy it. I'd love to revisit these characters down the road and, if response continues to be positive, then I will most likely do so. The Price has been very satisfying to publish for me, as it represents the culmination of an idea I first had as a teenager, and I love that I've finally found the right medium to give the story the vehicle of expression it deserves.

Horror News Network: Thank you for your time, Glenn. Best of luck with The Price. Comment on this interview here.