Solomon Hitch (AKA Halloween Man) is a good-hearted but flesh-eating monster that defends Solar City from all manner of creepy crawlies. This October he will face the Invisible Man.

We caught up with creator, Drew Edwards, to talk about Halloween Man vs. the Invisible Man.

Horror News Network: Tell us about this crossover between Halloween Man and The Invisible Man.

Drew Edwards:  As one might be able to tell from the title, it features our title character facing off against H. G. Wells' character, the Invisible Man, who is probably one of the most famous characters in the entire horror genre, if not, all of popular culture.  It's our very first "18 and up" storyline because it deals with some S&M elements.  Although, it's not in a pornographic way.  The fetish scene is simply the backdrop of the tale.  I can also say, the entire creative team really busted our humps on this one.  The entire story was drawn twice.  The script was clawed over, till we thought it was perfect.  And I feel like it really shows on the page.  We're all really proud of the finished product.

Horror News Network: Were you always a fan of the Invisible Man character?

Drew Edwards:  Not really.  I became a fan over time.  I guess the "cool" answer would be to lie and say I read the H.G. Wells novella at an early age.  But like most people, I was first exposed to the amazing Universal horror film directed by James Whale.  The special effects, coupled with Claude Rain's performance, were still enough to capture the imagination of a kid of the 1980's.  But even with that, I still considered the character to be one of the second tier movie monsters.  After all, he had guys like Chevy Chase playing him in newer film versions.  So it didn't have the old school cool of Dracula and Frankenstein, nor the splatterpunk street cred of Freddy and Jason.

I later rediscovered the character via the novella and it was then I became more transfixed.  Griffin is really a nasty piece of work; one of the most evil characters in the entire horror genre, really.

Horror News Network: How does your version differ from prior versions of the Invisible Man?

Drew Edwards:  Well, I really wanted to strip away the Chevy Chases and the Kevin Bacons and get back to the guts of the Wells character, who is really a complete lunatic who happens to be invisible.  The character in both the Wells book and the Whale film is more or less a terrorist.  In our version, he is more like a serial killer.  We do take inspiraton from the Universal film in that we make Griffin a comtemporary man.  Although, we did leave touches of Victorian melodrama in his manner, behavior and speech. 

The three versions I looked at most were the Wells novella, the Whale film, and of course Alan Moore's version in LOEG, mostly for spice mind you.  Outside of the obvious reference points, I looked at the first two Hellraiser films a lot.  I had them playing in the background while writing the script, so there is an element of Pinhead in there.  Also strangely enough, Stewie Griffin from Family Guy kept creeping into some of the speech patterns.  Even though I'm not really that much of a fan of Family Guy.  This weird sort of "stew" served it's purpose of creating a character that is both recognizable and yet altogether new, which everyone involved felt was important in making the character scary again.

The artist, Sergio Calvet created a really slick new look for him; more of a latex "gimp" suit.  It has the flavor of the old "bandaged" man, while making it fit into the world of Halloween Man.

Horror News Network: What makes this such a great crossover?

Drew Edwards:  The Invisible Man represents a certain emptiness.  Not just physically, but emotionally and morally.  This is a person who experimented on himself and made himself something other than human.  He is a self-made monster.  In this respect, he's a great counterpoint to Solomon/Halloween Man and the emotional turmoil he has inside himself.  In our story, Griffin sees nothing wrong with what he's become.  He wants to perfect his formula, but has no angst about being a monster.  He has the same clarity of mind of a sociopath.  Whereas, our hero is always struggling with the beast within.

The first few chapters were written more like a detective story.  I'm a big fan of mystery as well as horror, so it was nice to be able to write that kind of thing for a change.  Because of this, there is more of an emphasis on character than your typical Halloween Man story, which is more about action and gore.  But of course any time you put a character against someone they can't see, it's an interesting battle.  Physically, Solomon is faster and stronger than the Invisible Man.  But you've taken away his ability to land a clear cut, punch.  Factor in the fact that you're dealing with a complete lunatic and it becomes a really fun battle to watch.  So when there is action, we pull it off in spades.

Horror News Network: Can you talk a bit about the 18 and up story arc, how does it differ from the normal stuff?

Drew Edwards: As previously mentioned, the back drop is the Solar City fetish scene.  So we're dealing with fetishists as the victims.  Which differs from say, Batman rescuing hostages from Mr. Freeze, quite a bit.  Having said that, I actually know quite a few fetishists from my days as part of the Dallas, TX  goth scene.  I think many fans would be surprised at how nice and normal they are.  I really went out of my way to keep the subject matter from being pornographic or exploitative.  There's a little more naughtiness than in other Halloween Man stories.  But honestly, I don't think it's any worse than many detective stories with similar subject matters.  If anything, I think I'm a little more even handed and fair. 

For long-time readers,  I think this story is a bit of treat.  We get into Lucy's (our secondary lead) background as a club kid.  We introduce an old friend of hers named Claudette, who was also a real joy to write.  She's this scenester gal, who owns a fetish club and is the top of her social circle.  She is a real "queen bee" type.  I think anyone who has been around any kind of sub-culture has known this persoanlity type.  The way she plays off Lucy is a lot of fun. 

Horror News Network: So all four chapters are online and for free?

Drew Edwards:  Yep!  Four, full color, full-length comics at no cost to fans!  How is that for a Halloween treat? 

Horror News Network: With this story arc finished up, what can we expect from the future?

Drew Edwards:  Future story lines involve the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, a whole mess of werewolves, and the long awaited return of the Phantom Hood! 

Horror News Network: In closing, what would you like to say about Halloween Man vs. the Invisible Man?

Drew Edwards:  It was a lot of work! The finished result is a fun, emotionally charged story that is a kinky, Halloween time treat! Please check it out.

Horror News Network: Thank you for your time, Drew. Best of luck with Halloween Man vs. the Invisible Man. Comment on this interview here.

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Published on: 2011-10-21 (200 reads)