Vampires protecting humans from zombies!

We spoke with writer, Bobby Crosby and artist, Owen Gieni about the series.

Wolfen: Could you give us a brief synopsis of Last Blood?

Bobby Crosby: After zombies take over the Earth, vampires must protect the last surviving humans so they can live off their blood. That might be too brief, so I'll add that it focuses on vampires trying to save the inhabitants of a small midwestern town who end up being the last humans on Earth.

Wolfen: Where did you get your inspiration for the story?

Bobby Crosby: I actually co-created it with my brother Chris last summer when we were trying to think of ideas for low budget movies that we could possibly film ourselves. Zombies are hotter than ever and make for cheap films, so we tried to come up with an original zombie story and this was it.

Wolfen: What kind of vampires are we going to see? Feral or more refined?

Bobby Crosby: More refined overall, but you'll see some wild ones too before the end. The first 2/3 of the story only features three different vampires, but dozens more will show up for the big finish. The vampires of "Last Blood" have various powers, including the ability to smell and recognize different types of blood from very far distances, so they know where their friends and enemies are.

Wolfen: What sort of zombies? Fast or slow?

Bobby Crosby: Both! I'm used to giving spoilers in the comments on the web site, so I'm debating about how much to say here, but I guess it's safe to say that when the zombies are under a certain influence they can do just about anything that their bodies allow, including sprint.


Wolfen: Last Blood will be given out on May 5th, Free Comic Day, correct? How did this come about?

Bobby Crosby: Correct. My brother and I started Blatant Comics in 1997 to publish some parody titles and we're now going beyond parody with books like "Last Blood." Diamond, the biggest comic book distributor, runs Free Comic Book Day and they accepted our application to do "Last Blood" for FCBD. I'll be signing at the Golden Apple comic book shop in Los Angeles on May 5th and I believe Owen will be doing a signing at a store in Canada.

Wolfen: Is Last Blood an ongoing or limited series?

Bobby Crosby: The plan is to do many sequels and prequels after the original graphic novel story is told, which will be done by the fourth issue (about 100 pages). There are all kinds of various stories to tell in the "Last Blood" world that there just wasn't room for in the first graphic novel.

Wolfen: Let's find out who Bobby Crosby is. What is your favorite horror movie(s)?

Bobby Crosby: I've actually never been a big fan of horror movies, but the first one I liked was the original "Halloween." Gotta love that music. Among recent films, I liked the first two "Saw" movies (hated the third) and I love "Shaun of the Dead," by far my favorite zombie movie.

Wolfen: What are your favorite horror authors and books?

Bobby Crosby: I can't recall a single pure horror book that I've read at the moment, but I guess I'd go with Stephen King for favorite horror author. Of his books, I've only read "The Stand" and "On Writing," though. I enjoyed "The Stand" overall and "On Writing" is great.

Wolfen: Do you have any other projects coming down the pike?

Bobby Crosby: Oh yeah, tons. Currently running online are "+EV," my poker comic strip, and "Marry Me," a romantic comedy graphic novel. I'm currently looking for artists so I can start up seven or eight more graphic novels based on my movie ideas in the coming months. The biggest project of all, though, is the "Last Blood" feature film, which I hope to shoot in September. Raising funds will be the tricky part, but I think the comics will help a lot with that.

Wolfen: Owen, where did the inspiration come from when designing your monsters?

Owen Gieni: I wanted to go really classic with the designs, very traditional looking vampires and zombies. Instantly recognizable. My plans initially were for scarier and more monstrous vamps but once I started to get script pages I saw that the vampires were much more romanticized in the Anne Rice or Masquerade vein. I changed my designs accordingly. They pretty much look like just good-looking people now. I'm not even allowed to draw fangs unless they are angry or something. I'm a bit sad about that. The zombies are just classic zombies, although I do prefer to draw them pretty far gone, very decomposed and damaged.

Wolfen: How did you and Mr. Crosby end up teaming up for "Last Blood"?

Owen Gieni: I've done a lot of work with Bobby's brother Chris, and he was kind enough
to hook us up.

Wolfen: Are we going to see a lot of dismemberments and splashes of blood?

Owen Gieni: Oh man, I hope so!! I love drawing violence, it's one of the few areas I excel at.

Wolfen: Will we ever get to see Last Blood in color?

Owen Gieni: I'm not sure. I'd like to.

Wolfen: How long have you been an artist and which artist inspired you the most?

Owen Gieni: That's a hard question to answer. I'd say I was an artist my whole life but have been pro for only about half a year.

I'm inspired by so many artist's it's hard to name anyone specific. I guess in terms of Last Blood I'm influenced by classic EC style horror comics as well as some of the recent Kraft paper style art popularized by the Kuberts and other artists of late. It's an evolution though, and I'm still finding my way.

Wolfen: Have you done any other projects?

Owen Gieni: Oh yeah, lots. Currently I've got the online strips http://www.sorethumbsonline.com and http://www.wickedpowered.com rocking along, plus a bunch of other projects in various stages, some
thankfully horror related.

Wolfen: What is your favorite horror movie?

Owen Gieni: Oh yeah, there are so many. Horror is my favorite genre. I loved The Host by Joon-ho Bong. That movie was perfect. I love monsters above all else, especially if they are rubber, but cg will work if done right. John Carpenter's The Thing is also another fave. Pan's Labyrinth was great of course. I've got a soft spot for Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow as well, that was sort of my gateway into the Hammer horror films.

Wolfen: What is your favorite monster, freak mutant or supernatural entity to draw?

Owen Gieni: Probably something Lovecraftian. Shadow over Innsmouth style sea-beasts and fish-men. I'd love to adapt some Lovecraft one day actually. The Lurking Fear or maybe the Festival, something like that.

Wolfen: Thanks for taking the time guys! Best of luck.

Talk about the Last Blood Interview.