Percy Carey: The Steve Niles Interview

[Each Wednesday, Complex columnist Percy Carey a.k.a. MF Grimm dives into the world of comic books with industry interviews, reviews and more.]

Steve Niles single-handily re-invented the genre of comic book horror. He not only created Simon Dark (DC Comics) but he is also the mastermind behind box office smash 30 Days of Night (IDW), and Criminal Macabre (Dark Horse) and countless other titles under his belt. Steve’s books are the only thing able to scare Bonecrusher. Sit back and learn more about the living legend and see what he’s up to next…

Percy Carey: Where were you born, and when did you realize you wanted to be in the comic book industry?

Steve Niles: I was born in New Jersey in 1965. I realized I wanted to be in comics around 1975…but it took a few more decades to actually bust in.

Percy Carey: What are some of the titles you’ve worked on?

Steve Niles: I started self-publishing books with Clive Barker and Richard Matheson, then later I continued to write my own titles like 30 Days of Night, The Lurkers and Criminal Macabre. I have also worked on Batman, the Creeper and Superman for DC. I’ve done hundreds of books. It’s a little hard to list here.

Percy Carey: What inspired you to create Simon Dark? And why did you pick Gotham City to be Simon’s home?

Steve Niles: I created Simon in an attempt to create a “horror superhero”. I wound up riffing on one of my favorite themes, Frankenstein, and came up with a boy made up of different human parts who didn’t know who he was. It was my editor Joey at DC’s suggestion to use Gotham. I liked the idea because Gotham is its own character.

Percy Carey: The children of Gotham City sing a song about Simon Dark. How did the children first hear about this song?

Steve Niles: The children made up the song.

Percy Carey: What are the possibilities of a Simon Dark/Batman cross over?

Steve Niles: Absolutely zero. Batman is a big character and he tends to take over books. I’d love to see Simon interact with other DC characters, but not the Dark Knight.

Percy Carey: What can we expect from Simon Dark in the future? And what’s the chance of seeing a Simon Dark film? Especially with the box office success of The Dark Knight, bringing another character from Gotham City to the big screens sounds like another box office smash to me. What do you think?

Steve Niles: I’ve already had some meetings about a Simon Dark film. It’s very early, but we all agree there’s something there to work with. He’s a unique character with lots of possibilities.

Percy Carey: Can you tell the readers about your graphic novel The Lost Ones with Zune? And what inspired you to create the character Dr. Revolt?

Steve Niles: I was hired by a pal of mine to create a book that would reflect the “spirit” of Zune. No product pushing, so I was in. I tried to create a story that four artists could each take a role in, sort of like a relay race. I love what the artists did. It’s one of the more unusual books I’ve done, and not horror, which is a nice change of pace for me.

Percy Carey: I’m a fan of Ashley Woods, who you collaborated with on Hellspawn. Will you two collaborate again?

Steve Niles: Ashley and I are in constant contact and always working on something. We have a rather large project we are working on now, but I can’t say any more just yet. I know, I’m such a tease.

Percy Carey: Can you offer any words of wisdom to the readers that want to enter in your profession?

Steve Niles: Do it because you love it, not to get rich. You will be disappointed if money is your only motivation, because it takes a long time and persistence to get through the door.

Percy Carey: Are you able to speak about any upcoming projects for the readers?

Steve Niles: My main projects right now are Batman: Gotham After Midnight for DC with artist Kelley Jones, Epilogue, a new series from IDW with Kyle Hotz, and a film I will be writing for John Carpenter. He is one of my idols, so a chance to work with him is heart-stopping.

Percy Carey: You’re also a musician. What are the possibilities of Steve Niles recording an album in the future?

Steve Niles: I was in a band, Gray Matter. We just had a 25th year reunion show, but we have no plans beyond that as yet.

Percy Carey: Who would win a fight between Chucky from Child’s Play vs The Leprechan, and why?

Steve Niles: I’d have to go with Chucky because he has more films.

Percy Carey: How can the Complex readers learn more about you?

Steve Niles: Just drop by www.steveniles.com or my Facebook page or my MySpace page.

Percy Carey: Thank you for your time Steve.

Steve Niles: Thank you!

AND NOW, A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM PERCY CAREY:

TYRESE TRANSFORMS COMICS

This just in, actor/singer Tyrese Gibson (Transformers, Death Race) is breaking into the comic book game in major way. A reliable source has confirmed that Gibson has secured a deal with a yet to named comic book publisher to create a new comic book property set to debut in 2009.

Gibson all but confirms the rumor in this interview with “The Spill” blog site; check it out at the 11 minute mark.

Now we here at “The Percy Carey Show” aren’t the type to let speculation run wild. So we’re trying to get in touch with Tyrese’s people to get to the bottom of things. What’s the property? Which publisher? Who’s the creative team? We’ll give you the skinny as soon as details are available.

Stay tuned.

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