The Prohibition era becomes the backdrop in which the mafia, a young entrepreneur, and vampires cross paths in the new comic book series Blood Oath. With the first issue of Blood Oath now available from ComiXology Originals, we caught up with co-writers Rob Hart and Alex Segura to discuss collaborating on the ambitious new horror series, and we also have the debut of the cover art for issue #2 to share with Daily Dead readers!
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer questions for us, Alex and Rob, and congratulations on your new comic book series Blood Oath! How and when did you first come up with the idea for this series?
Rob Hart: Alex reached out to me back in 2019 about this, I think. He wanted to do something with vampires and the mob, and we spitballed a little back and forth until we settled on Prohibition as a setting. So… it’s certainty been a trip!
Alex Segura: Yeah, I knew Rob wanted to get into comics, and we’d collaborated on a novella in the past—so it felt like it’d be an easy creative experience. We work well together and aren’t super-precious about our writing, so we knew that part would be fun.
Blood Oath is set in 1922 during the Prohibition Era, which is such a fascinating time in American history and a unique backdrop for a vampire series. Did you do a lot of research to properly depict what life in America was like at that time?
Rob Hart: A little bit, but I think we both felt pretty comfortable writing in that era because we were both familiar with it. The benefits of being crime fiction authors.
Alex Segura: I’m obsessed with books about the history of organized crime and American history in general, so I felt like we had a good foundation for the story. The days of New York crime before the foundation of the “five” families is pretty fascinating, and throwing in vampires as a wild card felt like a fun world to play in.
Blood Oath is strikingly brought to life with art by Joe Eisma. What was it about Joe’s art style that made him the perfect fit to create the visuals for this story?
Rob Hart: Joe brings so much energy to the page, and he was an incredible collaborator. This was my first time writing a comic and it was exciting to brainstorm with Alex and then pass things along to Joe, to see what kind of spin he would put on it.
Alex Segura: Joe’s a pro, and very underrated—just a huge talent who takes notes well and is always willing to brainstorm. We worked on this book “Marvel” style—meaning we’d send Joe a plot then script over his pencils, and that—I think—really allowed him to cut loose. I also have to give credit to our colorist, Hilary Jenkins, who’s amazingly talented and brought a painterly style to Joe’s lines that just added a lot of depth to the visuals and story.
Approximately how long did it take you to writeBlood Oath? Did you go through multiple drafts before it was ready to send to Joe?
Rob Hart: It took years of back and forth to find a home for this, but when it came down to the writing, it moved pretty quick. Alex is a comics pro, and there was a bit of a learning curve for me, but we’re also both former journalists, so we’re good at working quickly and hitting deadlines. The actual scripting moved quickly, and we were really helped along by our editor, Heather Antos, who did such an incredible job of helping us get this on the page.
Alex Segura: The process of bringing Blood Oath to life was long, but the work itself was fast—Rob, Joe, and I, along with our fantastic editor, Heather Antos—were organized and diligent, and really wanted to bring our vision to life. Comic book publishing as a whole can be challenging, though, and we found ourselves shopping the idea itself longer than we expected. But sometimes it goes like that, and we ended up in the right place.
What has it been like teaming up with Amazon’s Comixology Originals to release Blood Oath into the world?
Rob Hart: ComiXology has been great! They let us write the comic we wanted to write, and they’ve given us the support we needed to get it out to readers. 10/10, would work with them again.
Alex Segura: ComiXology Originals has been hugely supportive of me—first with The Black Ghost and now Blood Oath. They let creators tell the stories they want to tell and provide unmatched marketing support and reach. It’s hard to beat.
The initial arc of Blood Oath is five issues, but do you have plans to expand this series beyond that if given the opportunity?
Rob Hart: We have a lot of ideas for opening this thing up. Definitely a clear sense of where we’d take a second and third series of issues, and some wild ideas for how to really spin it out…
Alex Segura: We’ve got about three “seasons” mapped out loosely. We definitely think there’s a lot of room to explore in the world, which was always the idea.
While working on Blood Oath, were you influenced or inspired by any other comic books, novels, TV series, video games, or movies?
Rob Hart: My biggest influence here was Boardwalk Empire and, I would say, What We Do in the Shadows. Not that this is a comedy but I think what WWDITS does so well is take vampire lore and put a really unique spin on it. Which is always what I want to do when I’m writing something like this—how do we make our vampires different?
Alex Segura: Ditto on Boardwalk Empire. I also read a ton of organized crime books, like Selwyn Raab’s Five Families. I’ve always loved Anne Rice’s vampire sagas, too, so that played a role as well.
Ultimately, what do you hope readers take away fromBlood Oath?
Rob Hart: I hope they have a ripping good time with it!
Alex Segura: I hope people enjoy the adventure and characters - we all put a lot of care into the story and are really proud of it. First and foremost, I want people to be entertained.
Alex, in addition to Blood Oath, you and co-writer Monica Gallagher (along with artist George Kambadais) have The Black Ghost Season 2 #1 coming out on August 30th via Amazon’s Comixology Originals. What can our readers expect from the “Shame the Devil” story arc in the latest season of The Black Ghost?
Alex Segura: The first season was the origin and stage-setting, but we wanted this year to be just as meaningful, so now we’re getting to the heart of the matter: can and should Lara be The Black Ghost? Does she have what it takes to balance her life—relationships, self-care, work—and going out and fighting crime in a city as corrupt as Creighton? What happens when a wild card killer starts tearing through the city’s underworld—and how does it connect to Lara’s own past? Everyone’s had a blast crafting this story, so we can’t wait for people to experience it at the end of the month.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers who are just getting started?
Rob Hart: Be persistent. This was years in the making, and we faced a lot of setbacks. You wouldn’t be reading it if we’d given up. And there were plenty of opportunities to do that.
Alex Segura: Do the work. That’s the only thing you have complete control over. Do the work and get to the work as fast as possible. Adding too much ceremony to the craft will only slow you down.
With Blood Oath and The Black Ghost Season 2 both debuting on August 30th, what other upcoming projects are you excited about, and where can our readers go online to keep up with your work?
Rob Hart: Alex and I have another project coming out soon—not a comic, and hopefully we can share news about that soon. And I’m motoring on some of my own stuff. You can always find out more at www.robwhart.com, or by following me on Twitter at @robwhart or on Instagram at @robwhart1.
Alex Segura: I’ve got a Superman short story coming in November in the SUPERMAN: KAL-EL RETURNS #1 special from DC. THE AWAKENED, my superhero noir series from Zestworld, is publishing monthly there, and I’ve got a White Tiger short in the next MARVEL VOICES: COMUNIDADES one-shot next month. Plus the thing Rob teased! I’m sure I forgot a few things - but it’s great to be busy.
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Below, you can check out our debut of the cover art for Blood Oath #2, and to learn more about the new comic book series, visit ComiXology Originals!
Comixology Originals announces Blood Oath, a Prohibition Era horror comic series co-written by acclaimed novelists Rob Hart and Alex Segura. With art by Joe Eisma, colors by Hilary Jenkins, letters by Jim Campbell, and edited by Heather Antos, Blood Oath #1 (of 5) debuts on August 30th from Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line.
Hart and Segura, both comic fans, first co-authored the digital short “Bad Beat”. Now, combining their talents in their first comic series together, Hart and Segura introduce Hazel Crenshaw, a strong willed, self-sufficient young woman making her way in 1922 during the height of Prohibition. Hazel just wants to be left alone to tend to her farm, care for her younger sister, and run her business, but her secret business becomes inescapably tangled up with the New York gangs that eventually coalesce into the mafia, and a new, unknown partner. When her farm on Staten Island is attacked, Hazel must not only defend her home, she must cope with the realization that her flirtation with the other side of the law might also put her in the crosshairs of something else—something much more sinister.
The Black Ghost—by co-writers Alex Segura and Monica Gallagher, artist George Kambadais, colorist Ellie Wright, letterer Taylor Esposito, and editor Greg Lockard—is back! The gritty crime comic book series about a masked activist fighting for the soul of her city continues monthly with Season Two issue #1, arriving on August 30, 2022 from Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line.
Blood Oath #2 Cover Debut:
Blood Oath #1 Preview Pages:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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