James Robinson and Scott Kolins team up for 'Patra, a new horror comic book series "about slasher monsters, mad scientists, and cult movie-inspired horror." With the first issue available from Dark Horse Comics this August, I caught up with James Robinson to learn more about the origins of this series, and to get a tease of what's to come for "One Innocent Girl... In A World Full of Maniacs!"
I'm very excited to have gotten a tease of 'Patra #1 and I can't wait to read more! Can you tell me about the origins of this series and what made you feel this was a great first series for your new collaboration with Dark Horse?
In truth, the timing that ‘Patra is the first of my series with Dark Horse was somewhat happenstance. I’ve been away from comics for a while with TV and prose, but I wanted to return and in a way that I felt mattered to me on a truly personal level. By this I mean that after many years with DC and Marvel, my own original ideas had been left in a bottom drawer for too long. So I set about contacting various artists who had always impressed me and who I’d wanted to work with, or who I’d enjoyed working with in the past, these including Scott Kolins. Scott was keen to get a project started and was the most readily available at the onset as other artists finished up projects and commitments. He had already gotten some of the idea for ‘Patra, this is definitely as much Scott’s idea as mine. However, I added enough in terms of plot and the overall direction of the story and character it quickly became ours. Scott then went to work like a demon, and we ended up with ‘Patra coming out of the gate first.
Can you talk a bit about your process with Scott Kolins to design the characters and this world? The character designs are incredible and the overall look of the series is unique and eye-catching.
Like I said, this idea began as something Scott had thought up a while back, especially the look of ‘Patra. The story and plot were definitely an amalgam of our different aesthetics and approaches to storytelling, however. Scott has also added more line and hatching to his art, which makes his style still familiar to anyone who’s followed him since his days on The Flash but new and fresh at the same time. It’s really lovely work, made into even more of a new side to Scott Kolins by his coloring which definitely add another fresh layer to the look.
What can you tell us about this young girl named ‘Patra and can you tease what she faces over the course of the series?
When we first meet ‘Patra she’s a scared girl who doesn’t understand the situation she’s in. All she knows is that when she’s in danger, a mask appears on her face and a knife in her hand. That in itself is enough for a scared little girl with no memory, but then there’s also the escaped maniac who wants to kill her. I’m loath to reveal too much as there are twists and surprises along the way for her and the reader, both. However, I can say that she emerges from her scared, unsure shell to be the hero she needs to be in order to take on the unhinged killer (loosely based on Michael Myers from Halloween) who is the threat of ‘Patra’s first arc. I will also say that by the end of the first arc, there are many revelations about ‘Patra and other characters around her, that it will set up many fun, scary future stories to come.
I read that this story is in the tradition of 80s slasher films. What are some of your favorite slasher movies?
I love all the classics, although if I had to pick a few I’d have to say…
Friday the 13ths Parts 1 and 2.
Halloween 1 and 2 (probably more Part 2).
Nightmare on Elm Street Parts 1 and 3.
The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a masterpiece and the remake from 2003 is beautiful, like gory art.
My Bloody Valentine is so nuts, I love it.
Sleepaway Camp is even more nuts.
This is a 4-issue limited series, but given the opportunity, do you have plans to tell more stories in the world of 'Patra?
Scott and I have 6 arcs planned; each arc’s “slasher” will be loosely based on one of the classic movie killers of yore. So, yes, we hope to keep adding to the lore of ‘Patra.
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"A young girl named ‘Patra wakes up with no memory of her past. All she knows is that a big knife and a horrific mask appear whenever she’s in danger. Oh, that, and a deranged killer, in the tradition of 1980s slasher films, who is slaughtering families in a small mid-western town, and wants to make Patra his victim too. Join us for a new series as one brave little girl faces both monstrous dangers and mysterious secrets in this homage to the classic horror movies of yore.
Celebrated scribe James Robinson and artist Scott Kolins bring a new slasher horror series to Dark Horse!"
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