The Evil Cast graphic novel is now available from Ominous Media and Markosia! "Illustrated by Enrico Orlandi, creator of Dark Horse’s The Flower of the Witch, this indie-comic bathed in blood and self-awareness, follows fictional versions of Kyle and his longtime collaborator Noah Baslé (Ominous Media) as they find themselves caught up in a horror adventure filled with all the monsters and evil they previously thought to just be stories.
Whether it’s through the recreation of classic horror movie posters for each issue or the playful tribute and subversion of tropes, this is a must-read for fans of the genre; deaths are bloody, jokes are sharp, and horror easter eggs abound."
In our latest Q&A, Kyle Stück talks about the origins of the podcast, the move to comic books, challenges creating and indie comic book, and gives a tease of what's next:
How did you and Noah first meet and how did your venture into podcasts come about?
We met in the cinema program during college and started working on little short films together. Noah eventually realized he could make money without a degree haha so he dropped out and for a while we lost touch. Once I moved back to the NWA area though, we reconnected and started hanging out often. We talked about art, creating, and entertainment A LOT and eventually, like most millennials, we decided to turn our private conversations into podcasts.
Your podcasting adventures seems to have inspired your move to comic books in the recently-released Evil Cast. Can you talk about the origins of this series?
As a horror fan, I complain about horror characters A LOT (especially those in movies); characters constantly make bad decisions and or seem unfamiliar with well-known horror tropes AKA people in zombie movies usually having never heard of zombies before (this drives Noah and me crazy). One day, we were being particularly whiny and we both pondered why there weren’t many horror movies outside the Scream franchise where characters were actually familiar with the tropes—and survived as a result. This idea immediately triggered an image of Noah and I awkwardly stumbling our way through a horror adventure and the fun hijinks that could be had as a result.
You and Noah teamed up with artist Enrico Orlandi for the series. Aside from the excellent artwork, how did he help with the creative process of shaping the characters and story with his art?
I knew at the beginning of conceiving Evil Cast that I wanted to lull people into a false sense of security with cute art; the intention being to make the horror elements hit harder. Enrico’s art is very charming and pure—and was, as a result, absolutely perfect for providing that contrast. Sometimes, even as the creator, I would be reviewing new pages from him and find myself cringing at the bloody ends of what were once cute-looking and charming people. He also gave a nun an eye patch and a pair of red converse, which was not in the script at all—but WAS awesome. Bravo, Enrico. Bravo.
As an indie comic book creator, what was the biggest challenge when creating this first volume?
I wasn’t interested in crowdfunding, so I fronted the cost for the comic’s production myself, which definitely was a challenge and the TRUE horror for my frugal and cheap ass. Ultimately though, it was worth it (suck it, Satan). The other challenge was just the size of our team. There are a lot of things that go into the production of a comic and normally one would have a larger group of people working on it. We, however, had three people doing the work of around six through eight, which was pretty exhausting at times. Things take a lot longer with that size of a team, but looking at the finished volume now I feel incredibly proud at what we accomplished together!
Evil Cast has many homages to classic horror films. What are some of the films that inspired this series and what is it about those films that has stayed with you all of these years?
The Evil Dead series is probably the biggest influence (as evidenced by Issue 1’s cover). I love the combination of extreme gore and slapstick comedy, both of which are prevalent in Evil Cast. Similar to Ash, Noah and Kyle are two average joes in over their head trying to survive something horrific. They have no special powers and aren’t particularly heroic, they’re just two dudes, and I think that’s why people like Ash. Ultimately, he becomes a badass with a chainsaw arm, but he’s also a nobody…and kinda an idiot. There’s something satisfying in watching normal people overcome abnormal situations while also retaining their humanity. Fictional Noah and Kyle benefit from their overall horror knowledge, but it doesn’t stop them from peeing their pants or vomiting when they see something gross. There’s something incredibly relatable and charming in Ash and I believe that’s why he and the early Evil Dead films have stayed with me ever since. Hail to the king, baby.
The end of the first volume teases more adventures for Noah and Kyle. Can you give us a tease of what's to come?
Absolutely! Volume 2 is where things REALLY start cooking. In the pursuit of answers, Noah and Kyle travel to “Sacred Springs,” a mysterious town with Twin Peaks weirdness and Silent Hill aesthetics. There’s a lot of cool reveals and some even cooler deaths. An evil sock monkey named “Shakma” shows up too, which was both a blast to write AND extremely triggering (those things still creep the hell out of me). I can’t wait for people to read it!
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To learn more and read Evil Cast for yourself, visit: https://www.ominous.media/buyevilcast
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