Interview With David Doub: DUSK

DUSK
by David Doub

David Doub is an up and coming Independent comic book creator. His first original graphic novel DUSK is a vampire tale set in a world of abuse and inner turmoil. It is the first volume of David's planned DUSK series. Cosmic Book News got the chance to speak with him on the topic of this dark vampire epic.

CosmicBookNews: Tell us a little bit about yourself, why the interest in writing comics?

David Doub: Well, I've always enjoyed comics since I was a kid. I can remember when I first got comics off the spinner rack at the local 7-11. I still have comics I made as a kid about a hero called "Pulberizer", because I didn't know how to spell pulverize.

CosmicBookNews: Was it always your goal?

David Doub: Well the goal hasn't always been to make comics at this level, I guess you can say "professionally". After my little stint as a kid, I really hadn't mess for comics for a long while until I started messing with doing web comics. I did that because it was a cheap way to get out some comics in a fun and casual way. I told people I just made comics myself, like the act of self-expression was enough, but I wanted more. I wanted to make something out of doing comics. That why I found frustration when I kept hitting my head against the entrenched format of 4 panel humor strips, so I started to work toward doing more traditional comics. So I kind of went from doing for fun or as a hobby to do it more seriously.

CosmicBookNews: What are some of your influences?

David Doub: It's hard to cite specific creators or works that influence my work because I don't think of those things when I'm writing. I can say I do read a lot of comics from not only America, but Europe and Asian and I do think of those different styles. Recently I've actually thought about how Hong Kong cinema has influence my work. I love how HK movies have darker tones and themes and I like to play with those elements. But then some people would call that "goth" so I guess sometimes it's a matter of perspective.

DUSK
by David Doub

CosmicBookNews: What comics do you read now?

David Doub: Well, let me reach over to my stack of recent Wednesday trips. For Indys, there is Zorro, Echo, and the Sword. For Vertigo, there's Unknown Soldier, Madame Xanadu, and House of Mystery. For DC I read Booster Gold, Detective Comics and Tiny Titans. Currently the only manga I read regularly is a title called Claymore (well I have a backlog of titles I need to read). Also I regularly read the magazine Heavy Metal.

CosmicBookNews: How did Dusk come about?

David Doub: Well I've always been fascinated with vampires mythos and legends. But I didn't get into writing vampire stories until I started doing Vampire Live Action Gaming. For convention games you had to have pre-made characters and plots so people can just jump right in, kind of like How to Host a Murder Mystery Party thingies. So after writing literally hundreds of unique characters I started to work on doing comic scripts.

CosmicBookNews: In Dusk, the art is a hybrid of Manga and American comic art. What drew you to creating this look?

David Doub: Well, as I mentioned earlier I enjoy both styles of art so I don't really think of them as separate. I know when writing the scripts I was thinking of both manga and America comics, so it only made sense to mix up the styles. There's even different artists in the book to help keep the style changing from chapter to chapter. I was playing with elements and styles to see what best serviced the story.

CosmicBookNews: Why do you think people dig vampire stories as much as they do? I myself have always been a big fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula, especially Bela Lugosi's portrayal. That kind of vampire is radically different from the modern day blood sucker. What do you think is the reason for the change?

David Doub: Well I think there's several questions in there. First let me say what about vampires appeals to me. With most modern stories, you're given a positive worldview, but with vampire stories there is always a dark undercurrent to the world. Things are complex and messy. Morality is very gray.

Now why vampires have changed is because I think they're being co-opted into a cool stand in for any sort of story. They're used as action stars or romantic interest. I think vampires can be used in stories about situations unique to vampires. I think what we're seeing in current popular fiction is stories wearing a veneer of vampire "cool". If you look at the past of vampire trends, it's almost cyclical, where people think how cool vampires are until so much product is thrown at that new demand, that there's a backlash and vampire stories lay dormant until enough time has passed since the last glut. I think it's a testament of the vampire's durability and adaptability that it can survive so many ups and downs. Not too many other fictional constructs that can do that.

DUSK
by David Doub

CosmicBookNews: As a writer, what are the things that inspire you most?

David Doub: I don't know about inspire. I try not to write with anything particular in mind, like an agenda or themes or what have you. That's not to say there aren't outside forces affecting my writing. A good amount of person is made up of his experiences, so you can't but help have some of that spill through into your work. But when I do a story I don't consciously think of those things. I try to make a scenario and then try to figure how the characters would deal with the given scenario. I don't want to do things like "Oh, let's do a zombie story" or "I want to send this sort of political message.", I just want a story that feels a natural in that world as possible.

CosmicBookNews: What's next for you after Dusk? Can our readers look for you anywhere else?

David Doub: Well volume 2 should be coming out at the beginning of next year. I'm also working on an anthology with some other creators and I'm doing a remake of the public domain character Miss Masque. Miss Masque has been remade by such comic greats as Alan Moore and Alex Ross, so I'm definitely not shy about competition.

CosmicBookNews: Where can we pick up a copy of Dusk? Is it available at comic shops?

DUSK
by David Doub

David Doub: Well if your comic book store doesn't have Dusk, they can ask the store to order it (it's available from Haven and Ingrams). Also you can order it online from Amazon and Barnes&Nobles. The ISBN is 978-0578014364

CosmicBookNews: Since we are a comic book site this one's a must, are there any characters that you would like to write for? Why so?

David Doub: When I was younger, I had a whole list of characters I would love to write for. But I've found as I've gotten older the desire to work on other people's characters less and less. One of the many reasons I got into comics was to get away from the corporate mindset, so working on characters owned by corporations seems like a step back.

Now that all said, I've found myself on numerous occasions wondering what I would do if I wrote Wonder Woman. I really see it as a challenge to write stories for Wonder Woman that would put her on the same iconic level of Batman or Superman. And I have a thing for strong woman characters, so there's definitely that appeal.

DUSK is available for purchase at Amazon.com