Creator David Doub answers ten questions about his vampire comic, Dusk.

You’ve read the review—now go behind the scenes. Doub chats about breaking into the business in the midst of the economic crisis, his inspirations for Dusk, and the comic itself. He was kind enough to answer some random, pressing vampire questions, too.

GEN: Thanks for agreeing to answer some questions about your comic, David! To start us off, tell us a little about yourself and what made you want to start writing comics.

David Doub: “Hmm, well, growing up I moved around a lot, so one of the few constants in my life was comics. I’ll fully admit, when I was younger I really appreciated the escapism quality of comics. So even at a young age I scribbled and wrote my own comics, but it wasn’t for a long time until I wanted to do it [professionally].

“As an adult, I found that I was good enough with computers to make a living at it and be able to support my wife and myself. But as time went on, even though I was good at computers, I didn’t enjoy computers. I wasn’t a true computer geek who really loved messing with them. So slowly I started to use my free time to work on getting comics. I had to keep the day job; my true interests shifted to doing comics full-time.

“Then the worst happened: My wife passed away. I still have a hard time talking about it. But the end result is I fully realized life is ’short,’ and you have to make sure that you’re happy and satisfied with your life. So for me at least, I knew I could no longer just work for a wage to support me. I needed a career that I was truly passionate about.

“After several failed starts with a couple of publishers and the ever-shifting terrain of the comics market, I also realized that self-publishing would work best for me. Be the captain of my own destiny or other clichés I can’t think of at the moment.”

GEN: Why vampires? What’s the allure there, and what vampire writers or fiction inspire you? Any favorites?

Doub: “I’ve always enjoyed vampire mythology. I find the dark edge to be a bit more exciting to my tastes.  All the themes of damnation, redemption, morality, and sensuality are all very interesting and can be fairly complex. Definitely better that the normal fare of good and evil.

“I’ve watched vampire movies, TV shows, and cartoons; read vampire comics and novels; played vampire role-playing games and vampire video games. Some of my favorite vampire books are Sunshine by Robin McKinley and Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi. For TV [shows] I’d have to say Forever Night and Blade. For movies, some of my favorites are The Forsaken and The Lost Boys. My preferred system for role-playing vampires is Vampire the Masquerade.”

Then you look at the other side like Twilight, where vampires are merely used to make a teenaged angst story that is far more complicated than Romeo and Juliet ever was.

GEN: What’s your opinion on vampire stereotypes and how they are depicted in today’s culture?

Doub: “I feel that vampires have been too distilled into two different classes: sex and violence. For example, I love movies like Blade, but it’s almost like vampirism is merely a backdrop for elaborate action scenes. Then you look at the other side like Twilight, where vampires are merely used to make a teenaged angst story that is far more complicated than Romeo and Juliet ever was.

“Vampires can be very multifaceted, and [they don't] have to be the cipher or icons like they seem to be today. At their root, vampires are people who have been thrown into an indescribable situation; it’s a story of them coping with that. It’s not as simple [as turning] into an evil monster whose face twists with silly FX makeup. Yes, people have dark ideas and can turn evil from the temptation of vampiric power, but it’s more realistic for it to be a descent into evil—not just a quick personality shift.”

GEN: What kind of experience did you go through to publish Dusk?

Doub: “Well, first I tried different publishers, and I was with two for a time. But both were small enough [that] when the publishers had issues in other areas of their life, they were unable to devote time to comics.

“Then I learned more about Print on Demand printing and how that can be fairly useful for someone like me, who doesn’t have much upfront cash to finance and print run. I will say it was rough learning all the different roles of graphic design, pre-press, art direction, and marketing, but I was lucky enough to have friends who really helped me with it.”

GEN: There are a few artists penning the first trade. How were they recruited; do you plan to incorporate as many different artists as possible, or would you like to settle on a set team?

Doub: “Well, I’ve gotten a lot of artists first starting with the website DigitalWebbing.com. It’s a great site to [talk] with other creators and artists. And from there I was able to network more and meet more and more artists.

“At first, artists changed out of necessity because the first artist had to move on to other projects, but as I saw the results I [began to] like the different viewpoints. I think the different perspectives make for more interesting stories, as you see each artist’s interpretations. I’ve always enjoyed anthologies, so I though it was a good addition to the book.”

… I see no reason not to mix styles, especially since I’m mixing artists.

GEN: Dusk combines both Japanese and American art styles—an interesting choice for a vampire comic. What led to this decision?

Doub: “I’m a fan of most comics—American, Japanese, and European—so I’ve been influenced by all three styles, and I’m more open to the different art than some other fans. I’m actually dismayed how some American and Japanese comic fans are so segregated against other types of comics. Like, I always remind manga fans that manga is Japanese for ‘comic.’ So I see no reason not to mix styles, especially since I’m mixing artists.”

I think a lot of creators are getting in over their heads when starting out with grand epic stories, and I wanted to move away from that. I wanted to give the reader a chance to learn about the characters.

GEN: The trade’s four chapters are presented in a non-linear fashion. What made you decide to tell the story this way?

Doub: “When I was working on Dusk for the first publisher, the idea was to do, stand-alone, one short story—so you didn’t need to read other issues to get the story of any single issue of Dusk. I like that format enough to where I kept it for the graphic novel. There are plot elements that do continue through various stories, but I didn’t want to start out with a thirty-volume mega-plot. I think a lot of creators are getting in over their heads when starting out with grand epic stories, and I wanted to move away from that. I wanted to give the reader a chance to learn about the characters.”

GEN: I have to ask: Who is that mysterious woman in chapter four?

Doub: “Oh no, I have failed! There are no mysterious women in chapter four. There’s Eve and the girl who taunts the boy (she’s in the library with him and then later in the gym when it catches fire). It was meant to be a slight homage to the movie Carrie, which is also my wife’s name.”

GEN: What’s next for Eve, Ash, and the other characters in Dusk? Could you give us a little teaser about what might follow?

Doub: “In the next volume we’ll have several follow-ups going on. One story will be a follow-up to chapter two, where Eve learns that using magic so casually can have repercussions. There will also be a story that gets into Ash’s background, but it might put a serious strain between Eve and Ash’s relationship.

“And finally, there will be a story which will have, like, twenty pages of girl-on-girl fighting. Cheap maybe, but at least it’s fun.”

GEN: Quick question: Stephanie Meyers or Anne Rice? Go.

Doub: “Anne Rice, because I grew up on her writing. I still love the Vampire Lestat novel. I’ve never actually read any of Stephanie Meyers’ work, and the movie doesn’t really entice me to check the books out, either. I feel bad for Anne Rice, since she suffered a lot of personal issues and that made her stop writing vampire stories, but you have to do what you have to do.”

David Doub lives in the Home of Happiness known as Denton, Texas, with his loyal cat Jordon. Besides working in comics, David is the Executive Assistant of Gaming for A-Kon, the country’s oldest running anime convention.

Related Posts:

• Graphic Novel Review: Dusk
• Franc Czuba Talks Comics