Every month, Dark Horse Comics gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a comic or book. These articles can include the inspiration behind a specific title, what it's like to work in the comics industry, or some other special feature on the highlighted title of the month! In this month's Horsepower, Steve Foxe tells readers more about what they can expect from True Weird stories:
“True Weird.” We landed on the words because they don’t quite sit right in the mind. “True” isn’t necessarily synonymous with “real,” and “weird” makes for a vast umbrella, covering alien abductions, medical oddities, inexplicable events, and, yes, monsters. Let This One Be a Devil is the first of our new foray into True Weird series focusing on what most people might call cryptids, but its subject is weird even within that outré category. There are (arguably) convincing zoological arguments for undiscovered sea creatures and unknown hairy hominids, but the Jersey Devil is an implausible chimera—a patchwork beast of wings, horns, and hooves, the likes of which has never walked this Earth.
Its most entrenched origin is effectively a Judeo-Christian morality tale, but it likely has roots in a political rivalry that involves Benjamin Franklin, of all people. The widest rash of sightings in recorded history reportedly led to schools closing, zoos posting rewards for the live capture of the beast, and at least one hoaxer affixing wings onto a kangaroo to fool viewers in a dime museum. And, somewhere along the line, the Jersey Devil stepped out of folklore and became a little red sports mascot who strikes fear into no one, save perhaps the opposing team on the ice.
So, when we set out to tell the “definitive” Jersey Devil tale, we knew we had to run headlong into the many contradictions at the heart of the beast. Let This One Be a Devil sets the template for the True Weird Presents tales to come—we’ve crafted an original story set mostly during the 1909 rash of sightings, with original characters who brush up against the legend as it occurs. This cast experiences their own complete story, in which the Devil plays a crucial role, but we also wanted to leave no cursed stone unturned when it came to the Jersey Devil’s mythology. And because the Jersey Devil is really so many devils, we built a framework that allowed us to examine the very nature of the story itself, and how the chimera was constructed over the centuries.
A monster is only as memorable as its depiction, though, and we’re very lucky to be kicking off True Weird Presents with Piotr Kowalski and Brad Simpson on art and colors, respectively. Let This One Be a Devil is True Weird, yes, but it’s also frequently a horror story, and Piotr and Brad have found every opportunity to wring tension and terror out of our trip off the well-trod paths of history. Along with Blue Book letterer Tom Napolitano and editor Greg Lockard rounding out the team, we feel we’ve put our best foot—or hoof—forward.
So, forget what you think you know, leave your skepticism at the door, and Let This One Be a Devil.
—Steve Foxe & James Tynion IV
Let This One Be a Devil, written by James Tynion IV and Steve Foxe, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski, color art by Brad Simpson, and lettered by Tom Napolitano, on sale now!
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