FCBD Interview: John Lees Talks About And Then Emily Was Gone #0

Bonnie Shaw is a terrifying creature of Scottish folklore who would grant parents their hearts' desire... in exchange for their child.  Young Billy McTaggart has nothing to fear from Ol' Bonnie, as his mother and father love him, don't they?  DON'T THEY?!

Free Comic Book Day talked with Glasgow-based writer John Lees about And Then Emily Was Gone #0, ComixTribe’s 2015 Free Comic Book Day offering.

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Free Comic Book Day: For those who might be new to your comic book, give a quick rundown. What can we expect to see in terms of story and art?

John Lees: AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE is a horror comic that revolves around a mystery of missing children on the remote community of Merksay, in the Scottish Orkney Islands, and the strange, terrifying things that happen there.  From the story, expect something chilling and sinister and unlike any other comic you've read.  As for the art, expect to be horrified with some of the most viscerally twisted imagery committed to the comics page, thanks to master of the macabre Iain Laurie. That said, our FCBD story still is all-reader friendly... as long you don’t scare too easy!  

Free Comic Book Day: What has been your favorite part of the book or character to tackle?

John Lees: Working with Iain Laurie has been an absolute blast.  He was already one of my favorite comic artists when we first embarked on this project together, so much of the script I wrote was written specifically from the perspective of me, as a Laurie fan, coming up with stuff I'd love to see him draw.  So one of my favorite aspects of working on the book has been seeing Iain exceed even my lofty expectations with the visuals he's crafted.  Another favorite part about this Free Comic Book Day issue in particular is that I was able to write stuff that scared even me.  It's generally a sign that you're on the right track in creating horror if you manage to creep yourself out!

Free Comic Book Day: Tell FCBD fans why they should pick your book first on Free Comic Book Day!

John Lees: When you go to the comic shop on Free Comic Book Day, you're going to be presented with a wide range of comics, catering to a variety of tastes and audiences.  I believe that, when you're given such a great opportunity to sample all these comics free of charge, you should take the opportunity to experiment, try something new that you might not otherwise have considered.  And one thing that critics and readers have continually said about AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE is that it's something different from anything else on the shelves.
The book also contains a first look at my next big ComixTribe project, OXYMORON: The Loveliest Nightmare, with incredible art by Alex Cormack. And if that’s not enough, ComixTribe is running a graphic novel FCBD give-away contest, and the details for that will only be found in AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE #0.

Free Comic Book Day: What are you most looking forward to for Free Comic Book Day?

John Lees: It may be a bit selfish, but I'm really looking forward to AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE #0 being out there in comic shops all over the world, and a wider audience than ever before getting the chance to discover this comic and hopefully seek out the rest of the series.  Becoming part of the grand Free Comic Book Day tradition, having a book out there with the FREE COMIC BOOK DAY banner along the top, a cover by the great Ryan Stegman, and my name in the credits!?  Mind-blowing.  

Free Comic Book Day: What other titles would you associate with your FCBD book? “If a comic reader likes _______ , they should pick up my title"?

John Lees: That's difficult, as like I say, the book is quite an odd duck, and if anything, our influences have been drawn from other mediums.  But if I were to try and think of comics that generated a similar kind of dread in me that I hope AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE generates in readers, I would say that if a comic reader likes WYTCHES, SEVERED, NAILBITER, ECHOES, Alan Moore's SWAMP THING, THROUGH THE WOODS or the manga horror of Junji Ito, they should pick up AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE.

Free Comic Book Day: What do you think is the best part about Free Comic Book Day?

John Lees: I just love the atmosphere of Free Comic Book Day.  Going to your local comic shop, and there's a big line going right outside the shop and down the street.  And it's not even for a signing, it's for comics.  And you look at that line, and you'll see the regular comic shop customers you see every week, but you also see families, young kids maybe going into a comic shop for the first time.  I like to imagine that some lifelong loves of comics are launched with each Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day: What’s your favorite thing about working in comics?

John Lees: Getting to create worlds.  And, being a lifelong fan of comics, there is no better feeling than holding a comic book in your hands that you were involved in creating.  

Free Comic Book Day: Many newcomers will pick up comics for the first time on FCBD—what was the first comic you remember reading?

John Lees: When I was very young, I remember reading SONIC THE COMIC, which was a comics magazine for kids published in the UK, and I read various annuals collecting all sorts of British and American comics into big collections.  And I read some 2000AD and JUDGE DREDD back when I was likely far too young to understand it.  But in terms of comics in the Diamond-distributed floppy sense, the first comics I read were probably Batman comics.  I remember back around 1994 and 1995, when I was around 8 years old, I bought an issue of a comic called BATMAN: FACES by Matt Wagner, with Two-Face in it, with my pocket money, from a stall in Candleriggs Market, in Glasgow's City Centre.  

Free Comic Book Day: Where will you be for this year’s FCBD? Do you have any annual FCBD traditions?

John Lees: You may see me at Forbidden Planet in Glasgow.  Maybe I'll get a chance to see what other FCBD comics are on offer! And my fellow ComixTribers will likely be setting up shop at Larry’s Wonderful World of Comics in Lowell, MA, and the Jetpack Comics FCBD Festival in Rochester, NH.  

Free Comic Book Day: Looking to the future of the book, is there anything you can tease about what's upcoming?

John Lees: We're looking forward to the release of the AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE trade (NOV141187) in a few weeks.  My big hope is that anyone intrigued by our free issue #0 will also be able to pick up the complete AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE story from the same comic shop on their Free Comic Book Day outing!

Free Comic Book Day: Tell us why everyone should read comic books?

John Lees: Everyone should read comic books, because everyone likes stories.  And if you like stories, why would you deprive yourself of a medium that has one of the richest imaginations of all?  A great comic can move you, and linger forever in your mind, like a great film, or a great TV show, or a great book.  I firmly believe that there's a comic out there for everyone, if they're just willing to open their mind and give it a try!

Find a comic shop near you at Comic Shop Locator.com to celebrate Free Comic Book Day 2015!