I still remember when Jon Scrivens asked me to write the script for this issue. The idea was that the Origins sideline for Little Terrors would feature a guest writer and a guest artist for each issue, but that Jon would reap the true reward by getting to slap his name on the cover and claim all of the proceeds. Little would the guest creators know that they were to have their brains removed and consumed by the dark entity known as Scrivens, allowing him to become even more talented and creative.
I was in horror when Jon asked me to visit him in person to discuss the details. “This is it,” I thought to myself, “He’s going to consume my brain.” I was collected by one of his cybernetic drones and taken to his fortress on the dark side of the moon. The fortress was the single most foreboding sight I’ve ever laid eyes upon. Its turrets bore sculptures of a most hideous sort, creatures which appeared to be some sort of combination between a gargoyle and George Wendt. If you don’t know who he is, just google him and imagine him crossed with a gargoyle. Then imagine that Jon spent many a moon sapphire to have these sculptures made. Sheer, unbridled terror.
Now, many people think they know Jon. They think they know the sort of person he is. But they’re wrong, because they think he’s a person. What greeted me in its throne room was not human in the least. The creature’s tentacles dripped some sort of green-brown slime. Its four eyes made it impossible to know where to look when speaking to it. It had but one giant, jagged tooth. It was then that Jon, or Quartl as he’s known to his people, surprised me by not only refusing to assimilate my brain into his own, but instead offered me a job as the ongoing writer for Little Terrors.
I, of course, accepted. Not because I was in fear of being devoured by that hideous tooth if I refused, but because Jon offered to pay me with my own castle on the moon and a free burgers for life from the best burger joint the moon has to offer. I didn’t know at the time that I would soon decide to stick to this whole diet and exercise malarkey and swear off of those moon burgers for good, so I guess he got the better of me in the end.
Still, it is my great honor to be a part of this series. Jon has worked hard on it for many years, and the trust he’s shown in me to handle the writing of his characters and the telling of his story is not taken lightly. I have worked hard to stay true to the hidden message of Little Terrors, which is clearly that so long as your pockets are filled with relish and you have a song in your heart, the world cannot stop you from achieving your dreams. Or is that no matter how good a person you are the red moon can still shine down on you after a rift across dimensions occurs and transform you into a hideous monster struggling to retain some semblance of humanity in a world that is overrun by hordes of the undead? I can’t remember.
Also, I’d be remiss in forgetting to mention Brett and his insanely amazing art work. The man is a legend, and it is my great privilege to work with him once again, this time in a full issue format. The first time was a short story for our Dead Universe Year One anthology on an introduction to a title that still hasn’t taken off. Don’t rush me, I’m working on it.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the book. We'll be releasing it this weekend through Dead Universe Publishing in time for London Film and Comic Com. If you're out here this weekend, come and check us out!
