For more than 30 years, Todd MacFarlane has been the guideline behind spawns. But despite the extra dark anti-hero being obviously the brainchild of MacFarlane, he still lets others play in this difficult sandbox. That long reference includes a miniseries of Alan Moore and Burt Sears offenders. Garth Ennis-led medieval spawn / Witchblade miniseries. Spawn: Simony One-Shot from Semic; and more.
Writers Joseph Illidge and Tim Seeley teamed up with Christian Rosado for the Blood Letter, so now another team has joined the contest. Released on June 18th, Bloodletter is actually a title given to Tasha Thornwall, who acts as “the mysterious mercenary of the secret underground of the world.” But aside from the worse than the more than a million John Constantine (John Constantini?), the Blood Letter “was forced to live in the shadows after being out by Al Simmons (aka Spawn) a decade ago.” So she sets out on a mission to kill Spawn.
Bloodletter reads like many spawn books, with many extreme violence, robust characters, magic and mysticism, and a sense of inclusive brutality. But Bloodletter is far more playful without alleviating its strength. So what we get is a book that is completely textured and feels subtle (even in its debut issue) within a completely textured and subtle spawned vase. So come for the devil and the gun. But try to stay for a surprising deep study of revenge and moral duality.
Prior to Bloodletter #1, I recently caught up with Illidge via email. So we discussed MacFarlane’s “playground,” his own relationship with Spawn, the connection between Simmons and the Blood Letter, the collaboration with Seely and Rosado, and what to expect from the story’s protagonist, among other topics and topics.
If you’re still weird, be sure to check out the exclusive Bloodletter trailer below.
aipt: How about adding a new layer or wing to a spawnves? How practical/off is Todd MacFarlane when launching a new title like this?
Joseph Illidge: Writing in Spawn Vess is pretty surreal, especially when you’re following in the footsteps of Todd MacFarlane, Alan Moore, and Grant Morrison. Spawn was literally a game changer in manga, animation, toys and movies, and figuratively, so it’s a wild thrill to co-create new characters like Blood Letters and live together fighting with them.
As for Todd MacFarlane, he’s cool about picking the right creators and bending them. Bloodletter co-writer Tim Seeley and I had an amazing hour of Zoom call with Todd. There, I laid out my favorite story types with spawn psychology, universe rules, and various forms of entertainment. We quickly went to write a blood letter that absorbed all the good knowledge like a sponge and ignited our veins!
aipt: Similarly, before co-writing this story, what was your relationship with Spawn? Why is this look so appealing even after 30 years?
JI: I was there for the emergence of image comics, so whenever there were killer artists like Jason Sean Alexander and Ken Lashley from My Bud, I bought some early issues with Spawn and revisited the characters again.
He’s heard and spawned in the world record Freak Guinness Book of World Records, so he made history. That’s what makes it persuasive to me, and what I’m guessing for my fans is the purity of the vision. Todd’s vision of Spawn remains clear, distinctive and pure. He doesn’t resemble any of the other characters so you can watch today’s HBO Spawn animated series, but he’s still slapped.
He is also one of the coolest characters in the comics. That’s just a fact.
Courtesy of the image comic.
aipt: Tasha (retrospectively) wreaking havoc in the spawn verse. What is the challenge of launching and telling characters like this?
JI: The biggest challenge was to stay in physical form enough to bring home all the big summary that came from one of the local comic bookstores when I got my gig!
Joke, no joke.
Ok, seriously, that’s a responsibility. It’s the job to make Tasha Thornwall (aka Bloodletter) fit into the landscape of Spawnves, and it’s part of the fun. It’s as exciting as you can imagine to start using her journey to unveil the decade-old secret history of Spawnveth.
We are constructed for beloved mythical reasons, so we recognize the importance and honor of it without floating above you like Maleborgia trying to eat our heads.
Do your best you have. Create additives with long legs. Tear some s**t!
AIPT: Before you get into Bloodletter, how much do people need to know about spawning? Can they just jump blind?
JI: Before you buy and read Bloodletter, people need to know exactly zeros about spawns. The team and I designed the series to be a bloody entrance to a vast world seen from a certain angle through the eyes of Tasha Thornwall.
Don’t jump blind right now! If you want to make it lively, open your eyes wide.
Courtesy of the image comic.
AIPT: Do you have any favorite moments in Question #1? Maybe there’s anything to talk about the bigger makeup and direction of this miniseries?
JI: That’s certainly a spoiler, but I say so much. If you live long enough, you will have one or more moments when life appears like a deep by without a clear direction, and light emerges from the darkness will change your life. It gives you a purpose.
Tasha bumps into the moment light appears, but not all light leads to happiness, and not all purposes will free you.
The truth is the square at the heart of the theme of the Blood Letter.
AIPT: For obvious reasons, there is some real tension between Tasha and Al Simmons. But how much of it (if any) is because they are actually quite comparable (temperament, aspects of the background, etc.).
JI: A wise question.
That will be answered on page 20 of Bloodletter #5.
What I say is that Tasha has what Tim calls “an insane resolve” and you won’t get between her and her Vendetta’s target.
aipt: Despite her, um, it appears to be less than a great view of others, but Tasha seems closer to Casper. What can you tell us about this relationship and what it offers a book/story?
JI: Casper is Tasha’s black canary oracle, and she has a sense of humor that is not like our mystical mercenary. She is Tasha’s only friend and puts her in danger in many ways, she is an optimist in our series and is useful when you live in the shadows of society.
Courtesy of the image comic.
AIPT: How about working with Christian Rosado? How did the collaborative process inform the scope of the story?
JI: Writing a manga means that when your life opens your inbox and has a new page from the artist, your life is filled with those beautiful moments.
Christians are constantly inspired when they see his pages. I want to create an 11″ x 17″ printout of all of them and place it on the walls and ceiling of my office, but the wall space is quickly gone and my wife has some words for me. Incidentally, she is also a huge fan of Christian works!
Christian artwork is moody, visceral and so dramatic in a human way that, working together, his thoughts on how the scene looks are always better than what I imagine. It’s easy to work with someone who’s constantly increasing their games with all the issues.
AIPT: I have to say that: I got some real John Constantine vibes with this first issue. Is it intentionally/homage? Is it a kind of accident and worth leaning on it?
JI: My buds and Mr. Revival and Hack/Slash Tim Sealy and I are being jammed. That being said, we bring a variety of influences and ideas to Bloodletter, so one scene can give you the feelings of John Constantine to you, while another may be feeling John Wick.
For sure, Tim and I have a long saga in mind for Tasha, as vast as Hellblazer’s first run, so if we’re all working together to create magic spells through the support of this miniseries… I’m just saying! Let your toddlers know!
Courtesy of the image comic.
AIPT: What other moments/little things can you expose from the rest of this story?
JI: The Bloodletter trailer I wrote and produced gives you some good bullying moments. Her name is Bloodletter, so it’s true that Tasha’s actions shed blood everywhere. Some of them are green, from familiar characters.
AIPT: It’s always a good idea to ask at least one obviously stupid question. If there is a theme song on Bloodletter, what is it and why?
JI: “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden.
aipt: Is there anything you need to know right now about blood letters, spawns, comics, images, life and death, magic, and more?
JI: If you like characters with emotional pits, if you like characters that tear the average world, you need Bloodletter. Spawn is a bad guy who has a bad day right away. Comics are the best storytelling medium on the planet. Image comic rules. As Nancy Sinatra said, you live twice…but you can die more time than that. Magic costs you over and over again. Such are all the wonders and mysteries in between.
