I draw exclusively on Adobe Illustrator 9.0, which is a very old version of the software, but to me, still the best one! I don't make sketches or roughs, but to compose my page and place the dialogue. What's your process as far as writing and drawing the book? I can't tell more about her without spoiling the books. She's the one who will help Aurelian to do his first steps into the park. She used to study at some witchcraft and wizardry school (another question I've always asked myself: what's the career after Hogwarts?) and landed as some trainee in Zombillenium. Gretchen Webb is a young witch from England. All we know about him is that he used to be a loser and will discover himself into the park. I didn't want to tell much about him (I don't show his wife, his past life, etc.) because it's not the point. He's the character who 'brings' the reader into the park. How would you describe the two main characters, Gretchen and Aurelian Zahner?Īurelian Zahner is the very common guy.

The other question I asked myself was: 'What would vampires, zombies and werewolves do if they lived nowadays ?' My answer: They would work like anyone else and pay their taxes - because death and taxes are the two things one can't avoid! Which leads to another question: What job would allow them to show in public the way they are? Answer: An entertainment park! You see, I'm not interested in zombies except if they talk with their job mates at the coffee machine or organize strikes. The only interesting pitch concerning them is to make them the good guys (and, of course, make humans the bad guys, such as in the classic masterpiece 'Freaks'). Why do you think that is?Īlthough I'm not a huge fan of classic or recent horror movies, I always loved monsters. The book is a comedy, focusing on how so many of the monsters and creatures that populate horror stories are no longer scary.

I was delighted to draw monsters again - and this lead to three albums,and more to come ! But five years ago, the publisher of Spirou (a very well known French speaking comic magazine) called me up and commissioned me to make a cover for the Halloween issue. I used to be interested in vampires, skeletons and witches back when I was a teenager, but I let it aside while I was in university and never thought I would go back to it (precisely because it was 'a teenage interest'). Where did this idea of the Zombillenium theme park come from?įive years ago, my entire comics production was concerned with sexy/glamorous stories.

Gretchen arthur de pins