By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
By Image Comics
The cover of Image Comics' new horror mystery Green Wake, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and drawn by Riley Rossmo.
By Image Comics
The cover of Image Comics' new horror mystery Green Wake, written by Kurtis J. Wiebe and drawn by Riley Rossmo.
With a mysterious township, odd residents, an ominous mood and a pervading mystery, Green Wake is one creepy theme song away from being the Twin Peaks of comic books. And by the end of five issues, it might not even need the theme song.
The avant-weird David Lynch TV series was a major influence for Green Wake, the new Image Comics horror miniseries debuting April 6 that's written by Kurtis J. Wiebe with art by Riley Rossmo (Proof, Cowboy Viking Ninja).
"I loved the idea that on the surface of this shiny, happy-go-lucky town was a sinister presence that influenced the daily lives of those who lived there," Wiebe says. "The town itself was a character, rich with a dark history of good vs. evil, and filled up with interesting, relatable characters."
Like on Twin Peaks, when Laura Palmer is found dead in the first episode, Green Wake begins its first pages with a deceased girl, as well as a crashed car, the woman's mourning husband Morley Mack, and the frogs that surround him as he's swallowed up by mud.
What makes for a wickedly nasty fever dream will in fact be the crux of the narrative for the whole story, Wiebe says. "From issue to issue, we'll see more of what led up to that scene in particular, and through that gain a glimpse into how Morley has dealt with his grief and loss."
But readers are also quickly introduced to Green Wake, a town where Morley and other people end up in yet don't quite know how they got there. A man is found on the street, his lips ripped off and blood everywhere, in a murderous situation not often seen around the place. A woman, Ariel, is on the run and Morley eyes her as the primary suspect. And Carl, a man with a connection, shows up out of nowhere just as another man is killed.
His appearance may be a key in finding Ariel as she attempts to find Babylon, another mysterious place that could be the only way out of whatever and wherever Green Wake is.
Much like his other Image series, The Intrepids with artist Scott Kowalchuk, Green Wake also comes from an analytical place, according to Wiebe. He found himself reflecting on the concept of pain and guilt, "about how when left long enough they can have such a deep-rooted, damaging effect," he says. "A lot of the questions I asked myself form the backbone of this series: Can we ever truly forgive ourselves? Do the mistakes we make stay with us, regardless of how we deal with them?"
Morley's narration amid tragedy in the opening pages sums up the theme: "Sometimes, people would rather forget those most painful moments, but the reality is, our unresolved emotions will always get the better of us," Wiebe says. "Morley loses his wife in the opening pages of our series, and he is unable to come to terms with that life-changing moment."
He soaked the pages in metaphor and let Rossmo loose in painting this world of disconcerting, often gruesome imagery.
"I really want to convey the horror of violence, use it as a punctuation mark," the artist says. "Most North Americans don't experience a lot of violence and I think it's important that it be really intense. It's not just an everyday thing we see, so I want the violence to show the severity of someone's decisions on others and that violence shouldn't be taken lightly."
Rossmo also utilizes different colors for shifts in reality on the pages. He uses brown to signify the past, yellow and green for what's happening in the present, and purple to convey unreality. He borrows the palette from movies, specifically Naked Lunch, City of Lost Children and Aliens.
"I chose yellow and green because of their acid nature ? both colors are also reminiscent of mold and fungus, as well as old paper," Rossmo says. "Green is the color of envy and yellow cowardice, plus when there is a splash of red it really projects off the page."
He based the trademark look of Green Wake on a bit of Venice, London and small, semi-abandoned prairie towns, and collected several turn-of-the-century references while working on another project.
"We wanted the look to be antique but not to a certain period overall ? just familiar bits of lots of architectural periods," Rossmo says. "In the walls and backgrounds, there are artifacts from Egypt, Mayan and Byzantine civilizations."
And there is a definite reason behind this blend of global influences from different time periods, Wiebe says. "We wanted Green Wake to feel relatable in a real-world sense, but at the same time, we want there to be a very evident feeling of otherworldliness that make readers question the motivations and actions of everyone who lives there."
Viewers found out what really happened to Laura Palmer by the end of Twin Peaks, and likewise, Wiebe promises to reveal all of Green Wake's major mysteries by the end of the fifth issue to avoid frustrating readers.
"What Green Wake is, how you get there, how you get out, everything that ties the residents together, will all be answered. We are, however, building a deep mythology around Green Wake, one that can be further explored should a future series happen, where more mysteries can surface," says Wiebe, who remains cagey about whether we'll see Babylon.
"We've also planted secrets within pages that you'll really have to look for, and there's a good chance people won't even notice them," he adds. "They reveal aspects of characters that we will never directly address in the narrative, but will be interesting should people discover them."
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