By: Nicole D'Andria
Experience werewolves
and the horrors of Canada in this week’s Kickstarter for Red Hill Billy: Red Hill Rising. Written and illustrated by Robbie
Armstrong (Transforms G1, Batman/Superman, X-Men/Fantastic Four), Red
Hill Billy is an action horror story in the Canadian Wilderness. I also got
some hunting tips from Armstrong himself.
Get ready to travel
back in time to Northern Ontario in 1985 and watch a group of ten-year-olds
take on werewolves! Red Hill Billy: Red
Hill Rising is a mini-series about Billy Dekana and his classmates who are trying
to save the town of Red Hill from werewolves.
Armstrong is trying to raise $6,852 ($8,500 Canadian American Dollars). This amount must be pledged by July 31, 2015 at 12:05 AM EDT for his campaign to be successful. You can pledge money to his Kickstarter here. With the money Armstrong will be printing 2,000 copies of first volume of Red Hill Billy: Red Hill Rising. There will be three volumes in total and they will be published by Groovy Dead Productions.
I spoke with the writer/artist of Red Hill Billy, Robbie Armstrong, and he shared his insights on how to survive a werewolf… plus other useful tips as well.
Me: Werewolves are a classic
monster that have been featured in many stories before. How will your
werewolves stand out from the pack?
 |
| Robbie Armstrong |
Robbie Armstrong:
Well. MY werewolves are infected
with Rabies. They will break their own bones in order to break through a wall
and eat you whole. The rabies virus in humans makes us demented and parched for
water - in a werewolf, they become completely insane and thirsty for blood.
Me: Why did you choose werewolves as your monster
versus vampires or zombies?
Armstrong: First of all, I think werewolves lend themselves nicely to a
story that takes place in the woods - they're more animalistic and
"natural" than vampires or zombies. Second, I thought it was high
time to focus on scary werewolves again - vamps and the undead have been
getting WAAAY too much press lately. And third, I needed my antagonists to be eating
machines - all teeth and claws and blood and fury!!
Me: How would you describe your protagonist Billy
Dekana?
Armstrong: Billy is my unabashed homage to the butt-kickin' kids of The Goonies mixed with a great big
helping of Ash from Evil Dead/Army of
Darkness. He has years of hunting experience, so he always stays calm while
dealing with animals and/or intense situations, and he's always the
coolest kid in the room.
Me: What are the supporting characters of Red
Hill Billy like?
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| Red Hill Billy Book 1 PG-13 Version of Page 1 |
Armstrong: Billy's dad Red is a real hit with the ladies - his silly
80's masochism is a blast to write. And Billy's classmates - the Three Daves
and Eddie are all jokesters and immediately worship Billy's cool demeanor.
Instant BFFs - that used to really happen when we were kids!! They're good
kids, fun kids, and that helps raise the stakes when they have to fight for their
lives...'cause they won't all make it through the night...
Me: As a fan of horror, what is it that attracts you
to the genre?
Armstrong: I think foremost it is the inventiveness of the horror genre
that holds my thrall. One of my first horror movies was A Nightmare on Elm
Street 2 (on VHS at a friend's birthday party after his folks went to sleep)
and Freddy instantly hooked me with clawed fingers. My pulse was
pounding, I was sweating profusely, my eyes bulged from their sockets for an
hour and a half. No other genre grabbed me by the throat like that - and it has
yet to let me go.
Me: What do you think of the current state of horror
in comics? Are there any horror comics you would recommend to readers (or that
you wouldn’t recommend to readers with less-than-stellar stomachs)?
Armstrong: I actually think horror in comics has stepped up its game in
the last few years. When they started with EC they were wonderfully subversive,
then for a while it was all Evil Ernie,
Vampirella and Midnight Sons flashy "horror-lite" style. Now we have
great books like Nailbiter, Hellboy, Wytches, Afterlife of Archie
and Revival (which are all fantastic
books - please read them!) that have brought some cache back to the genre. And
if your stomach is strong enough, give Crossed
a shot - that Garth Ennis sure knows how to punch you...in the brain.
Me: Can you talk about some
of the 10-year-olds that will be facing off against these werewolves? Why
are they our heroes?
 |
| Red Hill Billy by Joe Ng |
Armstrong: My favorite movies growing up were the ones that starred
kids in really dangerous situations. Goonies,
Monster Squad, Flight of the Navigator, Explorers,
all present themselves as kid-friendly movies - but the stakes are very real.
You really have no idea what to expect, and when it all goes down, you really
care about these kids and root for them to win.
Me: Why did you pick the
Canadian Wilderness as your setting for this werewolf brawl?
Armstrong: I think the Canadian North is criminally underused as a
setting for horror, but it lends itself naturally to the genre. On cloudy
nights, it's so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. When the
moon is full - it lights everything in an unearthly blue glow. The forests
stretch on for miles (sorry, kilometers), and the noises you hear in the dead
of night...aren't ever human.
Me: You also illustrated Red
Hill Billy. How would you describe your art style in the book?
Armstrong: Because the story is very violent (i.e. little children
getting eaten whole), I changed my art to a more "cartoon-y" style to
lessen the blow to the reader. I want to scare people, not make them barf, so I
leaned more towards a Humberto Ramos style and less towards Brian Hitch. When I
hired Sigmund Torre to color the book, he brought the bright cartoon-y palette
with him to help what I was trying to achieve.
Me: If you went toe-to-claw
with your werewolves, what would your strategy be?
 |
| Red Hill Billy "Eh" Cover |
Armstrong: Run far and run fast. Preferably to another continent. Or
space (hmmm...werewolves in space – where the moon is ALWAYS full...). The kids
in Red Hill Billy are WAAAAY braver than I am. My favorite characters are the
ones who exemplify the traits I wished I had more of.
Me: What inspirational words
do you have for aspiring comic book writers?
Armstrong: If you get frustrated with what you're writing, just blast
through it, head down. Get down what you can, get to that finish line, and then
walk away. After a thousand re-writes, you will find the voice you were looking
for. And love what you do, because creating worlds is the best kind of fun.
Me: What inspirational words
do you have for aspiring comic book artists?
Armstrong: If you are constantly drawing, you're doing better than 90%
of the "artists" out there. You're ahead of the game. Draw until your
fingers bleed, draw with every breath you take in, dream about drawing. In
time, your passion will be undeniable and you will find your own
"success".
Me: Thanks for your tips Robbie! Best of luck with Red Hill Billy: Red Hill Rising.
Do you have a
Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have it showcased on
“Kickstart the Week?” Let me know in the comments below or message me on my
personal website www.comicmaven.com.
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