Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Brooklyn Blood
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 10/21/1956
WEBSITE: http://paullevitz.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 96034977
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n96034977
HEADING: Levitz, Paul
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PERSONAL
Born October 21, 1956; married Jeanette Cusimano; children: Nicole, Philip, Garret.
EDUCATION:Attended New York University.
ADDRESS
CAREER
DC Comics, New York, NY, freelance contributor, 1972-76, editor, Adventure Comics, beginning 1976, editor, Batman comics, beginning 1978, became vice president, executive vice president, president, 2002-09, contributing editor and consultant, DC Entertainment. Member of board of directors, Boom! Studios, 2014–, and Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Instructor, Princeton University, Columbia University, and Manhattanville College; David Pecker Distinguished Visiting Professor, Pace University, 2014-15.
AWARDS:Inkpot Award, Comic-con International, 2002; Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, 2008; Comics Industry Appreciation Award, ComicsPro, 2010; Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award, Hero Initiative, 2013; Eagle Award, Peng Pris, and Eisner Award for best comics-related book, all for 75 Years of DC Comics.
WRITINGS
Also author of or contributor to comics series and titles, including Adventure Comics, All New Atom, All Star Comics, Batman Black and White, Batman Family, Batman, Batman: Gotham Knights, Cosmic Boy, DC Challenge, DC Comics Presents, DC Comics Presents: Superman, DC Special Series, DC Special, DC Super Stars, Detective Comics, Doctor Fate, Earth 2, Ghosts, Heroes Against Hunger, House of Mystery, Huntress vol. 3, Joe Kubert Presents, JSA, Justice League of America, Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth, Karate Kid, Legends of the DC Universe 80-Page Giant, Legion of Substitute Heroes Special, Legion of Super-Heroes, Legion: Secret Origin, Mystery in Space, New Teen Titans, Phantom Stranger, Saga of the Swamp Thing (Phantom Stranger), Secret Origins, Showcase, Stalker, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, Superman Family, Superman, Superman/Batman, Tales of Ghost Castle, Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Teen Titans, Time Warp, Weird Mystery Tales, Wonder Woman, and Worlds’ Finest. Editor, Comics Reader.
SIDELIGHTS
By the time Paul Levitz became president of DC Comics in 2002—a position he held for the next seven years—he had already worked for the publishing giant for three decades as a writer and editor on such prestigious titles as Adventure Comics, Detective Comics, Batman, Superman, and Legion of Super-heroes. After leaving the corporation he began a second career in higher education, serving as an instructor at Columbia and Princeton Universities. He also began writing again, and he counts among his publications a history of the corporation he headed (75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking), and a biography of the comics artist who virtually created the graphic novel (Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel), as well as his own comic book Brooklyn Blood.
Among the courses Levitz teaches are classes in the history and composition of comic books. He is listed as a coauthor of The Power of Comics: History, Form, and Culture, one of the foremost textbooks on comics. In addition, his 75 Years of DC Comics places comic books in their historical and cultural context. The work, stated Peter Hoskin in the Spectator, “is a reminder that comic books are–like Las Vegas, or Disneyland–the American Dream at its boldest and brashest.” The biography Will Eisner tells the story of the 1940s-era comics artist who made a significant comeback in the 1980s, popularized the graphic novel, and had one of comicdom’s most prestigious prizes named after him. “Eisner’s story is best told, and the book dominated,” declared Booklist reviewer Gordon Flagg, “by the generous reproductions of his artwork.”
Levitz’s Brooklyn Blood is a very different sort of story from the ones the author introduced in comics like Batman and Legion of Super-heroes. “Previously serialized in the pages of Dark Horse Presents, Brooklyn Blood is a murder mystery that casts the parts of New York tourists don’t always see, as an invaluable character,” wrote Davey Nieves in the introduction to an interview with the author in Comics Beat. “Told through the PTSD suffering eyes of detective Billy O’Connor, the war veteran must investigate a series of grizzly almost occult murders. Billy’s debilitating illness goes at odds with reality as the investigation causes Billy and the audience to question his grasp on reality. Can O’Connor overcome his demons in order to save lives hanging in the balance? It’s a rewarding answer to find out.” “This comic has a Ghostbusters vibe I couldn’t quite shake off,” said Mariana Ruiz in Geek Dad. “I had to read it to the last, to seize and see the inhabitant of Hells gate.
Critics note that Brooklyn Blood uses its setting almost as a secondary character in Levitz’s novel. “This story began with thinking about doing a mystery set in my old hometown of Brooklyn,” Levitz told an Impulse Gamer interviewer, “and realizing that some of the worst mass deaths in NY history all happened pretty close together. That gave me a location and a framework, and I built out from there. Before scripting the chapters, I had built a little matrix of the plot developments by character and chapter, and that was the skeleton we worked from, though things evolved, naturally.” “I was interested in doing a mystery story set in New York, to take advantage of my knowledge of the place and the fact that it’s a destination that people are interested… and particularly Brooklyn seemed appropriate, given how cool it’s become (somehow),” the author stated in an interview with Barbra Dillon appearing in Fanbase Press. “Brooklyn Blood really benefits from both creators having a strong connection to its setting, as besides Billy and Hasan, the city itself almost functions as a third character,” declared Jaap Van der Doelen in Adventures in Poor Taste. “Ultimately though, the story is as much about the case as it is about Billy’s psychological wounds, and the surprisingly Lovecraftian way he starts upon a path towards healing them.” “‘I hope people who enjoy reading mysteries will find this a fun read, and I think it’s got some added satisfaction to offer as a layer cake with a surprising ingredient or two,’ he said,” reported Alexandra Simon in the Brooklyn Paper. Levitz, stated a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “brings his imaginative storytelling skills here to the portrayal of ordinary humans in a recognizably modern world.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2016, Gordon Flagg, review of Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel, p. 43.
Publishers Weekly, May 7, 2018, review of Brooklyn Blood, p. 54.
Spectator, January 29, 2011, Peter Hoskin, review of 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking, p. 41.
Vanity Fair, November, 2010, H. Scott Jolley, “Hero Worship,” p. 100.
ONLINE
Adventures in Poor Taste, http://www.adventuresinpoortaste.com/ (July 27, 2018), Jaap Van der Doelen, “Paul Levitz on Walking Wounded and ‘Brooklyn Blood.’”
Brooklyn Paper, https://www.brooklynpaper.com/ (July 25, 2018), Alexandra Simon, “Graphic Violence: Famed Comic Book Writer Pens ‘Brooklyn Blood.’”
Comics Beat, http://www.comicsbeat.com/ (July 16, 2018), Davey Nieves, “Interview: Paul Levitz on Stepping out of the Comfort Zone with Brooklyn Blood and His Thoughts on This Weekend’s Eisner Awards.”
Fanbase Press, http://fanbasepress.com/ (July 17, 2018), Barbra Dillon, author interview.
Geek Dad, https://geekdad.com/ (July 25, 2017), Mariana Ruiz, “‘Brooklyn Blood:’ A Tour de Force around Brooklyn.”
Horror News Network, https://www.horrornewsnetwork.net/ (July 27, 2017), Nick Banks, “‘Brooklyn Blood’ Author Paul Levitz: The Horror News Network Interview.”
Impulse Gamer, http://www.impulsegamer.com/ (October 24, 2018), author interview.
Paul Levitz website, http://paullevitz.com (October 24, 2018), author profile.
As an executive, he led the DC Comics division of Time Warner as its senior business officer for three decades, and ultimately as President & Publisher from 2002-2009. During that time, he was intimately involved in growing the company into a cultural force with media successes as diverse as the highest grossing comic book film ever (THE DARK KNIGHT), the longest running comic book television series (SMALLVILLE), establishing the graphic novel as one of print publishing’s few success stories of the new century, and extending the life and reach of its classic franchises in multiple media and industries through licensing, as well as acquiring and building new properties. His responsibilities included interacting with senior executives of the division’s partners, including Hasbro, Mattel, General Motors, Random House, Hachette, Summit Entertainment, and virtually all divisions of Time Warner.
As a creative figure, he began as an entrepreneur in high school as editor/publisher of The Comic Reader, the first mass-circulation fanzine devoted to comics news, winning two consecutive annual Comic Art Fan Awards for Best Fanzine. He went on to write over 400 stories of iconic characters including Superman and Batman, with sales of over 25 million copies, and translations into over 20 languages. His stories have been compiled in 22 graphic novel editions, three of which have appeared on The New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller list. One of his 9-11 response stories was exhibited at the Library of Congress, and the television series BIRDS OF PREY was partially based on his stories.
His book, 75 YEARS OF DC COMICS: THE ART OF MODERN MYTHMAKING (Taschen, 2010) won the U.K.’s Eagle Award for Favourite Comics-Related Book, Munich’s Peng Pris and the Eisner Awards for Best Comics-Related Book in the U.S. The $200 book went to a second printing, and he has revised and abridged it for a series from Taschen, beginning with THE GOLDEN AGE OF DC COMICS, THE SILVER AGE OF DC COMICS, and THE BRONZE AGE OF DC COMICS.
His newest book, WILL EISNER: CHAMPION OF THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, was published by Abrams ComicArts in November, 2015.
Levitz retired from his position leading DC Comics in 2009, to concentrate on his writing, and to begin a career as an educator. He has taught courses in Transmedia and the American Graphic Novel at Columbia University, publishing business in Pace University’s graduate school, and writing in Manhattanville College’s undergraduate program. For the 2014/2105 term, he was the David Pecker Distinguished Visiting Professor at Pace University’s M.S. in Publishing program. He is a co-author of the second edition of THE POWER OF COMICS (Bloomsbury, 2015) with Randy Duncan and Matthew Smith, the first college level text for comic studies.
He continues to work in the comics field by serving on the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund along with other major creative and business figures in comics,and of Boom! Studios, a leading independent comics publisher. He continues to consult for Warner Bros. and other companies.
As a public speaker, Levitz has delivered keynotes at the places as diverse as the Frankfurt Book Fair, Jupiter’s Digital Kids Conference, and Comic-con International in San Diego, as well as speaking at venues as diverse as Google, M.I.T. and Lucca’s Comics and Games Festival. He has been profiled in The New York Times Arts section, interviewed on NPR’s On Point, and in every media vehicle that covers comics regularly.
Levitz has three children from his marriage to Jeanette Cusimano: Nicole (an executive in the public health field), Philip (a lawyer at a Washington firm), and Garret (beginning his career in entertainment).
ADVISORY AND CONSULTANCY
Levitz continues to serve as an advisor to Warner Bros. He is on the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the industry’s First Amendment not-for-profit and he served on the board of the trade association of comic book publishers for 20 years, and was its President for a decade. Outside comics, Levitz served as Warner Communications’ representative on the board of VISTA.
In 2011, he was guest of honor at the Singapore Toy, Comics & Games Show. He has been profiled in The New York Times Arts section, interviewed on NPR’s On Point, and in every media vehicle that covers comics regularly and in 2015 he was again a "Special Guest" at Comic-con International in San Diego, with a spotlight panel on his work. He has done consulting work in media, digital applications, and publishing.
AWARDS AND HONORS
His most recent book, 75 YEARS OF DC COMICS: THE ART OF MODERN MYTHMAKING (Taschen, 2010) won the U.K.’s Eagle Award for Favourite Comics-Related Book, Munich’s Peng Pris and the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book in the U.S.
He received Comic-con International’s Inkpot Award in 2002, the prestigious Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award in 2008, the first Comics Industry Appreciation Award from ComicsPro (the trade association of comic shop retailers) in 2010, and the Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award from the Hero Initiative in 2013.
INTERVIEW: Paul Levitz on Stepping Out of The Comfort Zone With BROOKLYN BLOOD and His Thoughts on This Weekend’s Eisner Awards
07/16/2018 3:30 PM BY DAVEY NIEVES
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This is the biggest week in the industry, not just because over 100k people are going to converge on the surface of the sun in San Diego for Comic-Con, but the most prestigious awards in the industry takes place as The Eisner Awards honor the best in comics present and past. Someone who embodies both tenses is Paul Levitz. The former publisher of DC Comics has had a major influence on the course of the industry and still creates excitement through story to this day. This week, Dark Horse Comics collect’s Paul Levitz hard-hitting supernatural crime drama Brooklyn Blood.
Previously serialized in the pages of Dark Horse Presents, Brooklyn Blood is a murder mystery that casts the parts of New York tourists don’t always see, as an invaluable character. Told through the PTSD suffering eyes of detective Billy O’Connor, the war veteran must investigate a series of grizzly almost occult murders. Billy’s debilitating illness goes at odds with reality as the investigation causes Billy and the audience to question his grasp on reality. Can O’Connor overcome his demons in order to save lives hanging in the balance? It’s a rewarding answer to find out if you missed Brooklyn Blood the first time around. We got to find out Paul Levitz’s thoughts on continuing to write comics and the excitement leading into this weekend’s Eisner Awards.
COMICS BEAT: Over your decades in the comics industry, you’ve been known mostly for superhero books. As a storyteller was Brooklyn Blood a challenge you put on yourself or was this a tale you always wanted to tell?
PAUL LEVITZ: On some level it was a challenge–stretching always is–but mostly it was taking advantage of the expanded range of possibilities for graphic novels to do something in a genre (police procedurals/mysteries) that I’ve loved since childhood, and wasn’t available to me during most of my writing career at DC.
COMICS BEAT: Much of the New York we get to see in the book isn’t the tourism commercial some stories tell, it shows a deeply personal side of the island. The nods to incidents like the Miller Field crash give this story an eerie layer I can’t remember feeling in any other book. Being from New York, how were you exposed to stories of horrible incidents like that?
PAUL LEVITZ: It amazes me how oblivious I was as a child, not simply to disasters like the plane crash, but to much of what was going on at the time in NY and the country (the civil rights struggles of the time, Vietnam). Although I read the NY Times student edition that came out every week (basically the old ‘Week In Review’ slightly reconfigured for classrooms), somehow I was immunized to many traumas around me. As I got older, and learned more about the city’s history, the rich layers of it fascinated me.
COMICS BEAT: Billy O’ Connor suffers from a mental illness that according to the latest figure, nearly 8% of the population experiences. It’s handled quite amicably in this story, defining Billy without dehumanizing him. As a storyteller, how do you approach potential hot-button traits in characters?
PAUL LEVITZ: The experiences that we’ve had, good and ill, are a major part of what defines us as people, and for characters nurture (experience) has to win over nature (genetics) since there’s no real biological history. I always look at the lives my characters lived to shape them, and based on the little I know of the military experience (in Afghanistan or elsewhere), it’s a powerful thread that shouldn’t be ignored.
COMICS BEAT: Finally, with SDCC approaching and you being on the short-list for the Eisner Hall of Fame Award, I wanted to get your thoughts going into next weekend. To someone who’s had every job from creative to business and had a hand in the careers of creators such as Byrne, Perez, Moore, and Wolfman; what would being recognized in the Eisner’s Hall of Fame mean to you and the legacy you’ve left on the comic book industry?
PAUL LEVITZ: I’m incredibly honored to be nominated and on a list with Thomas Nast??? How in the world do I belong with the man who defined American images of Santa Claus, the political parties and so much more. While I don’t expect to be elected, if I ever do make the HOF, it would be a wonderful honor to join so many of my mentors, friends and heroes who are already in it. I had the great luck to come into the industry when I could learn from so many people who are now in the HOF (I’ve described it previously as the equivalent of having been the batboy to the Yankee’s Murderers’ Row).
I never expected my stories to still be read decades later–it wasn’t how the field worked when I came in–and my legacy on the business side of having seen comics grown into a new golden age, with creators being deservedly valued and celebrated as never before, and the graphic novel format so successful, brings me great joy. I’ll leave it to the historians to debate my exact role in both those developments, but they were goals I worked for, and I’m pleased to have played a part in them happening. It’s been an amazing journey, and I hope it’s not over yet.
With luck, BROOKLYN BLOOD will remind people to think of me in the present tense.
COMICS BEAT: Best to you at the awards this week and everyone should go and check out Brooklyn Blood, available in comic book stores this week.
Paul Levitz on walking wounded and ‘Brooklyn Blood’
Jaap Van der DoelenJAAP VAN DER DOELENJULY 27, 2018COMIC BOOKSINTERVIEWS
The ‘Brooklyn Blood’ writer talks turning thought to art, the importance of Brooklyn in American history, and writing in a serialized format.
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“I got Brooklyn in my blood, but it sure as hell isn’t this Brooklyn”, thinks Billy O’Connor walking the streets of his hometown on Brooklyn Blood‘s first page. The grizzled NYPD detective barely recognizes the place he left behind for his military career, and has a hard time carrying the psychological wounds he earned for his service. He’s suffering from flashbacks, while he and his partner Hasan are trying to solve the increasingly unsettling case of a serial killer roaming the streets of Brooklyn. A case in which something otherworldly seems to be involved, something that somehow seems to be connected to Billy’s unresolved trauma…
Brooklyn Blood | Paul Levitz & Tim Hamilton - book cover
The jarring feeling Billy encounters walking along Brooklyn’s brownstones wasn’t unfamiliar to Paul Levitz, the writer of Brooklyn Blood. “We worked so hard to get out of Brooklyn, why are you going back there?”, the writer, editor and former president of DC Comics said to his daughter, a little over ten years ago. “It’s not the same place, dad”, she replied. And even though Levitz was unsure about the answer she gave him regarding the place he had left forty years prior, he would soon find out how right she was.
“Historically, Brooklyn has been an immigration gateway into New York. There was a time when–I don’t know the exact statistic, but it was amazing–something like 25% of all people in America had at least one grandparent who’d lived in Brooklyn for a while”, Levitz explains. “That’s still going on; there’s still a large chunk of Brooklyn that’s immigrant families and first generation families. Adopting and adapting those people’s lives into the American culture and economy, that’s been a great source of its success over the years.”
But what wasn’t there when he was a kid are the many young freelancers carving out a living in Brooklyn: “You have this astounding concentration of young people, who’ve been participating in the gig economy. Who’re creative in both business and artistic ways, and who’ve been making very modern lifestyles for themselves. And I don’t think there’s ever been a concentration like that happening before, at least not in America. It’s absolutely fascinating to watch.”
“You walk around and it isn’t the same place. In a lot of ways it’s massively better, but it’s sort of ‘where is this thing I remember?’ There’s a little bit of that in Billy”, Levitz says. But Billy isn’t just struggling with adapting to changes in his hometown. “We’ve had a lot of men and women come home from military service in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, …messed up”, he explains, weighing his words carefully. “We’ve devoted way too little resources to reintegrating them into society. The amount of support the government provides is pretty modest compared to the size of the problem. A lot of people transition wonderfully and have terrific lives, and that’s great. But there are a lot of walking wounded out there. And they’re not ready to lead ordinary civilian lives.”
Brooklyn Blood | Paul Levitz & Tim Hamilton - Billy is slipping away
One of those walking wounded is his protagonist in Brooklyn Blood, who stumbles into a murder mystery tied to the occult, and some bloody occurrences in Brooklyn’s rich history. Explaining how it all ties together would spoil the story, but suffice to say, Levitz had a great time reverse-engineering the mystery around these pieces of real-life history: “Mystery stories are stories whose fundamental reward to the reader is the puzzle. Some readers like to try and solve the puzzle before the author reveals it, some just like to read along and go ‘that was intricate, that was cool. I didn’t see it coming!’ But from a writer’s standpoint, it’s ‘how do I put really interesting pieces of the puzzle into the box?’ In the beginning there’s no picture on the box, there’s no full answer, so what can I put here that will make this an interesting journey?”
His collaborator on that journey had a strong hand in that as well, as fellow Brooklynite Tim Hamilton took on the art for the book. “We began with conversations to see if Tim was interested in doing it. He was. We talked about different locales, talked about principles, so he could think about designing them. Then I wrote a full script for the first eight page chapter.” The supplemental material in its back reveals Hamilton received those full scripts, but started sketching them in pencil in a much looser approach: “I often draw ideas first without trying to ‘fit’ them into the page. I find that trying to fit all my ideas in at step one unconsciously restricts interesting solutions. After I have some ideas I like, I then see if they’ll fit.”
Levitz: “In several instances when Tim got the script he said ‘This is fine, but can I do it this other way?’ And usually I was enthusiastic about whatever he wanted, because he has an interesting visual imagination. There were some scenes, particularly the ghost train scene, where Tim just took it a way that not only could I not visualize to ask an artist to do, but I’m not sure how to describe it, even if I had the concept in my head. And it worked wonderfully.”
Brooklyn Blood | Paul Levitz & Tim Hamilton - Ghost train scene
In the scene, one character sees a regular train, while another sees a horrid, decrepit train full of ghouls. The moving train is built up in comic panels, alternating between the two views. “It’s a really lovely use of the medium”, Levitz rightfully assesses. “We went back and forth on ideas, some of the things he offered helped modify things at the ending along the way. Comics are a wonderful collaborative medium, and it was great to have someone raising suggestions.”
Brooklyn Blood really benefits from both creators having a strong connection to its setting, as besides Billy and Hasan, the city itself almost functions as a third character. The distinctive brick houses, their stairways and porches, its parks and streets, will all feel instantly recognizable to anyone who’s ever walked along them. But among the thick patches of black, Tim Hamilton colors his own organic line work with a muted color palette full of pale yellows, sickly greens and unnerving purples, giving the city an eerie look that serves the story well.
It’s further enhanced by its breakneck pace; a direct result of being serialized in eight page chapters in Dark Horse Presents before being collected as a graphic novel. “I think there’s a great plus in setting constraints and parameters for a work, whether it’s in comics; deciding you’re going to work with the nine-panel grid for a story, or the constraints that length puts to you”, Levitz says. “The need to tell the story in eight page chunks gave it a certain velocity that I think was interesting.”
“There were some scenes where Tim just took it a way that not only could I not visualize … but I’m not sure how to describe it, even if I had the concept in my head. And it worked wonderfully.”
“It probably moves faster than it would have, if I’d written it as a standalone graphic novel”, he reflects. “There are some things I could’ve done with that, that may have made it better or more interesting, like breaking for a crime report for a page or two or something like that. But, I think the relentlessness of having to have meat in every eight pages; to have a punchline to the end of every eight pages; it has to move forward; you gotta see all the characters you’ve already introduced within those eight pages; that discipline, was a very healthy addition to the final work.”
Ultimately though, the story is as much about the case as it is about Billy’s psychological wounds, and the surprisingly Lovecraftian way he starts upon a path towards healing them. “I think Billy has a combination of issues; even if Brooklyn had been more familiar to him coming back, and it certainly seems to have been jarring to him, he would still be having problems to live a “normal life””, Levitz says. “Following that journey should be an interesting story. It’s certainly not a complete journey in this one graphic novel, but hopefully I’ve presented a relatively sympathetic and meaningful portrayal of him.”
PAUL LEVITZ & TIM HAMILTON INTERVIEW – BROOKLYN BLOOD
This month Dark Horse Books will collects all sixteen chapters of Brooklyn Blood in a single volume for the first time. Originally published and serialized in Dark Horse Presents, Brooklyn Blood marks the first collaboration for Levitz and Hamilton. The trade paperback of Brooklyn Blood will feature the complete story, as well historical notes by Levitz and never before seen sketches and layouts by Hamilton.
Impulse Gamer recently chatted with Paul and Tim about the Brooklyn Blood, where we discussed their creative process, personal highlights and much more!
For those unfamiliar with what Brooklyn Blood is about, can you give us a little rundown of the plot and introduce the key players?
Paul: Brooklyn Blood is a graphic novel that’s a police procedural with supernatural overtones, telling the story of Detective Billy O’Connor’s quest to solve a series of serial killings in Brooklyn. It mixes in bits of New York (and particularly) Brooklyn history, with O’Connor’s PTSD from his service in Afghanistan, a touch of Lovecraft.
The Brooklyn Blood TPB collects all sixteen chapters of this tale that were originally published in Dark Horse Presents. What are your personal thoughts on reaching this point as a creative team?
Tim: If you mean getting it published in one big book, it’s amazing! It’s always amazing when something you create gets into print. Creating a book of any kind is a lot of work and every time something I worked on becomes a book, I look at it and say, “I drew that? That looks difficult! How did I, or we, create that?”
Paul: Reading a mystery story as a serial is tough, even though many of the original Sherlock Holmes stories were published that way (among others, obviously). I’m really happy to have the story together in a single volume, and I hope it’ll attract a wider range of crossover readers than we could get in DHP.
This is a complicated and layered story. How do you begin the whole process of crafting such a complex tale?
Paul: There’s a million ways to plot. This story began with thinking about doing a mystery set in my old hometown of Brooklyn, and realizing that some of the worst mass deaths in NY history all happened pretty close together. That gave me a location and a framework, and I built out from there. Before scripting the chapters, I had built a little matrix of the plot developments by character and chapter, and that was the skeleton we worked from, though things evolved, naturally.
What has been the most rewarding part of working on Brooklyn Blood for you both, and what part of this venture has given you the most satisfaction?
Paul: For me, it was the chance to do something wholly original, and in a genre I’ve loved reading since I was a child. Most of my work has been with pre-existing characters and worlds, which is fun, but self-defining. Here I had to pick all the elements (either with Tim or individually) and make a fresh world out of them, even though it’s set in the ‘real’ world.
Tim: Every project is different. This project allowed me to do some noir-like art that really excites me. Also, I gravitate towards new projects which allow me to create rather than re-create an existing property. I illustrated and colored this book for better or for worse. I actually always struggle with colors but like to have control over how a book looks if I work on it. Dark Horse was very accommodating as far as that went.
Tim, I was wondering whether you could tell us a little bit about your creative process when tackling a story like this?
Tim: It depends what I’m working on. I grab art books when I work on new projects! Books with German printmaking and people like Kathe Kollwitz influenced this book. Also comic artists like Jose Munoz influenced my work on this book. I was looking at work like that obviously because this story was dark and moody. My tiny thumbnails are full of black shapes I make with markers!
Beyond that, Paul would send a complete script with panels, but he let me, or he accepted that, I would, alter his layout if I felt it worked better the way I saw it in my head. He seemed okay with that! I hope! I also had some input with the story as it unfolded. It was a fairly organic process.
Paul: I’ll just add that it’s more than accepted–for me, part of the joy of comics is the collaborative process. I could never have envision what Tim did with, say, the the subway ghost train scene. It matches the narrative I had built, but in a wonderful and unique way.
From an artist’s perspective, can you describe your typical work routine – how often do you draw – how many hours per day?
Tim: Oh jeez! It’s different all the time. As a freelancer, sometimes I will be working all day in a frenzy and then part of the night in a frenzy! And if you’re not work in a frenzy, you worry because you have no work to be in a frenzy about! When I do cartoons for the New Yorker, I draw up (hopefully) 5-8 gags to submit every week or so. I have to sketch my ideas all week, and then sit and make them legible for the editors. That’s a lot of time spent to maybe sell a cartoon. I have hundreds of rejected cartoons, and only 6 that I sold. But basically, I get up with my wife and dog at 6:30 or so like many people and start working after breakfast. If there is no frenzy, then I’m working on children’s books I’m pitching while I wait to hear if the pitch I sent last month will find a home.
Did you find that you encountered any challenges when trying to visually balance the light and dark elements of this story?
Tim: No. No, that’s the challenge of most comics drawn in ink. This one was no different!
The main protagonist, Billy, has recently come back from the war in Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD. Were there any difficulties when trying to capture the trauma and emotion in a realistic and believable way?
Paul: Readers will have to tell me if it’s believable (and obviously some parts aren’t intended to be realistic). I hope I made it respectful of the massive burden we’ve placed on so many of our returning servicemen, who we really don’t do enough to help.
What can fans expect from you both next?
Paul: Haven’t announced the next writing project for Dark Horse yet, but just saw the first book of art and I’m thrilled. And DC hasn’t announced the next project i’m doing for them, either, but there’s one I’ve been working on for a while. Plus loads of teaching, and thinking about my next major book project. And enjoying a brand-new grandson!
Tim: New Yorker cartoons.
Children’s books.
My own self published comic Rabbit Who Fights can be found here:
https://gumroad.com/timhamiltonrwf
BROOKLYN BLOOD TPB will be available for purchase from July 18, 2018.
‘Brooklyn Blood’ Author Paul Levitz: The Horror News Network Interview
July 27, 2018/0 Comments/in Horror Comics, News /by Nick Banks
Anyone who has been reading comics for the past 40 years is familiar with name Paul Levitz, especially if you are a fan of DC Comics. Levitz has worked at DC in the capacity of an editor, publisher, and president, but for fans, we know him as the writer responsible for legendary runs on The Justice Society of America and The Legion of Super Heroes.
Even though Levitz is best know for his work in the super hero genre, his most recent graphic novel Brooklyn Blood (published by Dark Horse Comics) is changing this perspective. Set in a gritty, realistic world of procedural dramas, gangland violence, and the supernatural, Brooklyn Blood is a story that fans of horror and crime comics will certainly relish. HNN had the pleasure of speaking with Levitz about his new story, as well as some find reminiscences from the past in this exclusive interview.
Horror News Network: Where did the idea for Brooklyn Blood originate?
Paul Levitz: I wanted to do a police procedural, a genre I always enjoyed, and Brooklyn felt like a natural setting as the place where I grew up, and now a cool locale. The story idea itself came from thinking about Brooklyn history, and wondering why three of the city’s nastiest mass deaths happened within about a single mile-long stretch.
HNN: Was it any different in terms of scripting for the original serial-episodic format of Brooklyn Blood?
Levitz: The serialized format paced the story differently than almost anything I’ve previously done (there was a Starman series I did with Steve Ditko that was also 8 pages a month, but the subject matter and assumed audience was very different). I think it made for a particularly fast-moving story, which works well for this genre.
HNN: What can you tell us about working with Tim Hamilton?
Levitz: Tim did a wonderful job on the project, capturing the feel of Brooklyn in an impressionistic way, and brining the supernatural elements to life very powerfully. The transitions between reality, O’Connor’s hallucinations, and unreality were an artistic challenge, and Tim came up with grew visual solutions that made for smooth storytelling. He also kibitzed well on the story itself, adding little touches and helping make the ending work.
HNN: How did you balance the horror and noir elements in the story?
Levitz: Well, I guess it’s a process of acceleration. The story starts in a very realistic mode, and as it goes along, the horror side becomes more and more present until it dominates.
HNN: You grew up in Brooklyn, so how is the borough itself a character in this story?
Levitz: Brooklyn’s an aspirational place now, so it’s easy to attract attention to it. Is it a character? Not as much as a fantasy city like the Emerald CIty, but it certainly has a personality of its own: striving, a bit pushy, too busy to pay much attention to its own history?
HNN: Many of us have fond memories of your work on Legion of Super Heroes. What are your memories of the stories that you wrote in that era?
Levitz: I’m so pleased that people remember so much of my work fondly, especially the Legion. I’m very proud of my ’80s run on the series and the recognition it’s gotten. If you had told me when I was writing it that much of the series would be in print over 30 years later I’d have laughed. I hate great collaborators (Keith Giffen, Steve Lightle, Greg LaRogue and so many others) and the now official Hall of Fame editor Karen Berger. How could we go wrong?
HNN: Any upcoming projects that we should be aware of?
Levitz: No announcements today, but stay tuned.
Brooklyn Blood goes on sale on July 31 at finer comic book and book stores everywhere.
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WRITTEN BY BARBRA DILLON, FANBASE PRESS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
TUESDAY, 17 JULY 2018 15:34 READ 562 TIMES
FANBASE PRESS INTERVIEWS PAUL LEVITZ AND TIM HAMILTON ON THE RETURN OF ‘BROOKLYN BLOOD’
Fanbase Press Interviews Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton on the Return of ‘Brooklyn Blood’
The following is an interview with writer Paul Levitz and artist Tim Hamilton regarding the upcoming release of the collected version of Brooklyn Blood. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Levitz and Hamilton regarding the original inspiration behind the supernatural noir series, their shared creative process, what the collected edition will have in store for readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of the collected version of Brooklyn Blood! Looking back to the series’ original release through Dark Horse Presents, it seemed to be a perfect combination of your love of detective stories and your historical (and personal) knowledge of Brooklyn. What originally inspired you to tell this story, and what did you hope that readers would take away from the series?
Paul Levitz: I was interested in doing a mystery story set in New York, to take advantage of my knowledge of the place and the fact that it’s a destination that people are interested...and particularly Brooklyn seemed appropriate, given how cool it’s become (somehow). It’s not a story with a deep political message, so mostly I hope people find it entertaining, and find the glimpses into a few people’s lives interesting.
BD: Tim, how did you come to work together with Paul on Brooklyn Blood, and what initially intrigued you about taking on a supernatural noir tale, especially as you were living in Brooklyn while working on the series?
Tim Hamilton: I came to work on this because Christine Norrie suggested me to Paul. (Thanks, Christine!) At least, that’s what Paul said. I am not drawn to everything supernatural like some people. I find every job intriguing for different reasons. This job first appeared in Dark Horse Presents and allowed me to illustrate 8 pages a month while I had other work to do. Also, I was able to create most all of the visual elements. Also, I like working for Dark Horse! Creating is what excites me. I’m a person who gets bored drawing other people’s creations. I drew an Alien mini series for Dark Horse way back in the '90s. I was young and needed work and did the job as best I could, but soon found I was uninterested in drawing a creature created by someone else. And yes, I have lived in Brooklyn since 1998.
BD: How would you describe your shared creative process when the series was first released, issue to issue, through Dark Horse Presents?
PL: We talked about the idea I had for the series, and Tim added some thoughts about where he felt it might go. Then, I structured the plot using a grid system for the development of each character and major plot element, since the format Dark Horse wanted us to produce in was intrinsically challenging for a mystery. Each chapter became a traditional full script, but, occasionally, Tim felt there were opportunities to play with what I’d written, and we discussed what changes might benefit it. In particular, as we approached the end of the series, Tim had some fun ideas that we incorporated, stretching from the original 15 chapter target to 16.
TH: Yes, what Paul said! He did work in full script, but for me to design the page or tell the story, I, at times, ignored his panel layout. Mostly in small ways that were easy to work around. I saw opportunities to carry some elements from one chapter to the next and added a few details I’m blanking on now! That was two years ago!
BD: Tim, did you have a specific art style in mind when you first read the concept for the series, or do you feel that your design evolved over time after working through the script with Paul?
TH: I get bored. I illustrate gag cartoons, children’s books, and love life drawing! Thus, my art is always changing depending on what I work on.
For this story I did look at artists like Kathe Kollwitz, some block prints, and comic artist José Muñoz. I look at a variety so as not to “imitate” any one artist too much. I knew from the start there would be a lot of ink on the page! I attempted to keep the art consistent, but it evolved a bit. It always happens!
BD: The collected trade paperback of Brooklyn Blood will feature your initial story notes and character designs for the project. What was your experience in revisiting the material for the upcoming release, and what do you feel that readers will most enjoy about the added content?
PL: Mercifully, there wasn’t much revision needed, which in a mystery story like this is a real sigh of relief (whew...the clues/elements actually lined up much as planned). For my part, the added material was basically a historical note, kind of a guide to where to learn more about the incorporated historic elements. From Tim’s side, the included sketches and the like are always good for people to see something about artistic process, which is an amazing mystery to those of us who can’t draw no matter how many artists we hang around with.
TH: I always enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes when I was young! Granted, there was no Internet back then. How comics got made was a complete mystery to me! I remember that Batman Hulk company crossover that Garcia Lopez drew when I was young. It had all of the rejected cover sketches that Garcia drew in the back. I remember wondering how it was possible he drew cover ideas that were rejected. I hope some young person reading the book gets to see how my art was perfect from the start! Did Paul edit that Batman Hulk book? I forget.
BD: Are there any upcoming projects on which you are currently working that you would like to share with our readers?
TH: I self publish my own anthology called Rabbit Who Fights. It’s part sci-fi and part humorous cartoons. You can read more about it here. I’ve also written and illustrated children’s books and am pitching a new one which means I’m waiting to hear if anyone will buy it while I work on the next pitch!
PL: Stay tuned. It’s too early to say, but definitely stay tuned.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Brooklyn Blood and your other work?
PL: I’m trying to use my website, paullevitz.com, more energetically and will keep posting about new projects there and on my Facebook page.
TH: Find me at my website.
Buy my book, Rabbit Who Fights, at Gumroad.
Follow me on Twitter, @TmoneyHamilton.
Give me money on Patreon.
More about how I drew Brooklyn Blood from start to finish is available here.
And Instagram.
July 25, 2018 / GO Brooklyn / Crown Heights / Books
Graphic violence: Famed comic book writer pens ‘Brooklyn Blood’
BY ALEXANDRA SIMON
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Homegrown tale: Former president of DC Comics and Brooklyn native Paul Levitz returns to comics with “Brooklyn Blood,” a graphic novel about a Brooklyn detective solving occult murders.
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Brooklyn is in his blood!
A Brooklyn native who has worked with high-flying heroes Superman, Batman, and the futuristic Legion of Superheroes comes down to earth with his latest comic book, a supernatural police procedural set in the County of Kings. Paul Levitz, who was the publisher of DC Comics from 1989 to 2009, will celebrate the release of “Brooklyn Blood” at Anyone Comics in Crown Heights on July 27. The comic book writer, editor, and publisher grew up in East Flatbush, and says that after years dealing with aliens and alternative universes, he was ready to write a story about his hometown.
“I wanted to do a police procedural — a form I love reading — and Brooklyn was a natural setting as someplace I knew well and that was now officially cool,” said Levitz. “The time is contemporary, maybe a couple of years ago when I started it.”
The comic follows Detective Billy O’Connor, a Brooklyn cop who has recently returned from Afghanistan and suffers from traumatic memories and hallucinations. After he begins investigating a series of occult murders, he finds it difficult to tell the difference between his visions and the bizarre reality he comes across.
Levitz wove stories of deadly events from Brooklyn’s past into story, enough to make readers’ blood run cold.
“The history of Brooklyn and its recent changes are a big part of the texture of the story,” he said. “If you’re interested in the worst moments in Brooklyn history, this book has some goodies for you.”
The book’s illustrator, Fort Greene artist Tim Hamilton, drew plenty of familiar landmarks for Brooklyn readers, alongside the supernatural creatures the story called for. He also researched the Battle of Brooklyn and old maps for the book, but says that he especially enjoyed capturing modern-day Brooklyn on the page.
“I got to draw the subway and as someone who enjoys the subway, I feel that if an artist can enjoy something they draw, they will make it interesting for anyone looking at it,” said Hamilton. “If you’re bored to draw something, other people will be bored looking at it, and I enjoy drawing what I’m working on.”
Levitz hopes that fans of detective genre will enjoy solving the case along with his protagonist, and says that future projects may take him even further from his superhero roots.
“I hope people who enjoy reading mysteries will find this a fun read, and I think it’s got some added satisfaction to offer as a layer cake with a surprising ingredient or two,” he said. “After almost 500 superhero tales, I think my next few comics projects will all be a bit more unorthodox.”
Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton at Anyone Comics [1216 Union St. between Nostrand and Rogers avenues in Crown Heights, (347) 350–8422, www.anyonecomics.com]. July 27 at 7 pm. Free.
Reach reporter Alexandra Simon at (718) 260–8310 or e-mail her at asimon@cnglocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @AS1mon.
Updated 12:05 am, July 25, 2018
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Print Marked Items
Brooklyn Blood
Publishers Weekly.
265.19 (May 7, 2018): p54.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Brooklyn Blood
Paul Levitz and Tim Hamilton. Dark Horse, $17.99 (136p) ISBN 978-1-50670-630-6
Abrasive NYPD detective Billy O'Connor, back from a tour in Afghanistan, investigates a series of gory
homicides in Brooklyn's trendy neighborhoods in this psychological crime noir. "Sometimes it stinks as bad
as the Gowanus [Canal]," Billy muses of his job. "If that's possible." Each crime scene triggers PTSD
flashbacks for the veteran. Has something gone rotten in this borough of immigrants and hipsters--or do his
hallucinations actually predict the murders? Billy's level-headed partner, Nadira Hasan, tries to ground him
and get him back to proper procedural police work as the case snakes, seamlessly, into the supernatural.
Levitz is a prolific writer of superhero comics (Wonder Woman, Legion of Super-Heroes) who brings his
imaginative storytelling skills here to the portrayal of ordinary humans in a recognizably modern world.
The intricate plot is well served by the art of Hamilton (Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451), as he blends
realistic figure and architecture drawings with fantastical portrayals; his use of shadowing is excellent.
Integrating Brooklyn's often brutal real-world history, this bloody tale with Lovecraftian undertones will
thrill mystery and horror comic fans. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Brooklyn Blood." Publishers Weekly, 7 May 2018, p. 54. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A538858697/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=760899ec.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A538858697
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Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic
Novel
Gordon Flagg
Booklist.
112.12 (Feb. 15, 2016): p43.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel. By Paul Levitz. Illus. by Will Eisner. 2015. 224p. Abrams
ComicArts, $40 (9781419714986). 741.5.
Eisner was already high in the pantheon of comics greats for his creation of the Spirit, the most artistically
inventive of 1940s costumed-hero strips, when, three decades later, he embarked upon a series of personal,
book-length works that pioneered the modern graphic novel. This second act, which began in 1978 with A
Contract with God and continued with more than a dozen books exploring subjects ranging from Jewish
tenement life in New York City to the Vietnam War to extraterrestrial contact, continued right up to Eisner's
death in 2005 at age 87. Levitz, who worked with Eisner as an executive at DC Comics, traces the artist's
lengthy career, highlighting not only his artistic innovation but his business acumen, a rare trait among
comics creators. But Eisner's story is best told, and the book dominated, by the generous reproductions of
his artwork, many shot from the original drawings. From the start, Eisner sought legitimacy for his widely
disparaged chosen medium. He lived just long enough to see the graphic novel (a label he popularized)
achieve mainstream acceptance.--Gordon Flagg
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Flagg, Gordon. "Will Eisner: Champion of the Graphic Novel." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2016, p. 43. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A446933255/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4025dd49. Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A446933255
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75 years of DC Comics: the art of modern
myth-making
Peter Hoskin
Spectator.
315.9518 (Jan. 29, 2011): p41.
COPYRIGHT 2011 The Spectator Ltd. (UK)
http://www.spectator.co.uk
Full Text:
Did you know they once burned comic books? And in America, no less. In schoolyards. It was shortly after
the end of the second world war, and legislators and parents were all shook up about what these ten-cent
publications with their scenes of violence and distress were doing to the minds of their children. So on the
concrete they went, in messy piles. A sprinkling of fuel, a lit match, and the fire soon caught hold. Some of
the kids even cheered the flames on.
I know this last detail because there is a photo of one of these bonfires in Paul Levitz's new history of DC
Comics (the home stable of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and countless other superheroes and megavillains)
published by Taschen at 135 [pounds sterling]. It is only small, but, like so much in this immense
book, it pulls at the optic nerve. Full-page, full-colour spreads sit alongside biographies of authors and
artists. Foil pages compete with historical notes and snippets. It is at once a social commentary, a visual
extravaganza, a scrapbook and a doorstop.
Above all, though, it is a reminder that comic books are--like Las Vegas, or Disneyland--the American
Dream at its boldest and brashest. From untidy beginnings, through bonfires aplenty, they are now worth
more money than Bruce Wayne ever had. They inspire Hollywood and are the subject of handsome,
respectful books such as this. Yessir, it's a story that even the founders of DC Comics might have rejected as
too fantastical.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hoskin, Peter. "75 years of DC Comics: the art of modern myth-making." Spectator, 29 Jan. 2011, p. 41.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A247881552/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1224a73f. Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A247881552
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Hero Worship
H. Scott Jolley
Vanity Fair.
52.11 (Nov. 2010): p100.
COPYRIGHT 2010 Conde Nast Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The
Conde Nast Publications Inc.
http://www.vanityfair.com/
Full Text:
Byline: H. SCOTT JOLLEY
HERO WORSHIP
DC COMICS CELEBRATES 75 YEARS
Of all the iconic American creations of the 1930sthe cheeseburger, the New Deal, the Zippo lighter, and the
Empire State Building, to name just a fewamong the most enduring is the comic book. In 1935, New Fun
No. 1 was published, the first comic book to contain entirely new, original material. (Previous ones had
merely reprinted newspaper strips.) Three years later, Superman leapt off the newsstandsand, in a single
bound, an industry was born.
Today, the Man of Steel and his super friends are mightier than ever. In the lavish 75 Years of DC Comics:
The Art of Modern Mythmaking (Taschen), comics writer and former DC president Paul Levitz celebrates
the company's anniversary with gorgeous Pop artwork and insider dish on the creation of the modern
superhero genre. Included in the whopping 720 pages are kinetic Depression-era covers and panels from
DC's early years as a pulp publisher, foldout time lines that mark historic milestones and world events that
influenced comics (everything from the Manhattan Project to Dior's "New Look"), and profiles of the artists
and writers behind Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and other costumed crusaders.
Levitz also looks to DC's future with digital mediaLook! Up in the sky! It's an iPad!and the continued
expansion of its brands far beyond the printed page: clothing, TV, video games, apps, and, of course,
movies. New Superman and Batman films are in the Hollywood pipeline, and the company is pinning its
latest hope for a tent-pole franchise on Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds as the emerald space cop, out
in June 2011.
CAPTION(S):
Action Comics No. 1, 1938, in which Superman made his first appearance
Batman No. 1, 1940.
H. SCOTT JOLLEY
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Jolley, H. Scott. "Hero Worship." Vanity Fair, Nov. 2010, p. 100. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A245747046/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=2d9005d4.
Accessed 29 Sept. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A245747046
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‘Brooklyn Blood:’ A Tour de Force Around Brooklyn
Posted on July 25, 2018 by Mariana Ruiz • 0 Comments
Reading Time: 2 minutes
This graphic novel has many layers, all rooted in horror, fantasy and death.
Brooklyn Blood. Writer: Paul Levitz Artist: Tim Hamilton Cover Artist: Tim Hamilton
What if PTSD would leave you sensible to paranormal events? After Afghanistan, detective Billy O’Connor tries to return work as usual, even when he knows he should be taking his medicine.
When a case of serial and ritualistic killings commence, he will begin to have even more realistic and terrible hallucinations. With nothing else to go on, he and his partner will have to follow his visions, wherever they may take them.
I am not a fan of detective fiction, that is, your usual sick killer and its all-too-human concerns. However, I’m a sucker for monsters, and this comic has a Ghostbusters vibe I couldn’t quite shake off. I had to read it to the last, to seize and see the inhabitant of Hells gate.
It also reminded me of a short story by Stephen King: “The things they left behind” that tackles 9/11. Ghosts of horrific deaths linger, both in the territory and the minds of the inhabitants of that territory. What Billy O’Connor has is not only an acute sensibility, he also carries a weight: all those deaths have left a mark on the city, they are there in mid-suspension, and we still need to talk about them; we still need to acknowledge them.
The monsters we extract from fantasy are, perhaps, our own subconscious nagging at us, forcing us to see what we don’t wish to see anymore. And this graphic novel tackles it perfectly.
This TPB gathers the entire 16 chapters from the original series, and gives you a sense of the twisted end, with some glorious final pages. (Yes, I loved the monster).
Brooklyn Blood is on sale since July 18th, 2018.
Publisher: Dark Horse
Publication Date: July 18, 2018
FC, 136 pages; TPB; 6 5/8” x 10 3/16”
Price: $17.99
Age range: 16
ISBN-10: 1-50670-630-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-50670-630-6
Genre: Science-Fiction, Horror, Crime
Featured image by Tim Hamilton, all images belong to Dark Horse Comics