Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, Duane Swierczynski, dynamite, entertainment, Ex-Con, michael moreci

Duane Swierczynski Talks With Michael Moreci About Ex-Con

Published Tue, 14 Oct 2014 07:00:00 -0500

Michael Moreci, writer of Army of Darkness: Convention Invasion, talks with Duane Swierczynski about Ex-Con #2, both on sale Oct. 8

Michael Moreci: So, Duane, crime is obviously in your wheelhouse (and you do it so well). What made you bring Ex-Con to the comic space, as opposed to making it a novel?

Duane Swierczynski: Ex-Con started as a basic idea (a parolee leaves jail owing a brutal crime boss a favor) that Dynamite asked me to develop into a mini-series. So it was always meant to be a comic. But Ex-Con's influences were very much from the novel and movie portions of my brain — hardboiled Gold Medal paperbacks, 1980s crime flicks set in L.A., Jim Thompson's grifter tales, late night Cinemax thrillers, David Goodis's sordid love triangles. It easily could have been a pulp novel except for one thing: Cody Pomeray's weird "gift," which would have been tricky to do in prose. Plus, you really want to see 1980s L.A. in all of its garish glory. Artist Keith Burns rendered all of it beautifully. He was the best creative partner I could have asked for.

MM: As you know, I've worked with Keith Burns, artist on Ex-Con, in the past. He definitely has a very specific — and amazing – aesthetic, especially in the way he tackles the layout of a page. Did you find yourself writing toward his art at any point?

DS: Oh, absolutely. Especially as the series went on, I had a lot of giddy fun thinking, "Heh heh heh, I can't wait to see what Keith will do with this one…" Fortunately, the Atlantic Ocean separates us, so it's not so easy for him to show up and strangle me.

MM: I thought issue #1 was a tremendous start to the series–can you tease what's in store for the series?

DS: Thanks, Mike — I really appreciate that. As for the rest of the series … well, part of the fun of a story like Ex-Con is to take a character and see how far you can push him. I think by issue #3 we're pushing him across a very specific moral line, and by #4 we're pushing him out of the country. God knows where he'll end up in #5.

MM: Speaking of crime and it being in your wheelhouse, I'm curious as to how you attack the development of an idea. You've covered a lot of ground in your different works, yet you always make each new story fresh and original. How do you go about finding that unique angle that separates your projects, like you've done with Ex-Con?

DS: At the plotting/development stage, I have only one rule: come up with a story that I'll be genuinely excited to write. Honestly, that's it. If I'm not twitching with anticipation, then there's no way I can expect a reader to be. A lot of the thrill, for me, is covering new ground (new genres, new situations, new locations) and pushing myself out of my comfort zones.

MM: Any plans for more original crime comics in the near(ish) future?

DS: In fact, there is — I'm very close to finalizing a deal on a creator-owned comic project that I've been working on for quite a few years now. But it's too soon to say anything about it right now. I know, I'm a horrible tease.

For more on Ex-Con #2, click here.

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