Posted in: Comics, Dynamite | Tagged: beauty and the beast, Disney Villains, fred van lente, gaston, greg pak

Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente On Disney Villains: Gaston For Dynamite

Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente on Disney Villains: Gaston for Dynamite Entertainment in 2026

Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente are writing the new Disney Villains: Gaston series, with the bad boy of Beauty And The Beast getting his own comic book series from Dynamite Entertainment. But what do they remember of the original?

Fred Van Lente: Because I am extremely young, I saw the movie when it came out in the cinema in the mall where I was working in Syracuse, New York. I was working at an Australian stuffed animal store called "The Lost Forest" where I had to pretend to be a talking tree during children's birthday parties, when in fact I was hiding in the employee bathroom with a microphone. I can tell you that Beauty and the Beast was way more mature, moving, and action-packed than anything I had to do at The Lost Forest. Also, it has better songs.

Greg Pak: Since I am as old as the trees and the stones, I saw the movie as a fully grown recent college grad and I loved it. It was fresh and fun and visually stunning and full of great songs, and Gaston in particular felt instantly iconic — just a tremendously entertaining villain, and it's a real blast to be able to make him the "hero" of our story now.

Dynamite: Our maniacal protagonist is known for his macho persona that oozes arrogance. We've published several titles featuring Disney Villains, and they all have their own colorful personalities. Is it a challenge or a ton of fun (or both) writing for such a vain and cocky character?

Fred Van Lente: Cocky? What do you mean? I very much see myself in Gaston, who, as far as I can tell, accurately sees himself as the handsomest, cleverest, most skilled human being in all of France. I often tell Greg how similar I am to Gaston, usually by referring to myself in the third person: "Hear ye, beloved sidekick Greg Pak, I, Fred, the Greatest Comics Writer in All of the County of Kings, have delivered unto your inbox the most brilliant half of a comics script you have ever seen." Usually I text these messages to Greg, so I can't see his response, but in my mind's eye I picture him nodding agreeably at their wisdom as he reads them.

Greg Pak: [nods vigorously, steps on a rake, falls off a cliff as Fred continues talking]

Dynamite: On top of his infamous personality, Gaston is a legendary hunter and tracker. I don't imagine that we'll see him going toe-to-toe with the Beast in this story, but without spoiling too much, what kind of target or prey will you be placing in his sights?

Fred Van Lente: Gaston, with faithful LeFou in tow, makes the mistake of tracking prey through King Louis's hunting grounds, which is tantamount to poaching. Our protagonists are rescued from the hangman's noose by the Comte du Soufflé, an advisor to the throne, who wants them to track down a mysterious Alchemist who is running interference for the animals in the forest. Saying more would be giving it away, but let's just say that despite Gaston's aforementioned competence and intelligence, things do not go as planned.

Greg Pak: We must be a little squirrelly when describing the story for fear of spoilers. But in a nutshell, Gaston's in for an adventure that tests his character to the fullest, and we're having an absolute blast showing him failing that moral challenge in the most spectacular ways imaginable.

Dynamite: Serving as a kind of sidekick or hype man for Gaston is another fan-favorite character — LeFou, who has been given more of an expanded role in some recent takes on the classic fable. How has it been working on the dynamics and the back-and-forth between the pair, especially considering your own arrangement as a writing duo?

Fred Van Lente: I feel like Greg is more qualified to respond to this, as I have long considered him my Writing Sidekick — along with my bosom chum, constant friend-and-aide, and so on. I still call him the "Boy Wonder," even though he, unlike me, is incredibly, incredibly old. I am young. Very young! Embryonic, really. I added this gray in my hair for decorative purposes. Actually, it's white-out.

Greg Pak: [opens mouth to respond, slips on banana peel Fred has tossed aside, falls under incoming steamroller and is comically flattened into a human pancake]

DISNEY VILLAINS GASTON #1
(W) Greg Pak, Fred Van Lente (A) Milena Ciccarello
AT LAST — A SERIES WORTHY OF THE NAME GASTON! The unfairly maligned antagonist of Beauty and the Beast will be the first to tell you that he's the greatest tracker in the land, a fact that has been confirmed by his totally unbiased sidekick, LeFou — and who would know better than these two fine, upstanding citizens? So when a nobleman offers a sizable reward for the return of his runaway horse, Gaston pursues the escaping steed with a single-minded focus — directly into the king's private hunting grounds! Arrested for trespassing, Gaston faces a long stay in the royal lock-up — except that his obviously superior abilities impress the king's wily advisor, the Comte du Soufflé, who has a dangerous mission that only someone as unthinkingly brave as the great Gaston would ever contemplate taking on. If he succeeds, he'll be free to go — but when he finds out what he's up against, prison might seem like the safer bet! Highly animated authors GREG PAK (Lilo & Stitch) and FRED VAN LENTE (Conan the Avenger) join forces with artiste extraordinaire MILENA CICCARELLO to finally bring readers the tale that they have surely been clamoring for with Disney Villains: Gaston — featuring appropriately adoring covers courtesy of CICCARELLO, LESLEY "LEIRIX" LI, TED BRANDT & RO STEIN, and WILL ROBSON! Retail: $4.99 3/4/2026

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