Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dean koontz, dynamite, entertainment, Frankenstein: Storm Surge, Rik Hoskin

Rik Hoskin Talks Zombie Army In Frankenstein: Storm Surge #5

Published Mon, 22 Feb 2016 18:00:54 -0600

Erik Mona, writer of Pathfinder: Hollow Mountain #4, talks with writer Rik Hoskin about Frankenstein: Storm Surge #5, both on sale this week from Dynamite. Art by Andres Ponce

ERIK MONA: Frankenstein: Storm Surge #5 starts with an army of zombies attacking the city during a storm. What are some of your favorite zombie influences, and how did they inspire the action in this issue?

RIK HOSKIN: My favorite zombie movie is Shivers directed by David Cronenberg, which has a nightmarish sense of mounting oppressiveness. That sense that you're surrounded and completely on your own is a core fear, I think, and one that is carried through the best zombie fiction, extending to the fringes of the genre — stuff like Richard Matheson's I Am Legend and Daniel A. Wilson's Robopocalypse. My biggest influence for Frankenstein: Storm Surge, however, was picking up on the story and, crucially, style that outgoing writer Chuck Dixon had set in motion.

EM: Carson and Michael have a fun bickering partner relationship. What's your favorite thing about the dynamic between these two characters?

RH: Their stream of sarcasm while still remaining professional. They are in way over their heads in this story, and all bets are off as to whether they will survive.

EM: This issue explores many of Victor Frankenstein's undead creations, from the original grotesque monster to beautiful women to hundreds of freshly-made zombies. In the years since his original experiments, what do you figure is the strangest creature he ever brought to life?

RH: Karloff — the disembodied head who doesn't get on with his own disembodied hand. It's hard to top that for outright strangeness! For pure creep factor, the multitude of Erikas who serve Victor's – ahem — "romantic" needs.

EM: The Monster displays some amazing, almost superheroic powers in this issue, thanks in no small part to his understanding of the quantum fundamentals of the universe. For readers who aren't familiar with Frankenstein: Storm Surge or the original Dean Koontz story that inspired it, how is this Frankenstein different from other versions we've seen before in other media?

RH: Storm Surge is an original story that builds on what's happened in Dean's Frankenstein books. By this point, Frankenstein's Monster has lived for over a century and has spent that time learning about philosophy and science. He's a deep thinker, who's trying to understand the human condition by … well … fighting zombies, just like all the great philosophers did! While the Monster has mellowed, Victor Frankenstein — who has extended his life through science — has become more obsessed to the point of derangement.

EM: That's it! I enjoyed the issue a lot. I especially like the scene with the two zombie butchers carving up fresh meat in the background. Creepy!

RH: Thanks, Erik, artist Andres Ponce really nailed that scene, didn't he?

For more on Dean Kootz's Frankenstein: Storm Surge #5, click here.

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