Nick Cagnetti of Pink Lemonade co-wrote the five-part comic Spirit of the Shadows with Daniel Ziegler and also took on all the artwork. The series takes the superhero genre into the world of horror, and the first issue drops on January 28. Cemetery Dance spoke to Cagnetti about inspiration, The Phantom of the Opera, working with his co-writer, and some of the crazy, spooky places the story goes to.
(Interview conducted by Danica Davidson)
CEMETERY DANCE: What was the inspiration for Spirit of the Shadows?
NICK CAGNETTI: The character was always right down the alley of classic monsters and oldschool horror, things like the Universal Monsters or German expressionist films like Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I think I ended up bringing more comic book influences to the character with my involvement like Jack Kirby’s The Demon. It really is just a total blend of types of horror at the end of the day, a concoction I don’t think anybody’s expecting!
With names like Erik Leroux, is it fair to say it was partly influenced or inspired by The Phantom of the Opera?
It certainly was! Expanding on what I said about being a blend, there’s some big Frankenstein influence as well. It’s really inspired by the timeless trappings of such stories and hopefully presented in a fresh way you haven’t really seen before just by the nature of it being a big melting pot of our eclectic influences.
What was the process like working with Daniel?
He took the lead on plotting and scripting the whole thing, really finding the structure and making sure the pacing was pitch perfect. I was there from the start with him bouncing ideas off back and forth, pitching sketches of characters and moments and they all found their way into it. We went back and forth refining elements of the story till the end, just cause sometimes you find those elegant solutions.
Can you give us a hint of some of the crazy, spooky places the story goes to?
Death is not the end, it’s only the start of this story! I’m envious that people are going into it blind because things are set up certain ways so that there should be some real shocking twists that make for interesting re-reads. Let’s just say our main character may have made some enemies in life and the afterlife that don’t want him resting in peace.
It’s not cut and dry, either. This book will be making you really question morality and have you asking “what would I have done?”
Where can people find out more about you and your work?
I’m out there most places online! I’m on Instagram and TikTok as fudgy1nick, I’m on other places with just my name. Mostly, yeah, you can find me just by searching up my name! But read Pink Lemonade, that’s what people know me best for before this! Keep an eye on my work, I’ve got some big top secret projects I’ll be doing next!
