{"id":18232,"date":"2023-08-14T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/?p=18232"},"modified":"2023-08-13T23:16:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T03:16:34","slug":"comic-vault-jay-stephens-dwellings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cemeterydance.com\/extras\/comic-vault-jay-stephens-dwellings\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay Stephens Takes Readers Inside His DWELLINGS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"coverDwellings<\/em> #1, from Emmy Award-winning animator and Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist Jay Stephens, was published by Oni Comics on August 9, 2023. Don\u2019t let the innocent, childlike art fool you \u2014 this is a horror series about a small town dealing with murder, possession and more. Stephens spoke to Cemetery Dance <\/em>about his Harvey Comics influence, the pathway to getting Dwellings <\/em>published, and what he hopes readers take away from the series.<\/p>\n

(Interview conducted by\u00a0Danica Davidson)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

CEMETERY DANCE: How were Harvey Comics an inspiration for Dwellings<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JAY STEPHENS: I found the character designs of those Casper, Wendy, Richie Rich<\/em>, and Little Dot <\/em>comic books to be absolutely irresistible as a kid. So cute that I begged my mum for a Casper doll and, like many kids my age, had the Friendly Ghost as my first pick of Collegeville Halloween costumes. But I can’t be the only 7-year-old who wondered how Casper died, and I spent years searching for the issue where his gory murder was revealed. The drawings were adorable, but I truly believed they were hiding something sinister. I mean… when you find yourself reading the adventures of Hot Stuff, The Little Devil <\/em>while your grandparents are watching The Exorcist<\/em> on TV in the background, your little brain can’t help but conclude there are terrible secrets to be revealed one day. Dwellings <\/em>is a grimly nostalgic revisit to those uncomfortable feelings.<\/p>\n

Besides titles from Harvey Comics, have other horror comics been a major influence for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was crazy about the Marvel horror “heroes” like Brother Voodoo, Ghost Rider, Werewolf\u00a0 By Night, Son Of Satan, and Morbius The Living Vampire, around the same time I was dropping quarters on Harvey comics. But it was a gore-fan babysitter named Susan that truly blew my young mind with a stack of Creepy <\/em>and Vampirella <\/em>magazines from Warren Publishing, as well as the oozingly tasteless schlock from Eerie Publications. Trash that, alongside the tribute film Creepshow <\/em>by Stephen King and George A. Romero, led to my discovery of the spectacular EC Comics classics. Drawing the EC tribute variant covers for the original crowd-funded print run was a love letter to that indelible influence.<\/p>\n