Death of Comics Bookcase: An Interview w/ Zack Quaintance

The obvious place to begin our interview is with the title. Why is the book called Death of Comics Bookcase? For that matter, what is Death of Comics Bookcase?

Zack Quaintance: Death of Comics Bookcase is actually the title of the framing sequence that runs through the book and ties everything together. I don’t want to give too much away, but it starts with a group of teens seeking refuge from a rained-out camping trip in a creepy old house, which unbeknownst to them is actually Comics Bookcase HQ. And inside is a horrible anthropomorphic Comics Bookcase, who wants to tell them stories. The title tells you what happens, but not how. And for those who don’t know, Comics Bookcase is a blog I ran from 2018 – 2022, so a lot of this is aimed squarely at the two to three dozen people who fondly remember that.

What is it about the Kickstarter platform that made you want to use it to fund Death of Comics Bookcase?

ZQ: So, the short answer is I don’t know that I had another option. Most of these ideas had been kicking around in my head for years, but a collection of short comics is a tough sell to a publisher. A couple of them were actually pitches, but pitching is difficult when you don’t have much work to back it up yet. Kickstarter made sense both as a distribution mechanism and as a means of me recouping the production costs of these pieces. Broadly, I just think one of the benefits of crowdfunding is you can use it for projects that don’t fit neatly into the direct market.

How do you script the various stories within the collection? Do you use Full Script, Marvel Method, or some other approach?

ZQ: It’s all full script, making clear to the artists that they’re free to deviate as they see fit, and I’ll rewrite where necessary. There’s going to be a deluxe version of the book as part of the campaign, with 12 pages of process material, including script. I enjoy seeing that stuff, personally, so I wanted to share.

What other rewards can we expect to receive from the Kickstarter? For that matter, what stretch goals do you have in mind?

ZQ: There’s two versions of the book. One is the 48-page standard version, all story. The other is a 60-page deluxe version, bound and loaded with process material. Other rewards you’ll see will be a variant cover by Nick Cagnetti, a Zoom hangout where you can pick my brain about whatever you like (I’ve been doing comics press for six years and have seen a lot), getting your name in the book, prolonged consulting on a comics project, and a B&W ashcan of the book that’s going to be exceedingly rare, with maybe ~20 total copies ever made.

As far as stretch goals, I’ve never been one for pins or stickers personally, so they’re all going to be upgrades to the paperstock and the binding.

Throughout the collection, you have corralled a group of talented and interesting artists like Anna Readman, Simon Bowland, and Jason Wordie. How did you corral such a talent pool?

ZQ: All six of the artists in the book were my first choice for their respective stories, and I think I was able to interest them because I put in a lot of work ahead of time figuring out what they all seemed to enjoy drawing. Past that, there’s an individual story with each team-up. Anna had done an amazing variant cover for Next Door, Nick Cagnetti and I had just done an interview about his book Pink Lemonade, PJ Holden mentioned in passing on social media he had some availability, and so on. Selecting the colorists and letterers for each piece was a collaborative process with the artists. I will say that I was pretty insistent about working with some of these creators, whose work had been written about frequently on Comics Bookcase when it was a blog, Brad Simpson and Jason Wordie among them.

Besides finding these talented artists, how has your time working in criticism effected your approach to writing the various stories in the collection?

ZQ: The main thing I’ve done as a comics critic — and continue to do — is a weekly look at what’s coming out in a given week, within which I pick my five favorite books. I’ve done this for six years now, with no prolonged breaks. I used to read 30 new releases every week.

That number has since gone down because I’m being kinder to myself, but this is all to say that I’ve read A LOT of very current comics. Doing this has given me a keen sense of what’s being done, what’s not being done, and what I’d like to see more of. The stories in this book are in conversation with the other comics being made right now.

For example, That Texas Blood is already doing grounded crime/horror in a Texas setting, basically to perfection…so I was really careful to make my Texas story something additive, and it takes a grindhouse, cartoonier direction. There’s a few examples of that here.

Among the collaborators you got to work on the comic is famed artist John McCrea. What drew you to commission him to do a cover for the project?

ZQ: That was a thrill. I never would have thought it possible on my own. But working with PJ Holden on the Apes Vs. Shark piece, he mentioned that John McCrea might be available to do a cover. I sent an email like five seconds later, and we went from there. I was nervous the entire time, because I’ve been a fan of McCrea for most of my life, since I read the Hitman comics with Garth Ennis, way back when. It’s unreal to have his cover on this book.

How will the Kickstarter payments be divvied up between the various collaborators?

ZQ: Kickstarter earnings will mostly go to recoup my investment in the book so far. All work was paid as it came in. It’s part of why it’s been almost three years since my last Kickstarter. I wanted to pay for it all out of pocket in advance. I figured it’s an investment, at best, and, hey, if the book doesn’t fund, at worst I’m funding work by some supremely talented and deserving creatives. If, however, this campaign really takes off and exceeds the production cost, it’s going to be an even split between myself and the six artists, all of whom co-created the various characters they worked on with me. Personally, I’ll be putting any money I recoup on this right into Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 2.

How would things change if Vol. 2 was made? Would you invite other creative teams to take part?

ZQ: I’ve already got the rough idea for every story that will be in Vol. 2. There’s definitely going to be new creators, but pending schedules, I’m also hopeful some of the artists in this book would return to do more with their characters. Looking at my story ideas, Vol. 2 might be a bit more serious in tone. It’s not a deliberate choice, just kind of where my head is at.

What are the biggest influences on Death of Comics Bookcase?

ZQ: Each story sort of has a different influence. Generally, this book is very much a product of the creators I grew up reading in the early ’00s. I think there’s a lot of Bendis, BKV, and Morrison to these stories. But I also have a background in writing literary short stories, and I absolutely love the literary short story as a form. In that space, there’s writing advice that says a good short story centers on a singular moment, after which nothing will ever be the same, and that was kind of the guiding ethos for all the stories here.

There’s something in the air with the wave of anthologies lately. From the recent Creepshow ongoing to the revival of EC Comics to more traditional capes fare like the Black & White (& Red & Blue & Gold & Periwinkle) books. How does Death of Comics Bookcase stand out in this context?

ZQ: The vast majority of anthologies are united by genre, I think. This book spans genres, and instead has a cheeky shared tone as a unifier, plus the framing sequence. The stories are also all written by me, and — for better or worse — loaded with my personal sensibilities and what I like best about comics, which tends to be when absurd ideas are played seriously or used to explore tough questions and truths.

I also really hope it reminds readers of a variety show, where there’s loose connections and inside jokes for careful readers, giving the whole thing a coherent feel when you step back. Maybe calling it a mixtape is more apt, but I don’t want to entirely reveal myself to be An Old.

How complete are the titles for Death of Comics Bookcase prior to the Kickstarter’s beginning?

ZQ: They’re all done now, or will be by time of launch. It was really important to me to get everything done ahead of the campaign, so we could fulfill quickly while people are still thinking about the book. I had a great experience with making Next Door via Kickstarter in 2021, but the ~9 month production window made me feel like many of the backers never read the book. Or, if they did, I never really knew. I think most Kickstarters crest in excitement at the end of the campaign, so my hope is a direct pivot to fulfillment means more folks read the work.

What went into the design process for the titular Comics Bookcase?

ZQ: Ryan Lee did the heavy-lifting, taking careful pains to work out the Bookcase’s physicality, which was no easy feat. I think for my part, I sent him a photo reference of the anthropomorphic chair from Pee Wee’s Playhouse, with a note saying it’s like this but a bookcase and way more disturbing, in a tragic way. I can’t say enough good things about what Ryan did for that story. It’s the backbone of the book, running throughout, and I think there aren’t many artists in the industry who could have done this, while also striking the perfect balance of cheeky humor and monster horror. That poor, poor Bookcase…

Among the titles included in Death of Comics Bookcase is a follow-up to your 2021 One-Shot, Next Door. What made you decide to put the follow-up in this anthology rather than do another One-Shot?

ZQ: I was really proud of Next Door, but, quite frankly, it was a tough comic to sell. It’s about as understated a concept as you can get, really. There’s themes around gentrification, communication, and gun cults, but it’s all played out subtly. So, part of the thinking here was that perhaps we could bring new readers to Next Door, which is available digitally and as an add-on as part of this campaign. There’s plans to later finish the Next Door sequel that starts in this book, but I’m not quite ready to go into specifics.

What was the inspiration for writing The Werewolf Priest? More specifically, what was it about South Texas as a location made you want to write about it? How did the character of Father Lupe come to mind?

ZQ: The Werewolf Priest is pretty heavily drawn from my actual life. When I was 22, I got a job as a night cops reporter at a newspaper called The Monitor, in McAllen, Texas, which is three hours south of San Antonio. I had that job for 4 1/2 years, and it was a disaster for me personally. I was in over my head and saw a lot of gnarly things. It was also really lonely. Adding pulp horror to it felt really organic to my memories of that time in my life.

If you notice, the story is told like a confessional looking back, so there’s an idea there that it’s memories of the time manifesting the pulp horror. Though you don’t need to know that to enjoy the gore. And Father Lupe is very loosely based on a famous priest in that region, who actually keeps more than a dozen dogs in his rectory. I once wrote a feature about him and his opposition to the Border Wall. The similarities stop there, though.

Who would you say was the biggest influence on GOLDMASK!? I can see elements of Terry Pratchett, Peter S. Beagle, and Elaine Lee in there, but do any others spring to mind?

ZQ: Terry Pratchett was the big one. The influence that might be surprising is Ursula K. Le Guin. Le Guin is one of my favorite writers, and I always enjoyed how thoroughly her Earthsea books sort of de-romanticized being a wizard, making it look like a very tough and unglamorous job for the unlucky or the egotist. There’s some of that in GOLDMASK!.

Another influence was Michael Moreci’s comics writing. I admire how his best genre work gets so honest about his thoughts on ethics. I tried to dabble in that with this script, as much as we could with 8 pages.

With The Responsibili-Teen, you take the piss out of a number of creators including Stan Lee, Grant Morrison, and Katsuhiro Otomo. What made you decide to use Spider-Man as a baseline for said pisstake?

ZQ: Well, I didn’t intend to take the piss, as they say, not out of those creators anyway. That story was actually intended to satirize creators who shamelessly redo what the giants of the medium have already done, at least that’s how it started. I don’t want to give away the twist at the end of that one, but something happened in the wider world that really ended up shaping the end, as well as how heavily it references other creators. Without that event, I’m not sure it’d have been nearly as much of an homage. But there’s an angle to it that has to do with how terrifying technology has become, and I think teenagers are on the front line.

To me, Spider-Man is the teen superhero. I also think teens these days don’t have to grapple much with the central ethos of Spider-Man, as they’ve become increasingly powerless in a changing, chaotic world. So I wanted to play with that a bit, though it’s mostly an absurdity. Plus, Nick is a huge fan and I knew he’d absolutely shine with a Spider-Man homage character. And I wasn’t wrong. Nick’s work here is just amazing.

How did you and PJ Holden hook up and what drew him to tell a story about Apes fighting Sharks?

ZQ: While I was scripting this one, I got self-conscious that nobody would want to draw it, wondering if ape and shark humanoids were as unpleasant to artists as horses or cars. So, I asked on Bsky, and PJ responded, saying there was no difference for him between drawing an ape or human. I kept writing while thinking of a potential collaborator, and eventually I noticed him mention he had some availability, so I thought, why not ask. I was absolutely thrilled he said yes. I can only speculate as to why, but he has drawn his fair share of excellent war comics and apes in the past.

If you could expand on one of the stories in the collection to a full graphic novel, which one would it be?

ZQ: Two of the stories in the book are actually set-ups for longer stories. I’ve sent The Werewolf Priest to a couple editors as a pitch and am waiting to hear back. It’s tough out there right now, but that’s one I’m just dying to expand. The idea is to take it beyond just the werewolf priest and do a monster-of-the-week, grindhouse Texas horror book about the death of the local news. I just have so many stories from my time in Texas that could blend so well with pulp horror while exploring the decline of newspapers. The world could also use more gritty western art by Anna Readman, but that’s always true. The other one is Goldmask! I love writing that character, and would want to explore his backstory and world more. He’s got a sort of begrudged moral compass that deeply interests me.

Where do you see Death of the Comics Bookcase in the larger comics landscape?

ZQ: I haven’t really thought of that much, to be honest. There’s so many moving parts to the book, that just bringing it together has felt like a year-long magic trick. But, I suppose if this thing catches fire and takes off, who knows, maybe it will help normalize short comics as a more common form. I really don’t know. For me personally, I hope to do at least three volumes of Death of Comics Bookcase, using it as a skunkworks for ideas and character concepts, plus just having a good time. My dream is just that you’ll eventually see continuations of all six of these stories. In short, whether I get to make more comics after this hits is one of my main benchmarks for its success.

Death of the Comics Bookcase, vol. 1’s Kickstarter can be found here.