The Lycan #1, out now from ComiXology Originals, presents an unlikely love story wrapped in a historical horror tale focusing on a band of hunters who are pitted against the brutally dangerous game of a pack of werewolves.
Created by Punisher actor Thomas Jane, who played Frank Castle in his 2004 film, along with producer David James Kelly, The Lycan has been brought to life by writer Mike Carey along with artist Diego Yapur and colorist DC Alonso after years languishing without a full creative team.
Newsarama spoke with Carey following the release of the first issue, digging into the allure of werewolves, the monsters at the heart of the story, and the ups and downs of producing comics. Be sure to also check out our interview with The Lycan co-creator Thomas Jane.
Mike, The Lycan is an interesting comic that seems to live right at the crossroads of a historical drama and a horror story. How did you come onboard the story, and what's the process been like from your end?
Mike Carey: Well it's been very long! For ages it seemed like this was a comic that was never going to get made, and then suddenly everything came together. Thomas first approached me back in 2010 with a very fully worked out structural plan for a-six part story. I think maybe it had been envisaged as a graphic novel at some point, but by the time I saw it all the architecture was in place for a mini-series. They just wanted someone to write it, which I was very happy to do. I'd never worked in that way before but I love gothic horror and I love monster stories, and there were some really clever ideas and interesting characters to play with.
So, I said yes, and I delivered all six scripts in the space of about four months. Then we got an artist on board, Sean O’Conner, who did some fantastic character sketches and then started in on issue 1. But for whatever reason he was delivering pages more and more slowly - gorgeous pages, but few and far between - and then he dropped completely off the map. For years after that the book was in limbo, until Thomas found Diego and work started up again.
Thomas Jane, who co-created the story, said it couldn't have come to fruition without your script. What are some of the things you brought to the table that helped shape The Lycan?
I think what I mostly did was find voices for the characters and flush out their relationships. I added some story beats and I created some scenes from scratch, but like I said it was a very fully realized story already. This very much wasn't the way I usually worked, but there was something liberating about knowing the shape of the story going in. It made it easier to decide how to space out the big beats and set pieces in each issue. It's a fun story with a lot of reveals and misdirects and a killer ending, so I just leaned in and had fun with it.
Vampires always seem to be en vogue for horror stories, but werewolves don't get as many chances at the monster spotlight. What is it about lycanthropy and werewolves that stands apart from other classic monster archetypes?
My friend Colm McCarthy, who directed the movie The Girl With All the Gifts, said to me once that every good monster is a mirror. You need to be able to see yourself in what you're afraid of for it to really get under your skin. With werewolves I think we're being reminded of our own animal nature and how the civilized version of us, the fashion that goes along to get along, is really only skin-deep.
And there's also the fear of our physicality, the sense that our minds are essentially driving big scary machines that they only partly control. Socrates said that it was a huge relief when his sex drive began to fade, because it had been like being chained to a madman. I think we all have impulses that drive us to places where we'd rather not be driven, and the werewolf story externalizes that part of us as an actual monster.
On that note, what can you tell us about the "Berserking Beasts" at the heart of the comic, and the hunters who are out to get them?
I'd rather say as little as possible about that, because there's an actual mystery there - not so much about the nature of the monsters but about their origin. In the first issue we see Coffin and his men embarking on the hunt, but there's a lot they don't know about what they're hunting and where it's hiding.
We have this ludicrous but lovely coincidence at the heart of the story, that a group of highly skilled and highly experienced hunters turn up on the island at this crucial point when there's a desperate need for exactly that kind of expertise. These are men who’ve hunted every dangerous animal on earth, or so they think, but this is going to be a hunt like no other. And that's not just because the creatures they’re facing stand outside nature. It's also because of secrets hidden in their own past that tie them to this place and this situation.
Artist Diego Yapur and colorist DC Alonso are such a striking art team. They really nail the vibes. What's it been like working with them?
I have to throw up my hands here and confess that I haven't worked with the art team closely at all. Like I said, I handed the scripts in the best part of fifteen years ago. But it's been a delight seeing the pages come in and seeing this world and these characters coming into existence piece by piece. I can't believe how vivid and immersive Diego's art is - and how perfectly the colours match and enhance that. It's really the perfect look for what is at its core a classic gothic horror. We waited a long time, but man it was worth the wait!
What do you want readers to know going into The Lycan?
I guess on top of all the stuff we've already been discussing it's worth bearing in mind the historical context. We’re smack bang in the middle of the Napoleonic wars, which means that Britain is going out of its mind with paranoia. The French are at the door, war is just around the corner, and it looks like the whole of mainland Europe is on fire. So the tension is already at the highest notch before the story starts, and that's the situation that Coffin and his men are walking into…
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