Interview With Nathan Thomas Milliner, Creator of The Malevolent

November 3, 2008 by Richard Caldwell
Filed under Interviews

For the past several years Nathan Thomas Milliner has been bringing us his unique vision. With enough projects to keep a small army of creators busy, Milliner has done it all. Milliner recently took some time out from his hectic schedule to chat with Richard Caldwell of ComicNews.Info about his past, present and future projects.

Nathan, you have been flying under the radar for some years now, producing a number of graphic novels (primarily through the Feral Comics imprint) and assorted covers and spot art for an array of periodicals. What brought you to the medium of comics, and what keeps you hereabouts?

What brought me to the medium of comics? Batman. Growing up I really never read comics. I knew all of the famous heroes in the world of comics, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, The Hulk, etc. But I really didn’t know them in a comic book sense. That all changed in the Summer of 1989 at the age of 13 when I went to see Tim Burton’s adaptation of the Dark Knight in BATMAN. I started buying Batman comics which led me to buying other comics eventually. Within a year I was inventing my own characters and learning about the process of making my own books. It wasn’t until college that I started becoming a serious writer because the art had been there since I was very young. I started to discover that I had some raw talent as a storyteller as well and I think this is why I have stuck with the medium over the past 20 years. Its the storytelling that really drives me and motivates me and challenges me. Comics are the best format for me to utilize both my artistic skills as well as my literary skills. My first love is really cinema but I look at comics as movies on paper. Through comics, I can make my dream films without the stresses that come with being a filmmaker. I’m my own boss when I make my comics. I don’t have a hundred people telling me how to target my story to the masses. Comics are very personal and I am a very personal writer. I just love the medium because of the independence and freedom it allows an artist to work with.

I know many people would(should) know your work from your series of graphic novellas- The Malevolent. From what I have seen, this story almost reads like a Sin City homage by way of a philosophical treatise on the sociological/psychological ramifications of violence. You clearly have a very generous range of influences. What does inspire you? And where do you see The Malevolent going?

Sin City definitely had an influence on my work but it was more of a green light for me to tell the type of stories that I wanted. Before Sin City, I thought the only genre you could work in with comic books was the superhero genre. I had no idea that a comics artist could do film noir in a comic book unless it was Batman in a film noir sort of story. Sin City showed me that I could write my own crime based comic book and get away with it. You are right on the nail when you say The Malevolent is Sin City by way of exploring the psychological ramifications of violence. On the surface, The Malevolent reflects Sin City but in many ways it is a little closer in heart to James O’Barr’s The Crow minus the supernatural elements. Sin City is straight up hard-boiled pulp fiction in the tradition of Mickey Spillane and Dashiell Hammett, whereas The Malevolent, although pulp itself, is handled in a much more delicate way. My interest in The Malevolent was to explore human nature and to try to find answers to those deep questions that was really getting under my skin back when I wrote it. Violent crime fascinates me because I haven’t a violent bone in my body. I was really interested in conscience or the lack there of. My book Final Days would be a little closer to Sin City in all actuality. The Malevolent is a combination of Sin City’s grit with The Crow’s heart and soul. But it wasn’t a direct homage to either of them really. It is a collection of homages to everything from Star Wars to Taxi Driver. I am mostly influenced by film and anyone looking deep enough at my work will be able to see that. But I never rip anything off, I simply capture the spirit of the movies that molded me into the storyteller I am today.

I truly believe that The Malevolent will have its time in the spotlight some day. The legions of loyal fans of the series ensure me of this. It never ceases to amaze me how each new reader reacts to the series in such a major way. They rarely just say things like, “It was good.” It’s always much bigger than that. People who have read the books tell me that it is a very impressive piece of art and deserves to be seen by a much larger audience. Other artists have told me my book moved them, inspired them and motivated them. That the story struck them on an emotional level. That they really connected with it internally and that it wasn’t just a casual read but an investment. That’s the kind of storyteller I want to be more than anything. The kind that after you read their work, you carry it with you and perhaps debate over it with others. To get people talking. That’s the best compliment I could ever ask for.
My dream would be that The Malevolent would go on to become one of those classic indie titles much like Sin City, The Crow, or even V for Vendetta which also shares a similarity to the books. To create a classic graphic novel would be the ultimate goal for me. Then if Hollywood comes calling to adapt it, I just hope someone like Rodriguez, Snyder or Singer comes calling to do a faithful job and it doesn’t become the next Ghost Rider or Electra dud.

Your appreciation for the cinematic is making itself known though, with the chance to see your Girl Number 3 book transformed into an indie film. The setbacks caused by the current ownership of Waverly Sanitarium(the local historical haunt that provided inspiration for the story’s setting) aside, where does that project stand? And what exactly is the breadth of your involvement?

I am so thrilled about Girl Number Three becoming a film. I originally wrote it to be a movie but never really imagined it ever happening that way. The guys at Feral Comix wanted to release a horror anthology comic called Nausoleum and I decided to adapt GN3 into a comic book for the publication. I realized that the story was too long to do an all-out comic so I decided to release it as an illustrated novella like Bernie Wrightson did with Frankenstein–one of my biggest artistic influences. The other guys on the project weren’t going to make the deadline (we planned to release it for Halloween) so I went ahead and released it on my own and threw in a short zombie story I had done in the past called A Wish for the Dead to make it a little longer. The director of the film, Herschel Zahnd III, read the GN3 comic and thought it was one of the greatest horror stories he’d ever read and asked me if he could have the rights to direct it. He had received permission to film from one of the owners of Waverly Hills Sanitarium (where the comic was set) but one week before photography was to begin at the legendary hospital the other owner called him up and breached the deal. So we were out of a location, unfortunately a location not so easily replaced. We looked for a few weeks but couldn’t lock down a proper replacement and then Herschel’s tv series, The Necroville Picture Show, started to take up most of our time. As it stands now, we have a few episodes of Necroville to complete before the end of the first season and once that is in the can, we are starting back on GN3. We have a backup location set up but we are still hoping to find something a little closer to Waverly. The cast and crew are still onboard and excited to bring the comic to the screen. I believe the film should be done by Spring 2009. My role in the movie is pretty involving. The producers and director really want the film to be extremely faithful to the novella I wrote. I wrote the screenplay for the film, had some say in the casting–mostly with the film’s lead Julie Streble who is fantastic as Girl Number Three. We have shot the opening of the film already in which I had a pretty good sized cameo in. I also provided storyboards for the film. So my part in the film is actor, casting director, producer, screenwriter and storyboard artist. I can’t wait to get back to this project because I really believe it is an all new way of approaching the typical survival horror genre with a taste of the slasher genre as well. My biggest anticipation is for Julie who I really think is going to be the MVP of the whole film. She’s awesome and so excited about this role.

So, between The Malevolent book 4, G#3, the Ghost Security sketches for Necroville, and your growing family, you seem to have a pretty full plate nowadays. Anything else that you would care to plug or share? Like your work with the impending Valiant Collector’s Society?

Yeah, I’m pretty full right now. I’m not sure what is going on with the whole Valiant Comics thing. That would be a great opportunity for me, to reach a wider audience but I don’t know too much about Valiant and their universe of characters because I really never collected them when they first hit big in the early 1990s. The powers that be in the company supposedly liked the work I did on some art for a fan project produced by the Valiant Collector’s Society. Other recent events include the DVD/movie poster artwork I did for “Bloodstained Romance”, this really cool indie film directed by this guy named Travis Miller. But the coolest thing going on right now that you didn’t mention is my recent work with Horrorhound magazine. I’ve always dreamed of working for a horror based magazine like Fangoria and Horrorhound is one of the best new mags on the subject I’ve ever seen. I was a fan of the publication and for the past 3 issues the editor-in-chief has offered me continuous art jobs for the mag including a Creepshow homage, a poster pull out featuring 8 of the biggest horror movie icons of all-time and currently I am working on another collection of drawings for the next issue and there’s another project they want me to do that is so huge I really hope it really happens. Nothing is final as of yet but if all the cards fall into place, this could be the biggest thing artistically, to ever happen for me. I wish I could say what it is but I should probably keep it on the down low as they say.

Oh man- that Creepshow piece WAS fantastic. Anyone reading this should know that the Horrorhound work and much more can be found among the many galleries within the links below. The colour work especially- your skills in that arena have grown at an obscenely fast rate over the past some months. You should be proud, brother.
All said, thanks for your time, Nate. Hope the next year for you is even better than this one.

I don’t know if I have a closing remark other than my usual closing remark that fans need to take more interest in the independents out there. Just like seeing a local band play in town one night and blowing you away, some local artist or writer may have the same effect on you but you’ll never know until it happens. Be the first of fans. Think about those people in Liverpool who first saw The Silver Beetles play in some Tavern back in 1960. They had some bragging rights a few years later when those guys became the biggest rock band the world has ever seen. Stuff like The Malevolent or Girl Number Three could end up being the next big thing and you kept walking past my booth at that random comic convention because you’d never heard of me or my books. That doesn’t mean you never will.

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