We are very excited to sit and down and talk with Kolby Diaz. Kolby is an up-and-coming indie comic writer and novelist. We’ve had the pleasure of publishing one of his short stories in our July 2020 issue. He is celebrating the release of his newest comic, titled From Dark Corners.
From Dark Corners can be purchased directly from:
Thriller Magazine: You’ve been doing a lot of work in the indie comic realm. Some of your projects include Headless Horseman Frankenstein and Sin. What drives you to continue breaking into this genre?
Thank you for mentioning my previous comic books! What drives me to continue making indie comics is a combination of my love and fandom of the art form and where my tastes currently lie as a story consumer. I suppose any comics outside the big two (Marvel and DC) are considered “indie,” even if they are superhero-oriented tales. However, I’ll focus my answer on not writing superhero comic books. I do have superhero stories in me, and I will write them someday, but for now, I’m interested in using the comic book medium to cover other genres. I think there is a certain level of suspension of disbelief and faith in superhero storytelling conventions that writers and readers must lean into to make them work. Maybe I don’t want to utilize those specific tools for now. I’ll stay away from tights and capes until my muse guides me back to them or an opportunity that’s too good to pass up comes along.
TM: From the Dark Corners is a single-author anthology featuring 10 three-page comics. It’s a unique style for a comic. What inspired this idea?
What inspired the idea of doing an anthology project comprised of short stories was the nature of breaking into the industry and working with artists who often have day jobs, families, or other elements of life that make it hard for them to commit to larger projects, particularly in a timeline under even a year. I have written multitudes of comics compared to what I’ve been able to release. After my comic Headless Horseman Frankenstein came out, I thought of working with several artists simultaneously and giving them only three pages each so I could release a comic sooner rather than later. Even then, we were delayed a year. Still, I’m super happy with how the project turned out and have gained valuable working relationships with a wider network of artists with whom I hope to continue making comics.
TM: One thing I loved about this work was the variety of the stories. You have stories ranging from traditional horror tales to pirate-themed stories to fantasy horror pieces. Tell us about how you created all these ideas and put them together?
Thank you! I took this project as a creative exercise. I’m a big fan of the writer Neil Gaiman, and he has a quote about your projects being like the many cypselae of a dandelion puffball. Write a lot, try different things, be brave (and not too precious), and then let them go to the winds! I take inspiration and motivation wherever I can, which allowed me to be brave enough to write as many short stories as possible and not let doubt get in the way. Horror is also a very flexible genre that can be mixed with any other, allowing me to create a diverse sampler dish of stories.
TM: Is there a piece in here that stands out to you? Maybe one that was harder to write or more meaningful to you on a personal note?
Hmm, they’re all my babies, so I don’t know if anyone stands out over the rest. Also, each story is a unique collaboration with a fantastic artist, and the best part of writing comics versus prose is working with another talented creative and hoping the sum of your efforts is greater than its parts. I would say “The Clenched Mind,” “Revenge of the Cat People,” and “Two Vampires on a Roof” might be the most personal for me, based on my life experiences.
Then, I would say “Revenge of the Cat People” might have been the hardest to write. That story really wanted to be longer than three pages. If you look back on that one, you’ll see it has a denser panel count than the rest of the stories. I’d love to revisit that one. I think most of the stories in From Dark Corners have the potential to be expanded upon, but it’s very easy for me to imagine where “Revenge of the Cat People” could go with more pages.
TM: How do you find writing comics different from writing short fiction and novels? Do you feel like the skillsets translate well between the mediums?
Oh, boy. I could go on and on about the similarities and differences between writing prose and comics. Many skills translate between the two, but there is a science to writing comics that must also be applied. I’m more of a discovery writer than an architect who plans every little detail of a story in advance. However, when dealing with precious page real estate in comics, I believe you need to prepare some kind of blueprint. You can deviate from that plan, of course, but you need to account for those changes and how they affect the use of your pages as they happen. I will add that those rules go out the window if you’re writing a graphic novel with no page limit. And besides all that, there are strengths and weaknesses to each storytelling medium, and certain tricks that only exist in one and not the other that I recommend any writer take advantage of.
TM: Let’s talk about Dark Corners specifically. Has there been a single story in the collection that has been a fan favorite or a personal favorite?
I’m happy to say that favorites are varied in From Dark Corners depending on the reader, but maybe the one (at least at this point) that’s edged out the rest is “Denby’s Bridge.” I can’t get into all the reasons without spoiling the story (and who likes spoilers?). I can say that it’s still a horror story, but the setting and tone are different from the others. I think people are delighted with the art style of the talented artist Jose-Luis Segura and the ending.