BELLINGHAM, WASH. (NOVEMBER 25, 2008) – The success of Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum, a short stop motion animated film produced by Hand Made Heroes Film & Television has resulted in a comic book deal with Bluewater Productions. When Bluewater President Darren G. Davis and Director Marc Lougee of Hand Made Heroes discovered they were both producing work independently under the Ray Harryhausen Presents banner, Bluewater immediately penned a deal with director Marc Lougee to further develop film & comic book cross-over properties.

Since it’s premiere hosted by Harry Knowles of Ain’t It Cool News at the BNAT Film Festival, The Pit and the Pendulum short film has screened in over 200 film festivals and comic conventions around the world including AFI Dallas and San Diego Comic-Con. Nearly 100,000 visitors logged into the film’s website within two days of the film’s premier in Austin, TX, and has continued to garner a global fan following. 

“Seeing the film published as a comic thru a brilliant publisher like Bluewater is the realization of another dream of mine.” said Director, Marc Lougee, “What started as a labor of love, and a once in a lifetime chance to make a film with Ray Harryhausen at the helm, has just continued to expand and reach further than I’d imagined. I’m really excited to have an issue of Ray Harryhausen Presents; The Pit and the Pendulum comic in hand come February 2009.”

Susan Ma, producer on the stop motion adaptation of The Pit and the Pendulum, says the soon to be released comic book is a wonderful extension of the film. “In producing the film, we sought to bring the story to life for a broad audience, while staying as close to the original story as possible. Executive producer Ray Harryhausen was especially keen to see the story develop with a strong visual aesthetic and real storytelling.  In bringing the film version into the realm of comic books, I feel we’re accomplishing the goal of making the story very accessible. We’ve been surprised with wonderful feedback from teachers and professors who are thrilled to have a resource like the film to teach Poe’s works in class.”

Director Marc Lougee adds, “ I think between the comic book and the DVD, we’ve got a wonderful package to create interest in great literature thru visual means, starting with E.A. Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum. Gothic horror, Ray Harryhausen and Edgar Allan Poe- who wouldn’t be thrilled?”

The story in brief: The Pit and the Pendulum. A victim of the Spanish Inquisition is brought before a tribunal. Condemned and alone, he’s left to suffer a fate worse than death as his captors employ fiendish machinations in their efforts to unhinge him.

About The Pit and the Pendulum comic book.  Featuring images taken directly from the award-winning animated film and coupled with Poe’s original text, the graphic version of the story in comic book form ratchets up the effect of Poe’s tale of Gothic Horror, creating a spine-tingling experience not to be missed. 

The Pit and the Pendulum comic book is scheduled for release in February 2009. The PIT AND THE PENDULUM DVD is available online at www.thepitandthependulumdshortfilm.com

About Bluewater Productions:

Bluewater Productions, Inc. is one if the top independent production studios of comic, young adult books and graphic novel titles. In the tradition of great storytelling and cutting edge art, Bluewater storms onto the comic book and graphic novel scene. With more titles than ever, including smash hits such as the 10th MUSE, VSS, and THE LEGEND OF ISIS, Bluewater is poised to continue to produce engaging stories with art from both the top names in the industry alongside with up and coming stars.

As of May 2007, Bluewater Productions, Inc. moved from production studio to publisher, in conjunction with legendary filmmaker, Ray Harryhausen — the genius behind some of the greatest movie magic of all-time while continuing to publish it’s popular superhero line starring it’s flagship character the 10th Muse. Bluewater has also just signed a publishing deal with William Shatner,Roger Corman and Lionsgate.

About Hand Made Heroes:
Hand Made Heroes Film & Television produces compelling & entertaining animated properties for television, film and online audiences.  

Director & Creative Producer Marc Lougee & producing partner Susan Ma share years of experience in the genre, playing part in many series & film projects, including the BBC/ Discovery Kids! series DINOSAPIEN, BBC’s ACE LIGHTNING, CBC’s WHAT IT’S LIKE BEING ALONE and MTV’s CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH. Aside form broadcast projects, Marc & Susan have produced several award-winning films, including THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM animated film (exec produced by Ray Harryhausen), available now on DVD.  For more information on the PIT AND THE PENDULUM animated film, visit the official website: http://www.thepitandthependulumshortfilm.com. 

One of my fellow LOTT D members, Chad Helder of Unspeakable Horror!, is involved in a new comic project through BlueWater Comics titled Bartholomew of the Scissors. I have had the privilege to preview this comic and the look is amazing. Below Chad shares some of his thoughts on the comic as writer, and Daniel Crosier talks about the art and his use of wood burning.

TheoFantastique: Can you share a little about your background in comics and your previous work?

Chad Helder: Strangely enough, my background is in poetry. I studied poetry in college, and I have a collection of poetry called The Pop-Up Book of Death. However, the horror genre has always been with me, and I’ve always felt a drive to tell horror tales. With Bartholomew, the story really goes full-blast into the genre. I hold nothing back. It basically includes everything I’ve always wanted to put into a horror tale: psychics, undead children, razor-sharp instruments, perverted psychiatrists, fire demons, paranormal investigators, aliens from another dimension, and a flame-thrower battle with the National Guard! But to answer your question, this is my comic book debut! I started reading comics in my thirties. I am completely in love with them. I’m also writing scripts for Vincent Price Presents, which premieres the same time as Bartholomew in September. Now I wish I could draw!

TheoFantastique: What was the creative inspiration behind the story for Bartholomew of the Scissors?

Chad Helder: I was walking through the forest on my way to linguistics class at Western Washington University when I imagined hundreds of stainless steel sewing shears floating out of the trees toward me. I don’t know where the image came from. It was a very strange and unsettling image. My next thought was: what would happen if these weird animated scissors attacked me, sort of like the seagulls in Hitchcock’s Birds? I knew that I had something that I’d never seen before in a horror story. The story was built up around this concept of the scissor swarm. I created an entire story-world to explain the scissor swarm and how it could possibly exist—and why.

I worked on it as a novel for years. I think I wrote the novel three times, but it always fell apart in revision. There were countless changes made to the characters and the monsters, but I think the world of the story is very rich and complex as a result of this. Then I met Darren from Bluewater. He was a guest speaker in the English 101 class I was teaching. The students had an assignment to write about a superhero. During Darren’s presentation, it occurred to me to adapt the story into a comic. I pitched Darren the idea later in the week, and we went from there. Immediately, I knew that the story was meant to be a comic.

TheoFantastique: A question for you Daniel as the artist. The most unique facet of this comic for me is that each page it is burned into wood. How did this method of creating the art come about?

Daniel Crosier: Actually, wood burning is one aspect of the mixed media approach for the art in the book. I am using graphite, color pencils, some ink, paint marker, as well as wood burning. I enjoy investigating materials potential and using different things in my sculpts or illustrations. When the Bartholomew book was presented to me I thought it’d be a great opportunity to try my hand at wood burning. Since it is a horror genre book, the rustic or weathered look would lend itself well in supporting the story.

The wood burning was suggested last November by Elizabeth Breitweiser, artist and art teacher, and her husband, Mitch, who is an illustrator for Marvel Comics. She saw I was doing some very detailed work on wood and adding sculptural elements. Honestly, wood burning was something I never considered until Elizabeth planted that seed.

TheoFantastique: What was the most challenging about doing a comic in wood, and has this opened up possibilities for expressing comics in other artistic ways for you?

Daniel Crosier: Challenges would be weight, storage, and splinters. Wood burning is also a strain on the eyes, having to stare at the weaving wood grain for hours.

Comic books are a significant story-telling device, up there with any other medium. That includes high-art or contemporary art. Most of the globe seems to accept this notion, it is part of their culture. America stills sees comic books as a sub-cultural movement, despite the fact the it has infiltrated almost every aspect of pop culture. I think with creators like your Alan Moores, David Macks, Frank Millers, there are greater potential to validate comic books as an indisputable high and low brow art form up there with your Francis Bacons, Hunter S. Thompsons, or Stanley Kubricks. With that, I intend on exploring different materials, styles, and approaches to comic books or story-telling in general. This doesn’t mean I won’t try more of the general approach, but it is nice to mix it up.

TheoFantastique: Thanks to both of you for your work on this, and I wish you and BlueWater the best of success with yet another interesting comic.

TheoFantastique: Darren, thanks for stopping by and taking time out of a busy production schedule to share some thoughts with readers. For those who may not be familiar with BlueWater, can you tell us how this company came about?

Darren Davis: I have been producing comics since 2001 at Image Comics and Alias. When Alias changed directions in publishing, I ended up self publishing our titles. We are staying on the smaller side doing about 5 titles a month. We have a deal with Ray Harryhausen to produce a line of comics with the film legend.

TheoFantastique: I have a thin connection to the comic industry through my brother who is a comic artist and creator of the Boneyard series. With this connection I’m always interested in how people become involved in comics. How did you personally develop an interest in comics and decide to make this your career?

Darren Davis: I loved watching Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. Superfriends was my favorite – so I started getting into comics from that. As for working in comics, I really never wanted to work in them. I just collected them. I was working at Lionsgate Films when WildStorm (DC Comics), doubled my salary to sell their services. While working there I was watching all these people creating their own projects and I thought I could do that. So after I left DC Comics I started my own line with the 10th Muse (which was the 6th highest selling comic on the Diamond chart for Nov 2001). I used my entertainment marketing background with my love of comics – so then a comic creator was born! It is funny that you mention your brother – because my brother writes for Bluewater. We have also gotten my 16 year old niece to write her own book (Violet Rose – out in Nov).

TheoFantastique: As you mentioned, your comic The 10th Muse was your initial comic production. You also did Legend of Isis. Can you tell us something about the storylines for these comics and how they came about and perhaps led to the creation of BlueWater?

Darren Davis: I saw what appealed to me in the comic book world when I was creating these characters. I really thought that TOP COW was doing it right. Amazing looking books with great stories. So I used them as motivation. I knew Randy Green from my DC Comics days and asked him to help me design the 10th Muse. I got Marv Wolfman who was my favorite writer to write the book. I have been a Greek mythos fan since I was a kid and thought this would be the perfect genre to do. So right after 10th Muse we developed takes on Atlas, Isis, Orion & Valkyrie.

TheoFantastique: One of your more interesting and noteworthy projects that has been mentioned in many comic, sci fi, and horror magazines is your comics that fall under the “Ray Harryhausen Presents” series. How did you come to be associated with Ray?

Darren Davis: I met Ray at a book signing up in my home town of Bellingham, WA. He was always an inspiration to me. I tend to create comics that have mythology ideas. So I gave Ray a couple of graphic novels of the book I produced and told him that he was my inspiration. I loved Clash of the Titans (even better than Star Wars – I know that is not very PC to say). I spoke with his manager, Arnold Kunert, at the event and asked him why there has not been comics with Ray. He told me many people were interested but flaked out. So in two weeks I had artwork and proposals on Wrath of the Titans, 20 Million Miles More and Sinbad: Rogue of Mars. The contracts were drafted up right after that.

TheoFantastique: How did you come up with the idea of new storylines based upon Ray’s classic sci fi and fantasy films, and has it been something of a challenge producing comics that live up to these infamous films and the standards of their even more infamous creator?

Darren Davis: When we did this deal, I did not want to make these adaptations off of the movies. So we hired writers that were passionate about the projects. I wanted to do what happened to Peruses, so I wrote Wrath of the Titans. Scott Davis wrote 20 Million Miles More – it is a modern take of the story (along with going to Venus to seeing where the Ymir live). Sinbad Goes to Mars was a screenplay that floating around Hollywood right after Clash of the Titans. When I was doing research on the projects this one really jumped out at me. So Rogue of Mars was born. I met the writer at a convention and his passion for the Ray line was insane. He told me that he would love to write all the Ray titles. At this point Greg Thompson is doing a couple. We also have David McIntee (who writes Dr. Who novels), writing Jason and the Argonauts.

TheoFantastique: What has the feedback been like from Ray and his agent Arnold Kunert on this project, and what has been the response of fans and readers of the comics themselves?

Darren Davis: Everyone is happy with the books. Ray and Arnold love the art and stories. We are really sensitive to keeping the feel of his films with the comics. We tend not to be too racy or violent in the books. The fans have been really supportive of the books as well. I get letters from people all the time about heir favorite Ray Harryhausen story.

TheoFantastique: Have you gotten any indication as to whether these comics might lead to a new generation of fans who, somehow, might not have been familiar with Ray’s work previously?

Darren Davis: We were sensitive to making sure that people can pick up these titles without the knowledge of Ray’s pervious work. My nephew who is 11 loves the comics and now has seen all the movies. We do also make sure there is lots of “Harryhausen” monsters and action in the books for die-hard fans.

TheoFantastique: I noted in reading Ray’s book Ray Harryhausen: An Animated Life, that there are several projects that Ray never got to see begin production. Is it possible that some of these might serve as sources for future comics with BlueWater?

Darren Davis: We are launching a bunch of new Ray Harryhausen Presents properties in 2008. Some of them are going to be ones that were never put into film production. The Eleme
ntals will be out in February which is one that I am really excited about. We are also doing ones called Flying Saucers vs. the Earth (which is from the perspective of the aliens). And we will also produce It Came From Beneath the Sea…again. We are doing these in conjunction with the release of the SONY DVDs. There will also be a tradional Sinbad story as well as an ongoing Wrath of the Titans story. Back to Mysterious Island is one that will be out in 2008 as well. We also have plans to showcase some of his Fairy Tales from his early years. The 1st one will be the Tortoise and the Hare that will be in the Ray Harryhausen Presents one shot in November.

TheoFantastique: I understand that you are preparing to launch a sci fi line in 2008 that includes a deal with Legend Films. Can you tell us a little about this, and an other projects we can look forward to from BlueWater?

Darren Davis: Some of the projects we are working on with Legend Films are SHE, Missile to the Moon and Plan 9 From Outer Space. I am really excited about this line. We did try getting the rights to the old tv show Buck Rogers but the rights were tied up. Other sci fi projects we have going on is bringing back Tom Corbett: Space Cadet.

TheoFantastique: Darren, thanks again for sharing with us. I wish you the best of success in your continued projects and look forward to many more years of creativity and entertainment from BlueWater.

Darren Davis: Thanks again for your interest in the Bluewater line!