Drukija: Contessa of Blood
© N/A
Counting Blood with Glenn Danzig
By: Kurt AmackerDate: Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Most people know Glenn Danzig through his 30-year musical career. From the Misfits to Samhain to Danzig, he has remained a pioneering force in dark rock. His discography includes everything from cacophonous, yet catchy hardcore punk to 1950’s-style ballads to classical epics like Black Aria. But, he also writes comic books. Though his publishing company Verotik scaled back many of its publications a few years ago, Danzig still writes once in a while. His most recent work with Simon Bisley is less a comic than an illustrated prose novella. Drukija: Contessa of Blood premiered at San Diego Comic-Con and then hit the shops on August 1st. I talked with Danzig yesterday about comic books, history, and the creative intersection between visual art and music.
Kurt Amacker: Most people know you through your music. You’ve fronted the Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. But, could you tell everyone that doesn’t know a little bit about why you started Verotik a few years ago?
Glenn Danzig: I started Verotik because I had all of these stories in my head and I wanted to make the American comic book grow up. It didn’t work. I mean, it did in a sense that we changed the comic market. But, there were forces at play like Diamond that make it even more childish now.
KA: I think the big problem is that some companies are still trying to keep the Silver Age alive. That’s okay to some extent, but it seems like 30 years later people are still reusing Jack Kirby’s ideas.
GD: Occasionally, you’ll see a great comic come along like Promethea. But, that’s out of the norm.
KA: Drukija, Countess of Blood is a slight departure for you, because it’s more like an illustrated novella than a comic, right?
GD: Drukija is the first time I’ve actually laid my free verse down. It’s a couple of pages of that and it’s a full-page Simon Bisely illustration of the craziness that is this character that I very loosely based on the Elizabeth Bathory legend, which is true, actually. A lot of people think it’s a legend, but it’s true.
KA: It’s definitely not a legend.
GD: She wasn’t really a vampire. It’s more that she was just this really sadistic, cruel woman. Some of her hand servants were sadistic and cruel. But in that time period, people were like that.
KA: What’s weird though is that when you listen to bands like Cradle of Filth and talk to some people, it almost sounds like they’ve crossed the line between fascination and admiration. I’m fascinated by her, but I can’t condone what she did.
GD: I’m just interested. I’m not fascinated by anybody. It’s another f—king story to me. I could rattle you off true stories that I’ve seen and experienced that would – well, I don’t think they’d make Countess Bathory look like crap!
KA: It’s kind of hard to top slaughtering 600 servant girls. But, what do you think that a reader gets from experiencing a patently evil character like that? So much of your music and writing makes the audience confront and experience characters they ordinarily wouldn’t.
GD: I think there’s a gray area there. I don’t think in senses of “evil” and “good” like some people do. I don’t see it that way. I don’t buy into any of the organized religious crud. Usually when people talk to you, what they’re spitting out of their mouth is coming from a [religious] point of view. It’s tainted to begin with. They’re not being objective. They’ll tell you they are. But they’re basing it on [the assumption] that you believe in their religion. Everything’s based on that. You can’t have an objective conversation with them. It’s almost insulting that they want you to believe what they do and go from that point on.
KA: It’s a faith-based perspective and it’s often presented as something that non-believers simply “can’t understand.”
GD: They want you to adopt the same moral code that they don’t even adhere to, but they tell you they do. So anyway, I try not to interact with that many people and on that level.
KA: Still, with characters like Drukija, you’re talking about more extreme characters than the grocer you buy your eggs from.
GD: [Laughing] But, you never know who that guy is! He could be selling you eggs right now and later on be doing something crazy.
KA: That was Ed Gein – the quiet guy that no one ever thought a f—king thing about.
GD: The whole thing is that you never know. You can always find someone who came in and killed a whole family, and everyone says “He was the nicest guy. He kept to himself.” You don’t really know.
KA: No, you don’t. That’s a good point. Peter Gilmore from the Church of Satan says they have elected officials on their rolls – ones that aren’t public about it. Granted, the Church of Satan isn’t made up of a bunch of serial killers or anything. They’re more like radical, self-worshipping atheists. Of course, you know that. But, it just goes to show you that what people show the public and what they keep to themselves are often very different things.
GD: Next subject.
KA: Let’s talk about the way you depict women in your music and comics. The female characters in your work are really strong and sexually aggressive. They have hallmarks of what we normally consider masculinity, but with a visceral feminine twist.
GD: It’s not masculinity. That’s your Christian upbringing. It’s usually the Lilith aspect. A lot of women understand it and a lot of people – a lot of women – don’t understand it that because it’s to be shunned and to be denied.
KA: What do you want the reader or the listener to experience by it?
GD: I want the reader to experience whatever they want. Read the comics. Whatever you get out of it – fantastic! If you’re just enjoying it and you like the art, that’s fantastic. I don’t care as long as it takes you somewhere for 15 or 20 minutes away from wherever you are.
KA: That’s what I’ve always appreciated about your music – that same storytelling quality. It feels like you’ve been someplace and come back to tell us all about it.
GD: That’s the best part. That’s what it should be.
KA: I remember listening to Danzig II in high school on my headphones on the bus, and it felt like I was looking into another world. I get the same experience with the Misfits, as well. It feels like you’ve been to this B-movie universe and come back to say, “Guys, I’ve got to tell you about what I just f—king saw.” It adds a dimension to music that’s missing from a lot of rock, but that you find more often in opera or classical.
GD: Yeah, there ain’t that much good music out there. It’s really tough to find.
KA: Do you feel like your writing comes from the same creative impulse, like you just have all of these stories to tell and it doesn’t matter which medium you’re working in?
GD: Yeah, probably about 5 or 6 years ago we put the brakes on Verotik because we were starting to do stuff I didn’t really want to do just to put out books. Finally, I just said we were just going to put out stuff when I have something to say and a story to tell. If people don’t like it, that’s tough luck.
KA: Do you feel like you’re going to come out with more comics at this point or stick with prose and art?
GD: No, more art books – unfortunately, comics are so expensive to print it’s almost not even worth it anymore. If we’re going to keep on doing it and paying the artists, we have to move to a different format and a different distribution chain, because Diamond is awful. Right when I first got involved in comics, all these companies were trying to get you to go exclusive with them. At that time there were three different distributors, now there’s only one. Diamond put everyone out of business.
KA: Yeah, I’m trying to get a comic together myself. The cost starts to add up to the point where you have to stand back and ask when it stops being worth it.
GD: It’s not easy. We’re looking at different distribution chains now. I’m talking to publishers like Random House and Simon & Schuster to just try to get away from the whole comics distribution chain. The next thing that Biz and I are doing is a Danzig lyric book – one page of lyrics of Misfits, Samhain, or Danzig songs that have never had the lyrics printed and then a full-page illustration to go with the song. We might offer it through Diamond, but it’s mainly going through my record distribution. It’s pointless now with Diamond. I don’t know how much longer the comic industry will go on.
KA: How did you meet Simon Bisley, originally?
GD: I knew his agent, who sold his artwork. And, I wanted to get the cover to Thrall/Demonsweatlive done by him. Then, I met him in England when we were on tour and we’ve been working together ever since.
KA: You guys were at San Diego Comic-Con together recently. Didn’t you all premiere Drukija there?
GD: We had a bunch shipped in. Biz was there. We signed a bunch and gave out a bunch of free ones to people. People saw me and Biz signing them at the table and said, “Can we buy that?” We were really going to offer them to kids on the website who couldn’t make it to the show, and then we just started selling a couple to people.
KA: How did Comic-Con for you this year?
GD: It’s retarded. You can’t even walk around now that it’s so big. I think they had 100-something-thousand people there.
KA: I went a couple of years ago when it was only about 100,000 a people and it was a madhouse.
GD: I liked it better when it was smaller because you can’t really enjoy it or see it.
KA: Now that The Lost Tracks of Danzig and Drukija are out, what’s next? Are you still directing the film adaptation of your Verotik comic, Gerouge?
GD: I’m talking to a producer next week. We fired the other producers. We gave them a deadline to go into pre-production with it. They didn’t want to give us the deadline, so we nullified the contract and started talking with other producers. Hollywood sucks.
KA: This is the first time you’ll be directing a feature-length film, though, isn’t it? Has it come up in the past?
GD: When Verotik first started, we had a development deal over at Miramax. It wasn’t me directing, but writing with another screenwriter. But, it ended up being a stupid joke. But this is the first time, yeah, that it’ll be me directing.
KA: Even 10 years ago, there was talk about you playing Wolverine or being in some werewolf movie directed by Wes Craven. You ended up playing a small role in The Prophecy II, but a lot of people thought you were really going to get into movies at that point.
GD: I’ve never heard about the Wes Craven werewolf movie. He did ask if me if I was interested in being one of the Scream movies. I’ve turned down a lot of sh-t, because it was exactly that – sh-t. I think I’m going to do this one movie that someone just offered me, though, that’s pretty good. Last year, I turned down this Dracula movie. They wanted me to be Dracula. It was just dopey – all talking and nothing cool in it.
KA: I’m sorry but that sounds awesome. I would’ve paid to see that.
GD: This new one is by this young director who did some movie in New York. He wants me to be in this movie set in the future. They go around checking to see if people are diseased in this future city. If they’re not, they grab them and cut them open and sell their parts.
KA: Sounds charming.
GD: [Laughing] It’s pretty cool.
KA: I understand that you’re not going to be touring too much in the near future. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s what I’ve heard you say.
GD: Last year, we just did some West Coast dates for my festival, Blackest of the Black. Every two or three days, we fly home and hang out. Am I going to do that this year? I don’t know about that. But, am I going to do a couple of East Coast dates? Maybe I’ll fly out and do two or three and fly home.
KA: Any other projects you’d like to touch on?
GD: There’s the thing I’m going with Biz, but I don’t know when that’s coming out. He hasn’t even done the first illustration for it. I just finished producing [former Misfits guitarist] Doyle’s record for his band, Gorgeous Frankenstein. That comes out October 2nd. I just sang on a track for Melissa Auf der Maur. She used to be in Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins.
We’re also talking about doing a film adaptation of the title Verotika, the erotic horror series. We’ll have three different stories by three different directors, like an anthology film.
KA: It’s been really great talking to you. I’ve been looking forward to this for 11 years.
GD: Yeah, don’t worry about it.
The Spinner Rack
By Ben Johnson and Kurt Amacker
Ben: This just in – In an effort to avoid the possibility of every landfill in the nation reaching capacity in the next year DC has agreed to buy back all the unsold copies of Countdown and recycle them into toilet paper.
Kurt: So, if you’ve ever wanted to, uh, clean yourself with Jason Todd, now’s your chance.
DARK HORSE COMICS
Akira Club HC $29.95
Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol 2 TP $24.95
Kurt: That must be my wife giggling with glee I hear.
Star Wars 30th Anniv Coll Vol 7 HC Darklighter $19.95
Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic #19 $2.99
Vampire Hunter D Vol 8 Novel SC (MR) $8.95
Ben: Dark Horse manages another week without any possibility of separating me from my money.
DC COMICS
Batman #668 $2.99
Batman Lobo Deadly Serious #1 (Of 2) $5.99
Kurt: This is written by Sam Keith, so I predict that it will rock like Danzig.
Birds Of Prey #109 $2.99
Blue Beetle #18 $2.99
Ben: Why is he so sad?
Countdown 36 $2.99
Ben: I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.
Kurt: I’m going to make a wall of Countdown back issues in front of your door one morning.
Crossing Midnight #10 (MR) $2.99
Green Arrow Year One #4 (Of 6) $2.99
Ben: I don’t even know why DC bothers. Whatever happens here will just be retconned in the next crisis.
Green Lantern Corps #15 $2.99
Ben: This and JSA are the only things keeping me reading DC.
Kurt: Dude, are you trying to get us killed?
JSA Classified #29 $2.99
Mad Classics #17 $4.99
Outsiders Five Of A Kind Week 4 Metamorpho Aquaman $2.99
Oyayubihime Infinity Vol 6 $9.99
Ben: Just the title of this makes me hate manga more.
Scooby Doo #123 $2.25
Showcase Presents Wonder Woman Vol 1 TP $16.99
Kurt: Read this while you wait for Gail Simone to come on the current series.
Spirit #9 $2.99
Supergirl And The Legion Of Super Heroes #33 $2.99
Superman #666 (Note Price) $3.99
Ben: The devil with Superman (Note influence of the Prince of Darkness).
Kurt: This is like the second of third mention of Satan in this week’s Comicscape.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre By Himself #1 (Of 2) (MR) $2.99
Ben: Sung to the tune of All By Myself.
Young Magician Vol 9 (MR) $9.99
IMAGE COMICS
Bomb Queen III #4 (Of 4) (MR) $3.50
Bonds #1 (Of 3) $3.99
Hiding In Time #2 (Of 4) $3.50
In Her Darkest Hour One Shot $3.50
Ben: I needed a hell of a lot more than one during my darkest hour.
Kurt: My book would be In His Darkest Hour One Bottle – Hell, Make It Two.
Invincible #45 $2.99
Johnny Delgado Is Dead #1 (Of 2) $3.99
Ben: So is Martha Washington. Small world.
PX Vol 1 A Girl And Her Panda GN $16.99
Ben: Sequel to a boy and his snake.
Repo #3 (Of 5) (MR) $3.50
Scrap Mettle HC $39.99
Strange Embrace #3 (Of 8) (MR) $2.99
Ben: It’s when you give your friend a man hug and he grabs your ass instead of slapping your back.
Kurt: Or, when you roll over in bed to put your arm around your wife and instead, Chuck Norris is there waiting.
Surreal Adventures Of Edgar Allan Poo GN $9.99
Ben: The sh*t really hits the fan.
Tellos Colossal HC $39.99
Tellos Colossal HC S&N $75.00
Walking Dead #40 (MR) $2.99
Ben: War is on the horizon. Only ten issues of people doing nothing and the payoff will be here. Sweet!
Kurt: I’ve heard that Robert Kirkman has a mean roundhouse kick, you know.
Weapon #3 (Of 4) $2.99
MARVEL COMICS
Amazing Fantasy Omnibus Vol 1 HC $75.00
Kurt: All right, all jokes aside, Marvel takes these things out of print as soon as the first run sells out. If you want this, buy it now because you’ll be driven to E-Bay if you wait.
Amazing Fantasy Omnibus Vol 1 HC Var $75.00
Amazing Spider-Man #543 $2.99
Annihilation Conquest Star Lord #2 (Of 4) $2.99
Ben: This has got to be the coolest book of the year. Rocket Raccoon is in it for god’s sake.
Astonishing X-Men #22 $2.99
Cable Deadpool #44 $2.99
Daily Bugle September Pi
Fantastic Five #4 (Of 5) $2.99
Halo Uprising #1 (Of 4) (MR) $3.99
Ben: What my stomach did when I heard about this one.
Kurt: This must be like methadone for video game addicts.
Hedge Knight TP $14.99
Heroes For Hire Vol 2 Ahead Of The Curve TP $13.99
Immortal Iron Fist #8 $2.99
Iron Man #21 $2.99
Ben: I’m getting tired of the treading water issues that mega-events such as World War Hulk create.
Marvel Adventures Avengers #15 $2.99
Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #27 $2.99
Marvel Adventures Iron Man #4 $2.99
Marvel Illustrated Last Of The Mohicans #4 (Of 6) $2.99
Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Sub Mariner Vol 2 HC Var $59.99
Marvel Masterworks Golden Age Sub Mariner Vol 2 New Ed HC $59.99
Mystic Arcana Scarlet Witch $2.99
Paradise X Vol 2 TP New Ptg $29.99
Kurt: This is finally back in print, making my old copy worth nothing.
Sensational Spider-Man #40 $2.99
Spider-Girl Presents The Buzz & Darkdevil Digest TP $7.99
The Order #2 CWI $2.99
Ben: Wait, wait, I’ll take a vanilla shake instead of chocolate and do you have seasoned fries?
Kurt: Hey, you didn’t make a scat joke. I’m proud of you!
Thor Visionaries Walt Simonson Vol 4 TP $24.99
Ben: I’m holding out for Dazzler: Visionaries.
Kurt: There is an Essential Dazzler volume that came out this month, so you’re in luck.
Thunderbolts #116 $2.99
Ultimate Fantastic Four #45 $2.99
Ben: The Silver Surfer arc has been very well done.
Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 17 Clone Saga TP $24.99
Wolverine #56 $3.99
Kurt: This is written by Jason Aaron with art by Howard Chaykin. After the last arc, this series has no place to go but up.
World War Hulk Gamma Corps #2 (Of 4) WWH $2.99
Ben: There always has to be at least one totally worthless tie-in with every cross-over.
Kurt: Is it this year’s Rann/Thanagar War?
World War Hulk Gamma Files $3.99
X-23 Target TP $15.99
Ben: The best pedophilia material Marvel has put out in years.
Kurt: Dear God, this is the most offensive column we’ve ever done.
X-Men #202 $2.99
X-Men First Class Vol 2 #3 $2.99
Kurt: Next month, look for X-Men Coach!
Danzig kind of comes off as a jerk in this interview. Bummer, 'cause I like some of his music and the comic looks remotely interesting.