Gideon Falls Creators Talk their Comic and Upcoming TV Show

Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's creator owned horror comic, Gideon Falls made the news last week with the announcement of a live action TV adaptation with production company, Hivemind -- but making the jump from page to screen isn't the only things looming on the book's horizon. Starting in the fall, Gideon Falls will be entering its second story arc as the mysteries surrounding the ominous town continue to deepen.

Described as "an atmospheric thriller colliding rural mystery and urban horror," Gideon Falls is the story of a town called -- you guessed it -- Gideon Falls, and the Black Barn, a surreal and haunting building that seems to have a connection to three, seemingly unrelated people in disturbing ways. From terrifying visions of malevolent monsters and real life murder investigations to ominous clues hidden in the town's trash, nothing in Gideon Falls is ever as it seems.

CBR sat down with Lemire and Sorrentino to discuss the story's future both in the comics and the upcoming adaptation, as well as take an exclusive look at the art for the upcoming issues #7, #8, and #9.

CBR: The first thing that really drew me to Gideon Falls as a story was the idea that it's about the whole town and this event, if you could call it that, that's spilling out across all these different people and places. It feels expansive in a way that I think typical horror tends to avoid for that feeling of narrative claustrophobia -- but on that same token, I have to imagine that the level of world building and juggling you both have to do is pretty tricky. What made you decide on taking that zoomed out approach?

Jeff Lemire: I don't know that I ever thought about it in that way – if I had I may have intimidated myself. This is really just how the story came out organically for me. It was always a book about community. We have Father Fred arriving in Gideon Falls and trying to find his place in this community after years of being transient. And we also have Norton who lives in the very opposite of this community. He lives a life of relative anonymity in a large city, but he is also being pulled towards Gideon Falls and the people there. So I always knew it would be a large cast, and to me that works even better because it really helps show the scope of the Black Barn's reach on the world.

Andrea Sorrentino: I think it could be interesting to add that the very first title Jeff come with for this story was "the Black Barn." Then the mystery and the backstory around it kept expanding as Jeff delved more and more into the story. The cast and the world around it grew bigger, and it become clear that it was not only around the Black Barn itself anymore, but about a whole community. It’s like, in the end, Gideon Falls become a living character itself, and it sounded just obvious to name the series after it.

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In keeping with that world building, by the sound of things the next arc is going to be tackling some Gideon Falls' past. Can you tease a little of what we should expect come the fall?

Lemire: We do start to delve into the past of Gideon Falls and the Black Barn. This rich history was only teased in arc one, in Doc Sutton's house with all his clippings and his work with The Ploughmen. But we will now start to actually see some of that history unfold firsthand. And we will also learn more about the more immediate past, and the back stories of both Fred and Norton.

Sorrentino: We’ll definitely see a lot more of the past. As Jeff said, there’re a lot of things we only teased in arc one about the rich history of Gideon Falls. I’ve just recently drawn some pages set in a Gideon Falls of 1900 for the second arc that shows the origins of the horror, how everything started. I think it will be very interesting for readers. Many of the answers they’re looking for are in arc two.

I'm pretty obsessed with the dueling narratives that have been happening in the comic so far, and all the weird ways you've both managed to draw connections between the main characters despite the fact that, so far, they're only connected obliquely by their run ins with the Black Barn. Is that multifaceted style going to continue on in the next arc as well or can we expect to start seeing Father Fred and Norton's worlds collide?

Lemire:It will indeed continue and get even more complex as we start layering different timelines as well. So the book will be a bit of a challenging read, a puzzle of sorts. But, to me, that's what makes it so fun to construct, and hopefully to read as well.

With the first four issues, the major threat is most obviously the Black Barn, but there's a heavy implication that the real thing we should be scared of is who or whatever is inside it, rather than just the barn itself. What can you tell me about that terrifying grinning man?

Lemire:I can tell you nothing! And who says what is inside the barn and the barn itself are two different things? Issue #6 is a wild one and some of this will begin to be revealed.

Sorrentino: Yes, we can’t really say anything about him at this point, but I think that what’s interesting about the guy is that his role changed a bit during the development of the story, as Jeff added more and more pieces to the puzzle. I think it will show how much thought and design Jeff has put in the whole mystery surrounding the Black Barn and how everything has its role in the big plan.

As things in Gideon Falls start to get more and more tense, Andrea, your artwork and page layouts really start to get experimental and psychedelic in ways that are really beautiful and engaging -- have you given any thought about how you'd like to see those surrealist art elements translated into live action for the TV show?

Sorrentino: Actually, I’ve always loved to get experimental with my layouts. I’ve done a lot of this in my previous work at Marvel or DC, but, with Gideon Falls, I wanted to make it a crescendo, starting a bit calmer than usual and then going crazier and crazier with layouts as the mystery and the craziness in the story began to unfold. I think it will be a rewarding experience for the readers once you get to the end of the first arc, much more than if I’d start to get crazy from the beginning. Issue #6 has some kind of things I’ve never done before – I can’t wait for readers to put their eyes on it.

And about working with Hivemind for the TV series, I’m eager to see what they’ll come up with. Both Jeff and I are very involved in the project, and we trust they’ll do something wonderful with our little child.

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In crafting both the book itself and the on screen adaptation, have there been any major horror or thriller touchstones either of you have looked at for inspiration? Do either of you have a favorite horror story, show, or film you want to try and pay homage to?

Sorrentino: I’ve always drawn inspiration from all kind of media, especially movies and TV. I think that when you mix things from different worlds, you can really come out with something different and unique. And I’ve always loved horror, probably even more than any other genres. For my favorite horror pieces, I’d probably say Alien and the short tale, "The Color Out of Space" by H.P. Lovecraft. I love the way he describes the indescribable, it has always immediately set my mind in motion to imagine ways to convey his impossible descriptions into real visuals.

Lemire: For me the biggest touchstone has always been Twin Peaks. It is my favorite piece of art, film, TV and has been since I was thirteen. So this is really my love letter to Twin Peaks. But that doesn't mean I am trying to copy or ape Twin Peaks – we want to create our own world here. Aside from Lynch and Peaks, the biggest influences on Gideon Falls for me are H.P. Lovecraft, Jacob's Ladder, The Shining and IT.

In building the story as a comic, Jeff, has your script and outline stayed pretty crystallized through the process or are you approaching it more organically? Is Gideon Falls as it is now the same Gideon Falls it was at the start?

Lemire: It is really changing a lot as I go, probably more so than with any of my past projects. The book is really organic and layered, and I am always adding new pieces. Andrea's art stimulates this too, because he gets so experimental, it pushes me in new directions. I have an idea of the ending, but everything else is shifting and growing as we go.

Sorrentino: That’s a tricky question. In some ways it is, but it’s also not. I think everything will be clear by the end of the first arc.

Finally, building off that, has the story shifted at all with the show now in the works? Are you hoping both versions of the story converge and diverge to keep each incarnation unique or are you hoping for a little more faith to the source material?

Lemire: It's too early to tell. Our partners at Hivemind love the comic, and I know they will honor what we are doing in their adaptation. But my focus remains the comic and telling the best story we can in the comics medium. This just gives them more to work with.

Sorrentino: I think what’s important is that the comic remains faithful to itself. We don’t want it to turn into a movie/TV series script now that we know about the TV series. It would only make things unnatural and forced. Both Jeff and I are working on this series in order to make it a good comic and, as Jeff said, I think this will also give the TV series some much more solid foundation to work and expand on.