Throughout 2021, AfterShock Comics is expanding its publishing line and will debut two new titles from acclaimed comic creator Peter Milligan. In June, Milligan teams up with artist Inaki Miranda on the psychedelic comic series Out of Body. In August, Milligan teams up with artist Piotr Kowalski for the Victorian horror oversized special one-shot God of Tremors.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Milligan discusses weaving psychedelia with occult horror in Out of Body, shares his personal connection to God of Tremors and subverting conventional expectations of the horror genre. AfterShock also provided CBR with an unlettered preview of God of Tremors, written by Milligan, illustrated by Kowalski and colored by Brad Simpson, and a variant cover of God of Tremors, illustrated by Michael Gaydos.
One of the things I love about Out of Body is the blend of the Western occult and effervescent psychedelia. What inspired you to bring the two together with this story?
Peter Milligan: It seemed to flow naturally from the story and from the predicament of the hero, Dan Collins. To the best of my memory, I’ve never died or had a near-death experience before so what I portray in Out of Body are a combination of what I’ve read and my imagination. Coupled with this, I’m interested in the modern use of psychedelics in the field of psychology. What’s fascinating is how something that’s such a quintessentially subjective occurrence -- having a psychedelic "experience" -- should be used by scientists. There seems to be an unashamed "mystical" quality to some of this work. The way that some psychologists are using psychedelics to help with "end of life existential angst" seems to dovetail perfectly with this story of a psychologist who himself was using psychedelics to treat patients, and who now finds himself hovering between life and death after being attacked and left for dead outside his favourite bar.
With this mesh of styles, how has it been developing the mind-bending tale Out of Body with Inaki Miranda, Eva de la Cruz and Sal Cipriano?
Milligan: Not everyone can pull off decent psychedelic art. I’ve done a lot of work with the great Brendan McCarthy, who is the master at this kind of thing, so I’m probably a little spoiled here! When I saw Inaki’s art, I really thought we were on to something. The idea is not to just churn out the old moth-eaten images but to try to come up with a particular look that’s right for your story. When I saw Eva’s colors I knew I was working with a psychedelic marriage made in heaven. The trick of course is to know when to pull it back, to make sure this isn’t trippiness for trippiness’ sake and to make sure the characterization is always paramount.
With God of Tremors, you're delving into confining societal expectations in the face of Gothic horror. How has it been playing with those tropes and subverting them for this story?
Milligan: A lot of people don’t know much about epilepsy. How it feels to have your life changed by it, what it’s like to have a seizure -- so in writing a story where a central strand is a young man who develops this strange condition called epilepsy, it can be useful to tell it within the recognizable framework of a particular genre. In this case, a kind of Victorian-gothic-horror story. The whole idea of working with the genre is that you can play with the expectations. You can, as you say, subvert the tropes. I see God of Tremors coming from a line of British horror stories, what you might call Folk Horror, from the stories of M.R. James down to Hammer and the Wicker Man. The sense that there is something older, pagan, and dangerous lurking beyond the well-manicured lawns of polite society.
How has it been working with Piotr Kowalski, Brad Simpson and Simon Bowland to envision these sinister stakes for God of Tremors?
Milligan: Piotr’s enthusiasm is terrific and his research phenomenal. You really feel as though you’re getting a glimpse into this Victorian world. Also, there’s something about his highly-wrought style, something nervy and over-ripe, that perfectly captures the stultifying world that our hero finds himself in. Brad’s colors increase this sense of claustrophobia and menace. Simon as usual brings a no-nonsense clarity. That’s what I like. The ambiguity and complexity should come in the writing and the art -- not the lettering. Of course, there might be a story where ambiguity is EXACTLY what you want the lettering to deliver, but it’s not God of Tremors.
You've described God of Tremors as especially coming from a personal place for you. I was wondering if you could elaborate on that.
Milligan: I have epilepsy. For a while, I wanted to write a story about a young man who develops this, and who finds something through which he channels his feelings, something that becomes a kind of god of epilepsy. For a while, the story wasn’t quite hanging together. My seizures have been well-controlled for a few years. Last year, for reasons I won’t go into here, my neurologist tweaked my medication a little. Six weeks later I had a nasty seizure. This put me in hospital, mainly due to the nicely cut and blackened eye I’d given myself. A few weeks later I had another seizure. An ambulance was called but I didn’t go to the hospital. It was during this time that the story of the young man and this weird god of epilepsy came sharply into focus.
As someone that has been crafting effective, supernatural horror in the comic book medium, be it your own work or with licensed characters like John Constantine, what is it that keeps you inspired and returning to the genre and its storytelling sensibilities?
Milligan: It’s all about the story, and what’s the best way to explore it and its themes. The occult, the supernatural, and horror are for me the best ways of telling the stories of Out of Body and God of Tremors.
Written by Peter Milligan, illustrated by Inaki Miranda and colored by Eva de la Cruz, Out of Body #1 goes on sale June 2 from Aftershock Comics.
Written by Peter Milligan, illustrated by Piotr Kowalski and colored by Brad Simpson, God of Tremors #1 goes on sale Aug. 18 from AfterShock Comics.