WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for We Have Demons #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.
Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's latest comic, We Have Demons, nearly included a character with a name inspired by late rock and roll legend Elvis Presley.
The two creators spilled the details during a New York Comic Con 2021 panel, pointing out that the Elvis character was originally meant to be an important figure in the finished book who runs into young amputee protagonist Lam in the final pages. "Basically, Lam finds a partner who's -- without giving too much away -- it was her dad's old demon hunting partner," Snyder said. "He's half demon. He's huge. And it's just this awesome Greg design and everyone keeps telling us he looks like Greg."
"Here's the inside scoop though," Capullo added. "Scott originally named the character, because you know he's an Elvis Presley fan, right? Everybody knows that? Did anybody know that? Like, monster Elvis Presley fan, like has a costume and gyrates around the house? He called him 'Hellvis.'"
The character's actual name within We Have Demons #1 is Gus, and he helps Lam defeat two deadly demons before presenting her with a new prosthetic arm infused with a special demon-killing blade. Whether intentional or not, his mustached face, muscled frame and hairless head do bear a resemblance to Capullo's appearance.
"Hellvis" turned out to only be a nickname, and Snyder clarified that he hadn't wanted to give the character a moniker with the word "hell" in it "because of Hellboy." Capullo joked that Snyder was overthinking things, and Snyder admitted that he had.
Snyder has frequently professed his love of Elvis Presley on Twitter, previously tweeting in 2016 that he had two tattoos of the King's appearance from the '50s and '70s. In 2019, Snyder announced that he had given his newly born son Quinn the middle name Elvis.
Aside from rock and roll, Snyder and Capullo touched on other topics during their NYCC appearance, including their fan-favorite run on Batman from 2011 to 2016 as well as the excitement of collaborating on the creator-owned project We Have Demons. The series focuses on Lam following in the footsteps of her father, a member of a secret order of demon-slayers who weird weapons furnished with Halo, a powerful energy that grows stronger with faith. Newly launched on comiXology, We Have Demons is the second entry from Snyder's publishing imprint Best Jackett Press, following Nocterra with artist Tony Daniel.
Source: New York Comic Con