We’ve been big fans of the work of writer James Kuhoric for some time now. Even when he’s working with characters who aren’t our cup of tea – Jason from the Friday the 13th movies and Freddy Kruger from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise come to mind – he’s created stories and scripts that kept readers turning the page and wondering what was next.

His first Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash mini-series for DC’s Wildstorm imprint, the first four issues of which sold out and went back to press, proved that he could juggle the leads of three film franchises at once and be true to all three (the Ash in the title is Brue Campbell’s lead character from Army of Darkness, more on that in a bit). Generally with licensed properties writers consider one property at a time to be enough of a headache.

Kuhoric came to that title after lengthy run on Dynamite’s Army of Darkness. Because of the lead character, Ash, whose “voice” the writer grasped as if it were his own, he won AoD fan acclaim beyond what’s been seen for the comic book title before or since. The sarcastic but serious lead character freaked out by the situation in which he finds himself was a perfect fit for the writer.

Despite the definite horror credentials, Ash and the settings of Army of Darkness afforded Kuhoric numerous situations to stretch his sense of humor. Nothing could have been further from that tone in Dead Irons, his follow-up for Dynamite.

The first Dead Irons mini-series was the tale of Silas Irons and his three accursed siblings. Each of them carried a different curse, and Silas was obliged to confront them and the source of their afflictions, their father. It was moody, evocative stuff, material intended for adult readers, and it seemed like it would have been right at home under a Vertigo imprint.

So, given his credentials and that background, you might understand why we did a double take when Kuhoric told us about his next project at November 2009’ Virginia Comic-Con. It is, you see, an all-ages story.

The Legendary Talespinners is the chronicle of the rich and expansive imagination that every kid has (or should have), the ability to believe in the impossible, part of the tools they use to develop their personalities and future habits. In specific, it’s the story of a young lady named Abby, who locked that imagination away at an early age and never looked back,  even when she is confronted with the impossible at every turn, including a man claiming to be Baron Munchausen. When he drags her into a twisted version of the Fairy Tale world, though, amazing things begin to happen.

Hearing the description and witnessing fan reactions to the enlarged covers he had on display where he was signing, we had to know more. So Scoop talked with Kuhoric and his artist, Grant Bond (Clockwork Girl, Igor), about The Legendary Talespinners. Here’s the results:

Scoop: James, how did you come up with the concept? What was the initial spark?

JK: Part of the inspiration came from my own fascination with storytellers and the power they can spin over an audience. I’ve always thought there was a real power to getting an audience hooked on a story. In some ways, by telling stories that are then shared with others a person gains a level of immortality. As long as the tale is told and retold, the legends continue to propagate in new generations of believers. That is where the idea that certain historical storytellers, like Baron Munchausen, could continue to live well beyond their natural life spans. It’s the magic of belief in the fanciful stories that fuels their existence and the creation of new tales.

The idea for Abby came in part from my own children and from a general trend I’ve seen where technology is doing a lot of the “imagining” for us. I love video games and DVDs, but to some small extent I think they spoon feed kids the images that we old fogies used to have to come up with in our imaginations. Back in pre-history when I was young, we didn’t have a lot of the amazing technological toys that could do the imagining for you. Back then if you wanted to know what would happen if Luke Skywalker fought Boba Fett, you had to play it out in your mind, whereas today you would just plug in Star Wars Battlefront to find out. It just seems that children are more likely to let a game designer or DVD content programmer determine the extent of where their imagination can go. Kids need to have a creative outlet to use their imaginations without content restrictions.   

Scoop: While you certainly have worked in other genres, you’re known as a successful horror writer, with licensed titles such as Army of Darkness, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, and your own creation, Dead Irons. How big a departure is The Legendary Talespinners for you?
JK: It’s a departure for sure, but not as big as you might think. LT is written to be all ages accessible (I hope) in the way that Jeff Smith’s Bone is. That is to say that it has many levels to it and I hope that creative people of all ages will enjoy it. I originally set out to develop LT as an animated series with Abby and the Baron becoming an oddly complimentary duo that creates new adventures and different takes on classic fables. Some of the themes and fairy tales they encounter are laced with horror elements, just as many of the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales were before the stories were softened into the modern children’s tales we know. I guess that is a round about way of saying that the horror elements I am known for are still here. You can try to take the horror out of the story but you can’t take it out of the storyteller.  

Scoop: Is this more a case of having a story that you really want to tell or really wanting to avoid being a one-genre writer?
JK: It is definitely a case of me having a story to tell but not so much a project to prove my versatility. I’m comfortable creating tales of all genres, it just so happens that many of the ones I’m most passionate about are spooky stories or inspired by sci-fi and fantasy. For me the story is everything. If there is something there that has to be told, it will find a way to be expressed, genre be damned. But it is refreshing to try to do something that is accessible to all ages. Kids are smart and you can’t write for them under the assumption that it has to be simple. You just have to engage their interest in the story and give them credit for being able to understand and enjoy a complex tale.

Scoop: Grant, how did you get hooked up with James?
Grant Bond (GB): Jim contacted me. He’d seen some of my earlier all-ages stuff and wanted to accomplish the same feel for The Legendary Talespinners. It’s an all-ages story with a bit of a twist to it. It crosses several different genres in a way that hasn’t been seen before.

Scoop: When you heard his idea for the series, how long did it take until visuals started jumping into your mind?
GB: I instantly started seeing my own idea of what LT could look like. Jim’s vision for the story was important to me, so I spent quite awhile working with him on incorporating his vision into the art.

Scoop: James, What you can tell us about Grant’s work?
JK: This is the part where I start gushing, so please stop me if it becomes too much to bear. There are a handful of artists that I would love to work with and Legendary Talespinners gave me an opportunity to get with one from the top of the list. I’ve wanted to do a project with Grant Bond for quiet some time. Ever since I saw his brilliant early work on Clockwork Girl and most assuredly when his adaptation of Igor came out, I knew that he was the perfect choice for LT. His style has such an easy flow and a smooth animated style to it that I knew from the start he was the perfect fit for what we wanted to do. I was struck specifically by his ability to capture expression with his characters. For fans that have not seen Grant’s work, LT is going to be a great opportunity to get in early on the career of a fantastic artist.

Scoop: Grant, what makes your art a good match for his scripts? 
GB: I seem to have found a bit of a niche with all-ages books. Legendary Talespinners seems to fit that genre. It has elements you don’t usually find in all-ages books. Some of my newer work is breaking away from all-ages stuff. 

Scoop: How long did it take the two of you to agree on visuals for the series?
GB: We worked back and forth for several months as we were both working on other things. Once LT came to the forefront of our efforts, it moved really quickly. 

Scoop: Who is handling the covers?
JK: Nick Bradshaw may be my favorite artist as a fan. When I first started pitching Legendary Talespinners I knew that Nick was the artist I wanted to help me design the characters, art direct the book, and put together the main cover images. Nick was the artist for several of my early Army of Darkness books and he just had a way of understanding what the script was calling for and coming up with the most amazing work. We talked for a long while about the covers for LT and finally decided on doing some contemporary homage work to Baron Munchausen’s original adventures and how they impact Abby on her journey from unbeliever to Legendary Talespinner. The images are flat out stunning with his trademark brilliant line work and dazzling colors. Nick never lets you down and these covers are simply amazing.

Scoop: At the Virginia Comic-Con, you had poster-size cover images from The Legendary Talespinners #1 by your table and we saw you having to ward off people who wanted to buy them. Considering that series doesn’t come out for a couple months yet, was that a pretty cool experience?
JK: It was very gratifying to have experienced that so long before the first issue was scheduled to come out. My favorite one was a mother who told me that her daughter in middle school would love the book and couldn’t wait to get a copy for her. We also had a wonderful librarian come by and give some great feedback on her opinion of the book and that she’d like to carry it at her branch. That means a lot to me because of the place in my life that libraries have occupied. I love the idea of giving something back to them and people having access to the book through their valuable services.
GB: I don’t believe I’d heard had that. I was thinking about offering money for Nick’s cover poster! On the cover art, I always try to create an iconic image for the first cover. Something to sell the story. On the subsequent covers, I try to convey the continuing story and help push it forward.

Scoop: To what kind of audience do you hope this new series will appeal?
JK: I really hope that the book will appeal to anyone that enjoys comics and graphic novels. Readers of all ages should be able to access the story and delve into the world of fables with Abby and the Baron. In my heart of hearts, I hope that the series can be used to introduce non-comic fans to the fold. There is such a wealth of incredible work in the comics and graphic novels field that we enjoy every day. It would be nice to think that we can get some new eyes into our hobby.
GB: There’s classic storytelling in the book kids will definitely respond to. There are elements that older readers will enjoy. Comic readers aren’t forgotten with some of the more traditional archetypes you find in modern comics.

Scoop: How long will the first series be?
JK: The first arc is three issue long and really focuses on introducing the characters and setting up the concept of the world. It will be collected into a trade paperback when the comics are out which will include tons of extra material from the development stage. We’ve got character design sketches, concept covers that weren’t used, scripts, notes, pitch outlines, and more that will go into the collection to make it a complete experience for fans.

The Legendary Talespinners universe has a lot of additional stories packed in it that are ripe for telling. If fans enjoy the book and want more, the continued adventures of Abby and the Baron are waiting for an opportunity to be told. We currently have outlines for two additional follow up series that are waiting in the wings.

Scoop: What else are you working on at the moment?
JK: LT has been my focus for the past few months, but 2010 has a lot of new things on the horizon that I can’t wait to get working on. First and foremost is the sequel to Dead Irons which is set to begin production at any time. Of all the characters I’ve written over the years, Silas Irons is one I feel closest to. We have a kinship, Silas and I, and though his journeys are laced with pain and fury, we’re going to see them through to the end. I’m very excited to be working with Dynamite and Jae Lee again on the Dead Irons follow up which is due out this spring/summer!
GB: I have several different projects in various media I’m working on. Several new comics in the works. Announcements should be coming soon!

The Legendary Talespinners #1 is a Featured Item in the December 2009 issue of Previews from Diamond Comic Distributors. It can be found on Page 219.