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The Darkness: Marc Silvestri
To coincide with the launch of The Darkness videogame, SciFiNow caught up with the Top Cow series’ co-creator, Marc Silvestri. Turns out that he can talk just as well as he can draw....
SciFiNow: The mafia, dark powers, nice
suits, sharp dialogue – was it always the
intention to make a cool comic? Marc Silvestri: Dark and sexy was always the
intention but I think when we brought in writer
Garth Ennis he brought the cool with him.
SciFiNow: How difficult was it to balance
the mob side of the plot with the magical?
Were you ever concerned that the two
situations might not marry well?
MS: It was always a risk but the idea was to do
just that. Take a risk. The other comic companies
weren’t doing anything like The Darkness. To
us that signaled we should. The idea of giving
someone like Jackie the kind of power usually
reserved for stand-up guys made him compelling.
Using the mob as his impetus for being a tough guy
made it easy for the reader to understand because
everyone already knows that it’s a tough-guy
world. Once that’s clear you can make the leap into
fantasy. I think the cliché would have been to make
him an everyman and throw him into this dark
place. Jackie starts in a dark place that gets darker.
SciFiNow: Amidst the action there were
always very funny lines (“We have to stop
him from having sex!” still sticks in the
mind). How important a role do you think
humour has had in the series’ success?
MS: Humor was always important. The Darkness
is an unpleasant world so you have to cut the
tension and make it palpable. Rule number one in
creating a lasting character is you have to make
sure the reader/viewer/player wants to be him.
Plus sharp, funny commentary provided by your
character adds to his likeability. The best horror
movies usually have a moment of comic relief
before the hatchet abruptly finds another target.
SciFiNow: Was it fun having a character
like Jackie who, unlike so many other
comic characters, wasn’t abhorred by the
idea of murder?
MS: His matter-of-fact approach to mayhem
was key. It’s part of the dark ironic humor of the
comic. All the writers we’ve had on the book, Paul
Jenkins included, have understood that. But
remember, he targets thugs and miscreants
that probably had it coming anyway!
SciFiNow: Few comic book licences
have made a successful transition to
game format. Are the media too disparate
to ever really complement each other?
MS: No, as with most things it’s about the
execution. Starbreeze just knew how to adapt all
the elements of the comic into great gameplay.
SciFiNow: The comics industry is
perceived to be a diminishing one – what’s
your take on it?
MS: Ironically, the technology that allows
developers to make comic-based games and
studios to make comic-based movies so immersive
and believable has been both a blessing and a curse
for our industry. Comics are, and always will
be, a great source of content for other media so
that’s exciting. But at the same time, when you’ve
got a whole generation brought up on that other
media and not on comics it can create an issue for
publishers. We as publishers must embrace and
exploit this dynamic to stay healthy and be able
to continue publishing comics in the traditional
sense. That said, new comic fans are born everyday
so as long as enough of them pop up, comics in
their current form can thrive. Plus, as small as it
is, comics are still a great way to judge what the
mainstream will respond to. Hollywood has just in
the last few years really begun to understand that.
I guarantee you, six years ago, 99 out of 100 people
didn’t have a clue what The X-Men was.
SciFiNow: What are your plans now?
MS: More comics and more games!
SciFiNow: Any developments with The
Darkness movie?
MS: Interest is starting to build but just like with
the game, we’re going to be very careful who we
get in business with.
SciFiNow: Sex or The Darkness?
MS: Can I pick sex in the dark?
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