Tim Seeley Says A World Without Heroes Is True Chaos

by Vince Brusio

Yes, Tim Seeley is well known as a writer, especially because of mega success he’s enjoyed with Hack/Slash and Revival. But how many of you know the man behind the mask? Did you know that Tim is a metal head? It's true! Did you also know that he yearns for 90s fashion (depending on the designer). Well, rather than bother you with further quizzes, let us tell you that it was Tim’s fondness for the “good old days” that has led him to write the Chaos! (MAR141027) mini-series for Dynamite Entertainment, which brings back Chastity, Purgatory, and Evil Ernie from Brian Pulido’s Chaos! Comics Universe.  The mini-series was launched in the March issue of the PREVIEWS catalog, and in this exclusive interview Tim tells us that he really has no plan for reinventing the wheel.

He’s just going to put it on a monster truck that runs over every Prius in the parking lot.

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PREVIEWSworld: Tim, it's been 20 years since Chaos! Comics characters started appearing in the pages of the PREVIEWS catalog. We've been treated to the resurgence of Evil Ernie from Dynamite, but now there's this armageddon scenario you've made featuring some of the biggest names in the Chaos! universe. What brought about this nightmare? Was the idea sitting in a drawer waiting for the planets to align, or is this something you pitched recently?

Tim Seeley: Well, "Armageddon scenarios" are the bread and butter of the Chaos! universe. The Chaos! stuff was really all about heavy metal, punk rock, and horror, and an important part of those genres is the fear of a man-made end of the world mixed with a sort of Celtic/Black metal Ragnarok/War of the gods. So I synthesized all those ideas together to start the Chaos! universe with a proper 'bang." Or "boom" really.

PREVIEWSworld:  Give us your take on what Brian Pulido did with Chaos! Comics. How did they offer horror that was different from other indie horror companies of the 90s like, say, Northstar Publishing or Verotik? And what were some of your favorite Chaos! storylines of that era?

Tim Seeley:  I think what Brian recognized was that as much as comic readers loved the splatter punk aesthetic of the 90s horror comics, they also wanted a cohesive story and universe. So he figured out a world and a style of comic making that blended the social conscience and horror of George Romero, the theatricality of Gene Simmons, and the mythological power of  Jack Kirby...a truly unique creation with an identity all of its own. Chaos! was just as much about the characters as it was about lingerie and severed limbs.

As a reader, I loved all of the Evil Ernie minis, especially Youth Gone Wild and Resurrection. And I think Armageddon was one of the most epic storylines ever attempted in horror comics.

PREVIEWSworld:  So you get to play God with characters that have been "dead" for some time, in regards to Purgatori and Chastity. How much more freedom do you have as continuity isn't a roadblock because this is the new Chaos! Universe? Might we expect new attitudes? New wardrobes? Or is the classic Chaos! costumes and cacophony something you don't want to change?

Tim Seeley:  I'm a firm believer in "if it's not broke, don't fix it." To me, the only thing about Chaos!  that doesn't work today is the very complex continuity that most readers won't have access to, and some of the 90s fashions.  So, we're just streamlining and updating  that, making it accessible to all new readers. But, basically everyone is the same as they've always been. Ernie is a psychotic murderer who just wants to be loved. Chastity is a  vampire who hates others of her kind, but doesn't want to be human ever again.  Purgatori...well, Purgatori is still power hungry, self centered, and sexy as hell.

PREVIEWSworld:  So without giving anything away that would act as a spoiler, what's the skinny on this six-issue series? What's the adrenaline factor going to be like given that you've got these young guns reaching out to claw at each other's throats?

Tim Seeley: Well, once the various factions of the Chaos! universe find out about the Armageddon coming their way they split into "alliances," and then proceed to back stab, battle, and bleed to get what they each want. When a big crossover comes to a superhero universe, the good guys have to unite and stick together. In a horror/dark fantasy universe like the Chaos! Universe, there are no "heroes." There are just survivors!   The world immediately gets very dangerous!

PREVIEWSworld: If fans want to stay in touch with you to monitor developments in this new series, what social media sites would best let them follow along with for the news of the day?

Tim Seeley: I'm on Twitter @hackintimseeley, and on Tumblr at http://timseeleyart.tumblr.com.

Click here to see a preview of Chaos! #1.