The Reanimator Returns to Comics in Dynamite's Fright-Filled Mini-series

Dynamite Entertainment proudly resurrects the Reanimator #1 (FEB151247), H.P Lovecraft's notorious mad scientist, in a fear-fraught four-issue miniseries!  Take what you love best about the television shows "Breaking Bad" and "Walking Dead", throw in Cthulhu tentacle terror and backwater Louisianan superstition, and you have the all-new horror comic hit of 2015! Read the PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview with writer Keith Davidsen to learn all about what Dr. Herbert West is up to in the Big Easy!

Reanimator #1 (FEB151247) is in comic shops April 8.

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PREVIEWSworld: Considering Herbert West, the Reanimator, has appeared in Dynamite’s comics before, is this miniseries in continuity with his appearances in Army of Darkness and Reanimator #0 or is will it be a complete reboot of the character?

Keith Davidsen: When we planned the new REANIMATOR series, we were very careful to both respect the existing story arc for Dr. Herbert West, while also make a fresh introduction for the character. While not a reboot, you could consider it a self-contained tale, and anyone can pick up the first issue without any previous knowledge of the character.

However, for fans who love continuity and feel like they'd get the most out of the REANIMATOR experience with an awareness of what came before, here's a brief summary:

In REANIMATOR #0, written by my good friend James Kuhoric (FREDDY VS. JASON VS. ASH), Herbert West was introduced as an ambitious medical student with radical theories on reanimating the dead... but he became possessed by a demon by the story's end.

Kuhoric continued West's story in ARMY OF DARKNESS VS. REANIMATOR, where the tough-talkin' antihero Ash Williams faced the possessed West and his zombie army. As ARMY OF DARKNESS tales tend to be, things got delightfully zany. By story's end, West was freed of his possession.

Fan-favorite writer Ron Marz (GREEN LANTERN, JOHN CARTER: WARLORD OF MARS) next utilized the character in PROPHECY, a crossover including Ash Williams, Vampirella, Dracula, Red Sonja, and others. Herbert West became a quirky sidekick (of sorts), and his focus had shifted away from scientific research and towards occult studies.

West's most recent appearance, the ARMY OF DARKNESS / REANIMATOR one-shot written by talented writer Mark Rahner (TWILIGHT ZONE: SHADOW AND SUBSTANCE), took a decidedly darker turn, as West was thrown back in time to the World War I era, where he lived out the unsettling events of Lovecraft's original prose story... and started to become a little mad. While he still dabbled in black magic, he began to turn back to science as his chief pursuit.

The new REANIMATOR series establishes that West returned to the present day, and two years have passed in his life. Following the character arc set by Kuhoric, Marz, and Rahner, he's now returned to the classic Lovecraft form: a genius intellect dedicated to dangerous and unlawful scientific pursuits.

PREVIEWSworld: What was it like to take to take the reins on a Reanimator comic miniseries? Given the established identity of the character from other mediums, was it fun to play around with audiences expectations and make it your own?

Keith Davidsen: Oh, definitely. I've seen Dr. Herbert West appear in comic books, radio plays, theatrical performances, and movies. He's one of the most popular characters in the Lovecraft stable, and let's face it: the name "Reanimator" is very catchy.

What I'm striving to do with REANIMATOR is build a very intricate, layered story with lots of weird happenings... and yet still have a human story at its core. So, while we'll be juggling crazy concepts like reptilian manservants, zombie narcotics, mind-controlled Voodoo Girls, Elder God cultists, genetic mutations, demon-tainted blood, and a power struggle between drug cartels, all that stuff serves as set dressing for the relationship between Herbert West and his new assistant... and a mystery which I'm going to keep top secret for the time being.

I describe our REANIMATOR as the unholy offspring of television's "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead," heavy on the Lovecraftian tentacle terror and Louisianan Voodoo.

PREVIEWSworld: How are you introducing Reanimator to a new generation of readers? Is this series a good way to jump into the H.P. Lovecraft mythos?

Keith Davidsen: I think new readers -- whether they are experienced horror fans or dabbling in Lovecraft for the first time -- will greatly appreciate our newly-introduced "everywoman" character, Susan Greene. She's a likeable, young, wide-eyed pharmacologist who joins Herbert West as his new assistant. Through her experiences, readers will have a sympathetic character to relate to, a "normal person" who suddenly finds herself surrounded by monsters and madmen.

The Susan character is absolutely essential. We have a catch phrase that will start off every issue: "Good. Evil. Such storybook concepts are beneath Herbert West. He is a Man of Science." While some fans may root for West himself, he is not a moral being; his work drives him to any lengths. There needs to be a character who is equally fascinated and terrified by him. Susan fulfills the same role as that of the unnamed narrator of Lovecraft's original story.

PREVIEWSworld: What was the impetus behind setting the book in New Orleans? Was it fun exploring this setting through the lens of H.P. Lovecraft’s fiction?

Keith Davidsen: What I love about New Orleans is that the name alone strikes up such powerful imagery. It's as much a city as a state of mind, a place of unparalleled beauty and deep, sinister roots. That's a rare quality that precious few cities in America have, which makes it the perfect setting for spooky stories.

The Big Easy became the backdrop for the latest REANIMATOR tale through a strange metamorphosis worthy of Herbert West's mad science. I originally pitched an idea to Dynamite of a crossover horror event featuring Evil Ernie, Alice Cooper, Vampirella, and The Reanimator, set during Mardi Gras festivities and expanding Dynamite's library of villains to include Elder Gods and black magic of the Voodoo variety. With a couple of those characters already committed to other projects (Vampirella in Gail Simone's SWORDS OF SORROW, for instance), the spotlight fell solely on Herbert West... who now has to face the powerful adversaries all by himself!

And while Lovecraft did place the majority of his stories in his beloved New England (home to the fictional Arkham and Miskatonic University), he did set a precedent for a Southern setting with the fan-favorite tale, "The Call of Cthulhu." In fact, we'll see at least two characters from that classic Lovecraft tale making an appearance in REANIMATOR. It's been a blast to populate the Herbert West story with these New Orleans-based threats, pulled straight from the Cthulhu Mythos.

PREVIEWSworld: What’s the gore factor in this book? Did you work hard to write any scenarios that would make even the biggest horror fan cringe?

Keith Davidsen: You'll find that REANIMATOR is equal parts psychological terror and  splatterfest... truly something for every horror fan!

We're very fortunate that Dynamite enlisted art sensation Randy Valiente to bring REANIMATOR to life. He's got a superb visual style, well suited for tales of terror. He can capture the full range -- from the bloodiest eruption of guts and brain matter to the subtle glimmer of madness in The Reanimator's eye. The book is very atmospheric, thanks to our artist's attention to creepy details.

As for scenarios to blow reader minds -- just wait for the issue #4 finale. I'll leave it at that!

PREVIEWSworld: Beyond horror fans, what kinds of readers would be interested in picking up the first issue?

Keith Davidsen: Good point -- I've tossed around the word "horror" and its synonyms a lot in this interview. But when you get right down to it, REANIMATOR is very "comic booky," by which I mean it has lots of elements that readers would've experienced in superhero fare.

Herbert West isn't a far stretch from a Tony Stark or Reed Richards. The antagonists in REANIMATOR are comic book super-villains; they have distinct visuals, flashy names, strange powers. So while anyone that describes him- or herself as a horror fan will feel welcome, you can rest assured that readers of GHOST RIDER, DR. STRANGE, CONSTANTINE, SWAMP THING, and other mainstream superhero action tales -- even those without supernatural themes -- would feel the same.

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