Interview: Carmen Guasco Travels 'Deadly Trails' At Blackbox
Aug 13, 2024
Interview by Nicki Faust
A dark gloom overshadows the town of Bannack where the clouds seem to be an omen of death. Recently deceased but no longer among the dead, Clay is back and out for vengeance.
In the following interview, writer Carmen Guasco gives you every reason to travel these Deadly Trails.
Let’s get into Deadly Trails right away. What is the story about?
Deadly Trails is a journey through the search for truth and vengeance, but more importantly one of growth for each of the protagonists: Clay, Roy, B., Kya, and even the antagonists, will have to contend with the monsters of their past as they fight the monsters that threaten their present.
A suffocating purple storm and a ritual dripping with blood, in fact, are disrupting the world of Deadly Trails: finding out why this is happening, saving the innocent, and subverting the inevitable, is the only priority, even if finding answers to such questions might hurt more than the end of the world itself.
Is it a western? A horror tale? Something else?
Deadly Trails is a dark, no-holds-barred journey with often stark and merciless events, diluted at times by the friendly confrontations between Roy and Clay.
If we were to release its "recipe," we could summarize it this way: one cup of Western, two of horror, a dash of comedy, 50g of romance, blood, monsters, and topping of mysticism.
To give this story a single label would be impossible, but surely some elements are more obvious than others!
What can you tell us about Clay?
Clay is a character marked by a thousand facets that do not necessarily make him "a good guy," but neither could we call him "a bad guy."
What I love about him is that he is true, sincere, guided by a very strict moral compass, and capable of enormous introspection; at the same time, you wouldn't take him as a role model to raise your children.
His dualism is typically human, even "too human."
What’s so special about the town Bannack? Why set it there?
Bannack, aka Deadly Creek, the town in the first chapter, gets its name from the high suicide rate that occurs along the banks of its river. The entire Deadly Trails universe has parallels with the real world, but at the same time, it has rules and uniqueness all its own, which is why each chapter encounters settings into which I invite you to dive without hesitation!
What made you want to team up with artist Rodrigo Rocha for this particular story?
This story was subject to a lot of work, and Rodrigo, with his elegant style and the enormous acting ability of his characters, enticed and inspired me from chapter to chapter.
Every time I felt I was raising the bar and he responded to the fire with the same intensity, I ended up raising the bar for the next chapter.
I nurtured the desire to give Rodrigo first and foremost a script that was up to his standards, one that would enhance his incredible artistic gifts, and readers a product they could fall in love with. I hope I succeeded!
Tell us about your collaborators on the book. Who are the art teams on title?
Flanking the drawings of the aforementioned Rodrigo Rocha are the majestic colors of Carlos López and the wonderful lettering of Leo McGovern.
For me, every single element in a comic must have the utmost attention: colors and lettering are often improvised, and, in my opinion, this tends to lower the quality of the work.
With Deadly Trails I am glad to have been surrounded by such professionalism: I couldn't have asked for better!
Finally, I cannot fail to mention the one who guided us in this endeavor, our attentive and tireless conductor, Dimitrios Zaharakis!
In terms of audience, who Deadly Trails for?
Those who loved products such as TV series The Witcher, Game of Thrones, Grimm; but also gory anime with magical or supernatural elements such as Full Metal Alchemist, and Jujutsu Kaisen.
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Written by Carmen Guasco, Art by Rodrigo Rocha, Colors by Carlos L pez. Variant Covers by Tyler Kirkham, Tiago da Silva and Legend Greg LaRocque.
Written by Carmen Guasco, Art by Rodrigo Rocha, Colors by Carlos L pez. Variant Covers by Tyler Kirkham, Tiago da Silva and Legend Greg LaRocque.
Written by Carmen Guasco, Art by Rodrigo Rocha, Colors by Carlos L pez. Variant Covers by Tyler Kirkham, Tiago da Silva and Legend Greg LaRocque.
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Nicki Faust's heart is as cold as concrete in the Chicago winter. When not writing for PREVIEWSworld, Nicki is busy playing Limbo on Twitch, writing about the great robot uprising on Medium, and completing the untitled follow-up to the 2012 best-seller, Sue Storm: A Nude Photobook.
