Castlerain Entertainment has been Canada’s premiere indy company that spotlights dark horror and fantasy. Blog@ had the chance to talk to  writer Michael Angelos, who has worked at Castlerain since he helped re-establish the company a decade ago, about his creator-owned title Jack The Lantern, and it’s new upcoming story Jack The Lantern: War of the Soul!

Blog@: Can you sum up the story without giving away any twists or anything like that? This is the 3rd arc in the series, correct? If you could speed up the readers on what’s been going on…

Michael Angelos: It begins with Jack Corby–a conflicted man with a troublesome past who is offered a mysterious treatment to eradicate all his inner pain via his psychiatrist, Frank Casper. After cautiously accepting the treatment, Jack is transformed (painfully) into a host for a demon-spirit named: Argotakar. Bestowed with extraordinary power, Jack soon learns that he has been catapulted into an 800-year old secret war that will pit him against a nefarious cult of humans and otherworldly demons that are bent on creating a dark Eden out of world. But as that arduous journey begins, Jack’s treatment forces him into a psychological war against his own inner demons for the salvation of his soul.

Blog@: What were some inspirations behind some of the imagery here?

Angelos: I wanted to do a tale that would resonate with the themes of Halloween. There’s such a rich and diverse folklore within the season that I’ve always had an affinity for it, and that played a major role in the essence and definition of the characters. Along with certain novels, a lot of classic horror films, especially from the 60’ and 70’s, helped nurture some of the ethereal tone of the series.

Blog@: For the readers not familiar with your work, can you give us some examples on where we might have seen you before?

Angelos: Aside from Jack the Lantern, I created and wrote a sci-fi/ fantasy mini-series for Castle Rain called JESTERCROW. It featured artwork by Stephen Sadowski (JSA, Avengers), Scott Lee (22-Brides), and Janine Johnston (Star Wars).

Blog@: When can fans expect this new Jack the Lantern story hit shelves?

Angelos: Jack the Lantern: War of the soul will be out in late April/ early May. It’ll be 72-pages square bound and will retail for only $5.95!

Blog@: Who are the artists you’re working with this time around? Looks like you’ve got some great names here.

Angelos: I’ve been blessed to have some amazing talent grace this series. On the prior JACK books, I worked with Tim Vigil (FAUST) Scott Lee, Jerry Beck, and Stephen Sadowski. There all seasoned veterans with their own diverse style, and each one of them brought a unique vibe to the series. When you’re working in black and white, you’re challenging the artist to think differently, and outside the realm of a color, so you really see the textures and detail in the line work.

For JACK THE LANTERN: WAR OF THE SOUL, I was fortunate to work with another talented artist: Mark Kidwell (Dark Kingdom, BUMP). Mark work from beginning to end, Mark was consistent and kept the legacy of the intensity and detail that the series was known for. In my opinion this was Mark’s finest artistic work to date, and I think a lot of people are going to be blown away when they gaze upon his work on this book.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 1:53 pm and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.