Interview with Stuart Manning, Writer for the New Dark Shadows Comics

Soap Vampire Barnabas Collins Returns in DARK SHADOWS Comic

By Lucas Siegel, Newsarama Editor
posted: 22 August 2011 09:56 am ET

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On May 11, 2012, Dark Shadows will be revived, going to theaters courtesy of the frequent team-up of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. The soap opera from the late sixties is famous for its supernatural leanings; its cult status is due largely to it being the first exposure of ghosts and vampires to a daytime audience.

 ENLARGE

Before its revival in moving pictures, however, it is coming to comic books in October 2011 courtesy of Dynamite Entertainment. The story will revolve primarily around “reluctant vampire” Barnabas, the character Depp will play in the film, and will be in-continuity with the show that came before it. Writer Stuart Manning, who has a history with the property, teams with artist Aaron Campbell to bring a new generation into the world of Collinwood.

For more on the new comic book and how it will be both influenced by, and influence, the existing history of the property, we chatted with writer Manning.
Newsarama: Okay Stuart, I have to start by playing Devil's Advocate here. Isn't the Vampire craze over? Why jump into the market with a new vampire book?
Stuart Manning: Is it over? At the risk of sounding contrary, that's news to me. The current profile of True Blood, Twilight and The Vampire Diaries don't exactly indicate we're dealing with a dying fad. Yes, vampires are big business right now, and there will be an inevitable cooling eventually, but I think that's going to happen any time soon.
As for why we're launching a Dark Shadows comic right now, well, it's simply a great time to do it. Johnny Depp's new feature film remake is out next May, and at a time when vampires are riding high generally, Barnabas Collins absolutely should be a part of that. You can trace all the current vampire properties back to Dark Shadows in some respect – all roads lead to Barnabas. He's the original reluctant vampire, the first enduring vampire character created for television, and it's going to be great introducing him to a new audience. He's a classic – pure and simple. 

Dark Shadows 2

 ENLARGE

Nrama: Many (if not most) readers today don't know the name "Barnabas Collins" or "Dark Shadows" in general. How does the link to the TV show help you and how might it hinder you?
Manning: Dark Shadows is bigger than just Barnabas Collins, but obviously he's the show's most iconic character, so he will be the focus of many of our stories. And we have an entire town of brilliant characters who we'll be reintroducing as we go along, so this series can go pretty much anywhere -- time travel, werewolves, parallel universes, you name it...
The first issue is just that -- a first issue. Long-term fans will enjoy that it's a continuation from where the original show left off, but for new readers, they'll learn everything that they need to know as we go along. That's just good storytelling practice -- yes, Dark Shadows has a big fandom of its own, but you can't assume that they'll have necessarily seen all 1,200 episodes, let alone remembered them. So we need to always make things inclusive. I don't think it's a question of the show hindering us -- if you're asking yourself questions like that, then you shouldn't be doing Dark Shadows. Above all else, you have to trust in the power of the original property and get behind it. 
Nrama: Many people have called superhero stories "soap opera" in nature; how far with the show's slightly cheesy or overly melodramatic tone will you go in  the comic? 

Dark Shadows 2

 ENLARGE

Manning: Will be cheesy? No, I hope not. Melodramatic? Absolutely! One thing that does help us is that television drama has moved more and more towards a serial drama format. People say soaps are dying... rubbish, they're not -- every single show nowadays is a soap to some extent. Standalone television has all but died out because program makers have realized that television's single biggest advantage over film is that you can tell longer stories. If the audience likes your stories and characters, they'll be with you for the long haul, and that's irresistible. To my mind, comic strips are melodramatic in the way Dark Shadows was -- shock reveals, crashing close ups into agonized expressions... The grammar and storytelling energy of the two really aren't that far apart. The characters and situations are overwrought, but I don't think we should be intimidated by it. This is an operatic, emotionally-charged series and we will be embracing that.
Nrama: Is anyone from the series involved in this in any way? Or if not, have you gone back and watched some episodes to get the feel down?
Manning: Jim Pierson of Dan Curtis Productions is vetting the comic from a licensing perspective, and everyone involved wants this to be an authentic, faithful continuation. I'm very familiar with the old episodes and will usually have a DVD or music from the series on in the background when I'm writing. My approach to this has been to try and keep what we do parallel with the resources of the original series. Yes, we can bigger more exciting pictures, without the constraints of a 1970s TV studio, but I think it's important that what we do somehow relates to the scope of the original show.
For instance, I can write someone falling from a cliff in and we can make it a big, striking image... The original show would play out the same thing, but they'd have to make do with some dry ice and a bit of foliage in the corner of the studio. The important part is that both approaches tell exactly the same story. So we're not suddenly going to be drawing armies of flying bat demons or anything like that... it has to still feel like part of that established world.   

Exclusive
Dark Shadows #3
Cover

 ENLARGE

Nrama: What makes these characters and this story ideal for comic books, compared to the other mediums?
Manning: Good characters and stories really transcend medium. Our community of characters are all vivid, distinct personalities and I think pretty much all of them could take the lead at any moment and hold up a story. I'm really enjoying writing the Collins family and their interplay... this troubled, dysfunctional bunch, stooping under the weight of their collected heritage. The fun of this series is going to be the collision of characters -- getting under their skin and letting them spark off in interesting combinations. 
Nrama: You've actually written Dark Shadows stories in another medium for the last few years- tell our readers about that and how, if at all, those stories will connect to this one.
Manning: Yes indeed. Since 2006, I've been writing and producing Big Finish's series of original Dark Shadows audio dramas, including The Night Whispers, which featured Jonathan Frid returning as Barnabas after 39years. All those CDs fit into the original continuity -- all 200-plus years of it -- and I don't intend to do anything that contradicts them. The fun of a soap opera is the huge sprawling histories and connections, so opting out of that would be like cheating. I doubt we'll dwell on it too much, but absolutely, they're all part of the same bigger story. 
Nrama: Can you leave us with a tease? Perhaps a scene from the first issue that you feel will win hesitant readers over?
Manning: Oh, the first issue has plenty going on... A shocking premonition, Barnabas struggling to overcome his vampire urges, a nightmarish dream sequence, something dangerous lurking in the woods, and a great big shocking cliffhanger to round things off. I really hope people get a kick out of it.

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Dark-Shadows-return-dynamite-110822.html

Shadows on the Wall Chapter Nine

Chapter 9:  Passion and Deceit

by Stephen Shutt

Voiceover (Donald Briscoe): "Collinwood in the year
1967--and a late evening mist shrouds the Great House in a chill
canopy, seemingly spun of spiderwebs and suspicion. Suspicion is in
the air at Collinwood, for a new bride has come to the estate, bearing
in her breast an ancient hatred known only to herself--and to one
other, himself the harbinger of many secrets."

"How do I let him talk me into these things?" she mused sleepily to
herself, as she lit a cigarette. His warm, slightly rough hands
(surprising how soft they were, really, given how hard he worked with
them) massaged her back with just those slow steady strokes that
were perhaps the purest physical pleasure she'd ever known. In the
back of her mind lurked the now unregarded, yet still anciently
cherished memory of Daddy gently scrubbing her back in a kitchen
tub on a Saturday night at some dim point in her babyhood, in a Philly
suburb. Early Bronze Age.

"Julia," that rich masculine voice drawled erotically into her ear, and
she shivered involuntarily.

"Tom," she said as coolly as she knew how, yet found herself turning
to him the way a leaf turns towards the sun. He pressed into her, still
half soft, and she smiled drowsily at the pleasure the feeling of him
within her body always gave. The smell of him was intoxicating--the
feel of his warm flesh, all soft yet strong deliciousness, was still more
so. A harsh note sounded within the symphony of his hands on her
breasts and his tongue in her mouth as she found the part of herself
that always seemed to stand by watching the two of them make love
asking cynically: "Really, Julia, aren't you a little old for this schoolgirl
routine?"

"Tom ... please, sweetie ..."

"Oh, God, I love you, Julia ..."

"Tom ... please!"

At the sharp, strident note in her voice he pulled back abruptly, and
his eyes flew open, alarmed. "What is it, honey? Was I getting too
rough with you?"

She smiled, and sighed, taking a long pull on that cigarette. "No, dear.
Not at all. I just--have to get--going ..." She bounced out of bed and
started fumbling for her bra and panties where they lay discarded by
the chair.

He couldn't help sighing as he fell back into bed, then raised himself
up on an elbow to watch her, a little lewdly, as she dressed with that
slightly awkward, rough, no-nonsense way she did everything--except
for making love. "Wham, bam, thank you Mister--eh?" he drawled,
only half joking.

Her giggle rolled radiantly around the room. "Oh, Tom, really!" She
came over to the bed in her bra and slip and sat down and held him.
She tousled his hair and he pulled her down for a slow, thoughtful kiss
that should have pierced the core of her--but didn't.

"How come you always have time for everybody except me?" He
was trying hard to sound playful--too hard. She could hear the
wheedling note of desperation in his voice. She paused, at a loss as to
what to say.

"Tom--"

"Okay, forget I said that," he offered manfully. "I'm being pushy again,
aren't I? Asking for too much? Y'know, being Dr. Julia Hoffman's
boyfriend just may be the toughest gig in town."

She laughed at that, and hugged him. "Honestly, Tom, I never did
know what you saw in me. Skinny old harridan--no boobs, no
bottom--"

He rang a finger along her lips, silencing her with a playful, romantic
smile. "No boobs? That's not what I heard." He touched her, softly
and secretively, in a VERY private place, and grinned with boyish
enthusiasm. She yielded then to his kisses, his passion, his renewed
vitality, but even as she threw her head back and linked her legs
around his waist, in her heart she knew it wasn't going to last much
longer.

And she didn't mean this particular bout of lovemaking, either.

~ ~ ~

Cassandra was perfect, Roger Collins reflected--perfect in every
way. Her porcelain cheeks blushed with peachbloom restraint, her
pale pink lips curved in a strangely alluring smile, and her great eyes
were like lakes of crystal in which a man might happily lose himself.

Lose himself ...

"Oh darling, we're going to be so happy," he murmured fervently,
leaning down to clasp her around the waist where she sat at the
vanity, fiddling with her hairbrush. He buried his face with romantic
ardor in her hair, inhaling the odors of cologne, rosewater, and a
strange, rank, bitter smell like the reek of a long unopened grave.
Shocked, he let go of her, and stood up abruptly.

"Yes, we are," she said distantly, not really paying attention, her mind
seething with plans and schemes. "Roger, dearest, pour me a drink,
will you? There's some champagne left over there, I'm sure."


He moved slowly over to the bureau, where Mrs. Johnson had left the
bottle and the two elegant glasses of Lalique crystal. He stared slowly
around the familiar furnishings of his room. A fog seemed to be
lifting--or was it falling? He hadn't a clue. "I ... I can't believe it," he
stuttered most uncharacteristically aloud.

"What did you say, darling?" Cassandra asked, her voice suddenly
sharp and focused upon him.

"I ... must've been out of my mind ..."

Swiftly as a cobra, she was at his side, her sharply nailed hands
pinning his arms, her face inches before his. "Roger ... look at me. I'm
your wife, Cassandra. You love me ... remember?"


"Love ... you?" He felt suddenly confused, but there was no denying
the power--the COMPELLING power--of those eyes, that
shimmered with a mad, dreadful radiance.

"Yes ... darling," she snapped, unable to keep an irritable edge out of
the endearment. Diabolos take him, what's the matter? The spell
should have taken firm hold upon him by now.

She watched him shuffle shakily over to the window, throwing open
the casement and inhaling deeply. He needed air--he needed to
breathe--he needed to remember where he was--WHO he was.

It was the work of but a moment for her to shake the aconite powder
into his drink. Not enough to kill him, or even make him ill--just a
special decoction to weaken his will--and subjugate it fully to hers.

"Roger--dear," she cooed, "please drink your champagne. And then
let's sit down and discuss this like civilised people. I couldn't bear
tears tonight ... my wedding night ... my first night as Mrs. Roger
Collins?"

He looked down at her then, at her shining tender eyes, and didn't
even see the cruelty in those quirking, trembling lips. "Of course,
darling," he managed, gulping down his champagne, wishing it were
something stronger. Perhaps some of Grandfather Edward's special
Irish whiskey--something with a kick to it. He remembered being
around the old man as a kid, when he was in his cups. The stories
he'd heard...

God, his head was swimming. He looked at Cassandra, and suddenly
saw her for what she was--a refuge. In this world, with all its
changing, confusing, inconsistent idiocies, only Cassandra was real.
"Only you are real," he murmured, not even aware that she was
cooing the words along with him. "I exist to serve you. To worship
you. To ... love ... you ..."

He didn't even feel the fall when he toppled into bed, fully clothed.
Inscrutably she watched him for a moment, her eyes flecks of wintry
ice. "Fool," she hissed, and then was gone.

~ ~ ~

The flames in Laura Collins' eyes mirrored those in the fireplace as
she stared malevolently at the image of the sleeping Roger Collins.
"Oh great god Ra," she murmured, "why have you failed me? Why
have you allowed Roger Collins to live? You know that he stands
between me and my son, whom you have commanded me to bring
before you, to partake of your glory and splendor. Let your eternal
fire reach out to him now. Let it take him, and burn him, and destroy
him! Amen-Ra, astu aa!" She stared deeply into the flames, holding
up the divine scarab Ra had sent her, to aid her in concentrating her
will. "Amen-Ra, astu aa!" she crooned again, imperiously. "Let the
flames rise! Let them come forth! Let Roger Collins be destroyed!"

An explosion of unstoppable force slammed into her, as a violent gust
of wind blew open the cottage door, extinguishing the flames.
Knocked backwards, Laura screamed, as the scarab flew out of her
hands and shattered on the hearth tiles before her very eyes. Chill air
enfolded her, and she stretched out her hands to rekindle the flames in
the fireplace. Still more chilling peals of laughter echoed and rang all
around her, and she wheeled to face the slim, strangely familiar
woman with the dark hair who stepped forth from the shadows, from
the night, her teeth bared in an unpleasant smile. "You!" she gasped,
disbelieving the evidence of her own eyes. "But it can't be! It isn't
possible! You're--"

"Dead?" Cassandra cooed coyly. "But, my dear, couldn't the same be
said of you? Laura Stockbridge Murdoch Collins--one of the
legendary beauties of the Collins family. How could I not recognize
you? The grave has not tarnished your perfection, my dear. I must
congratulate you on that. And I must warn you to leave
Collinwood--now--or face your own destruction!"

Laura's chin came up, and she faced her adversary with a coldly
disdainful smile. "Miranda DuVal!" she hissed venomously, as if the
name were poison upon her tongue. "I might have known that I hadn't
seen the last of you. The last time we met, you thwarted my plans. But
this time I have an ally ... one that could move even you to step
aside!"

"Oh, really!" Cassandra snarled, her face contorting. "I doubt that.
And I will not warn you a second time. Return to your grave, Laura
Collins--or allow me the pleasure of helping you back
there--permanently!"

Laura's laughter was low and mocking. "You think you can dispose of
me that easily, Miranda? I'm not like those pathetic fools you whisk
into submission by just batting your eyelashes at them. And I am
armed this time, with a force even you have reason to fear!" She held
up one slender, pale hand, and snatched a huge torch out of the
empty air. Its flames burnt with a merry orange ebullience as
Cassandra stared at it in horror. "By royal Bast's command, this night
you WILL be burnt to the uttermost cinder of your being, and your
ashes will be scattered to the winds, never to rise again! Prepare for
eternity, WITCH!" And she flung the torch, as Cassandra's screams
cut through the night air like a harrowing scythe ...

To Be Continued ...

Episode Guide 1967: The Evil of Barnabas Collins

301.  8/21/67.  Writer:  Malcolm Marmorstein.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Willie talks Barnabas out of killing Burke.  While sharing a drink, Barnabas compares his relationship with Burke to a duel.

302.  8/22/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Barnabas shows Julia the strong resemblance between Burke and his old rival, Jeremiah Collins.  Julia suggests that Barnabas’ burgeoning humanity has summoned Sarah back from the grave.  After Vicki announces that she will indeed marry Burke, Barnabas decides to prevent the marriage after he is cured.

303.  8/23/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Burke discovers that Barnabas invented his contacts in England.  He becomes even more suspicious of Barnabas after he connects the music box he gave Vicki with the tune that Maggie has begun to remember.

 

304.  8/24/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Burke tries to find Barnabas at the Old House during the day, and doesn’t believe Willie’s excuses, to Julia’s concern.  He asks Vicki to stay away from the Old House.

 

305.  8/25/67.  Writer:  Malcolm Marmorstein.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            David questions Sarah about her mysterious appearances and disappearances.  Claiming that she doesn’t want to jeopardize the experiment, Julia asks Barnabas to let her take care of Burke.  Sarah leads David to the mausoleum and into the secret room, where he opens the coffin.

306.  8/28/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            The coffin is empty.  Barnabas tells Vicki that Burke has been collecting information on him, and she promises to help stop Burke.  Barnabas hears Sarah’s flute, but her refusal to appear for him brings him to tears.

307.  8/29/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Maggie refuses to stay cooped up in the house, despite the danger.  When Burke tries to convince Vicki that Barnabas may have something to do with Maggie’s kidnapping, she threatens to end their engagement.

308.  8/30/67.  Writer:  Malcolm Marmorstein.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Joe and Sam are shocked to find Julia at the Old House, and Sam accuses her of lying about helping Maggie.  Maggie reveals that Sarah has left her doll in Maggie’s room.

309.  8/31/67.  Writer:  Malcolm Marmorstein.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Barnabas is haunted by fears about Sarah’s return, though later he is convinced that she will eventually appear to him.

310.  9/1/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            After Willie sees Sarah, Barnabas demands that they search for her at Eagle Hill.  David is there talking to Sarah, and hides in the secret room when they approach.

311.  9/4/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            David, eavesdropping from the secret room, hears Barnabas tell Willie how much he loved Sarah.  After they exit, he finds that he is trapped inside the room.  Carolyn has a premonition about danger.  As Barnabas tries to comfort Vicki, he is suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to bare his fangs.

312.  9/5/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Joe and Carolyn’s sudden appearance saves Vicki.  Barnabas has a near run-in with the Sheriff and Joe, who want to search his basement.

313.  9/6/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            David cries out to the caretaker, but the old man thinks David is a ghost.  Though Roger and Joe search the mausoleum, David has drifted into sleep and remains trapped.

314.  9/7/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Joe is starting to believe that something supernatural is responsible for the recent troubles.  Sarah encounters Willie and tells him that she is looking for Barnabas.  Dr. Woodard announces that Sarah’s doll is over a hundred and fifty years old.

315.  9/8/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Barnabas implies to Julia that he will kill David if he finds the boy has learned his secret.  Sarah tells David how to get out of the secret room, and as he bursts from the mausoleum, Barnabas catches him.

316.  9/11/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            David claims that he was lost in the woods.  Later, he feels someone watching him:  Barnabas at the Old House.

317.  9/12/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Barnabas tells Julia he has a way to tell if David must be silenced or not.  He finds David’s knife inside the secret room.  Dr. Woodard realizes that Sarah must be a ghost.

318.  9/13/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Barnabas feels rejected by Sarah.  As he prepares to kill David, a ghostly wind rushes through the Old House, causing Barnabas to beg for Sarah to appear.

319.  9/14/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Maggie proposes that they spread a rumor that her memory is returning to smoke out the killer. 

320.  9/15/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            David has a nightmare wherein Barnabas bares his fangs.  Goaded by the story he hears from Willie, Barnabas decides to kill Maggie.

321.  9/18/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Sarah appears in Maggie’s bedroom and quickly disappears, but Maggie thinks Sarah has given her a warning.  Barnabas prepares to carry out his threat.

322.  9/19/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Julia seeks to prevent Barnabas from going out.  Willie agonizes over his helplessness.  A figure approaches Maggie’s French windows and is shot with five bullets.

323.  9/20/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Willie was shot in Barnabas’ place, but is still clinging to life in a coma from which he may never recover.  Barnabas decides that there is only one more threat to his existence:  David.

324.  9/21/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Liz urges Vicki to figure out what is troubling David.  The boy feels that Barnabas’ eyes are blazing at him from the portrait.

325.  9/22/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Liz asks Vicki to postpone leaving Collinwood until they can help David.  Barnabas grills David about what Sarah may have told him about her family.  David dreams that Barnabas rises from a coffin and menaces him with a cane.

326.  9/25/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            David believes that Barnabas is dead.  Julia’s attempt to hypnotize David fails, and he runs in terror to Vicki.

327.  9/26/67.  Writer:  Gordon Russell.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            David sees Sarah in his crystal ball.  She warns him that Willie was only trying to protect Maggie.  She tells him to stay away from the Old House as she fades away.

328.  9/27/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Barnabas plants Maggie’s ring in a candlestick in Willie’s room, which Sam later finds.  The Sheriff reveals that Willie is coming out of his coma.

329.  9/28/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  John Sedwick.

            Barnabas and Julia visit Willie in the hospital, but Willie has forgotten who they are.

330.  9/29/67.  Writer:  Ron Sproat.  Director:  Lela Swift.

            Julia continues to give Barnabas injections.  A large bat attacks David in his bedroom.