If it’s one thing we keep getting reminded, it’s that digital comics are about much more than superheroes and spandex. The latest  example of this is the excellent The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood from Mark Waid’s Thrillbent. Written by Christina Blanch & Chris Carr and  based on their experiences of teaching in US prisons, Charlie Wormwood is the tale of a teacher struggling to deal with being his son’s terminal illness and the money issues that comes with that when he is offered a not-so-legal way to solve his problems.  Although it gets inevitable comparisons with a certain US HBO drama which has just finished,  Charlie Wormwood is a much less sensational story, with a smartly written, subtly intelligent script that is backed up with stunning artwork from Malaysian-born artist Chee who gives the story a classic, timeless feel with his monochrome watercolour wash artwork. Keen to find out more about the origins of this intriguing tale we contacted Christy and Chris to find out how two prison teachers got to release a comic with the ‘Godfather of Digital Comics’ – were they given an offer they couldn’t refuse?! 

How did you and Chris meet and what was it about these characters that inspired you to write Charlie Wormwood and why write it as a comic?

CB: I met Chris while we were teaching in prison. We were at a holiday party and started talking and realized that we liked the same things and had the same strange sense of humor that most people don’t get. We became instant friends. While we didn’t see each other while teaching in prison that much, we engaged in an aggressive stick figure drawing contest in our prison classes. The students were always making fun of my drawing and said that Mr. Carr’s was better. I considered that a challenge. It was fun for Chris and me and also helped to engage our students. After the prison program discontinued, Chris contacted me and asked if I would be interested in writing a book since we always exchanged colorful ‘prison stories’ with each other. I thought it was a great idea, but proposed a comic book as I really wanted to try my hand at one and I believed that the visuals we could include would make it the perfect medium.

CC: Christy and I met while teaching in the prison. We shared a similar sense of humor and were always trading stories about different bizarre students we had. We became friends when we engaged in an epic stick figure drawing battle that I’m fairly sure is still being talked about to this day throughout the Indiana correctional system.

My fascination with these characters came from the number of times friends and family would ask me to recount my adventures behind bars. It became a tradition at family gatherings for me to sit around telling the weird, ridiculous and sometimes horrific tales of my many prison adventures.

The idea to have Charlie come out as a comic book was Christy’s. She had met Mark Waid and he was planning to launch Thrillbent. When Christy mentioned the idea of writing as a comic it seemed like a natural fit. The subject matter lends itself so well to the visual format. And of course we completely ignored the fact that we knew absolutely nothing about writing a comic book.

Charlie Wormwood has a very sedate and mature tone compared to the traditional high octane world of comics, what books (comic and prose) inspire you as a writer? 

CB: They say write what you know which is only true to a certain degree. I know nothing about selling drugs or having a sick child (thank goodness) but we are writing that. My favorite comics are Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing, Locke and Key, the current run of Daredevil, anything by Brian K. Vaughan. Prose wise, I read a lot of sci-fi and anything Joe Hill writes. He is amazing. One drawback of this series is that it’s keeping me from watching ‘Breaking Bad.’ People are comparing it to that show, so I feel that if I watch it, I might subconsciously take a storyline from it, even though they are really different stories. But, when Charlie Wormwood is finished, I plan to have a marathon as Bryan Cranston is one of my favorite actors.

CC: Charlie is definitely different than most of the traditional comics that are out there. Part of that might be because Christy and I, while both huge fans of comics, come from academic backgrounds. My degree are all in English literature with a focus on early American literature. The literature of that time period is probably about as different as you can get from the high octane superhero world of comics.

Writing about prison and crime my biggest literary influences came from Norman Mailer’s The Executioners Song, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, and Dostoevsky’s House of the Dead. All three of which are based on actual experiences of the writers working around criminals or in prison.

Were you ever concerned a black and white prison story would struggle to stand out from the crowd? Or did you see those as potential positives? Do you think publishing it digitally has helped you in this respect?

CB: We chose to have a black and white comic. I love black and white. Look at what Terry Moore does with it and how Charlie Adlard uses just black and white. We planned on using splashes of color, but after we saw the first installment from Chee, it was too beautiful to mess up with any color. He is amazing with black and white. Also, the story is about right and wrong and the grey area in between, so it’s a little symbolic, too. I don’t think digitally matters for color or black and white. I do know that every week Chee makes Chris and me look good because he is so insanely talented.

CC: I always saw the black and white as a positive. I actually think it makes it stand out more. The stark nature of the drawings adds so much. It provides another level of grim darkness to the struggles that Charlie has.

Having the story digital has helped the black and white have more life. Chee uses it extraordinarily well. At times he uses the format to make it feel as if it is a black and white movie instead of a comic book. The movement and flow that digital offers allows the black and white images to be so effective.

How did you get involved with Mark Waid and the Thrillbent team? Was Charlie Wormwood published in a previous format or did you pitch him the idea?

CB: I approached Mark with this idea right after Chris and I decided to write it. Thrillbent was just forming and they were looking for material. They wanted comics that weren’t all about superheroes, too, so this was definitely that. We just pitched him the idea, he talked it over with his partner John Rogers, and they both loved the idea.

CC: Christy had met Mark at several different conventions. Charlie had never been in any other format. Christy contacted him and then we pitched the idea. At that time he was beginning to look for material for Thrillbent. Fortunately he loved the idea enough to put it up for the weekly run it is on now.

How did you form your partnership with artist Chee and what does he bring to the project in terms of creativity?

CB: Mark is great with helping writers find artists and vice versa. He showed me some art from different people and none of it struck me as for this comic. The characters had to be real, not perfect, and some people just can’t do that. Then one day he sent me Chee’s work. As soon as I saw one image I wrote back YES! I knew. I then sent it to Chris and told him we had an artist. He was blown away with how perfect he was. We sent Chee some character descriptions and when he sent those first sketches to us, we almost cried. It was like he read our minds! As far as what he brings, this is absolutely a collaborative comic. Chris and I write full scripts but then what Chee does is magic. He is not just an amazing artist but a fantastic storyteller and that is what makes someone stand out in the world of comics. I write him every week and tell him please not to leave. This book would not be what it is without Chee. He makes us look good!

CC: Mark set us up with Chee. Mark felt that Chee’s style would be a great fit for the project. From the first sketches that Chee sent we knew it was a perfect fit.  Chee adds so much to the project. Chee understands the characters and the “world” of Charlie Wormwood. Each week we are constantly amazed at how he takes the images in our heads and brings them to life on the screen. As a writer it is so satisfying to have an artist who is as connected to the story as you are.

Thrillbent are pioneers at digital story telling how did you feel the technology would suit the kind of story you wanted to tell and in what ways do you think it helps you as a story teller? Do you have to write slightly differently for it or do you leave it up to Chee?

CB: Well, the biggest difference in this format is that they are weekly installments. So, each month is like one floppy comic book. But instead of one cliffhanger, we have to have four. That’s difficult. As for how it’s drawn, again, it’s collaborative. Chris and I have some ideas, and Chee comes up with some ideas. Chee has a lot of creative freedom because again, we all believe in each other and trust what the other can and will do. There is a standing order for Chee that if we write something and describe what panels we want, if he thinks there is a better way, do it. Again, I cannot stress enough how talented Chee is.

CC: We were hoping that the digital would do what it has done for us, bring the story to life. The digital creates a more lively and interactive feel for the reader.

Using the digital format to our advantage is something that we focus on with every issue. In this aspect Christy has excelled very quickly. While I’m still adapting to the format, she has it down so well. On top of that you add Chee. Chee’s work from the beginning made it appear as if he had been doing this his entire career instead of just starting out in the format.

Comics is going through a real golden age right now thanks to the growth of comics on the iPad, are you iPad comics readers and if so what do you read and recommend?

CB: I read both print and digital comics. I love digital first comics, but I also like to feel comics in my hands. However, I can also take hundreds of comics with me on my iPad when traveling. I subscribe to many series on Comixology, who I think do a great job, and I also subscribe to Marvel Unlimited. Plus, I also check out a lot of webcomics. I don’t think it’s digital or print, I think it’s digital and print.  Like with Daredevil, I buy the digital copy and buy the floppy version. The same with Locke and Key and Saga. There are comics that I want to be able to access at any time. I love that I have those choices.

CC: I’m still a little behind the times and given the choice I still prefer paper copies. Especially if the work was simply transferred to digital and not created just for it, in those instances I like the non-digital version.

If I’m reading something on an iPad I want it to be a text specifically created for the digital format. I want the digital to be a way to enhance the experience. That’s why I love so many of the Thrillbent titles. Insufferable, The Eighth Seal, The Endling, all of them are created for the digital and are meant to be read that way.

Finally, how long will Charlie Wormwood run for, does it have an end in sight, and are you working on anything else you can tell us about?

CB: We first imagined three 20 installment story arcs. That quickly changed to 25, and now has changed to 28. That’s about a trades worth and I really want a print version of Charlie Wormwood. It’s my first comic and I want to be able to stare at it on my shelf. That may be vain, but I am really proud of what Chris, Chee, Troy Peteri (our awesome letterer), Mark Waid (our editor), and I have accomplished. As for the end, the characters keep taking different turns that we expected, so it may still stay with three story arcs or it may be four. We do know what the ending will be. That hasn’t changed. And it’s a GREAT ending. I recently wrote a back up story for Aw Yeah Comics! and Chris and I are working on a few other stories that we want to tell. They are pretty different from Charlie Wormwood – ones a book for tweens and teens. A little change from drugs and prison.

CC: We had originally intended Charlie to run for about 75 weekly issues. However, that number just keeps expanding as the story develops and the characters take on a life of their own. Right now it is difficult to say how long Charlie will run, but as much fun as it is to write I’m hoping to be doing it for quite a while.

The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood is available every week on the Thrillbent site and on ComiXology for £1.49/$1.99. You can follow Christina and Chris on twitter @christyblanch and @Stchristophercr and you can even follow Charlie himself @charliewormwood!