EXODUS frontman
Rob Dukes will be collaborating with
Terminal Press on the upcoming zombie anthology comic
Zombie Bomb!, edited by
Adam Miller and
Rich Woodall.
EXODUS' record label,
Nuclear Blast, caught up with
Dukes on the eve of the band entering the studio to record the follow-up to 2007's
"The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A" to ask a few questions.
Q: Between your cross-country motorcycle trip and touring South America, where in the hell did you find the time to come up with a zombie story?
Dukes:
Brian Ferrara from
Terminal Press e-mailed me while I was on tour and asked if I would be interested in being a part of
Zombie Bomb! I wrote a quick, funny, kinda sick idea down and sent it to him. A week later, we were sitting in Grassroots (a bar in lower Manhattan) talking about how it was a good start but needed a twist. Three days later, I was in an airport texting him ideas. We went back and forth until we both were laughing and excited. It was a cool process.
Q: Is this the first story — aside from song lyrics — that you've ever written?
Dukes: To be honest, a few years ago I started writing a novel. It was a story in my head and it just took on a life of its own. I would write a lot, then break for a while, and begin again. This went on for two years. Then I met
Brian Ferrara and his wife from
Terminal Press. They wanted to do an
EXODUS comic. After they started work on that, I called him and said I had a story that I had been writing and would like him to see if he thought it would be a good comic. They thought it was cool. The next day, he had
Keith McCleary writing the script and now it's a comic in the process. I have seen pages of it and it's fucking awesome! Dark and evil and fucked up… just like it's supposed to be.
Q: What was the collaborative process with the
Terminal Press artists like?
Dukes: Those guys are the coolest dudes ever. Amazing artists and just cool fucking people.
Q: After the story-editing process, how true to your original story did the plot remain?
Dukes: It was exact. They didn't change anything.
Q: What IS the plot? Or can you not comment on the story?
Dukes: It's about a killer. He evil and twisted. The other one is about zombies.
Q: What are the chances of you working more closely with the comic book industry in the future?
Dukes: I would love to. It's a big part of my life and I never thought I could do anything in that world, but I guess I was wrong. I really have to thank
Brian Ferrara and his wife and all the people at
Terminal Press for actually listening and being honest and up front about the ideas I have. They are really cool people. My life is ever-expanding into worlds I never thought I could be in. How fucking cool is that...?!
View sketches, pinups, and finished
Zombie Bomb! art
here.
Terminal Press' comics/metal crossover,
"Exodus: Death Begets Death", is written by
Keith McCleary (
"Killing Tree Quarterly",
"Deep Throat"), with art by
Russ Manning nominee
Rolo Ledesma (
"Debbie Does Dallas") and colors by
Narek Gevorgian (
"Silent Assassin",
"Dimmu Borgir: Dark Fortress").
"Exodus: Death Begets Death" will be available early 2010 from
Terminal Press. Visit
www.terminalpress.com for updates and the
Terminal Press Facebook fan page for a look at some
"Exodus: Death Begets Death" concept art.
