INTERVIEW: Welcome to ‘TexArcanum,’ land of ghosts and gods
Image courtesy of Dark Horse / Provided with permission.
Meet Avery Belle, billed as a cowboy arcanist and someone who dominates the narrative in the new four-part comic series TexArcanum, with its first issue scheduled for July 23 from Dark Horse. Avery is the protagonist in the series, which is brought to life by writer Christopher Monfette, a creative known for his writing and producing work in the world of TV. His past credits include everything from Star Trek: Picard to Marvel’s Vision to 12 Monkeys — a holy trifecta of sci-fi and superhero goodness that puts him right at the top of the “cool kids” list.
In TexArcanum, the American Heartland is going through an upheaval. This is the part of the world where ghosts and gods commingle, where angels and demons spar against each other. Avery is at home amongst these supernatural creatures, but a new threat emerges when a centuries-old feud spills out into the open. Avery, the imperfect hero of the series, may be the only one who can solve this out-of-this-world mystery.
Helping Monfette on the four-parter are illustrator Miguel Martos, colorist Patricio Delpeche and letterer Michael Heisler. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Monfette about the forthcoming series, which promises to give the summer a jolt for comic aficionados. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Why set the series in the American Heartland?
I’ve always loved the character of the supernatural PI — whether that be John Constantine, or Harry Dresden or Clive Barker’s Harry D’Amour — but it’s a fairly populated sub-genre. That said, each one stands guard at the gate of a different major metropolis — London, New York, Chicago — and it struck me that few, if any, roam the Heartland. There’s no shortage of myth and mysticism in the hidden places in this country — and there’s such a rich, diverse tapestry of cultures and beliefs to explore there. It felt like a new and original arena for a character like Avery Belle — that intersection of Elmore Leonard and Stephen King, where a character like Justified’s Raylan Givens can moonlight as a low-country John Constantine. The gods and monsters and myths and demons of all the incredible cultures that make up this country could be well represented there — and hopefully tell the kinds of stories you couldn’t in other areas.
In the story, how did all of these monsters, ghosts and demons end up in this part of the country?
America is an immigration story about the immigration of stories. This entire country is an incredible collision of cultures and myths and beliefs — and as you make your way through the more rural areas, you begin to see all the fascinating and seemingly unlikely places they overlap. Campfire stories and tall-tales colliding in the middle of Middle America. In the South, the Southwest. The hills of Appalachia. The book is called TexArcanum, but Avery Belle’s jurisdiction expands much farther than just Texarkana. In the book, there’s a deep, mythological reason that’ll hopefully play out across future stories about why these entities have manifested for real — and it’s important to note that it’s not all ghosts and demons. All the incredible folks that make up this country brought their folklore with them — and while that includes the terrifying, it can also include the beautiful.
How would you describe the character of Belle?
Belle is our version of the classic noir PI — only set against the backdrop of rural America. He’s witty; he’s wise. He’s morally grey. He has a rough exterior and a soft heart. He wields sarcasm in place of a gun. Two of my favorite TV series are Justified and Dr. Who — and my hope is that Belle carries a bit of those influences.
The series is billed as Yellowstone meets The X Files? Are you fan of these two shows? Do you like that comparison?
Absolutely, I am. I grew up on The X Files. It’s quite likely the series that’s most formative to my becoming a television writer, and I think the grounded, violent, character-driven intensity of Yellowstone has been an amazing platform for telling captivating stories against a more rural backdrop. But I think along with rural, blue-collar, Americana storytelling comes a responsibility to acknowledge that our that American story is really the sum total of many, many non-American stories, as well. And this being a genre adventure series, Avery Belle looks at that tale through the lens of our diverse superstitions and American folklore.
Do you feel there’s more adventures to be had beyond the fourth issue?
Without a doubt. These opening four issues tell a very simple story — Avery Belle attempting to thwart a low-country apocalypse by getting to the bottom of a centuries-long family feud. It’s classic Hatfield-McCoy territory. That story is resolved by the final issue, but there’s a deeper mythology we’re building and a whole country’s worth of stories left to tell. And it’s easy for me to talk about the beauty and complexity of the American tapestry, about the collision of myths and mythologies from other cultures, but I’m also having that conversation from the point-of-view of a white man in his 40s. I can only authentically say so much before hitting the limits of my experience. There are countless stories out there that simply aren’t mine to tell or about which I’m not remotely aware — so my hope is that TexArcanum, in success, is a platform for other writers, other storytellers, far more diverse than myself to explore the kinds of tall tales, gods and monsters that I simply wouldn’t think to or couldn’t speak to on my own.
How was your time on Star Trek: Picard? Was it a positive experience? A dream come true?
Season three of Picard was a rare and wonderful experience. It’s not often that a writer gets to finish a story that began in their childhood, a story that inspired them to tell their own stories. To work with that cast, to shape a fitting conclusion of Jean-Luc’s arc and wrap up 30-plus years of TNG — it was a privilege and an honor. And to have it all turn out as brilliantly as it did and be so warmly embraced by the fans — I couldn’t be prouder.
When do you find the time to write comic books?
I’ve been exceptionally fortunate these past few years to work on some incredible projects‚ from Magic the Gathering at Netflix to my current series at Marvel, and TexArcanum was really told and conceived in the stolen moments between them. It’s a passion project for me — to explore the beauty of this country and play around in the sandbox of its mythmaking — so it was a priority to craft these four issues wherever time permitted. Lots of late nights and early mornings and pages written between meetings.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The first issue of TexArcanum will be released July 23 from Dark Horse. Click here for more information.
