NBM have recently released Inner Sanctum, the latest work from comics legend Ernie Colón. In it, he adapts several tales from an old radio show, bringing them into the ghastly realm of the visual with his grim black and white artwork. It's a beautiful work and show that, even at age 80, Colón can still work his magic.
When the opportunity arose, I spoke to Colón briefly over email to find out a little more about the work.
-- Gavin Lees
What was your
introduction to Inner Sanctum, the radio show? Had you listened to it as
a young boy?
My mom and I lived in the South Bronx, one block from the
“El” — a big improvement over our previous apartment, which was close enough to
hit the passing train with a pebble. The rattle of the trains going by
used to drown out my radio. I was constantly adjusting the volume.
There were several mystery shows from which to choose — Suspense, Mystery Theater, one or two others. But my favorite was Inner Sanctum. The stories were better,
scarier and had tricky endings.
What motivated you
to adapt the Inner Sanctum stories to a comics format?
Drawing everything that fascinated me — World War, short
stories like “The Monkey’s Paw” —Inner
Sanctum was a natural. But I had a lo-o-o-oong wait before I illustrated
some of the stories.
Many of the radio
plays had long, rambling plots that you edited down to less than 20 pages. Did
you hope to make the stories more effective by doing this, or was it simply to
allow you to adapt a larger range of stories?
Adapting was difficult. This was a genre that relied on
your imagination, your suggestibility. Here, I was foisting my view of the
writing on the reader.
A better way would have been if we’d been able to cover
each panel, have the reader uncover them, one by one. That would have simulated
the kind of suspense the radio show intended. Instead, the page is open to
instant perusal, essentially killing any suspense intended.
You’ve worked in
the horror genre quite regularly during your career — from the Warren
publications like Creepy and Eerie, to The Grim Ghost and now Inner
Sanctum — what is it you find so
appealing about the genre?
Oh, it’s fun — like the creepy movies of that time.
Unfortunately, now violence has become so graphic and there seems to be confusion
as to what’s scary and what’s merely disgusting. I liked The Sixth Sense because it was scary, suggestive — really clever.
You have also
worked on a lot of “horror” titles for younger readers, like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Beetlejuice and Scooby-Doo. Do you think
it’s healthy to foster a love of the supernatural at a young age?
Come on — it comes natural to us all. What’s
religion if not belief in the supernatural?
You’ve worked
alongside many other comics legends over the years — names like Archie Goodwin,
Gene Colan, Al Williamson, Steve Ditko and Neal Adams immediately spring to
mind. Were there any who particularly inspired you, or shaped the way that you work?
They all inspired me, each in their own individual way.
You forgot Wally Wood, who inspired us all.
It must have been
quite an experience working for Warren Publishing. Do you have any particular
memories that stand out?
Jim [Warren, the publisher] was an original. An
invitation to his Manhattan penthouse was an event. He answered the door
wearing a powder blue shirt with white collar, tan slacks and no shoes. When
you entered the living room, there was a large portrait of him dressed in
exactly those clothes — down to the bare feet.
He encouraged experimentation and respected his writers
and artists — something not common enough in this field — as you’ll see with my
next answer.
One of your most
famous co-creations, Amethyst of
Gemworld, is about to see an animated
revival on Cartoon Network. Were you consulted at all about this show?
Having signed what turned out to be — for all the legal
mumbo and jumbo — to be a simple contract, that is — we own everything, you own
nothing and we can’t even spell consulting.
The two top companies have proven, repeatedly, over the
years, that they have no conscience, no regard for creative rights or any
common decency. Period.
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