Ahead of Blood Syndicate: Season One #5 dropping into comics shops on September 27, AIPT got a chance to interview writer Geoffrey Thorne about the ongoing Milestone series. The upcoming issue takes a deeper dive into the origin of Holocaust, which should build nicely on the solid story Thorne and artists ChrisCross and Juan Castro have built in recent months.
Luckily, Thorne sheds light on Holocaust, talks about being proud of introducing Kwai into the story, and addresses some other tantalizing odds and ends. Considering how tensions rose to a particularly delicious level in Blood Syndicate: Season One #4, we’re in for a real treat.
Plus, check out a few preview pages for Blood Syndicate: Season One #5 below, and read the whole preview here.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: How do you approach writing a character like Holocaust who is vying for control but always seems in control?
Geoffrey Thorne: I don’t do Sympathy for the Devil. Holocaust grew up poor, in a hard environment, but so do a lot of people. Most of them don’t turn into mass murderers. Like, almost none of them. Like, close to zero. Holocaust learned every wrong lesson, made his choices, and now he is 100% irredeemable.
I write such people as what they are– the opposite of everything decent in the world.
AIPT: How does the change to the Big Bang’s scope affect Holocaust’s view on his place in the world?
GT: It lets him finally flex at the level he always wanted to. Holocaust thinks there’s no one in the world who matters but him. Now he gets to prove it.
AIPT: Does the fact that Tech and Wise Son got their powers abroad change Holocaust’s approach?
GT: Nope. You’re either on Holocaust’s team or you’re meat.
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: What was the decision-making process like in terms of who would fill out the team and when they would appear in the series?
GT: I tried to make it organic. This is why DMZ and DOGG aren’t here and why Kwai isn’t on the team yet. Boogieman is- well, Boogie’s complicated. This about the gang’s formation, its foundation. In the original series we met them after they’d already formed and we had all these ongoing frictions, secrets and dramas going on. Here, most of them don’t know each other so if and when there’s a Season Two, that’s where you’ll start seeing the personal drama. Where’s Kwai during Season One? Where’s DMZ? What’s Dogg doing? etc.
AIPT: As Season One approaches its penultimate issue, is there anything you would have done differently?
GT: I would have had a 12-issue season to tell even more story!
Courtesy of DC Comics.
AIPT: What are the moments you’re most proud of in these first four issues?
GT: Hmm. I’m not sure I can lift things out that way. I sort of look at the story as a whole, y’know? I guess my favorite part was being able to introduce Kwai after all. I didn’t think I’d be able to with this particular story arc but I managed to find a way.
AIPT: Can you talk about how the military background changes the way Tech-9 and Wise Son approach their powers?
GT: Rolando is a gifted tactical strategist with military training. He was excellent in the field during their service. Hannibal knows that and is used to following Rolando’s orders and plans without question or deviation because he’s proven to be right 9 times out of 10 during their time at war. Neither of them will hesitate to go for a kill shot if that’s what’s deemed necessary to win. They are precision fighters, not gangbangers or brawlers.
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