Comic Books

Scott Duvall on death, grief, and monsters in ‘Going Green’

‘Going Green’ is currently crowdfunding via Zoop.

November 7, 2023

Death sure ain’t what it used to be. At least in terms of what we do with one’s earthly remains, as the last few years has given rise to compost burials. That’s basically where the body is converted into compost, and the practice is said to be more environmentally friendly (though not yet legal in most U.S. states). Now, at least one creative team has spun that novel notion into a dark and poignant exploration of death itself.

Going Green is the brainchild of writer Scott Duvall (who co-penned They Called Us Enemy with George Takei), writer Sean Reliford (Person of Interest), and artist Vincenzo Federici (TMNT, Firefly). In the now-crowdfunding project, we follow the Dunn children as they grieve their recently-deceased father, who’d been interred via the titular “Going Green” method of compost burial. Only their dad doesn’t exactly stay dead, as his return coincides with the rise of a “dangerous, kaiju-like hive mind comprised of the reanimated remains of the town’s deceased.” And while it’s filled with plenty of sci-fi and horror madness, the story is also a touching exploration of family, living through grief, and what comes next.

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The Zoop campaign for Going Green is live beginning today (November 7). In the lead up, Duvall was kind enough to answer a few of our questions, including the interest in compost burials, working with Reliford and Federici, his favorite pages and moments, and embracing death as a part of life.

If you’d like to contribute to Going Green‘s Zoop campaign, head here.

Going Green

AIPT: What’s the elevator pitch for Going Green?

Scott Duvall: Going Green is where the psychological family drama of Locke & Key meets eco-horror and the exploration of the afterlife where the dead rise from their composted remains. It’s a death-positive look at the loss of a loved one, and being at peace after suffering those losses.

AIPT: Where did the interest in compost burials come from? Why is that such a neat twist/angle?

SD: It came specifically from the news. What planted the seed for this crazy concept was a headline about composting human remains becoming legal in the state of Washington. We wanted to explore the afterlife in a way we hadn’t seen tackled before, and this seemed like the perfect vehicle to do so, drawing inspiration from life (and death) but taking it in a supernatural direction, which has resulted in giving our artist Vincenzo Federici plenty of fun monsters to draw!

AIPT: Similarly, is this maybe a commentary of sorts about our rather weird and singular relationship with death and burials (at least in this country)?

SD: There’s a little bit of that sprinkled in there, too. I understand that the concept of composting instead of burial or cremation was quite a controversial topic among talking heads in states like California and New York, when getting it passed there. Death isn’t the most comfortable subject, and so if this story sparks more conversations about this inevitable outcome and the options we have when our time comes, that’s great.

Courtesy of the creators and Zoop.

AIPT: What was it like working with Sean and Vincenzo? What did they each bring to the collaborative process?

SD: Sean is my longest creative partner ever, having collaborated with him on short films and co-written a bunch of screenplays together. It was a joy to work on our first comic together, and I’m a little surprised it’s taken this long. He’s one of the best writers I know, in addition to being a lifelong friend, so bouncing ideas back and forth with him is always a joy. When I brought this idea to him, it goes his gears turning, and before long, we began officially collaborating on it. He brings a lot to this project, and in particular is responsible for one of the biggest threats our characters face, so I’m thrilled to be working with him on this.

I’ve also collaborated with Vincenzo, as we teamed up previously on the Army of Darkness/Bubba Ho-Tep comic crossover and it was an immediate creative spark, where we fed off each other’s enthusiasm for the project. We were able to bring out the best in each other’s writing and art, and wanted to experience that all over again, so I wrote this project with him in mind, really playing to his strengths, and letting him loose on the horror pages. This story also needs an artist who understands emotion, and he brings the pathos to these characters as they’re going through their most challenging times together. This is Sean’s first time working with an artist and so the fact that I have a strong connection with both of them helps our partnership come together in a really cohesive way.

AIPT: There’s a clear environmentalism bent to the plot. Is there some appeal or upside in tackling this massive, nuanced issue in the realm of comics?

SD: I try to be environmentally friendly in my daily life by composting and recycling, but going into this project it wasn’t a conscious decision to try and bring more attention to the issue, more of a happy accident. We are not trying to convince the reader of anything or that composting is the way to go when your time comes. We aim to entertain and maybe pull on your heartstrings a bit. If this story also somehow inspires someone to be more green and be aware of their carbon footprint, I’ll consider that a bonus.

Courtesy of the creators and Zoop.

AIPT: Let’s talk about the Dunn kids — even in previews they come off really strong and compelling. Why are they a great entry into this world and this story?

SD: I knew I wanted to tell a family story with this, and Cliff and Molly are at the center of that. Molly is loosely based on my own kids, modelling some of her speech patterns after theirs, as I wanted her to feel as real as possible. She’s very young and looks up to her big brother Cliff a great deal, who is considerably older than her, and as a result has been suddenly thrust into the position of being her caretaker. I wanted to show them leaning on each other during this time of tragedy as well as discovery, and so they find the strength in each other to carry on.

AIPT: Does this read more for a younger or older crowd — should that distinction matter less with stories like this (about family and grief)?

SD: Our lead characters are kids, however we’re targeting mature audiences with this story. While it won’t be an onslaught of graphic imagery, we don’t shy away from it either, as we’re all fans of horror. Nature can be both beautiful and destructive and within these pages readers will be treated to both.

AIPT: I lost my own dad about a year ago, and doing some of the “bureaucratic” stuff was oddly comforting. Is there something like that here — this idea that we battle death by embracing the small or ugly or weird bits?

SD: Very sorry to hear about your loss. It’s tough losing someone, no matter what age, and here the Dunn kids are suffering the loss of a second parent after already having lost their mother. Their legal guardian is their ailing grandmother, which leaves them to make big decisions over their father. I think the idea of embracing those weird bits is essential to navigating what life throws at you, but for me it’s less about battling death and more about embracing life and being in the moment.

Courtesy of the creators and Zoop.

AIPT: Do you have a favorite page or moment you can tease from the story itself?

SD: The one we’ve been getting the most reaction to, which I love, is the splash page of the hand erupting from the box of soil. It borrows heavily from some of our favorite horror tropes but done our way, where it’s not the undead, it’s renewed life. I knew I had to get that image animated for the trailer and it’s incredible.

The other page I’ll mention is a quieter moment between Cliff and Molly where they have an intense conversation about death. It’s based on a conversation I had with my youngest when discussing our own mortality. Even though it’s wrapped in the world of plant people popping up, it’s one of the realest things I’ve ever written.

AIPT: Why should anyone back this campaign?

SD: If people dig the concept, the art, and/or enjoyed the team’s previous work, we hope they’ll consider taking a chance on us and this new idea. It’s a deeply personal story while being a sci-fi/horror adventure at the same time, and we couldn’t be more excited to bring Going Green to as wide of an audience as possible through Zoop!