ANNA READMAN & GEORGE POOLEY - a new team to help resurrect SCREAM!

Anna Readman & George Pooley join Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, to discuss the new 2024 Scream! special anthology, released alongside the initial run after forty years, available through Rebellion!

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COMIC BOOK YETI: Anna & George, thanks for joining us today in the Yeti Cave! How have things been going back in the U.K.? 

ANNA READMAN: Well, we had about a week of summer. Now it’s back to the rain and cold. So, it’s pretty normal round here at the moment.

GEORGE POOLEY: Winter is coming and we’ve said goodbye to the sun. We’ll be lucky to make it through to Spring. Other than that though things are pretty great!

CBY: Sounds like it's nearly time to bundle up! So you’re both Leeds-based creatives - you’ve grown up in a world where 2000 AD has been a weekly fixture, with Rebellion carrying the torch as publisher since, fittingly, the year 2000. Can you both tell us a bit about your experience with Rebellion, both as comics fans and professionals in the industry? How did you each first get involved with Rebellion, and when did you two initially meet?

AR: I was never really into 2000 AD growing up. I read a few Dredd Case Files that my hometown library had but didn’t read any further. It was only until I met George at a Leeds University Comics Society event that my proper 2000 AD education started from his immense catalogue at his house. Then I started working for them!

GP: My experience was slightly different, I was born into my love of 2000 AD. My dad was there when it launched back in 1977 and collected the progs each week, he reckoned he had an unbroken run of progs 1-200 in his collection, that was until his mum (my grandmother) decided they should go to the dump, and they were never seen again. My actual experience of 2000 AD began Christmas Eve 2004 when I was given a hardback copy of ‘Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth Saga’. Soon after the Judge Dredd Case Files launched and that was my gateway into 2000 AD. I’ve been a mega fan since. 

CBY: The spatial prioritization of mothers has clearly been the bane of many a comic collection over the past 80 years. Rebellion has also commemorated this Scream! anthology with a consolidated printing of the entire original fifteen issue run (available to order on the 2000 AD site). What sort of exposure to these stories did you have going into this project, and while I know some of the EC horror classics are evoked, what other horror comics provided you with inspiration as you were determining how to shape your story?

AR: Again, I never read Scream! before I started working on this story with George. I love horror comics though, especially the old Wally Wood EC Comics, Bernie Wrightson and Alex Toth’s Creepy and Eerie work. As a teenager I avidly collected Hellblazer so I think that informed a lot of my work growing up.

GP: Sadly, I’m in the same situation. I’d never tried a Scream! before, but I plan to grab the collection immediately and give it a whirl. In terms of inspiration, I’ve always enjoyed ‘Fiends of the Eastern Front’ - another 2000 AD horror classic. I love to see classic monsters in non-traditional settings.

CBY: Can you each speak to your own technical process in writing and illustrating, respectively? The writing is both dense and succinct to cram what could easily be a 24-page story into 16, and both the line weight and color provide a vibrant accompaniment to the heavy rock setting depicted. What unique approaches did you take to achieve the end result?

AR: We wrote the plot and outline together, which George turned into a script, which I then fine-tuned into the final working version, so the writing aspect was a collaboration start-to-finish. I drew this story digitally to keep to the deadline, which allowed me to be more adventurous with my inks and details (maybe to my detriment.) The colour was all JP, though we all agreed the pops of saturation against the earthy tone of the ‘70s would look great.

GP: What she said! 

CBY: I think it came together pretty brilliantly. I’m also glad to catch this Scream! revival, as I’ve caught up with Aly Fell for one of the Misty stories and Alex De Campi for her Roxy entry. What other discontinued titles would you like to see brought back to life, if any? Are there any narratives you’d like to reawaken for your own devices?

AR: I’d love for some more anthology stuff to be about, like DC Comics’ Solo and Image Comics’ Island - it gave upcoming (and established) creators a great platform to showcase themselves. And, for my own personal interests, I’d love for western comics to make a comeback. Country is cool again, so why not western comics?

GP: I’d like to see the return of ‘The Stainless Steel Rat’ to 2000 AD. The original run was created by Kelvin Gosnell and Carlos Esquerra based on the books by Harry Harrison. They only adapted a few books in the long running series, but I’d love to see a few more tackled. I read a collected paperback of the original stories a year or two ago and would love to see a revival. Slippery Jim is a great character, and the mix of comedy and sci-fi action is a real stand out. 

In general, I think Harry Harrison novels should be considered for adaptation more often. I read a 1970s paperback of Harrison’s called Skyfall (it’s not related to the James Bond film of the same name) about a joint US / USSR spaceship falling to Earth and thought it would be great for a mini-series comic adaptation.

CBY: It's pretty mind-boggling how much solid gold from the recent past lays lightly buried, waiting to be brushed off and presented to the world again. There are also a whole host of details you’ve both included to capture the aesthetic of the 70’s rock n’ roll scene. Did you have any particular musicians or bands in mind when you decided upon the look of your characters? As comics are a silent medium, when trying to convey music through the pages of a comic, certain elements are elevated, and others lost along the way. For Mahogany Rush, the band you’ve created, in each of your own minds, what other bands from the era would you liken them to?

AR: Oh man, yeah of course. Obviously, Les is a spiritual cousin of Jim Morrison, but I used a lot of references of Joe Cocker and Iggy Pop for their very physical performance style. Morris is sorta a Ginger Baker/Neil Young hybrid, Josh Kendall is a nod to Stephen Stills (check his Gretsch), Ren Preston is of course our favourite Billy Preston, and Mina Macey is our Karen Carpenter/Meg White drummer. And Jon is that sad old git you see in the corner of the pub. A lot of background characters in the party sequence are from the Laurel Canyon ‘60/70s counterculture scene, like Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, etc. All our character names are references to Bram Stoker’s Dracula characters, fitting for our story.

GP: When it came to trying to represent music on the page, we opted to not write any lyrics, we both found that whatever songs we wrote just sounded flat. Instead, we decided to focus on the crowd experience and spectacle of the gigs. Anna’s art really showed this off, making the band look larger-than-life and really playing into this exaggerated representation of rockers. 

CBY: I only picked up on a handful of those influences, so thanks for lifting the veil a bit. You’ve both got a variety of interests and creative pursuits - what other projects can our readers expect to see from both of you in the near future? Is there anything you’re able to announce or that you’re especially excited about following up “And his Skin is Cold?”

AR: I’ve got a story that I drew, written by Ken Niemand, being serialised currently in the Judge Dredd Megazine called ‘Fargo & McBane: New York’s Finest’ which is a 6-parter starting from #473. I also drew a story for Re-Live’s UK Veterans' mental health anthology, Coming Home, which will be launched at Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival in November and will be available through Diamond early next year. And I might have a few other things cooking, but nothing to announce yet. 

GP: Nothing in the pipeline yet, but I’ve got some ideas for further horror stories and a few sci-fi outlines written up. Anna and I are thinking of a few future projects as well, when her schedule lets up! 

CBY: From my background reading, it’s my understanding in addition to creative collaboration, you two are also a couple. I’ve worked with my wife on a couple of projects, and we’ve had plenty of discussions about the prospect of working together on fiction. Can you share a bit about the dynamic between the two of you as creative professionals, and how you approach the various aspects of your relationship to ensure clear communication and effective production?

AR:  When I was approached by Chiara (our wonderful editor) at Rebellion to write and draw a story for Scream!, I asked George to be co-writers. George has always had this vast knowledge of comics, horror movies, and literature that this opportunity was the was the perfect jumping-on point to put his brain to use and get writing professionally. I’m glad we worked on this story together, and I hope in doing so George will be given some new writing opportunities, or at least give him the confidence in his abilities to start pitching and writing regardless. I wouldn’t be a good girlfriend if I never encouraged his creative talent, which he has plenty of! 

GP: Outside of the writing process my approach was to step back and let Anna take over! I occasionally found some reference pictures and some clips from old news or documentary footage to use but really, I trusted Anna to do her thing. I think it worked best that way. 

CBY: I'm glad you were able to find a balance that worked within both of your skill sets. To step away from your exciting new contribution to the Rebellion catalogue, can you both share with our readers any recommendations unrelated to your current work that you’ve found inspiring from the world of comics, film, literature, music, and more? What’s caught your attention lately that we ought not to miss?

AR: I absolutely love what Caroline Cash is doing with her own comic series PeePee PooPoo (published by Silver Sprocket), as well as Kevin Huizenga’s Fielder (self-published, distributed by Drawn & Quarterly). I really only read independent stuff now, but I’m looking forward to Chris Samnee and Mark Waid’s new Batman and Robin: Year One series. I’m a big fan of Barbara Kingsolver, and her debut novel Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike finally has a UK edition, so that’s on my reading list. Music-wise, I love Country and Americana, and was lucky enough to see 49 Winchester in Manchester with my dad earlier this year and their new album ‘Leavin’ This Holler’ is superb. Film-wise, I recently watched The Outrun and thought it was fantastic, and a great adaption of Amy Liptrot’s memoir, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading as well. 

GP: Since we wrote a horror and it is the spooky time of the year, I’d like to purely recommend some scary media. Film-wise, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance absolutely blew me away. Comic-wise, at the moment I’m on a bit of James Tynion IV bender and I’m loving The Deviant (with Joshua Hixson on art), W0rldtr33 (with Fernando Blanco) and Nice House by the Lake / Sea (with Alvaro Martinez Bueno). Each is brilliant and well worth your hard-earned cash. I’m also slightly late to the party but I’ve absolutely loved playing Remedy Game’s Alan Wake 2 this year and would highly recommend that as well.

CBY: There are some winners in that list, and I hope our readers get to give everything a look! Anna, George - thanks for making time to chat about your work in the Scream! special. And His Skin is Cold was a delight, so if you’ve got links to share where our audience can find more of your work and follow you online, please let us know below.

AR: Thanks, Comic Book Yeti, for having us! (And for the great interview questions.) You can find me on Instagram @annareadman and my website is www.annareadman.com. Cheers!

GP: Thanks, Comic Book Yeti. I have zero professional social media accounts but if people would like to see my amateur painting on Warhammer models, they can follow me @gpooley94 on the ‘gram!

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