If anyone has shown a skill for mixing great storytelling, satire, and social relevance, it is Eisner-Award Award-winning writer Mark Russell. Mark has written for many of the best publishers in the comic business. Combining smart and thought-provoking stories that often make you smile and think in full measure. This trend continues as he collaborates with talented artist Mauricet on his latest work for Ahoy Comics, titled Thanksgiving, released on October 22nd.
An intense and timely one-shot, Thanksgiving shares a tale about the day when American families come together. At least until the strain of their differences inevitably tears them apart. But for one family, the cruel and deadly secret of the Turkeyneck Killer binds them together in the saddest, most shameful way possible.
Ahead of its October 22nd release, we caught up again with the talented writer to discuss his recent activities and collaboration with Mauicet on this chilling yet socially relevant tale. So let’s welcome back Mark Russell to GVN Talking Comics.
Working Through Creative Dry-Spells
GVN: Thanks for stopping by again, Mark. The first time I had the good fortune of interviewing you was back in November of 2020 for Ahoy’s “Billionaire Island TPB.” Since then, we have chatted over several different Ahoy projects, each one filled with clever dialogue and satire, no matter the subject matter. Religion, Wealth, Horror, Cereal Monsters…They are all fair game to you and your artistic cohorts. As prolific as you are, have you ever run into a dry spell where ideas didn’t flow as they usually do?
Mark: Yeah, but luckily, as a writer you have the perfect antidote for that which is all the old ideas you had and were never able to get made into comics. Also, I find that when I’m in the state of mind (usually not a very good state of mind) where I’m sulky and critical and not really feeling creative, that’s actually not a bad place to be when rewriting stuff you wrote when you were feeling creative and energized. You’re more in editor-brain at that point than writer-brain, so take advantage of that time to do the less fun work of editing your own stuff. Just don’t get so depressed that you start deleting whole stories.
Bunk Bed Mishaps
GVN: The last time we got together was late in 2023, so knowing your predilection for staying busy, you have finished a few projects since then. One of them was your book of your own cartoons, entitled “Bunk Bed Mishaps,” in which you successfully crowdfunded. Did you feel any apprehension about this project, or did it serve as a form of cathartic release, regardless of the crowdfunding outcome?
Mark: The main reason I made Bunkbed Mishaps (other than the fact that I’d drawn hundreds of cartoons) was that I wanted to have something to sell at the comic conventions that I knew my readers wouldn’t already have. And it’s been wonderful for that. My only regret is that I didn’t have someone else do the fulfillment for me. I never want to see a roll of boxing tape again.
Different Stories for Different Publishers
GVN: Ah, yes. The joys of Crowdfunding they DON’T tell you about. You have continued to share your talents with various publishers, including Ahoy, Marvel, DC, and IDW. When it comes to working with different publishers, is it the characters that appeal to you, the opportunity to work with different artists, or the chance to tell a story you have in mind, using them [the characters] as the paintbrush to bring what you envision to reality?
Mark: Well, other than DC or Marvel, where If you have an idea for a Superman story you really HAVE TO take it to DC, I mostly go by tonality. If I have an idea for a story, and it’s mostly funny, especially if it’s darkly funny, I usually go to AHOY first. If it’s a more serious sci fi story, I might take it to Mad Cave, or a horror story to Vault, etc. But I try not to waste an artist’s time until I have a publisher lined up.
Thanksgiving
GVN: Speaking of artists, you are partnering with the talented Mauricet for your latest collaboration with Ahoy in “Thanksgiving,” an oversized 48-page horror/comedy issue about a family dinner gone horribly wrong. How did this concept come about, and was Mauricet the artist you knew who had to bring it to life?
Mark: Tom Peyer, the Editor in Chief at AHOY, had worked with Alain before and recommended him for this story. And I think he was an inspired choice. As for the story itself, it came to me following the 2024 election as a metaphor for just how little it turns out I knew and understood the people I had always thought of as family. But maybe that’s because, like actual family who we only see at holidays, we don’t actually know them. What we know are these tiny snapshots of themselves they choose to show us, and the way we felt about them when we were young.
Combining Story-Telling and Social Relevance
GVN: With that in mind, as usual with “Thanksgiving,” you find a way to bring social relevance to a story that you create. Is this always your intention going in, or does it just happen as you think about what is currently transpiring?
Mark: In the case of Thanksgiving, it was very intentional. It’s not always that way, but Thanksgiving was written from the outset as a parable for American society.
New Projects
GVN: We thank you again for spending a few minutes with us, Mark. As is our norm, we leave you with the opportunity to share any other projects you have upcoming.
Mark: I would be very happy if people would pick up my new science fiction series “Vanishing Point.” Like Thanksgiving, each issue tells a self-contained story so you don’t need to read them in order. And each story is about something that has much deeper meaning to me.
Ahoy Comics’ “Thanksgiving,” by Mark Russell and Alain Mauricet reaches its FOC on Monday, September 22nd, and hits stands on October 22nd. You can find it wherever great comics are sold.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
