GVN Talking Comics Interview: Writer Eric Palicki For Ahoy Comics ‘Black’s Myth: The Key To His Heart’

Back in May of 2021, we had the opportunity to talk to writer Eric Palicki in advance of his new book with Ahoy, Black’s Myth.  Fast forward to the present and Eric and his talented cohort’s artist Wendell Cavalcanti and cover artist Liana Kangas are getting ready to release the next volume in Ahoy’s Black’s Myth saga – Black’s Myth: The Key to His Heart. Not that we are taking any credit for his book’s previous success, but we decided…why chance it? To cover our bets, we recently sat down once again with talented writer to discuss the success of Volume 1 and the launch of Volume 2. So, let’s welcome back writer Eric Palicki to GVN’s Talking Comics Interview.

The Success of Volume 1

GVN: Thanks once again for sharing some time with me Eric. When we last spoke, it was right before the premier of the first Chapter in your Black’s Myth saga. As I knew from the start, it would be a hit with fans which of course meant a follow-up. Were you at all surprised by the overwhelming positive response to your and artist Wendell Cavalcanti’s work?

EP: Thank YOU! I was absolutely surprised. Wendell is great, of course, so no surprise there, but writers are so often told to write the stories they would want to write, and I’m just so thrilled I’m not the only one on Earth who wants to read a comedic supernatural noir about a werewolf PI and her half-djinn partner. We must have done something right.

Planning for More While Providing Closure

GVN: How far along were you in the first story when you were confident that a second volume would be a given? Or had you and Wendell already put in the groundwork for such a possibility?

EP: Black’s Myth was completely written by the time Ahoy invited us back for another round. I tend to write all of my stories open-ended in the naïve hope we’ll get to continue our stories, but I would note with irony, Black’s Myth is the most complete story I had written to date. I honestly never expected to be here, so I made sure to give Strummer, our hero, a healthy amount of closure.

Volume 2 – The Key to His Heart

GVN: Well since I have been building up to it, let’s get a little synopsis of what our hero werewolf PI Janie Jones “Strummer” Mercado and her Djinn assistant Ben Si’lat are up to this go around?

EP: Sure! Strummer Mercado is a P.I. who happens to be a werewolf. At the opening of our first volume, Strummer has forsaken her werewolf heritage but still uses her enhanced senses as an advantage in solving cases from regular human clients. The case of a lifetime, brought to Strummer and Ben by the eponymous Rainsford Black, forces Strummer to return to her supernatural roots and reckon with that part of herself.

When we catch up to her in the new volume, she’s finally comfortable in her own skin and with her place in the world. Of course, this is a noir, so don’t expect Strummer’s comfort and happiness to last too long, and I can report that Strummer’s struggles–and Ben’s–will return courtesy of a returning Rainsford Black.

Working with Wendell

GVN: Now that you and Wendell have the first series under your belts, did you give the talented Mr. Cavalcanti something to challenge his prodigious skills or is it just full steam ahead with what worked so well the first time? I would imagine that because of your familiarity with each other, you are a well-oiled story telling machine.

EP: We’re sympatico by now, but something I was able to do, which I’m pleased with, is to fold some folklore and mythology from Wendell’s native Brazil into the story. Wendell crushed it, of course.

More Liana Kangas

GVN: I see that you once again have enlisted the talented cover maven Liana Kangas to work on this iteration of Black’s Myth. When I think of the first volume, the first thing I see in my mind’s eye are her vibrant covers. When it was confirmed that the next storyline was a go, how important was it to put Liana once again to work?

EP: Liana is part of the team, and her contributions are just as important as mine and Wendell’s. Those covers, as you said, are an iconic part of the series. I’m glad she’s back; those shoes would be impossible to fill.

A Possible Trilogy

GVN: Even though we haven’t even started Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart, do you have a third story in the hopper when this one blows up like the first?

EP: The Key to His Heart, as readers will see, feels very much like Strummer’s Empire Strikes Back, so I’m hoping we get one more story to wrap up our epic. I haven’t started writing yet–I don’t want to jinx it–but I know what shape the story would take, and I can see in my mind’s eye how awesome those Wendell pages and Liana covers would be.

Upcoming Projects

GVN: Thank you so much for talking to us again Eric. As always, I want to give you an opportunity to share any other projects you might have upcoming. I know that besides your writing talents, you have been a very successful editor of anthologies. So, let’s include any news there as well.

EP: I have a new series, TOXX, coming from Blood Moon and co-written with games designer Evan Carothers. The first issue lands in July. Beyond Black’s Myth and Toxx, it’s too soon to talk about my upcoming projects, but folks can follow me @ericpalicki on Twitter and Instagram for more news to come.

Thank you again!

Ahoy Comics Black’s Myth: The Key to his Heart Issue 1 by Eric Palicki, Wendell Cavalcanti, and Rob Steen with covers by Liana Kangas and Tim Seeley is now available where all great comics are sold.