Patrick Horvath Teases Samantha Strong's NEXT Chapter Beneath the Trees

0:00Well, it takes place 10 years later. And it's like, and it's again, like, a lot of it was, like, the second artist playing out the fallout from the first book. And then this third will be the fallout from the second book, in, like, and again, like, so she's very much an isolation. But she also finds herself in a world that's sort of fascinated with everything that she's done. All right. This is Jay from the coming source coming to you live. Once again, sending you a Comic Con with a creator, a friend, Patrick Corvette is on to chat with us about rights of spree as which we had a tremendous ending. I mean, we met because of this property beneath the trees, where we had no idea at that time that this was going to just catapult you. So now that you have two mace, and we've had a chance to see, you know, this second story, and I'm sure more to come,

1:00but the second one with Samantha Strong and her, you know, sort of seeing her origin and what have you. Give us your perspective on it. Like, how has it has changed your career, been able to kind of look back now with two mace under your belt? What are your thoughts on it? It's still, I still think it's incredible. It's still wild to me that I'm like, I have a career making clicks now, because I didn't anticipate that when this whole thing started. I had a really modest expectations for it because I thought it was going to be like, maybe like, I didn't think the singles were really going to be that big. I thought the trade was going to maybe find an audience, and if I was lucky, I'd get to do more. And so then when it totally took off, it was obvious that this thing had legs, and it was pretty, I think it was drawing issue four at the time for the first start when the issue one came out. And then IDW was like, hey, so if you have ideas for more,

2:04we would love to do it too. I was like, it was planning, I did, I had an idea for the second book and the third book by the time I was wrapping up issue three. It was around that funeral, and I'd been thinking about, well, what if Sam, because he was talking about the trauma she causes, the families of the victims as she disappears, what would that be like? And then I was like, well, that would be what the second story would be. And then we would have a follow-up after that too, that would be like, and I wanted to do these time jumps, so nothing like, I wanted to do a time jump in like eight years, and then I'm doing a time jump for like 10 years for the next thing. It was going to be this thing with basically, necessarily, I was like, it was just the evolution, the fallout of what she got is from this first book. And I just, like, the idea that it had like a life of its own that was growing, like fans were like into it.

3:06Now, it just blew me away that I had any way that was a fan. So it feels a lot like a gift. It's been a gift in that it's like, I was talking about this just like literally today. You have a real, I think it was Tony Fleece, and we were talking, he said, like, you've got like a real specific set of skills. And you finally find a place to put it. And the moment I was like, oh, yeah, yes, yeah. I do like filmmaking and writing quite a bit. But I also didn't draw like art is a part of my life. And so this was, it just made all the sense in the world when like I finally put it out. And it was well received. And you know, in this storytelling through sequential art was like, I was getting good at it. And so it's just been like, I don't know, it's just like a lot of really good emotions wrapped around in it. And crazy to have like the stang now. And to be able to just make comics. But it's like, isn't it incredible? I mean, we're in that pops into my mind when I think about, you know,

4:07how far you've come is journey. Yeah, I think I love like your career path. You've gone on this journey. What's like Samantha went on this journey. And we're of a similar age, a similar generation. So you talk about that time job early days of the internet, you know, our generation is in a way we sort of have the worst in a way only because we didn't have that. Like it's talking to my daughter about it the other day. Like we had to go, we wrote term papers. We had to go, it's like, P.E.S. Go all out of it. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I went to go to the library. You had to get, you had to find the bar. You had to do citations. Yeah, I feel like, I feel like, and again, like it's just like a double down in your point. A lot of this is me like working through my youth. And like the 80s was the book one. The 90s was like being like adolescents. And now like we're going to be another ones. Like it'll be, you know, early adulthood. And it's just like, and it's wrestling with all that, it's wrestling with all that stuff now in hindsight.

5:10Yeah. And like how, like the shattering of innocence, the way that like globalization becomes a thing in the book too. A lot of it. It's just so, it's so, it's fascinating, I guess, to kind of use these as like a way to kind of work through that stuff. I mean, life can be scary. Yeah. So and so I could about this, you know, a horror book. And, you know, what Samantha does, a trauma she calls causes, like you mentioned, exploring that in the right of spring. But, but again, like the parallels are just so interesting. Yeah. To me, talking about that and the time jump and what have you. But then again, like I was saying to see what you've done. I mean, Samantha Strong showed up in a DC. Yes, C.C. K. Ho. Yeah. That was why that, yes. Extremely wild. I didn't even think about the full ramifications of that until like I saw like the announcement and everything. Because it was, it was very much like, oh, here's a fun idea.

6:10Yeah. Like what do you think about that? And I was like, that's far out. I didn't even know like what extent. I thought it would be like a little cameo or something like who knows? Yeah. And then I saw the announcement with Jim Lee at New York. And it was just like there she is, like on this big screen with all these other characters. And everybody knows. Yeah. And for a lot of people, they were like, and who's the bear? Yeah. And then they, most of those people had a friend that was like, oh, do you know what he did to build DCs? And it was like this, it was just such a crazy moment of having this thing like get even larger when I wouldn't expecting it at all necessarily. So when that happened and then I got to do a cover with the Joker and so many. Yeah. It's so like it's so cool, but like just it's incredible. Like I really didn't expect any of that. Well, again, like I keep going back to that first conversation we had. And you know, you and I was hit hit it off. And to think now that yeah, you have this career, you're doing these amazing things. You've got Archie and Hell coming up with O'Neill, which is awesome.

7:12My my 76 year old mother is really excited. She's going to read Archie comics again. Like it's spans generations. I know the imposter syndrome never really goes away. Yeah, I think for a lot of creators. I mean, you've had a chance to meet people who's worked that you've admired and you know that sort of thing. Yeah. And work. Yeah, I'm like, yeah, what's that in like? It's incredible. Like it blows me away. It's like well, specifically with like Archie and Hell. Well, I mean, even with my book in working with Hassan O'Neill and doing the lettering, I was a fan of his when he was doing split strip Hellnicke. And then also his writing and then his work, I thought it was terrific. So he's like top of the list when we were looking for letters because I don't know if I ever get another book. I mean, like this is going to be awesome. Yeah. And so the fact that he's on it, like just blew me away. And you get this awesome work that shows up.

8:17And it's a real small collaboration, but it's a collaboration. And like also, you know, same with like Nathan Whitwick, he with his design work on it, he added a whole nother to wrench and other thing with the beginning, with the newspaper pages or with the internet pages and the register. And so it's just crazy to me to like have, you know, the opportunity to work with folks who's working with Meyer on Archie and, yeah, Archie and Hell. I'm working with Tyler Cruck. I've been a huge fan since Harold County and I think that, you know, it's, it's just like, you send off a, I send off a script and I get his art. Like that's wild. And you're the first one. Other than him, you're the first one that gets this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so like, it's so cool to see that stuff. And it's just like, and it's, I don't know, it very much feels like I'm where I'm supposed to be. But I'm still like pinching myself. Where you're supposed to be, but, you know, from my perspective, the most interesting part is that you didn't know you should be exactly.

9:22Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I'm just about as a surprise is any pun. I mean, it's, I think it's awesome. And you, you talk about your evolution and getting better at storytelling and, you know, not that you would necessarily go back to the first issue in cringe at it or whatever, but like, when you do look back on, on it, like, and is it, I'm curious if it's like a leap of getting better or if it's more gradual. Can you, can you tell? Oh, yeah, I mean, I feel like it's definitely like it's getting raged. It's gradual for me. And it's also like, it's, to me, it's like getting a hold of more and more like what's specifically awesome about comics that to work with and shake up in your lines. And I think, because I mean, it's, I've been writing stories for like, you know, since like, I've been writing like screenplaces like 22,000. So for a while, but like specifically for this medium, it's still like, I'm still super brand new.

10:27And I've been doing like DIY stuff and, and so on since like 2014. But it's like having like something coming out monthly, like that stuff is, is definitely like I have so many pages now that I've done. Yeah, that like, it just went way up. And, and I have like a ton of word to learn that feels like, but I feel, I feel like that progress is like pretty steady. Like I don't, there's not, it's not necessarily leaps and bounds, not yet anyway. I might have like some crazy revelation, some point of who knows. But, but right now it just feels like it just like I'm, it's just honing it, you know, and it's just getting better and better and doing those pushups every day. Well, I mean, a lot of creators, you know, I've had this conversation with Scott Snyder many times, Charles Souls and other one, you never stop. You, as a creator, you should never stop pushing it and trying new things, challenging yourself. I mean, the thing is you wouldn't want to necessarily write some antel stories for the rest of you now, right? It starts to get stale at, sure, as much as the fans love it.

11:27Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, you do want to push yourself. So when you talk about Archie, you know, here again, property that spans generations and yeah, I would have you. But, you know, really stretching different creative muscles is that fair to say? Oh, for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and it's definitely, it's the first time I've ever worked, extends it like a lot in within the license. And you have a lot more that's at play and that you have to sort of, you know, work with like appropriately. Like they need, you know, a lot in a lot of it's like it's the characters. Like there's not, it's not like a grittier Archie. It's Archie. It's Archie's we know Archie and Betty and Veronica and Jughead and everybody. But it's, I mean, I'm like it's a horror book and traumatic stuff happens when I go to them. And the, it really, the revelation for me and that came through like notes from Archie comics and that it was just like a lot of the concern is just like we's going to make sure this is the right Archie.

12:29We want to make sure this is the right joke. Like Jughead, this is how Jughead's reaction would probably be for like whatever. And so, and that part of it is like that's all brand new to me and I'm still navigating that. But now that I like, I definitely feel like more comfortable in this handle. And as I've been like working through that script wise, I definitely feel like it's become like way. I was, I was a little cautious like going into it. So I was like, we'll see how the, I don't know how this is going to go. And then the more I've gotten into it, I was like, oh, I know what this book is. Yes, awesome. This is all, this is great. And it's getting getting getting like, you see Tyler Crooks work like coming back and you're like, oh, it's a real book. Like this is great. Like it's working. It's reading really well. Like there's all this stuff going on with it. That's, that's the positive that it just, it's all kind of reinforces is good. I'm very curious to see, because I'm sure you'll have fans of beneath the trees that are going to go, they're going to go, they're going to come to this book because it's you. Yeah, yeah. And I'm very curious to see what the, the, the, yeah, I want to read it myself, of course.

13:30But I'm very, very curious to see, because I had a chance to chat with Ben Winters, oh, well, and Hunter from only a couple of weeks ago about, you know, what Ben is doing in the main book. And obviously, so that's September and then October we have the Sabrina in that November, your book. So yeah, good place, good place to be for, for Archie. But let's finish with this Patrick. What can you tease again? We don't get two spoiler or whatever. But what can you tease about this, this third art for Samantha? And it's like, and it's again, like a lot of it was like the second art is playing out the fallout from the first book. And then this third will be the fallout from the second book in like, and again, like, so she's very much in isolation. But she also finds herself in a world that sort of fascinated with everything that she's done. They're fascinated from a law and order perspective. They're fascinated from like a, like a weird fandom perspective, which we sort of teased at the end of the, of right spring. But like, it exists. And it exists in the same way that like, you know, people were like trying to propose to Ted Bundy and present.

14:34Like, I mean, it's, it's undeniable that there's like something compelling about them as people, because like, how can there be this monster walking along us, right? And also one that's so charming remember it. And so, so that's kind of the world of the third art connect feel like it's, it's going to be about like, you know, a reckoning of the world. Like, what Samantha's been doing. Yeah, I like, I had no idea that this was a thing. I don't know if you did either, but I mean, there's true, it's a big thing. There's true crime convention. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's so yeah, there is something about these serial killers or whatever that really feels like a hit. And again, so we're like, we're talking like 2004 is when the story's going to take place. And it really felt to me like a hit it's stride right around that like really 2000. In a way that's like, and again, you know, we had a lot that was going on in the early 2000s. And it's blending going on now. Yeah. We're going to be processing later. But like I said, I'm still processing this stuff is that you know, as a writer and I'm going through it.

15:35So, but the, the actual like, you know, a story itself for the third art is very much going to be like in that strange weird moment. And then Samantha, yeah, she's going to be like, it's going to be a reckoning across these different sort of avenues. Well, life continues to be scary. So be safe out there, everybody. Uh, be sure you're telling your retailer you want to order our she and hell comes out in November. Uh, and uh, where's the best place to follow you to get news? Oh, best place to go to is just patrick or vat.com and then you can find my social zone there. Um, and then you can keep up great. I'll put a link to Patrick's website in the show notes. Everybody so grab and trouble. Find and just go and click there. So, uh, great chat. Thanks for my time. Well, as you're, thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. But it's