Interview: Dirtbag Rapture is The Angels vs Demons War We Deserve
The question of 'what happens in the afterlife' is a universal one, and in theory, the answer is at the very heart of Dirtbag Rapture. But in reality, the supernatural blend of demons, angels, and the end of the world in the latest from writer Christopher Sebela, artist Kendall Goode, and ONI Press is far stranger than anyone would ever expect.
The book lives up to the name, beginning with its protagonist Kat, a stoner with a flexible moral code who, thanks to a near-death experience, can see and hear the dead... and absorb them into a space inside her own head, to transport them to a final resting place. It's a terrible arrangement to start, but when Kat discovers she’s the key to a demonic apocalypse, she is forced to save the entire world. Screen Rant got the chance to speak with writer Christopher Sebela and artist Kendall Goode about crafting the incredible story, designing a whole new take on angels and demons, and how a bong helped inspire a new vision of the mastermind behind all Creation. Readers can find Dirtbag Rapture wherever comics are sold, and our entire interview embedded below.
This is an incredible premise, and a kernel of an idea at its heart. But take one step in the story and it demands the creation of a brand new take on angels, demons, and everything in between. How did that process of designing what this would all look like begin for you? What did you want to avoid?
Kendall Goode: Right away, I knew the concept. I love supernatural stuff, I love mythological sort of things, I love the way that stuff is presented in different types of media or whatever. But I didn't want to draw just your standard, 'This is a demon, this is an angel,' I didn't want to repeat the language that already exists so clearly. I wanted to do something more trippy, weirder, but fit within the cartooniness of the story. Especially once you get to the last issue, which showcases the Creator character. Which is the weirdest one of all.
You know, this is a story of a girl who sees ghosts, but it isn't just ghosts, she interacts with angels. So I didn't want it to be her interacting with the angels you always see in media. I wanted it to be the weirdness of, say, Biblical angels. How the Bible talks about the description of what angels look like, how they are giants, or have a bunch of faces, or whatever. I wanted to do something that was that kind of weirdness. 'Oh, we made ourselves look like this because we're a higher being, not like 'Oh, wings and a halo.'
The initial premise is a clear, easily expressed idea that is cool and original, but soon becomes something unpredictably weird. How did you develop that idea?
Christopher Sebela: Yeah, I don't know, for some reason I didn't really care about making it sexy, I guess? Kendall and I were just working on it, and I told him to just make it and we would figure out what to do with it. Which was kind of the best thing, I think, for the book. Once editorial came on we already had the first issue done, and I had figured out where I wanted to take the thing. So our editors helped guide it and make things better, but I had already like fully committed to what I wanted to do.
And I certainly didn't see it going where we did when I first came up with the idea. But that's the fun part of creating stuff is like, sort of letting go and letting it take me wherever it feels right. I just tried to stay open to the possibilities of the universe.
KG: You specifically said in Issue #4 where she finally uses her magic, she actually does a spell. You said you weren't exactly planning on doing that. You just reached that point and thought, 'Oh yeah, this has got to happen.'
CS: Yeah, there were several moments. In Issue #4, where Kat starts flying. I never had a thing where I went 'Oh, she's going to start flying.' As I was going, it just felt great. The more we went, the more permission we gave ourselves to be as extra as possible. A lot of times when creating stuff, I get really into the logic, and things have to make sense. But for this, we had enough logic to make it all work together. So we said, 'Screw it. We'll just do what we want with this sort of skeleton.
So what was it that drew the story in the direction it went?
CS: The back and forth gave me new ideas. It's very symbiotic. I can't really explain. You know, all I really knew was there were angels and demons. I knew most of the ghost rules. I knew Kat was a piece of shit. And I knew that I didn't want to do a story that was a real redemption thing. 'Finally, she puts down the weed pipe' kind of thing. I just went with what felt right.
It's a very pretentious writer thing to say--I used to roll my eyes when other writers would say it--but honestly, I feel like if I do my job right, and make the character real enough, that they kind of tell me what to do. Not 100% of the time. I wish. But at least 10% of the time, they'll tell you if you're screwing up or they'll just decide to do something else.
You could make a list of all the ways that Kat doesn't fit the bill of a character who typically accepts the 'hero' role of this kind of story.
CS: I like characters who are kind of terrible. You know, nobody knows anybody who is a perfect person. By and large, a lot of people are shitty sometimes. I come from a weird place where some of my best friendships have been based around poking at each other, pushing each other away, to see if it draws you closer. I like that notion of throwing someone a character that makes the react like, 'Geez, what an a******.' But then you make them real or relatable enough that even if you think that, you still want to hang out. Even if it's just to see them get their comeuppance. I just find that a lot more interesting, it's certainly more interesting to writer about. Someone who is a dirtbag, I can certainly relate to writing them more than somebody who is a paragon of virtue or something.
This story lays out a cool fantasy, a world of dark and light forces, but the hero doesn't really want to be in it. It's clear this book is created by fans of that supernatural genre, but is there a push against some of that fandom in this story?
CS: Oh, some of the earliest books I remember reading were these compilation books about ghosts, and stuff like. So for a long time I was super into the Ghost Adventures TV show. Maybe the worst ghost hunters in the world in terms of actual results, but best in terms of entertainment. I love all of those. Who knew that in the 2010s there would be like 14 ghost hunting shows? It's so insane. It's not necessarily the thing itself I find interesting, but what people do with it.
What inspirations did you pull from, Kendall?
KG: I love supernatural stuff. I love the... mostly-bad show Supernatural, that sort of thing. The genre itself, all of that. I think this leans a lot less hard into weed culture than Idle Hands, but that sort of goofy take on something that's horrifying. My main artistic presentation is a bit more cartoony and fun. So I didn't think I would get away with very easily being like, 'Here's this super Gothic take on this story's visuals.' Instead, doing something a little weird, or like I said before, less traditional. You could read these things as ghosts or demons or angels. To me I think they read clearly, it's obviously what they are. But then also at the same time do something unique, so this book doesn't visually fall into the same pattern of so many others.
That leads directly into my next question, which is concerned with this story's depiction of a Creator. Where in the world did this idea start?
CS: I think this is one of the rare times where I had something very visually distinct in my head to put into the script. I try not to get too in the weeds on the specifics, to let Kendall--he's the artist, so me art-directing isn't going to help anybody. B ut for this, it was the same thing Kendall was talking about. I was trying to think about God as something completely different from what we have come to expect. I just thought like, if you actually saw him... the way angels are described in the Bible is horrifying. So I imagined God would be along those lines.
Mostly I think my main motivator was that I just wanted to have a way that God could smoke pot, but still be able to say dialogue. So right away I was just like, 'We'll give him a shitload of mouths, and eyes.' That's half the job right there.
KG: I like the idea that she walks through that door, she is now wherever the Creator is. And it's just a big, weird blob. Instead of being in awe of something all-powerful, it's just some schlubby creature sitting on the couch who doesn't care about anything. Getting to draw something like that, that is supposed to be such a disappointment, and to have it described in a way where it's weird, it's gross, it's uncomfortable, it's doing something a million other people sit and do all day.
Do you describe this series as hopeful? It has an attitude that some people might read as irreverent or subversive, do you see it as an optimistic or hopeful narrative -- or would that go against the spirit of a story like Kat's?
CS: I think it's hopeful of in spite of Kat. She manages to come around a little, but again, it's not like she's turning over a new leaf. But going through all these things sort of opens her up. Just by its nature I wouldn't say it's a cynical book. We acknowledge that death is not the end. Even if the afterlife is kind of shitty, at least we allow the possibility.
There's certainly an amount of cynicism... it's hard not to be cynical these days, so that bleeds in. But I don't want to make a book that says no matter what you do, you're screwed. Ultimately, it's about Kat being a freak and a weirdo, but she manages to find her place in the world. And she finds her people, who are also freaks and weirdos. I think there's something hopeful to it all.
KG: Yeah, it's not 100% hopeful. But it's a story of growth, and acceptance of a greater reality. To take responsibility for things. A bunch of bad or shitty things happen to her in the book, but she's not some completely changed person, or she doesn't turn her back on her friends, she just realizes it's time to take responsibility of some things.
You mention the matter-of-fact introduction of Kat's pack of friends, all of whom are introduced and described as the stars of their own Ghost Adventures style stories--
KG: That is exactly what I said. When Chris gave me the descriptions of them, I was like, 'Do they all have their own books worth of stories happening?' That was awesome.
Are we going to look back and realize this was Chris' 'Avengers Initiative' universe being set up?
CS: I would totally write a book for each of them. But yeah, that's an idea that I've been kicking around for a while. Somebody who has all these weird abilities that sort of separate them from everyone else. Then the only people they can find are people who have also been shunned by the world around them. So this weird sort of feedback loop. Nobody in the group can say, 'Oh, you think you're from an alternate Earth? That's insane.' That person can turn around and say, 'You think you carry ghosts around inside of you.'
So it's this sort of mutual agreement: we're all going to support each other's beliefs even if they're full-on illusions, otherwise our own worlds are going to be shattered too. I dig the idea of these little 'freak communities' coming together.
Dirtbag Rapture is available now from ONI Press wherever comic books are sold.