Trash Mutant Interviews (TMI): Peter Milligan

- by Jacurutu99, 27 December 2016

Peter Milligan. Photo: Istorky.

Where does one even start when talking about the comics work of Peter Milligan? Before even becoming one of the founding scribes of VERTIGO, he paved the way for the imprint with the tone of "Shade, The Changing Man". For every hit series he has had with "X-Statix" and "Justice League Dark", he has left a trail of criminally over-looked titles, like the Vertigo one-shot "Faces", a brillant 6-issue arc in "Animal Man", "Rogan Gosh", and other works like "Enigma", all which are just now receiving their due so many years later.

​I recently had a digital chat with Milligan about his writing of the new "Mummy" series for Titan Comics, a next stage in Hammer Film's exploration of the Mummy mythos.

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​TRASH MUTANT: This new comics line you’re starting sees the publication of brand-new stories featuring classic Hammer properties, as well as wholly original Hammer stories, produced by Titan. With that being said, were you given any guidelines to stay within or suggestions from Titan to have "The Mummy" fit firmly within the Hammer Horror line?
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PETER MILLIGAN: No, the guidelines really came from me when I looked at all the old Hammer Mummy films and started to think about how I could write a Mummy story for the modern day.  For a start, I was keen that it felt like it belonged to the Hammer Horror line.
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I also thought that mummies, at least how they’d been portrayed, just couldn’t be scary any more. I didn’t want this Mummy story to be a spoof (like the Brendan Fraser movies) I wanted it to have horror, so this required a bit of thinking on my part. 
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Even though you have put you own spin on "The Mummy", with it being part of an overall line as well as an established Hammer property, how did writing the project differ from your usual writing process?

First off, it’s true, I did see this as part of the Hammer line of Mummy stories. This one was a comic, and the others were films, but this was still the latest telling of the Mummy mythos.

That said, once I started to hone in on the story and the theme my approach really wasn’t very different from how I’d usually approach a story.  The key, as is always the case, was the theme. What the bastard thing was about.  The difference in the process then came down to the fact that I was working with Hammer, who were more used to working on stories for films rather than comics.   But films or comics, the stuff we discussed was the same. Character. Motivation. Theme. The “ghost logic” of the story.

The cover to Titan Comics' "The Mummy" #1. Click to enlarge.

The comic features beautiful art from Ronilson Freire, depicting the story perfectly. Did you specially choose him as the artist, or were you paired together?
 
As the story started getting firmed up we looked at a few different artists and Ronilson was the one we went for, the who would best create the dark, slightly old fashioned claustrophobic mood that the story called for. ​

Your personal favorite Hammer horror film?
 
My favorite Hammer film that Hammer DIDN’T make was The Wicker Man. I always thought that was Hammer, until I spoke about it in Hammer’s office and they put me straight. So, maybe the first Quatermass film.
 
How would you approach some of your classic material like "Shade, the Changing Man" or "Enigma" any differently today in 2016? Even more recently "X-Force"/"X-Statix"?
 
The feel would be different to most of them but at their heart they probably wouldn’t be as changed as one might think. Shade is a weird road movie with a girl and an alien, so that could still work. Enigma tells the story of a man coming to terms with his own sexuality: I believe versions of that story are still being played out today, even though on the face of it we seem to be a more tolerant society. And X-Statix? I think we’re just as celebrity obsessed as we were when I wrote it, maybe more so. I’d probably push the Po-Mo aspect a bit more.

How has your writing process changed since your earlier works?
 
Not so much.  I still carry a notebook with me most of the time. I still like to think about theme before I get snared up with plot. I still like to work early, first thing, in the hope that my conscious mind can draw some inspiration from the sleeping/dreaming world it’s just emerged from. 
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Speaking of older material, the “Face” one-shot you did with Vertigo is criminally overlooked in my humble opinion. Other work you did, like “Enigma” would eventually garner attention, but “Face”, to me is right up there. Being that no one else may ever ask you about this one-shot can you talk about what into its creation and the inspiration you drew upon. I always felt it plays out like a movie and re-read it once a year and always find something new.
 
I’m glad you feel that way. I really liked Face. As is the case with a lot of stories this one came about by a combination of a few things.  I think I’d just read an article about plastic surgery, and the psychology behind it, and I was in a gallery looking at some self portraits – maybe Rembrandts – and I thought about the connection between the two. How the perfectly post-modern form of self portrait was to use your own face as a canvas. And the thing kind of took off from there.  I quickly knew the mood, and that it should have a kind of horror aesthetic. 

​Will the favorite hero of William S. Burroughs, the Nowhere Man, ever be seen again?

Hah! The old Cut-up Kid!  I’d love to bring him back, but I suspect his lunch will remain naked.
 
Mr. Milligan, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me and Trash Mutant! Not to mention all the great stories!
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Read Jacurutu99's thoughts on Titan Comics' "The Mummy" RIGHT HERE. And make sure to pick it up! For more information on Peter Milligan and his many great works head on over to his official website. 
​What's your favorite Peter Milligan comic? Let us know in the comments!

Tagged: comics, TM Interviews.

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