Our interview series with the creative team behind Monster Forge Halloween Special: gHosts continues today with Rodney Barnes. Rodney is an award-winning writer in TV, film, and comics, including work on The Boondocks, My Wife and Kids, Everybody Hates Chris, Those Who Can't, Marvel's Runaways, American Gods, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
In comics, Rodney writes for a number of hit series, including earning an Eisner Award nomination for his work on the critically acclaimed Killadelphia.
You can start reading gHosts #1 here. Get your downloadable PDF to support the creative team for only $0.99.
GlobalComix: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your work.
Rodney Barnes: I’m primarily known as a TV writer/producer; shows like The Boondocks, Everybody Hates Chris. More recently, American Gods and Winning Time.
I’m also a comic book creator known for Killadelphia and Blacula, both of which I do with Jason Shawn Alexander. But I also write a number of Star Wars and Marvel comics; Mandalorian, Lando: Double or Nothing; Luke Cage, and many more.
GlobalComix: What drew you to this project? What did you enjoy the most about it?
Rodney Barnes: I always wanted to work with Shannon and the great folks at Monster Forge. And I enjoy the different types of voices and characters banding together to achieve a common goal.
GlobalComix: What would you say is the aspect of creating comics that you enjoy most?
Rodney Barnes: With independent comics; the freedom of storytelling. TV & Film is a highly collaborative art form that passes through a lot of different hoops and standards and practices before anything is actually made. But with comics, it’s usually just me and the artist or a small number of creators working to tell a good story.
GlobalComix: Do you have a dream IP that you’d like to do a project for?
Rodney Barnes: I would love to do a Swamp Thing story. I love the character; both the Len Wen Bernie Wrightson version, and the Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, and John Totleben versions later on. Many other creators in between, but those were the ones that caught my imagination growing up. I’d love to add my name to the list.
GlobalComix: What about horror comics do you love the most?
Rodney Barnes: There are no boundaries. You can do whatever you want. Who doesn’t love freedom?
GlobalComix: You’ve got an incredible list of comics that you've worked on. Is there any specific one that has had the most impact on you as a writer?
Rodney Barnes: Killadelphia. It’s the most personal story, and every issue requires me to dig deeper to find more emotional truth within my storytelling arsenal.
GlobalComix: Working in film, animation, TV, etc. surely teaches you a lot of things about visual narrative and storytelling. Do you think working in a variety of storytelling fields is something that other comic creators should aspire to?
Rodney Barnes: Definitely. It expands your boundaries as a creator and gives you a lot of new entry points for unique storytelling. I doubt I would be as effective of a storyteller had I not had the practice of working in television.
GlobalComix: What advice would you give to any creators that would like to expand from comics into
fields like film or TV?
Rodney Barnes: Develop your voice as a writer. Hollywood doesn’t just buy scripts, it buys unique voices. The more you can develop your voice, the better shot you have at making it in the business long term.
We'd like to thank Rodney for taking the time to chat with us about gHosts and his experience as a writer for TV, film, and comics. We're looking forward to reading and watching more of his amazing work!
Here are some links to social media profiles where you can follow Rodney Barnes and Monster Forge: