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Writer Donny Cates On Raising Hell in Aftershock's Babyteeth During HCF17

Poor Sadie Ritter is sixteen and scared out of her mind when she discovers that she’s pregnant, but Sadie’s family is there to support her and the baby. It’s too bad that the baby will turn out to be the antichrist sent to destroy the world and bring about the apocalypse. Now at nine months pregnant the baby has become a ticking time bomb, and now it’s up to Sadie to save – or doom – all of mankind. Halloween ComicFest is excited to have Aftershock's series as a part of the event, and we sat down with writer Donny Cates to talk about the comic.

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HCF 2017 Babyteeth #1
JUL170022

AFTERSHOCK COMICS
(W) Donny Cates
(A) Garry Brown
(CA) Elizabeth Torque

Sadie Ritter is sixteen years old, nine months pregnant, and scared out of her sweet nerdy mind. Having a baby that young is tough. But with the support of her loving family behind her, everything should be okay. Oh yeah, and her baby is also the Antichrist and will break open the barriers between the earthly and demonic planes and unleash eternal suffering upon all of humankind. Other than that, though... should be fine. A representation of Aftershock's breakout hit of 2017, presented in glorious black-and-white, from Redneck and God Country writer Donny Cates and artist Garry Brown. [MATURE]


Halloween ComicFest: What was the synergy like between the creative team throughout the process of bringing Babyteeth from an idea to a finished product?

Donny Cates: It was remarkably smooth actually! I’ve never had a project come to life this fast. I thought of the basic idea on a Monday I believe, wrote the pitch the next day, sent it t Mike Marts (Aftershock's Editor-in-Chief) the day after that, and it was greenlit by the end of that week!

After that, I was writing the second issue or so when Mike came to me about artists. He presented a few different options but when I saw Garry’s name on the list I immediately emailed Mike back and told him it had to be Garry. I’ve loved Garry’s work for a long time and I was overjoyed when he agreed to come on board. It’s really been a blast. We’re all having a really great time making this book. I hope that comes through in the final product.

With many popular Antichrist stories like the film, what made you decide to tackle this storyline and how will it set itself apart?

I’m, of course, familiar with stories like The Omen or Rosemary’s Baby and things like that, but really I never considered them or compared our story to those stories. To me, Babyeeth is so fundamentally different from those stories because, in the aforementioned movies, the mother is always horrified by their baby. Those films prey upon the idea of evil growing inside of you, on the very primordial fears of having a child. Babyteeth is so not that story.

Sadie LOVES her baby. No matter what anyone else says or what Clark does, she will always be there for him. It makes the story so much more than your average horror story in that you have a protagonist that really cares. That is willing to fight the world in order to save her son from what the world tells her he will become.

In that vein, I've never really thought of the book as a “horror” comic. It’s just a story about a small family facing something wildly out of control and over their collective heads. In that way, it’s really just the story of a young girl having a baby and all the scary things that come along with that.

Why should fans pick your comic first on Halloween ComicFest 2017?

Not to hype myself up too much, but I think any fan of books like Saga, or Paper Girls, or Buffy, or hell, even Stranger Things will really dig this story. At its heart, it’s a story about Sadie, her life and her trials and her amazing family. And yeah…there’s the whole Anti-Christ, demon spawn, league of shadow assassins thing going on as well.

What got you reading comics? What are some series you're reading today?

I was taught how to read using old Green Lantern and Spider-Man comics and from there I’ve really never stopped reading them. I never took a break or a few years off or anything. Ironically, right now is probably the time where I've spent the least amount of time reading comics. That’s something no one tells you when you start working in this biz: you will have ZERO time to read comics.

That being said, I still make time to read almost anything Jason Aaron writes. I think he’s so clearly the best writer in comics. Southern Bastards, Doctor Strange, Thor…That guy is just brilliant.

What spooky Halloween titles would you recommend to new readers?

Besides Babyteeth you mean?? Well, Harrow County is an incredible book. As is Beasts of Burden. They both share a bit of water colored DNA and they are both just so amazing in their execution. Wytches is a no brainer. That Scott Snyder fella has a bright future ahead of him I think.

I’d also be a poor salesman if I didn’t take this opportunity to plug REDNECK by yours truly out from Skybound. It’s hands down the best Vampire book Skybound publishes. (It’s the only vampire book Skybound publishes)

Why do you think events like Halloween ComicFest are great for the comic book community?

As a former retailer myself, I feel like any kind of event that can open comic shop doors a little wider is always a great thing.  I’m always down for anything that makes comics more accessible to the masses. And Halloween is such an obvious waypoint for people to come hang out. I mean, Comic Cons are already nerd Halloween parties. Why not bring that idea home!

What do you think comic shops bring to the comic book community?

My favorite part of running my stores here in Austin was the air of family and the feeling of belonging that you can’t really find anywhere else. Comic shops are home base in the global game of tag. A safe place where you can talk about big events or characters or storylines to your heart's content with no worry of someone coming along and calling you names or looking down on you for it.

Whenever I find myself in a city I’ve never been to I always try and find the local comic shop in the area. Each and every one of them is a great little satellite clubhouse where I know I will find friends and like minded folks. I never feel more comfortable than I do when I’m in a comic book store.

Where do you plan to spend Halloween ComicFest 2017?

In a comic book shop, of course! I will be at Austin Books and Comics right here in Austin Texas! Come on down and say hi!


You can find Babyteeth #1 on Saturday, October 28th on Halloween ComicFest at participating local comic shops. To find a participating shop near you, use the official Halloween ComicFest 2017 Store Locator.

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