Review -- THE NIGHT PROJECTIONIST

The Night Projectionist
Art by Diego Yapura
Written by Robert Heske
Black House Comics

Do you like vampires and the idea of evil that is ancient, one which reappears all too often to threaten those who are unfortunate enough to be near?
Yes, it's an old storyline, but one good writers pull off with subtle twists of the tale which offer the reader something fresh.
Robert Heske is promising to be one of those authors which can pull this off with the first issue of The Night Projectionist.
The story begins in Hungary in 1709, laying a few nice teasers of evil, then flashes to the present where that evil appears to have emerged again.
This is one of those books which has 'future movie' written all over it. It has a cinematic feel to it which could translate to be big screen quite naturally, which appears to be in the plans.
“Now that the comic is complete as an OGN, the chances are good it will also be made into a film. Myriad Pictures, whom Studio 407 shares office space with and has a "first-look" deal, saw the galleys and optioned the film rights. I'm working on a draft of the screenplay now. Talk about coming around full circle!,” said Heske.
It however, also holds well as a comic book.
Heske said the idea didn't come from other vampire/horror stories.
“Believe it or not, the classic film 12 Angry Men. For some reason, the idea of a captive audience and a 'convict' wrongly accused inspired the idea about a night projectionist who, in actuality, is a renegade vampire on the run from his coven,” he said. “The dark leader of the coven, Theodore Burak, and his new genetic breed of vampires descend upon the town - and the tiny theatre - to settle an old score. But one question remains for the captive audience to solve - in order for them to survive, is the night projectionist friend or foe?”
That said, Heske does like horror flicks himself.
“My favorite horror movie of all time was the original Halloween starring Jamie Lee Curtis -- who, ironically, wasn't the hottest teen chick in the film -- and directed by John Carpenter,” he said. “My favorite comedies growing up even had a horror slant - like Abbot and Costello meets Frankenstein -- a 1948 film that I caught as a constant re-run on TV in the late sixties/early seventies.”
The germ of an idea still took time to grow into an actual book.
“This story has been percolating for about 10 years,” he said. “It started out as a movie idea -- I was a screenwriter before I became a comic creator -- but I never quite got it right. I pitched the idea to Alex Leung at Studio 407, a cutting edge comic book publisher with film connections, and Alex said - 'I love it ... as a comic!'”
Helping set the dark mood is the full colour artwork of Deigo Yapura. He uses shading effectively to feed the mood, although never going so dark that the art loses its definition.
Pick up this title, flip through the pages, and the art will make you want to explore the book in much more detail. The art certainly accomplishes its role of grabbing attention.
“I had nothing to do with the selection of the artist,” said Heske, adding, “I am thankful that Studio 407 put Diego Yapura on the job. He's a new artist in the field, very detail-oriented, and his work has gone from very good in issue one to flat-out fantastic in the subsequent issues ... The combination of the artwork by Diego Yapura and the colors by Jorge Blanco is a rare visual treat for hardcore horror fans.”
In the end The Night Projectionist promises to be a bright new retelling of the story of the vampire. That is not an easy feat in a world where vampire stories are legion, but after one issue Heske seems to have the skill to make this a fresh and entertaining book. Definitely worth a look.
Check it out at Studio 407's website is www.studio-407.com. That's where readers can read more abut the story premise and check out a black and white version of issue one online called NIGHT PROJECTIONIST NOIR. Fans interested in buying the book can get it several places, but one good place to start is www.heavyink.com
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Appeared on Yorkton This Week WebXtra