Dark Horse Comics have recently announced that Lord Henry Baltimore will be returning for a new 2 issue mini-series in May, with Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy. This will be the third installment in the series of adventures for the monster hunter, following on from highly successful previous Baltimore volumes: The Plague Ships and The Curse Bells, written by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden with art by Ben Stenbeck.
I caught up with local artist Ben Stenbeck for a brief chat on what to expect from the series, and an exclusive preview of his interior artwork!
Above: An interior page from Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy #1 by Ben Stenbeck. Copyright Dark Horse Comics/Mike Mignola 2012.
AK: Been your third arc on Baltimore, are you finding yourself in a comfortable drawing 'groove' with the character?
BS: Little bit. Its very slow for me. But yeah I think issue #1 has 1 or 2 panels of Baltimore that I'm happy with, that I think I've got the character working. Which I haven't really had with the past books, Its a bit like every time I draw him, I'm trying to figure out how to draw him. But I think I'm getting there.
AK: With the new arc only 2 issues long, will this be a more compressed action-oriented story than the suspense building pace of the previous arcs?
BS: Yes. Chris said something along the lines of it being 'Blissful Madness'. Its a weird, fun story. I think The Curse Bells was the darkest thing we've done so far, it gets really nasty in some places and Dr Leskovars Remedy is like a bit of relief, its a lot of fun (when I say fun, I mean: Monsters and Gore. Well..Monster Gore which is the most fun type of gore).
AK: Each installment of the Baltimore series has contained its share of gruesomely great creatures for Lord Baltimore to cut his way through (and the Mignola cover image does promises some giant ape action!), any other hints of what kind of creepy images or creatures we can expect to see this time around?
Above: Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy #1, alternate cover by Mike Mignola featuring King Kong. Copyright Dark Horse Comics/Mike Mignola 2012.
BS: That King Kong cover is part of Mike's 'Year of Monsters'. This year he's doing 12 alternate covers that have nothing to do with the comic they are on the cover of. Its a chance for him to do some cool images of his favourite monsters along side his characters. That King Kong and Baltimore cover is my favourite so far, but sadly I don't get to draw King Kong. But yes, this series has monsters. Lots of monsters.
AK: I heard that you contributed some ideas and suggestions early on for this story. What were some of the things you wanted to explore and add to the series through your artwork?
BS: Well that's hard to answer with out spoiling the series. But a long time ago I mentioned to Mike that I wanted to do a certain type of character. And I had this idea for a setting, this environment that I wanted to draw. Its just a cool weird thing that i thought would look interesting. And there's something else but it kind of turned into the last half of the 2nd issue, so You'll have to wait.
AK: Is Baltimore your sole focus for the foreseeable future or do you have any other projects coming up?
BS: There is a 2 part story I was meant to be doing with a 'Hellboy-verse' character. But things get changed, I'm not sure whats happening with that now. I've got a series of my own that I'm planning to try and squeeze in in 2015. Something I've had bouncing around in my head for almost 20 years. But that's a long way off, so for now its all Baltimore. I just got the script this morning for the next oneshot. I haven't finished reading it yet, I got distracted by answering this email. Better get back to work. Sorry for all the vague answers!
All will be revealed when Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar's Remedy #1 hits shelves in May, so pre-order your copy now! For more info on Ben Stenbeck's artwork and comics, you can visit his website HERE.
-AK!
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"Sorry for all the vague answers" - don't be - love the intrigue!
ReplyDeleteArtwork's succinct - brilliant.