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Zenescope Entertainment writer Raven Gregory is set to wrap up the Escape From Wonderland story, which is the final arc of the Wonderland trilogy (issue #3 comes out Wednesday!). In the wake of the series coming to a close, Gregory has his creator owned book, The Waking, with art by Dave Finch and covers by J. Scott Campbell, set to be released in February (it’s available for order in this month’s issue of Previews). ComicAttack.net guest writer, Genelle Andrews had a chat with Raven about the conclusion of Escape From Wonderland and the details about The Waking!

COMIC ATTACK: What is your role with Zenescope? Do you have a title, and if you don’t, what would you consider your title to be?

RAVEN GREGORY: I’m the Executive Editor over at Zenescope Entertainment and I handle various staff writing duties for the company as they are needed. I write the various Wonderland series as well as oversee the developement of new titles and proof all books before they go off to the printer. I also handle talent relations with some of the freelancers who do work for the company. I’ve been transitioning out of editorial over the last few months so I’m sure another title change is right around the corner.

CA: Raven is a rather unusual name; could you shed some light on the origin of it, and a little information about yourself?

RG: There’s actually two stories to that one. One is my mother was a huge fan of an old soap opera and her favorite star of the show was a woman named Raven. She loved the name so much she decided to name me that hoping I would be a girl. I wasn’t but the name stuck anyway. The other story is my mother is a very religious woman who loves reading the bible and loved the idea of naming me after the bird Noah sent out of the ark who never came back. Kinda weird but I think her heart was in the right place.

CA: I’m very sad to hear that Wonderland is in its final arc. Is this the end for the Wonderland characters? Is there a possibility of another series for the Wonderland Universe?

RG: This is definitely the end of Calie’s story. There may be further Tales From Wonderland stories that focus on individual Wonderland characters but as for the star of the series she’ll be taking a bow and exiting stage right at the end of Escape.

CA: The back story for all of the characters and the mirror itself is intriguing. How did you come up with it? Was it inspired by the Lewis Carroll novels?

RG: I think it more came from my love of Lovecraft stories than anything else and those two ideas coupling with one another to create something dark and new. The ideas of madness from Carroll mixed with those of Lovecraft to make this strange dark fantasy really appealed to me.

CA: Being a female, I love the main character, Calie; were women your target audience for the Wonderland series?

RG: I tend to write what I like, versus for any target audience, but I have noticed there are a lot of female fans of the series and I’m happy the ladies enjoy it so much.

CA: The Waking is a new project you are working on; can you tell us a bit about it?

RG: The story follows four detectives investigating two random murders as they begin to discover clues that the victims of these heinous crimes may actually be returning to avenge their own deaths. Now, in a race against time they must discover those responsible for the murders and uncover the supernatural source behind the “wakings.”

CA: What spurred you to break into the Zombie genre?

RG: I’ve always been a fan of the “zombie” tale for many years. I was first introduced to them in the EC Comic horror books and have been hooked ever since.

CA: What makes The Waking different from other zombie series?

RG: The biggest difference is the zombies themselves. These aren’t your garden variety mindless flesh eating beasts, the zombies in the The Waking have a purpose. They have a mission and goal that drives their actions in that they are searching for the people who ended their lives and will not stop until they have their revenge. As for what’s causing these people to come back from the dead…is mystery the detectives will be racing to solve.

CA: Will this have the same scary justice that is prevalent in the Grimm Fairy Tales series?

RG: You’ll have to wait and see. There is definitely a moral but it’s one that is neither black or white but lies somewhere in the middle. Cue the twilight zone theme music.

CA: What demographic are you hoping to reach with this miniseries?

RG: Hopefully we’ll get both Horror and Crime readers to check it out as well as everyone else.

CA: What in the comic do you expect will hook the audience in?

RG: I’m pretty fond of the characters themselves. Their personalities really jump off the page. But the mystery and the intrigue of what is behind these zombies “wakings” is pretty good too.

CA: What can fans expect from The Waking?

RG: Zombies like you have never seen them before.

CA: Can you tell us a little bit about the detectives and any other main characters?

RG: Laurence is the brain of the bunch. He’s the guy who is going to figure stuff out. The smart guy of the group. His partner Keith is the hot head. He’s the guy who’s the first one to punch his time card out and the first guy to be at the bar but when shit hits the fan he’s ready to do his job. Vanessa is new to the force and kind of naive but as the story progresses we see how the events of the story take her from one range of the emotional spectrum to the next. Her partner, the narrator, is our everyday man. He’s the guy we see the eyes of the story through. He’s pretty close to calling it quits but doesn’t want to give up on the world…yet.

CA: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you working on other projects or have ideas for future projects?

RG: I’ve just started production on a new comic that should be out late next year if everything goes right as well as a big new series at Zenescope that will be announced after Grimm Fairy Tales #50 hits stores.

CA: I can honestly say that Wonderland is the reason I got into comics, so thank you very much and I look forward to getting hooked by The Waking!

RG: Thank you for reading, Genelle. I’m really glad you enjoy the stories.

Stay tuned to ComicAttack.net for more coverage of The Waking!

Genelle Andrews
contact@comicattack.net