No, Bad Kids Go to Hell is not he name of the next hit reality series on Fox, rather a comic mini-series combining the talents of former Hollywood FX master and playwright Matthew Spradlin with Producer/Director/Writer and actor Barry “Bazza” Wernick into a rich storyline reminiscent of a demon spawn between John Hughes and Wes Craven. Filled with every teenage stereotype and excellently crafted panels by artist Anthony Vargas, Bad Kids pushes the envelope in terms of content, violence, and other “mature” themes. The best part is you are loving every moment of it. I had the opportunity to interview the creators of Bad Kids Go To Hell. I’ll let you read what they had to say about their teen angst story after the break.

Sol: Right out of the gate I want to say thank you guys for taking the time to answer these questions regarding Bad Kids Go to Hell.

Matthew Spradlin (MS): Well, I’m a very busy man… so consider yourself lucky! : )

Barry “Bazza” Wernick (BW): No problem…I’ll let Mateo answer all the questions because he has so much time…Go ahead…I’ll just sit back and chime in…

Sol: For those unfamiliar with the comic, what is the basic story behind Bad Kids?

MS: It’s about five spoiled shits at an elite prep school who are stuck in detention on a Saturday afternoon, whom, over the course of 8 hours, lose their supervising teacher to illness, pick up a mysterious sixth student, and after performing a séance, accidentally unleash a supernatural force which triggers a series of gruesome ‘accidents’ that leaves them fighting to stay alive. Some of the kids in this group are from the richest/ wealthiest families in the region and share a common secret, which may be the reason they are all getting 86’d.

BW: Ohhhh…this is an interview for Bad Kids Go to Hell? Thanks for clearing that up Matthew…

Sol: You state that it’s a teen comedy, horror thriller. What was the thought process behind Bad Kids Go to Hell? When and where would you say the first concept was conceived? Ever consider a séance yourselves?

MS: Wait! Teen comedy, horror thriller?! The above description says “love story” to me!

BW: Who says we just can’t have it all, Matthew?

MS: Actually, the thought process was:
A) We do NOT like Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton.

BW: Speak for yourself…
B) We DO like comics, 80s horror movies, and girls in Prep school uniforms.

BW: comics…they’re alright…80’s horror movies…cool…girls in prep school uniforms…HOT
C) So maybe, if we took our 80s homage horror script and made it into a comic about spoiled kids like Paris and Lindsay getting killed, maybe we could get girls at Comic Con to wear prep school outfits? A + B = C

BW: And then kill them?

MS: The concept came about one night while Baz

BW: Mateo…it’s BAZZ…that extra “Z” didn’t come easy…

MS: So BaZZZ and I were hanging out in Beverly Hills… and were eavesdropping on a group of high school kids from Beverly Hills. They all sounded like a group of 40 year olds, AFTER divorce and rehab. They were just so precious! Anyhow, that lead to us talking about our respective high schools and the things we watched go down with the brats we grew up with…Bazz was at the private school

BW: the one Matthew and his friends couldn’t get into…

MS: and I went to the snooty public school. The next day we started on the script.

MS: I’ve never been to a séance, but like most people flirting with the forces of darkness, I screwed around with a ouja board, and when that little triangular pointer shot across the board to ‘NO’, I wet my pants and started to cry! Not because I had summoned dark forces, but because the question I asked it was, “Will I ever lose my virginity?” In my experience, demons are quite curt.

BW: that shit ain’t real!

Sol: Being both in Hollywood and writers, did you find the conversion process of script to comic complicated or rather laid it out like a storyboard? Are there any aspirations of it one day becoming a feature film?

MS: Well, yeah… it was great to have the luxury of seeing the story illustrated on paper. Actually, EVERY movie should be storyboarded and put down in some sort of visual medium before shooting one frame of film, because what you think will work in your head doesn’t always translate that way to the screen. It’s like an ad campaign…not that I ever worked in advertising –

BW: But some of best friends do…

MS: So, I just know these things. And I’ve seen how an audience can interpret an idea or an ad or a movie TOTALLY different than how the creator intended. Trust me, the makers of the GMC TRACKER weren’t expecting to have gay men, strippers, and African Americans as their core consumer base, but hey- shit happens!

MS: Seriously, it was great having the ability to tweak/ fix /chisel away at our rough script before putting out a finished product. Now, when our comic is turned into a film, the story and ideas can be sharpened up even more. I for one think the prep school skirts should be much shorter! And do girls REALLY need underwear at all? I mean, really?

BW: I don’t know Matthew…sounds like a little too much chiseling away…I mean there may be some part of the school dress code we may want enforce…

MS: As far as a film being made, I’m just going to say you never know how serious some one is until they write a check. Or get cancer. That’s pretty serious.

BW: Chas V’Chalila!

Sol: What do you consider your inspiration of creating Bad Kids? Do you place any aspects of your personal lives within the characters of Bad Kids?

MS: Definitely Senor Juan Hughes’ movies…

BW: Yeah…Huge Hughes huggers…just wanted to see if that would come out of my mouth right…in high school I would sit outside Ferris Bueller’s Day Off showings and wait for people to come out and start signing autographs….Ferris Bueller…the kid that did everything he shouldn’t…never got caught…and instead of hating him…you loved him…nothing like our Bad Kids…we definitely put a different twist on things…

MS: and Daniel Waters’ Heathers…

BW: yeah…and Matthew would sit outside and sign autographs after Heathers…he has such pretty hair….

MS: and then a few choice 80s horror films like, April Fool’s Day, Massacre at Central High, and Hell Night.

BW: Yep…

MS: As far as personal lives within the characters? I’m such a Tricia it’s scary!

BW: There he goes with his hair again!

MS: No! Like with all the cocaine she does… I mean, I get totally lit and I just stare at myself in the mirror all night! Well.. okay, seriously… I think anyone can relate to the character of ‘Matt’, you know? Everyone has gotten the sham some time or other because of some sort of prank pulled by his or her friends or enemies ( or ‘frenemies’). He just gets it more than usual. Bazz and I put him through the ringer.

Sol: How long has Bad Kids been in production? What was the planning like to get the first comic out? Has yet become any easier to produce new issues?

MS: This baby started about two years ago. It just took a little while for us to get the story down and find the right artist and the right publisher. Once those pieces were in place, the second year was devoted to actual production of the comic. Each issue got a little easier, and luckily our process is pretty streamlined, with Tony doing both pencils and inks (with the exception of Issue #2 which had Chris Allen doing pencils for a majority of the book) and Antarctic (the publisher) handling the coloring…

MS: Honestly, the real difficulties involved the changing economy and changing business practices. Diamond Distributors raised their benchmark from $1500 to $2500 and that results in retailers becoming, understandably, more reluctant to take on an independent comic that isn’t as popular as… lets say, Green Lantern. It’s weird, but that’s your comic microcosm example of how homogenized socialism starts right there.

BW: Although, how cool is it that in a MTVSplashpage unofficial poll, someone in Sweden picked Issue 1 of Bad Kids Go to Hell along with Green Lantern #43 as her “favorite comic of the week?”

Sol: Are you trying to make any social commentary?

MS: I can’t really speak for Bazz on this, but for me, I wanted to say something about greed and the general sense of entitlement that seems to get worse with every generation in this country. To me, having money or pursuing wealth is not a sin and not an evil thing. I’m a raging capitalist! But how someone acquires it, is another thing entirely. And then once you have it, what do you do with it? Sure, ‘cocaine and hookers’ is EVERYBODY’S first choice, but maybe you should give something back to society.

BW: Me? No not really…just wanted to see Bad Kids Go to Hell…oh okay…so maybe there is…

Sol: Have you guys worked together before on similar projects?

MS: This was our first project together… and definitely our LAST! I keed. I keed.

BW: No…just on way different projects…

Sol: How long is the series expected to run? What can readers expect to take from the overall story of Bad Kids?

MS: It’ll go 4 issues. Which is enough! I mean, shit… what do you people want from me?! Alright, the last issue has Bazz’s and my ACTUAL blood on the cover! There! Satisfied??!

BW: Seriously though…when we set out on this great adventure (sound serious enough?)…we said that it would be a 4 issue mini-series…we knew it from the start…that is until we decided to make it into a 3 issue mini-series…but that was before we were making it into a 4 issue mini-series…which I guess we’re at right now…hmmmm….always go with your gut!

Sol: Like any partnerships there are bound to be creative differences. Did you run into any of these when developing the storyline? Did it take a while to flush out the visual style or did Vargas nail it from the beginning?

BW: Matthew can’t spell and his grammar sucks! But I knew what I wanted from the beginning…it just takes a while getting it through Matthew’s head…but he’s come around…why can’t he be more like Tony…and still be able to write…

MS: Tony was simply a puppet. He would call me for my input at all hours of the night. I’d just say “Bigger boobs” and he’d say, “You’re my hero.” And then I’d say, “I know.” And then I’d hang up on him, fart, and then go back to bed.

MS: This still goes on every week… and we’re done with the comic. Weird, huh?

Sol: Could you share with us any advice you may have for aspiring artists?

MS: Sure. Do something else! Don’t suffer through the humiliation and trauma of writing stories or drawing silly doodles! Go be a doctor, get married, and make lots of money. THEN get a cocaine habit, cheat on your wife, get divorced, and die alone. See? You’ll STILL end up where all the “artists” end up!

BW: Ahhh…such the optimist…you see what I’ve been dealing with?

Sol: As kids did you guys ever play pogs?

MS: Are you hitting on me?

BW: No, Matthew. I think he means did we ever play pogs…uhhh….I think I’m going to go now…

Be sure to check out the BKGtH official site and while you’re online head on over to Antarctic Press to pick up the first two issues of the book. If you’re old-school and want to support your local comic shop (as you should) take a stroll on over and demand that they carry or order you a copy.  Ya’ know, come to think of it, they just finished up a signing at Comic-Con…now I wonder if their master plans of fangirls dressing in prep school outfits worked.

[BadKidsGoToHell]