Q: What is your background and how did you launch into horror comics?
BUZ HASSON: My background is in cartooning, special FX make-up and tattooing. I work in lots of mediums like watercolor, ink wash, but all of our sequential art is influenced from Saturday morning cartoons and various comic/animation artist we like in the industry.
KEN HAESER: Same here. We're both children of Saturday morning cartoons and horror movies. From an early age of being fascinated with GOREZONE and Fangoria magazines, I just obsessed over the FX art and the characters developed in the slasher films of the 80?s. We?ve always wanted to do a horror comic--- but something different than the average zombie/horror comic.
BUZ: To be perfectly honest I was mesmerized by Rick Bakers zombie and werewolf make-up in Michael Jackson's thriller videos. After which zombies just became this creepy rotted beings that I identified with. Don't ask me why, I just do. LOLl. Seriously though we wanted to do a comic about a zombie from the zombie's perspective but with the touch of an ironic character. Someone who loathes his life but uses what he has to do something worth while with what's left of it. From there we just merged are love of super hero comics and zombie films and we made what has become the living corpse.
Q: In a world currently overrun by all sorts of zombie movies and a glut of zombie comics, I like it that he's a bit different. As with the recent XOMBIE REANIMATED he has a mind and also a purpose. Why go in this direction for this character?
BUZ: Really because we're more interested in the perspective view of the world through the eyes of the zombie or being a monster rather (i.e. Frankenstein, The Wolfman, et cetera). Zombies are more fun than the people hunting them to us. We were developing the corpse idea right as the walking dead and other books were coming out so we kind of caught the last crest of the invasion wave of zombie based comics. I actually don' read many zombie books as much as I read the likes of Hellboy and the Goon. Character development and expression as well as dynamics are very important to us in the living corpse. He' not just a grimace faced zombie walking around with the same expression on his face. He feels emotion still and humanity (what' left of it).
KEN: It' just fun to have a character that is rotting and spits maggots when he talks. It's great to have him creeping around a graveyard and eating human brains to survive. It's a lot of stuff no one has seen before.
Q: You also have THE LIVING CORPSE fight an assortment of other supernatural creatures, from a giant bat to a zombie werewolf. What other creatures will he be facing?
BUZ: He'll be facing a lot. We have rehashed our own versions of almost every character in horror history. We've merged multiple characters from mythology with different ones to create news ones. I guess the only ones I could give away at the moment (as much as I'd liked to for the fear of poaching our interview for ideas from fellow creators) would be a mad scientist named Dr. Brainchild, A voodoo Priestess and the creature from the native American north region The Wendigo.
KEN: Yeah, we went back to the basics of a zombie character and play with him in different situations. Like we all know that a person is transformed into a Wendigo when they resort to cannibalism so what would happen to a zombie who chomped down on human brains. Would he be cursed? Or how would he fare against a voodoo priestess whose power it was to control the living dead? There's all kinds of stuff like that in the series.
Q: There's an issue #0 and an issue #1/2? What is the reason for having these previews in the current comic market?
KEN: The hardest part of getting a comic going is getting out there into people's hands and just getting them to try it. So Zenescope and we decided to put out a 1/2 issue for only 25 cents and a zero issue for $1.50 to get it out there to the people. Hopefully to get them hooked.
BUZ: There's a lot of competition out there and tons of talent. So we have been non-stop promoting the book at all the conventions for the last three years. We haven't made a dime in comparison to what we have put into it and we don't care if we do. We want to create a character that can out live us and become a legend to all comic fans. At the conventions we give away art for free to the fans and give away comics. We would rather see people have the opportunity to give the book a chance then risk their money on something they will hate. So by putting out a 1/2 issue and 0 origin story if you don't like it by then you will know it. Also, because it was free you could always pass it off to someone who will enjoy and not feel bad about spending the money.
KEN: Like a crack dealer. First taste is free but we know you'll be back because your jonesing for it.
Q: Lately, I haven't seen so many different horror titles out since the 70?s, with all of Marvel's horror comics. Why do you think there's a resurgence?
KEN: Oh yeah, they're all over the place now. We're greatly influenced by the old Marvel horror comics like Werewolf By Night, Tomb of Dracula and the old Simon Garth Zombie.
BUZ: Most people are sick of capes and power beams really. They want characters that have pain and purpose. Trying to overcome their challenges and seem vulnerable. Everyone has a dark side and the realm of horror related worlds are way more mysterious and atmospheric than cities and super headquarter type places.
KEN: And with all the other horror comics out there, we're trying to be different with the Living Corpse. It's drawn and colored like a cartoon but it's got the blood and gore of a horror movie. We also try to make it funny too.
Q: Are there going to be any spin-off characters from the book, to eventually have their own title?
BUZ: Yes there sure is. Our resident fallen angel Asteroth will venture into his own title or one shot where we dive deep into his fall from grace and his birth. He will battle underworld like denizens to meet his greater purpose. Also our half Asian dark wave Goth girl will soon leave the confines of her studies in mortuary to become something to many fans surprise.
Q: How can people get the book?
KEN: Bug your local comic shop to order it for you in the Zenescope section of Previews. Also on the zenescope.com web site it will be available on the regular. We can be reached through our myspace or our forum. Just go to corpsecomic.com or comicmonsters.com
Q: What is your background and how did you launch into horror comics? 
