Allen: Mark, tell me about your new project, “Nanny & Hank”. Who created idea for this story? Is this original idea? What is age group reading level for “Nanny & Hank”?

Mark: Bluewater Publisher Darren G. Davis approached me with the original idea of doing a book that featured old vampires and wanted to base the title characters on his own grandparents. After talking with him intensively for an hour or so one afternoon this summer, I had the just of the characters and Darren set me loose to come up with a compelling story to feature them in. Darren was the initial spark and I ran with that spark to tell the story; how Nanny & Hank become vampires and what happens next.

I'd say the book is definitely PG-13. There's a lot of heart to the book, but there's also a lot of blood and death. But I tried to keep the tone light and add in enough humor to not make it all doom and gloom.

Allen: Tell me about the main characters. Age? Occupation? Hobbies?

Mark: Nanny & Hank are in their late sixties/early seventies. They are a retired couple who live in a retirement community in Florida. Though they are active, they are definitely feeling the wear and tear of being elderly. Hank is more of a serious soul, who lives by a strict regimen which he developed early on when he was in the Marines.

Nanny is more of a free spirit, stopping to enjoy the little things, and encouraging Hank to do so. She was a lounge singer who flirted with stardom but never quite made it. Hank is not her first husband, but he's definitely her best one.

It was really important to Darren that I get these characters right since he's basing them on his grandparents. I tried to pepper in a bit of my own grandparents' personalities as well. I usually cast my stories with actors so I get a better handle on them, so if you can picture Betty White and Paul Newman in his latter years, you'll have a good idea of the characters.

The other two main characters in the book are O'Neil and Rondo; two vampires I came up with who start this whole series of events that lead to Nanny & Hank's turning into vampires. I liked the idea of vampirism freezing age in its tracks, so whenever the vamps were turned, that's how they are forever. So O'Neil is an eighties hair band rocker and Rondo looks like a seventies porn star. I always pictured the lead singer for the hair band Cinderella and Thomas Jane's character from BOOGIE NIGHTS as O'Neil and Rondo, respectively.

Allen: What is it about “Nanny & Hank” that makes them interesting?

Mark: I think the thing that is really going to make this story stand out is the humor and heart. You can't toss a sprig of garlic at a comic stand these days and not hit a book about vampires, so if I were to just focus on the bloodsucking, the book wasn't going to make it. The fact that you care about these elderly people is what's going to make this one so cool. Hopefully, readers will be able to see parts of their own grandparents in these characters and that will appeal to them. So when I put them in danger, the reader really cares what happens to them.

Allen: What is setting and time period?

Mark: It's set in the present day. Part of it takes place in a retirement village in Florida, then Nanny and Hank go on the road to visit their grandchildren in Ohio. I know it sounds weird that they get turned into vamps and then go visit their grandchildren (that they would put their grand kids in danger), but a series of events occurs and it all happens really fast which makes them have to leave town hastily and since they already had a trip to see the grand kids planned, they just go through with it.

Allen: I see that characters are based on Darren Davis’s grandparents. How hard has it been for you to get feel for characters based on real people? Are they still alive in real life?

Mark: I spoke to Darren at length at the beginning of this project. I had a decent grip on the characters then because at their core, they weren't that different from my own grandparents (or an amalgam of both sets of my grandparents). After I turned in the first draft of issue one and two, Darren gave me some notes, but for the most part everything was pretty easy to get from that initial conversation.

I'll have to check with Darren if they are still alive. I'm not sure. But I can't think of a better way to honor them either way than to have them being bitten by a vampire in a comic book. My grandparents would have loved that.

Allen: Can you give few hints about real life items that made way into story?

Mark: Darren shared a few stories that I'd rather leave for the readers to check out. I didn't want to write the stories word for word, but there are definitely elements of those stories in there. I think aside from one or two memories, the story sort of evolved organically and after the initial meeting, I wanted to be able to go off on my own with it. Darren was really cool with letting me do that. As much as these are about his grandparents, they are their own characters. As soon as I got the template down for the characters, it was my job to form a story from that and see where they went.

Allen: Tell me about the story. Also, tell me about some of supporting cast.

Mark: Other than O'Neil and Rondo, who really are the second set of stars here, we've got a ton of other characters making appearances. At the forefront are Nanny & Hank's first set of grandchildren; three energy filled whirlwinds (9, 6, and 4, I believe). Being kids, they have an overactive imagination, but they are also very perceptive and catch on pretty quick that something isn't quite right with their grandparents. It doesn't help that they're high on sugar and just saw a vampire movie on cable.

Allen: How many pages will each issue contain?

Mark: It'll be the standard 22 pages. And it's a four issue miniseries. If things go well, we may have another follow up mini.

Allen: When did you start working on script? How long did it take you to finish story?

Mark: I had the meeting with Darren in July. He sent me an ominous email: "What do you think of vampires?" And I responded: "I like vampires." After the phone call, the ideas just started popping. I had SDCC to deal with and the Chicago Wizardworld to attend, so I wasn't able to start until August. I had the whole miniseries planned out and I had the first script done by the end of August. The second one is finished as well (finished that in September). And I'm just putting the finishing touches on the third issue and have the plotting for issue four complete (for October). So I'm pretty much going on an issue a month schedule. Slower than the big guns out there, I'm sure, but I'm juggling this and a day job, plus my work on AICN.

Allen: How has it been for you working with artist Steve Babb? Tell me a little about him.

Mark: Babb is awesome. His style is so unique. Kind of like Mike Mignola meets Jim Henson's Muppets. It wasn't at all what I was thinking when I finished the first and second issues, but once I started seeing his pages come in, I loved it. Seeing his work made me finalize the tone of the book I had in my head. Everything just clicked when I saw what he was doing. By issue three, all I could see were Babb's character designs moving around saying my lines.

Allen: Have you worked with Steve before “Nanny & Hank”?

Mark: I've never worked with Babb before, but I hope I get to again. Darren, Babb, and myself have a pretty good rapport and have been ping ponging questions back and forth as the series takes shape. It's a great team.

Allen: How far into art project is Steve?

Mark: He's finished the first issue and well into the second. The pages look fantastic. This is definitely the miniseries I am most proud of while working at Bluewater.

Allen: Do you know if Steve also doing all covers? How many versions are planned?

Mark: I think issue 1 is going to have a couple of variants. I've seen 5 so far and all of them are a lot of fun. There's just an infectiously fun vibe to this comic in tone and art that I hope will resonate with readers.

Allen: How hard has it been to go from Vincent Price Presents to writing “Nanny & Hank”?

Mark: NANNY & HANK is kind of a shift in tone. For VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER, I went for a campy 50's B-movie vibe. So there was comedy there, but not a lot of depth behind it. For VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS WITCHFINDER GENERAL (which will be out in February), it's a much more serious tone with no humor at all because you can't really joke around with torture too much (well, you can, but that's not the type of story I wanted to tell).

The shift in tone mostly had to do with heart. I really wanted folks to identify with the characters. Not only Nanny & Hank, but the two lead vampires as well. At first, they're just this pair of bloodsucking vamps, but by issue two, I hope folks will feel for O'Neil and Rondo just as much as Nanny & Hank. They're kind of my Rosencrantz & Guildenstern in this story, having their own adventure alongside Nanny & Hank's journey. Their story directly intersects with Nanny & Hank's, but it's a story that could probably stand on its two feet as well.

Allen: Do you believe in vampires?

Mark: I know a few people who think they're vampires. And occasionally I'll grab drinks at the goth bar with folks who definitely want to be vampires. But in the traditional sense, I doubt they exist.

One of the things I wanted to accentuate in this miniseries was that vamps don't necessarily sleep in coffins all day. How incredibly boring is it that they sleep all day. To me, that always seemed a bit over dramatic. I thought it would be cooler if they just didn't sleep. They have all this energy, but are limited because they can't come out in sunlight. So by day, instead of sleeping, they're hanging out in vampire speakeasies and drinking blood all day. That's where we find O'Neil in issue one. He's drunk on blood (another aspect I wanted to add to the vamps here) and has been drinking all day.

I used to work five nights a week at bars in Chicago and still do occasionally, so I know people who live this way. They rest all day and stay in or drink all day in a dark bar, then go out and work at night, so I based the vampires on this bar industry culture.

Allen: Will there be any more “Nanny & Hank” projects? Do you envision more mini-series?

Mark: I definitely would like to revisit these characters. There's a long road ahead for Nanny & Hank at the end of this miniseries and no one really knows it yet, but I've laid a few Easter eggs in this first miniseries that I hope to elaborate on in future minis.

Allen: When is planned publication time period for “Nanny & Hank”? Are there plans later to have story in graphic novel?

Mark: I believe it'll be out in Spring 2010. Not sure if there's a date yet. Darren wants to have the entire script and art for a good portion of the book in before finalizing things. I'm sure it'll be collected in graphic novel format after it's all released since that's where the industry is going anyway.

Allen: When can our readers put in orders for “Nanny & Hank”?

Mark: Not sure yet, but keep an eye out for news about from Bluewater's website and from my own weekly column on Ain't It Cool News (I'm the editor and one of the reviewers for that site's comic book section).

Allen: What is it that really sparks your imagination while working on “Nanny & Hank”?

Mark: My goal is to try to tell a modern vampire story that is original. With TWILIGHT and all of it's copycats scampering around, it's a hard task to do, but I definitely went into this wanting to tell a story I haven't told before. So far, each issue is better than the next in my opinion and I have things going on that I've never seen before in films, comics, or books. So if I've seen it before, I'm trying to stay away from it. So what really sparks my imagination is watching as much vampire movies and TV and reading as much vampire fiction and comics as I can so I can do something different.

Allen: Do you feel “Nanny & Hank” could be developed into cartoon?

Mark: Babb's artwork definitely leans more towards cartoony...in a good way. I think like the upcoming UMBRELLA ACADEMY project (which everyone assumed it would be animated, but it's not), NANNY & HANK could be adapted in movies or cartoons. I already told you my ideas for casting a N&H movie. Betty White was always the template for Nanny and someone old yet rugged like Paul Newman (although he's dead so that can't work) should be Hank.

Allen: What do you enjoy most about being comic book writer?

Mark: I've read comics all my life and as I'm writing this interview, I'm about to leave and pick up my very first published comic from Bluewater (VINCENT PRICE PRESENTS THE TINGLER) from my shop. I always had stories in my head, but never the excuse to let them loose, so just to be able to release the pressure in the old brain pan feels good. I've only written a few things so far, but it does feel good to see these stories come to life.

Allen: What is that inspires you about working for Bluewater Productions?

Mark: Darren is a great editor. He gives me freedom to come up with my own ideas and direction at the right times. I think it's hard to find companies who trust the writer enough to take care of their end. Bluewater is one of them.

Allen: Do you have any other comic book projects in works?

Mark: After NANNY & HANK, I'd like to do a follow up to THE TINGLER for Bluewater and then maybe a follow up to N&H. I have a few other projects in the planning stages, but none I can talk about yet.

Allen: Have you ever tried to write novels?

Mark: I've written articles and reviews on Ain't It Cool and attempted the Great American Novel that teenagers and twenty somethings often attempt, but nothing serious. I don't think I have the attention span or the energy to do that in the present state I'm in. Maybe when I'm a bit older and things slow down and make more sense. Right now, I'm having a blast making comics, so I don't want to do anything else yet.

Allen: Do you watch many vampire movies? How did you keep script away from vampire clichés?

Mark: Yeah. I watch any movie with fangs in it. I love new takes on the genre like VAMPIRE'S KISS, NEAR DARK, even JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES. I can't wait to see DAYBREAKERS. It's grittier and more real. I've seen TWILIGHT and as much as I want to hate it, it serves its purpose. Basically, all of the followers of that movie will grow up and you've got a whole new generation of horror fans thirsty for something with more balls. I look at TWILIGHT as the gateway drug horror needs and I'm glad that it's making more people do more horror stories. The odds are good that the more people writing horror, the better chance there's going to be more good horror. Sure you'll have to sift through the crap, but the work is always worthwhile.

Through the years, I've seen a ton of vampire movies and the one thing that really bothers me is that the Bram Stoker story, while awesome, is the cliche and that so many movies are based on that book's story structure. So if anything, I tried to write a story that walked as far away from that path as possible.

And my vampires don't glisten. They never glisten. Sometimes they smolder in the sun, but that's completely different.

Allen: What is best way to contact you?

Mark: You can contact me through mlmambushbug@gmail.com or through my bi-weekly comic book column (AICN COMICS-every Wednesday and SHOOT THE MESSENGER-every Monday). I write under the pen name Ambush Bug and have done so for almost nine years.

Allen: Tell me about some of your most interesting memories working in comic book industry. Perhaps, an interesting convention story or meeting another creative industry Mentor.

Mark: This year was my first trip to SDCC. An utterly mind-boggling and exhausting experience that I wouldn't have traded for the world. I got to meet so many pros. Hobnobbed with a few celebs. And got to host my own panel on horror comics & film. It was a fantastic experience. There I got to meet Peter David (who I've talked with through emails from time to time, but never met in person) and he's pretty much the epitome of awesome. The guy is personable, witty, and has written just about every character in comics. When I grow up, I want to be Peter David. He doesn't know it, but he's my Obi-Wan.

Allen: What would you like to conclude to sway readers to read “Nanny & Hank”?

Mark: I'm having a blast writing it. I love vampire fiction and like you, don't want to read the same story again, so I'm making sure it's something different. If you're looking at the shelves and debating about whether or not you should by this book or the ga-billionth miniseries featuring Wolverine and Batman punching each other in the nuts, give my book a try.

Allen: Thank you Mark L. Miller. We are now at end of another interview. It was not so long ago that we talked about your work on “Vincent Price Presents: The Tingler” comic. I had great time interviewing you again. Would you like to lead us out with closing thoughts?

Mark: Vampires. Old people. Kids with whiffle ball bats. Babb's awesome art. NANNY & HANK. Buy it, please. That's all I've got. Thanks.