Talking With The Creators Of ‘Carmilla: The First Vampire’

It’s not like New York City’s never known suffering. That’s why Athena feels like something’s up. People on the street are scared and when one of her clients is murdered, Athena decides to visit the club she used to frequent — a club that just so happens to share a name with the most famous female vampire of all time… Coincidence? Only writer, Amy Chu, and artist, Soo Lee, know for certain and it was a privilege to be able to ask them some questions about their graphic novel, Carmilla: The First Vampire:

Rachel Bellwoar: Immediately looking at the cover for Carmilla one of the things that’s most striking is that both Carmilla and the main character, Athena’s, eyes are shaded. Vampires and sunlight don’t mix overall, but was there any other inspiration for that choice?

Soo Lee: I was inspired by a series of paintings by Federico Beltran Masses. I wanted to allude to a haunted family portrait for the cover, covering the eyes would make it mysterious and keep with the gothic aesthetic.

Bellwoar: Athena’s job as a social worker makes her especially aware of what’s going on in her community. How did you decide on that profession?

Amy Chu: I originally wrote her as an investigative journalist, but social worker felt more empathetic. I also wanted to shine a light on my activist social worker friends out there. Asians tend to get stereotyped into certain professions, even within our own community. Not everyone should be, is, or wants to be, a doctor or engineer or programmer. Sometimes you even end up with comics writers and artists, lol…

RB: While Carmilla was originally published in 1872, this graphic novel moves the action to the ’90s (which is more modern, but also means no cell phones and Athena goes to the library instead of the internet for research). Why do you think the ’90s was the right fit, and did that create any challenges, in terms of depicting New York City at that time?

Chu: It was really more of a challenge to set Carmilla today when social media and cell phones are inescapable and gentrification has taken over the city. I lived in Hell’s Kitchen from 1991-1995 so I know what New York City was like back then. I don’t want to wax nostalgic about crime, but it was a very different time and certainly a better one if you wanted to be a predatory vampire…

Bellwoar: Before reading this book I had never heard of geungsi before. What made you want to bring them into a story about Carmilla?

Chu: Well, exactly that. Many cultures have a version of vampire, but in the US we really only think of the European bloodsucking type. A nation as multicultural as we are, we should really be extending our definition and discussion of what an “American” vampire is.

Bellwoar: I also found it interesting how you tied in Buddhist beliefs about rebirth into a story about the undead. Why did that aspect of vampire mythology stick out to you the most?

Chu: I don’t know if it stuck out to me most, but I enjoyed exploring some of the parallel themes.  Like Athena I’m not particularly religious but I was introduced to Buddhism through taking East Asian Religions from the incomparable Professor Kodera, at Wellesley College. It’s nice to actually be able to use the things we learn from school every now and then.

Bellwoar: What was it like getting to design Carmilla’s club and lair, and is there a detail you’re especially proud of?

Lee: Amy shared some fun references and I riffed off of those. I wanted it to be stylish but hidden and have a forbidden feel to it. I think the colors especially in the club reflected that!

Bellwoar: How did you approach the coloring for this book?

Lee: I wanted each scene to have a certain ambience, kind of like in movies. You have a red scene for danger, blue for more somber, etc. I wanted the readers to follow each scene visually with the colors first when they turn the page.

Bellwoar: Amy, you dedicated this book to your Yeh Yeh and, in the story, Athena is especially close with her grandfather. What does that relationship mean to you, and Soo, what was it like coming up with the character design?

Chu: Well, it’s ironic, my paternal grandfather grew up in Seattle and loved comics, especially DC comics, but I didn’t know that until well after he passed. It was only when Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death came out that my grandmother told me about his obsession. Even when he moved to Hong Kong later in life he had someone ship him comics regularly from the US. So when people ask me what my family thinks of what I do, I have to think he would be pleased.

Lee: Amy had some great references for the characters and we bounced back ideas for them! Yeh Yeh was in reference to her grandfather so I hoped to do justice by that but also give him a warm parental feel to his character. I especially had fun with Mai Tai because Amy sent some very fun style ideas and I got to play around with the outfits.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Amy and Soo!

Carmilla: The First Vampire is out Wednesday 11th January from Dark Horse Comics.