Shining Some Light On ‘Dark Spaces: Good Deeds’ With Che Grayson And Kelsey Ramsay

To Jean, covering St. Augustine’s founders’ day festivities is bottom of the barrel, in terms of journalism jobs she should be taking, but something happened five years ago, and now that’s the best assignment she can get. As fate would have it, though, Jean may have just been handed the biggest story of her career in writer, Che Grayson, and artist, Kelsey Ramsay‘s new series, Dark Spaces: Good Deeds. With colors by Ronda Pattison and letters by Shawn Lee, find out more about the ghosts lurking in Jean’s past in this interview with Che and Kelsey:

Rachel Bellwoar: What has it been like creating this series as part of Scott Snyder’s Dark Spaces, and how do you feel Good Deeds fits within the larger line?

Che Grayson: Working within the Dark Spaces universe has been such an honor. Scott and the editors really gave Kelsey and I the freedom to explore themes and stylistic choices that appealed to us the most. I think Good Deeds both in energy and in themes works beautifully with Wildfire. I think what Scott and I are both drawn to are stories about imperfect characters with checkered pasts who can only get redemption once they face the truth. That is something that both these stories have in common as well as the psychological, character driven nature of the stories. However, that’s where the commanality stops and with Good Deeds you will get new characters and a fresh perspective on Dark Spaces.

Bellwoar: From Lois Lane to Iris West-Allen, there’s a rich history of journalists in comics. Have you always enjoyed narratives about hard-nosed reporters looking for a story?

Grayson: I do! When I was in college I was deep into photojournalism and thought I’d pursue that as a career but I found myself wanting more than just cold hard facts and chose to pursue creative writing instead. But, it’s been really fun exploring and unpacking the tropes that tend to be associated with those characters. Amy Adams in Sharp Objects is an example of a reporter that I really love.

Bellwoar: At first, I assumed St. Augustine was a made-up town but, in looking up some of the historical references, I realized it is a city in Florida. What made you want to choose a real place to set this story (and St. Augustine, in particular)?

Grayson: St. Augustine, Florida is known as the oldest existing city in the United States and a lot of tourism revolves around that narrative, but the reality is this statement is more fact than fiction. There are communities and societies that existed before the land known as St. Augustine was “founded.” I wanted to unpack that and how history can so easily be skewed. People sometimes choose what sounds epic in favor of what is true which is why we get revisionist history. Good Deeds is by no means meant to be 100% fact either. Instead, it serves as an exploration of what it means when the boundary between fact and fiction can be razor thin and to shed some light on aspects of American History that have been warped over time.

Bellwoar: While issue one avoids spilling details about what’s been haunting Jean, there is a literal ghost and it’s one of the scariest I’ve encountered in a while. Where did you come up with the idea to have the ghost blend in with its surroundings?

Grayson: What I love about ghosts in film, tv and comics is how perfectly they work as a metaphor while delivering the chills fans come to expect of a horror. For Good Deeds the ghost is a metaphor for Jean’s secrets which follow her everywhere. It’s a way to be able to get into Jean’s head and expose her anxieties for the readers to see but for the other characters in the story aren’t privy to.

Bellwoar: When designing the ghost, were there any tropes you knew you wanted to stay away from or images that helped inspire your final vision?

Kelsey Ramsay: Che had given me some references and notes on the ghost lady, but when designing her I also took inspiration from anything horror/zombie related e.g The Exorcist, Walking Dead and [Chuck] Dixon and [Jorge] Zaffino’s Winterworld.

Bellwoar: Whether it’s Jean’s bedroom, or the trophy display at St. Augustine High School, I love how cluttered the spaces are in this first issue. Stuff is what makes a place feel lived-in, and I was wondering if these rooms were as fun to draw and design as they are to look at?

Ramsay: So glad you find our mess fun to look at! I personally love when panels are full and feel somewhat inhabited. Che really described Good Deeds to have, amongst other things, a claustrophobic/tense feel, so it was cool to reflect that in the backgrounds but as I’m learning, sometimes you got to pull back so those crowded panels stand out.

Bellwoar: In front of the hotel where Jean is staying there’s a very prominent statue of Juan Ponce de León, who infamously searched for the Fountain of Youth, and I was wondering if there was a connection between the Fountain and the abundance of reflective surfaces?

Grayson: Great question! There are definitely some fun things we do in the series that explore the legend of the Fountain of Youth and Kelsey does a beautiful job of visually representing that.

Bellwoar: There’s one panel in particular where some of the characters are talking over a body of water but instead of looking directly at them the panel is oriented so we’re seeing them from underwater, so it feels like someone (or something) is watching them. Was that written into the script or did the idea to take that perspective come later, during the drawing process?

Ramsay: This panel was written in the script! I’m kind of like the audience, I have no idea know where the story is going until I recieve the script so it’s always excting when Che puts in some great storytelling that implies looming danger!

Bellwoar: Whereas the town is eager to put on a good face for Jean, they’re not exactly showing newcomers, Rebecca and Cheyenne Rite, the same Southern hospitality. Did you always want to include multiple protagonists, and was it always the plan to have Jean and Cheyenne cross paths so early in the series? 

Grayson: Yes. I think every town is multifaceted. One person’s experience in a place like St. Augustine isn’t necessarily going to be the same for another and I think following both Jean and Cheyenne’s perspective was the perfect way to show their commonalities and also their differences.

Bellwoar:: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Che and Kelsey!

Dark Spaces: Good Deeds #1 goes on sale May 17th from IDW.