Talking ‘Dark Spaces: Dungeon’ With Editor Dave Wielgosz

Only writer Scott Snyder and artist Hayden Sherman could make the prospect of spending time in a dungeon sound appealing. Not the real thing, of course. Real dungeons are horrible, but their new series, Dark Spaces: Dungeon, which promises to keep readers on the edge of their seat as it includes one of the most twisted dungeons put to paper.

With colors by Patrick Delpeche and letters by AndWorld Design, find out more about the series in this interview with editor Dave Wielgosz:

Rachel Bellwoar: As editor, do you get to choose the books that you work on or are they assigned depending on who’s available or who’s the best fit?

Dave Wielgosz: Over the course of my career I have had to work on projects that had all three of these origins. Choosing the projects you work on or being assigned something because you are the best candidate for the job are the best of the two starting points. Dark Spaces: Dungeon was assigned to me by the great Mark Doyle (IDW Co-Publisher/Dark Spaces: Dungeon Co-Editor) when I started editing for IDW. I have had a long working relationship with Mark, Scott Snyder and Hayden Sherman, so joining this project made perfect sense.

Bellwoar: Having worked with both Scott Snyder (All-Star Batman) and Hayden Sherman (Arkham Academy) before at DC, how has your working relationship changed or grown stronger?

Wielgosz: Definitely stronger. I have worked with Scott for the entirety of my almost decade-long comic career. He has always been incredibly kind and really values the opinions of everyone he works with. Even when I was brand new and had no experience editing he always took what I said seriously. Over the years, including the brief times we didn’t work together, he would check in, ask how I was doing and be very encouraging of my work. When I made the decision to leave DC Comics we had a long phone call where he couldn’t have been more invested in what my future plans were. And Scott’s busy, for him to make the time for a call like that meant the world.

Hayden I have only worked with for the last two years, but I really hope that they are someone who I regularly work with for years to come. We’ve done a handful of projects together, but over the course of them have developed a strong back and forth. Also as an editor…Hayden is just a dream. The work they turn is everything you would want it to be: on-time, incredibly inspired and it makes you want to elevate your game.

Bellwoar: Dungeon will be Snyder and Sherman’s second series for Dark Spaces (Snyder’s ongoing anthology line at IDW), following Wildfire. While each series has been designed to standalone, is there still a thorough line that you’re trying to maintain between the different stories?

Wielgosz: I had the extreme fortune to come to IDW with Dark Spaces: Wildfire completed, Dark Spaces: Good Deeds at the halfway point of production and Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special almost fully written. I got to sit down and absorb the whole line before starting on Dungeon. They are outstanding stand alone books but for me the throughlines are the demons inside of us, both the self-imposed or wickedly granted, that grow out of our control. And the accidental damage we do to others.

Bellwoar: It doesn’t get much darker than serial killers. Do you think there’s a key to telling these stories in a way that’s both truthful but leaves readers wanting to get the next issue?

Wielgosz: Intimacy. You have to know the victims and or the others impacted by the killings on a deep level so you can experience that devastation and fear. The killing in this book is gruesome and inventive, but it doesn’t work without Scott and Hayden crafting this cast of characters that you instantly connect with and whose lives you can feel. Stories are a magic act, if you see someone you don’t know get killed in a story, there’s an inherent shock value to it, but it might mean anything to you. When you know what they care about and who they love? They become real.

Bellwoar: Were you involved at all with bringing colorist, Patrick Delpeche, on for this project?

Wielgosz: I was! Like with the other projects we had done together I asked Hayden who they would like to work with. Hayden mentioned Patricio. The two of them had worked together on a Batman short story in an anthology called Legion of Bloom for DC, and I was floored by the two of them as a pair. Once Hayden said they were interested in teaming up with Patricio again for this, the art from that Batman story flashed in my head, and I knew Patricio was right for the job.

Bellwoar: While readers are given a glimpse at the titular dungeon early on in the first issue, it’s full capacity for torture isn’t immediately obvious. Was it always the plan to let the dungeon appear innocuous at first?

Wielgosz: Scott is a tremendous horror writer. When I read the script and saw the art come together, I was taken aback by how strange and not immediately menacing the Dungeon was. You feel like a kid who was warned not to touch something that you don’t understand. “This can’t be that bad.” you say to yourself and then you see what it does and it freaks you out even more. It’s scarier than a guillotine or other more immediately violent torture device.

Bellwoar: Dungeon also deals with changes in technology. Agent Madoc isn’t quick to impress when it comes to the latest cars and gadgets. Where do you stand, when it comes to embracing new tech?

Wielgosz: Even with the tech that scares me, and there’s quite a bit of it that does, I think it’s incumbent on us to become familiar with it and be able to use it. Turn it into a tool but don’t give up the old methods. In a perfect world you could be equally in depth with digital and analog. That’s what I tell myself to justify the twenty notebooks I keep in my office.

Bellwoar: Overall, what is your favorite part of the editing process and, vice versa, is there a part of the job that’s necessary but not as fun?

Wielgosz: My favorite part is seeing the art come in. That’s when it all starts becoming real. Also when you’re working in an office with other comic editors it’s really fun saying “Hey look at this!” and taking turns running over to each other’s desks to see what magic just hit your inbox. Also just that you get to work with so many brilliant creative people from all over the world. When things go right you learn so much from them and hopefully they learn from you as well. It’s a great thing.

Reminding folks of their deadlines is not always the most fun thing, but when you are working professionals, everyone knows the score.

Bellwoar: What do you think is the biggest misconception about what a comic book editor does?

Wielgosz: I think the job is a little less of a mystery than it used to be but there’s definitely still some shrouds around it. If I had to pick one thing to say is a misconception, it’s probably the relationship an editor has with the talent. Folks tend to envision a dictator or an absentee parent.  At our best, editors either support a really great idea that you come to us with, and help make it better. Or we have parameters for a project we would like to do, we give those parameters to creators and give them as much room as we can for them to make that project their own. Hopefully they come back with something amazing we could have never imagined.

Bellwoar: How much does your role as editor change depending on the series or people you’re working with, and where do you feel you were able to contribute the most with Dungeon?

Wielgosz: Every project is different because every creative team is different. An editor can have as many procedures in place as they want as a project starts, and we all do, but you always have to adjust for the reality of other people. I feel really fortunate, this is Scott and Hayden’s amazing story but they have allowed me to make suggestions about our covers, colors and presentation overall I feel really good about.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Dave!

Dark Spaces: Dungeon #1 goes on sale Wednesday October 25th from IDW.