Talking ‘Herne And Shuck: Storming The Stone’ With David Barnett And Lee Milmore; Plus *Exclusive* Sneak Peek

With Caris back in St. Michael’s clutches, Herne can use all the help he can get, but will podcasters be able to offer much assistance? That’s what writer David Barnett and artist Lee Milmore are about to let us know in “Storming the Stone,” the latest arc of Herne & Shuck. With colors by Quinton Winter and letters by Annie Parkhouse, find out more about what Herne’s going to get up to in this interview with Barnett and Milmore, plus an exclusive early peek at part 1:

Rachel Bellwoar: “Storming the Stone” brings to mind Billy Crystal’s line from The Princess Bride, “have fun storming the castle.” As a team that have never avoided making pop culture references (in the last arc Herne described his crew as the Avengers “if the Avengers were a bit shit”), was that the inspiration behind the title for this arc?

David Barnett: To be absolutely honest, I’m completely rubbish at titles, so I just called this H&S Book 3. Fortunately, His Galactic Eminence Tharg has a sharper grasp of what a comic series needs — ie, a title — so after asking me what this was called and me shrugging my shoulders in a way that Herne himself would be proud of, he came up with this. Which suits the story perfectly, and which is why he’s paid the big Galactic Groats.

I didn’t get the Princess Bride link myself, which is unsurprising, as I’m the one person in the universe who doesn’t think that film is a work of staggering genius, but I did think it sounded a bit like Romancing the Stone, which is a far better Eighties movie. But we do like our pop cultural references, and the more obscure the better, so we might just well ride with this one.

Lee Milmore: Titles and the like are for more refined minds; I’m just here to slosh around ink.

Bellwoar: This is now book 3 of Herne & Shuck. What’s surprised you the most about writing and drawing for these characters?

Milmore: David is always surprising me with fun stuff to draw, but what surprises me is trying to draw the sentiment between the characters. They’re family in a messed-up sense. I love that Shuck is exasperated by Herne and that Herne is a bit of a tit but is basically decent and is committed to protecting Caris. I think these are the things that hold the story together. I do love to draw a monster; I always knew that but actually the good guys are rewarding in a different way.

Barnett: I think for me it’s how much I’ve grown to like Herne. When we first started he was a bit of an idiot and while he’s still a bit of an idiot, he’s a very likeable one. As the cast has grown the problem has been giving each character enough space to develop and grow and express themselves. I know Lee’s dead keen to delve into the backstory of Shuck a little more than we have so far, and if by some miracle people continue to not hate this series then I think that’s something we’ll definitely look at in the near future. 

The growth of the team has been fun to write and to watch Lee illustrate, and I think there’s a nice little found family vibe developing now. Well, obviously, we’ve got this whole third series to go at so by the end of it things might not be as they were at the beginning…

Bellwoar: “Power Trip” saw Herne have to try and prove himself worthy of being a demigod under threat of death. Given that he’s still without his powers, how will that effect his planned rescue mission of Caris?

Milmore: I don’t think Herne is worried about the powers; he’ll just blunder into danger. They have their connections to the magic world still, but either way they’re just going to get it done. I feel like he’s very lucky to have Jordy onside these days. She’s a hero.

Barnett: I’m glad me and Lee had to think about that because Herne doesn’t think too deeply about things … he just hauls off and does stuff (as we see in the first episode of this series) without considering the consequences too much. But as part of his character development, he’s having to be a bit more considerate … at least he’s got Jordy to keep him on the straight and narrow. Because there is literally a child’s life at stake here, and one false move could be the end for Caris.

So you’d think that would mean Herne takes a step back, thinks about things, and approaches the problem with a more mature vibe.

I mean, you’d think that…

Bellwoar: As for the new recruits, what made you want to add podcasters to the team and how would you describe Mikey and Craig?

Barnett: For the benefit of any lawyers reading, Mikey and Craig who run the podcast Lore Explore are absolutely, and most definitely, nothing to do with Michael and Craig who run the similarly-rhyming podcast Prog Slog, and any similarities between the characters and real people are entirely intentional. I mean, coincidental.

Milmore: As I told said podcasters that we took the piss out of them … literally … I wash my hands of this. David?

Barnett: I think they’re a good addition because everyone else in the cast is steeped in folklore and magic … even Caris came from the weird little village of Cudd where they wanted to sacrifice her. So to get Mikey and Craig on board, and sometimes seeing things through their eyes allows us to take a step back and say, yeah, actually this is a weird way to live your life, and all this fantastical stuff they take in their stride is really quite amazing.

Bellwoar: The Crawly Man is also back, but now he’s possessed someone. What’s it been like figuring out his new form?

Barnett: Obviously that’s all down to Lee. I just write something like, “Yeah, Crawly Man, new host, off you go, do your magic”. Lee really likes drawing monsters, and I wanted to feed his obsession with the first monster we ever had in the strip. Honestly, it’s like throwing biscuits to a dog. Lee will email me and point out some continuity error in the strip or bemoan the fact I’ve put 23 panels on one page, and I just say, “Why don’t you draw a nice big monster with horns?” and he forgets all about it.

Milmore: I found it fun to make the psychic who he possesses a new-age 60s-style hippie with similar hair to Crawly’s usual do. It was lots of fun bringing back the nightmare man’s grin after that.

Bellwoar: Craig and Mikey trying to enjoy fish and chips while sitting next to zombie Beth makes for a funny visual. Do you revel in the absurdity of getting to combine the conventional with horror?

Milmore: Ha! Yes. I’m always thinking about Caris in particular as Beth takes a matronly role, but she is a rotting corpse. I think David could have written a stuffy, pompous sort of folk horror; if it had been me writing it would have been, but the sense of humour and grounded nature of the stories really makes it shine. And again it connects me more closely with the cast. I relate to the fact they never really know what they’re doing. Yeah, I relate a bit too much when I think about it.

Barnett: I think when I first pitched the concept to Tharg I intended this to be a more straightforward folk horror strip, but pretty quickly the characters asserted themselves and set the tone for the series. I think it’s very British and yes, as you say, quite absurd. But the entire idea is absurd, really. A hedge-magician in a beanie hat who pisses off practically everyone he meets, and a talking dog who seems to be the voice of reason in the entire cast of characters.

So yep, we love pushing the humour and the surreal aspects of the strip, while trying to keep it grounded and true to the concept. Hopefully it works. People seem to like it a bit, which is quite gratifying. Then again, we’ve cooked up a little one-off story that’s probably going to run towards the end of the year, and that’s got “absurd” running through it like a stick of Blackpool rock. Or rather, I should say, a candy cane.

Bellwoar: Well, if that doesn’t sound jolly (plus it’s always nice having something to look forward to). Thanks for agreeing to this interview, David and Lee!

Herne & Shuck: Storming the Stone starts September 16th in the UK and September 30th in the US in 2000 AD Prog 2500.