Dragons Droll and Deadly In Jim Henson's Storyteller

by Vince Brusio

Weather getting colder starting to put you in a funk? Sorry to see summer slide away? Fear not, fans of fiction. The wonderful people over at BOOM! Studios/Archaia have announced that Jim Henson’s The Storyteller is once again set to entertain you, and wipe away your longing for fun in the sun. Tales of fantasy can be enjoyed in any climate, and in this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview with Cameron Chittock  (Archaia’s Assistant Editor for all of the The Jim Henson Company’s titles), we learn that you’re going to be so engrossed in the Jim Henson’s The Storyteller Dragons #1 (OCT151197) that the weather outside will be negligible.

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PREVIEWSworld: For those not familiar with Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, could you please give us some background as to how the property was developed, and how its expanding with the Dragons series?

Cameron Chittock: The Storyteller was an Emmy-winning show created by Jim Henson, and we try to capture the spirit he and showrunner Anthony Minghella so wonderfully established. Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Dragons is a four-issue mini-series in which each issue is a standalone tale inspired by dragon lore from cultures all over the world.

Four writer-artists — Daniel Bayliss (Translucid), Nathan Pride (Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard), Hannah Christenson (Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard), and Jorge Corona (Feathers) — bring their own unique vision and voice to Jim Henson’s world. You don’t have to have seen the show to appreciate Dragons, though. All you need is a love for fantasy and timeless stories.

PREVIEWSworld: What’s the scope for Dragons over a four-issue series? Without spoiling things for us, what backgrounds/creeds/temperaments of dragons can you talk about to give readers an idea of what this series will mean for fans of fantasy storytelling?

Cameron Chittock: A goal for us going into the series was to showcase how vast dragon mythology spreads across cultures and how differently those forms manifest themselves. Over the course of the series, Daniel, Nathan, Hannah, and Jorge cover Native American, English, Russian, and Japanese folklore, respectively.  We don’t want to give too much away in regards to the dragons, but no two will look alike. Their intelligence levels will vary as well — some are primal beasts struggling for survival while others have more ambitious desires. In other words, whether you’re a fan of Smaug the Magnificent, Drogon, or somewhere in between, odds are these creators have got a dragon story up your alley.

PREVIEWSworld: What can you tell us about the characters featured in Dragons? Who leads, and who follows?

Cameron Chittock: Dragon stories are only as compelling as the people who confront them and we’ve got a diverse group of lead characters. I think what excites me most is how Daniel, Nathan, Hannah, and Jorge each use the faceoff with a dragon as a means not only to explore the lead character, but their relationships with the people around them. The battles will be breathtakingly illustrated, but what they reveal about our heroes is what is I think is most rewarding.

PREVIEWSworld: This is the fun question of the interview. How did the creative teams work on this project? What kind of discussions were involved between writers, editors, and artists? Did any bar brawls over flagons of mead result in concessions that would make for good tabloid headlines? Yes, we’re asking for dirt!

Cameron Chittock: Honestly, we couldn’t have worked with a more positive and hardworking group of creators. The early stages are always fun as everyone has to dust off tomes of fairytales and see what inspires them. Sometimes shared interest with another creator means having to go back and find another option. That’s probably as juicy as it gets behind the scenes. If only we had made these comics in a bar over flagons of mead! Maybe that’s the ideal way to read the series.

PREVIEWSworld: So it’s safe to say that Jim Henson’s The Storyteller is evolving over the course of time, yes? And if there is a long cobbled road ahead of The Storyteller to walk, what detours may lie ahead in the future?

Cameron Chittock: Well, we can’t quite give away where that path may take us, but I will say there is an endless supply of folklore to explore, so I imagine the Storyteller will have many more tales to share!