Making A Murderer Who’s The Son Of Hitler

by Vince Brusio

How do you create the perfect killing machine? How do you cook up the idea for the tastiest killer? The best recipe would naturally start with ingredients that are already spoiled and rotten. The cake, after all, has to cut through you like a cancer. But it’s the baker that has to know how to apply the icing just right because even though the food that’s made is designed to kill you, it’s meant to look positively delicious when served with a cold glass of milk or tea. Take this metaphor and apply it to Anthony Del Col’s Son Of Hitler HC (MAR180612) for Image Comics. It looks like a WWII spy thriller. But as you make your way through the story, you might question if this historical thriller sounds like something you heard yesterday on television.

Son Of Hitler HC (MAR180612) is in comic shops June 20.

**********

Vince Brusio: So what would you say is more likely the reason why your book is seen as controversial? The fact that people may develop sympathy for Hitler's son, or that you're tying the story to the mood of current politics?

Anthony Del Col: Well, the title was the first thing that caught the attention of people online. I think that anything with the name “Hitler” in the title immediately gets people’s backs up. With good reason. So yeah, the initial online backlash (when the book was announced at ImageExpo in February of this year) revolved around that central worry: would we be sympathizing Nazis? Image Comics’ publisher Eric Stephenson was the one that came up with the ultimate strategy for this: release the story as one graphic novel so if anyone is worried they have the chance to read the entire book and realize: in our story Nazis are bad and a lot of them are killed.

The other reason that I think the book could become controversial is a plot point near the end of the story. The original pitch was that Son of Hitler would end in Hitler’s bunker but some recent world events (the Charlottesville riots, etc.) inspired me to create a new ending that explores some of the roots of what makes the U.S. system susceptible to the rise of movements like that – even to this day. Will some people take offense to it? I actually hope so because it’s designed to make people think.

Vince Brusio: How long was the book in development? How much of it changed through different drafts?

Anthony Del Col: Now that the book’s about to be released, it sometimes feels like the process took longer than the rise and fall of Hitler himself. That’s a bit of hyperbole, but it does feel like it.

About six years ago co-creator Geoff Moore and I were grabbing a coffee and he told me about the legend that Hitler had fathered a child while stationed in France in the First World War. I immediately could see the story – who the son could be and that he could have been the actual person to have killed Hitler. So we got to work coming up with the bare bones and then brought the amazingly-talented Jeff McComsey on board and all three of us worked together to craft the tale.

As mentioned above, we had a lot of story worked out with an amazing ending in the bunker. But then one day I came up with a twist and all three of us loved it and realized it makes it all more relevant to readers today. It’s more than just a WWII spy thriller.

Vince Brusio: Tell us about the characters in this story. What are their roots? What are their roles?

Anthony Del Col: This is mainly a “two-hander” – two main characters, and two of the most fascinating characters I’ve had a role in creating. The titular character is Pierre Moreau, a young baker’s apprentice in Occupied France. He grew up never knowing who his father was and always suffered from anger management problems – until he found a joy in baking. It’s what keeps him grounded – until he’s told his biological father is the worst person on the face of the planet. So at that point he becomes the ultimate Trojan horse – a man tasked with meeting his father – and killing him. If he can get there, that is. It’s not simple to see the paranoid Hitler and Pierre often has a habit of getting in his own way.

The other main character is Cora Brown, Pierre’s spy handler. She’s obsessed with killing Hitler. I mean, obsessed. Knows everything about the Fuhrer and all the attempts on his life. So when she finds out about Pierre she know he’s the perfect bullet to kill Hitler with. But she’s sometimes overzealous and does the wrong thing for the right reasons – and that causes conflict with Pierre and others around her.

Vince Brusio: Press for the book compares it to works like The Man in the High Castle, Inglourious Bastards, and Zero Dark Thirty. How so?

Anthony Del Col: Ah, the good ol’ cross-sell. Zero Dark Thirty is apt because of Cora, our co-lead. Much like Jessica Chastain’s CIA agent in that film, Cora’s obsessed with tracking down and killing Hitler. She’s brusque and isn’t afraid to break the rules to get what she wants.

The Inglourious Bastards reference is because this is a pulpy, over-the-top, ultra-violent, darkly comedic take on World War II. We lean into some tropes AND we also change history around a bit. Which leads to…The Man in the High Castle, which is a good reference because of the alternative history angle of our story. Our final act, as mentioned above, explores an extension of Nazism beyond the war, much as PDK’s book (and the Amazon Studios series does).

Vince Brusio: What has been the most challenging aspect of production on this book as it went from concept to print-ready?

Anthony Del Col: I’m not intentionally circling back to where we started (though it does work out, doesn’t it…?) but the biggest challenge was before we pitched the project to publishers. We knew that some would balk (and there was one company that expressed skepticism pre-pitch) and I know I was afraid no one would want to publish it. But I have to give Image Comics a lot of props here – they knew it was a good story and were behind it from the very beginning. It’s one of the reason I love working with them – they allow creators to tell the some of the most interesting narratives in comics today.

 **********

Vince Brusio writes about comics, and writes comics. He is the long-serving Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, the creator of PUSSYCATS, and encourages everyone to keep the faith...and keep reading comics.