Comic Book Yeti contributor Alex Breen recently corresponded with Eric Palicki, writer of the upcoming Kickstarter One Shot, Dreamcatchers, to discuss the inspirations behind the release, his approach to scripting a comic, and what reward tiers readers can expect from the campaign. Dreamcatchers is available for order on Kickstarter until 10/31. Order HERE.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Eric, thank you so much for joining me today. What was the initial inspiration behind Dreamcatchers?
ERIC PALICKI: Thanks so much! Always a pleasure to talk to the Yeti!
So, Dreamcatchers.
A few years ago, I was asked to contribute to a comics anthology a friend was putting together called 21st Century Pulp, which would have been a collection of stories inspired by pulp fiction traditions and applying them to modern comics stories. I settled on exploring a sort of Lovecraftian cosmic horror vibe about a woman hunting down and killing her own escaped nightmares. I wrote up an eight page script and sent it over to my collaborator, Nima Sorat, who completed his pages just in time for the whole project to get canceled.
Alas, into the vault went the first version of Dreamcatchers.
Cut ahead a couple of years to my friend John Bivens approaching me at C2E2 to ask if I might have anything I’d like him to draw. Because John has a knack for drawing monsters, I immediately thought of Dreamcatchers, and because John was hoping for something longer than eight pages, and because I thought the story deserved a chance to breathe a little, I expanded the story out to 22 pages.
In the end, I had two versions of the same story, drawn by two talented artists who illustrated their scripts with no knowledge of how the other approached the material, which makes for a fascinating document. Kickstarter felt like the right place to take the project, to ensure both Nima and John get their due.
CBY: What is your current process for scripting a comic? Has it evolved over the years or stayed mostly the same?
EP: I’ve always been closer to a seat-of-my-pants writer–what the kids call a “pantser”–as opposed to a planner. I don’t do outlines.
To get started on a script, I really only need to know the characters and the ending. From there, I’m confident I can find my way, and for me, the unexpected detours are where the real joy in writing is found.
CBY: How would you describe your collaboration with John Bivens?
EP: John is fantastic! He and I are both Midwesterners and we have that same work ethic. John colored the work himself, at his insistence, and the result is this great sort of early Vertigo horror vibe I love. John even wanted to letter the story! I hope this is just the start of a long professional relationship.
CBY: What kinds of reward tiers can readers expect from the Dreamcatchers campaign?
EP: Digital and physical copies of the book, of course, as well as a digital script book, containing both the 8- and 22-page versions, so you can compare how Nima and John approached Dreamcatchers.
Something I’m especially excited about is, Richard Pace did the cover for 21st Century Pulp, the abandoned anthology in which Dreamcatchers was originally slated to appear. With Richard’s permission, I was able to repurpose that cover as a rare variant of Dreamcatchers for this campaign.
I’m also offering some of my back catalogue as add-ons, including a handful of No Angel issues signed by my co-writer/sister Adrianne, who most people know from John Wick, The Orville, or Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
CBY: The pre-launch page described this story as a one-shot. Do you have any follow up stories in mind for this world?
EP: I’ve learned the hard way to temper my own expectations as well as those of the campaign backers. Dreamcatchers concludes on a grim note–it is a cosmic horror tale, after all–but also begs further exploration. I would love to write more stories of poor Dana Arlin, but only time will tell if the fickle market will let me.
CBY: For backers of Dreamcatchers, are there any other projects of yours you’d recommend them to check out?
EP: The book of mine this is most like in terms of atmosphere is Atlantis Wasn’t Built for Tourists, from Scout Comics, but I’d also recommend the two volumes of Black’s Myth from Ahoy, as Dreamcatchers’ Dana Arlin has a lot in common with werewolf P.I. Strummer Mercado.
CBY: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring creatives, what would it be?
EP: Don’t give up. Seriously. Dreamcatchers is a good example of a project that could have stayed in a drawer forever, but found a second life because I didn’t give up on it. Another story I have forthcoming, a short piece in ComixTribe’s OXYMORON: KILLING TIME anthology, was the first professional sale I ever had as a comics writer, back in 2013! And it’ll finally see print this year!
The difference between a successful and unsuccessful career in comics is how well you take rejection and just keep at it.
CBY: Where can people find you on social media?
EP: I’m @ericpalicki across all platforms: Instagram, Bluesky, Threads, and X/Twitter. At the moment, I’m mostly posting about this campaign, but I’m generally a fun follow for snarky commentary about the state of the comics industry and medium. Occasionally, I go viral for comparing a beardless JD Vance to Francis from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.
Like I said, fun!
CBY: Eric, thank you so much for your time!
EP: Likewise. I sincerely appreciate it.
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