WOW Scorpiolady, great article thanks for finding it! By the way, I Have actually been to the bar in New Orleans called The Dungeon that he speaks of in the article.(several years ago) There is a door and on the ouside of it, it says "The Dungeon, opens at midnight". Then when you go inside, there was a steep spiral staircase that you go up to get up to it. Its very cool and unique. Thats very cool that they know of that place. I've only been to it once, but we had to check it out when we were in the french quarter just because the place looked so unusual, we were curious. also its not an obvious place, you just happen to see the door if you are walking on that street and notice it.
I found this while looking on google for info, dont know if any of you have read this, this is the first time i've seen it
THE FAMILY VOODOO: NICOLAS CAGE Q&A Oscar-winning actor, celebrity fanboy and now comic book creator, Nicolas Cage teams with his teenage son Weston to unleash Virgin's 'Voodoo Child.'
By Kiel Phegley
Posted July 1, 2007 9:00 PM
After making Johnny Blaze a Carpenters-loving, jelly bean-eating eccentric in the big-screen adaptation of Ghost Rider, celebrity comics fan and collector Nicolas Cage is crafting a new kind of comic character on the printed page. And hes not working alone.
As part of Virgin Comics ongoing affair with hot Hollywood talent, Cage pairs with his 15-year-old son Weston (an aspiring actor and musician who appeared alongside his dad in Lord of War) to create Voodoo Child, a supernatural superhero comic with script from Mike Carey (X-Men) and art by Dean Hyrapiet (Snake Woman). The book, which ships July 11, centers on a mysterious undead protector who stalks the streets of a post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans and the police detective tasked to uncover his secret history.
In an exclusive interview with Wizard, the father-and-son team geek out over their favorite comics, delve into the spiritual side of superheroes and lay out plans to take their new character to Tinseltown.
WIZARD: Weston, everyone knows your dad is a comic book fan. Are you into comics like he is?
WESTON: Yeah, I love comic books. Im very into X-Men and I love Batman. Ive always been into comics from DC, Marvel and all kinds of different stuff. I also collected a lot of merchandise as a kid too, all kinds of action figures.
Nic, how did your love of comics go from owning a giant collection to participating in the creative end of things with your son?
Well, I no longer have the large collection I once had. Its a matter of public record that I was robbed, and I lost Detective #27 and Action #1. So I sold off [the rest of] my collection, but I kept all of the horror comics because I thought they were quite special and very creative. From very early on, Weston was drawing comics and coming up with stories and making up his own mythologies. He had these marvelous characters, and hes been doing it since he was quite young, around six or so.
What happened with [Voodoo Child] was that Sir Richard Branson, his company Virgin called, and they said, Were doing this [comic book] line with [the father-son team of author] Deepak and [Virgin Comics Editor-in-Chief] Gotham Chopra specifically dealing with Hindu mythology and creating characters with that. Would you be interested in participating? I said, I dont have any characters, but my son does. Why dont we talk to him? So we thought, Why not branch out? because we have an interest in world religions and comparative religion, and I always thought comic books were sort of Jungian, like modern myths. Wes and I spent a lot of time in New Orleans together during the summers and so thats where the characters came from for him, I think, memories of those journeys we had together.
WESTON: Yeah, Ive always loved the dark aspects of New Orleans, and I thought it would be interesting to have a character that was derived from that culture because it has to do with a lot of different things. There was a huge influence on the slaves that were once brought there. They have their religion, which was Voodoo, and they lived in a society that was also in line with the Cajuns who were white with a French background and the Creoles who were of a Spanish background. It was a huge melting pot, and I thought it would be interesting to bring someone from that area.
The book is set in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. What compelled you to tie the story to such a harrowing event?
NICOLAS: Well, we live in New Orleans part time, and so when Katrina hit we immediately got involved to help out in any way we could. Thats definitely another reason why I felt Westons character would be a good one to bring more attention to New Orleans. They need all the help they can get, and I think having a new superhero, especially one as cool as Voodoo Child, [will keep us] looking forward to connecting with groups. And hopefully one day if it works out, wed like to build a script and try to make a movie out of it.
Weston, when youre working up stories, do you realize someday your dad might play this character or throw little things into the character that you think might be challenging for him?
WESTON: Well, whenever Im writing a piece Im always thinking of an actor of playing it, and there are a few people Ive written that I would put little hooks on them that maybe my dad could play.
NICOLAS: Also, Weston is an actor in his own right, and so were always looking to find things to do together. Obviously, this character is Mulatto and so that wouldnt be right for either one of us, but I think there will probably be other characters in the movies with Voodoo Child. So there could probably be something for both of us if we get lucky and go to script, but it all depends on what the world wants. Well see what happens with it.
Music plays a big part in both of your lives. The title Voodoo Child will certainly have people thinking of Jimi Hendrix, but what kind of music do you feel fits the tone of the book?
WESTON: Well, Im really into the kind of music that comes from Norway called Black Metal. Its the type of music thats really, really raw. But some bands like Cradle of Filth like to add melodic factors to it, which I do myself, and what that does is create a very powerful piece that incorporates strong melodic backgrounds that could be rather like Bach or something very symphonic.
NICOLAS: There would be an eclectic mix, too. Obviously, wed get the sounds from the Voodoo culture as well. By the way, Voodoo gets a bad rap. Its not the Hollywood version of it being all curses and evil. Voodoo simply means spirit, and it is a world religion. There are 50 million people in the world who practice it, and so wed want to make sure that was understood and that we werent trying to paint it in any kind of negative light.
But I definitely feel in the modern storylines that are coming, Westons music would be applicable. Ive gone out in New Orleans, and I went to a place called The Dungeon where they play Black Metal, which Ive always said to Weston is very honest music. A lot of people are afraid of it because theyre afraid of death, and death is something that happens to all of us. So theyre just being very honest about it and very strong, and Weston seems to be on the cutting edge of that right now.
The story kicks off with a murder in the Civil War era. What can you tease about the origins of the story and where it goes from there?
NICOLAS: Well, right off the bat were dealing with the Civil War, and Weston has always had an interest in history and continues to do so. That was his idea: to bring [the story] into what was going on in the Civil War, the sort of unspoken taboo that there were interracial love affairs. This [involves] the offspring of one of those situations where this very beautiful Creole, Mulatto woman has an affair with the owner of the plantation, and the child is born and is automatically in no mans land because theyre shameful of it. Its automatically a sympathetic character where were sensitive to that.
But once we get to modern times, the spirit of that character returns with a set of powers, right?
WESTON: I thought it would be an interesting idea if he could raise the dead and use them as his allies to fight battles side-by-side with him. He can raise dead soldiers and use them to fight for him, like hes a commander.
NICOLAS: Hes more of a mystical superhero. I find that more interesting myself, being Ghost Rider. Depending on your beliefs, the spirit realm might be more real than the material realm.
So when you guys sit down to plot out the story, whats a general Cage-on-Cage idea session like?
NICOLAS: Well, its really like a think tank. He has such a fertile imagination that I just listen to him when he starts talking, and I start writing things down, and we start sharing ideas back and forth. He already had this all worked out in his head. He came up with the powers the character would have and then I just asked him questions about his other interests like history, and then he starts to find a way to put all the stories together. Its really Westons baby, and Im just trying to guide it and make it come to life.
WESTON: Its like were sharing the roles of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, going back and forth talking about illustrations or maybe a backstory because we both have pretty powerful imaginations, and we both like to morph the characters together.
For both of you, going back to your love of comics, who are your favorite writer and favorite artist of all time?
NICOLAS: Well, Jack Kirby is definitely my favorite comic book artist of all time because his style is so signature. Its so clear when you see it that its him. Thats what art is about, that you have no doubt who made it. Hes an original. He got left out in the cold because he designed all of those looks. He designed the Hulk. He designed Spider-Man, and he never got paid for that. So hes a bit of an unsung hero in that way.
I always liked monsters. My two favorite characters were Ghost Rider and the Hulk because when youre a little boy, the monsters scare you and at the same time they give you control over your nightmares because you see theyre actually trying to do good, and theyre not all bad. I think thats very philosophical and really interesting.
WESTON: My favorite comic artist is Jack Kirby as well just because, like my dad says, his art is his trademark with him. Then my favorite writer is, of course, Stan Lee just because he had the imagination. Im not really into characters, but Im very much into X-Men. I love all of the X-Men, and Im an enormous fan of Nightcrawler. Hes by far my favorite just because he looks like hes this demon, but really hes extremely Catholic. I just love his story. I love characters that have these gigantic backstories. Thats what gets me involved in them, when you know of their life.
NICOLAS: It is its own world thats been developed. I like Nightcrawler, too. I think hes great because hes trying to be good and he has those spiritual beliefs. He seems quite peaceful and yet hes just totally a badass.
What was the first comic book that each of you remembers reading?
NICOLAS: I went to the market around the corner in Long Beach, California and there was the Hulk and he was fighting M.O.D.O.K. It was just so bizarre. [EDITORS NOTE: Hes referring to The Incredible Hulk Vol. 1 #167, above.] So I bought it, and I took it home with me and I thought, What is this? It looks like Frankenstein and yet hes good? That really got my imagination working, and then the next comic book I bought was Ghost Rider #1. I remember just staring at it in my bedroom and my brothers were concerned about me, that I wasnt going to leave the room because I was just staring at this comic book for hoursand then I became him. [Laughs]
WESTON: When I was younger, I actually enjoyed watching the X-Men cartoons. I was really in love with those. But as for the first comic book I ever read, fortunately my dad collected comic books at the time, and so he let me read X-Men #1. Its pretty cool that I can say I read the original.
great article! The comic book looks so cool. I wonder if he bought the haunted house there because of the comic book and New Orleans being part of it and all.
it should be here this month
