Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás return to the world of horror comics this week with the publication of Invasive #1, the first part of a new four-issue series from Oni Press.
The book, which was partially inspired by a series of nightmares that Bunn had many years ago, follows two protagonists. Dr. Carrie Reynolds is a surgeon whose daughter vanished, and has now been found with her vocal chords removed. Detective Vic Hudgens is on the case, but little do either of them know that they're about to be confronted with a monstrous group of scalpel-wielding "murder surgeons".
Newsarama spoke to Bunn about the new book, working with Hervás, and the origins of these gruesome killers in surgical gear. We've also got a full set of covers for #1 in the gallery below, and a set of sample pages from the issue, so you can get a taste for this deliciously dark new comic.
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Newsarama: You've previously said that a nightmare sparked the idea for Invasive - could you tell us a little bit about that?
Cullen Bunn: For me, it's less about a nightmare with any kind of cohesive "plot" and more about weird and intense flashes of terrible things. That's where Invasive took root. Or, to be more precise, Invasive took root however many years ago the events that inspired these nightmares took place. That might've come about when I was a small child being tortured by a dentist… or when I was a little older, watching a doctor cut the sleeve of my shirt open so they could peel it away from my badly mangled hand… or any number of other nightmare-inspiring happenings.
Are these nightmares where the surgeons in Invasive first appeared?
No, I don't think so. The idea for the Murder Surgeons has been with me since I was very young. I think they were probably inspired by me stumbling upon a picture of a plague doctor, and my imagination did the rest. But they've definitely shown up in plenty of dreams since those youthful days!
What can you tell us about your protagonist, Carrie?
Carrie is absolutely a mess when we meet her. Her daughter has suffered a terrible tragedy, and Carrie is dealing with a lot of grief and guilt and anger. She wants to unravel the mystery of what happened to her daughter and she will go to extreme lengths (as you will see) to do so.
The other main character is Detective Vic Hudgens. Who is he and how does he get involved in the story?
Vic is a detective who, because he went too far down the rabbit hole, was relieved from active duty. That doesn't stop him, though, and he is still following his own leads, trying to unlock the secrets of this group of murderous surgeons who are stalking innocent people.
Addiction is one of the main themes for the book. What made you want to write about that?
Addiction and obsession seem to surface again and again in my work. I feel like these are elements of our lives that can control and destroy us as surely as any slasher or monster could. They're terrifying in terms of how destructive they can be. In this case, the addiction is coming from different sides of the equation - addiction to having surgeries performed and addiction to performing surgery.
What made Jesús Hervás the right artist for this book?
Jesus just does such an amazing job of making an ugly, disfigured world look absolutely beautiful.
Invasive is a four issue run. Is that the end of the story, or do you see this as the start of something larger?
I wanted readers to have a complete story with a resolution when they reached the end of the fourth issue. Is there the potential for more? I've always loved stories that leave at least a few possibilities out there.
Invasive #1 is published tomorrow, December 13, by Oni Press.
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