Halloween Special Creator Spotlight - Danny Baram
Comix: What got you started in comics?
Danny Baram: I’ve been a big comic book reader and fan since I was a young kid. My uncle Jonathan has always been a big comic book collector - and when I was a young kid, I used to eagerly browse through the stacks of old comics that were in his childhood bedroom at my grandparents’ house. But I first got really into reading and buying comics for myself during the Death of Superman era in the early 90’s. I remember being at sleepaway camp, during the summer when Reign of the Supermen was happening. We had some camp counselors who were big comics guys, and they’d go into town and get the new Superman issues every week. Me and the other kids would pass the issues around, and that got me completely hooked. I became a huge DC Comics fan – and a comic book fan in general – from that point on.In terms of creating comics, that’s been a big goal of mine as a writer for a long time. For a while, I was focused on screenwriting and trying to get that going. But I kept thinking about how I could try to get a comic book published. There were so many barriers, it was difficult to wrap my head around how to make it all work. But finally, I decided to just go for it. I took an idea of mine that I’d tried doing as a TV script, Halloween Team, and re-adapted it as a comic book series. I went online and searched for an artist, and got very lucky in that I found Matt Shults – who is extremely talented and has been a great collaborator. And we eventually just got four issues of Halloween Team done and self-published it. It was super gratifying to have finally written a comic book series and for it to be made available for people to buy and read and enjoy. Eventually, things got taken to even another level when I was connected with Comicker Press, and they agreed to re-publish Halloween Team and to support a sequel series. It’s been so exciting to get to continue this story and answer a lot of lingering questions and further build out the world.
Comix: Who are your biggest influences?
Danny Baram: I’m a huge fan of writers who can seamlessly blend genres, and also of writers who place a premium on grounded, relatable characters even when the circumstances around them get crazy and out-there. So Brian K. Vaughan is definitely up there for me. I’m such a fan of his work, and books like Y: The Last Man really re-wired my brain in terms of how I thought about storytelling in comics. Robert Kirkman is another one. I feel like in some ways he doesn’t get the credit he deserves as a writer. But I love the way his works like The Walking Dead and Invincible can fluctuate between serious drama and silly comedy, and he is also just so good at serialized storytelling. I always strive for good cliffhangers in my books, and both Vaughan and Kirkman are masters. Garth Ennis is another big one. What he did with books like Preacher set the tone for a lot of comics that came later. Of course a lot of my writing influence comes from Film and TV and books as well. A lot of my writing has that sort of Spielberg/Amblin sort of vibe, and I love trying to create the sense of awe and wonder and sort of childlike imagination that you get in classic movies like E.T. Stephen King, of course, is one of the masters of creating these incredible worlds filled with memorable characters – so I always think of certain of his novels, like The Stand, when working on world-building and character creation.
Which book you created is your current favourite work?For now, my favorite is Halloween Team! It’s my first published comic book series and so it will probably always be pretty near and dear to me. I will say though, I feel a lot better about Halloween Team as a whole now that we’re publishing the new sequel series, Halloween Team: Shadows. I was sort of worried during the period when it wasn’t 100% clear if we’d be able to do a follow-up to the original series – because I’d hedged my bets a bit and ended on a cliffhanger and had a lot of major questions that needed addressing. But Shadows picks up right where we left off, and I think now, finally, you’re getting the complete origin story of how the team gets back together after all these years. Of course, the fun part about Halloween Team is that it’s designed as a sandbox. So it’s a vehicle for endless story possibilities. Not only do we have really fun characters who can keep evolving over time, but this is a world where any sort of monster, creature, or other spooky concept is fair game.
Comix: What genres do you most enjoy working on as a creator?
Danny Baram: I love writing sci-fi, horror, and genre in general. I love having the ability to really stretch my imagination, and I’ve always been fascinated with big ideas around time, space, the supernatural, and anything and everything that sort of transcends our everyday lives. And I love using those big genre concepts to look at the world we live in, and comment on that. Which is what I think a lot of the best sci-fi and horror does well. But I’m also just really fascinated by people and what makes them tick, so a lot of my writing is at that intersection of really far-out genre concepts, but then pretty relatable characters. All that said, I have a background in comedy and really love infusing anything I do with some level of humor. I love good joke construction and am a pretty big comedy nerd. But it’s a balance. In something like Halloween Team, there are definitely moments of levity and humor – but I also try to be careful to really keep readers immersed in the world and not do jokes that take you out of the reality of the story.
Comix: What is your favourite book in you comic collection?Danny Baram: Oh man, that’s a tough one! Like I said, I’ve been a really big DC Comics fan since I was a young kid, so I have a lot of complete character runs dating back to the 90’s. So for example, I’ve got every issue of Nightwing dating back to his original 90’s-era miniseries. I’m such a completist when it comes to DC. I’d venture to say I have a very large percentage of Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, and other runs from the 90’s through now.I mentioned Preacher earlier. I read that whole series in trade paperback form, years after the series originally released. But I have such fond memories of getting those trades, one by one. I was living in New York City this one summer after college, and I would go to Midtown Comics every Wednesday for my weekly comics. They had a thing then, I’m not sure if they still do, where whenever you spent a certain amount of money on comics, you’d earn credits that you could use towards a free trade paperback of your choosing. So this speaks to how much money I blew on comics that summer, but I basically would use that offer to slowly but surely get each subsequent Preacher trade. It’s one of my all-time favorite series, so I remember being so excited whenever I’d have enough credit built up to get each new volume.
Comix: Tell us in 1 minute or less, about your newest release.
Danny Baram: In the original Halloween Team volume, we learn about five misfit kids who, twenty years ago, banded together to solve mysteries and fight monsters in their small town of Greenwood, MA. In the present day, the team reunites – after many years apart – to solve a new mystery. But after finally getting back together, a very dark, shocking secret is revealed about the team’s past.In our new sequel series, Halloween Team: Shadows, we’re picking up right where we left off. The team has a new mission, and an urgent one, to save their long-lost friend who they now know is trapped in hell. But there’s now a lot of mistrust and tension on the team, and it’s unclear if they can work together to do what they need to do to save her. To make matters worse, we learn about new villains who have been pulling the strings since the events of Volume 1. And if they have their way, not only will the team’s friend remain trapped in hell, but Greenwood – and the entire world! – may soon be taken over by evil, nefarious forces. So can the team put aside their issues and save their friend, their town, and the world? Read Halloween Team: Shadows and find out!
Comix: What inspired this book?
Danny Baram: Halloween Team is definitely inspired by a combination of things. To start, I really wanted to create a fun, spooky adventure series that could be this amazing sandbox for all kinds of storytelling – in a manner similar to one of my favorite-ever TV series, The X-Files. I was also thinking a lot about another TV show I loved as a kid called Are You Afraid of the Dark? I thought about the kids from that show, who sat around a campfire every weekend and exchanged scary stories. First, I thought about what would happen if they did more than just tell scary stories – but actually lived through them. Then I started thinking about what might happen to those kids when they’re older. How could they live more mundane adult lives, and sort of make that work, after having had such an eventful and adventurous childhood? At the time I was thinking a lot about my own transition into adulthood, and how my life compared to that of my friends, and how that all ties back to the classic Millennial plight of being anxious about “adulting” and all that comes with it. In my own life, I had taken a big risk and moved from a small New England town to Los Angeles, to pursue a career in writing and entertainment. But what would have happened had I stayed in my small town? So I imagined a group of friends who were all at different stages of adult life, and who had these very divergent paths since childhood. Some stayed in Greenwood, others left. Some were married, others still single. But this new mystery brings them back together, and now they have to figure out some sort of new status quo. Can they go back again? Do they want to? So everything sort of took off in my mind from there.
Comix: What are you MOST proud of in this work?
Danny Baram: In Halloween Team: Shadows, I’m really proud that, even though this is a big, blockbuster type of story – we still really take the time to focus on the major emotional beats. Personally, one of my big comic book pet peeves is when you’re reading a big, epic story and the premise is cool … but there’s no real emotional hook to keep you invested. I tried to really keep Halloween Team: Shadows character-centric, even as the world gets bigger, the action gets crazier, and the stakes get higher. On a separate note, I’m very proud – through no contribution of my own – of how great these new issues look, thanks to some amazing art! What’s so cool with Shadows is that we have a brand new main artist, Bugra Berah, who is knocking it out of the park. Bugra has a very classic comic book sort of style – very clean, very bold. And I think that fits the more epic vibe of the new volume well. But, we also have our original artist, Matt Shults, back doing flashback sequences in each issue. And not only is Matt continuing to up his game and turning in some amazing work, but it’s also so great to have that sense of continuity and connective tissue, visually, to Volume 1.
Comix: What do you love most about making comics?
Danny Baram: As a writer, it’s incredibly rewarding to see your ideas brought to life by talented artists like Bugra and Matt. Especially coming from the world of screenwriting, where for the most part you’re writing a script and essentially sending it out into a void. To write a comic knowing that an artist is going to be collaborating with you and helping you to realize a vision – that is so much fun. And then putting that completed work out there into the world, that’s all you can really ask for as a writer or creator – just the chance to get your stuff out there for others to enjoy. Also, I love that in comics, anything goes. I feel like comics is a medium where, historically, original ideas are celebrated and appreciated. In Film and TV, there’s often so much trepidation and so much emphasis around what will make money, and what will be commercial. And I get why that is, and I also do on some level aspire to create stuff that a mass audience can enjoy. But I love that the comics medium is such an idea factory. Certainly when you look at the indie comics space, too, the diversity of storytelling is just amazing. So to be a part of that is really awesome. I hope I get to write a lot more comics in the future, because it’s a world and a medium that I’ve been a fan of and been passionate about for a long, long time.
Comix: Where can people find you?
Danny Baram: My social media homebase of late has been BlueSky, so find me on there at @dannybaram.bsky.social. I’m also on Threads at dannybaram and on X at @DannyBaram.
Thanks everyone for reading, and I hope you’ll check out Halloween Team and Halloween Team: Shadows! And of course, Happy Halloween!
Read 🔗 Halloween Team : Shadows Digitally on Comix.one today! You can also catch up on the 🔗 Halloween Team Vol. 1 here on Comix.one.
