Article contributed by David Allen
James Aquilone’s writing career is soaring to new heights. His third novel, Dead Jack and the Old Gods, is about to hit shelves, a brand-new comic book, manBOMB, is just around the corner, and a Kickstarter campaign for a tabletop RPG game based on his work kicked off on August 31st.
In his youth, however, Aquilone believed he was destined for greatness not on the page, but on the stage.
“In my teens, I wanted to be a stand-up comedian, and then make my way to Saturday Night Live, and then star in movies that I would write in between novels and comic books,” Aquilone said. “In my senior year of high school, at the age of 17, I got the courage up to begin my comedy career.”
He wrote and memorized a routine, then hit the stage at the New York Improv Theater, the comedy club featured in Seinfeld. The Improv was auditioning comedians for a regular slot. Once he took the stage, however, things didn’t exactly go as planned.
“I do my jokes; there are no laughs,” he said. “But then I switched subjects – no segue; what are those? – and people start laughing. This happened every time I changed subjects. The laughter freaked me out. I thought they’re laughing at me, not with me.”
He got off the stage and decided he was going to college instead of pursuing a career in comedy.
Writing, however, was a natural fit for Aquilone. As a child, he was fascinated with stories and books. Even when going to a mall, he only cared about visiting the book store.
“I loved going to the library, and still do, if they ever reopen,” he said. “Even today, I’m really only interested in buying books. I’d much rather be in a bookstore or library than anywhere else – except the bathtub. I like baths, too.”
Even when switching gears from stand-up to writing, comedy never quite left Aquilone. His successful Dead Jack series of novels blends horror with his wise-cracking comedy stylings.
“I don’t take anything seriously, even my horror,” he said. “So, I can’t help myself really.”
Dead Jack is a fairy-dust-addicted zombie private eye who works cases with his homunculus sidekick Oswald. The action takes place in an alternate dimension called Pandemonium.
“Think 1940s New York in hell, but funny,” Aquilone said. “The idea for the character was born of my love of detective fiction and zombie movies.”
After two well-received Dead Jack novels, Aquilone is set to return to Pandemonium with the newest entry in the series, Dead Jack and the Old Gods. The story features eldritch horrors trying to invade Pandemonium, and it’s up to Jack and his pals to stop them.
“The book will take a much deeper look at Pandemonium and will change quite a bit for all the characters,” he said. “It might even launch a spinoff series of another popular character in the series.”
Now, Aquilone has an opportunity to take Dead Jack into a whole new direction: tabletop RPGs. In 2016, he met Alex Lepera, the Company Director at Ravendesk Games, and the two hit it off. Lepera, a fan of Dead Jack, eventually approached Aquilone about turning the series into a game.
“The game is called Pandemonium Noir,” Aquilone said. “You’ll get to play as a dust-addicted zombie private eye or a magically-tattooed witch or a cab-driving goblin. Like my series, the game is crazy and funny. And since Pandemonium is home to all the magical and mythical creatures in history, as well as humans with supernatural abilities, the possibilities are endless.”
Instead of simply “farming out” the creation of Pandemonium Noir, Aquilone is actively contributing to the story of the game as co-writer. Lepera put together a team including Ray Frendeon on art, and Robb and Charlotte Irrgang on design.
“The process has been incredibly rewarding,” Aquilone said. “RPGs are amazing for an author, because you really get to explore a setting and the characters. I already have dozens of ideas for stories based on Pandemonium. The tagline for the game is ‘There are eight million stories in the Five Boroughs of Pandemonium’, and it’s true. In fact, there are probably more. You can really let your imagination go.”
The game will feature an all-new, original storyline, as well as new characters and locations not yet explored in the novels. For Aquilone, coming up with these new elements was not nearly as challenging as it was to surrender control. After all, in RPGs it is really the players who tell the story using a framework for play.
“As a writer, my instinct is to tell the whole story,” he said. “So, I had to learn to hold back and allow for different story possibilities. I’m providing the material to tell a story, not the story itself. So it’s different. And it will be very interesting to see where people take their characters and the setting.”
Another major influence on Aquilone’s development as a writer was his early exposure to comic books. After reading some Batman and Superman comics as a child, he discovered Spider-Man.
“That changed everything,” he said “I related to Peter Parker. A little kid can’t relate to Batman or Superman. Reading Spider-Man comics showed me the real power of books, how they can be more than entertainment, even when they’re ‘just’ a superhero comic. There’s a magic in comic books that you don’t find in any other medium.”
It only seems natural, then, that Aquilone is branching out into comic books, as well. He currently plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign for a brand-new comic book property, manBomb, in October.
“It’s a 5-issue series about an inept human bomb named Max Beebe,” he said. “Basically, it imagines what life would be like for a walking explosive device in a post 9/11 world. Plus, there are conspiracies and monsters.”
His collaborator on the book, Ed Watson, also did interior illustrations for the first two Dead Jack novels. For manBomb, he will be handling both pencils and inking.
“The first few pages are finished, and Ed did an amazing job,” Aquilone said. “I can’t wait for people to see it.”
With so many projects in so many different mediums on the horizon, it comes as no surprise that Aquilone hopes to continue seeking out new avenues for his writing.
“I have an interest in writing in all mediums,” he said. “This year alone, I finished a TV pilot and a comic book, and I’m co-writing a tabletop RPG. Oh, and in my day job, I’m an editor and writer in broadcast journalism. I think the only thing I haven’t written for is video games.”
He also has high hopes for the future, including a Dead Jack movie or television series.
“Hopefully, I can stop wasting time and finish the dozens of other novels and screenplays and comic books that are rattling around in my head,” he said.
Looking back over his career so far, Aquilone feels he still has a lot of stories left to tell.
“I’m glad you didn’t ask about my child modeling career,” he said. “Now that’s a story.”
