Mike Carey, Pablo Raimondi, and José Villarrubia’s new Comixology Originals series Ghostbox is a equal parts horror, mystery, and fantasy, and a fine addition to the already strong Comixology Originals line.
We spoke to Carey and Raimondi about their new series and the dangers of picking up haunted objects in this exclusive interview.
Where did the idea for your new series Ghostbox originate?
Mike Carey: This was a project that Pablo and I had kicked around between the two of us for a long time. The core of it, which never really changed, was the discovery of the box, the relationship between the two sisters, and the fact that one of them dies quite early on in the story, leaving the other to safeguard the box and try to rescue her sister from inside it.
The earlier versions of the story leaned much more heavily on the idea of the ghost inside the box possessing Chloe and giving her their various skill sets. That doesn’t happen much at all in the current mini-series, but we’ve got tons of ideas for possible sequels that would use that mechanic.
Pablo Raimondi: The series has truly been years in the making. We put the first version of it together years ago, after a Doctor Strange series we had pitched to Marvel fell through at the last minute. But back then the market for creator-owned series was not as fertile as it is now, so we ended up filing it away and moving on to other stuff. Then a couple of years ago we figured it was the right time to dust it off and give it a go, and here we are. We couldn’t be happier that it found a home at the Comixology Originals line. Everyone has been an absolute pleasure to work with, and the double release of the series first in digital form this year followed by print in 2025 simply cannot be any better.
In terms of all of the haunted objects that you could have picked, why a music box?
Carey: Well, we don’t know that the ghostbox is a musical box. That’s just Jan’s best guess the first time she sees it and picks it up. But there’s something very cool about the scenario where a character finds a mysterious artefact and wakes up whatever is inside it. In the Aladdin story it’s a lamp, in Lord of the Rings it’s a ring, and there’s a Hans Christian Anderson story where it’s a box. We could have gone with any of those things but the lamp and in the ring bring a lot more baggage along with them. Somehow we just always went with the box option and never questioned it.
It may be relevant that when I was a kid there was a TV game show called take your pick, in which contestants were made to choose between taking all the cash they’d won or gambling on the contents of a mystery box. Sometimes the box would have a much more valuable prize inside it, sometimes a joke prize or nothing at all. Maybe the idea of that box, which could be the fulfilment of all your dreams or just a banana skin, stayed in the back of my mind.
Raimondi: When Mike first mentioned the idea of a haunted box, I immediately thought it was the perfect object for us to play around with in the story. There are so many things about it that can be explored–what do the inscriptions on the box look like? What’s inside it? Are there different compartments to it? What happens to the contents if the box breaks? The box itself becomes the perfect springboard for a wide swath of possibilities where the story can go.
How would you describe the relationship between Jan and Chloe?
Carey: The sisters love each other very much, but they couldn’t be more different from each other. Jan is successful, conformist, neat, together, immaculately presented. Chloe is a hot mess, essentially. She’s just as smart as her sister but she’s all over the place in terms of her job – or jobs, plural – and her personal life. She’s got this chaotic, hedonistic lifestyle that lands her in trouble again and again. Maybe that contract strains credibility, but I think it happens a lot. Families are polarizing. There are roles that you take on and roles that are given to you, and very often they’re defined by contrast. If one sibling gets to be the good one, the other is pushed down a different road entirely. And there have been tensions between Jan and Chlore, for sure. But there’s never been a time when they weren’t there for each other.
Raimondi: I tried to play up their differences as much as I could in the art through their body language and facial expressions. Chloe is definitely far more dramatic and emotional. She wears her heart on her sleeve at all times, and it shows. On the other hand, Jan is restrained and put together, almost the opposite of her sister. But it becomes clear in their interaction how comfortable they are with each other despite those disparities in their personalities. If they get on each others nerves or upset at each other it’s in a harmless way that doesn’t jeopardize their bond. They understand their differences in the way that people that deeply love each other do.
The story is very much grounded in reality until late into the first issue. Why is it so important to set up the action and horror in Ghostbox (or any horror story) in this fashion?
Carey: I think it’s about suspension of disbelief, which is a universal thing in stories of any kind. You’ve got to give the audience reasons to buy into the world and the characters, and that goes right out of the window as soon as they say “But she wouldn’t do that” or “But that would never happen.” The more meticulous you are with the real-world stuff, the more heft it gives to the fantasy or horror elements.
I’ll often use real locations for that reason – or else I’ll have a fictional setting but I’ll build it around a real place and be finicky and specific about exactly where it is. In the Felix Castor novels I had a mental hospital called the Charles Stanger, which is completely invented but sits in the middle of a bunch of real places that I reference a lot. And I’ve had more than one person tell me they’ve been there or driven past it, which makes me very happy in an indefinable way.
Raimondi: Without a grounded reality to anchor the story, the horror and fantasy elements would fall flat and not land as powerfully as they could. I put a lot of work researching and making sure that most elements in the art are as accurate as I can make them -what does a police car or uniform in England look like, for example? What about a police station in a small town in the English countryside, or a small cottage? The research I do before I start drawing a page takes a meaningful amount of time, but I find it essential in order to make the world we’re presenting relatable to the reader. It has to look familiar and believable, so when the horror and fantasy elements show up they take the reader by surprise.
Favorite panel in the first issue?
Carey: Has to be that panoramic first glimpse of the Ghostbox’s interior. Pablo took my very vague and probably very annoying panel description, elevated it into a full spread and turned it into something absolutely glorious. It’s impossible and completely convincing at the same time, like an M.C. Escher drawing.
Raimondi: Mike’s scripts are always filled with so many rich visual moments that it’s hard for me to pick one. Not only does his imagination know no bounds (making me wish I had an unlimited page count to do them justice), but there’s always many small character beats that I love and are so much fun to do. So, since Mike already chose the spread as his favorite,… I’ll pick the panel where the sisters walk into the main room of the cottage and find it filled with random dusty objects. I had too much fun and spent waaaay too long drawing every small little thing in there, including the first glimpse of the ghost box right in the center of it, and I really like the way it came out. Another favorite of mine is the panel when Jan meets her fate towards the end of the issue… it’s simple but shocking in a very powerful way.
It seems like you had a lot of fun with the “listings” for the contents of the house. Which one was your favorite?
Carey: I think I’d go with the “curious kitchen item” that could be a sex aid. Who wouldn’t want one of those? As a conversation piece, if nothing else. I’m not sure I’d dare to use it, in either context.
Raimondi: Yup, definitely the “curious kitchen item.”
Upcoming projects?
Carey: I’ve got a horror novel coming out in March of next year, Once Was Willem. It’s sort of a dark ages Magnificent Seven, where the seven aren’t cowboys (or samurai, for that matter) but monsters, ghosts and elemental spirits. I’m really happy with how it came out. It’s weird and twisty and messed up in a lot of good ways.
I also have The Lycan, a new comic series debuting in early 2025 from Comixology Originals. It’s a horror series I helped write with Thomas Jane and David James Kelly, featuring art by Diego Yapur.
And then later in 2025 I’m going back to the world(s) of the Pandominion series in a new novel (title TBC) following on from Infinity Gate and Echo of Worlds. It’s not really a sequel to those books, although it definitely takes place after them.
Raimondi: First off, finishing the last issue of this first arc of Ghostbox, which is a big one. I hope readers have enjoyed what they’ve read so far. Mike and I have much more in store–and I’m hard at work drawing it! We’re also beyond thrilled that Mad Cave will be bringing the collection to print next year.
Besides more GhostBox, Klaus Janson and I are working on finishing the second volume for Sacred Creatures. We’re about halfway done with it, and it’s quite massive.
The first two issues of Ghostbox are now available on Comixology Originals on Amazon.
