Kay wasn’t too excited to join a lame youth group, but when she stumbled upon Meg and Cortland in the middle of a intense exorcism, it certainly made things a bit more complicated for her.
This is the basic premise for writer Jordan Morris and artist Bowen “Bones” McCurdy brand new original graphic novel Youth Group (from First Second Books). The creative team deftly infuse Youth Group with equal parts humor, action, and horror and deliver a fun ride for fans of all three genres.
We got a chance to speak to Morris about Youth Group and where he found the inspiration for the eclectic mix of storytelling elements he used to craft his and McCurdy’s tale in this exclusive interview.
When did you decide to combine the worlds of teen church groups and demon slaying?
Jordan Morris: I was part of one of these goofy teen church groups and have wanted to write about it for a long time, but was never quite sure how. It was such a funny, specific, emotionally loaded world and I thought it would make a great setting for a story. I love horror comedies like Shaun of the Dead and Buffy the Vampire Slayer that put funny, relatable characters in genuinely terrifying life-or-death horror situations. While I was noodling on how to write about my childhood youth group, I thought it would be fun to graft some of those specifics onto religious horror and that’s how the pitch was born.
Youth Group is certainly a healthy mix of horror and comedy. How do you maintain a balance between the two in Youth Group?
Morris: We tried to make the comedy character-based and take the horror elements seriously. We didn’t want this to be a parody of horror stories but rather a horror story that happens to have funny characters.
How does Bowen “Bones” McCurdy’s artistic style contribute to the horror/comedy mix?
Morris: I’m so lucky Bowen said yes to working on this project. Since the comedy comes from the characters who are having big teen feelings, Bowen’s ultra-expressive characters really sell those extra-heighted emotions. Also, you like Bowen’s characters immediately, even the demons from Hell. I thought it was important that even though you might laugh at these characters they never became punchlines themselves. Bowen’s beautiful character work is a big reason that you root for these kids, even when they’re being ridiculous.
Of all of the characters in Youth Group, is there one that you have a special affinity for?
Morris: This is a little cop-out-y but I feel like there’s part of me in every character (yes, even the Hell spawn). I try to relate to everyone in stories I write, rather than creating a self-insert character. I will say I had a blast coming up with specifics for Cortland, the chill-bro-stoner character. I grew up in Orange County and have a special place in my heart for this kind of du
de and love the idea of one of them having to take down demons between bong rips. Before we started work, Bowen asked me to make a music video playlist for each character. Since our story is set in the 90s, I made Cortland’s playlist all Sublime, 311, and Smash Mouth. I admire his tendency to get stoked on simple things like beanbag chairs and Nintendo 64.
Favorite horror/comedy of all time?
Morris: There’s so many great ones! This is a cold take but I think Shaun of the Dead is a hard-to-beat classic of the genre. The Shaun/Ed relationship is so funny and touching. There are some great moments in that movie that spoof the zombie genre, but the really memorable stuff comes from that wonderful relationship.
Exciting things are happening for Bubble. Can you give us any updates on the animated feature?
We’re developing an animated feature based on our sci-fi-comedy-podcast-turned-graphic novel Bubble with an awesome team that includes Sony Animation and producer Seth Rogen. There’s been some fun development that are unfortunately locked behind a steel wall of NDAs but hopefully we’ll get to share more soon! I’m so lucky folks are still passionate about Bubble!
I think if you liked that book, you’ll be similarly stoked about Youth Group’s weirdo mix of comedy and monster-slaying! I can’t wait for folks to see it on 7/16!
Youth Group will be available at finer comic book shops and bookstores everywhere on July 16.
