The Outcast In-Depth with Vaun Wilmott
by Janet Houck
Ancient mysteries lie beneath the surface of NYC… and above. Gomanga.com gets the scoop on the enigmatic new manga series The Outcast from writer Vaun Wilmott. Learn about this thrilling supernatural title due out on shelves later this year!
Thank you for sitting down with us! We haven't heard much yet about The Outcast. What can you tell us about the plot and the characters?
VW: The Outcast is the story of Riley Smythe, an above average girl from a white upper middle class background. She grew up in Ohio, living in a cookie cutter world where everyone looks the same, acts the same and the main event every year is the annual Bug-Eyed Billy Squash Festival. Everything was going just about as expected for Riley until she lost both parents in the one and only double murder in the town's history.
The killer is still on the loose.
For her own protection, distraught and crushed, Riley is shipped off to live with her only surviving relative, Maggie Smythe, her eccentric grandmother, whom she has only heard about through family lore.
Maggie lives in New York City, working on the latest in a string of archeological wild goose chases (or so everyone thinks). Maggie wants Riley to work with her on the dig (though the only digging Riley has ever done was in her mother's purse looking for plastic to use at the mall). The dig is below the city streets of New York in catacombs hundreds of years old... near the high school that Riley will be attending.
Leeh High is a huge, wildly diverse public high school in a not so savory part of the city. At Leeh, strange happenings, supernatural occurrences and unexplained events are commonplace; the rates among teens of drug abuse, violent crimes, and suicide are the highest in the country and it shows. It's definitely not Mayberry.
Riley is lost in her new environment, and feeling alone and afraid, she's quickly drawn to a group of charismatic boys who run the school, led by a beautiful boy named Thomas… they offer her help, protection and friendship. Riley's story begins there...
Who would you say would enjoy The Outcast? Is it more supernatural action, such as Hellsing, or more of a supernatural horror mystery, such as Boogiepop?
VW: I would say it is a book for anyone who has ever felt alone and on the edge. The first book is definitely more supernatural horror mystery, but in the later books it will have action elements and become increasingly exciting, romantic and dangerous.
Now a little about yourself. Can you give us a short biography? What do you do in your spare time?
VW: I am a full time screenwriter in Hollywood. I have worked for Sony, Beacon, Paramount and others in a number of different genres. Right now, I'm working on two different television specs.
What was the first manga that you read, and what are some of your favorite titles?
VW: Well, of course I love Seven Seas stuff... Amazing Agent Luna and Boogiepop. I also love No Man's Land (I have a script called No Man's Land set up at Screen Gems -no relation- but it does make me partial to the cool name). ;) I also like a series called Threads of Time and another, Samurai Deeper.
Vaun, you've written for Hollywood productions. How is writing for manga different? It must feel empowering, to have greater control over your work.
VW: Yes, it's great. I love to see my thoughts created on the page by the artist. The artist we're working with on The Outcast, Edward Gan is amazingly talented.
What were your inspirations for the characters and the plot of The Outcast?
VW: I love supernatural stories in general, and for me some of the most interesting mythical characters are angels and fallen angels. Their story has it all: power, grace, intrigue, love, regret, evil... for me all the elements, when introduced into the human realm, to bring a great story to life. I always start with 'What If...'
How has your experience been in working with artist Edward Gan? Did you collaborate throughout much of the manga, drawing on each other's ideas?
VW: Edward is great... and he has been really supportive of all my ideas. He has an innate talent, and through his art The Outcast has an amazing look. I think the readers will be really surprised by the dark, supernatural and complex tone of the book.
Riley looks so expressive, yet guarded in the teaser artwork! Was the character drawn to the original character description, or did the artwork come first?
VW: The character was drawn from the original character description and Edward brought her to life... it was amazing! Riley was exactly as I had imagined her.
What other projects are you working on? Where can we see them, and any of your past works?
VW: I understand that my film at Screen Gems, No Man's Land [not to be confused with the Seven Seas manga of the same title --editor], will be going into production very soon and will be the first of my screenplays to hit the big screen.
Finally, what are your favorite scenes in the first volume?
VW: I don't want to give too much away, but the opening is incredible! I also love Riley. She is one of the freshest characters I have seen in Manga. Riley is someone that everyone can relate to and yet has a secret we all want to find out, but that's not going to be until volume 3. ;-)
We'd love to hear from you!