First off, tell me a little about yourself. What were some of your early influences, what appealed to you about the horror genre specifically, and when did you first get published?

Robert Steven Rhine:

I think my dark vision of the world began when I was ten years old and got in a bizarre 'swing' accident which cracked open my skull and nearly killed me. I was bathed in blood like CARRIE. Sixty-four stitches later, my head shaved and covered with a thick plastic coating, I returned to school and promptly went blind in my left eye and wound up in the hospital for the entire fifth grade. They stuck needles in my head and did brain scans and spinal taps but they still didn't know exactly what to do. This was back in the late-60s when doctors still smoked Luckys in the hospital. But, fortunately, my eyesight returned along with a somewhat warped sense of humor. I still have a divot in my skull you can stick your finger in and I worry my brains will leak out while I'm sleeping. Hence, the name of my first book, MY BRAIN ESCAPES ME, with the X-ray of the child's skull on the cover, half smiling, half grimacing.

In my writing I've always blended horror and comedy. Perhaps because that's what my life's been like. Even in the darkest hours I find humor. When my mother-in-law passed away, I went with my wife to the funeral home where they asked for a photo to make my mother-in-law look as good as possible for the open casket. After we left, I asked my wife which photo she gave them to which she replied, "The one with my mother and sister standing together." I said to my wife, "Did you tell him which one your mother was?" After my wife's blank stare I thought about the potential consequences, which later led to an idea I had for my film, VINNE & ANGELA’S BEAUTY SALON & FUNERAL PARLOR.

I also tapped into this humor/horror blend with my recent animated pilot SICKCOM, (which SPIKE AND MIKE SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL acquired). It's an animated situation comedy, complete with a laugh track, about a serial killer and his wife (a dominatrix), his son (a crank dealer), his daughter (a porn webcam girl), his neighbor (a pedophile priest), his dog (a rabid show poodle) and his crack baby (a beauty pageant contestant).

I've had many writing influences: VONNEGUT, TWAIN, KING, BUKOWSKI, R. CRUMB (ZAP COMICS, FRITZ THE CAT), MAD MAGAZINE, SCTV, NATIONAL LAMPOON, GEORGE CARLIN, early BILL COSBY, etc. But I'd have to say my greatest influence was my father, LARRY, who was a comedy writer during the golden age of television. He was a staff writer for over sixty years for such TV shows as ALL IN THE FAMILY, THE BOB HOPE SHOW, HERE’S LUCY, THE RED SKELTON SHOW, MR. ED, SANFORD AND SONS, THE ODD COUPLE, THE BRADY BUNCH, and others. When I was growing up, my dad would drive me to school and we would play this game where I would give him a word and he would make up a joke. Broccoli, Kleenex, smelly socks -- he would come up with a joke on the spot. Sadly, he passed away a few years ago at the ripe old age of 90. But I truly believe his humor kept him young. My dad also had a "crooked way of thinking." Not in the criminal sense but in an off kilter, humorous way. I think I assimilated some of his wit on our drives to school. My father was the quickest wit I ever knew. My mother was also a 'zany' comedic actress. The household I grew up in was truly nuts. I think that's why my humor became more warped and much darker. That, and all the bud I smoked -- from thirteen to thirty.

Josh Jabcuga:

ASYLUM PRESS published SATAN GONE WILD, among other things. It harkens back to the old school days of EC COMICS, but with a contemporary spin. What is it about the EC COMICS that still holds up to this day?

Robert Steven Rhine:

EC was simply superb writing and amazing artists and clever story lines. It was, of course, conceived by comic book pioneers WILLIAM M. GAINES and AL FELDSTEIN, also of MAD fame. Adding the 'Crypt Keeper' was a stroke of genius. I actually met WILLIAM M. GAINES when I strolled into the MAD offices in NY, on Madison Avenue in the 70's looking for a writing job. At that time, MAD was the top comedy market in the country and though GAINES liked my stuff he ushered me over to CRACKED where I worked as a freelance writer. But we should all thank GAINES and FELDSTEIN for leading the battle against comic book censorship so others, like me, could follow. They went through hell.

In my stories in SELECTED READING FROM THE SATAN POWDER ROOM, CHICKEN SOUP FOR SATAN, and SATAN GONE WILD, the stories are also morality tales with the bad guys (and gals) getting their comeuppance in the end. My hosts are Satan himself and his winged devil girlfriend. Horror is having a great resurgence in comic books but when I started doing it (in the late-90's) I was the first one to delve back into horror comic book anthologies. STEVEN NILES then got a copy of my comic books and ROB ZOMBIE and others. So, I take that as a form of flattery and I think it's good for business. But I like to blend comedy and horror in my comic books, because straight up horror kind or bores me. I've even coined a word for my writing style, "humorror."

Josh Jabcuga:

SATAN GONE WILD is a book filled with grisly horror and dark humor, and some really spectacular artwork. Pretty cool. How did this project come about, and how has the reception been?

Robert Steven Rhine:

Thanks. The reception has been overwhelming. My first issue SELECTED READINGS FROM SATAN’S POWDER ROOM sold out. And it's now become a sort of a cult issue. I only have about twenty back issues left which sell for triple the cover price. I followed up with CHICKEN SOUP FOR SATAN to spoof all those CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL books. At Comic-Con they sold like hot cakes and I found that I had a lot of return customers from the first issue, which led me to SATAN GONE WILD. I had recently taken a trip to New Orleans and Bourbon Street was like of Saddam and Gomorrah. I had visited 'The Big Sleazy' several years before but it was now 'anything' goes. Each comic book has been a larger issue. The first one was twenty-four pages, the second forty pages and the third was forty-six pages. The graphic novel will be 120 pages. We've have had wonderful artists and, in the graphic novel, TIM VIGIL and JIM SMITH (co-creator of SPUMCO’S REN AND STIMPY).

I am also fortunate to have a great partner in FRANK FORTE of ASYLUM PRESS. I met FRANK when he illustrated one of my stories and I thought he was 'spot on' to the way my mind percolates. I begged FRANK to move from Connecticut to sunny LA, which he finally did.

For the past three years we have had a booth on the main floor at Comic-Con Int'l San Diego. Though I think the big studios are slowly ruining Comic-Con for us indie guys by pulling thousands off the floor for their movie promotions and super stars. FRANK and I formed FRANKENRHINE PRODUCTIONS last year.

Josh Jabcuga:

How tough is it to break in as a writer in today's market? Assuming that one has the talent and perseverance, what other practical advice could you offer someone struggling to break in as a writer?

Robert Steven Rhine:

It's murder. It's no joke when they say, "You're not a writer until you get your 100th rejection letter." If anyone starts out trying to write for money -- fuggetaboutit. Short stories for indie zines pay squat. Even the bigger magazines only pay about 200.00 a story, unless you're a best selling writer. Even after you sell a story you sometimes have to wait a couple years to see the story in print. Do it because you love it -- and maybe people will catch on to your style. Just don't censor yourself to please a market. Go with your guts. There are also many literary sites which are growing. Recently, I sold stories to WEB DEL SOL and OUTSIDER INK.

Josh Jabcuga:

What do you think of the current horror scene in general in film, comics, and fiction? It definitely seems like we're going through another resurgence in various mediums, with books like IMAGE’S THE WALKING DEAD, STEVE NILES and his multitude of horror projects, SHAUN OF THE DEAD and even the various horror film remakes like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. What have been some of the highlights for you as a fan?

Robert Steven Rhine:

Oddly enough, for a horror writer I don't like to sit through too many horror films. I find many horror films boring, repetitive and unimaginative. The quick set up and then the gore chase. A few slip in that intrigue me. I think TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE was truly frightening because it's like a documentary. I find the first HALLOWEEN scary even though you don't see any gore. I don't like films where they reach in someone's stomach and start pulling out chicken parts. That's too easy. You've got to get into my head. Like THE RING. It's the story that counts and not too many hit it just right. THE RING really got to me - that girl crawling out of the TV - truly inventive and creepy. I also like older movie blends like WESTWORLD, PLANET OF THE APES,--cerebral horror. I thought UNDERWORLD was a nice new take on werewolves and vampires. I also enjoyed 28 DAYS LATER and IDENTITY was excellent and original, though it didn't do as well as I thought it might. The ALIENS films were all great fun and can be watched over and over. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS would have to also be up there for me. It's unusual to see superb acting in horror films.

Josh Jabcuga:

Does it seem to you like the horror field is one that is mostly made up by males, and that there seems to be a real shortage in female writers, or is that just my imagination?

Robert Steven Rhine:

Actually, I recently learned that teen girls are the largest growing audience for horror. More than young males. I actually read that. So, maybe that will lead to more female horror writers. It wouldn't surprise me because many of the fans of my comic books are female, which led me to my magazine project GIRLS AND CORPSES. The concept hit me when I was at Comic-Con San Diego last year. I had a corpse in the booth made by my friend KEVIN KLEMM of THE ED GEIN collection. And all theses cute girls were asking to come into our booth and have their picture taken with corpses 'Bone Daddy' and 'Smiling Jack.' I kept wondering what is it with these girls and corpses. Maybe ANNA NICOLE SMITH really started something. And...a magazine was born.

GIRLS AND CORPSES is sort of MAXIM MAGAZINE meets NATIONAL LAMPOON meets DAWN OF THE DEAD. You can't believe how many gorgeous girls lined up in L.A. to have their pictures taken with corpses. Well, maybe in LA you wouldn't be so surprised. For our premiere issue we got CASSIE and MAILE MOORE, THE LINGERIE BOWL TWINS, to pose with a corpse on the front cover. It came out great!

Josh Jabcuga:

If there was a Mt. Rushmore of horror icons, I'm thinking STEPHEN KING would have to be immortalized up there. Who else?

Robert Steven Rhine:

I agree about STEPHEN KING. It's hard to put many others up in his league. But RAY BRADBURY, though he's more a sci-fi writer, would have to be up there and of course ROD SERLING, who I knew as a kid. I also like RICHARD LAYMON, who was one of STEPHEN KING’S favorite writers. I'm sure CLIVE BARKER would be up there on Mount Horror-more. Kinda be cool with all those pins sticking out of the rock. ANNE RICE should also be carved into stone somewhere up there. A few other future candidates: DEAN R. KOONTZ, PETER STRAUB, JAMES HERBERT, JOHN FARRIS, STEPHEN GALLAGHER, PETER JAMES, BRIAN LUMLEY, and JOHN SAUL.

Josh Jabcuga:

After 9/11, the horror genre took on a whole new feel. Well, pretty much everything took on new meaning, but especially things like horror and obviously action films. I mean, I think an imaginary scare is just as important as ever because it gives us an outlet to release our real life fears, but do you think people's reaction to 9/11 played a role in the surge of horror projects as of late?

Robert Steven Rhine:

I don't think you're going to see THE TOWERING INFERNO for awhile. But now people are watching real life horror with all the terrorism we're seeing in Iraq where they saw off someone's head and play it on the internet. This is 'reality' horror and it's sickening and it's not something I care to watch. We live in a world where the TV news is now a 24 hour horror channel. It's hard to provide chills when people are filming executions on their cell phones. Then, we have movies like THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, which is truly the first religious horror film. But to answer your question I think our entire society is living under a bouquet of fear. I think some nights, after watched the carnage on the nightly news, people would rather than go out and see a comedy rather than pure horror, which is another reason why it's good to blend the two.

Josh Jabcuga:

I noticed you played ROD SERLING for JOE DANTE’S Tower of Terror ride at Disney World. I imagine that must have been a huge thrill for you to play one of the true icons. Do you think ROD SERLING would be a fan of SATAN GONE WILD?

Robert Steven Rhine:

Hmm. Good question. I'm communicating with ROD SERLING’S widow CAROL right now about getting the right to REQUIEM FOR A HEAVEYWEIGHT to do at Theater West, where I'm a member - so I'll ask. But I know that JOHN LANDIS is a fan of my comic books and RAY BRADBURY also has a couple copies. I've had a couple nice lunches with FOREST J. ACKERMAN and he loves the comic books.

Josh Jabcuga:

What's next for you, and where can fans get copies of your work?

Robert Steven Rhine:

I'm big in prisons and mental institutions. My comic books are also being sold at stores all over the country, distributed by Diamond (God bless 'em). Upcoming is my graphic novel SATAN’S THREE RING CIRCUS OF HELL (120 pages). I have another graphic novel I'm working on with HILARY BARTA (DC and Marvel artist) called HORROR NOIR. In late October I'm a featured guest at Spooky Con in Syracuse, NY. Then, I do a signings in NY at Jigsaw and Midtown Comics in Manhattan; finally I head to New Orleans to sign SATAN GONE WILD at More Fun Comics in the French Quarter.

I am working with TOM WOODRUFF, JR., and ALEC GILLIS on a movie I wrote about a decade ago called BEDBUGS which LIVE was committed to making at one point in the ‘90s. TOM and ALEC, who are double Academy Award winning creature creators (who design the creatures of the ALIEN movies and many others) are attached to produce and direct. Please check out my website for updates. If you can't find my comics in your local store, and they won't order, please send an e-mail to robert@robertrhine.com

Related links:

The official Robert Steven Rhine homepage: www.robertrhine.com

To check out Robert Steven Rhine’s animated pilot, as seen on SPIKE AND MIKE SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL : http://www.sickcom.com

For Kevin Klemm’s corpses, as used in Robert’s booth at the Comicon: www.edgeincollection.com

When not searching for the blood of virgins, Josh Jabcuga can be found writing Squib Central, published every Thursday, for www.moviepoopshoot.com.

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