Geek of the Week: The long lost interview with Ghost Projekt creator, Joe Harris…

By Kate Kotler

Joe Harris is extremely cool, even though he’s a Yankees fan.  (I had to put that in there, Joe.)  I initially caught up with him for an interview at C2E2 this past April.  Sadly, my computer ate said interview after I’d deleted my tape recording.

Despite this and a long-ish wait for us to have time in our calander to re-interview him, Joe was cool enough to answer some new questions for our Geek of the Week spot.  Cool, right?  We told you so.

But, this isn’t the only reason Joe Harris is cool:

The creator of the Oni limited series Ghost Projekt is three issues through his first run of five; with each issue released, the anticipation for the next issue grows in intensity.  Harris’ characters Will Haley (an American weapons inspector) and Soviet spy Anya Romanova are compelling, engaging and the banter between them is snappily fun to read. Set in post-cold war Russia, the suspenseful series has all the hallmarks of a good ghost and spy stories mixed together.  With huge-honkin’ splash page cliff hangers at the end of each of the published issues, Harris clearly knows how to create a pause in the overall story that keeps readers coming back, eager for more.

Frankly: It’s one of GGotS’s favorite new series of 2010.

When we first chatted with you at C2E2, it was shortly after Ghost Projekt #1 had been released. You’ve now released three of five of the series… How do you think fans are reacting to the book?
The response has been really gratifying. It’s my first creator-owned book and, though I’ve always believed in it, it is validating to get such great reactions from readers.

It seems like this story line would lend itself very well to a movie – any plans to write a screen treatment for the book?
Well, I always imagined Ghost Projekt as a film so it does make me smile when people say something to this effect. I’m a screenwriter and, at one point, this was going to be a spec script my agent was waiting on not long after my first movie came out. But I chose to do it this way, the way I wanted it to exist, first. There’s a freedom to really develop my voice in creator-owned comics that I never remotely felt going out and pitching movies, writing specs and chasing opportunities in Hollywood. I’m hopeful we’ll get this set up as a film someplace. I feel that way about all my stuff. But we shall see. From a creative level, I’m excited about the hardcover collection that will follow next. And I’m really thrilled about the many new creator-owned books I’m going to be rolling out beginning at Comic Con and continuing into the fall. Everything beyond that, honestly, is gravy.

At the end of Issue #3 there was a fairly big splash page cliff hanger… Can you give us a hint at what Will and Anya will be facing in #4?
You know, I’ve had this moment in the story written in my head for years now so it’s been great to hear the reaction. The ghostly Tartar warrior unleashed in Moscow’s Red Square at the end of issue three is, frankly, hell unleashed. We call him “The Dark Rider” and he’s just a part of what the mysterious “Dosvidanya Projekt” really is… ghosts as weapons. This thing was dug up from the earth, its bones experimented on and its spirit captured by Soviet scientists. Now it’s free, and it’s really pissed off. Issue four is a lot of fun, with much death and destruction. Though I’d like to think we’ve got a few more surprises in store. The Dark Rider isn’t the only Dosvidanya Projekt ghost on the loose, after all.

When we chatted in the “long lost C2E2 interview” this past April you intimated that you had several exciting projects in the hopper that would be announced this summer. We’d love to hear about what’s new and exciting with you, if you can share details…
Well, Oni Press is going to be announcing a new supernatural thriller series I’m doing with Brett Weldele, who’s currently doing beautifully creepy painted work on Image Comics’ The Light. I don’t want to trump the announcement we’re going to make at the Oni Panel at Comic Con this Thursday, but I can tell you it’s got a title that’s pure Alfred Hitchcock and deals with a mysterious phenomenon that’s fascinated me since I was a kid.

Adam Pollina and I are going to be announcing an Oni project a little later in the year that will be stupefyingly beautiful. And the stoner action-adventure graphic novel I’m creating with Trevor McCarthy for Oni, The Hashishian will be finished at some point later this year.

I’m also working on a horror book with Ethan Van Sciver for WildStorm that’s going to be fucking insane. More on that in the months ahead.

Are you going to be heading out to San Diego for Comic Con? And, if so, what are you most excited to check out while you’re there?

You know, I never really get to see much and what I do see I sort of make up as I go along. I like to hit the Preview Night on Wednesday, catch up with friends and check out the floor before the crush of humanity shows up on Thursday. So far as the programming goes, I haven’t had a chance to read the guide yet! I’ll try and comb through things this weekend and make a list of stuff I’d love to check out… even though I know I’ll be too tired to really deal once the time comes.

Finally, any pithy and sage advice you’d care to share with the young horror/mystery writers out there reading this interview?
Mainly the obvious, if not cliche, advice: Write. Read. Watch movies. Don’t just read horror and don’t just read comics. Although do read Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson, just because you should.

If you’re in San Diego you can catch Joe on the Oni Press Panelmonium on Thursday, 7/22 from 12 noon to 1 pm in Room 9 of the convention center.  If not?  Well, why don’t you check out Eden Miller’s reviews of GP#1 and GP#2, then head out to your local comic book store and grab a copy of GP#3 so that you’re all caught up for #4 – due out later year.

[Photo by Kate Kotler, cover illustration via JoeHarris.net]