Fearscape’s most “untrustworthy plagiarist” Henry Henry is making a comeback later this year in A Dark Interlude. But don’t you dare call it a sequel to the hit Vault series!
Written by Ryan O’Sullivan, illustrated by Andrea Muttie, colored by Vladimir Popov, lettered by Andworld Design, and designed by Tim Daniel, the new installment in the Fearscape universe is set to release in the fall. The publisher has released a statement from Henry Henry himself:
“Dear reader, kindly ignore my publisher and whichever clickbait, data-selling, privacy-ignoring “entertainment news” website they have elected to run this advertisement on; A Dark Interlude is not a sequel to Fearscape. I would never dream of contributing to society’s paunched glut of never-ending stories. Originality died the day the child-reader cried “more”, and the parent-author obeyed.
“While it may be true that A Dark Interlude begins where Fearscape ends, that all of the characters from Fearscape reappear, that the Fearscape itself also reappears (still as a metaphysical realm beyond our own, where that which we fear most takes physical form); to take these coincidental continuances as indicative of the work-as-sequel is to misunderstand the primary function of all literature. I speak, as well you know, of the anxiety of influence.
“Our inspiration comes not from the gods, but from our fellow man. How often do we imagine a story of our own creation, seemingly from the ether, only to discover it already exists in a book penned by another? (Perhaps a book we own! Perhaps, even, one we’ve previously read!) Humanity is a coral reef, largely sharing the same thoughts. So to the franchise-fetishists I ask – is all literature a sequel to Dante? To Tolstoy? To Shakespeare?
“Of course not. The sheer concept is lunacy. And yet, the thought is appealing. The entirety of human literature as one long, single, narrative. I wonder, how would such a story end? (And who would dare try to write it?)”
Read an official synopsis here:
After the stunning success of Fearscape, comes A Dark Interlude, the story of—No! The only offence to literature greater than the loathsome synopsis is the sequel. I will not stand idle while some poor excuse for an editor mangles and confuses my story, which is intact, perfect, and concluded, with this derivative drivel. Mark my words, this nonsense has nothing to do with my tale. I am not in it. I do not condone it. And you, dear reader, should not buy it. -Henry Henry
A Dark Interlude #1 is slated for a November release and will also feature a Pulp & Paint B cover by Nathan Gooden and Daniel.
