Interview With Deep Well Creator - Mike Murphy

    I.C.U. spoke to Mike Murphy about his dark western comic Deepwell: The Caliber Of Death - Now In Demand on Indiegogo

Your new project Deepwell: The Caliber of Death is now on Indiegogo. Can you give us a quick rundown of what this book is about?
   Deepwell is the story of The Blocke family, who run Deepwell behind the scenes with an iron grip. They're evil, corrupt, and everyone lives in fear of their power and authority. One day, a masked vigilante- The Gray Devil- rides into town, and it's like adding fire to kerosene.
​   He's dead-set on taking down the Blocke's one by one, and nothing's going to get in his way until the job is done. Deepwell is one part grim family drama, one part superhero/vigilante action story, and one part hyper-violent western thriller.

What was the inspiration for Deepwell?
   There are a bunch of inspirations for Deepwell. It started a few years ago when I did a rewatch of Deadwood. The thought occurred to me "what would happen if the Lone Ranger suddenly rode into town?" From there as the book developed little by little, I fleshed out The Gray Devil, and realized he needed to be a mix of all vigilantes. There's a bit of the Lone Ranger in him, as well as Hooded Justice, the Black Hood, the Punisher, Batman, The Shadow, and more. As for the Blocke's, I really wanted to build up a Shakesperian-level family drama in the vein of Game Of Thrones (minus season 8 lol).

People seem to think a western is a hard sell. Were you at all concerned when approaching the genre?
   Not initially, no- but now I'm seeing the issue a bit more clearly! I think they are a tough sell, and that's only magnified in comics. That being said, I think the main issue is finding a really good hook. If you can present the audience with something undeniably entertaining, they'll join you for the ride no matter the genre. Just look at the Red Dead series, and Westworld (season 1). I think people care about good stories more than anything. Genre is only a barrier if you're not knocking their socks off.

​Who is the team working on the book?
   The team is me and Rafael Dantas for the main book, and Fernando Giron is providing the cover and spot illustrations for our prequel dime store novel- The Gray Devil And The Cemetery of Forgotten Deeds. Rafael has an amazing semi-realistic yet still animated look to his work, and Fernando is like a European Time Bradstreet. They're both amazing, and the book couldn't be in better hands.

​Is this a stand alone story or is there a possibility of more Deepwell in the future?
   Like The Gods Fear Me, Deepwell is planned as three books. The Caliber of Death is our introduction to the world, and once you know who all the players are, books 2 and 3 are going to be ridiculous, which is saying something given how over-the-top book 1 is. The story of the Blocke's and The Gray Devil will be over by book 3, but there could possibly be more room for future stories, without going into spoilers.

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Back Deepwell: The Caliber Of Death on Indiegogo

Follow Mike Murphy on Twitter: @Chibi_Mike