March 2004
Dracula's Revenge is not only a comic book but also a boardgame, both created by Matt Forbeck of Human Head Games. We talked Matt into taking time out from vampire hunting for a quick interview.IDW: Tell us about the genesis of
Dracula's Revenge.
Matt Forbeck: It actually started with an old adventure module for the Chill roleplaying game from Pacesetter called
Vengeance of Dracula. In the module, the writer"Gali Sanchez"points out that Dracula was killed with knives, not wood. This was the first time I'd ever seen this pointed out.
If you read the novel, Van Helsing describes in great detail how to kill a vampire, and at the end of the book the heroes do none of it. They slash Dracula to death with knives, and he disappears into dust. What really happened is obvious: The vampire lord faked his death.
Back in 1991 or so, I designed a boardgame based on this concept, which Grenadier Models was going to publish. Sadly, they folded before that happened, and the design sat in a box on my bookshelves for years. When I signed on with Human Head back in 2002, we were looking for new ideas, so I dusted off the old box and showed the game around. The guys here loved it, and the rest is future history.
IDW: This property launches more or less simultaneously as a game and as a comic book. How does each medium add to the overall enjoyment of the storyline? What will the game player get from the comic, and vice versa?
MF: If you're a fan of one, I recommend the other too. The game offers quick, action-filled combat at a tactical level, while the comic book focuses more on the story surrounding the fights.
If you enjoy the fight scenes in the comic or just want to see how things might have turned out otherwise, the game does a great job of that. It shows how closely matched the battles are and how easily the scales might have tipped in a different direction.
If you love the game and want to know more about the story behind it all, that's what the comic is for. It gives the game a stronger context as well as details about the various characters that appear in the game. In all, it's a great package.
IDW: What is your background in games and comics?
MF: I've been reading comics and playing games since I can remember. Professionally, I've been a game designer for going on 15 years now. I freelanced for most of that time, with a four-year break for co-founding Pinnacle Entertainment Group (publishers of
Deadlands and
Brave New World). These days, I'm the director of the adventure games division at Human Head Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. I've worked for Games Workshop, Wizards of the Coast, TSR, White Wolf, Wizard Press, AEG, Fantasy Flight, Guardians of Order, Decipher, Atlas Games, Mongoose Publishing, Green Ronin, and WildStorm Productions, where I co-designed the WildStorms collectible card game. I still get compliments on that game to this day from people who think it was the best superhero CCG ever.
For comics, I wrote an inventory issue of
WildC.A.T.s for WildStorm that was never published because Alan Moore stuck to his run perfectly. I also wrote and produced
Deadlands: One Shot for Pinnacle and Image Comics. I wrote a ,i>Mutant Chronicles: Dark Eden series for Acclaim that never saw print too. It's great to work with IDW and see things go through!
These days, I spend what little free time I have after work and raising kids to write novels for Wizards of the Coast. My first"
Secret of the Spiritkeeper"is due out in August. I'm also working on a trilogy for Wizards' new Eberron setting. The first of those books should be out next year.
If you want to know more about what I'm doing or have done, stop by www.forbeck.com. Be sure to head over to www.humanheadgames.com too to learn all about the Dracula's Revenge boardgame and our other great games.
IDW : What would Dracula's biggest problem be if he came back today?
MF: All the goths co-opting his vibe. Seriously: modern communications and the demystification of the vampire myth. The best advantage Dracula has in the original novel is that it takes so long for the heroes to figure out what's going on. These days, people recognize a vampire's handiwork instantly. If they could bring themselves to believe that a vampire was really out there, they'd have him staked and beheaded by the end of the business day.
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