Update: Monster Zoo

As previously reported in the Backbrain, Doug TenNapel’s upcoming graphic novel series, Monster Zoo, has been optioned by Sam Raimi to go into production as a feature film. The Comic Book Resources site has been talking to TenNapel and finding out more about his plans. Here’s the artist on How To Create A Monster:

Indeed, one of the things that excited TenNapel most about working on Monster Zoo was simply “Drawing monsters! I was so hungry to make this book because as I drew these mutated zoo animals, I just loved the idea of them turning into these abominations.”

So, how does one turn a cute little zoo critter into an abomination? From the artist’s telling of it, it doesn’t sound as though he struggled with this task at all. “I have studied animals my whole life, and part of what I love about them is their amazing design,” he said. “They are the ultimate in form follows function — what I call ‘natural-looking’ things. So the Ungabe idol was like this pagan abomination that would assault the natural look of animals.

“The Ungabe curse transforms the animals that betray their form to take on a new evil function. So the body will just split open and expose teeth, the tail becomes the head, and the head becomes the tail. I came up with them by just drawing the source animal first, and then thought of a way to really insult the beautiful form. The monster versions of the animals look scary and tragic all at once.”

Read the whole article here. The prospect of a feature film version of this is still sounding great!

Here’s a page that gives us an archetypal giant monster crowd panic scene, child in peril and all — albeit without showing the actual monster. But I want to know what’s making the crowds flee, don’t you?