How far will you go to be happy? Comic Watch talks with Happy Hill’s Rich Douek!

Comic watch: Thanks for sitting down with Comic Watch and talking about Happy Hill with us. We really appreciate that. First of all, how did you come together to work on Happy Hill?

Rich Douek: Joe and I have been friends for years, we met at the NYCC a while back. We had wanted to work together for a while and ended up collaborating on our first book together, Wailing Blade, in 2019. We just worked really well together on that and decided we wanted to continue collaborating on projects. Joe got the idea for Happy Hill in his head and started working on it – then brought me in as a co-writer, which was great.

CT: I really enjoyed the fast pace of the first issue. It has a great early 2000s horror/thriller type vibe. How did the story come about and what were some of the influences that hit you all as the story was forming?

DR: I think some big influences here are classic “spooky destination” stories like The Shining or even slasher movies like Friday the 13thand or Sleepaway Camp. Combine that vibe with something crazy like Willy Wonka, and you have something akin to what Happy Hill is to visit.

CT: For those who may not know, Happy Hill was originally on Kickstarter. How did you come to work with Comix Tribe and how did the experience go from Kickstarter to Comix Tribe?

DR: Comixtribe started out as a small publisher looking to publish very high quality books, and Joe has been a part of it since the beginning. For me, it was an editor that impressed me not only with the content, but also with its openness and transparency to help anyone create great comics. So when I found myself at a convention where they were exhibiting, I went to introduce myself to Tyler, the publisher, and I met Joe, John Lees, and a lot of other talented people, who I still stay with. in touch today.

When it comes to Kickstarter, working with Comixtribe is the best of both worlds – because while Kickstarters can be fun and really profitable, it’s also hard work. Kickstarter’s fan base is engaged and enthusiastic like no other, and my favorite part is interacting with backers and seeing how excited they are to be a part of my projects. My least favorite thing is anything technical, like printing, execution, pricing, etc. the book as best as possible.

CT: Speaking of urban legends, are there any that give you goose bumps just thinking about the possibility that they might be real?

DR: Black eyed kids really scare me lol. I know there’s a comic based on the urban legend, and I haven’t read it because I find them so disturbing, haha. For real, though, I’m sure I’ll read it someday, but yeah. Sinister.

CT: Thank you very much for taking the time to chat with us, it was really our pleasure. Are there any upcoming projects on the horizon?

DR: Next up for me is a new horror series with Aftershock Comics called THE OCEAN WILL TAKE US, which will be released in April. It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’ll have more to come later in the year, but it’s not announced yet, so I have to keep quiet about that!

How far will you go to be happy? Comic Watch talks with Happy Hill’s Rich Douek!

Author: Mike Eakins

I remember stealing my older brother’s copy of a Punisher comic and it was all down hill from there. I went to a Navy recruiter’s office with the promise of a cake. I was lied to and 20 years later here I am. I enjoy summers with my family at our timeshare on Gallifrey.

Daniel K. Denny