Exclusive Interview: Thomas Mason
Colourist Thomas Mason had been collaborating with artist Jason Craig for some time when they were both brought onboard to adapt Jeff Katz’s highly acclaimed treatment into a comic mini-series Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash. Along with writer James Kuhoric, the duo worked on bringing the central characters together from the Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Evil Dead franchises for the ultimate showdown.
Thomas Mason talks about his work on Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash.
How did you become involved with Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash and what was your role in the comic’s creation?
Jason Craig is actually the one who got me involved in this project. We had been working together as a team for over a year at a company that we’ll just say wasn’t the best environment to be in. Jason had went to Wizard World in Chicago and entered in the DC talent search and there he made contacts at Wildstorm. We got slated to do a Nightmare on Elm Street mini series when this project came along. Wildstorm wanted to fast track FJA, so the NOES series was put on hold. After things got rolling we knew there were certain elements we wanted to pull off and give this series a movie feel. The color of the series was one of those elements along with the effects and thats where I came in. Jason and I worked hard to give this series a unique feel while also paying tribute to the original movies and it seems to have really gone over well with the fans.
Were you and the artists conscious of the comic resembling Ronny Yu’s Freddy vs. Jason movie or did you take it from a different angle?
We were conscious of ALL the movies. Freddy vs. Jason set the standard for us being that this is a sequel to that movie but there are elements from all the movies we tried to incorporate into this series. I think thats why this had been so well recieved by the fans of all these franchises. One of the fun things to do was the two-page montage at the beginning of Issue 1 where we showed scenes from Freddy vs. Jason. That was where we showed the readers how the movie translated to comic form and set the visual style for the series and so from that point on the readers would feel like they are watching a movie in comic form and could relate to the scenes from the movie.
Are you a fan of the original movies and which is your favourite from each respective series and why?
I am a fan of the Freddy and Jason movies. We often joke about how each of us has a favorite, Jason (Craig) is a Friday the 13th guy, James (Kuhoric) is an Ash fan and I’m a Freddy fan myself. I really like how Robert Englund portrays Freddy and really gives him character. He can be scary and comical at the same time and there’s just something about him that I like. I am also a fan of the Friday movies… Jason always seems to have the best kills!
How long did the process of writing and designing the comic take and how many people were collaborating on the project?
I can’t speak on the process of the writing. Jeff Katz wrote the original treatment for this as a movie and this series is based on his treatment. James Kuhoric took Jeff’s movie treatment and translated it into comics. James, Jason and myself all gave this series their own touch but the overall look of the book really came down to Jason (Craig). It was his vision and storytelling that gave this series it’s feel. His ‘camera’ angles and the effects he envisioned were top notch and perfect for this series. Me and Jason really communicated alot during this series so that we could deliver visually a series the fans would enjoy.
Are there any plans to return to the series for future episodes?
Right now all I can say is we are working on the trade for this series. There were pages we knew we coulda done better and effects we didn’t have time to finish up so we are going back and fixing those things as well as adding extra pages that we feel help really solidify the story. We are also working on that NOES series we had originally started before doing this series. After that… well… I’m not really at liberty to say just yet but I’m sure an announcement will be made soon that I think the fans of this series will be happy to hear!
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