Many Flames Rising readers may recognize Brea Grant from her role as Daphne on the popular television show Heroes. Did you know that the multi-talented Brea also writes comics? I recently had the chance to talk comics and acting with her for the site. We talked about her upcoming comic-related projects as a comic book writer and her new role as Cassie Hack in the upcoming Hack/Slash motion comic series.

What can you tell us about your upcoming role as Cassie Hack?

I will be the voice and sort of the face of Cassie in the new animated comic. We’re using animation, rotoscoping, green screen, all sorts of stuff to make it super cool and fantastic. So it’ll technically be my face but a lot of animation as well.

What are you most looking forward to in portraying a character like Cassie?

I love Cassie because she’s independent and smart with a dark edge to her. She’s a loner and is dedicated to her work. I love women like that because I feel like I’m that way to a certain extent (although I don’t kill serial killers).

Had you read any of the Hack/Slash series before signing on the this project?

Yep. I think I’ve read most of them. I love Hack/Slash. It’s one of the first comics I always tell people to read if they’re just getting into comics because it’s accessible as well as sexy and cool. I even dressed up as Cassie last Halloween and sent the photos to Tim Seeley via twitter. Of course, they ended up all over the Internet…but I guess that’s to be expected.

There are tons of zombie comics currently on the market, what makes We Will Bury You stand out?

For WWBY, we (I write with my brother Zane) wanted to focus on heroes that weren’t your typical protagonists. WWBY follows two women, a thief and a prostitute, who must use their street smarts to stay alive, instead connections, guns, or training. It’s also set in the 1920s so if you’ve never seen a zombie in a top hat, now’s the time.

What sorts of research went into the writing for the series?

A lot actually. I read a lot about Coney Island because Issue 3 took place there entirely and I had never been there. I looked at that and at Tod Browning’s Freaks because we introduce some carnival folks as well in that issue. Other than that, I have a background in history so I mostly relied on that. There were some things I was unsure of like what kind of phones or tea kettles they might have, but for the most part, I knew what was happening politically and economically at that time and I included that.

The Suicide Girls comic is rather different from We Will Bury You, what can you tell us about it?

SG follows a group of underground vigilantes fighting against a corporate religious technocult. It’s sci-fi/fantasy/insanity. It was a very different world from writing WWBY because it’s a franchise and a lot of people had their hands in creating it and shaping the outcome. WWBY was pretty much just me, Zane, and our artist, Kyle Strahm.

Did you work on Heroes affect your comic writing in any way?

I think my acting affects my writing and vice versa. I definitely think a lot more like a character than a writer and sometimes have to step back to look at the whole story. But I think it means I inherently explore character more.

Working on Heroes affects a lot of stuff I do because it was one of the first projects I did and it means people associate me with sci-fi and comics for better or for worse. It works well for me though because I love comics and I love sci-fi and genre movies. It’s a world I don’t mind being associated with.

What comics are you currently reading?

I just finished the last trade of Chew. It’s pretty much my favorite thing on the market. I keep up with X-Factor and Hack/Slash. I just finished Witch, which is a graphic novel by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett. I liked that a lot. I’m still making my way through my post-SDCC purchases, but I was pretty good this year about not going overboard.

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I’d like to thank Brea for taking the time to chat with me about her work. Want to check out some of the awesome comic book titles or her roles on Hack/Slash and Dexter? Find out more about Brea Grant’s work at her site BreaGrant.com.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to Teren Oddo terenoddo.com for the photo.

Tags | horror comics, zombies