Just recently in time for spooky season, Dirk Manning, along with a stacked creative team and in partnership with Chaney Entertainment, launched a Kickstarter nearly a century in the making.

In 1927, MGM released the mystery/horror movie London After Midnight, starring legendary Hollywood actor Lon Chaney. The film has a colorful history, despite not having played in theaters for 1929, due to its rarity: The last copy of the movie went up in flames in the 1965 MGM vault fire. Despite false alarms and hoaxes a’plenty, another copy has never been recovered.

However, Manning and Chaney Entertainment still want to make sure that fans are exposed to the film’s original tale. To that end, Manning and the comic creators joining him are taking the original, restored screenplay of London After Midnight and adapting it into comic book form. I spoke with Dirk Manning recently about the idea behind London After Midnight, why and how he became involved with the Kickstarter project, the enduring legacy and mystery behind the iconic film, and why viewers and fans continue to be captivated by the work and visage of Lon Chaney.

This was my first interview with Dirk Manning and it has been a treat! He gave thoughtful, in-depth answers and his enthusiasm for and knowledge of London After Midnight bursts from the computer screen. Whether you’re a fan of Lon Chaney or you’re new to his work, this Kickstarter is well worth your attention. This is clearly a passion project for Manning and that passion, along with his refined comics craft forged over years in the business, will surely make the graphic novel a fully immersive experience.

 

 

FreakSugar: For folks not familiar with London After Midnight, what is the conceit of the original screenplay and film?

Dirk Manning: London After Midnight is a creepy and character-driven murder mystery/thriller with supernatural/horror elements that features a very iconic vampire character played by the legendary Lon Chaney. The film hasn’t shown in a theater since 1929 and the last known copy was destroyed in a warehouse fire in 1965, making it one of the most sought-after “lost films” of all time.

What’s especially interesting about London After Midnight, I think, is that people are more familiar with the iconic image of Lon Chaney as the vampiric “The Man in the Beaver Hat” than they are the film itself… even by name! Not everyone knows the name London After Midnight, but pretty much everyone recognizes the photo of Lon Chaney portraying the first film vampire in American cinema several years before Tod Browning, who directed London After Midnight, went on to direct Dracula for Universal Studios with Bela Lugosi in 1931.

London After Midnight came first, and it’s been lost for decades, and now we’re bringing it back in partnership with Chaney Entertainment and Source Point Press as London After Midnight: The Official Graphic Novel Adaptation on Kickstarter at www.LondonAfterMidnightComic.com.

FS: How do you go about adapting this story to graphic novel form? What things do you to take into account?

DM: Real talk, I’ve been a published comic book writer for almost twenty-two years, and during that time I’ve done a lot of creator-owned work and also adapted work for celebrity clients such as wrestling personalities Arn Anderson and Tony Schiavone as well as musical acts Twiztid and The Harp Twins… but I’ve never been more nervous than when I held the full script for London After Midnight in my hands for the first time after having it sent to me by Ron Chaney of Chaney Entertainment. [laughs]

To say that the legacy of this story is iconic to fans of both horror and classic film alike would be an understatement, and because of that my priority was to honor the original story while also making sure it read well as a graphic novel. When I first spoke to Ron about adapting this film to a graphic novel, I told him that was my main priority: I wanted people to see what we’re doing here as the official and definitive version of this story, and that meant honoring the original story in as verbatim a method as the transference from one medium to another would allow.

 

From LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT

 

FS: Following up on that, what drew you to adapting London After Midnight to comic form?

DM: As a lifelong fan of horror, I – like many – have been waiting for decades for a copy of this classic lost film to be found. Despite many false claims and hoaxes over the years, though, I think it’s safe to say at this point that it’s never going to happen, so both Ron Chaney and I agreed that the best way to allow people to experience the original version of the film was to adapt it into a graphic novel that presented the story – and just as importantly, the look — of the lost film.

FS: You are working with a phenomenal creative team. What has that collaboration been like?

DM: I’ve worked with illustrator Joshua Ross since the earliest days of my comic career, and he’s also one of the creators I’ve done the most comic work with over the last two decades. He drew more stories for Nightmare World than anyone else, he’s the artist I went to when I launched Tales of Mr. Rhee, and we’ve continues to work together ever since. When the opportunity arose for him to join me on this book, I was really excited because I knew it would bring even more eyes to what an amazing talent he is.

Colin Johnson has been doing all the grayscale colors on this graphic novel adaptation, and he’s done an incredible job of capturing the look of a classic black and white film. He was also the colorist on other projects I’ve written including western werewolf graphic novel Homestead and a mermaid story in Love Stories About Death, as well as another full graphic novel illustrated by Joshua Ross that we’ll be announcing next year, and whatever style we need for any given project, he rocks it.

Dave Lentz is doing the lettering, and he’s a pro’s pro, which is why you see his lettering and book design on so many comics, and editor Drena Jo makes sure that we’re all putting out best feet forward in regards to the work we’re presenting to Ron Chaney of Chaney Entertainment, who signs-off on everything every step of the way.

At this point we all operate like a well-oiled machine, and I’m grateful, excited, and humbled to be able to continue to work with this team and publisher Source Point Press.

 

From LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT

 

FS: The original movie and story are iconic. To what do you attribute its popularity?

DM: It’s Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, you know? Everything he did was iconic! [laughs]

In fact, I’ll tell you an experience I just had at New York Comic Con the other week that demonstrated just how iconic that image of him as “The Man in the Beaver Hat” is across generations. We had 100 copies of an ashcan preview comic of the book at my table in artist alley, and throughout the weekend people would walk by and literally stop on their heels, almost dead in their tracks, when they saw it. At one point, within five minutes of each other, a man who was 72 years old (I know this because he told me his age) and a young woman who was about 17 years old both saw the book with his image on the table, grabbed the person they were with, pulled them over to the comic and excitedly explained the history of the film to them before buying a copy of the ashcan and then asking when the full graphic novel would be available.

The appeal of that image alone – and the mystery surrounding the movie itself – is that popular!

FS: What can you tell us about the Kickstarter itself? What rewards can backers expect?

DM: I’ve run over a dozen Kickstarter campaigns that have raised over half a million dollars to date, and I’ve had this level of success because of what we offer deluxe editions of the graphic novels that are Kickstarter Exclusive to the backers. For London After Midnight: The Official Graphic Novel Adaptation we’re starting with offering backers a Kickstarter Exclusive leatherbound hardcover edition of the graphic novel that will only be made available to people who preorder the book on Kickstarter at www.LndonAfterMidnightComic.com while the campaign is live. Once the campaign ends, the leatherbound hardcover will be made print-to-order and not made available again. Past that, we’re also offering additional Kickstarter Exclusive rewards such as the T-shirt and the commemorative coin, and we’ve also got several cool Kickstarter Exclusive Stretch Goals lined-up, including autographs and more.

 

From LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT

 

FS: What are you reading right now?

DM: Comic-wise I’m absolutely loving the newest story-arc of The Goon by Eric Powell. He is a creator whose work I always enjoy very much, just like manga horror creator Junji Ito, whose latest book is at the top of my “to be read” pike at this very moment. I’m also really excited about the newest upcoming work from Mike Mignola as well.

Prose-wise, I recently finished Josh Malerman’s newest novel Incidents Around the House and it hasn’t left my head since. It’s a modern horror classic and the latest great book from a great horror writer who’s been knocking it out of the park ever since Bird Box with hit after hit after hit. Anyone who’s a fan of horror and hasn’t been reading Josh Malerman yet should fix that immediately! Legit!

FS: Do you have any other projects coming down the pike you’d like to discuss?

DM: I’ve pretty much finalized by 2025 graphic novel release schedule, which will consist of three graphic novels. One of them will be Tales of Mr. Rhee Volume 6 with illustrator Austin McKinley. It’s already fully written, and Austin has already started working on it.

As mentioned earlier, Joshua Ross has also already fully finished a graphic novel I’ve co-written with another very iconic name in horror, and we’ll be announcing that one in January in my newsletter people can subscribe to at www.DirkManning.com when they’re done reading this interview. [laughs] For this one, we’re all bursting at the seams to talk about it, and it’s going to serve as a great follow-up to London After Midnight, going from something very classic to something very modern, you might say. [laughs]

Finally, in the fall of 2025 I’m going to be bringing a long-gestating original horror graphic novel to life with a previous artistic collaborator of mine…. which I again anticipate announcing in my January newsletter.

I’ll most likely start 2026 with the already much anticipated Hope Volume 3 with Sally Scott, as people are already clamoring for that book after that bombshell ending of Hope Volume 2. Yes, I’m already planning into 2026… and it’s a privilege and honor to be able to do so. It really is.

FS: If you had one last pitch for London After Midnight, what would it be?

DM: The Kickstarter Exclusive leatherbound hardcover edition of London After Midnight: The Official Graphic Novel Adaptation we’re offering at www.LondonAfterMidnightComic.com is guaranteed – and I mean guaranteed—to be an immediate collector’s item, as well as a great read to boot. Whether you’ve been waiting to experience the story for years, too – or have a horror or classic film buff in your life who you want to do something nice for – you’ll want to make sure you get a copy of this book that’s been almost 100 years in the making!

The Kickstarter for London After Midnight has almost hit its initial funding goal, with 31 days left to go in the campaign! Make sure to check out this unique crowdfunding project that is sure to bring a fantastic story by top-notch, nimble comic creators at the helm!