Little pumpkin Sam is back.

From the twisted imagination of Trick ‘r Treat creator Michael Dougherty (director of the upcoming Krampus and Trick ‘r Treat 2 and screenwriter of X-Men 2 and Superman Returns) alongside a top-notch team of creators including writers Todd Casey and Zach Shields(Krampus), Marc Andreyko (Batwoman) and artists Fiona Staples (Saga), Stephen Byrne (Buffy/Angel), Stuart Sayger (Bram Stoker’s Death Ship) and Zid (Son of Merlin) comes this 4-part collection that paves the way for the Trick ‘r Treat film sequel.   

 Days of the Dead takes readers on a journey through Halloween history with 4 chilling new Trick ‘r Treat tales. Discover old-world lovers whose romance takes a chilling turn and Western pioneers who discover the dark side of the frontier. Travel to 1950s Los Angeles for a tale of pure horror noir and into the heart of small-town America to see some pranksters taught a lesson they’ll never forget.
 
Across centuries of Halloween horror, wherever fear lies, Sam will be waiting…

Latino-Review: In the spirit of Trick ‘r Treat movie, what are the main themes (besides Halloween and Sam) that you wanted to keep for the graphic novel?

Mark Andreyko: THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT THIS GRAPHIC NOVEL IS THAT IT TAKES TRICK ‘R TREAT MYTHOLOGY AND EXPANDS IT THROUGHOUT TIME. WE SEE FOUR SET IN DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS AND WE LEARN SAM IS A FIGURE THAT HAS BEEN AROUND A LOT LONGER THAN WE MIGHT HAVE EXPECTED.

 Latino-Review:  How much involvement did Michael Daughtery had this time around? How did it feel to revisit the project since the original one? And how did you collaborate with the new writers?

Mark Andreyko: MIKE GAVE ME THE DETAILED PLOTS THAT HE, ZACH, AND TODD WROTE, I DID A FIRST PASS, AND THEY WENT IN FOR A FINAL TWEAK.

Latino-Review: The film was a long story about four interwoven tales on Halloween night. However, the graphic novel took a different path for the tales for Trick ‘r Treat. Please explain the format of the graphic novel.

Mark Andreyko: I THINK MIKE WANTED TO SHOW THE HOLIDAY ANDHOW IT HAS EVOLVED OVER THE CENTURIES. AND THE MULTIPLE STORIES IN ONE BOOK HARKENS BACK TO THE CLASSIC E.C. HORROR COMICS OF DAYS PAST.

Latino-Review: How many other short stories were considered for the graphic novel? Could you give us some rejected ideas that weren’t included?

Mark Andreyko: MICHAEL, ZACH, AND TODD CRAFTED THE ORIGINAL PLOTS, SO NOT SURE WHAT WAS LEFT ON THE TABLE STORY-WISE, BUT THEY SEEMED TO GRAVITATE TOWARDS STORIES SET IN DIFFERENT TIME PERIODS, WHICH WORKED WELL AND WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE MOVIE.

Latino-Reivew:  Sam made the Trick r’ Treat a cult favorite creature. Many questions about mysterious Sam was answered in this graphic novel. Sort of. Why do you think Sam is such a likable devilish creature?

Marc Andreyko: BECAUSE HE IS BOTH SCARY AND PLAYFUL– JUST LIKE HALLOWEEN ITSELF. HE ISN’T SOME MASS MURDERER OR MONSTER, HE IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE HOLIDAY.

Latino-Review: With the original Trick r’ Treat graphic novel and film tied together nicely. Are we going to see anything from this graphic novel tie into the upcoming Trick r’ Treat 2 film?

Mark Andreyko: THAT’S FOR MICHAEL TO ANSWER, BUT I KNOW HE CONSIDERS THESE STORIES CANON – THEY HAPPEN TO BE IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL, BUT THESE STORIES ARE PART OF THE OFFICIAL TRICK ‘R TREAT CONTINUITY, SO ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

 Latino-Review: Final question, what is the biggest treat or trick you’ve ever experienced for Halloween?

Mark Andreyko: HMMMM. PROBABLY THE YEAR I WENT TO MIKE’S HALLOWEEN PARTY AS DR. LOOMIS FROM “HALLOWEEN” AND THE ONLY TIMES I SAW MIKE, HE WOULD POINT AT ME, YELL “MICHAEL!”, AND RUN AWAY:)