Scott Allie

Scott Allie is the editor of the “Serenity” and “Buffy Season 8” comics, as well as “Hellboy” and “Conan“, for Dark Horse Comics. He will also be one of the special guests at next week’s Can’t Stop The Serenity charity event in Portland, OR. Recently, Scott answered a few questions for us regarding the Joss Whedon comics he edits as well as the upcoming Serenity charity screening.

PCZ: This is your second year being involved with the Serenity Now charity screenings. How did you first get involved?

SA: The assistant at my chiropractor’s, Bruce Chaser. I hate to admit that I didn’t know about it until last year. Seems like this amazing grassroots Joss event that was born in my own home town would have caught my attention earlier, but no dice. But I walked into my chiropractor’s for a visit—my back had been bugging me, and I wouldn’t have bothered seeing a doctor, but I was about to get on a plane to fly to LA to see Joss. So I walked into the chiropractor’s, and filled out the paperwork and gave the girl at the desk my insurance card, which has the Dark Horse logo on it. She started raving about Season Eight, and I told her I was the editor. She blurts out, “I have the same birthday as him!” I said, “As who?” She meant Joss, which still struck me weird, as I didn’t know his birthday. But she explained that she knew his birthday because the Serenity event was on his birthday, and that was the first I heard of the event.

The funniest part of that story is that after talking to her, I walked in to the room with Dr Chaser, who’s this very smooth, mature man in his late forties probably. I mentioned something about it, I think I said, “Your assistant’s a fan of the Buffy comic I edit,” and his face lit up, and he said, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer?!” And I thought I was in the Twilight Zone. After that I got a call from the local organizers, and then Joss started talking about doing something for Equality Now at San Diego. That was all just last year, I guess.

PCZ: For those who may be just now finding out about these charity screenings, can you tell us a little bit about it?

SA: I’m probably not the best to ask, as my involvement is tangential, but it’s an international event that was started here in Portland, by a guy named The One True Bix—god bless the interwebs. They screen the Serenity film to raise money for Equality Now, an organization that’s real dear to Joss’s heart and his family. Among other things, Equality Now advocates for positive portrayal of women in media, and in genre fiction. So Joss is a hero to them.

PCZ: What is your role this year at the screenings?

SA: I’ll get up and talk before the film, I think, talk about working with Joss. With that as a subject, they’re a pretty easy crowd. The turnout for these events is huge, and everyone in the room is in love with Joss in one way or another. Then I’ll probably hang around afterward and see if people have questions.

PCZ: Turning to comics, will there be any more Serenity books from Dark Horse?

SA: Yep. We just wrapped up Better Days, the second Serenity series, and we’re gearing up for a series focusing on Shepherd Book. I want to get it out by the end of the year, but now I think it’s gonna push into 2009.

PCZ: Any chance of Serenity stories set after the film or is that still being left open for a possible film sequel?

SA: No plans for that. Worse than conflicting with a possible sequel, we’d just be missing too many characters. The movie changed the playing field severely. Joss loves the ensemble of Serenity, he loves the whole cast, and the unity of that ensemble is one of the best elements of the story. I don’t know what he was thinking killing everybody …

PCZ: Staying with Joss Whedon comics, what’s coming up in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8?

SA: Heartbreak and bloodshed. Some pretty nice surprises in the new arc that starts next month—it’s written by Joss and drawn by Karl Moline, and pits Buffy against Fray, the Slayer from the future that Joss and Karl created a number of years ago. That four-issue story is going to seriously mess with expectations about where this is all going.

PCZ: Thanks for your time Scott and we’ll see you at the event.

SA: Thanks— S