The movie-to-comic path doesn’t always work out, but IDW Publishing is quickly proving itself to be the place to run to with your adaptation. Their latest cinematic comic book sidequel, A Quiet Place: Storm Warning, features script and layouts by industry veteran Phil Hester and pencils and inks by Ryan Kelly. Hester comes from that Alex Toth/Harvey Kurtzman tradition, embracing visuals and having faith that silence can carry as much story as 200 word balloons.

A Quiet Place stakes its narrative on silence. If you caught the first film in a theater, you undoubtedly remember the awkwardness of attempting popcorn consumption while Emily Blunt on screen quiveringly descends the basement stairs before OWWWWW! The nail in the foot! One may think removing audible sound from the equation would ruin the experience; however, Phil Hester did just that when he pitched his take to editors, adapting that scene specifically.

The stairway nail bit, told as a comic by Phil Hester, proved undeniable. He got the gig, and then he got to work formulating his spin-off characters and plot. As the first film took inspiration from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, so does his arc, pitting a small town politician against the local fire chief. This time, they’re also sister and brother, adding a dramatic sharpness that can only cut when family is involved. Of course, what does familial pride matter when creatures are raining from the sky?

Phil Hester joins the podcast for the first time this week. We discuss the challenges of adapting a cinematic concept to the comic book page, how he always embraces silence, and why Jaws is just the best damn movie ever made.

A Quiet Place: Storm Warning #1 arrives in comic book shops from IDW Publishing on March 11th. It's written by Phil Hester, illustrated by Ryan Kelly, colored by Lee Loughridge, lettered and designed by Nathan Widick, and edited by Heather Antos.

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Phil Hester on A Quiet Place Storm Warning