5 Questions With...Hamish Steele!

written by Luke M.
Grade 12

Welcome to another addition of 5 questions with…, where Teen Book Guilders connect with their favorite YA authors and ask them 5 questions about their books, careers, or even both. Today, I had the privilege of speaking with Hamish Steele, a London-based animator and writer best known for the Deadendia graphic novels, which have been adapted into the Netflix cartoon Dead End: Paranormal Park.

Q: Your website claims that you're an Animation Director, Comic-Book Creator and TV Writer. Which of these do you enjoy the most?

A: I love writing for TV but getting that kinda work is much harder. I wish I could do it more but I suppose by default comic-book creating is where I feel most at home. It's how most of my stories begin.

Q: What inspired you to create the Deadendia series?

A: DeadEndia began as an animated short on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel and while I always hoped it would go to series, it really did begin as a pretty self contained thing. But I just kept thinking about it and thinking about it and somehow everything I wanted to do with a comic book (supernatural stuff, queer representation, time travel, magic, teen drama) all felt like it had a place in this series. I really came up with DeadEndia as I went along, slowly expanding what was possible with this world with every page. I was inspired a lot by how free and anarchic psychedelic horror movies of the 70s and 80s were - stuff like House and Suspiria. So I felt very encouraged to let my imagination run wild.

Q: Do you see yourself in Norma, Barney, or any of the other characters in the series?

A: When I created the series, Barney was definitely who I saw myself more in. But I think Barney is who I wanted to be, and Norma what I really was. I wanted Norma to be relatable and at the time I hadn't received my autism diagnosis yet. Looking back, it's really obvious that that was the problems I was writing about through Norma. I really, really relate to her the most. But there's part of me in all the characters.

Q: The Deadendia series tackles a lot of sensitive issues, from sexuality to autism; is there anything that inspired you in real life to tackle these issues?

A: For all the demons and ghosts and stuff, DeadEndia is still meant to be set in the real world. And it's bizarre to not include real people in a real world setting. There's a lot of people who think the inclusion of a gay or trans person, or a person of color, is someone "forced diversity", as if there needs to be some story justification for that. But if you took any random street on Earth and made a show about all the people walking down it and you DIDN'T include those kinds of people, THAT would be forced. So it never really crossed my mind to include the kinds of people I hang out with in my stories. That's just how I see the world. And people come with baggage and it feels correct to write about it.

Q: What was it like adapting your books into the Netflix show Dead End: Paranormal Park?

A: Honestly, it was a blast. I feel so lucky. Truthfully, every day I feel lucky. How many people get this opportunity? The main thing I wanted to do with the show was allow it to be a collaborative experience. Making a comic book can be very solitary, so I was very excited to make Dead End with a team of writers and artists way more talented than myself. I really let them lead the way, only occasionally looking back to the books as a map if we got lost. I've written some things that if they were turned into movies or shows, I'd want a really faithful adaptation but for DeadEndia, it was already so anarchic, I encouraged us to not treat it with reverence.

Thank you to Hamish Steele! If you’re a fan of mystery and monsters, and want to support creative writers like Steele, check out the Deadendia books at the Winter Park Library and/or watch Dead End: Paranormal Park on Netflix.