Five Questions With...Action Lab's Shawn Gabborin

Since I've been obsessing over the Puppet Master film series most of my life...... and now over Action Labs: Danger Zone's on-going series featuring my favorite killer puppets, I actually got up the nerve to send the writer of the series and Editor-In-Chief of Action Labs, Shawn Gabborin a Weird Science style list of questions....... which thankfully, he decided to play along with.  See what stalking gets you kids!  To my surprise....... and utter enjoyment, Shawn Gabborin went beyond expectations when he actually turned out to be as huge of a Puppet Master.... and really, Full Moon fan as I am.  Now all we have to do is become roommates and start a horror reality show!  Let's check out what strange ass questions I threw at Mr. Gabborin and how he amazed me with his answers.

1. First off, what are you working on right now or what's coming out soon that we can look forward to?

SG: I'm currently writing the Puppet Master comic from Action Lab: Danger Zone, which is a dream come true. I also wrote an issue of our superhero crossover called Actionverse, which brings together a handful of our Action Lab creator owned superheroes. I wrote the third issue of that crossover, which is heavily focused on the characters from my superhero comic FRACTURE.

Aside from those, I have a few creator owned projects in the art stage… but it's still too early to go into details on those.

2.  Alright, down to the brass tacks.  How did Action Labs and Full Moon Features get in bed together?  Was there a lot of alcohol involved, was it a Charles Band groupie situation or was it a mutual beneficial type situation, where Full Moon wanted to get into comics and Action Labs just happened to be big fans of their properties?

SG: Total fanboy situation (groupie makes me sound cheap… but yeah)! I've been a Full Moon junkie as far back as I can remember. They were actually the first film studio that I started seeking out movies based just on their company name. My friends and I would rent Full Moon movies every weekend growing up, so I have a lot of respect for them and what they've been able to accomplish.

So when my wife bought me Puppet Master 10, I (as any true geek would do) rewatched the franchise from the beginning before watching 10. Watching the full series made my mind wander over stories I'd like to tell, loose ends I'd like to see tied up, etc…. so I emailed out to Full Moon about licensing the comic rights. Six hours later I was on the phone pitching my ideas to them, and things just snowballed from there!

3.  Does Charles Band consider the Puppet Master comic that you magnificently write as part of canon to his film series?........ and if not, why not because I just said you write it magnificently. 

SG: I honestly can't say. Obviously the first 10 films are canon for me, but chances are our worlds split into two different timelines at the point the comics started. That being said, they are bringing Torch back in the 11th film, so we'll see if they go with my origin or not.

And it's great to hear someone else call the comic "magnificent!" My wife just rolls her eyes when I say it...

4.  Alright, brace yourself.  If Leech Woman died in Puppet Master 2, how did she then pop up in Curse of the Puppet Master and then in your Puppet Master series if these stories are the most current in the Puppet Master timeline?  

SG: Okay, time to let my Puppet Master geekdom shine. There's a lot of speculation that Curse of the Puppet Master (although being the 6th film released) takes place between Puppet Master 1 & 2 (as the series does tend to jump around in time), which I can see as Dr. Magrew mentions getting the Puppets at an auction, which would make sense for Megan to sell them after the events of Puppet Master 1. Then after the events of Curse, they return to the Bodega Bay Inn for Puppet Master 2. I haven't been able to get a solid answer of if that is the true order of the films or not, but it does make sense and would explain her involvement in Curse.

Now, Leech Woman is also in Puppet Master: Legacy and the Puppet Master comic, which both take place after Puppet Master 2. And this where things get fun for me because I can "fan theory" something… then make it semi-canon by including it in the comics! So for me, The Puppets didn't leave Leech Woman behind in that furnace. When they killed the old couple, they fished her out of the stove and brought her home with them. Zombie Toulon was in no shape to deal with this, so Blade and Torch kept her burned body hidden. Once Andre Toulon was revived into the Decapitron Puppet in Puppet Master 4 & 5, he rebuilt her using whatever he could from the original body and carving new pieces to fill in the rest. So who knows… maybe under that pink dress, her torso is still burnt to a crisp!

That's my explanation, anyway.

5.  Besides for Puppet Master, what is your favorite Full Moon property and if the answer is something that Action Labs: Danger Zone is already publishing, what's the next property you'd like to throw at the paneled page?

SG: Subspecies, no question. Radu is such a badass vampire! And we will be bringing Subspecies into our Full Moon Presents comic line. And it's going to be awesome! Seriously… I was able to pull in a topnotch writer for it, and I'm very excited for what he's got planned for the comic.

6.  Did your dad make you watch horror movies until you loved them as much as he did too?  

SG: It was actually more my mom initiating me into the horror genre! I would get retold Stephen King tales from a very young age (because I couldn't read them) and started watching horror movies at about six. Nothing crazy to start, things like Night of the Creeps and Monster Squad… both of which I just got to see at the drive-in a couple weeks ago… awesome!!  Anyway, horror as entertainment was always around growing up.

7.  What's your favorite horror flick of all time and if it's the same as mine can we be best friends?

SG: The original Black Christmas, no question. Perfect atmosphere, beautiful balance of good and cheesy acting, intense kills, and the phone calls are just disturbing. My wife and I watch it every Christmas Eve. If yours isn't the same, we can still be BFFs, but I'll always be harboring a little resentment in the pit of my stomach. We can both live with that, right?

8.  If Leech Woman can come back into the Puppet Master series, is it at all possible to bring back the robot loving Puppet Master from parts 4 and 5 Rick Myers?

SG: The problem with Rick is that he was killed. Granted, it was off screen and only mentioned in Puppet Master: Legacy… but I'm sure if I had the right story come up I could work around that! Hell, I've already brought Neil Gallagher back to life, so who know. It's comics after all… who stays dead?

Thanks again so much...Eric

You heard it here first folks, Shawn Gabborin and me are becoming best friends.  Be sure to check back here this summer for pictures from our backpacking trip.  Seriously though, I want to thank Shawn Gabborin for taking the time to actually look at my crazy questions and come up with equally crazy answers...... at least to you normies out there.  I know exactly what he's talking about.  Thanks again Shawn.