NEW SG Interview: John Shirley – The Crow: Death and Rebirth0

by Alex Dueben

“It was bitter for all of us when Brandon Lee was killed”
– John Shirley

John Shirley may not be a household name, but for three decades he’s been an incredibly influential and prolific writer. He was one of the most important early writers in the movement that would later be called cyberpunk, and William Gibson and others have paid tribute to his influence. Shirley’s novel City Come A-Walkin’ and his later trilogy A Song Called Youth – which has recently been re-released in a single volume omnibus edition – remain among two of the best cyberpunk works ever published. Shirley is also an award winning horror and fantasy writer perhaps best known for novels like Demons, Bleak History, and Dracula in Love, and short story collections like Heatseeker and In Extremis: The Most Extreme Short Stories of John Shirley.

A singer/songwriter who’s fronted a number of bands and has written lyrics for bands including Blue Oyster Cult, Shirley is also a screenwriter who’s worked in film and television. He was the original writer on the movie The Crow and has written episodes of TV shows including Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Profit, “VR.5, Poltergeist: Legacy, Batman Beyond, and The Real Ghostbusters.

Shirley’s newest project is The Crow: Death and Rebirth, a comic miniseries released by IDW, the second issue of which has just been released. Shirley spoke with SG over e-mail to talk about his return to the concept of The Crow, which also marks his return to cyberpunk.

Read our exclusive interview with John Shirley on SuicideGirls.com.