The Acts of Louis Debraz, Voyageur: The Devil Comes to Dance - An Interview with Matt McGrath
- Writer of ID-10t error, Everyday Fears, Gothic Tales of Haunted Futures, and more!
- Co-founded the Toronto-based Bygone Theatre production company
Keeping it Geekly - Hello and good afternoon, Matt. It’s a pleasure to sit down with you again to talk shop about comics. Speaking of which, I believe it’s been almost 4 years since we last spoke. What have you been up to since ID-10T error #1 & 2?
Matt McGrath - Thanks for inviting me back! Holy smokes—that long?!
I’ve been busy making as many comics as my schedule and meager budget allow. I concluded the ID-10t error last year with Issue 3, and I’ll hopefully be collecting the entire story in a trade in the not-too-distant future.
I also put out an anthology of slice-of-life horror comedy short comics called Everyday Fears. And earlier this year I put out my first NSFW book called Come To Me. Other than that, lots of scripts and works-in-progress I’m trying to get off the ground!
(I think I had another kid somewhere in those 4 years, come to think of it…)
KiG - We are here to talk about your new series, which is currently live on Kickstarter, called The Acts of Louis Debraz, Voyageur - The Devil Comes to Dance. I saw that you mentioned this title is a love letter to the media that inspired you to become a storyteller. What elements can readers expect to find from those inspirations?
MM - By far the biggest inspiration for this story is Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. I’ve been a huge Hellboy fan since high school, and I’ve always had an itch to create my own “Hellboy”—a pulp-inspired, anti-hero who goes from one supernatural problem to the next. It wasn’t till much later, when I learned about the rich folklore of French Canada, that the idea of Louis Debraz started to form. Since I was a kid, I’ve also been drawn to ghost stories and legends and books like Spooky Stories to Tell in the Dark.
KiG - At its core, what is Voyageur about? How does this stand-alone issue connect with the series as it continues?
MM - Voyageur is about Louis Debraz, a voyageur living in 19th-century Lower Canada (Quebec) who is on a quest to track down the Devil so he can send him back to hell.
It’s a vehicle to adapt French Canadian folk tales and legends, and if we have the opportunity, we’d love to adapt other Canadian myths and fables.
So it will follow the structure of Hellboy—the overarching story of Louis’ hunt for the devil but told through episodic, self-contained stories.
KiG - I really enjoy the interiors of The Acts of Louis Debraz, Voyageur: The Devil Comes to Dance. The color palette really made it feel cold and gritty. Can you tell us a bit about the creative team involved?
MM - That’s all thanks to Jon Berg! The illustrator and co-creator of this series. Jon is pulling quadruple duty on this book, doing the pencils, inks, colours, and letters. And as you mention, he nails those dark and moody Dave Stewart colours we see on Hellboy.
KiG - What did your scriptwriting process look like for this title? Did you have an artist in mind when creating it?
MM - Yeah, so I always had Jon in mind when I was writing the script. We had worked previously on a short comic for a Frankenstein anthology, so I was really eager to work with him again. Jon had been busy with a graphic novel project and his own creator-owned series, so it took a couple of years to get Voyageur off the ground. But we got there eventually, and we hope to do more!
KiG - What other retellings of legends and folk tales can readers expect from you and Jon Berg going forward? Do you have any particular favorites that you had growing up?
MM - Well, I actually discovered Quebec folktales as an adult after I met my French Canadian wife. But we’ve read our kids the story of Rose Latulippe and other French Canadian legends, so I’m excited to eventually show them our finished comic.
But I’ve done research into what I want to adapt next, and there’s A LOT of great stuff to choose from. The next story will be titled “The Midnight Mass of the Phantom Priest,” so you can let your imaginations go wild with what that could be about.
I’d also like to do a more grounded mystery story with a boogeyman figure in French Canada called “Le Bonhomme Sept-Heures”, which literally translates to “The 7 O’Clock Man.”
Werewolves also figure prominently in Quebec legends. They are called “Loup Garrous” and they are cursed not by being bitten by another werewolf, but rather by committing great sins or going 7 years without taking the Eucharist. So lots of cool stuff to choose from!
KiG - What does the rest of 2026 look like for you as a creator? Do you have any other projects in the works that you can talk about?
MM - Well, I was planning on releasing a comic in late October. It’s called SKINNED, and I’m advertising it as a Mecha Slasher. So think Mobile Suit Gundam meets Friday the 13th. Otavio Colino, my ID-10t error co-creator, is providing the art for that.
But--not sure if you’ve heard--Canada and the US are in the middle of a pretty heated trade war! Which has thrown a wrench in a lot of my plans, since the majority of my backers come from the US. So I may wait until the new year to launch this one and see if things improve…?
KiG - Thank you so much for swinging by and Keeping it Geekly with us today, Matt. For everyone that is reading this, be sure to check the campaign out here and back today!
MM - Thanks for chatting with me! Please back Voyageur Issue 1 and spread the word!
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