Vader. Repulsa. The Predator. Outer space is an infinite, ruthless expanse for tyrants and murderers alike. In 2020, filmmaker and Winnipeg’s own Steven Kostanski introduced planet Earth to one of the cosmos’ most curious and craven among them: Psycho Goreman.
Psycho Goreman (or PG for short) landed with a splash. A splat. An ooze. In the film bearing his name, two children, Mimi and Luke, stumble across an enchanted gem which unleashes and controls PG. Forcing him into a friendship, the kids and the killer embark on a series of misadventures. Mimi and Luke learn a lot about life. PG learns a lot about ending life. Heartwarming fare for all.
But who is the real Psycho Goreman?
Comic book writer Lan Pitts was hoping to find out.
In Lethal Comics’ Psycho Goreman: The Comic to End All Comics, the story of the “Arch-Duke of Nightmares’’ is expanded upon. Through the talents of Steve Manale, Andy Belanger, Ben Marra, Pitts and many more, readers will encounter tales of PG and the deeper records of the Galactic Council, beyond what was covered in the film.
“The best way I’ve explained Psycho Goreman is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers through a Troma lens,” says Pitts. “There are weird, fun costumes and out-of-this-world gore.”
Kostanski gave the creative team a long leash to explore PG, with character sheets and documents to help chart this venture. “We filled in the spaces of past adventures,” says Pitts. “When we start PG, we see that he’s this hateful, overpowered, war criminal but what happened before that? Why does the universe fear him? Why did his friends turn on him? We get to tell those stories and go wild as shit with them.”
Working with Kostanski was generous and easy. Working with Psycho Goreman proved to be more of a learning curve. You can take the man out of the galaxies of bloodshed and horrors, but you can’t take the galaxies of bloodshed and horrors out of the man, as they say.“It was rough at the beginning,” says Pitts. “He had a few notes here and there about our stories but if he really hated it, he would try and eat one of our pets and melt my friends’ faces off.” Pitts tells me he is only now regaining feeling in his left hand.
Despite only recently encountering Earth and its cultures, the medium of comics hasn’t been lost on PG. He enjoys Marvel Comics (especially those cheese-cake swimsuit specials from the ‘90s) and has an unusual appreciation for their 12-issue 1991 collaboration with the NFL, SuperPro. PG is already measuring up other comic book heroes and thinks he could take Hellboy in a fight.
“He’s a private person, but also the loudest one in the room,” says Pitts. “ I didn’t miss a deadline and he didn’t blow up my apartment. So I think it’s a real win-win in the grand scheme of things.”
So who is the real Psycho Goreman? Is he really the bloodthirsty lunatic the Galactic Council makes him out to be? Does he have a softer, more intimate side? Could he ever let a hunky boy into his heart?
Lan Pitts who had a crash course with PG, notes that he is a man of many minds, some he’s kept as keepsakes. Pitts says that while he wouldn’t consider himself friends with Goreman, he is confident that when it comes down to it, Goreman wouldn’t kill him first. And that’s what really matters.
Following this experience, Pitts says he is ready to get one-on-one with the Flood from Halo, to finally get their side of the story.