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Exclusive: Meet the characters of 'Going to the Chapel' - think Die Hard at a wedding
Few things translate as well across film, television, and comics as the heist story, and Action Lab: Danger Zone has just announced Going to the Chapel, which arrives this fall. The four-issue miniseries is written by David Pepose, with art by Gavin Guidry, colors by Liz Kramer, and letters by Ariana Maher. Pepose has already hit it out of the park by mashing up classic comic strips and crime noir with Spencer & Locke (whose film adaptation is currently in pre-production). Now he's taking a handful of genres to the blender, while destroying that beloved institution of marriage. But why start a heist at a wedding?
"There’s this wonderful overlap between crime and romance that I think a lot of people tend to overlook," Pepose points out to SYFY WIRE. "There’s a reason we have phrases like 'stolen hearts' and 'crimes of passion,' you know?"
"And with Going to the Chapel, we’re using this juxtaposition to tell stories that we don’t normally get to see in the direct market — we’re able to splice together romantic comedy with irreverent humor and a sprawling and diverse cast, largely confined in one singular location and tied together with some legitimately cool action set pieces. But even more importantly, we’re able to use this crazy high concept of a hostage thriller at a wedding to explore some very human themes about love and family, about fear of commitment, and what it takes to make that leap of faith to say ' ‘til death do us part.' ”
Think Die Hard meets Kill Bill meets 3000 Miles to Graceland — and SYFY WIRE has the exclusive character-design sheets to reveal who the main characters are, as Pepose formally introduces them to the world.
"The hero of Going to the Chapel is our bride, Emily Anderson, a wealthy heiress who is grappling with a serious case of cold feet on the day of her wedding. Quick-thinking and resourceful, Emily [finds that her] wedding is going to be very much a do-or-die situation for her, even before the bank robbers show up — her ultimate struggle is one of commitment, but also about navigating her deeply dysfunctional extended family. Think if the Bluths from Arrested Development were caught in a bank robbery, and you’ll get a sense of what kind of weirdness Emily will have to deal with from both sides of the law."
"We’ll also see a lot of Emily’s family, led by her fiance, Jesse who is an awkward but altogether well-meaning architect, who is unfortunately clueless as to the internal struggle his bride-to-be is facing right now. But Jesse’s also the guy that everyone tends to underestimate as just some intellectual nerd. He’s such a good person that he’ll stop at nothing to rescue his fiancee, even if he unintentionally blows up the precarious game plan Emily has laid out."
"The wild card of this series has to be Tom, the leader of the Bad Elvis Gang. Teaming up with his partners-in-crime Vegas, Motown, and Romero, Tom is a charming scoundrel who has reasons of his own for pulling off this heist. But as he’ll quickly discover, even the most professional bank robbers in the world don’t stand a chance against the weird dysfunction of the Anderson clan. Tom’s dynamic with Emily will be the driving force of the book, as the two will learn a lot from one another as this hostage situation escalates."
"Finally, Sheriff Walter Reagan is the long arm of the law in Rockford County — while this sleepy town doesn’t exactly see a lot of crime, Walt would argue that’s because there’s a lawman tough enough to stamp out miscreants before they start acting up. A Southern bulldog through and through, Walt is the one who is really putting down all the pressure on this hostage situation. He’s the kind of guy who shoots first and asks questions never, which puts a target on Emily’s back just as much as it does the rest of the Bad Elvis Gang."
Based on how the first issue is laid out, there's a real mystery that will develop as to who needs saving, since the bride has met at least one of the Bad Elvis Gang.
"We’re able to play with this sense of ambiguity as some of them shift from friend to enemy and back again, sometimes without them even realizing it, because love isn’t always as clean or as uncomplicated as we’d like for it to be," Pepose teases.
Check out this eight-page preview of Going to the Chapel #1, including a cover gallery, and look for the issue this fall.
