Beware the call of the iele.
After the disappearance of a close friend, a young university student, Adam, finds himself compelled to travel to Transylvania and take matters into his own hands. The search brings him to a haunted village in the middle of Transylvania, with a terrible history that haunts its inhabitants. Can Adam find the truth of what happened to his friend? Or will he succumb to the terrible secrets that lie in the woods?
Coming soon from Mad Cave Studios is the newest folk-horror graphic novel from Romanian creator Ennun Ana Iurov (Needle & Thread), Whisper of the Woods. Taking place in the mysterious woods of Romania, Whisper of the Woods follows classic Romanian folklore and passes along the legend of the fearsome Iele. We were fortunate enough to chat with Ennun about their creative process, their upcoming projects, their latest original graphic novel, and more!
You can check out the full interview below!
Q: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Ennun! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Ennun: My name is Ennun Ana Iurov, I’m a freelance illustrator and a comic book artist and, now officially, writer as well! Thank you for having me!
Q: What is your biggest inspiration when it comes to writing comics?
Ennun: I’d say inspiration comes from everywhere and anything: movies, books, a conversation, a rock, a walk in the park, etc. Ideas are always running around in my head, they just need a little push so they can align into a story!
Q: In Whisper of the Woods, we follow Adam on his journey into the heart of Hoia Baciu to find his missing friend. What was your biggest inspiration in writing this story?
Ennun: I’m a big fan of ghost hunting, horror movies and stories, creepypastas, all of it! Always have been. So when the question of making a horror comic came up, it was immediately where my mind went to.
While debating the possible subject, I mentioned the iele, as they’re one of my favorite pieces of Romanian folklore, and Chris, my editor at the time, was very encouraging of the idea! Taking the story into Hoia Baciu was a very natural decision, considering the lore of the iele (spirits living in nature).
Q: Much of the horror in Whisper of the Woods is steeped in Romanian folklore. Can you tell us a bit about your personal connection to the lore in Whisper of the Woods?
Ennun: Romania is my home country, I’ve lived here my entire life (except for the 5 years of university) so it’s all very near and dear to my heart.
Q: What got you into creating comics?
Ennun: Honestly? Mangas.
Growing up, Romania was still only just recovering from a pretty bad period, from a revolution, etc. We didn’t import a whole lot, especially not comics, so my exposure to them only came through what my parents enjoyed: Asterix & Obelix. They have the full collection! But it’s in French, which I have very limited knowledge of, so I could never fully appreciate it.
Fast forward a few years to one late night in 6th grade where me and my brother accidentally found anime, which opened an entire new world of entertainment for us, and that, very fast, led me to manga. I fell in love instantly. The stories and art, the diversity in themes and plots, in designs, the worldbuilding, it was mesmerizing, and it got me to start and doodle tiny comics of my own.
To be completely honest, I didn’t think I would be doing this as a job. It was always my mom saying it, and I would always go “don’t say that, you don’t know what I’ll actually end up doing when I’m big.” But, of course, mother knows best!
Q: Which character in Whisper of the Woods do you personally connect with the most?
Ennun: I think it’s easiest to connect with Adam. From an outsider’s perspective, he does all the right things: he wants to help his friend, he doesn’t get spooked by (what he believes are) dumb scary bedtime stories, he’s kind, he’s polite.
On the other hand, I do love getting to draw Angelica the most.
Q: What do you hope for people to take away from Whisper of the Woods?
Ennun: People usually only think of Dracula, Vlad the Impaler (who is severely mischaracterized by the way) and vampires when Romania is brought up in conversation, so I’m really happy to be able to present some of our other creatures of the night to a wider audience. I hope it will make the readers more curious to explore our folklore and maybe even visit one day!
Q: In Whisper of the Woods, you’re credited as both the author and the illustrator! Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process?
Ennun: I’ve written before, both comics and short stories, but never with other people. My process of making a comic isn’t the most traditional. I remember talking to my editor and warning him it’s going to be a little weird, but he had fun with it!
Basically, the way this usually goes is that you write a script, go over it together and then, after it’s finalized, you start sketching the pages. However my brain doesn’t really work with that idea, so what I did was sketch and write the script at the same time. I’m a very visual person, I need to see the pages. It helps me work out better paginations and panels. I think it also allows me to make more dynamic action shots. I know it’s probably not the easiest for editors to work with, but hey it worked out!
On the bright side, it means sketching was finished really early on.
Q: Who/what are your biggest influences as a creator?
Ennun: The artists that come to mind are Mattias Adolfsson, James Jean, Conrad Roset, Choo; the mangakas Eiichiro Oda, Hoshino Katsura, CLAMP, Junji Ito, Miho Obana; the comic artists and/or writers Choo (again, yes), Jake Wyatt, Emily Carroll, Gabriel Picolo, Trung Le Nguyen.
There are many other artists, as well as authors, musicians, etc, but if I start I’ll never finish, so I’ll leave it at this for now.
Q: What are your favorite stories/artists/genres?
Ennun: It’s hard to pick a favorite; my tastes change every time I find a new thing to hyperfixate on lol. At the moment, I would say I’m still thinking of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s books, and I will probably never stop crying over One Piece by Eiichiro Oda and D.Gray-man by Hoshino Katsura.
Genre wise, I’m a big fan of dark fantasy and just fantasy in general. I like how it always opens up an endless string of possibilities. Stories are way more fun to write when you don’t have to follow physics and “real” stuff.
Q: Any upcoming projects we should know about?
Ennun: I’m constantly working on things and projects. I’ve been releasing short comics (6 to 8 pages) on my twitter about once a month. I’m also currently working on a little comic of my own that will be released online soon-ish, about my D&D character.
I’m also currently in talks about another comic with Mad Cave or one of their imprints, but we can’t share anything more at the moment.
Either way, please look forward to more comics soon <3
Q: Any cons you’ll be attending in the near future?
Ennun: I’m not the biggest on cons, because we don’t really have a lot over here and traveling outside the country for it is… expensive. However I’ve been detabing possibly attending one or two next year, in 2024, so we shall see how things go!
Q: Anything else you’d like to share?
Ennun: I hope people will go into Whisper of The Woods with an open mind. The story isn’t something super new, but I hope the setting and folklore elements will give readers a new perspective on it.
At the end of the day, as long as people enjoy the time they have reading the comic, I think I’ve done an alright job.
Lastly, just a quick thank you to everyone at Mad Cave for continuing to be so sweet and kind to me. I’m looking forward to possibly working with everyone again in the future! <3
Ennun Ana Iurov (she/he/they) is a Romanian illustrator known for their work on Needle & Thread under the Maverick imprint of young adult graphic novels. For over 6 years Ennun has created and self-published short comics and stories focusing mainly on empowering charity zines, working with organizations such as, Action Against Hunger, and others. Ennun’s illustration skills have a wide range from folk tales to dream core to horror and more, and now in Whisper of the Woods will combine all of these talents.
“I’m really excited for Whisper of the Woods to finally be released. It’s a bit nerve wracking, it being the first comic officially published that I not only drew for but also wrote. Regardless, I hope people will give it a try, find some enjoyment in it, and that this comic will make people more interested in Romanian folklore, since we have a lot of dark, creepy monsters and stories that I’m sure many people would enjoy.”
– Writer & Artist, Ennun Ana Iurov (he/she/they)
Take a peek into the mysterious woods of Romania’s most supernatural forest, Hoia Baciu. Click through for your first look into the pages of Whisper of the Woods!
WHISPER OF THE WOODS (OGN)
Writer & Artist: Ennun Ana Iurov – Letterer: Micah Myers
Publication Date: October 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781952303746
Synopsis: In search of his missing friend, Adam travels to the heart of Romania’s most supernatural forest, Hoia Baciu. Disregarding the local’s warnings of iele hunting the men in the vicinity, and the witch’s premonition of his impending death, he remains steadfast in his decision to find his friend. Though with every passing night, it becomes impossible to ignore the happenings around him…
Whisper of the Woods is now available for pre-order on the official Mad Cave Studios website, and will be available at your favorite local comic shop and bookstore on October 24th, 2023!
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