Curt Pires is a true favorite around Multiversity. We named him our breakout writer of 2014 and in 2015 he’s poised to take over comics with his upcoming projects “The Tomorrows” and “The Fiction”. This is on top of his already optioned for television “Mayday” from Black Mask Studios. Pires has one of the freshest voices in comics today with a knack for looking at fame, art and corporate ties to all of that without rose colored glasses on. He’s honest and his comics are not something you’re soon to forget. “The Tomorrows” and “The Fiction”, coming out through Dark Horse and BOOM! Studios respectively, will further examine some of the themes already touched upon in “POP”. We had the chance to talk to him about everything from collaborations with artists to the dangers of fame.
Tell me about “The Tomorrows” and “The Fiction”. What’s the premise of each series?
Curt Pires: “The Tomorrows” is a speculative fiction comic about the world I think we’re heading towards. It’s a world where mass surveillance and government control are prevalent, where the corruption that has been allowed to take route in the pursuit of capitalist interests has reached a dangerous level. It’s about a group of counterculture agents fighting against this corrupt world and trying to bring more beauty into it, and liberate people in the process. The name of these counterculture agents? The Tomorrows.
“The Fiction” is a story about stories. It’s about a group of children who discover a box of books that when they read the books, they can enter the worlds the books describe. One day one of them goes missing inside this world. The story kicks off from there. It’s multi generational, huge in scope, and really tries to explore the idea of narrative, and the concept of family.
“The Tomorrows” sounds like it was influenced a little bit by Orwell’s “1984”. Was it and how far into the future does this story take place?
CP: Orwell’s “1984” was definitely an influence on the story. I think Orwell was one of the first to look at the horizon and see our bleak future approaching, so we owe something to him in the way that almost all fiction of this nature owes something to him. I’m purposefully being coy about how far into the future it’s set, I think that’s really up to the reader to decipher. It could be twenty years from now or sixty. It could be happening right now for all we know. So much of the negative trends the book talks about are already happening.
By the way you described “The Fiction”, I’m wondering if this is all ages or at least close to it. How would you describe the tone?
CP: I think “The Fiction” is actually a pretty good example of an all ages comic. It has massive concepts and a huge heart/story too it, but we never get too explicit with the violence or sexuality. So in that regard, basically anyone could read it. It’s a book for adults and children simultaneously. Tonally we walk the line between fantasy and horror. There are moments of intense fear/scares intermingled with moments of pure beauty and awe. I think it’s something that people are going to really connect with.
David Rubin is an amazingly talented artist. His work on “The Rise of Aurora West” was some of the best comic art I’ve seen in some time. Could you talk about what it’s been like working with him and how the process of creating this book has been?
CP: David is a genius. I’m so honored and happy to be working with him. With David it’s really been a case of me thinking “what do i want to see David draw?” and somehow spinning it into the story. David is a natural storyteller an has added so much into the story as we’ve gone on. He leaves a part of himself, a flourish in almost every scene, every environment he tackles. This is ostensibly a book about “magic” and I think that David brings so much magic to the table, it wouldn’t work without him. I hope there’s never a moment where I’m not collaborating with David Rubin.
Continued below
“POP” really got into the concept of corporate marketing when it comes to basically “creating” superstars. The first issue of “Mayday” also gets into fame but frames it much differently. It’s much more raw because it’s what happens after attaining so much. What is it about the world of fame and it’s dangers that inspires you as a writer?
CP: It’s one of the real cornerstones of our culture/world/reality and I’m always interested in processing/filtering reality through my comics. It’s how I deal with a lot of things I think. I’m not sure if I can pinpoint what In particular fascinates me so much with the concept of celebrity. If I had to attempt an understanding, I think it’s probably the way that the concept of “celebrity” relates to our desire as humans to be loved and accepted, but amplifies it in an unhealthy way–that and the way it seems to be tied to capitalism. It’s human economics in a way, a more socially acceptable form of trafficking?
Do you see any positives to this super fame? And where do you think fans fit into the massive publicity machine?
CP: I mean if one was virtuous you could presumably use this fame and the affluence it brings with it to alter or attempt to alter some of the broken parts of our world and political systems. But these “celebrities” are slaves in a lot of ways to the studios, the executives, the same capitalist institutions that exert power in all other channels of life. So the only way to really move past it, is to ascend to that level of capital yourself, and utilize it to alter the world/reality in the way that you wish. Is it even possible to attain the capital needed to enact these changes and stay virtuous, and stay kind? I don’t know. I think–I think money and greed can basically corrupt anything, anyone. And then I look at someone like Elon Musk who is investing time money and his life in bringing clean energy to the earth, putting people on mars, and I think maybe it’s possible.
As for fans–it’s hard. I don’t want to generalize. There’s fans of characters who I think in a certain way are feeding into the machine, but when I encounter fans of artists, or the creators themselves, and interact with these people I find it really inspiring. There’s something really pure about that.
You’ve worked with Jason Copland before on the very well received POP. What is it about his art that inspires you and led you to re-team with him?
CP: I love working with Jason and our collaboration is one filled with trust and love. I really wanted to have him be the artist on this first issue because we have a lot of ground to cover here, and I knew with him, we would be able to cover it. That’s not a slight to any other artist, it’s just there’s a shorthand with Jason where I know we can really go for it, and get the information we need to get across, across.
Both of Curt Pires’ new books are currently available for pre-order. “The Tomorrows” #1 debuts on July 8th and you can pre-order at your local comic shop with Diamond Code MAY150013. “The Fiction” #1 debuts this June and you can pre-order this title at your local comic shop with Diamond Code APR151177.
