Science fiction comics so often feature a slick, advanced world. A world where all the technology that got the humans to a faraway planet was automatically adapted to that planet too. What we rarely see is the “frontier times”. The times when there is no infrastructure to accommodate that amazing technology from Earth and the new colonists are left cut off. That’s the sort of world we see in Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein’s “Drifter”, out on November 12th.
A mysterious man crash lands on an alien planet. He’s taken in by the sheriff of a frontier town. Mysteries begin to surface as we find that maybe the mysterious man isn’t quite what even he thought and neither is this planet. That’s what “Drifter” appears to be in this first issue. But, with all the secrets its characters are hiding, we’re likely in store for much more.
Read on as we chat with Ivan Brandon about “Drifter”, threadbare futures, and what it means to be human. Pre-orders for “Drifter end today, so go to your shop and get your order in with the code SEP140546.
“Drifter” is a sci-fi story where humans have expanded to other planets and colonized them. We see these sort of stories often. What we don’t often see, though, is an alien world without all the amazing technology. Drifter takes this colonized world and shows how it would be in the early days. Things are less than ideal and altogether fairly ramshackle. Why take build this sort of run-down world instead of the slick and high tech world that normally populates a sci-fi story?
Ivan Brandon: Like you said, we’re trying to show a different angle on the future. More threadbare, more of a story about a world trying to relearn how to do the things it takes to rebuild structures, both physical and otherwise. Society comes pre-built these days, everything you need is on order. We want to tell a story about what happens when you take people that come from that and remove the roof over their head and their connection to all the automation that comes with it.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is your first Image title since “Viking”, yeah? How does it feel to be coming back to Image with a brand-new series after that time?
IB: It feels great. And with this book and with this team especially to hold me up, it feels incredibly lucky. I’ve done a lot of different writing in a lot of different places since then, Nic Klein has presumably been training in the hills with Shaolin monks until his Kung Fu is unstoppable. It’s amazing to get back together with Nic looking at story from the perspective of where we both are now. And it’s great to be doing it at Image at the most interesting point in its history.
I have to agree that this is possibly the most interesting point in Image’s history. Creators want to work at Image and readers are clamoring for their books. What do you think is helping to make that the case?
IB: I’m a romantic, so I have to say it’s the quality of content. They’ve got the best in the business doing raw and personal work without editorial constraints. It breeds an environment that is almost impossible to replicate at other publishers. And it shows in the work to an audience that has been starving for it.
Something I like is that we essentially know next to nothing about the apparent primary protagonist in “Drifter”, Abram Pollux, not even finding out his name until the next to last page of the issue. He’s as much as mystery to the reader as he is to the other characters, which only makes it more interesting. Obviously, you know all about him, but how do you balance building his character through actions rather than words or backstory?
IB: It’s a tightrope, but it’s fun. Throwing strangers together in a world that doesn’t quite make sense. Abram raises questions, but he has some of his own, too.
I do like that you say that Abram has his own questions because at the end of the first issue there’s definitely some questions resulting from that last page. Where is his search for answers going to take him?
Continued belowIB: There are no real easy answers on this planet or in this camp. Abram’s frustration with the situation he finds himself in leads him into trouble that escalates the closer he gets to the truth.
Even beyond Abram, his appearance in the fittingly named Ghost Town is already causing commotion. What does his presence mean for the town?
iB: He’s going to turn over a lot of rocks to find what he’s looking for. And there are a lot of shadows in Ghost Town, the people don’t enjoy prying eyes.
Throughout the first issue, we’re treated to great views of Ghost Town and some of the geography surrounding it, all which helps to give me the feeling that the planet and the setting is going to be a character almost as important as Abram or Lee. Is that pretty accurate?
IB: Absolutely. In a lot of ways the planet Ouro’s the main character.
Something I’ve seen you mention in other interviews is that “Drifter” is about “trying to be human”. What does trying to be human really entail on a planet where humans aren’t supposed to be?
IB: It means a lot of different things. One example is that humans tend to warp any system to their inclination. In the case of Ouro it might be worse if something else were to behave like a human.
Issue 1 is out in just a few weeks, but what can readers expect to be treated to in “Drifter” as we dive deeper into Ghost Town and Abram’s mysteries?
IB: We’re introducing new characters in almost every issue. And then some of the characters will start to disappear. Maybe most importantly we’ll find out what the dominant life form is on this new planet. (Hint: it isn’t humans)
