Ever since we ran the original teaser preview back in August, we’ve been rather unabashedly excited for Johnston and Mitten’s new collaboration, “Umbral.” After their glorious work together on “Wasteland,” it was rather exciting to hear that the team would be getting back together — but this time to create and explore a brand new Fantasy world, which (while similar in some respects, I suppose) is pretty much the exact opposite of “Wasteland.”
Describing it as Dark Crystal meets “Saga” and hoping for at least a 40-issue run, I think you’re going to want to help the book get there after reading this interview. Read on as we chat with Johnston about fantasy, art and more.
How did the concept of UMBRAL come about originally?
Antony Johnston: Last year, I had a sudden urge to work with Chris Mitten again, and make something new. Luckily, it turned out the urge was mutual, so we began throwing ideas for genre around.
We have a mutual love of dark fantasy and weird stuff, but neither of us has ever really sunk our teeth into something like that for comics. So we quickly settled into that genre, then started throwing ideas around. I was actually inspired by one of Chris’ early morning warm-up sketches, of a strange, inhuman monster seemingly made of shadow. That really set the tone.
And what we’ve ended up creating is basically a big mash-up of our twin obsessions — I love building huge, elaborate fantasy worlds, and Chris loves drawing weird, grotesque things that lurk in the shadows. That’s UMBRAL in a nutshell.
On a similar thread – how did the title of UMBRAL even come about? (I had to Google it admittedly to understand its reference).
AJ: It was just something that came up during my original note-taking phase, when I was making notes and figuring out what kind of direction the story would take. It’s a great word, I’ve always liked it. And the more I looked at it, the more I realised it summed up the story perfectly, and it would help us stand out to boot.
What is it about fantasy do you find particular enamoring?
AJ: The sense of otherworldliness, of discovering a new world with new people, new lands, new legends and stories to tell. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve eaten that kind of stuff up, whether it’s in books, comics, movies, RPGs, videogames, even music. I love it.
Are there any particular works that you find are substantially influential on how you approach writing this series?
AJ: Everything influences me to some degree or other, but it’s hard for me to separate them out. UMBRAL certainly isn’t trying consciously to be like anything else. Very much the opposite.
One of the things I found noteworthy about the announcement is its mention of history and mythology. To what extent is the book a combination of real world ideas and elements against the fantastic landscape of the book’s own?
AJ: You could say all fantasy books are that, to an extent. I’m particularly fascinated by myths and legends, and how humans need stories to cope with the world around them. Stories and myths are incredibly important, and I can’t imagine writing any kind of speculative story without them.
UMBRAL is as much about myths and history as WASTELAND, I suppose. But in very different ways, and with very different conclusions to draw.
When planning the series out, how deep do you dive into the universe while working out the story? Do you have ideas for how the whole world works, or just key elements?
AJ: Heh. I go pretty deep into this stuff. Again, just look at WASTELAND.
How do you find the world-building elements of creating a fantasy world different from that of the post-apocalyptic landscape? Are there any genre tropes you lean towards more in one scenario than the other, or vice versa?
AJ: What defines post-apocalypse, to me, is scarcity. If there’s no scarcity, then it wasn’t much of an apocalypse, was it? More of a post-inconvenience, really. So scarcity informs just about every part of a world like that.
Continued belowA fantasy world, though, might include scarcity — the peasants probably don’t have enough to eat, and no kingdom ever has enough gold to finance everything, plus ça change — but it’s rarely the focus, and it isn’t in UMBRAL. What defines this world is its history, and the Kingdom’s attitudes towards magic and religion.
As for genre tropes, I try to avoid them where possible, but it’s inevitable some will creep in. That’s for others to judge.
After working with Chris Mitten for so long on WASTELAND, what led to the decision of working on a new book as opposed to more WASTELAND?
AJ: It just felt like the right time to create something new. Chris and I share a lot of opinions about comics, in terms of both craft and content. That’s why we worked so well together on WASTELAND, and even after Chris left we stayed great friends.
Since you collaborated on one genre for so long, what is the creative partnership like for this new series? Is it in anyway particularly different?
AJ: Not really. The main difference is simple: while WASTELAND was mostly about Chris drawing what I wanted to write, UMBRAL is much more about me writing what Chris wants to draw.
But those things are so close anyway, and we’ve been friends and worked together for so long now, that our methods haven’t really changed at all.
In what ways do you and Chris push each other not only to make UMBRAL distinct from WASTELAND, but in general?
AJ: I can’t speak for Chris, but from my perspective his work always pushes me to think bigger, and do it proper justice. No matter how big, epic, or weird I think something is in the script, when I get Chris’ art back it’s even bigger, even grander, even weirder.
That’s part of the magic of comics, for me, and it pushes me to ensure what I write lives up to Chris’ work.
What led to the decision to do the book in color, and how did John Rauch get involved?
AJ: I love black and white books, as readers of WASTELAND will know. But for a story like UMBRAL, with magic and monsters and a very otherworldly feel, we just felt colour was necessary to immerse readers in the world.
Chris and I are both fans of John Rauch’s work, and we’d come to know him through some mutual friends. So we schmoozed him a little, and offered a degree of freedom that colourists don’t always get. You’ll understand when you see the results that it was obviously the right choice. His palette for UMBRAL looks like nothing else being published today, it’s amazing.
I love Thomas Mauer’s letters, particularly in the recent “Strange Attractors” OGN. How did Mauer end up getting involved in the book?
AJ: Tom has lettered some of Chris’ work before, and their styles mesh together incredibly well. It’s kind of how you imagine Chris’ own lettering would look, if he could do it himself — it’s uncanny, really, and looks seamless.
As the only one here who has seen the book so far, what do you think readers will find most impressive about UMBRAL and the evolution of your creative partnership with Chris?
AJ: UMBRAL definitely has a broader appeal than WASTELAND. There’s humour, and characters like Rascal and Dalone are quite likeable. Anyone who reads WASTELAND already knows those aspects alone make it quite different!
But I’m confident WASTELAND readers will enjoy UMBRAL, too. It’s still me and Chris making this, and no matter what we do our voices are going to show through in the work.
In some ways, maybe the best thing we did was not work together for a while. We’ve come back at it with a new kind of vigour, and we’re both wiser and more battle-scarred for it.
For you, what particular itch do you find working on UMBRAL scratches?
AJ: Well look, I’m a big fantasy nut, and I love writing big, epic stories. The first issue of UMBRAL has a *map*, for crying out loud.
(Although I admit, I did that partly to needle Warren Ellis, because he once told me he hates stories that need a map. Me, I love them!)
Continued belowBut UMBRAL is a very human story, with a type of protagonist I’ve never written before, and that kind of challenge is a perpetual itch I enjoy scratching.
So yes, it’s fantasy. But there are no pointy-eared elves, or green-stockinged heroes. This is much more like something out of a Del Toro fantasy, or a children’s movie gone horribly wrong. Think of it like THE DARK CRYSTAL meets SAGA.
Looking into the future of the series, how far into the future do you and Chris have planned for the world of UMBRAL?
AJ: We’ve got a broad overview of the whole story, from start to finish, but it’s very flexible; we may know we have to get from A to B, but the path we take could be any one of a dozen or more different choices.
How long it lasts will depend very much on how much support we get from readers. If enough people decide to join us on this weird, epic journey, then we could conceivably run for at least 40 issues, maybe even more. That would be pretty epic.
