Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • Superhero Films – Chapter 20: Condorman (1981)

      Justin Giampaoli
      January 17, 2015
      Columns, HaphazardStuff’s Superhero Film Series
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Comic Book G-Forces: Harley Quinn is a Fire in a Hall of Mirrors in "Mad Love"

      Justin Giampaoli
      July 27, 2016
      Big Two, Columns, Comic Book G-Forces, DC Comics, Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • The Rafaels Team-Up for “HIDDEN SOCIETY”

      Justin Giampaoli
      October 3, 2019
      Dark Horse, News, Press Release
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 3.5

      Digital Ash 5/20/2013: Time To Be Inherently Evil

      Justin Giampaoli
      May 21, 2013
      Digital Ash, Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Interview: Mike Friedrich

      Justin Giampaoli
      March 6, 2015
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Frank Miller's Ronin Pt. 5: ‘What Are You Doing to Me?’

      Justin Giampaoli
      August 12, 2016
      Classic Comics, Classic Comics Cavalcade
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • This Week in BOOM! 10/01/14

      Justin Giampaoli
      October 1, 2014
      News, This Week in BOOM!
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: "Intro to Alien Invasion"

      Justin Giampaoli
      September 16, 2015
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Powerball, I will buy Amazing Fantasy 15
  • DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Interviews

Interview: Antony Johnston Part Two: Surviving the Big Wet

Justin Giampaoli
March 12, 2015
Interviews

Be sure to catch every installment of Surviving The Big Wet, Comics Bulletin’s week-long Wasteland event:

Antony Johnston Interview (Part 1)

Christopher Mitten Interview

Justin Greenwood Interview


Justin Giampaoli for Comics Bulletin: Antony, our generation grew up with these cautionary tales like Mad Max, but why do you think readers and pros alike are so drawn to the post-apocalyptic genre?

Antony Johnston: I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, it’s twofold. First, you get the chance to begin again, to create a whole new world and society; but you can also cheat a little, because the reader knows our world, right now, and therefore how much has changed in the story presented.

Second, you get to explore that society from viewpoints and angles that, like the society itself, simply don’t exist in our modern world. In some cases, they never have. That’s catnip to an SF writer.

You could say you also get those things with alien-world fiction, and that’s mostly true, but what you don’t get is that context of change. The reader has no prior reference for the alien world, unlike our own world today.

CB: Any regrets with Wasteland, any story arcs or interlude issues that you didn‘t get to explore?

Johnston: So many it’s not even funny. You start out thinking 60 issues is practically infinite, enough time to explore every possible idea you could ever have… and then you hit issue #30 and suddenly realise that not only are you already halfway through, but you’ve barely covered a quarter of what you hoped to by now.

I think that’s a natural part of writing a long episodic story, though. It changes shape as you go, and sometimes takes you places you didn’t expect, which is a good thing.

One early plan was to write an arc about the In Here people, but the more I thought about it the more I realised it would be a diversion without much substance beyond “isn’t this society a peculiar idea.” So I explored it over a few installments of Walking the Dust, instead, and that turned out to be sufficient.

CB: I loved the interlude issues in between arcs, but what purpose did they serve both artistically and functionally?

Johnston: There were aspects of the world, and the characters’ lives, that I wanted to tell without resorting to cutaways, or endless flashbacks, within the main story. I wanted to keep that fairly lean and focused, so I planned to use the interludes as a way to quickly visit different places and times in the world of Wasteland, without distracting from the main story.

Functionally, they were also a way to give Chris Mitten a rest in the early days, when he was drawing every issue of the main storyline. We knew taking a break between arcs would help with scheduling (and we’ve been proven right, given that almost every creator-owned book being published now follows the same model…!)

It was James Lucas Jones who suggested giving each one to a different guest artist, which was a real stroke of genius. That was what encouraged me to experiment more, and resulted in things like issue #20, “Apocalyptic City”, with Chuck BB’s wonderful splash illustrations.

CB: What‘s the reader demographic like for Wasteland? One of the observations I made at the LCS was that women were drawn to The Dog Tribes arc specifically.

Johnston: And when you mentioned that on Twitter, I was genuinely (but pleasantly!) surprised.

Let me clarify: it’s no surprise that of all the arcs in Wasteland, Dog Tribe would appeal to women the most. But I find it difficult to sell female readers on post-apocalyptic fiction, because so often it’s a big old boys’ club. I love Mad Max, but its enormous cultural impact burned the concept of post-apocalyptic fiction being a men-only genre into the public’s minds for a generation. I look forward to Charlize Theron’s role in the new reboot for exactly that reason.

My own observation is that Wasteland mostly skewed towards men 20-40, which in light of the above isn’t too surprising. But I always hoped Wasteland would appeal across gender boundaries, so I’m really glad we touched some female readers too.

CB: The critical response to the series was predominantly favorable, but (and no offense intended here) sales of the singles didn‘t seem incredibly strong. I assume the trades did well? Did you ever have to consider wrapping it up early if it was cancelled, or was there a commitment from Oni Press to see it through to 60 issues no matter what?

Johnston: Wasteland was constantly on the point of cancellation up until our ‘soft relaunch’ with issue #33. The trades have always sold better than the single issues, and turn a profit, but they’re hardly setting charts alight.

For a long time, because of the massive delays and production problems we had, Oni wanted to relaunch with a new #1, to get a sales spike.

But I was 100% against that. Yes, we’d get a short-term spike. But those spikes never last, and in the process you piss off your existing readers, destroy the prestige of being able to say “issue #60” at the end, and spoil the cohesiveness of the series as a whole. I’ve never seen a single instance where relaunching a book like Wasteland with a new #1 was a good idea, in the long term.

At one point I even suggested going straight to digital with the singles, if that was what it took to maintain series numbering.

Anyway, we resolved that, and then finding Justin and Russel enabled us to work out the remainder of the schedule. From that point I think Oni knew it was all about trades, and the issues’ main purpose was to spread awareness. We were also now Oni’s longest-running series — in fact, one of the longest-running series outside of Marvel and DC, period. Maybe that played a part.

CB: “Walking The Dust“ is ultimately a 74-page prose novella (and it reads so cohesively collected, by the way!). Would you do that type of backmatter again?

Johnston: Not without a much better plan, and not for free…!

I’m very proud of the end result, but Walking the Dust was a constant source of stress and exhaustion. Every issue, I was convinced the well was dry, that I’d run out of things to write about, and I’d have to wrap it up soon. Most of the installments were written in a Sunday afternoon frenzy, less than 24 hours before the book went to press.

CB: Is Ankya related to anyone we meet? I know the timelines don‘t work out, but I was always hoping she was the daughter of Jakob and Tajj or Diana and Arddem or something.

Johnston: No. Ankya’s story was always intended to be separate to Michael and Abi’s.

That’s partly because I wanted it to have a different, more contemplative feel than the main story. But it’s also because of the way the timelines interrelate. I wanted to leave it unclear as to when exactly Ankya was wandering around, until towards the end when we realise she was contemporaneous with our main characters, and is now looking back on those days… from a world that actually hasn’t changed much.

CB: I always assumed she was a Ruin Runner, but in my recent reread you‘re very clear she‘s a traveling writer.  When she says “Words are what I do,“ I get the sense there‘s a little bit of Antony Johnston in Ankya Ofsteen?

Johnston: Definitely, yes. Beyond the desire to explore the world of Wasteland in ways I couldn’t in the main story, Ankya’s story is also about being a writer, filled with curiosity and learning as many new things as you can.

CB: You‘re not known for exposition, but in the final arc, Michael, Abi, and Thomas say the words, that Marcus killed all of their brothers and sisters. Was it important to spell it out a bit?

Johnston: Yes, especially because we don’t fully revisit that event until issue #60. I always err on the side of letting readers work stuff out for themselves, but the whole business with Marcus, Mary, “Dr Scott”, and the Father of the Children was so central, I felt it was absolutely vital everyone understood what had happened. To do that, I was prepared to make a small sacrifice to the exposition gods.

CB: The final arc flashbacks were really unexpected. There‘s climate change, global food shortage, global economic collapse, and then you add in the catalyst of hasty genetic engineering. Then 100 kids wake up, followed by a sort of natural planetary collapse, and then man-made nuclear holocaust from the human response to Adam. Am I clear on the chain of events? “The Big Wet“ is essentially the end result of all this?

Johnston: Yes, that’s the correct order. And I’m glad it was unexpected. That was the idea!

CB: You made a map for Umbral. Please tell me you have an unpublished map of America after The Big Wet somewhere, and how do I get access to it?

Johnston: I most certainly do. Both the main story and Walking the Dust would have been impossible to write without it. I’m considering publishing it, along with other background stuff, in the final Apocalyptic Edition.

CB: Yes, please!

How do you want Wasteland to be remembered?

Johnston: As a vast, epic story that makes people think, and contemplate their values.

With some kick-ass fight scenes.

 

Thanks for joining us for our retrospective look at Wasteland, a series which exits stage left as one of the great modern epics. The final issue, #60, is on sale March 18th. Special thanks to Antony Johnston, Chris Mitten, Justin Greenwood, and Shy Allott at Oni Press for all of their work behind the scenes in putting this project together. I leave you with one of my favorite lines from the series. It‘s about the very essence of storytelling, and certainly speaks to me as a critic:

“What matters is that we have his story, set down forever, so everyone can make up their own mind. And that‘s when I remember what I‘m doing this for.” – Ankya Ofsteen.

Antony JohnstonOni PressWasteland

Share On:
Tweet
Interview: Nick Abadzis: Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor Vol. 1 Revolutions Of Terror
Kickstarter Spotlight: Comic Book People 2: Photographs from the 1990s

About The Author

<a href="http://comicsbulletin.com/byline/justin-giampaoli/" rel="tag">Justin Giampaoli</a>
Justin Giampaoli

Thirteen Minutes has focused on weekly reviews of Creator-Owned Comics since 2005. Paradox Comics “Best Web-Site” Award-Winner. Freelance Writer (Current: DMZ Book Three @ DC/Vertigo). Contributing Writer @ Comics Bulletin. Follow @ThirteenMinutes

Related Posts

  • Interview: Junior Braves of the Apocalypse: Boy Scouts Vs. Zombies

    Jason Sacks
    September 23, 2016
  • podcast reboot comic book club avenge jemma salute

    Podcast: Sophie Campbell reads Avenge by Jemma Salume—RCBC

    Joseph Kyle Schmidt
    July 18, 2016

One Response

  1. Interview: Justin Greenwood: Surviving the Big Wet - Comics Bulletin March 12, 2015

    […] Interview: Antony Johnston Part Two: Surviving the Big Wet […]

Latest Interviews

  • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

    Daniel Gehen
    June 8, 2020
  • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

    Mike Nickells
    March 4, 2020
  • Simon Roy

    Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

    Mike Nickells
    January 29, 2020
  • Interview: V.E. Schwab on revisiting Red London in The Steel Prince

    Stephen Cook
    March 13, 2019
  • Interview: David Foster Wallace and Hellblazer, words on Wyrd with writer Curt Pires

    Stephen Cook
    February 27, 2019
  • “The Night Has Teeth” An Interview with Sarah deLaine, Artist of Image Comics’ “Little Girls”

    Jason Sacks
    February 26, 2019
  • Interview: Caitlin Kittredge talks the future of Witchblade

    Daniel Gehen
    February 12, 2019
  • Interview: Andy Nakatani and the Future of Weekly Shonen Jump

    Daniel Gehen
    December 19, 2018
  • INTERVIEW: Todd Matthy talks robots, princesses, and bridging the divide with storytelling

    Stephen Cook
    September 13, 2018
  • INTERVIEW: Gallaher & Ellis discuss THE ONLY LIVING GIRL

    Daniel Gehen, Thea Srinivasan
    September 7, 2018
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders