So, in case you hadn't heard, "Undertow" came out from Image Comics in February, and it's gotten some really fantastic reviews so far. It's a new graphic novel set in the world of Atlantis, and it's both stunningly gorgeous (the colors!) and a deep, complex world. "Undertow" issue 3 is coming out pretty soon (comic book types, the order cutoff for issue 3 is Monday, so get on it). I sat down with the writer, Steve Orlando, and chatted about "Undertow" and where the series is going. Let's take a look, but first, check out the issue 3 cover:
Q: So the first two issues of "Undertow" are available now. What can we expect from "Undertow" issue 3 and the rest of the run? Any favorite scenes we can look forward to?
Steve Orlando: The Amphibian! Without a doubt, the reveal of the Amphibian and the entropy it brings to the story is one of the things I've been waiting for since Issue 1. I'm like a Game of Thrones fan anticipating the Red Wedding. "Undertow" Issue 3 is a major jump forward in the hunt for the Amphibian, but the creature itself is not something Anshargal and his team were ready for, not in the way they expect. And the creature throws the story astray, it turns the team's quest into something different, and drives us into new locales. Settings you've never seen in an Atlantis story before! And beyond all that it is just exciting to show people our take on the character everyone expects from Atlantis fiction, the half-breed, the Aquaman, the Namor. We had to engage that part of the myth, and having readers finally see how we did it is one of the things I've been looking forward to since the beginning.
Q: Atlantis feels like a reflection of modern American society - very stratified, not much social mobility, very set in its ways, and the people have become complacent. But it isn't overtly violent or thuggish. Do you think Atlantis is beyond saving? Is it to some degree an evil place?
SO: Whether Atlantis is evil or not depends on your point of view, just like with most definitions of evil. Certainly Anshargal thinks so, and certainly there are people behind the scenes doing some horrible things in the name of staying in power. But is that evil? Look at our modern readership/viewership tuning in to "House of Cards" to root for a murderer. "Doing bad in the name of good" or whatever Netflix is spouting. And Anshargal kills people too, in order to fight back against these government and corporate aggressors. So bad deeds abound on both sides.
And for the people caught in the middle, the complacency is in some ways the worst. At least in the eyes of our leads. And in some ways it IS a reflection of American culture, but really its world culture. The cult of self centrism. People are happy to look the other way as bad things happen and lives get crushed by the socio-political machine, as long as it's not THEIR lives. And jogging those people back to reality is what Anshargal wants. Can they be saved? Sure. If they're willing to wake up and think for themselves.
Q: We've seen some primitive humans on land already. Are we going to see more of them in "Undertow" issue 3? Should we assume that Undertow is set on Earth in the distant past?
SO: The savage humans will show up throughout the story, definitely. And they'll play a number of roles- aggressor, science project, food source. They occupy an interesting place as they are one of the apex predators on land, BUT they're still animals. And just like the most powerful of the apex predators today, who are all predated by humans thanks to technology, the humans are still no match for Atlanteans one-on-one. But a horde of them? That's another story. Just like a horde of zombies or a pack of wolves, they're still dangerous in groups.
The setting for "Undertow" plays in multiple ways. I certainly have my own intended reading of the book, but I also don't like to stamp down authorial intent. The book COULD be in the distant human past, it COULD be in the present. Of course the "present" is subjective in terms of from whose point of view we're speaking and telling the story. Like with any comic, this is a modern myth, or so I hope. So in some ways, it can merely exist in its own timeless setting, as a snapshot of interaction between races.
Q: How did you and [artist] Artyom Trakhanov create the world visually? Did you have a vision for how Atlantis and the Deliverer looked, or did Artyom have free rein?
SO: When I work with Artyom, my direction for design is less about the visual appearance of a character, ship, or creature, and more about the FEELING it should convey. He is an ingenious designer. So while I sometimes have a few key notes on how a thing should look, I more often talk about how it makes the reader feel, what its looks should say about itself, and the impressions it imposes on characters in the story. It's more about the functionality of the creation from a narrative point of view, how can we use this to impact the story by its design? And then we go and make it do that.
Q: Are all six issues complete, or are you still wrapping things up?
SO: We are wrapping up a bit at the end of the series, but the series was largely completed before the first issue's releases so that everything could hopefully come out on time. We're finishing the miniseries now, and also beginning work on exclusive extras for the collected edition, which will be coming out late summer or early fall. We'll have a nice bit of bonus material that builds on the series, so that readers who followed monthly will get something new when they check out the trade paperback.
Q: Do you have any further plans to revisit the world of Undertow? Is this a one-off or do you see this as a larger world?
SO: The first Undertow miniseries tells the complete story of the hunt for the Amphibian, but we could certainly return and tell more stories with these characters. There is certainly more to say, and meta-arcs to play out. But it's important to use to have readers feel satisfied once they close the last page of Issue 6. So you'll feel progress has been made when you close the book. And you'll know that if you come back for another round, there'll be even more room for the characters to grow and for the lasers to flow.
Q: Is the Amphibian real, or is it just a false hope?
SO: Spoilers! The Amphibian certainly is SOMETHING. I'm hesitant to go into severe detail, but needless to say, Anshargal, Ukinnu and Kingu definitely make contact in Issue 3. What that means, and how it relates to everything else in the story, will slowly unravel over the course of the miniseries.
Q: How did you come up for the names for the characters?
SO: The names in Undertow are related to the idea that evolution happened to touch a different starting point than humans. So perhaps, otherwise, these aquatic races have followed a path similar to that of humanity. In that respect, we drew on the naming systems of the Fertile Crescent, where civilization, our own actual civilization, bloomed so long ago. Our naming conventions are rooted in Sumerian and Babylonian words and phrases, so that their root of civilization is maybe, just maybe, the same as ours. Maybe things happen the same way they always do, but with a different species in the driver's seat.
Q: Any other interesting projects in the works after Undertow? What's next?
SO: A lot! There's always a bunch of things in development, but the main thing happening right now is the production of VIRGIL, a comic book series we funded as a collected edition graphic novel on Kickstarter in September of 2013. And thank you to all the supporters! Artist JD Faith, Colorist Chris Beckett, designer Victor Ochoa and I are working our hardest to crank this book out and make it kick as much ass as possible. The story is an exploitation revenge story, centering on a gay couple in Jamaica, just as gay rights become the civil rights cause of this generation. PLUS it has lots of punching! And incredible art and coloring with Faith and Beckett. As for what else? Keep your eyes on the solicits, my friends, there is more on the horizon.
"Undertow" issue 3 is due out in mid-March. Make sure you get it!
