At the end of April, Oni Press revealed the first look of Benjamin #1 (via the Hollywood Reporter). Benjamin #1, author Ben H. Winters (EC’s Cruel Universe, Underground Airline), creator of CBS’s acclaimed TV series tracker, author of the author who awards the Edgar Award and Star Award for Torilog Award (Abyss’ EC inscription, head-filled refrigerator).
The first issue of Benjamin will be on sale on June 18, 2025 and the final order deadline of May 26, 2025 (i.e. order from your local comic bookstore today!)
Christian Ward’s Cover A. Photo Credit: ONI Press
Please read the following official explanation:
Not just an icon of science fiction, but a writer, Benjamin J. Cope was a cultural revolutionary. Over 44 novels and hundreds of short stories (such as The Man, a counterculture classic that they could not erase), it pushed the boundaries of literary respect for the genre of science fiction and the very reality of his readers… decades of amphetamine abuse and Southern California excess have finally concluded a mindbending career that has always escaped major mainstream success. He passed away in 1982.
Until 2025… Benjamin J. Koi’s awakening, alive, in a motel burnt out in the fringe in Los Angeles. He remembers death. He knows he should not exist. Is he a dream? robot? ghost? clone? simulation? In his own time, Koi contemplated all of these scenarios through his fiction – and now, when he travels from Studio City to Venice Beach and the paranoid sprawl of 21st century Los Angeles, he is still called to investigate his greatest mystery: himself.
Beat had the opportunity to send an email in the winter to discuss his original creator-owned work, its inspiration, and the collaborative process with book artist Leomax.
Ollie Kaplan: Benjamin pays homage to science fiction greats like Philip K. Dick, Ray Bradbury, ISACC Asimov and more. How is Benjamin constructed into themes explored by these visionaries, and how do you think they resonate with modern issues?
Ben H. Winters: One of the amazing things about great science fiction is that it creates its own language, its own sensibilities, often its own reality, thereby avoiding dating traps. So there are truly timeless things, and some of the deeper and wilder things that these writers were obsessed with are timeless: what does it mean to be alive? What is consciousness? How do you know what we are experiencing is authentic? Where do we come from and where do we go? All good things. A deep, valuable question that goes back far back from the 1960s and continues to be sought after in the future.
Kaplan: Benjamin Koi, the author of Benjamin, died and returned to life. Have you ever had your own near-death experience?
Winters: Once upon a time I was playing bass guitar in an outdoor venue called Forturino in Washington, DC, and it was raining lightly. I don’t think I’m nearing death, but it was very calm to note that my bandmates didn’t stop playing.
Cover C in the Malachi Ward. Photo Credit: ONI Press
Kaplan: What made you create this character? Was he named after you?
Winters: I think the biggest direct influence was the God-invasion of the book by Lawrence Sten, a deeply studied, deeply disturbing biopic of Philip K. Dick. It is always so fascinating and a bit depressing to realize that these towering works of art, which mean so much to us, were created by such imperfect and sad people. The characters are not named after me. I think it sounded right. You mentioned it, so I happen to be a gross middle-aged genre writer, so who knows?
Kaplan: Oni Press Eic Sierra Hahn described the book as “rich, heartfelt, hilarious, and sometimes tragic in the investigation of loneliness, one of the greatest illnesses Americans face today.” Like Pickleball, does this comic cure men’s loneliness or is it a symptom of illness? (I’m quip, but I can’t wait for your answer.)
Winter: This comic doesn’t cure men’s loneliness, but it doesn’t ruin the knees either, so there’s at least one in the pickleball. I am grateful to Sierra for compiling Hell from this, and I agree with her that loneliness lies in my heart – not just the modern ennui that has hidden us all since Covid-19 and the sense of mutilation that has hidden us all since Covid-19, but the deeper and unshakable truth of life: we are here alone. The question is, what do you do with it? How do you find your purpose? That’s the real theme of the book. (This is where my hero rolls his eyes and calls me a massive slut.)
Kaplan: Can you explain your collaboration with artist Leomass and how those visual styles complement your story?
Winters: Leomax was the perfect illustrator for Benjamin. Because he’s good at both of the things I want to do here. Create a gentle, realistic and light comic portrait of my curmudgeonly dimbat hero and his world, taking us inside and outside the fantastic side of the story slipping down, as Benjamin imagines a distant planet and an alternative planet. Leomass’ talent, or some of it, is within his scope and I am very grateful to have been able to use it.
Kaplan: What unique storytelling opportunities does the comic book format offer compared to the other media you worked for?
Winters: I was lucky enough to publish a novel and write for TV. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. What’s cool about comics is that they combine the possibilities of fictional narratives with the visual power of television. If you want the next panel to be on Mars, it’s on Mars and no one needs to build a set or hire a bunch of Mars. You need an adventurous artist to make it. There is extraordinary freedom in it, which brings me so much joy. I hope Benjamin readers get it too!
Cover B with Leomass. Photo Credit: ONI Press
Kaplan: What can readers expect from Benjamin’s upcoming issues? Can you also explain in detail about the Prestige format and how to enhance visual and narrative storytelling?
Winters: Well, in the first issue, Benjamin is dead, but now he has to come back and understand what he is doing in life. He drafted Marcus, a sweet lost boy who works in a hotel to help him. Each subsequent problem comes closer to the answer as he and Marcus wander around increasingly strange and impossible Los Angeles. Like the real thing!
Kaplan: After working on FX’s Marvel Comics-inspired series Legion, this is his second foray into writing comics. Tell us more about your personal history in the media. I started reading memories of manga, folimer comic books, why would you want to start writing your own manga?
Winters: Ah, Amazing – like my particular age cartoon, coincided with the JM Dematteis/Griffin era of Justice League of America. So, along with Fugazi and Elvis Costello, my cultural touchstone was booster gold and blue beetles. I love the stupidity combined with heroism, and I think that defines my work over the decades that followed, from my latest novel (Big Time) to Benjamin.
Man, you made me realize something!
Kaplan: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Winter: Thank you very much!
Check out the Benjamin preview page below.
Photo Credit: ONI Press Photo Credit: ONI Press Photo Credit: ONI Press Photo Credit: ONI Press Photo Credit: ONI Press Photo Credit: ONI Press
The first of the three transcendental form of fame chapters of writer Ben H. Winters and artist Leomac arrives anywhere in the comic store on June 18th, 2025.
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