Brass Sun was one of the hit new series that emerged from the pages of British weekly magazine 2000 AD in the 2010s. Debuting with 2012’s Prog 1800, they won a legion of fans for their clockwork punk visuals, expertly executed by co-creator and artist INJ Calvard, and for the twisted plot by writer and co-creator Ian Edgington. It was even one of the rare series to receive the mass-market hardcover collection treatment. Then in 2018, after the fifth arc of Progressive 2072 ended, things went quiet.
The creative team moved on to other projects. INJ Calvard co-created another hit, the sci-fi mystery series “Blink,” written by Dan Abnett. Ian Edginton talks about The Scarlet Trace, Ghosts of the Eastern Front and the new series of Helium – often co-starring regular Disraeli. It started to look like this series would never return.
But now, in 2025, Brassan is back. Its latest work, Pavane, began in the pages of Prog 2450 in 2000 AD (released in the UK in mid-September, and should arrive in the US soon, depending on Prog Pack’s distribution channels).
Beat contributor Dean Simmons spoke with Ian Edginton about bridging the gap between series newcomers, the current direction of Brass Sun, and the mental health crisis that led to the hiatus.
Dean Simmons: For those new to the series, how would you describe Brass Sun and the appeal of the latest chapter for brand new readers? What can you tease?
Ian Edginton: In not-so-minor terms, at the heart of this story is Aurelie, a fully functional, life-sized clockwork solar system. A collection of planets, moons, and asteroids orbit a vast brass sun that brings life to life via a giant metal spar. This once unified collection of worlds has fallen into war and retreated into exotic fiefdoms and small baronies. Thousands of years later, the sun is now in decline, and the outside world has succumbed to entropy and is covered in ice, along with the rest of the world that will inevitably follow.
A young wren, who lives in one of the outer worlds, is given a mission by her scientist grandfather, Cadwaladr, to find a piece of the lost key to restart the sun. We then follow her exploits throughout the star system and the people and creatures she encounters. It’s an impossible task, and things don’t go the way these kinds of stories would have you believe. Just because you’re a brave underdog doesn’t mean you have the right to succeed. The Wren Story begins as a classic adventure/fable trope, but quickly devolves into something more.
Years after Pavane began her quest, she reconciles with Wren, but she is at her lowest point, very low point in fact. She’s been through some bad times and has basically given up, waiting out the end of the world until her old friend, air pirate Ariel O’Connor, literally comes back into her life. Whether she likes it or not, the Brass Sun isn’t done for her yet.
Dean Simmons: Where did the initial idea for Brass Sun come from?
Ian Edginton: I’ve always been fascinated by the intricate clockwork model of Earth’s solar system. All gears, ratchets and arms. It wasn’t such a leap to wonder what it would be like if it were full size. Why was it built? What’s the story? Who would live in those worlds? How do they move between them?
After the first idea, questions and story ideas kept coming.
Dean Simmons: How did you and Brass Sun co-creator INJ Calvard start working together? Were you old friends?
Ian Edginton: We were introduced by a mutual friend, the artist Matt Brooker, aka Disraeli. I was approached by my publisher SelfMadeHero to turn Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray into a graphic novel and asked Ian (Culbard) if he would be interested in doing the job.
He did, and we found that we worked well together, and then we ended up adapting Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Princess of Mars, all for SelfMadeHero. After a while we talked about doing something unique and pitched Brass Sun in 2000 AD.
Dean Simmons: The original version of Brass Sun (which lasted five series) was extremely popular. Did you hear much from fans about this work during your seven-year hiatus? What was the reaction to the announcement of your return?
Ian Edginton: It was so well received that it made me nervous. I began to wonder if I would be able to repeat the same thing on my next run. It was truly a case of performance anxiety. I was worried that it wouldn’t be as good as before, so I put it off and put it off until later. Ian (Calvard) and I eventually moved on to other jobs and Brass Sun was quietly put aside.
About a year ago, my teenage daughter read this whole article and couldn’t believe I had left the poor wrens in limbo. I went back and reread everything myself and realized she was right. In the end, I decided it was a waste to leave this story alone for too long and it was time to bring it back. The return of Brass Sun was also a question I was repeatedly asked at autograph sessions and conventions. I kept procrastinating and procrastinating until I finally decided to get out of my own way and go for it.
When news broke that Brass Sun was coming back, I think the phrase “about bloody time” was used most often. People seem genuinely happy to have it back.
Obviously, there’s a huge gap between the previous series and this new series, so we had to find a convenient and dandy way to keep everyone up to date. I still have my previous collection, but I didn’t want to leave you feeling cold. We needed to cover what came before, but we wanted to do it in an interesting way.
Eventually, I came up with the idea of a Chaucerian-style pilgrimage set in the distant future. The wren has become such a legendary and iconic figure that pilgrims visit her home in the world of hind legs. Aurelie, the ring of the world, has clearly changed, but we don’t know how or why the wren did what it did or became so revered. We drop hints, scatter plot threads, and then move back in time to Wren in her twenties. This series and the series that follow will show how she gets from here to there.
Dean Simmons: You mentioned that your daughter was reading this series and that inspired you to come back. Did she have a big influence on the direction of this new series? Does she read a lot of your work?
Ian Edginton: She’s read some of them, including “The Brass Sun,” “Kingdom of the Wicked,” and “Helium.” She inspired me to put on the pants I needed to watch Brass Sun again. I think the Brass Sun I’m writing now is very different from what would have happened if the original series had continued as it was. And that’s good.
Dean Simmons: From the original outline of the series, how far along is it now? Has it changed much during the hiatus?
Ian Edginton: We have the whole plan in place right up to the last minute, but the way we get there can be a bit lost and meandering. I don’t believe in strictly planning everything to be completely waterproof. I used to do that, but not anymore. I know from experience that plots can veer off in unexpected directions, and background characters can suddenly take on bigger roles, and that’s what makes it fun. It may sound like a cliché, but that in itself is truly worth living! If I had continued to talk about those days, it would have been different from what I am writing now. I can’t say whether it’s good or bad, but I’m definitely satisfied with the way things are going now.
Dean Simmons: You mentioned that Brass Sun’s long hiatus was due to performance concerns, and I was wondering if you could elaborate on that. When did you first realize it was a problem? What advice do you have for people facing creative block?
Ian Edginton: The positive feedback for the first series was great, but as time goes on you start to wonder if it can be repeated. You try to analyze why this work resonated with people, but of course there’s madness in there. You start to overthink things, become too critical, and end up spiraling into a situation where all you can do is put things aside, put them in a box or a drawer, and leave them alone. I’m glad I was able to do that because I’ve experienced a lot of things, both big and small, in the intervening years. I got divorced, moved, traveled, read a lot of books, met new people, and went through some trials and tribulations, all of which are reflected in my experiences. When I dug out Brass Sun again, I wasn’t the same person who put it in the drawer. I’m not saying I had a Zen-like epiphany, but I think I needed that time to gain a little perspective on the story and a lot of things actually.
When a writer gets stuck or gets a little stuck on a story, there are a number of things they do. It’s important to go for a walk, go to the gym, or get out of the house to clear your mind.
If you’re still stuck, try another project. I’m still writing, so I’m going through the same process, but the story and subject matter is different and it’s easier to get it down on paper. The wheels start moving, so when you get back to where you were stuck, the cogs and cogs are freed up and you can move forward further.
Brass Sun: Pavane is currently running in the year 2000 AD. You can start with Prog 2450 and catch up on the story so far, or buy your lot from the official webshop. Previous Ark hardcover collections are still available.
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