Writer Frank J. Barbiere (Five Ghosts, Violent Love) and artist Morgan Beam (Swamp Thing: Twin Branch, You belong here) are joining forces for a new, ongoing metafiction fantasy series, which will be released by Image Comics in October.
Premiering as the 40-page extra-length debut issue and featuring various covers of Shimizu and Jorge Corona, the series follows the failed author Hector Ramirez, who was offered the opportunity for a life-changing career. Unfortunately, there is much more to this deal that Hector recognizes.
Beat chatted with Barbiere and Beem about upcoming titles.
Deanna Destito: What inspired this story?
Frank J. Barbiere: For a long time I’ve wanted to write stories about authors, storytelling, fictional “story worlds.” When I wrote five ghosts in 2013 at the beginning of my career, there were many species of these ideas, but they were filtered through action-adventure stories. As I spent my time away from the comics, I pondered deeply about one story I wanted to tell. That became the author’s immortality. After being introduced to Morgan, things clicked into place. Her art kickstarted my brain and brought all the ideas I had in mind together. Looking at her sketches and having her enthusiasm for the story helped it take shape.
Like many writers, I have long thought about the combat relationships that readers have now with stories and writers. Many of our most beloved writers betray our values, fell from grace, or disappointed us, and audiences became skeptical of the story. Coupled with the rise of AI and the narrative as “content,” we lost faith. I am an optimist who believes in the power of stories that heal, guide and entertain, so I wanted to inject as much as possible into this book. At its heart, it’s a fantasy story, but also deals with many real-world issues, such as the author’s death and acceptance of his own identity. I don’t necessarily have an answer for everyone, but this book helps explore these difficult questions and feel that many readers are seen at challenging times in a world where they are not always optimistic.
One of the great inspirations for me is the dizzy books of the ’00S era, something that is not particularly written. The works of Mike Carrey and Peter Gross are one of my favorite stories, and the “long-running series” format was something I wanted to approach most of my career. Using what was not written as thematic touchstones, he created a complement to it, providing a perspective on the power of metafiction, literature and narratives in the modern world.
Destito: How does this team work creatively? Does everyone do their own thing or are they more supportive?
Barbiere: We are a very supportive team and use Image Comics to control the book with full control over the design and what’s on every page of each issue. Start things by writing a script. Then we’ll start a review with editor Arden Ripley. We pass it on to Morgan Beam. Working with talents like Morgan while I write the full script is always a thrill as she adds a lot to the layout and pace of the page, as well as the design of the great characters and creatures. Next, round the phone to see more details. From there, Morgan completes the page. Many times, especially when working on corporate IP, you don’t have time to see everything with your personal connections or collaborators. This is a truly special process for collaborating on every page at every stage of the project, and is shown in the love and care that enters the final product.
This also extends to design and lettering. Hassan (Otsmane-Elhaou) writes about the final art, and he constantly elevates his projects with his font choices and balloon designs. We let him do his thing and then reviewed him. I believe in allowing my collaborators to do their best in the project. The Sasha E-head works similarly. We share the book with her and she will get her own design choice and artistry in this issue. It was a joy to see it come together and we have brought together a truly exceptional team.
Destito: Seen in most watercolor-like books. Why did you choose this route?
Morgan Beem: Art styles are actually traditional watercolors, so there is watercolor painting! When I color my work, that’s how I like it. When Frank first approached me about this project, we discussed style and felt that it wanted it to be held in the book. I not only wanted more control over the visual mood (selfishly, haha) but also thought that I could lend a soft, slightly dreamy quality to a book with watercolors set primarily in a fantasy world. We made lots of extra small bits to really soak readers in the feel of that fantasy book, in addition to the colour. One example of this is the borders of decorative panels in the “Book-in” scene. This gave a lot of inspiration from medieval decorative texts. He also hoped that sticking with watercolor would give him a distinct visual interest on other well-drawn cartoon sea shelves.
Destito:Deb is clearly a reference to another real-life writer who has undoubtedly expelled the fanbase. Why did you include this details?
Barbiere: One of the key themes in the story is the length of time you go to create meaningful works and become “immortal.” As we saw in the real world, the authors are human beings who fail, and unfortunately some of them have dangerous or largely divorced views from the content of their work. I believe that one of the “big scars” of my generation is the collapse of some of our most beloved writers, and I think it’s important to address this in fiction. As the author Immortal is a story about the story, the power of the author, and how one can define oneself in light of what the writers of the story believe, it is highly relevant and necessary through the larger all-talk to refer to the failures of modern writers of the real world. The author’s death (the idea that we can divorce a creative work from a writer) is very divisive as a literary concept, and we wanted to investigate it in our stories. There is no easy answer, but these questions are at the heart of the author’s Immortal. Ultimately, I want a story about embracing your identity and finding your path through a world that isn’t always easy to navigate.
Destito: If readers are unsure if this is a series that will be in, how do you explain them?
Barbiere: In short, the author Immortal is about what happens when you grow the story you love…but it won’t let go. It is a modern portal fantasy/Izekai featuring highly human characters in the world, based on their favorite stories, and discovers that things aren’t looking at all. There are mysteries, excitement, comedy, horror, and it’s different from the rest of the shelves.
Some of our bigger touchpoints are books that are extremely popular among the massive Swass of comics fans, such as Saga, Monstress, Rock & Key. I’ve been reading comics forever and wanted to create a series that captures the feeling of truly loving the characters and stories. We have created stories that we hope to be thematically relevant to many people who find unique and persuasive, but who love new stories. I think Morgan’s art stands out because there’s nothing else on the shelf. Her emotionally engaging and exciting storytelling helps readers invest in this world and these characters from the first issue. We aim to provide an exciting and compelling single issue, focusing on making every issue a meaningful part of the story, focusing on what feels fulfilling to read each month. The story has many twists and is designed to keep ourselves up for a long time, so we hope that readers will be able to take part in the opportunity as they continue to unfold the story from month to month.
Destito: Are there any teasers you want to share?
Barbiere: Author Immortal is intended as a continuous series that you can dive into every month. There are plenty of surprises, twists and turns, and it focuses on providing important moments for every issue to attract readers. That being said, readers will be excited by the visuals created by Morgan Beam. The book takes place in our unique fantasy world, and Morgan consistently surprises us and nurtures the bar with her creatures and character designs. If you’re a fantasy fan, you’ll love the unique take we’re giving you. We also have a lot of hearts and personalities. Even the first few issues, I hope you fall in love with our characters and take root for them.
Check out the exclusive look of the author’s Immortal page below!
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