The following is an interview with Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman, Underground Airlines, Tracker) regarding the upcoming release of the sci-fi comic book series, Benjamin, with Oni Press. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Winters about his shared creative process in working with artist Leomacs to bring the story and characters to life on the page, the themes that he hopes will resonate with readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of Benjamin! What can you share with us about the genesis behind this reverential sci-fi project?
Ben H. Winters: Thank you so much! This was an idea I had been kicking around for a novel – about a troubled, but brilliant, cult author who dies too young…but then wakes up four decades later in an LA motel room, unsure of how or why. The novel just wasn’t coming together, and I wasn’t sure why, and then I had lunch with this sophisticated devil I know named Hunter Gorinson, who had recently been named publisher of Oni Press, and he was sort of like – hey, what you got? And suddenly I could picture Benjamin, I could see the fractured, sunlit, bizarre Los Angeles he needed to wander through on his quest for meaning. Simple as that!
BD: Having written extensively for prose and television, what made the sequential art medium the best vehicle for telling the story?
BHW: Because Benjamin, our hero, is himself a storyteller, and because he is rummaging through different realities in search of the truth of what happened to himself, there are a lot of different worlds within the world of this story. So seeing each of those worlds with its own distinct style adds tenfold to the power and the richness of it. It’s literally illuminating Benjamin’s mind in a way made uniquely possible by comics.
BD: How would you describe your shared creative process in working with artist Leomacs to bring the story and characters to life on the page?
BHW: I really experienced Leomac’s work on Benjamin almost as a fan. Like they sent him my daffy script pages, and he sent back these gorgeous, nuanced renderings and I said, over and over again, WOW. That’s amazing! I love that! So not so much a collaboration as an appreciation party.
BD: What makes Oni Press the perfect home for this series?
BHW: The aforementioned Hunter Gorinson, publisher, along with Sierra Hahn the EIC (who I was lucky enough to have editing this book)— well, I don’t know how to say this exactly, but they just deeply give a shit. I’ve worked with a lot of people who oversee creative enterprises: book publishers, studio executives, etc., etc., and many of them love the work but don’t deeply understand the creative point of view. Hunter and Sierra and their team got what I was trying to do and enabled it. It’s such a gift, especially for me just starting out in comics, and with something as trippy and ambitious as Benjamin.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that Benjamin’s story may connect with and impact today’s readers?
BHW: Wow. Not to be all fancy pants, but the quest in Benjamin is a version of the same quest that most people are on, most of the time—what am I doing here? What gives my life purpose? How am I affecting the people around me? Where can I get a good grilled cheese sandwich nearby?
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
BHW: I created a TV show called Tracker that’s on CBS, you could watch that. My most recent novel is called Big Time, it’s a sci-fi thriller about the manipulation of time, and that’s available wherever books are sold!
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Benjamin and your other work?
BHW: I have a website, which is just my name, BenHWinters.com, and there you can sign up for my substack, which I have promised myself I am going to actually use more.
