The following is an interview with writer/editor Andy Nordvall on the Kickstarter campaign launch for the dystopian sci-fi comic book anthology, Bad Future. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Nordvall about his shared creative process in working with the various creative teams to bring the stories and characters to life on the page, the exciting backer rewards available to supporters of the campaign, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the launch of your Kickstarter campaign for Bad Future! What can you share with us about the overall premise of the collection?
Andy Nordvall: It’s been an interesting evolution. I’ve always loved dystopian sci-fi such as METROPOLIS, THE STAND, or BLADE RUNNER. The work may be bleak, but any time someone creates a dystopia, it implicitly acknowledges that such a future is avoidable. Otherwise, why bother?
So, the genesis of the work started out much more fun, but as we progressed, we found ourselves reflecting an increasingly dystopian present, which I think deepened how we approached these themes and characters.
BD: As the editor for and a contributor to the collection, how would you describe the process for bringing the various creative teams together, as well as the thematic approach to crafting a complementary collection of stories?
AN: “Complementary” is a great word to use. You wants stories that strengthen one another but aren’t just four slight variations of the same thing. I was initially reluctant to include post-apocalyptic stories, but they’re definitely a dystopia, too. The one in our anthology, “Below the Line,” shows that even after society collapses, structures meant to police and quell dissent quickly reassert themselves.
As far as assembling the teams, well, the great thing about belonging to a supportive and talented indie comic community is I just needed to ask around. But even when it’s people you know, like, and respect, assembling an anthology is tough work. Or at least it is for me. ADHD makes all the details hard to juggle so I have relied on a lot of spreadsheets to keep track of everything.
BD: Why do you feel that crowdfunding has been such a valuable resource to ensuring the success of today’s comic book creators?
AN: Like many in Southern California, I’m a recovering screenwriter, so I know well the frustration of working hard on creating something and then have nothing tangible to show for all that effort. The promise of crowdfunding is you have something tangible out in the end that you can put in someone’s hands and say, “I helped make that.”
Plus, crowdfunding forces me to talk to people, always a good thing, and the process of dealing with the practical considerations of production is both humbling and edifying for an artist. I’m afraid I have been seduced by the myth of the writer who comes down from the mountain to bestow their new masterwork on a grateful public, then retreats to fashion a new magnum opus in solitude. So many great writers were actively engaged in the world. Chekhov was a doctor. Shakespeare had a theater company to run. Virginia Woolf ran a small press. Toni Morrison was a literary editor. Not to mention every TV show or movie was created by someone who had to work with other people as well as a mountain of physical and financial obstacles. You’d think that would just take away from writing time, but work outside of writing provides experiences which, I think, helps create a richer world filled with deeper characters.
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 this collection’s stories may connect with and impact readers?
AN: It’s funny (Well, maybe not “funny” per se. Terrifying?) watching an anthology become more relevant even as you are making it. Indeed, I have and probably will go back and revise the outline for future parts of the series to keep it in conversation with everything our world is going through right now. Plus, it seems there is a renewed hunger for dystopian fiction, both as cautionary tales and stories of how hope and humanity can survive tough times.
BD: In light of the crowdfunding campaign, are there any particular backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
AN: Mostly, I hope people pledge, read, and enjoy our books, but we also have fun add-on’s. A variant cover combining all four stories by artist Don Nguyen, and some top tier options where you get original art from some of our artists.
Oh, and we’re doing digital comic giveaways differently. Instead of releasing them all at once at the end of the campaign, I’m releasing a new book to backers every few days, which allows me to highlight the individual creators who allowed me to share their comic, and I hope will get more of these books read since backers don’t get them all in one big dump.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to share with our readers?
AN: In developing this book, I came across some amazing stories by Art Ebuen, Dave Law, Ben Crane, and Andy Alves, which are included in their recently wrapped Kickstarter anthology, SYSTEMIC VOLUME ONE, along with other stories I can’t wait to read by creators I love.
And in a blatant attempt to curry favor with my interviewer, I recently started listening to The Katniss Chronicles, a great audio drama adapting a great book. In the first episode, there’s a line from Katniss, “It’s as close to love as we will ever get,” and one of the great themes in the book is how trauma can damage one’s ability to recognize, receive, or give love.
Two classic dystopian works that have been largely forgotten are “The Machine Stops” by E. M. Forster and “The Humanoids” by Jack Williamson. The former pretty much predicts the internet and the later has a wild twist on A.I. (Side note: The Will Smith/Alex Proyas movie, I, ROBOT, is, in my opinion, way more inspired by Williamson than Asimov. They just went with the famous title. Pity, Williamson’s work deserves to be rediscovered.)
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about the Bad Future campaign and your other work?
AN: It’s a precarious time financially. If you can’t pledge right now, you can still help by sharing the campaign.
My substack (https://substack.com/@byandy) is always free and not always pushing this Kickstarter.
The other contributors in this anthology have done so much good work, there links for all of them on the BAD FUTURE campaign page.
And recently I got to reunite with Michael Tanner at Rose City Comic Con to do a live episode of our old podcast, BURN AFTER PITCHING. Plus, I’ve been doing podcasts and panels promoting this book. All of this reminded me how much I miss podcasting and talking with fellow creators or fellow fans about the stuff we love. So, anyone out there with a podcast, channel, or Twitch stream who needs a guest, hit me up. I will probably do it.
