The following is an interview with Omar Salih regarding the upcoming release of the first issue of the comic book series, Extinction War #1. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Salih about the shared creative process of bringing the story and characters to life onthe page, what readers may take away from the story’s themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of the first issue of Extinction War! What can you share with us about the genesis behind the series and its overall premise?
Omar Salih: Extinction War began with an idea about humanity becoming the architect of its own downfall. In this future, humanity’s loss of dominance on Earth wasn’t a natural accident. It began with a human military experiment: an attempt to biologically enhance apes and turn them into soldiers capable of fighting human wars. The experiment was meant to create a weapon under human control. Instead, humanity created something it could no longer control. Over time, the consequences reshaped the balance of power on Earth. Humanity was pushed toward the edge of survival, while intelligent apes evolved beyond their intended purpose and eventually built civilizations, cultures, and societies of their own. Generations later, a large human population survives aboard the Atlas orbital station, where resources are disappearing and time is running out. Desperate to secure humanity’s future, its leaders authorize Operation Noah – another extraordinary attempt to survive. And that is where one of the central ideas of Extinction War comes full circle: Has humanity learned from the mistake that destroyed its old world, or, when faced with extinction, will it make the same kind of choice again? That question is at the heart of the series. This isn’t simply a war between humans and apes, and neither civilization exists only as the “good” or “evil” side. It is a story about survival, responsibility, family, sacrifice, and the consequences of believing that necessity can justify anything. We’re bringing this world to life as an independent comic with an incredible creative team, and Issue #1 is only the beginning.
BD: How would you describe the collaborative creative process of bringing this story and its characters to life on the comic book page?
OS: The collaborative process has been one of the most rewarding parts of creating Extinction War. I came into the project with a very clear vision of the world, its history, characters, and the larger story I wanted to tell, but a comic only truly comes alive when that vision becomes visual storytelling. Working with James McCarron, our artist, has been a constant process of exchanging ideas and refining details. We spend a lot of time on character expressions, environments, technology, costumes, creatures, and even small visual details because I want every page to feel as though the reader is looking into a world that existed long before they opened the comic. Todd has also contributed to the visual identity and presentation of the project, helping us build a consistent look around the comic beyond the individual pages.
One thing that has been especially important to us is making the different civilizations feel like genuine societies rather than simple opposing armies. They have their own architecture, beliefs, leadership, relationships, fears, and reasons for fighting. At the same time, the human side has its own internal disagreements about survival and about how far humanity should be willing to go to preserve itself. I think some of the strongest moments come when James takes something that existed only in my imagination and gives it a face, an environment, or an emotion. Sometimes a single expression in a panel can communicate more than a page of dialogue. Our goal has always been the same: to make Extinction War feel less like a collection of comic-book panels and more like experiencing a large-scale science-fiction film one page at a time.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative strives to highlight the impact that stories can have on their audiences across various mediums. What do you hope that readers may take away from your story, and what conversations do you hope it may inspire, if any?
OS: If readers take one thing away from Extinction War, I hope it is that survival alone does not determine whether a choice is right. Throughout the story, characters are repeatedly confronted with impossible decisions. They are not choosing between good and evil; very often, they are choosing between two terrible consequences. When the survival of your family, your people, or even your entire species is at stake, where do you draw the line? And does facing extinction give you the moral right to cross it? Another theme that matters deeply to me is responsibility across generations. The world our characters inherit was shaped by decisions made long before many of them were born. They are forced to live with the consequences of earlier generations that believed they could control nature, biology, and warfare. Now they have to decide whether to repeat those mistakes or become something different. I also want readers to question the idea of the “enemy.” Extinction War contains different civilizations, factions, families, and individuals with their own fears and motivations. I don’t want readers to be told automatically whom they should hate or support. I would rather give them enough humanity on every side to make that decision uncomfortable. Family is another major part of the story. Some of the most important relationships in Extinction War challenge the idea that family is defined only by blood or even by species. In a world obsessed with who deserves to survive, those relationships remind us why survival matters in the first place. If the comic leaves readers debating questions like “What would I have done?” “How far is too far?” “Are we responsible for the mistakes of those who came before us?” or even disagreeing over which characters made the right decisions, then I think the story has accomplished something meaningful. The battles, creatures, and science-fiction spectacle are an important part of Extinction War, but underneath all of that, I hope readers find a story about the consequences of our choices – and whether we are capable of learning from them before we repeat them.
BD: How many issues do you have planned for readers in this first story arc?
OS: The complete story of Extinction War is planned as a three-part saga, so we already know the larger journey and where the story ultimately leads. What we don’t want to do yet is promise a specific number of individual comic issues. We are a very small independent team – I’m writing and creating the story, James McCarron is bringing the world to life through the artwork, and Stephanie is leading our marketing, media, and promotional efforts. We simply don’t have the production resources of a major comic-book publisher, so the exact number and pace of issues will depend on what we can realistically produce and on the support the project receives. For me, it’s more important to be transparent with readers than to announce an issue count today that we may later have to change. The important thing is that the story itself is already conceived as three parts; we’re not making up the larger direction as we go. That’s also why community support means so much to an independent project like ours. Financial support helps us continue producing the comic, but support doesn’t have to be financial. Following our social-media accounts, sharing our posts, recommending Extinction War to other comic and science-fiction fans, and helping us spread the word can make a real difference. Every new reader helps this small team move the three-part story forward.
BD: Do you have any other projects – past or present – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
OS: Right now, Extinction War is the project I’m completely focused on. Rather than dividing my attention among several different projects, I want to give this world the time and commitment it deserves. What readers are seeing with the comic is actually only one part of a much larger vision. The complete Extinction War story has been developed as a three-part science-fiction saga, with a much broader narrative, characters, history, and world behind what readers will first encounter in Issue #1. My immediate goal, however, is the comic. I want to build this project with James, Stephanie, and – hopefully – a growing community of readers who become part of its journey from the beginning. As an independent creator, I think there is something special about allowing people to discover a new universe while it is still being built. The readers supporting us now aren’t arriving after Extinction War has become established; they are helping us establish it. So, rather than directing readers toward another project, I would invite them to come with us on this one. There is much more of the Extinction War universe that we hope to show them.
BD: What is the best way for readers to learn more about Extinction War and your other work?
OS: Finally, I want to speak directly to everyone reading this. Extinction War is an independent universe we are building from the ground up, and every new reader helps us grow it. You can visit ExtinctionWar.com and support us with just $1 to access our six-page preview. One dollar may seem small, but when an independent project is trying to build its first real community, every supporter matters.
And support does not have to mean money. Follow our social media pages. Share our posts. Send the website to a friend who loves comics, science fiction, horror, or ambitious new worlds. Help us introduce Extinction War to people who have never heard of it before. What we want most is to build a real community around this universe – an audience that can grow with the characters, the conflicts, and the world we are creating. If you believe independent creators deserve a chance to build something new, join us. Pledge $1 if you can. Follow us. Share us. Bring someone else into the world of Extinction War.
Website: https://extinctionwar.com
$1 six-page preview: https://salihcraft2.gumroad.com/l/cyerqe
Discord: https://discord.gg/BT4UGry7dN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/extinctionwar/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@extinction.war
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@extinctionwar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/19Jh49yjAg/
