Ben Stenbeck shares new original sequence, OUR BONES DUST

Artist Ben Stenbeck has for a while now been a key collaborator with Mike Mignola, with the 2 teaming up for books like Baltimore, Frankenstein Underground, and Koschei, however now Stenbeck is making his debut as a solo creator with Our Bones Dust. And the premise is over-the-top comics style excellence.

In this new e book — which is obtainable for pre-order at comedian outlets now with a primary subject set for December 6 — the story is a couple of feral baby navigating a nightmare dystopian panorama that’s simply awful with cannibal tribes. Plus additionally, there’s a curious synthetic intelligence with a killer design.

Stenbeck just lately made time to speak all issues Our Bones Dust with The Beat, and you will discover our dialog under…take pleasure in!

INTERVIEW: Ben Stenbeck talks OUR BONES DUST

ZACK QUAINTANCE: You’ve labored on fairly a couple of comics with Mike Mignola and others, however that is your first solo sequence. What made Our Bones Are Dust the suitable e book for that?

BEN STENBECK: It’s humorous, I by no means got down to make this like my large debut or something like that. I’ve a undertaking that’s ‘my big thing’ I need to get to some day. This felt like smaller stakes, like an train in simply getting my very own e book finished and on the market earlier than trying one thing greater. This sequence began out as a easy thought. Originally I considered it as being only a brief 20 web page factor, I even thought I might simply promote black and white photocopies at one level. But the concept grew, and principally I actually wished to attract this world and characters.

ZACK: I think about constructing a new world from scratch offered you with fairly a little bit of freedom. How did that have an effect on your artistic course of?

BEN: Yeah, that whole freedom is sweet. In some ways in which’s essentially the most enjoyable half. It actually made this into one thing the place i may draw what ever i would like at any level. I suppose its a bit self indulgent in that method however i feel good work can come out of that. I hope.

ZACK: I cherished the designs on this e book. How did you method these and had been there any recognizable design influences you drew from?

BEN: Thanks! Attis the AI being was the factor I spent essentially the most time on. I actually wished her to appear nearly like a god. Most of the human characters got here from actually tough trying police mugshots. The garments they put on are based mostly on the clothes of homeless folks, I felt like these references had been the closest actual world analogue to the form of life these characters reside. Everything is hard and also you make use out of no matter you will get your fingers on. I didn’t need to go full fantasy Mad Max on the designs as a result of I used to be making an attempt to maintain it a bit grounded. But Mad Max remains to be an enormous affect on this in different methods.

ZACK: I additionally actually favored the type of dystopian slang the characters spoke on this comedian. How did you develop that dialect?

BEN: I believe Mad Max is chargeable for that. The thought is that people are on their method out, and degenerating to a stone age existence, so language is degenerating. But on the identical time I didn’t need readers to need to sift by a bunch of jargon and get taken out of the story making an attempt to determine what everyone seems to be saying. So I attempted to strike a stability there.

ZACK: Finally, this e book is presently a four-issue miniseries, however what are the probabilities it’d find yourself going previous that? It’s comics so I’ve to ask — have you considered a bigger persevering with scope for this story?

BEN: For now I’m planning to go away it at 4 points (though they’ve lengthy web page counts so it’s nearer to 5 points in size) I’ve one other sequence with Mike Mignola I’m drawing in the mean time, after which we now have a new factor we’re doing collectively so I’m going to be busy for a very long time. But I do have loads of historical past for this world and a tough thought of the place everybody goes after this sequence ends. So by no means say by no means.