Review Fix chats with “War in Heaven†writer Ricardo Pinto who discusses the new Madefire book and the effect it’ll have on readers.
The first six-part issues to be released simultaneously for the company, Pinto, also the scribe behind “The Stone Dance of the Chameleon,” talks about how it feels to set a new standard for the company, as well as his working relationship with fellow “War in Heaven†artist Adrian Smith.
For more information on the series, click here.
Review Fix: Can you talk about how “Paradise Lost” played a part in the creation of the series?
Ricardo Pinto: It is a text that has interested me for a while – not least because of the way, politically, that it subtly reverses the traditional view of Satan. I listened to the whole thing being read out on a long drive up north, and it immediately struck me as being something that was likely to inspire Adrian. So I proposed it to him. We could have just done a direct ‘lift’ from Paradise Lost, but then Eve appeared on the scene, and that changed everything.
Review Fix: What’s your favorite part/element of the series?
Pinto: The peculiar and touching contrast that there is between Satan and Eve… they both are so many different sorts of people, and yet, at all times, they ‘touch’ with a strange tenderness.
Review Fix: What was the writer/artist working relationship like?
Pinto: Like hand and glove. Of course, we have worked together before… but it was strange to see how so much of the story that occurs in my subconscious was realized by Adrian’s images rising out of his subconscious (and skill). It’s as if our subconsciouses were talking to each other behind our backs, which, I suppose, is exactly what they were doing.
Review Fix: What do you think you’ve learned during the creation process for this series? How will it benefit you moving forward?
Pinto: It reintroduced me to the joy of collaboration. The child of that collaboration was it’s own creature – clearly bearing the marks of its creators, but, like a child, being entirely, and surprisingly, its own unique being.
Review Fix: For comic book creators interested in Madefire, how can you describe your experience working there?
Pinto: Liam, Ben and the others at Madefire are a remarkable team. When we turned up with our comic, it was designed to be published on paper and, looking at the various digital techniques they have in their armoury, it was hard to see how these could possibly enhance what we already had. They saw what we did not, and surprised and delighted us at every turn. Beyond this, they continued to be responsive to our suggestions and requests throughout. Considering that the whole process was carried out over the Atlantic, it was remarkably smooth and enjoyable.
Review Fix: For those that aren’t into the epic story, how else do you think they’d connect with the content?
Pinto: The epic story is just a frame… the deeper content are the characters, and they explore extraordinary aspects of being human in ways that left me feeling as if we were ‘channelling’, rather than ‘inventing’ them – in my experience, always a good sign! So as long as you are human, I am confident that you will connect to it, even though, like us, you may not entirely understand why.
Review Fix: Madefire books are known for their cool visuals, panoramic panels, killer sound, what surprises do you guys have in store for readers?
Pinto: Primarily the depth of the immersion. When I saw the first builds I literally got goose bumps… Of course I was noticing the way they had chosen to animate this or that – but this was done so skillfully that it entirely became part of the narrative flow. The amazing soundscape somehow captures the feelings of the different spaces, of the varying moods. Like a good film, I believe that you don’t really notice all of these elements, you just get swept away by the experience… After going through it, I have hopes that you will feel as if you have lived through something strange and yet familiar – and that, it seems to me, is how it should be. I don’t think this is like one of those Hollywood blockbusters that wows you with its effects only to leave you feeling blank after all the crashes and bangs are over.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be the first Madefire series to release six episodes at once?
Pinto: It feels right: Liam’s decision to release them all at once simply feels right for this project. That our project was the first to receive this treatment leaves me feeling grateful.
Review Fix: How do you want this series to be remembered?
Pinto: As an experience that lingers like a disturbing yet illuminating dream.
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