Review Fix Exclusive: Ram V Talks Paradiso And More

Review Fix chats with writer Ram V, who lets us know all about the newest arc of Paradiso, from Image Comics. Futuristic and sexy, it’s something fans of Tron will totally eat up.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this arc?

Ram V: I don’t know if there’s an inspiration for this particular arc, as such. The story progresses from where we left off in Arc 1. Thematically we touch on the idea of symbiosis in the metropolitan eco-system. How a city needs its people and vice versa. So, we set that against an interesting backdrop. One that is probably heavily influenced, at least visually, by things like TRON and Space Vampires.

Review Fix: What did you learn from the previous volumes in the series?

Ram V: That Paradiso is a patient story with scope and scale and needs its breathing space to be told. That its okay to drop readers into the deep end and expect them to swim. That it is almost exhilarating when pursing the little clues and snippets pays off in the story and characters above all else make a story interesting– be they human, cyborg or metropolitan.

Review Fix: What do you think makes it special?

Ram V: I suppose that is for the readers to decide and interpret. For me the joy is in the unfolding of the story. The threads and seeming tangents converging in mysterious ways to form this tapestry that on begins to make sense when you step back and see the bigger picture forming. I love stories like that.

Review Fix: Without giving anything away, what is the crux of the story?

Ram V: If the things we build today– our houses, our cities, our art, our literature. If they could look upon us from a far future, what would they say about how we lived? Beyond concrete walls and words and ink on paper. What is our legacy to this world, beyond our own lifetimes?

Review Fix: Did any comics you read as a kid play a role in this one?

Ram V: I suppose they all did to an extent. I borrow heavily from Moore and Gaiman, I borrow just as heavily from Otomo and Urasawa. Metal Hurlant probably has a huge influence on Paradiso and so does reading outside of comics. Dune, Solaris, Foundation – they’ve all informed my writing.

Review Fix: What type of comic book fans will enjoy this the most?

Ram V: Anyone who’s into sci-fi, weird fiction, futurism and epic adventure narratives will enjoy Paradiso.

Review Fix: What is special about the art here?

Ram V: Dev’s work speaks for itself really. It is striking, textured and captures mood and atmosphere in a way that is difficult to convey to an artist. They either get it or they don’t. Dev definitely gets Paradiso. His art is gritty and dark when needed or magical and delicate at times. And with each arc, we slightly change our approach to the art. It’s been a trip watching Dev adapt his style to suit the narrative.

Alba’s colours and Aditya’s letters continue to weave in perfectly with Dev’s work while adding flourishes to the experience of reading the story with their own perspectives.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Ram V: For me? I continue to work on Paradiso, of course. I’ve also got the trade for my fantasy/sword & sorcery story, RUIN OF THIEVES coming out shortly. I’m launching GRAFITYS WALL with artist Anand Radhakrishnan at Thoughtbubble 2018. I’ve also got a miniseries THESE SAVAGE SHORES out with Vault later this year in October. And I’ve got a short story in BATMAN SECRET FILES, that’s also out in October this year.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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