Review Fix chats with the Delegates comic team, Bin Lee and Tina Cesa Ward, to find out what makes the comic a special one.
Review Fix: What inspired this comic?
Bin Lee: It was a combination of a weird dream about robots and elections I had over ten years ago and the budding news of automation at the time. I thought the “what if†concept of automation government was super-compelling.
Review Fix: How important is this arc?
Tina Cesa Ward: The first arc introduced the world and the powerful leaders that are fighting for control over our fictional African country of Fulawodaabe. This arc takes us into the towns and to the people that have to live in a world torn apart by these leaders – from the young to the old – and into the exploitation of those less fortunate, especially children.
Review Fix: How is it different from your previous work?
Tina Cesa Ward: I work a lot in drama so it’s really exciting for me to work in science fiction. But the one thing that’s always similar in any genre is building good characters and it’s a lot of fun playing in the world with these characters.
Review Fix: What makes this comic special?
Bin Lee: It’s a thought-provoking hard sci-fi drama with memorable, relatable characters. It’s setting is that of a place and people that aren’t shown enough in English-speaking story-telling. And it stays clear of “sentient robots gonna uprise!†trope we see too much of these days.
Review Fix: What creators do you think have influenced you the most?
Tina Cesa Ward: Early on, I would say Mike Mignola, Darwyn Cooke and Paul Dini really got me into comics and now Brian K. Vaughan’s work really has me inspired. Paper Girls is one of my favorite comics ever. And we both grew up in a suburb of Cleveland so I get all the references and I love it.
Bin Lee: I’d say Ray Bradbury, the first two Star Trek series, along with countless science fiction movies, like Dark City.
Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?
Tina Cesa Ward: I think above all I want people to feel connected to the characters. For me, no matter how important the premise, the character’s reaction to it is what you remember.
Bin: As a unique story with unforgettable characters. As part of the ongoing conversation about representation in Western entertainment, and about what kind of character-driven stories can be told in sci-fi.
Review Fix: How has the Corona Virus affected your work?
Tina Cesa Ward: Well it’s a weird time for sure. The solitude is great for writing but it’s hard to escape how bad things are for people. And you can’t help wondering when you write about even the simplest things like meeting at a bar or a stadium filled with fans, is this ever going to be like this again? Or are these things pre-COVID-19 just as certain things were pre-9/11. No doubt this will all impact the stories we tell in some way.
Bin Lee: While I’m lucky enough to be able to move my work from the office to home, it’s been a mental/disciplinary challenge to not let my day job bleed into my personal creativity time. I’m still processing how it’ll impact my story-telling.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Tina Cesa Ward: We continue to work with our artists on new issues of Delegates; we have 30 issues in total to release. And I’m hoping to jump into another comic soon – I miss the fun of writing for comics.
Bin Lee: Trying to stay employed so I can keep paying my artists to complete the rest of Delegates, LOL. In the meantime, I’ve been working on a board game, and brainstorming the next comic book idea.
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Bin Lee: We hope folks enjoy Delegates, whether it’s for escapism or brain-stimulation or other, and hope everyone stays safe during an unpredictable time.
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