IAN EDGINTON talks KILLER INSTINCT #1, on sale in SEPTEMBER from Dynamite!
BYRON BREWER: Ian, what can you tell us about the world you and artist Cam Adams are perpetuating in Killer Instinct?
IAN EDGINTON: Well for starters we kick off in a way which people might not initially be expecting. Following his abortive invasion of the Earth, Lord Gargos has seemingly been destroyed by the Killer Instinct heroes but there’s little time for rejoicing. The cost has been high. The Earth has been devastated. Human society is on the brink of collapse and has devolved to a savage Darwinian state where the strongest and the ones with the most guns have seized power.
BB: What kind of adventure should readers expect when picking up this new Dynamite series?
IE: Protecting the weak and the vulnerable are heroes like Kim Wu, Jago, Tusk, Glacius, Eagle and several others. It’s more than just about maintaining order, though. There’s the uneasy feeling that even though Gargos is dead, somehow it’s not over. There’s something else waiting in the wings. As nations and governments struggle to rebuild, there are other forces eager to take advantage of their weakened state and fill the power vacuum left behind.
BB: Who are Kim Wu and Jago? Tell us about them as characters, and what challenge awaits them in Killer Instinct.
IE: Kim Wu and Jago are amongst those rare individuals who have bonded with the Guardian Spirits. The Guardians are celestial beings who once inhabited the Astral Plane and have been sent to Earth to bond with humans, helping them to combat the Shadow Lord Gargos’ attempted invasion of the Earth.
These spirits manifest as a kind of familiar creature: for Kim Wu it’s a dragon while for Jago it’s a Tiger. The Guardians are the living manifestations of ideal attributes. They are driven to bond with virtuous fighters and to amplify their innate abilities.
They fought and defeated Gargos but their efforts have gone largely unappreciated. The governments/powers-that-be say that anyone with “unnatural powers” is not to be trusted as it was their kind who were responsible for almost destroying the world in the first place. The survivors don’t differentiate between Gargos and his acolytes and the heroes who tried to stop him. All they saw was carnage and chaos with themselves as little more than collateral damage. Kim Wu, Jago and others like them have therefore been forced to go into hiding and keep a low profile.
As if that weren’t enough, they all find their Guardian Spirit powers are waning. Something is draining them, siphoning off their energy and channeling it to the Astral Plane, but who could be doing this and why?
BB: Is there anything left of the fabled Night Guard?
IE: There are some survivors who we’ll see in this series. We’ll hopefully pick up on what’s happened to the rest in any follow- up series.
BB: In a non-spoilery manner, can you tell us anything about what is known as “The Coven”?
IE: The Coven and the Vampire Tsar are major players here. With human civilization teetering on the brink, they can taste the blood in the water. This is their time. They’ve lived in the shadows for centuries, agent provocateurs in human history. But now it’s time to show their hand.
They’re not coming as conquerors, though, but seemingly as saviors, helping restore order, stabilize nations, reconstruct infrastructures and economies. They’re wolves in sheep’s clothing and by the time the human race realize who they’ve handed power to, it’ll be too late.
BB: Ian, tell us about your collaboration with Cam on this series: setting the atmosphere for this adventure, etc.
IE: Cam is great. He’s knocking the visuals out of the park. The pages he’s been turning in are amazing. There are some actions scenes and a busy double page spread in particular in issue #1 where I really thought he’s going to be cursing me for this but he’s done an awesome job straight out of the gate. I couldn’t be happier!
BB: Any projects coming up you’d care to tell readers about?
IE: I’m writing several series for 2000AD over here in the UK. There’s Kingmaker (aliens invade Middle Earth), Brass Sun (a steampunk-ish tale about a clockwork solar system) and a four-part Judge Dredd story. I’ve just finished an Assassins Creed series for Titan but the big news is the Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast series I’ve written that premieres in this month’s Heavy Metal!
https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/v...13026156401011
BYRON BREWER: Ian, what can you tell us about the world you and artist Cam Adams are perpetuating in Killer Instinct?
IAN EDGINTON: Well for starters we kick off in a way which people might not initially be expecting. Following his abortive invasion of the Earth, Lord Gargos has seemingly been destroyed by the Killer Instinct heroes but there’s little time for rejoicing. The cost has been high. The Earth has been devastated. Human society is on the brink of collapse and has devolved to a savage Darwinian state where the strongest and the ones with the most guns have seized power.
BB: What kind of adventure should readers expect when picking up this new Dynamite series?
IE: Protecting the weak and the vulnerable are heroes like Kim Wu, Jago, Tusk, Glacius, Eagle and several others. It’s more than just about maintaining order, though. There’s the uneasy feeling that even though Gargos is dead, somehow it’s not over. There’s something else waiting in the wings. As nations and governments struggle to rebuild, there are other forces eager to take advantage of their weakened state and fill the power vacuum left behind.
BB: Who are Kim Wu and Jago? Tell us about them as characters, and what challenge awaits them in Killer Instinct.
IE: Kim Wu and Jago are amongst those rare individuals who have bonded with the Guardian Spirits. The Guardians are celestial beings who once inhabited the Astral Plane and have been sent to Earth to bond with humans, helping them to combat the Shadow Lord Gargos’ attempted invasion of the Earth.
These spirits manifest as a kind of familiar creature: for Kim Wu it’s a dragon while for Jago it’s a Tiger. The Guardians are the living manifestations of ideal attributes. They are driven to bond with virtuous fighters and to amplify their innate abilities.
They fought and defeated Gargos but their efforts have gone largely unappreciated. The governments/powers-that-be say that anyone with “unnatural powers” is not to be trusted as it was their kind who were responsible for almost destroying the world in the first place. The survivors don’t differentiate between Gargos and his acolytes and the heroes who tried to stop him. All they saw was carnage and chaos with themselves as little more than collateral damage. Kim Wu, Jago and others like them have therefore been forced to go into hiding and keep a low profile.
As if that weren’t enough, they all find their Guardian Spirit powers are waning. Something is draining them, siphoning off their energy and channeling it to the Astral Plane, but who could be doing this and why?
BB: Is there anything left of the fabled Night Guard?
IE: There are some survivors who we’ll see in this series. We’ll hopefully pick up on what’s happened to the rest in any follow- up series.
BB: In a non-spoilery manner, can you tell us anything about what is known as “The Coven”?
IE: The Coven and the Vampire Tsar are major players here. With human civilization teetering on the brink, they can taste the blood in the water. This is their time. They’ve lived in the shadows for centuries, agent provocateurs in human history. But now it’s time to show their hand.
They’re not coming as conquerors, though, but seemingly as saviors, helping restore order, stabilize nations, reconstruct infrastructures and economies. They’re wolves in sheep’s clothing and by the time the human race realize who they’ve handed power to, it’ll be too late.
BB: Ian, tell us about your collaboration with Cam on this series: setting the atmosphere for this adventure, etc.
IE: Cam is great. He’s knocking the visuals out of the park. The pages he’s been turning in are amazing. There are some actions scenes and a busy double page spread in particular in issue #1 where I really thought he’s going to be cursing me for this but he’s done an awesome job straight out of the gate. I couldn’t be happier!
BB: Any projects coming up you’d care to tell readers about?
IE: I’m writing several series for 2000AD over here in the UK. There’s Kingmaker (aliens invade Middle Earth), Brass Sun (a steampunk-ish tale about a clockwork solar system) and a four-part Judge Dredd story. I’ve just finished an Assassins Creed series for Titan but the big news is the Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast series I’ve written that premieres in this month’s Heavy Metal!
https://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/v...13026156401011