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[Interview] Steve Horton Talks ‘Amala’s Blade’

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A young master assassin who can’t escape the literal ghosts of her murderous past, is caught between the personal politics of two warring cyberpunk subcultures in Steve Horton and Michael Dialynas’ hit limited series, “Amala’s Blade: Spirits of Naamaron”.

Horton, who is a two-time Harvey nominated writer, and contributor to the award-winning anthology ‘Dark Horse Presents’, has kindly taken the time to answer our questions regarding the dystopian world he’s created, subverting character tropes, and the potential for future Amala storylines. The trade hits shelves on Wednesday January 22nd, so be sure check it out.

Bloody-disgusting: So many titles have fallen victim to the clichéd “Chosen One” trope that litters the sci-fi/fantasy genres, yet ‘Amala’s Blade’ manages to present a refreshingly unique spin on the concept. What was the reasoning behind creating such a fantastically envisioned, and intensely flawed, protagonist who unconventionally shirks her spiritual “calling”?

Steve Horton: I like subverting expectations! In fact, that’s how this whole idea came about in the first place. I had been looking at the Dalai Lama Wikipedia page, and found that he’s chosen as a child. What if someone was picked to be a spiritual leader, but didn’t want it, and by escaping this fate, touched off a war? What would she do next?

BD: World-building is such an integral, and often times grueling, part of storytelling, especially when writing speculative fiction. Were there times that you had found the creative process overwhelming when establishing the clashing of steampunk cultures and history between the Purifiers and Modifiers in ‘Amala’s Blade’?

SH: Not at all! Worldbuilding is one of the most fun parts about writing something entirely new. The trick is not to let it overwhelm the storytelling. Even if you have a giant story bible, the actual story that you let your readers see must be smaller than that. It has to be something that people can digest, and that way you can reveal your world, bits and pieces at a time.

BD: Biological modification and genetic engineering play a massive role in Naamaron’s social conflict. Did you intend for it to propose such interesting theories about society’s growing reliance on technology and what it could possibly mean for our future?

SH: Sure. I myself am hooked on phones and tablets and computers. I often wonder what it would be like to chuck all of that and live technology-free. I also wonder what it would be like to actually put the technology inside of you, so that you can’t get away from it. Google Glass is easily a step in that direction. In the end, neither side is correct, but they’re still equally disgusted at each other.

BD: While the series is almost matchless in terms of its synopsis, you must have drawn inspiration from somewhere. Where did you look to for insight or influence to feed your creativity? Did Michael Dialynas’ art ever influence you to take your writing in a different direction than you had originally intended?

SH: I had the whole “steampunk versus cyberpunk, Miyazaki world versus Moebius world” in my head from the start, and that’s actually what convinced Michael to go on this journey with me, as he’s an even bigger fan of those creators than I am. That said, the initial sketches as we went absolutely informed the direction the story went. A throwaway monster on a background poster that’s not even visible in the scene became Stormscale, the Skolynx, the giant worm-dog creature that Amala rides to victory.

BD: Michael’s artwork is incredibly explosive on paper. The environment he’s illustrated and the characters he’s designed are perfect visual representations of your steampunk/biopunk universe. How involved were you in his artistic process when establishing the final look of the series?

SH: As with most any artist, I give them a ton of creative freedom. Amala was supposed to have simple armor, black hair and olive skin. Beyond that, the rest came out of Michael’s pencil (or tablet) and it all turned out pretty amazing. This project wouldn’t be anything without him.

BD: Besides Amala, which of Michael’s character designs had the strongest impact on you?

SH: I really like how he drew the robotic pirate monkey in the initial Dark Horse Presents story. He drew it so well — and the fan reaction was so strong — that he became a ghost robotic pirate monkey and followed Amala around everywhere after that! That monkey is a big part of the story now. I suppose I should get around to calling him something other than “Monkey,” though.


BD: There is a lot of untouched history regarding Amala’s life after she had unwittingly sparked the 20 year civil war between Purifiers and Modifiers. Do you plan on revisiting past timelines for future story projects? I would love to read more about her time with the Sword Orphans!

SH: Michael did a commission of Amala as a teenager, roughly halfway between the prequel and the #0 story. I’d love to explore that history sometime. We allude to the fact that she was forced to kill her love, Tyrone, and all the other Sword Orphans, but we don’t really know why or how. That tale is absolutely worth depicting at some future point.

BD: Considering the serious subject matter and Amala’s murderous lifestyle, the series is still not as dark as it could potentially be. Is the light tone of the book a conscious effort on your part, or might you go a more somber route down the line?

SH: If and when we get to do more Amala, it’s definitely going to get pretty dark for her — but at its heart, this story will always be lighthearted and Princess Bride-esque in tone, but with more blood. If you want somber, you want to read my other Dark Horse project, Monstrous. Now that one is grim!

BD: What core message do you hope readers will take away from your narrative?

SH: You can’t change your past, but you can change the kind of person you want to be. And there isn’t anyone or anything that can stop you from doing that.

BD: “Amala’s Blade: Spirits of Naamaron” drops on the 22nd, and it is full of worthwhile extras. My personal favourite is the never-before-published eight-page origin story that is both unnerving, and bizarrely adorable. What other goodies will readers be able to find in the TPB?

SH: That eight-page story is interesting, because we did the whole thing to get the gig, then tossed it, but it’s an important story nonetheless. Even if her mother doesn’t look like that anymore.

Other than that, there’s a ton of sketches and essays and a map and all kinds of other miscellaneous stuff … but a lot of story too.

BD: You have done a commendable job establishing and developing the voice of such a powerfully complex female character. Are there any pre-existing heroines you would love to take a stab at, provided you were ever given the opportunity?

SH: I like creating my own! But you know how there were tons of “Bad Girl” and “Good Girl” comics in the 1990s and how most of them weren’t very good? Those characters are still out there. The Glory revamp at Image proves that you can take these characters and make them into something worthwhile. So I’d like a stab at a character like that, sure.

BD: Would you like to say anything regarding the level of support your fantastic series has deservingly garnered from fellow creators, and fans alike?

SH: Michael and I couldn’t do Amala’s Blade without the overwhelming positive feedback from peers fans and reviewers. You are all the greatest! And keep watching the news sites…!

BD: I know you have a number of different comic book projects currently in the works. Care to tease them to our readers?

SH: I just wrapped up MONSTROUS, a three-part series in Dark Horse Presents #30-32 with Ryan Cody, and we’d love to do more there. It’s much darker and more satirical than Amala with some of the same themes of redemption and violence. I have some other stuff coming up with Dark Horse also, and I’m always pitching other publishers!

BD: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these long-winded questions, Steve!

SH: You’re welcome! Thank you for interviewing, and for reading Amala’s Blade!

Interview by – ShadowJayd

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[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.

“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”

Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.

Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.

Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.

Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re  reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.

Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.

Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.

Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.

Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion. 

Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.

‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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