TAKE 10! The Space Between
BOOM! Studios: TAKE 10! is a brand new interview series asking writers and artists about their new series or graphic novels.
On the starbound ark known as the Dodona, the populations of workers live in strictly segregated social castes during the journey that will take multiple generations to complete. But everything changes when a pilot from the upper tier named Revla falls to the lower levels and meets Les. As the two grow closer they learn that they will have to risk everything, not just for themselves, but for the generations to come on the Dodona!
Every issue in this limited event series features a brand new pair of protagonists, each facing off against a new generation’s trials and tribulations. This sweeping sci-fi epic about love, survival, and liberation will inspire and enthrall fans of The Expanse and Battlestar Galactica.
From the minds of Hugo and Eisner nominated and New York Times bestselling writer Corinna Bechko (The Expanse) and acclaimed artist Danny Luckert (Ghostlore) comes a genre defying story aboard an interstellar generation ship in THE SPACE BETWEEN, available November 1, 2023. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including comiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Kindle.
1. What was the most challenging aspect of working on this series?
Corinna Bechko: It’s always a challenge when you’re inventing a whole world, even if that world, like the Dodona, is self-contained. In this case there are large time jumps between issues too, so the culture of the ship is a bit different each time. I’m a zoologist by training so I invest a lot of thought into the animal life in any story. In this case there’s also genetic tinkering that goes on as the ship gets farther from Earth, so even the biome of the Dodona changes a little every issue. Working on this aspect of The Space Between with Danny has been wonderful though. He immediately had a lot of ideas about how to handle the colors to subtly make each time period feel different. And if you pay attention to the fashions you can track how each era puts different pressures on the clothing and aesthetic expression of the crew/passengers. After all, the resources of such a small world are not infinite. I love that you can really see that by the last issue.
Danny Luckert: It would probably have to be designing, well, EVERYTHING. From the clothes and styles to the technology, it all needed to be created from the ground up. Also, because this book spans generations, the clothing and tech needed to also evolve in plausible ways that would mirror the narrative of each issue.
2. Could you explain the title?
CB: This book is all about the journey, both literally and figuratively. What happens at either end of life is almost never as important as that space between.
DL: For me, it means multiple things. The space between Earth and their new home. The space between people in regards to status and location within the Dodona. And lastly, the space between ideologies. The story takes place in all those in-between areas.
3. What is the elevator pitch for the series?
CB: Generation ship are the embodiment of hope for the future. Getting everyone aboard to agree on how that future should look when they’re busy with their own romances and revolutions? That’s nearly impossible.
4. What does your writing and drawing space look like?
CB: I have a desk near a window but in fact I usually write on the couch. I know, bad habit, but it’s a very comfortable place that allows me to physically share space with a cat, a dog, and my partner even if I’m mentally far, far away.
DL: Nothing fancy. I have a small apartment so I just draw on my computer in the living room. The life of an artist is very glamours indeed.
5. What was your biggest inspiration for The Space Between?
CB: I’ve been fascinated by the idea of generation ships for a long time. The people who board the vessel know exactly what they’re doing and why. But the burden of their hopes and dreams must weigh heavily on all who come after them. In some ways that’s not so different from any group. Still, the idea that people born on Earth could impose edicts that meant anything to their progeny born in space seems farfetched. Yet what is a society without laws? With The Space Between I wanted to explore the effects those constraints would have on later generations, and how those interpersonal tensions would inevitably spark revolutions and romances.
DL: That’s always a tricky question to answer because my inspiration is always 1000 different books, but also, zero books. If I had to give a clear response though, it would probably be the FINAL INCAL by Jodorowsky and Ladronn
6. What are you reading now and what’s on your pull list?
CB: My TBR will probably crush me some day, in all honesty. Even so, I just bought the second volumes of Something is Killing the Children and Bunnymask as well as Emily Carroll’s latest A Guest in the House. I’m also reading The Mountain in the Sea because I can’t resist speculative sci-fi.
DL: Whenever I’m in the process of actively working on a book, I don’t read anything in terms of comics. That’s mostly because I don’t want my style to than be influenced, even subconsciously, by what I happen to be reading at the moment. That said, I’m a HUGE Frank Quitely fan and anything that Cullen Bunn and Jeremy Haun put out. I’m also re-reading F. Scott Fitzgeralds THE CRACK-UP for the one millionth time!
7. Describe your ideal way to sit down and read a comic or graphic novel.
CB: I love to read outside. I am fortunate enough to have a balcony now, but I have been known to read in parks, on trails, and in backyards. While doing fieldwork in Utah this summer I found a perfect flat rock overlooking a canyon just behind my tent. I wish I could have bottled how it felt to read comics there!
DL: In bed right before I fall asleep. The bad part about that though is I usually fall asleep within 5 min so a comic could take me a week to finish!
8. What is your favorite writing/drawing snack or drink?
CB: Coffee. So much coffee. I also like apples, sliced thinly and sprinkled with spices like ginger and cinnamon.
DL: I’m not really a snacker. And as far as drink, I don’t know, water? A very romantic answer I know.
9. Who would you cast in your dream movie or TV adaptation of the series?
CB: Oh, this is a hard one! Revla is young in the first issue but aged up quite a bit in the second. So perhaps a bit of movie magic and Ruth Negga might be a good fit? Les needs to be played by someone very disarming. Maybe a Chris O’Dowd type?
DL: I would cast whoever is good enough. No real names come to mind.
10. What piece of advice would you give to the main character? What about the villains?
CB: It’s never been easy to be a human and I don’t expect it ever will be. I once read that most people, when asked to look back over their lives, most regret the times they were unkind or could have helped someone but chose a different path. So, I would advise all my characters to treat each other gently because you never really know what someone else is going through. Will they listen? Of course not. They all have minds of their own and have refused to listen to me from the start.
DL: I don’t know if I would have any advice for them. They all seem to know what they are doing, and if they don’t, they are doing the best they can. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all you can ask of anyone, fictional character of not.
THE SPACE BETWEEN #1 will be available in comic shops on November 1, 2023!
