Cold War Conflicts Crash Into Hadrian's Wall

by Vince Brusio

Kyle Higgins is a sci-fi nerd, and proud of it. He grew up on laser-fight and monster movies that many of us watched during the 70s and 80s, and thought it would be a good thing if he could construct a comic book that was a fitting homage to his wonder years. Along comes the idea for an intergalactic noir aboard a spacecraft--mixed with divorce, murder, drugs, and conspiracy--and Hadrian’s Wall (JUN170665) was born. Not something you want to hand out to fans of My Little Pony. But Kyle did hand us the opportunity to talk to him about his latest book, which you can pick up September 27 at your favorite local comic shop.

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PREVIEWSworld: How did you come up with the idea for such a tale?

Kyle Higgins: It’s our kind of love letter to 70s and 80s sci-fi: Outland, Aliens, Blade Runner. I’ve had the concept for a long time, doing something involving a murder mystery aboard a spaceship. I came to an idea of how an investigator looking into the death of someone he used to consider a friend (but had a falling out with over time), and it involves his ex-wife. The backdrop is kind of a new cold war between Earth and its biggest colony on Beta, and it kind of starts to frame things about broken relationships. Imagine navigating through something like this, and what it would look like. That was really the genesis of it (Hadrian’s Wall).

When we wrapped up C.O.W.L. with Rod, we knew we wanted to work together again. I threw out this idea, and Rod liked how we’d get to do something with a retro-future look, and how it would be visually distinct.

PREVIEWSworld: How much of an influence on this book were the films that you previously mentioned?

Kyle Higgins: Very much. I’m a big crime thriller guy. If you look at the stuff we did together on C.O.W.L., it speaks to that as well. An idea of an intergalactic noir is something very much in my wheelhouse.  And Rod wanted to tackle the art in a way that depicted characters and the world shifts in 1985, even though this all is supposed to be any place in the future.

PREVIEWSworld: The book was first announced at this year’s Image Expo, and the tagline is that one man’s investigation can make an interstellar cold war go red hot. So there’s a political backdrop to this murder mystery. How does one man’s dirt nap turn into an intergalactic House of Cards?

Kyle Higgins: The backdrop of the world, and its relationship with its biggest colony (Beta), and the tensions that exist there, all come down to a relationship that’s familiar. The colony wants to declare its independence, and if you think of it in terms of the American Revolution, Beta is America and Earth is Britain. So it’s a question of resources as well. They need each other, and they think about what they get from each other. The very kind of job that the ship Hadrian’s Wall is tasked with (survey new systems and looking for resources a company can exploit) plays into the tensions between Earth and Beta because it’s always about resources. So this conflict in the background is very relevant to the crew and the ship of Hadrian’s Wall. Its mission is where the series opens.

PREVIEWSworld: If you could highlight some of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of working on this book, what would come to mind?

Kyle Higgins: Well, I’ve got say working with Rod. It’s a relationship I’m fortunate to be a part of, and it’s something we want to continue to develop and foster. We want to make more books together.

PREVIEWSworld: Last question is freestyle. If you could geek, tweet, and post a picture relating to this book, what would you put out there for the fans to see?

Kyle Higgins: Well, the key idea is that when everything boils down, it’s really about two people just trying to get along. Whether they can coexist or not is what’s going to determine things for the investigation, in context with what’s going on during an intergalactic cold war. But the big selling point is really Rod.  He’s doing the work of his career on this book. If he’s not nominated for an award I would be pretty shocked. He’s got a Bill Sienkiewicz/Phil Noto aesthetic going on here, and he’s painting the book. His growth is incredible.