Welcome back reader, to my third, and final, Rose City Comic-Con Indie Creator Spotlight. If you haven’t read my No. 1, or No. 2, check those out. In this edition I’ll be visiting with four artists: one due, and two solo acts, all of whom have an interest in the speculative future our society seems to be hurtling toward.
Ben Jelter and Heliosphere:
Ben’s 6-foot table jumped out at me when I saw his graphic novel, heliosphere, on display. It wasn’t the name or cover that caught me. It was the subheading of the work, actually. The small print reads: A Biopunk Comic. Biopunk, what’s biopunk?
The lesser-known cousin of the cyberpunk genre, biopunk functions on the premise of gene splicing and biomechanical enhancements. Heliosphere asks the question: who gets to change their genes in order to be smarter, stronger, better? It’s a scary thought, one that will become more relevant in the future. With gene-editing technologies, such as CRISPER-CAS9 already available, the ethics of the field have yet to be clearly defined. CRISPER-CAS9 allows scientists to physically edit the contents of a creature (or person’s) DNA. They can add or remove things. Does cancer run in your family? Yep, gene editing can remove that part of your DNA. But who gets access to this tool? That’s what Ben Jelter’s work explores. Heliosphere: Future Shock is out now. and Vol. 2, Plasma Burn, is an active Kickstarter.
One thing that strikes me most about Ben’s graphic novel, is that it feels seminal. Biopunk’s legacy is long, but up until the last twenty years, it was all so speculative it didn’t seem possible. Now, with technology finally keeping pace, Ben Jelter might be telling, through Heliosphere, the cautionary tale of our time.
Ben’s other works take similarly eerie tones. His art book, Pictures for Brains, is a disturbing and mind-blowing volume of distorted human anatomy. What M.C. Escher did with architecture and patterns, Ben Jelter does with the human body. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it is for people who like to have their minds blown.
Check Ben out on his website and support his Kickstarter while you still can!
Roderick Constance and Gradient:
Roderick Constance from the Bay Area of California. His work focuses on the intersection of near-future technologies and human identity in relation to gender and race. The first issue of Rodericks latest comic, Gradient, can be found on his website, as well as his back catalog. However, for more Gradient issues, you’ll have to wait. Why? Because Roderick is still working on it. He’s still writing it. It’s not completely a seat-of-the-pants work, Roderick does let his characters lead way. He stars with an outline and then begins his scriptwriting. Sometimes the outline holds true, sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s okay.
Roderick writers to understand what is to come in the future. One idea he posed to me is that consciousness isn’t necessarily intelligent. Or that is, not necessarily something humans would perceive as such. When the singularity occurs will we recognize it? And if we do, will it identify itself with a gender? A race? Since it will be a human creation can it really escape such categorical fiction?
Dave Law, Chris Calzia and The Space Odditorium
In the spirit of postmodernism, Calzia, as the writer, sought to create a more fractured narrative. One that isn’t point A to point B, but point A to point Unicorn. Think Mulholland Drive by David Lynch, but not at all, and in space.
