Where do the old gods go when they are no longer needed or revered?
Melissa F. Olson, Sally Cantirino, and Gab Contreras explore this concept in the brand new AHOY Comics series Archaic, starring a single mom and her three kids on a quest of discovery and enlightenment.
We spoke to Olson about the new series, the difference between writing novels and comics, and her inspiration for Archaic in this exclusive interview.
Where did the idea for Archaic originate?
Melissa F. Olson: It was very much a pandemic idea. Very early in 2021, I was really struggling and feeling kind of useless, and most of all, worried about my kids. I started imagining a magical place where nothing bad can happen to your children. What would be the cost of that? What would I be willing to pay? And what would Tess, my character, think about all this?
That wasn’t the only idea that went into Archaic, but it was definitely a major component.
You populate your world with a variety of gods and monsters from a number of cultures. How did you go about populating this world?
Olson: The guiding principle I started with was the idea that the island, Demonde, is a home for gods and monsters of dead civilizations – societies that had their own mythology and religions, but were wiped out or completely absorbed into another group.
As soon as I dipped a toe into anthropology, however, I realized just how much I didn’t know about this subject. For the next two years I did as much research as I could, which included a lot of trips down the wrong rabbit holes. Eventually I put together a short list of the societies I felt were really rich for the kind of storytelling I wanted to do. Then I made a big map of the island and gave everyone their own territory there.
These five issues focus on ancient Mesopotamian mythology, but we’re really only scratching the surface of the stories on the island.
You ground the magical elements with mundane ones that resemble any of our lives. Why was it important to you to “start slow” in terms of the emergence of the “other” world?
Olson: I’m sure it has a lot to do with my background in fiction, and especially urban fantasy fiction, which is the combining of the real world with a world of magic. But it also has a lot to do with how I want readers to see the island. One of the things Sally and I talked about early on is the idea that Demonde is both wish fulfillment and cautionary tale.
On the one hand, inheriting the island solves all of Tess’s financial problems and guarantees the safety of her children. On the other, she’s almost being cursed, like a fairy tale character, because she belongs to the island, rather than the other way around. In order to show the two sides of Demonde, I really needed to flesh out Tess’s starting point.
What has it been like working with Sally?
Olson: Sally has been delightful and responsive and wise and patient, especially considering I had to go through a learning process for formatting and writing description. But she’s always made me feel like my ideas and experience are valued, even if I haven’t quite figured out how to phrase things.
There aren’t a lot of new successes in comics right now, especially successes that were made by encouragement. I already consider Archaic a success because of Sally.
You come to comics from the world of novel writing. How would you compare the two mediums from a writer’s point of view?
Olson: Writing novels is a solo act; comics are a team sport, but I definitely enjoy both. There are times where I just want to go off on my own and make a word count for the day so I can watch TV. But there are also times when I’m thrilled to be bouncing ideas back and forth and watching a story evolve into something I could never do on my own.
Upcoming work?
Olson: I have a novella in my Old World urban fantasy series coming out on December 27. I’m also waiting to hear back on two different things before I can publicly announce.
Archaic #1 is currently available at finer comic book shops everywhere.
