Writer MK Reed and artist Jonathan Hill, the creative team on Americus and Science Comics Wild Weather: Storms, Meteorology, and Climate, reunite for Comixology Original’s Budding Crisis, a horticultural fantasy series about the depletion of a precious resource and the most powerful material in existence.
We spoke to Reed and Hill about their new series and the challenges one has when building a science fiction/fantasy world.
Where did the idea for Budding Crisis originate?
MK Reed: It was 2019 and I started thinking about what gas shortages would do, in terms of like, what would it actually take to have some foresight about not consuming something until it kills a bunch of the planet. It seemed like it would literally take magic, so I started thinking about what that would look like, if there was magic and also people used it to improve things that were too powerful to stop. Then the pandemic happened, and I realized how much apocalypse fiction I read or watched, and I leaned harder into the utopian side of it.
Your thematic focus is certainly one that you find often in Science Fiction (the depletion of natural resources), so how did you work these elements into a fantasy world?
Reed: Convincing someone to greenlight a utopia story can be a little difficult when you’re working in a format that is based on conflict, and crisis, and punching. So “the end of an era” seemed like it might be the most dramatic point to start. I guess most fantasy trends towards trying to save the world when that’s the stakes, but I was more interested in people who were trying to accept that something could die out and the world would keep moving, but differently.
In terms of your world building, which aspects were most important in establishing Cygnus as a real, believable fantasy setting?
Reed: For me, it’s grounding the characters as believable people. Figuring out how they move around in the world, what they want and how they want to protect what they’ve got. If they’re believable, then most people will roll with like, this guy’s immortal. And I knew Jonathan can sell anything visually that I throw at him, so I just make sure it makes sense on my side.
Jonathan Hill: When I was designing the visuals, I was inspired by cities in the Middle East and the Mediterranean. These cities that were kind of the beginning of civilization. I wanted it to feel epic and ancient, but also grounded and lived in. I’m really proud of the way Cygnus turned out and the feel it has. I think it does a great job of establishing the feeling for the series. One of the most fun things about it being an anthology is we get to hop around a bit in later chapters, but I’m glad we get to spend some more time in Cygnus too.
Which member of the crew do you have the most affinity for and why?
Hill: Yancy. He’s only in one scene, but man, does he steal that one scene. He’s just gotten one off the last wish seed – the most valuable resource in the world – and he’s like, ‘Nah. I have whatever money I need. I’m good. But let’s just sow some chaos with this wish instead.’ Punk rock!
Reed: Yancy’s based on my brother, visually, and character-wise, no comment. But yeah, we stan a chaos man.
Thoughts on being on the Comixology platform and digital comics in general?
Reed: It’s my second go-round with Comixology, after working on Delver with Spike Trotman & Clive Hawken, and I have yet to meet anyone from the company that doesn’t absolutely love comics. Digital comics have so many different technological iterations that go with them, and it’s always interesting to try and figure out how to make the format work for you. It changes all the time.
Hill: I am a traditionalist, and I generally want a printed thing in my hand to read and to have on my shelf. Even when I was designing the layout of the issues, I was thinking about what it would look like in print. That being said, there are definitely some cool things about the digital release via Comixology: It’s accessible is the first one that comes to mind. People I know who don’t maybe have the time to make it to the comics store can pick up. (And even if they did, maybe that comic store wouldn’t carry it!) But it being digital, they can easily get it from their phone or their browser.
The other thing that surprised me that I was very impressed with the Comixology guided view. I use a very strict grid setup for the layouts, which is mainly to help with the clarity of storytelling, and it works perfectly with the guided view. It’s like a perfect match! It was pretty cool.
Upcoming projects?
Reed: None that I can talk about yet!
Hill: Besides Budding Crisis, I have an upcoming middle reader graphic novel coming out in April – Lizard Boy 2, which is a sequel to my last book Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy (Walker Books US). The first book was my weirdest, but also my most personal book and I’m excited to get to expand on that world and those themes in the sequel.
The third issue of Budding Crisis is now available on Comixology.
