Stephan Franck brings his Palomino graphic novel series to a close with Volume 6 of the popular neo-noir thriller on Kickstarter.
We spoke to Franck once again about the end of the series, some of his favorite moments and memories from Palomino, and where he goes next in this exclusive interview.
You bring Palomino to a close with your sixth and final graphic novel. When you look back on this long journey, what are you most proud of and what was most challenging throughout the entire creative (and publication) process?
Stephan Franck: It’s meant a lot to me to see the story keep growing in depth and relevance the deeper I got into it. Not only did it remain a gripping, genuinely fun mystery throughout the series, it also became a meaningful exploration of characters and themes that feel more resonant than ever. So yes, it’s a heightened neo-noir, and in fact it keeps building to a truly epic ending—but the characters feel like real people to me. The biggest challenge was holding on to that verisimilitude, and never letting the tropes take over and chip away at the story’s credibility.
Where does Vol. 6 pick up in the storyline?
Franck: Palomino is one continuous story spanning six volumes, in which Eddie—a father—and his daughter Lisette, both noir characters to their core, try to unravel a web of criminal mysteries that have overshadowed their lives. The story begins in 1981, when Lisette is still a teenager and Eddie is the main investigator. Then, in Volume 4, we jump ahead 14 years to 1995. Lisette, now 29 and going by Liz, reopens the case.
By the end of Volume 5, many of the mysteries have been solved—but the deepest one, the one at the heart of who Liz is, still remains: who killed her mother all those years ago? This final book unfolds over a single night, as Liz embarks on a wild, deadly odyssey. She will either solve the case or die trying—and maybe, just maybe, emerge free of the ghosts of her past, ready to finally live her life.
You have profiled a number of different eras over the course of the story. Do you have a favorite one or which one did you enjoy writing about the most?
Franck: I was a kid in the ’80s, so I can relate to teenage Lisette, who’s wanting to investigate her mom’s disappearance but lacking the agency to actually do it. My life back then wasn’t anywhere that dramatic, but the cool stuff of that era felt just out of reach. Being able to revisit that period through a character who’s not only an adult, but also a badass, was incredibly fun—and a bit of wish fulfillment. That said, the ’90s were a time of unprecedented change, and I lived through them as a young adult. Revisiting that era now, with the perspective we’ve gained since, has been really fascinating.
Do you have one character that resonates with you after all six volumes?
Franck: They all do, in their own way. My closest identification is with Eddie and Lisette, especially around the parent/child relationship. I’m a dad—I’ve raised three kids, including two wonderful daughters into adulthood—and they’ve always been strong, powerful people. That definitely inspired Lisette: an old soul who, even as a teen, is more hard-boiled than her dad. At the same time, I lost a parent at a young age, and there’s a certain awareness that comes with that—something Lisette experiences as well. So when I’m telling her story, I’m also telling my own. The most intense character to write, however, was Mac. All the characters in Palomino go through significant change, but his arc had to feel completely credible—something that rang true every step of the way. He’ll end up staying with me for a long time.
For fans who missed out on Palomino, they will be able to get all six at once in the new Kickstarter campaign. Do you feel that this ability to have access to the older material is one of the best aspects of the platform?
Franck: Absolutely! Not only will all the Palomino books be available through the campaign, but my entire catalog as well—including the full Silver series, Rosalynd, and Romance In The Age Of The Space God.
It’s a great opportunity for new readers to catch up and take advantage of some cool bundles. Or—and I feel like we don’t say this enough—it’s also a chance for longtime fans to get a head start on holiday shopping and help their friends discover these fun worlds and characters.
Now that Palomino is ending, where do you go next?
Franck: Just like Silver before it, Palomino is a long series (661 pages!), and as much as I love making massive tomes, I also enjoy playing with the short story form—which is what I did with Romance In The Age Of The Space God. It’s a way to travel alongside new characters for just a leg of their journey, and to open a small window onto a much bigger world. So my next project will be a short story—something in the 30–40 page range—and it will be a supernatural thriller.
You can get Vol. 6 and every other Palomino volume as part of the new Kickstarter campaign.
If you’d like to learn more about the series, check out our two previous interviews with Franck right here and here.
