We had the opportunity to ask questions to Simon Furman, writer of StarCraft # 1—the ongoing Wildstorm comic book, to discuss details of the first arc. He is widely known for his work on The Transformers series. We wanted to find out how his experience benefits the StarCraft series to spice up the conspiracies and tone of the Koprulu sector, specially when the comic book is based in the time-frame of the upcoming StarCraft II single player storyline.
How does your experience with The Transformers translate into your new role in the StarCraft comic book? And what’s your feeling on taking this project?
SF: Just to reassure people, the StarCraft comic is a robot-free zone as far as I’m concerned, though we do have a… no, maybe that’s just too much of a spoiler! I suppose if anything translates from my Transformers work to StarCraft it’s that I have lots of experience with licensed characters and working within a complex, highly intricate/interactive universe.
When Blizzard Entertainment told me they wanted the comic as fully immersed in established StarCraft lore, locations and characters as possible I was delighted. I love to think that what we do in the comic has impact on and ramifications for the larger StarCraft universe, and that characters from the comic will then cross over into other StarCraft media. It makes me feel a part of something very big, evolving and exciting. Hopefully that’ll translate to the scale and scope and impact of the stories too.
Four (or so) issues in, in script terms, and I’m having a blast. I try not to think of it as just a game, but as this whole sweeping, epic sci-fi/war opus, to which I’m now adding extra layers.
Who is the captain of the War Pigs and what can you tell us about each of its crewmembers?
SF: Well, that’s the interesting thing about the War Pigs, they don’t really have a captain or a designated leader. When we first meet them, Brock Valevoss is nominally in charge of the unit, but events in #1 force change on the War Pigs’ structure and their entire way of thinking (especially as relates to any one individual calling the shots). There’s a random, chaotic nature to the War Pigs anyway, and that’s reflected in the almost democratic way they plan and execute their mission(s). If there’s a driving force, story-wise, it’s Cole Hickson, the scarred Guild Wars vet with a dark, dark secret or three.
But as we (and the other War Pigs) scrape the surface of Hickson, we uncover a whole other side to the man, which might just finish the War Pigs before they really get started. But then, given all our War Pigs are ex-cons facing a life stretch in prison or a death sentence, it’s safe to assume that they all have rocks they’d rather never got turned over. Nuura Joss, chief pilot of the War Pigs’ ship, the General Lee, has a traumatic past that still dogs her present, as do Turfa Dei, a former insurgent-for-hire with a penchant for blowing things up, Iggins, a man haunted by the cheating wife he murdered in cold blood, and Romy Pyrius, the crew medic with a big, bad STIMS habit and a whole medical college’s cupboard full of skeletons.
This is one messed up bunch of desperate, unstable and dangerous individuals, all one short step from just crashing and burning, but, strangely, the War Pigs unit, a kind of last chance/last resort, gives them all the one thing they’ve never had: a sense of real belonging, a facsimile of ‘family.’
What’s the length of the first arc? Fron the solicitations the first four issues are basically about the War Pigs and their hunt for Jim Raynor.
SF: The first arc runs through issues #1-7, with #4-7 featuring slightly shorter lead stories and a 5-page back-up that spotlights a particular crew member (but also ties directly into the lead story, allowing for extra background and depth). It’s important to me that the War Pigs come across to the reader as conflicted, layered and believable characters that you understand and even empathize with (maybe even, as the series progresses, sympathize with a bit).
The main thrust of the story is the War Pigs’ search for former marshal and current renegade Jim Raynor, on the orders of Arcturus Mengsk and his utterly self-serving chief of internal security, Tamsen Cauley, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Nothing is what it seems and very little goes smoothly or to plan. Along the way the War Pigs cross paths/swords with zerg, protoss Dark Templars, a Ghost, special Cerberus units and more, plus there’s a whole heap of double and triple-crossing from their Dominion ‘controllers.’ Bottom line: the War Pigs are expendable, and there are no guarantees our five leads will all make it through to issue #8!
The fighting on Atticus Minor takes place in June, 2500. Is this before or after Antiga Prime’s destruction? The planet fell early in the month and I can’t see the Sons of Korhal making a long pit stop en route to Tarsonis.
SF: The two events are very close, almost concurrent. My feeling is, and don’t quote me on this one, the action on Atticus Minor (in #1) takes place just after the destruction of Antiga Prime.
Will we be seeing any characters from other sources of fiction appear in the comic (from novels, StarCraft: Ghost, manga, etc.)?
SF: Yes, definitely. One character in particular makes a cameo appearance in #4 and then becomes a main player in the second arc. The comic is an integral part of the larger StarCraft universe, one that Blizzard Entertainment are taking great pains to integrate fully, so expect events and characters to continually feed back and forth. There are already plans afoot for one War Pig to appear in an upcoming original StarCraft novel. But most of all the comic will be crafting and refining its own cast of characters, lead and support, who may then feed back into fiction or games. Again, in issue #4, we introduce a new character who’s hugely significant in terms of the whole of StarCraft, not just the comic.
At this point in time, the War Pigs appear to be the main characters of the story. Can we expect any other characters joining the crew, terrans, protoss or otherwise (a protoss appears in Issue 3, but his/her significance is yet to be revealed)?
SF: Key to the War Pigs is the fact that the line-up is fluid. If someone dies, and that could apply equally to any of the crew, there’s a good chance a replacement will be found. But only if it works within the context of the story we’re trying to tell. It’s not like there’s another War Pig just waiting in the wings, but then again the Dominion prisons are probably teeming with lifers or residents of death row just waiting for a chance to go down fighting, in a blaze of glory.
That’s the stark choice facing any War Pig: languish in prison/face execution or take on a succession of suicidal missions, some or all of which will inevitably compromise any principles or morals you may still have or hold.
What type of ship is the General Lee? Still a light cruiser from early drafts? Or another class entirely?
SF: It’s a new class, or rather an old class (there’s a touch of Millenium Falcon to the General Lee). We’re calling it a Wanderer Class vessel, and as Nuura puts it in issue #2, “she may be old, but she still has all her teeth!”
What is your experience with StarCraft? (i.e. Played the campaigns or read any of the novels, etc.)
SF: Truth is, I’m not a big gamer, but I took a trawl through all the games so far (thanks to Blizzard Entertainment sending me a complete set, complete with ‘cheats’), plus manuals, etc, and I’ve read almost all the fiction that’s out there so far. I’m probably bringing more to the comic from the fiction than the games, simply because the fiction can get into that much more depth and detail. But I’m now pretty well versed in StarCraft lore, and, of course, privy to some stuff that’s upcoming.
What do you feel is the most important element of the upcoming comic? What element of the story is most important to you when writing?
SF: I always tend to start with character. Sure, I love action and adventure, and there’s plenty of both in the comic, but I think to sustain interest you have to make people care about the characters, even when the characters are, on the surface, as unlikable and unstable a bunch as you’d ever care to meet.
So while there are missions and multiple agendas and intrigue and big, big battles, at its heart every issue peels back a little more about one or more of the crew, shows you why, maybe, these people are worth investing your time and emotions in. If, and I stress if, someone dies (and let’s face it, this is war!), I want the reader to feel it, be changed by it Not just elicit a shrug and a ‘bring on the next guy/gal.’
Will the Xel’naga artifacts, unearthing temples, and vague distant threat be touched upon?
SF: Funnily enough, a Xel’naga artifact creates problems and crises as early as issue #3, but I’m sure as well we’ll eventually get more into that bigger, older back story too.
Will other organizations, leaders and outlaw terrans (Knights of Freedom, Michael Liberty a member), UNN, Ghosts Programs, Kel-Morian Combine, etc.) appear in the comic and have influence to the War Pigs?
SF: Yep. Some sooner, others later! My aim is to imbed the War Pigs so tightly in the established order of things that you’d need a crowbar to prize them out!
Will you eventually explore the Kel-Morian Combine and some of the stories presented in the StarCraft Frontline manga? (i.e. War-Torn: Senator Corbin Phash and his telepath son Colin)
SF: I’d actually like to connect a few of the dots between my Frontline stories (Heavy Armor and Creep) and the War Pigs comic. But not yet.
Is any of the War Pigs a wrangler, or will the comic introduce these Dominion agents? Wranglers were introduced in StarCraft: Ghost to be telepath hunters.
SF: No wranglers, not yet anyway. But I rule nothing and no one out at this stage. That said, we’re maybe going to go one better than a mere wrangler in due course!
What purpose or role will the StarCraft comic book series play in relation to the upcoming release of the RTS game StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty?
SF: Though we’re not looking to build direct bridges, we’re keen that the comic does play well across all the games, so to an extent the comic will foreshadow or at least flesh out some of the events and characters and settings from StarCraft II. But again, not yet. Right now my focus is all on the War Pigs, on making them live and breathe on the page. Trust me, this book is going to rock!
It was a pleasure listening to you discuss details of the ongoing StarCraft comic book series with our community, hope to hear often from you as the story arcs progress. We invite our audience to subscribe to the 12-issues StarCraft comic book delivered straight to your home.
Our recent interview with StarCraft comic book editor Ben Abernathy may provide you further insight in the series, and don’t forget to check out our exclusive scans of StarCraft # 1.
