Hey everyone,
Last week's comics focused on the United Empire and followed the peregrinations of a lone civilian in the streets of the imperial capital. As with Upstaged, we thought some of you might be interested in learning more about the backstory and the production side.
The original story for the Empire's comics took place in the last hours of the unification, in the crucial hours that cemented Zelevas' rule. After several iterations on the story and the flow, we felt that this angle was problematic: it implied a preexisting knowledge or awareness of the United Empire's background, and the story moved very briskly between scenes, at the risk of losing readers. What's more, that story was revolving around Zelevas' entourage, the high and mighty of Raian society, and we felt that we focused too much on those in power, as opposed to the struggles of the mundane and the lowly. So we scrapped that, and in a way similar to the United Empire's Prologue being an extended metaphor for the condition of imperial commoners, we made the story about a normal person. Normal? Well, maybe not so much.
Gregor Hansen, aka "Dimitri"
Hansen, the protagonist, lives a crude existence as a janitor at an exclusive club for the high and the powerful. Unbeknownst to anyone, this is only a cover for his activities as a sleeper agent, a hitman for the Zelevas regime. Hansen's identity was locked very fast in the drafting process of this new story. Defining the character of Grand Admiral Gavril took a bit more research, with the deed Hansen would be grateful for but ultimately not save him for part of his identity. The drafts on the left and center were linked to an earlier version of Gavril, whose actions saved Hansen's brigade. Note the much harder faces on these drafts, whereas we ended up going with an action centered around Gavril attempting to preserve civilian lives during the last steps of the unification, thereby saving Hansen's daughter's life. His face looks much softer by contrast, almost grandfatherly with the white mustache and sideburns.
Studies for Grand Admiral Gavril, with the final concept, right
Paradoxically, it is this action that led to his own demise: Hansen's daughter, saved from a government purge, was now used by the same government as a way of keeping him in check. You can see from the sparse interior of his living quarters that Hansen lives alone, his only souvenir of his family being the picture on his desk, and his memories. This provided the crux of Hansen's dilemma: how can you kill the man who saved your daughter, but whose continued existence threatens her survival? In this case, it meant offering him a way out, even if only symbolically, considering the hardships of reeducation.
With his target eliminated and his cover blown, Hansen receives a new assignment and fades away into the crowd...
Full storyboard
Consider in the storyboard above how much of the story is seen through the eyes of Hansen himself. In most panels depicting the city, from the crummy apartment block to the deserted transport system and plazas, to the exclusive places where the rich and the powerful gather behind the protection of armed men, Hansen's eyes and the reader are drawn to the same features of his surroundings. The intention here was indeed to contrast the discrepancy between the promise of life in the empire and the reality of it for most. Ultimate note of city alienation, the presence of vegetation is reserved for the highest of the elite, only being present around the Grand Admiral on the balcony.
We hope you enjoyed this dive in the underbelly of the Empire! Next comics in two weeks. It's about time...
