Man's Best Friend Faces Animosity

by Vince Brusio

For years, creative minds have envisioned the end of the world. The landscape in many cases is familiar: deserted streets. Rubble. Grey skies. Something right out of The Lorax. Not much room for hope. What if the end of the world were, to some, the beginning of a new day? In Marguerite Bennett’s Animosity, the “end” is re-imagined as the “start” of animal activism. The beginning of what may lead to the animals’ Bill of Rights. In AfterShock Comics’ Animosity Volume 1 TP (JAN171219), a girl and her dog are about to navigate through strange days, and even stranger circumstances. In the PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, creator/writer Marguerite Bennett explains the bond between a girl and a Bloodhound may show us that, in the end times, the greatest form of love … is to let go of those you love.

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Vince Brusio: For those new to the title, can you tell us the premise for Animosity?

Marguerite Bennett: Animosity begins when one day, for reasons unknown, the animals start thinking, start talking, and start taking revenge. Cows plead in slaughterhouses, hens murder their rooster, the orca in SeaWorld splashes from the tank and begs of his trainer, “Jessica, I can’t deny my feelings any longer! WILL YOU MARRY ME?” The world descends into over-the-top chaos.

In New York City, in the midst of these insane, bombastic, blackly comedic backdrops, a young girl’s dog “wakes,” turns to her—the person who has cared for him, saved him, raised him, protected him—and tells her, with utter purity and sincerity, that he loves her. Smiling, uncomprehending, she tells him that she loves him, too.

The dog who was her child must now become her father, and sets out to guide her on the journey to her estranged brother, who lives on the West Coast. His life expectancy is far less than hers, and he knows he has to get the girl to her brother before he himself dies and leaves her stranded in this vicious new world. Now they must navigate clashes between the United States government and the rise of the Animilitary, the devastating food crisis, population explosions, and every other peril on this mad road trip.

Animosity is a dystopia, a black comedy, and a coming-of-age story, all in one.

Vince Brusio: Tell us about the main characters in the story. Are there any people in your life or other figures you used as a reference for the voices of these players?

Marguerite Bennett: The characters are original! Sandor is our main protagonist. He's a Bloodhound, and he loves his little girl, Jesse, more than life. Once she started as his protector, his master, but now he has eclipsed her, and essentially become her father. He is utterly devoted to her, and terrified for her--it makes him savage, suspicious, and prone to violence. Jesse is ten years-old, sweet, curious, optimistic, and wants to help others, and Sandor lies to her perpetually about what a good place the world is, while shielding her from what it's become. Jesse is Sandor's whole world, and yet the mission of his life is to give her up, get her to safety in San Francisco, where her brother lives. He lives to love her and care for her, but his entire journey is to seek to let her go.

In the absurdity of the premise, Sandor and Jesse are the sincere, emotional momentum that drives our story.

Vince Brusio: What’s the most challenging aspect of working on this book? How does it test you?

Marguerite Bennett: I suppose the most challenging aspect is trying to fit everything in, haha! The premise suggests such a massive world, but we remain largely intimate with Sandor and Jesse’s journey. I have spent so, so long plotting out the world building of small and obscure details that may never become relevant to the plot, but which are hilarious or heartbreaking or otherwise contribute to the way the world must turn from now on. Balancing the violence and absurdity of this dystopia can be a challenge, but I truly believe readers will find something that will stay in their hearts long after the book is done. Rafael Delatorre, Rob Schwager, Marshall Dillon, and Mike Marts are the best team I would ever ask for.

Vince Brusio: What makes AfterShock the right home for this book? How does the publisher work with you to your liking?

Marguerite Bennett: AfterShock, from the beginning, told me to swing for the fences — to bring them the work no other company would ever dream of touching. My first project for them was the graphic erotic horror comic Insexts, which is ongoing with the magnificent Ariela Kristantina, and chronicles a pair of Victorian lesbian lovers who discover a form of body horror that allows them to go on a revenge killing spree.

Animosity had madness and pathos and sincere love, and that made it such a tricky sell at any other publisher, but Mike Marts saw the potential and beauty in it, and we began. I adore working with AfterShock. I have never been treated so well by a company, been so supported, and so encouraged to tell such absolutely bonkers stories.

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Vince Brusio writes about comics, and writes comics. He is the long-serving Editor of PREVIEWSworld.com, the creator of PUSSYCATS, and encourages everyone to keep the faith...and keep reading comics.