Two Wrongs Are Right At A Port Of Earth

by Vince Brusio

It’s not personal, it’s just business. How many times have you heard that expression? Quite often, though, we don’t care for the expression, because it lends itself to there being a lack of accountability. Specifically, someone’s feelings being fed into a wood chipper. Two of Earth’s Security Agents in Port of Earth Volume 1 TP (JAN180689) would concur. There doesn’t seem to be any easy way to do their job. Business with off-world aliens is good for the country, but the collateral damage is something you wouldn’t want your kids to see on television. A sticky situation that writer/creator Zack Kaplan was more than happy to talk to us about in his Image Comics series Port of Earth.

**********

Vince Brusio: Zack it sounds like Men In Black left a huge impression on you. Something that kept you locked in a room for days that had you asking “what if?” Is that sort of how things got started for Port of Earth Volume 1 (JAN180689)? Or was the mind salad you prepared more complicated, and it went more like take a Barry Sonnenfeld film, splice in Cops, add a dash of V and Close Encounters with a 9-11 backdrop and BAM! Bottom line: tell us how you got this book rolling.

Zack Kaplan: It might have been a big mind salad, but I actually got the thrust of the idea thinking about history and the Europeans coming to the New World. It seems that when different civilizations meet, it always starts in trade and business before any war or violence. And yet, we’ve seen so many stories when aliens come to blow us up. Again and again. Why not strike a deal with humans? After all, human beings love a good deal. So, it got me thinking about the business possibilities with aliens, and it wasn’t until much later that I realized Port of Earth had some similarities to Men In Black. But the world of Port of Earth is far more political and complex, and these cops or agents are just struggling to deal with the tensions thrust upon them. The business arrangement is tenuous and spiraling a bit out of control, and that doesn’t make the job of an Earth Security Agent easy. How do you protect deadly alien visitors and scared and aggressive human beings without endangering the business deal?

Vince Brusio: Is there any specific research or questions that you’ve had regarding aliens and alien technology that worked their way into your storytelling? Or are you working more from an allegorical perspective?

Zack Kaplan: No specific research really. An alien group called the Consortium comes to visit us. They represent thousands of alien species in the galaxy, but we are left in the dark about the alien politics, the ways of the distant galaxy, everything. All we know is they want to use our planet as a Port and they have some advanced technology to trade. And in fact, there’s a simplicity to leaving some of the alien ways and technology vague and undefined. How do some of the aliens get past a human naval blockade and leave the Port to visit human populated areas? Who knows! How does the alien water engine technology that they give us work? Who knows! It just does. But that feels real to me. I think if aliens came and they had some advanced technology, it might take us decades to understand it, or perhaps some things we would never understand. I think we may not understand the galaxy after First Contact with aliens. So I made a conscious choice that the aliens and alien technology was going to be undefined in order to make the reader feel a little overwhelmed by the situation.

Vince Brusio: Let’s get a feel for who we’ll be watching in this story. Tell us about your main characters, and let us see what they’re all about past their wardrobe. What are their ticks, and what ticks them off?

Zack Kaplan: The story focuses on two Earth Security Agents or ESA Agents on a routine call to track down an alien and return it to Port. Agent Rice is a by-the-book pacifist, and Agent McIntyre is a shoot-first-ask-questions-later cynic. Cue conflict, right? McIntyre gets ticked off by aliens that break the rules and kill innocent people, and Rice gets ticked off by anyone who leans on violence and aggression before respect and understanding. But while the setup of the story might feel grand in scope, the story is actually quite claustrophobic, because we’re with these two agents in real time on their mission. I definitely want to create a sense that both are right and both are wrong, and the situation sucks and there’s no right way to do the job of an ESA agent.

Vince Brusio: Background characters are just as important to a story, so let’s not leave out the little people. What faces and voices round out this production? What character actors might we recognize? Who’s likely to be tapped as best supporting actor or actress?

Zack Kaplan: The entire story is told as if the reader is watching a news story/documentary on cable news. Our narrator is hard-hitting journalist Julia Campbell, a former war reporter who’s taking the screws to the head of the ESA, Tom Rutgers. Through this interview, which I think of as a mini Frost/Nixon style story throughout the entire series, we learn all the ramifications on our planet now that we run an alien spaceport. And again, both Campbell and Rutgers are right and wrong, and it’s definitely a storyline set up to create debate. But it’s not just a framework to inform the audience. There’s a story and a conflict there, too, and there’s a big payoff in the end.

Vince Brusio: What was the most challenging and rewarding moments for you and artist Andrea Mutti on this project?

Zack Kaplan: Yeah, and shout out to the creative team: Andrea Mutti on amazing inks, Vladimir Popov on dynamic colors and Troy Peteri on those crisp letters! They make the book look so good. I think there was a moment with Andrea, Vlad and I where we finally found the look of the book. We all had a very specific idea for the style. It had to be gritty and edgy, but not dark. It had to capture the uplifting promise of alien contact with a hopeless undertone. It was a very specific recipe. It took a few passes and I think when we finally found the look it was a special moment. We’re very excited to share it with readers. I think they’re going to be blown away.

Click on the images to see them at full size!

**********

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.