Interview: Kaare Andrews Recharges with 'E-Ratic 2' from AWA

Catch us up to speed. Where does the story in E-Ratic 2: Recharged pick up?

E-Ratic: Recharged Vol. 2 takes place pretty much directly after the first season of E-Ratic. It’s new reader friendly, so you don’t have to read the first run to enjoy this season, so feel free to give it a try!

Tell us about Oliver Leif. Why do we follow him through this story?

Oliver is a normal high schooler kid who discovers he can do very un-normal things for about ten minutes a day. For those ten minutes, he’s unstoppable! It’s every other minute of the day he needs to worry about. And he has worries! Being raised by a single mom, trying to fit in at a new school, learning how to use his very limited powers… but his real problems start at the end of the first issue of Season 2: his absentee Dad shows up. A man who Oliver thought was dead…

And he only has ten minutes to use his powers? How’s that work?

Imagine if your superpowers were a very crappy cell phone. Doesn’t hold much of a charge and then needs to be plugged back in for 24 hours. But for those ten minutes, Oliver can manifest a sort of energy called “The Void”. He’s still learning how to make them work—and what they can do. But so far, he’s been able to swing around on lightning ropes, create energy shields, energy-propelled acrobatics, and leaps, and even heal injuries when he “Powers Up”. But there seems to be some sort of darkness underneath the powers, one connected to an immortal evil… and he just might have to deal with that evil this season.

Do you play with the time elements visually?

Comics are all about playing with every element in a visual way. Our story deals with time, so it’s a natural expression. But the idea is to visually inhabit every element of the story from time to place to character to plot. If it’s not visual—it doesn’t belong in comics.

This connects to The Resistance series by J. Michael Straczynski, right?

It does! E-Ratic is in another place of AWA’s shared universe both stylistically and story-wise—but it all connects. The same way Spider-Man would connect to the X-Men when I was growing up. My older brother loved X-Men but I was more of a Spider-Man fan. Different stories, different tones, but a shared universe. You don’t have to read one to enjoy the other, and they don’t interconnect (yet) but I was really attracted to the idea of a larger universe.

Oliver’s costume has a unique look to it. Can you tell us what went into creating that look?

I was really interested in creating a real superhero costume and one based around an animal. Something people despised. A rat seemed great! It gave me a chance to make ‘ears’ and a ‘tail’ and ‘claws’. I feel like great superhero costumes sort of fell away for a while and it was a great opportunity to bring one back. And it was important to have a mask. In my world, the actual heroes are the ones that hide their heroics. Not looking to be celebrated for them. So, I wanted to give Oliver a real cost to be discovered. Which is fun because his new girlfriend happens to be a fame-obsessed YouTuber.

Looking forward, what can readers expect from E-Ratic 2: Recharged?

KA: E-Ratic was the first time my kids ever begged me to do more of a comic. And I’m looking to create that same response. The goal here is to fill the void of superheroics in superhero comics. Even if it’s only for ten minutes a day!