Interview: Cracking The Cold Conspiracy of 'Antarctica'
Sep 19, 2023
Interview by Troy Allen
Hannah's life imploded the day her father failed to return from the secretive Smith-Petersen Research Station in Antarctica. Alone and on the street, she's at her lowest ebb when a friend offers help. Retrained as an engineer, Hannah secures a job at the same Antarctic station to search for her father and stumbles headfirst into a conspiracy that threatens everything she's ever believed.
Go deep into the cold conspiracy of Antarctica. In the following interview, writer Simon Birks takes us inside Top Cow's breakthrough series!
Let’s get into Antarctica. Catch us up to speed. What is the story about?
The story centers around Hannah, a girl devoted to her father, a military man who suddenly disappears. She’s unable to cope and winds up homeless, and it’s only through her friend, Jim, that she’s able to get back on her feet. Then, when tragedy strikes, she knows she must discover what happened to her father or risk slipping back into trouble. She finds out his last posting was at the Smith-Petersen Research Station in the Antarctic, so sets her sights on getting there.
What can you tell us about this Smith-Petersen Research Station?
It’s been there since the 1950s and was built for a very special reason. In its prime, it was state of the art and housed many people. Now, it’s looking a little old and is run by a skeleton crew. In issue 1, Hannah arrives as a replacement for their engineer Ling. She’s excited to start finding out what happened to her father.
This project originally appeared in a Top Cow anthology. How did it go from short story to series?
I created Antarctica for the Top Cow anthology, but immediately knew it was a bigger story than the initial six pages. As soon as I saw it published, I began working on expanding the world, crafting characters people would root for, devising a plot that would keep people guessing – and coming back for more. I pitched the larger story to Top Cow a couple of years ago and was over the moon when they said they wanted to publish it. The six pages from the anthology appear towards the end of the first issue.
Should we avoid comparisons to John Carpenter’s The Thing?
I can see why there would be comparisons if you weren’t aware of the Antarctica plot. The Thing is such a fantastic film, and it’s certainly one of my favorites. In some ways Antarctica attracted me as a location possibly for the same reasons it appealed to the makers of The Thing – it’s desperately remote, an almost alien landscape, where the environment is nothing short of hostile. If things start to go wrong out there, you know you’re going to be in trouble.
What made you team up with artist Willi Roberts?
I’ve worked with Willi on several projects for my own company, Blue Fox Comics, and we’ve built up an excellent working relationship. We both trust each other’s judgment and happily discuss aspects of the stories to find ways we can make them even better. I’m pleased to say he hasn’t disappointed - his enthusiasm for Antarctica story explodes onto the page, with each amazing panel. It’s such a beautiful comic to look at!
Tell us about the rest of the collaborators on the book. Who are the art teams?
Willi does the pencils, inks and colors – so, all the art! One of my other long-term collaborators, Lyndon White, letters the book, and has also provided the variant cover for issue 1. Lyndon is an excellent artist and letterer, and as always, has brought his A-game to the book. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with this accomplished team on my first Top Cow/Image comic.
In terms of audience, who is Antarctica for?
Antarctica is for lovers of sci-fi, mystery, action, and intrigue. It’s been likened to Stargate meets His Dark Materials, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg (pun intended). It’s a multi-layered book that I want readers to care about – I want this book to make everyone feel a range of emotions. It’s my best book to date, hands down – prepare yourself for a ton of surprises.
Antarctica is available to preorder now at your local comic shop from Top Cow! You can also reserve your copy with PREVIEWSworld Pullbox.
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Stargate meets His Dark Materials in a new non-stop sci-fi action blockbuster!
Hannah's life imploded the day her father failed to return from the secretive Smith-Petersen Research Station in Antarctica. Alone and on the street, she's at her lowest ebb when a friend offers help. Retrained as an engineer, Hannah secures a job at the same Antarctic station to search for her father and stumbles headfirst into a conspiracy that threatens everything she's ever believed.
Stargate meets His Dark Materials in a new non-stop sci-fi action blockbuster!
Hannah's life imploded the day her father failed to return from the secretive Smith-Petersen Research Station in Antarctica. Alone and on the street, she's at her lowest ebb when a friend offers help. Retrained as an engineer, Hannah secures a job at the same Antarctic station to search for her father and stumbles headfirst into a conspiracy that threatens everything she's ever believed.
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Troy-Jeffrey Allen is the producer and co-host of PREVIEWSworld Weekly. His comics work includes MF DOOM: All Caps, Public Enemy's Apocalypse '91, Fight of the Century, the Harvey Award-nominated District Comics, and the Ringo Award-nominated Magic Bullet.
