VISUALISING THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM
The spiritual and secular collide in a new galaxy rendered by Christian Ward for a brand new comic
Despite its title, this comic book won’t be filled with blank pages. Christian Ward’s art will depict G Willow Wilson’s story, which takes place in another solar system with a slightly retro sense of sci-fi futurism to it – if that’s possible.
The story balances the secular and the spiritual with cargo and bounty hunters whizzing around and getting into conflicts on the one hand, while a young woman travels to join a monastery that floats above the surface of one of the planets. Only the pure can join, but there’s a conspiracy going on behind the scenes and that’s the source of the tension in the storyline.
“It deals with themes of belonging, and what you search for in life to make yourself happy – whether that be spiritual belief or just keeping your family fed and safe,” says Christian.
For inspiration, he turned to the classic sci-fi and fantasy illustrators of the 1960s and 70s to develop a look and feel for Invisible Kingdom – Chris Foss, Roger Dean and Philippe Bouchet, for example. “I wanted to create that aesthetic, playing with nostalgia. The planets, the horizon line, huge monolithic space ships flying through the air, lots of strange vegetation, strange birds… all the things we saw on our parents’ bookshelves when we were kids,” says Christian.
The early buzz on this book is good, so grab it if you can.
out areas of light and shade, areas of detail and negative space. He uses painted textures not just to splash the colour, but to ground the work and give it a physical presence.
“I have big sheets of paper that I splatter watercolour paint on, let it bubble up. Sometimes I throw some salt on to it to create some texture and then I’ll scan those paintings in,” he says. “I think a piece of art or a comic page is a combination of 1,000 happy accidents and it’s just a case of allowing those accidents to happen.”
It’s a way of working that reflects his artistic influences. As well as Reggie Pedro, Christian references Gustav Klimt and his dense use of pattern, Alphonse Mucha’s flowing line work and Art Nouveau style, and the comic artists Jamie Hewlett and James Jean.
stories in time and space
“In comics, my favourite artist is a guy called Frank Quitely,” he says. “His storytelling is amazing and he uses things like time and space. Panels will almost be represented in 3D white space rather than a flat plane, and that’s a big influence on what I do.”
Christian also feels like he has stories to tell and soon his first work as a writer will be released. Finnish artist Sami Kivelä will be drawing the book, which features gangsters and magic elixir in 1920s Chicago, and a big challenge for Christian has been taking a step back and letting another artist thrive. “He knows what he’s doing. The cars and setting are so perfectly rendered and I still get to have some fun with it because I’m colouring it. I don’t want to overpower it, though,” he says.
An official announcement about Christian’s debut as a writer is expected imminently. In the meantime, watch out for Invisible Kingdom – the first issue is available to buy now.
I think a piece of art or a comic page is a combination of 1,000 happy accidents