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The ComicsPRO Prometheus Variant Revealed – Plus Kelly Sue DeConnick In Q&A

Things are gearing up for ComicsPRO next week, the conference of particular importance to retailers and to discussing the upcoming year in comics among publishers. We'll hope to squeeze some of the news out of those gatherings here on Bleeding Cool. But ahead of that event, Dark Horse Comics have kindly granted us a glimpse of their special ComicsPRO variant for Prometheus: Fire and Stone "Omega", by artist Valentine De Landro, who also collaborates with Omega's writer Kelly Sue DeConnick on Bitch Planet.

We've also had the opportunity to do a Q & A with writer of the closing arc Kelly Sue DeConnick. She has the hefty task of tying together all the related series in this 44 page finale, bringing in elements from, Aliens, Alien Vs. Predator, and Prometheus, all under the "Fire and Stone" arc.

This finale arrives today in shops in the form of "Omega", drawn by Agustin Alessio, and described thus:

Angela and her fellow survivors are stranded on LV-223, but their mission is not over yet. The answer to their quest could be hidden deep underground, but the strangest nightmare of all stands in their way.

Here's our look ahead at the ComicsPRO variant by Valentine De Landro for this issue:

And here's our discussion with Kelly Sue DeConnick on the Alien mythology, suspense, and what themes she feels help tie the elements of the finale together.

Hannah Means-Shannon: Do you mentally delineate between horror, monster stories, and science fiction? Where do you think those boundaries lie? Do they have different goals?

Kelly Sue DeConnick: I'm sure I do at some point, but not in the writing.  I don't think about genre while I'm writing.  I probably only think about it when I'm looking for something to read…?  That feels like a marketing thing, not a writing thing.  You make the story, let the person who has to sell it worry about what shelf to put it on.

HMS: The Alien mythology has always in part been about the vastness of space and the smallness of humankind. Does that kind of setting appeal to you as a reader and writer?

KSDC: Hmm.  I guess I don't see it that way.  For me the first Alien was a simple — and amazing, I love that film! — a man vs. nature story.  The thing I love most about it is that Ripley has no arc — you'd have a hard time getting away with that today. Look at Gravity.  Gravity is, in essence, the same film, but it gets heavy-handed when they added the bits where Stone talks to her daughter. I personally think it would have been a stronger film without that.  But we're at a stage right now where studios seem to think that a character has to experience some kind of growth or change in order for the viewer to experience catharsis. I disagree, but whatever.

There are other themes across the Alien mythology too — class is huge.  The first thing they talk about when they come out of cryo sleep is what they'll be paid.  And the duplicity of the corporation comes up again and again, as does creation. Creation is probably the theme that spans the entire franchise most obviously. What constitutes life?  Are the constructs life?  An interesting one to me was whether corporations are artificial life, given that we grant them rights?  And what duty do we have as stewards?  If the Engineers are our creators, what do they owe us? What do we owe Elden?

[De Landro's inking behind the ComicsPRO variant cover for "Omega"]

HMS: Is a sci-fi setting the best in which to view human strengths and foibles up close? Will we see any of that in your story here?

KSDC: I think sci-fi is most obviously a tool for the cautionary tale — "This is where we're headed, and if we're not careful this is where we'll end up."  It's also good for that "the more things change the more they stay the same," kind of story.

My story isn't what they call "hard sci-fi" — if I had to categorize it in the aftermath, I'd say it's action-adventure, with a spiritual component.  It asks not, "What if we got to meet our makers?" but "What do we want from that meeting? What is it we're after?"

HMS: What do you think the appeal is of suspense in stories? Why do we seek it out and what can in do for us when we experience it through other characters?

KSDC: It's the old Hitchcock thing — the bomb under the table, right?  "There's two people having breakfast and there's a bomb under the table. If it explodes, that's a surprise. But if it doesn't…"

HMS: What kind of strategies did you have to come up with to handle all the information in these different storylines and find a way for them to come together in a harmonizing way? What kind of touchstones did you have to find in each to bind them together thematically beyond just plot elements?

KSDC: I really focused on the stewardship of life and Angela.  Those two elements best bridged the project.

HMS:  Thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us at Bleeding Cool, Kelly Sue.

Prometheus: Fire and Stone "Omega" lands in shops today, February 11th. Follow more of our ComicsPRO Portland 2015 coverage here.

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