Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Descender, Dustin Nguyen, image comics, jeff lemire, Machine Moon

Secrets, Mysteries, And Reveals: Jeff Lemire On Descender's Next Arc: Machine Moon

Published Wed, 19 Aug 2015 15:00:36 -0500

"Tin Stars", first arc of the Image series Descender, written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Dustin Nguyen, has come to a close with issue #6, and it's hard to imagine a more curtain-lifting conclusion to lead us into the upcoming new arc, "Machine Moon". The hiatus before the next issue in November leaves plenty of questions in the air for fans about Tim-21's origin and role, reveals a great deal about Dr. Quon's past and motivations, and sets us up for an even bigger space-operatic adventure bringing in the Robot Resistance more fully. Well played, Lemire and Nguyen. Not only has Descender been a beautiful and thought-provoking comic so far, but it just got that much bigger on the inside.

Jeff Lemire kindly took some time to talk about the big developments in the 5th and 6th issues of Descender, and what's coming up for "Machine Moon". There are some mid-sized spoilers for Issue #6 below, so if you haven't read it yet, you might want to go and do that before proceeding.

Hannah Means-Shannon: This is probably a bizarre question to ask given all the intensity of the last couple of issues of Descender, particularly, but I was wondering what your thoughts are on the robot Driller and his role in the comic. Does he help remind us of the subservient role of the 'bots in human life, or is it just that he's pretty funny and energetic? What do you think he brings to the story?

Jeff Lemire: That's a great question. And the role of robots in this culture, their subservient nature, is a big part of Driller' backstory. I don't want to give away where we're going, but there is a lot more to Driller than we've seen so far. Yes, he is comic relief at times, and the big lumbering "tough guy", but that's the surface. There's a lot more there that we will begin to see glimpses of in Machine Moon and then really dive into in a big way in ARC 3. There is a massive SECRET that Driller is keeping. I'll leave it at that.

HMS: It's fair to say that the plot develops in Descender in ways very few readers might have expected, keeping them guessing. I remember reading teases when the series started that this comic had the potential to reveal a very big world and now it seems like we are starting to glimpse that. What does it mean for the universe of Descender that advanced robot tech goes back beyond their own civilizations? That they don't represent some kind of pinnacle of development?

JL: Well, now you're just asking for the big secrets! It's at the core of the central mystery of the series so I can't really answer the question. But obviously the discovery that Quon and Solomon made 15 years ago has had, and will continue to have MAJOR implications on the series. These questions will be answered…but maybe not in a way readers will expect.

HMS: In many ways, Tim-21's world seems futuristic to we readers. It shows technology beyond our own, planets and space travel beyond our reach, but now we're given some context that stretches into the distant past as well. Do you think that science fiction benefits from creating a sense of vastness in time as well as vastness in space?

JL: The sci-fi I've always reacted the most strongly to did just that. It showed me a glimpse of where we could end up. It was an extrapolation of the familiar but so far ahead that it became unfamiliar. And the thing I've always loved about "space" stories is the sense of mystery that may lay beyond. The sense of wonder and vastness of space. So I think populating that with technology and cultures that have a link to us helps to ground that and make the mysteries, when they do come, even more awe inspiring.

2001 is the ultimate example of this. At the end of that film we encounter mysteries and wonder almost beyond our comprehension, but leading up to that, all the science is VERY real. Very grounded. And that makes it even more effective when the unexplainable comes.

So we try to make the science in Descender seem plausible, even if it is very advanced. It echoes things we have and things we have seen. That helps readers connect and situate themselves in the world we're creating.

Now in the next arc and beyond, we'll start to glimpse the bigger universe and some things that are even more alien and strange.

HMS: It's hard not to feel sympathetic toward the Robot Resistance we've met in the comic and who Tim encounters. It's easy to associate them with the revolt of other oppressed groups in human history and agree, since they seem to possess consciousness, that they should have independent rights. What, though, are the dangers that they pose to Tim, humanity, or the universe, really?

JL: I'm trying very hard not to make any "villains" in Descender. Every group or character should have a motivation that makes sense to them in the context of the story. The exception to this may be King S'nok of the Gnishian, who is a straight up villain, but mostly for a bit of comic effect.

So, whether it's the Scrappers or the Hardwire (The resistance) we can understand why they do what they do, weather we agree with it or not. Having said that, I'm not going to get into any detail about Tim-21's relationship with the resistance, because that is really the meat of Machine Moon, our next arc.

[Exclusive reveal: the cover to Descender #8, the second part of Machine Moon. Wait, is that a new character?? Hmm…]

HMS: Throughout the first arc of the comic, we've seen an increasing contrast between innocence and belief, shown by Tim-21 particularly in the way that he comes to be part of his human family, and trusts Dr. Quon later, and brutality in the wider universe. And things are becoming even more pointed in that regard as we learn betrayal may rest at the heart of the robot culling and more. Did you always intend for Tim to be a kind of more ingenuous foil to the ambitions of adults and humans, more generally, who seem to have a more predatory role in the universe than the bots?

JL: Very much so. Tim represents any child. He is born into conflicts that he had nothing to do with. And like any child he is programmed to adapt based on his life experiences and who he is surrounded by. He grew up in isolation with a loving family. All he knows is family and love. Now, the interesting thing will be to see who TIM-22 is. Where did he grow up? What were his experiences in the last 10 years and how did he adapt to them?

How are these two "children" with identical programming different? How did their experiences shape them in regards to the conflicts going on in the universe. Again, this is another thing we'll be exploring in Machine Moon.

[Descender #7 Cover B (3D Photo): by Lesley-Anne Green]

HMS: What personality traits make Tim-21 unique, in your eyes? Since he's clearly shaped by his experiences and capable, it seems of dreaming his own dreams of some kind, what do you think we can take away about his own sense of identity at this point? As he engages with more robots, is individuality going to be harder or easier to hang on to?

JL: I think this goes back to my last answer. And Tim's sense of individuality will begin to be tested as he becomes more and more exposed to other robots, outside beliefs etc. As for the dreaming…that I'm not going to get into yet!

HMS: Is there anything else you'd like to hint at about the goals and trajectory of Machine Moon coming up?

JL: Aside from what I've already said, the other major aspect of Machine Moon will be the introduction of a MAJOR new character in the series. One with links to Tim's past and one who will, in many ways, become the secondary lead in the series. You'll meet this person in Issue 7.

And we'll also get more into Telsa. Her relationship with her Father, her motivations etc. I really love Telsa and Dustin loves drawing her too.

Issue #7, the first installment of "Machine Moon", arrives in November, and before then we'll see the arrival of Descender Vol 1: Tin Stars in trade paperback September 9th in comic shops and 24th in bookstores.

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