Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

We Are The Cyberpunk Collaborators

Published Sun, 08 Nov 2015 15:00:39 -0600

Jeremy Biggs writes,

Sometimes creators are like dragons, sitting Smaug like in their lairs, jealously guarding their creations for fear that some hobbitous little oik sneak in and upset the precious things they've created. They man the battlements like Lars Ulrich preparing for battle against the overwhelming forces of participatory culture, crying at the top of their lungs: "You shall not pass!"

This is why I'm ever grateful that Simeon invited me in to write for Metal Made Flesh. Through his artwork he created an amazingly evocative world of assassins, mobsters, low lives, aliens, mercenaries, hustlers and cyborgs. Every piece was an inspiration – suggestion an exciting story, and, like Ron Cobb and Syd Mead's work on Alien, had a depth that felt like a living, breathing, fully realised world. This may sound like hyperbole, but, in my opinion, his art was that good.

From the minute I set eyes on his initial drawings, I knew there was a huge scope to write stories that ran the full gamut from Cyberpunk, to Sci-fi Opera, to Lovecraftian horror. As one reviewer put it – Metal Made Flesh really is "Bladerunner meets Game of Thrones."

It's always been a feature of the story, even from the first book that the narrative is not linear. Metal Made Flesh is told in reverse, like a cross between Memento and Pulp Fiction, through three stand-alone origin stories which, when taken together hint at a grand arc. I like to think of it as the story equivalent of a photo mosaic, each picture can be enjoyed on its own, but when you step back you see the whole picture.

With such big plans, and a growing loyal but hungry fanbase, you can imagine that being able to keep up with demand for new stories has been hard – particularly when you're dealing with artwork as detailed and intricate as Simeon's – these things just take time. In order to realise the grandness of our plans for the MMF universe and for our Kickstarter for our second book "Metal Made Flesh 2: Blood and Oil" <<LINK>> we needed help.

At Thought Bubble last year I met Cy Dethan in the flesh for the first time. I'd been a fan of his work since I first went to T-bubs in 2012 ish. At the time amongst friends and fellow creators there had been quite a bit of buzz, and reading his work I could see why. Cy has a way with dialogue that makes me, frankly, envious. If you haven't read White Knuckle, the soon-to-be-a-movie graphic novel from Markosia, it's well worth delving into. That Cy is a fellow Cyberpunk enthusiast was more than a bonus – he was a natural fit for the Metal Made Flesh universe, and having read his script outline, I'm really excited to see what happens when you put him with Gary Erskine.

Gary, I met properly at LFCC, although I'd known his work for a long time (who doesn't?). When he said he was interested in being part of MMF, well, it was a dream come true in many ways – to work with such an established artist who's fit us into is busy schedule. Gary's support throughout this has been amazing.

Phil Buckenham, an up and coming artist that we met at MCM Comic con, is someone I'm working with whose art I love. Phil's art is particularly dynamic, with a loose style that will fit my story, "Blood and Oil" to a tee.

I'm not going to lie, at first we were nervous to hand over our babies into the gnarled hands of two such professionals. We knew they would create something amazing, but would it feel like "Metal Made Flesh"? Having seen the early work, the answer is a resounding yes.

Simeon puts it best: "It's really exciting. We've gathered some talented people who share the same interest in visionary artists and movies that inspired us. They all seem to intuitively understand the world I created."

Since then Boo Cook has also agreed to contribute art to an art book if we hit our fourth stretch goal, and if we exceed that we hope to be able to put out more stories from another writer waiting in the wings.

I'll leave the last word to Simeon: "The time is right. Cyberpunk is becoming more and more popular. I cant believe how far characters and concepts have come and can't wait to see what the future holds as more and more people contribute. "