Behind Forty-Five: A Talk with Andi Ewington

Andi Ewington has spent much of his career as a graphic designer, so it’s perhaps not surprising that his comics debut is a different kind of idea: A big prose story wrapped around the work of 45 different artists, called simply enough Forty-Five. The story takes place in a near future in which it’s possible to test for the “superpowered gene” and decide whether or not to have the baby based on that. A journalist who has decided to forego that test in the case of his newborn infant goes around interviewing 45 different superpowered individuals to see if it’s a life worth living—and why. But his investigative interviews garner the attention of a secret organization who may have some ulterior motives.

Ewington talked about the birth of Forty-Five and how it all came together.

A page from Forty-Five by Admira Wijaya

Where did this idea come from? And why do the project this way?
It was born (if you excuse the pun) out of probably one of the key moments in mine and my wife’s life. We had just come back from our 12-week scan (ultrasound) and had just seen the first images of our unborn son. It was truly an awe-inspiring time. Filled with this excitement, I channeled myself into writing (I was at the time trying to find a project that offered something different to a comic-reading audience). I had also been reading World War Z by Max Brooks and I loved the way he used a transcript account to pull the reader along. I started working on hypothetical questions a potential father would ask if his child was born with superhuman abilities—you have to understand I’m a little bit of a fantasist, so to me these questions came naturally. I pitched the idea to Eddie Deighton and Ben Shahrabani of Com.x and they loved the idea. I spent the next months creating the different interviews and building the Forty-Five universe.

How would you describe the book?
I like to think of it as a comic/novel hybrid, a fusion of explosive art and enthralling interviews that hopefully captures people’s imagination.

Do you consider Forty-Five to be largely a prose book with illustrations, a comic book heavy on text, or something else completely?
It’s a balance of comic and prose. There’s plenty for both the reader that loves basking in the artist’s work and those that love digging deeper into the subplots.

Was it difficult to get artists to participate?
Generally, no. I was lucky that I was introduced to Jock, Liam Sharp, Charlie Adlard, Sean Phillips, and John Higgins early on in the project’s formation and with great guys like that behind me, I found it opened a lot of doors. Of course, not everyone could get involved for one reason or another, but across the board, regardless of whether they were involved or not, everyone only had positive things to say about the concept.

A page from Forty-Five by Calum Alexander Watt

Did you know any of the artists before you began this and started looking for so many illustrators?
I had met a few of them, like Liam and Sean, at Bristol and Birmingham so we had a good “speaking” relationship because of that. John Higgins I had met several times through his relationship with Com.x and his most excellent RazorJack series. Others I simply chatted to on email. It’s funny, looking back at those initial introductory emails, we’re all good friends now and I’m still in regular communication with all the artists that were involved on Forty-Five.

How did you and Com.X partner together?
This came about through my relationship with Eddie Deighton; I work as Eddie’s creative director at his design and advertising agency, An.x. I knew Ed had a comic publishing company called Com.x, so I set about a plan of pitching ideas that might interest him. I guess I struck a home-run when I put Forty-Five in front of him.

A page from Forty-Five by Boo Cook

When did you start reading comics?
I started when I was about eight. I was heavily into Judge Dredd and the 2000AD universe. I then progressed onto Batman, Wolverine, X-Men, and Alpha Flight, but I never really “got it.” I was a fair-weather reader, rather than a stalwart. It wasn’t until I was working with Eddie Deighton that I really found comics again. Ed is a great mentor on all things comic-related and he had me back on track with the likes of Ultimates, Kingdom Come, Marvels, and Justice.

You had to create 45 superheroes for this project. Difficult to do?
Very. I had to dip into my Dungeons & Dragons upbringing to try to breathe a bit of originality into my characters. It’s a tricky one; no matter how original you think you’ve been, people will always draw parallels to characters already in existence. I think the hardest thing is coming up with original superhero names—I even make reference to that fact in one of the interviews!

Do you plan on revisiting any of these characters in the future?
It’s certainly a possibility. It’s been talked about and I think there are plenty of subplots and gaps that can be expanded upon.

Which characters stand out as ones you’re particularly proud of or interested in?
There’re so many to choose from and I’m proud of them all in different ways, but shooting from the hip here, I think characters like BlueSpear, with his cool spear that can cut through anything; Major Action, with his gung-ho attitude to civilian casualties; and Zip’s transcript, which I can’t say too much about without giving away the ending, are some of the standout interviews that spring immediately to mind.

What are you working on next?
I’ve got several ideas that I’ve drafted up and hoping will be picked up. I’ve also just had a second idea pitched successfully to Com.x, the artist is onboard and I’ve already begun working on the story arc. In fact, it’s something I’m cowriting with Eddie Deighton! I don’t want to say too much more just yet as it’s early days, but it should be awesome when it’s fully announced!

A page from Forty-Five by Dom Reardon