Archives - September 2006

Interview: Jimmy Gownley, author of Amelia Rules! Volume 1: The Whole World's Crazy

Sep 13, 2006

Tell us about how you created Amelia. Where did she come from?

I was working on another book, Shades of Gray, and started thinking about other characters or ideas. I liked the idea of a little girl character, so I flipped over the Shades of Gray page I was working on and drew the figure who is now Amelia. I didn’t have any real idea of where I was going to go with this character, but I sort of liked the design.

Interview: Robert Venditti, author of The Surrogates

Sep 13, 2006

In a world that grows ever more complicated and technical and full of computerized aloofness, how human we all remain is a matter of debate. In Robert Venditti’s vision of a future world, computer technology is able to replace human weakness in every way. Robotlike stand-ins take the place of living, breathing beings in his landmark work The Surrogates, which takes place nearly half a century into our future—a future where aging is hidden behind perfect-looking duplicates. These pseudo-clones can also do things like have sex in your place (neurosensors deliver all the pleasurable sensations directly to your brain), and you can even smoke afterward without worrying about damaging your health (you get the nicotine high sensation, while your duplicate gets all the carcinogens).