The Last Arrival part five is now out after twenty years or so in the making. As the trippy sci-fi reaches its thrilling end, Key Comics Vault interviews writer Daniel A. Prim about their work. Prim is the owner of Tripolar Comics and has also written Samantha F@cks the World and Blender.
Key Comics Vault: Congratulations on finishing The Last Arrival! It’s fair to say you were working on it for many years. What did that original version look like compared with the final version? And could you explain a bit about the journey you’ve gone through to finish it?
Daniel A. Prim: Thank you very much, and thank you for this interview. I really appreciate you helping independent creators.
The original version of The Last Arrival wasn’t quite a story idea, more like a thought experiment. I loved comics and I loved history, so I contemplated what would happen if aliens visited a post-humanity Earth and found comics in archeological research. What would they think of us? This was swirling in my head originally. And then a few years passed and larger themes around fiction, belief, and imagination began to emerge.
As it came together, it became clear that the writing should be about what I leave out rather than include because there is so much to explore and I wanted such a condensed diamond-like product.
KCV: Visually, The Last Arrival is very striking. It is hard to imagine the story without the work of Gergely Szabó and Szabrina Maharita. How did you get them and Toben Racicot involved in the project?
Prim: It was a vigorous exercise finding the right artist for the job. I’ve got about a dozen versions of the first page made by different artists in a folder somewhere, their work was strong, but none quite fit the tone I was after. Then Gergely came along and he was the perfect blend of expressive character work and a respect and understanding for abstractions. He got my vision which was shaky at the time, so I’m very happy he stayed along for the whole 10 year journey.
As for colourists, Szabrina brought incredible vivid imagery, our alien world turned psychedelic which felt like the final piece of the puzzle. Issue 3-4 colourist Sándor brought impeccable accuracy and beautiful landscapes and Petra the colourist for the last issue combined the imagery of the previous two into a perfect blend. Toben, our letterer tied it all together by presenting my crazy ideas in the perfect way.
KCV: Aliens fleeing a dying planet is a familiar story for almost every comic book fan, however it seems more than just a plot device to you. You touched on it in issue 1 but how much did being a migrant to the UK influence this story?
Prim: I was about 14 when I came up with the “thought experiment” version, but then after a while the idea faded into the background. When I was 21, I migrated to the UK from Hungary which reinvigorated the idea. Even though the culture is not that different, it was enough to make my head spin on a daily basis. Also this is where a lot of the problem-solving aspects of the story came into effect such as translating an “alien” language, interacting with different kinds of people, trying to survive. It wasn’t as nearly as severe as in the book obviously, but it introduced those concepts to me.
KCV: Some writers put little bits of themselves in each character. Others will seek inspiration from people they know. Do you have a process for creating characters?
My characters act as avatars of different ideas I wanted to explore or clash with each other. We have a young, head-in-the-clouds boy, a devout religious leader, an extremely rational man and a drug addict all interacting with each other in heightened scenarios and it is how the themes are explored. They also all reflect parts of myself.
KCV: You created some really interesting characters to tell your story. Olak in particular stands out. Flawed but relatable. The silhouette to his echo of course was Rirke. Their conversation in the first issue really laid out one of the themes for the rest of the series. Could you expand on why you wanted to tell a story about just that – storytelling?
Prim: I think storytelling is a big part of it, but it’s not the whole picture. It’s about living forever, through stories, through religion, through inspiration and also how we’re all connected by these things on a very deep level. Stories are elevated in The Last Arrival as I think it is one of the main ways we make our mark in this world. I don’t think people realise how much influence it has on their lives and exploring that was one of my goals with the book.
KCV: You put together quite a complex, layered narrative. Was this a natural result of a story written and amended over years?
Prim: It was a result of hundreds of loosely connected ideas that needed structure and significant reduction to make it work as a story. So it was more like a big lump of raw marble that I needed to chip away to make a sculpture. Over the years I learnt to be my own editor. I believe in complex ideas, but simple execution, I’m hoping I achieved that.
KCV: What are you currently reading?
Prim: Recently, I’ve been reading The Incal. I’m struck by Moebius’s artwork, but I’m a bit disappointed with Jodorowsky’s writing. He misses a lot of interesting moments for drama and exploration and seems to be only interested in showcasing his New Age ideas. In itself I don’t mind that, but I prefer abstract storytellers who put the story first.
KCV: You have a comic book called Stillborn coming up. Are you able to give us any information about what we have in store with that title?
Prim: It’s quite different to anything I’ve done before, which is a common theme for me jumping to contrasting genres and tones. Stillborn is a political thriller and heist series where a a retired smuggler is forced to extract a dictator from his own regime. It’s extremely grounded and emotionally intense, with moments of action throughout.
KCV: You’re a man of many talents and interests, are there any other projects you are working on at the moment you would like to share?
Prim: I just get bored easily so I usually have more than one thing running in the background. Other than Stillborn, I’m writing a script for a potential movie which can only be described as a romantic thriller road movie, but that is going to take a long time to make!
If you like what you hear please sign up on our Kickstarter page on this link: tripolar.co.uk. Launching soon!
KCV: Thank you so much Daniel. I look forward to seeing your film!
Find out more about Tripolar Comics and Daniel A. Prim
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