https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc4um29pcKg
I don’t know if you were there, but C2E2 was awesome as always this year. My co-writer, Ryan Brown, and I had the awesome opportunity to talk to some amazing and talented people. One of those people was Tom Bilyeu. Bilyeu, is the co-creator of Neon Future a new series from Impact Theory. He created the series along with renowned DJ/producer Steve Aoki.
So to begin with can you tell us what the book is about?
Neon Future is set 30 years in the future in an America that has outlawed advanced technology. Our story kicks off with the world’s most famous anti-tech crusader dying and resurrected using the very technology that he was trying to destroy. His resurrection kicks off a civil war between those with technology embedded in their bodies and those without. He is asked to decide what side of that war he’s going to fight on.
What are some of the inspirations that you use? I really like the tech and how you utilize it to make technology kind of mystical. Where does that idea come from?
There’s a lot of different inspirations that came together. The first was Steve Aoki who in real life plans to have himself cryogenically frozen when he dies. And that was really cool, I thought “Somebody who doesn’t accept even death as my kind of guy.” So that was where this story started — “What if somebody with Steve Aoki’s compassion actually had the ability to use technology to bring somebody back from the dead?” That began that.
I’m [also] super intrigued to see where technology is going to go with neural implants which are real already. We were just sort of flashing forward you know say 10 generations, thinking what does that look like? It starts to get really, really interesting. Then in terms of the setup of the dystopian future I think sadly we’re about to go through a very disruptive time as A.I. and robotics is going to displace, at a minimum, 20 million jobs. So, assuming that happens over the next 7-10 years we’re about to hit a really rough economic time where we figure out how to deal with that disruption. That’s the background setting into a lot of this is prognosticating not too far in the future. So that’s how the setup came to be.
Then as somebody who is just absolutely devoted to how malleable the mind is we look at the ways that humans can develop ourselves and that we’ve become the apex predator — not by being stronger or faster or having sharper teeth but instead by being the single most adaptable species on the planet. The book deals a lot with that. So the journey of the main character is really one of adaptation. [It’s about] who is he now, now that he has his neural implants and he is the very thing that he was fighting against and it gives him powers. He is superhuman in some ways so now — what does that mean, how does he deal with that, how does he learn to use the powers? In the world of Impact Theory stories, nothing is ever given to you, you have to earn it. So even though he has these implants and tremendously give him a lot of potential, he’s got to figure out how to actuate that potential. So it’s not just like a gun that fires random.
So in a lot of cyberpunk or dystopian future stories you see sort of the position of the heroes working against the incursion of modern technology whereas it seems to be the reverse in this story. Can you talk about your disposition on that? Why did you decide to go that route as opposed to the other well known route?
Steve and I are totally techno optimists. I think even though we’re going to go through this sort of trough of despair as we’re trying to figure out how to make it all work, the ultimate solution is going to be to embrace technology in a new way. Anytime you’re living through a transitional moment it’s hard, but we wanted to start in a dystopian world and show people a way out.
That was partly just because I don’t want to tell a story that’s techno phobic. I’m not techno phobic. I really think technology is going to be an answer. I think that as storytellers, we have an obligation to be aware that telling stories really impacts people at a deep subconscious level at society. If your story is big enough to be seen at that point and you really can begin to influence how people, as a group, see technology. So we wanted to give them a way to frame it that’s positive.
How did you and Steve come together to work on this project? What’s it like to work with him? I know he’s probably really busy and I feel like he’s constantly involved in all kinds of projects.
It started because I have an interview show called Impact Theory and he was a guest. We really hit it off, we got to know each other over a year, we became quite close and I pitched him the idea. Working with him, he is insanely collaborative. He has a million good ideas. The reason he’s involved in so many projects is he because has so many ideas. He’s trying to get them going and he’s very good at bringing people together, getting everyone on the same page and then letting them run with it once he’s comfortable that the idea is in a place that he really believes in. He helped us bring together an extraordinary team. He was intricately involved in the creation of the world, the characters, the storylines and then said “you know we’re on the same page now go do it.” And so he’s able to do a lot of things in that way.
With your visual aspect here, I noticed that your villainous characters are more like Blade Runner style. But your heroes tend to have more of a softer color palette, even the highlights. It’s kind of like Tron around the frames of the fingers. Do you have any idea where your artist drew inspiration from, as far as those sort of design elements?
That comes from a lifetime of me pinning things and being a total cyberpunk freak. I wanted to blend fashion and cyberpunk and make it street wear accessible and that was it was a really big part of it. It’s an aesthetic idea that Steve and I both share and we talked a lot about how fashion can play a role in it. Then we also wanted to introduce some of the LCD lighting effects that I think will actually become part of fashion. So that was us trying to really marry the worlds of what’s going on in street wear now so that there was a relevancy to the way that the characters appear today. Then also look forwarding and saying, “What does this look like in 30 years.” That was a big driver.
In terms of color palette I will give the biggest nod to Abe Lee, who is doing our color and he is it just unlike anything else that’s in comics now. I think he’s absolutely extraordinary. He comes from a concept art background. He’s got a very painterly style. So, it’s fully rendered, and I think it’s really neat. And normally in comics you don’t step on the inks and my instruction to Abe was “make the best image we can.” So we step on the inks where appropriate and really push the look to just be something unlike you see in comics.
That style itself, even the story, tends to eventually lend itself to other media like television or even video games specifically. Have you thought about potentially trying to tell this story or some version of a story in this universe in other media?
Our stated mission as a company is to pull people out of the matrix by giving them an empowering mindset. The only way we’re going to do that is to reach a mass audience. In the comic we’re true to the comic format and we want to make the best comic we can. At a thematic story level, we want to deal with universal stuff so that it is something that has the breadth to be able to be translated into something else. In every medium you have to be true to that to be true to the fan base. So, people reading the comic are going to see that we lavished it with attention, that we’ve brought in some of the highest level writers and artists and everything. We care deeply about this format, but it is definitely something that we can see me translated.
Also on the art side, the conceptual side of it, I love the style. I love how relatable you made it to what common people would wear and look like, and one of the things that I noticed and really liked too is there’s a very diverse cast. It’s a very diverse cast of characters of men and women and ethnicities and body types – And you have characters like Dee who I loved, so what was the thinking behind some of these characters?
I will say that life is at its most interesting when it has a lot of different flavors and the same is true of people. It wasn’t like we were going out of our way to be representative, it’s just that there’s a lot of bad ass people in this world that come from every varied ethnicities, backgrounds, orientations, etc. and drawing from real people you’ve encountered that you think are amazing, you’re just naturally going to have that diversity.
I think not having diversity is actually harder. You have to go out of your way to make everything the same. In trying to make things as memorable as humanly possible we were drawing on the people we’ve encountered in our lives that are the most extraordinary. So that is intentional and unintentional. I think when you’re chasing that, you’re chasing something awesome. You’re chasing something that really gets under your skin and makes you think in a new way, you’re going to find that you just end up representing this broad swath of humanity.
And there’s something inherently optimistic about diversity if you look at other utopian fiction like Star Trek, there’s just every ethnicity represented on the enterprise and things like that. And I think, like you were saying and granted I’m on the outside, but it seems like we’re moving more towards that in mass media. As a creator, do you feel like we’re starting to turn the corner in representation in nerd culture specifically?
I hope so. And here’s the reality, I think anybody that really opens their eyes to it, they’re going to see this. I’m coming from a place of being an entrepreneur, and when you’re an entrepreneur your house is on the line. Everything you’ve got is tied up in the business, so when I say you do not give a shit if somebody is a man or woman, black, white – it doesn’t matter. “Are they awesome?” That is all you think about. “Can they help me build this business?” And so you get really focused on meritocracy really fast. And so it’s so cool to see that now permeating culture.
Now, I care about meritocracy. I want equal opportunity not equal outcomes. So, what I hope is that we begin to show what is true of humanity which is you never know where you’re going to find somebody awesome. You better have your eyes open. You better be open to coming from anywhere. Anyone, any time, young or old. I mean, it literally doesn’t matter, you’re just looking for awesome. And so seeing people rally behind that is so cool. And being here, I had this thought like a hundred times today – partly because of what happened with Miles Morales, you’re seeing such a mix.
One of my employees, in fact the guy that’s working on one of our projects in development, is African-American, he’s married to a white woman, they have a mixed-race child and when he saw Miles Morales he flipped the fuck out. He was just like “Oh my God he looks like me!” And you see that with these kids, we all have to see ourselves. It’s really matter of seeing yourself reflected back to be like, “I can do that too.”
As a storyteller I really think about that side of it. Right now there is somebody who does not see themselves and their life will just be a little less cool because they don’t have the vision of, “I could see that too. That extraordinary” an astronaut or whatever. So being able to tell stories that reflect back just an unimaginable array of people is read. And the Nerd culture is a little divided which is weird. You get the people who are like hardcore diversity. And then you get people that are like way against it. It’s super weird. I think that people will come out on the right side. It’s always rad to see people flourish. So I think flourishing is always, always going to win. I mean historically it’s the only thing that continues to raise itself. So, it’s really neat to see that play out here.
I agree. It’s interesting you mentioned that divide because I feel that way too. It’s such a weird thing.
It’ll play itself out. Unfortunately part of why it still exists today is because you have traditional comics sort of frozen in time because of what happened with retail, so the audience didn’t continue to be refreshed and if it had then it wouldn’t have this weird divide. It’s hard to sell in the traditional channel new and disruptive material because that channel hasn’t appealed to young fresh audiences with new ideas. If you go in your average comic shop, most of the buyers are probably over 35, so it’s like you’re not getting that fresh wave. And so here in line, when people are coming up I’m always asking, “what are you reading? What are you into?”
As you get younger, you’re hearing more and more about manga, right? It’s really interesting to see how there’s this new influx of styles, new influx of ideas, but they’re not buying comics in the traditional way. So, first of all manga suffers dramatically from piracy, so that’s something they’re going to have to figure out here in the US and also young people, they buy online. The comic industry is going to have to figure that out. The comic industry is going through what the music industry went through. And there is an answer and it’s an answer where people can thrive. But they’re going to have to figure that answer out. And so, as they do that they’re going to have to embrace the young audience because otherwise you’re accepting that your audience is just dying off, like literally dying. And so if you don’t find a way to get young people, you’re screwed. You won’t survive. By its very nature, even if you think “well I’ll survive enough for me to age out and retire and I don’t have to worry about it”, the industry as a whole must absolutely get fresh blood.
Would you say that’s kind of a goal for your comic?
<Yeah, 100 percent. And we’re trying to meet other creators and publishers that really get the distribution model has to change, has to be updated – we have to find new people, we want fresh voices, we want different voices, want to try a million things see what sticks. And not be beholden just to the old school model and hopefully find retailers and things that are more forward thinking that are finding other ways to be relevant because look, if you’re a retailer and you don’t realize you’re competing against Amazon, you on borrowed time they’re friends. You just have to understand what makes them awesome. And once you get what makes them awesome.
The convenience, the ease, the rapid delivery, buying online, not having to create a new account, all this shit is real. As an entrepreneur I will tell you, my mission is always to try to leverage behavior not to try to change it. And right now I feel like the industry is still trying to change behavior. It’s like look, Amazon is the behemoth that it is for a reason. Jeff Bezos is the richest man on the planet for a reason. So, figure out why he’s great and try to compete in that way and whether that’s to be awesome at selling on Amazon or you know matching their ease and their rapid delivery or whatever but the customer wants the customer wants.
Where can we find you and your creative team online? Your website or social media?
Instagram is the best place at @ITcomics so Impact Theory comic, and you follow me at that @TomBilyeu.
