While fan-favorite comic book creator Zack Kaplan is no stranger to crafting hard science fiction stories, he's taking his next sci-fi thrill ride to Dark Horse Comics for the miniseries Break Out. Teaming with artist Wilton Santos, the four-issue miniseries has extra-dimensional creatures routinely appear over Earth's cities and steal groups of teenagers to whisk them away to parts unknown. With the governments of the world giving up on the abducted, a teen named Liam assembles his own crew to rescue his kidnapped brother for the ultimate, otherworldly jail break.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Kaplan shared the real-world themes that helped inform Break Out and explained how the new comic book series blends heist and sci-fi sensibilities. He also offered a sneak peek at the first issue, out this April, with Kaplan and Santos joined by colorist Jason Wordie and letterer Jim Campbell.
CBR: Zack, how did the idea for Break Out first come about for you?
Zack Kaplan: I'm a big fan of heist and jailbreak stories. Nothing can be more exciting than a ragtag crew assembled to pull off the impossible. [laughs] I really love science fiction and did not see the story out there that scratched the itch of a sci-fi heist or prison break. In writing what I wanted to read, I set out to tell a really cool sci-fi heist with high-tech obstacles and advanced suspense sequences to pull off the truly impossible breakout. That's how I came up with this mysterious prison ship to save some loved ones inside.
There is an existential element, with these teens being targeted by extra-dimensional invaders but the governments of the world already writing them off as lost.
When I explored making the protagonists young people, that's when I realized how topical and timely this story could be. When you think about living in a community where you and your peers could be taken any moment, and you're told there's nothing that can be done about it, it suddenly became allegorical to things going on in our society. Older generations, to no fault of their own, tell young generations pragmatically to just live with certain people.
Suddenly this really cool sci-fi spectacle story became a heartfelt, modern exploration of what it means to be a young person today. That became really exciting to me and I think it's a very emotional, dramatic story. Writing it, I had to put myself in the mindset of young people and what they go through today, facing all sorts of things and what their psyche is like.
This is your second story to star young characters after The Lost City Explorers with Aftershock Comics. What is the storytelling appeal for you to have young protagonists?
I'm a product of the '80s and love a really good story that follows young people, especially young people that are on the precipice of adulthood, that are facing the realities of the world. I really like to break that idealistic view and explore what it feels like when we all come to understand that the world is more complicated than we thought it was and what it means to find yourself and voice, connect with others, and stand up for what you believe in in a complicated world. I think the natural impulse is to withdraw or wait. I find the interpersonal and emotional dilemma of being a young person when you truly see the world [to be] a truly fascinating character exploration.
You've done extraterrestrials before, but what did you specifically want to do with these otherworldly antagonists?
It was very [important], first and foremost, that they weren't exactly aliens, per se. I had done aliens with Port of Earth and I wanted to do something different. These beings appear out of nowhere, with these cube ships appearing all over the world. They start abducting young people. What we come to realize is the nature of who is inside these ships is these beings who are only after young people because there's something about the quantum energy of young people. The facet of only going after young people made them nefarious and connects with some of the themes of generational warfare. There's definitely something about past, present, and future at play here.
It was also a lot of fun to explore these ships because they're cubed. The metaphors come so easily with young people [who] are being trapped inside the box as they're put inside these cubes. They're desperate to get out. We were trying to find themes of entrapment. You've got this awesome sci-fi adventure but if it's going to be about young people, it should really tap into the empowerment of young people and what it means to be a young person. In creating the antagonists, it was important to create the right landscapes for these young people.
How was it assembling this team, with artist Wilton Santos, colorist Jason Wordie, and letterer Jim Campbell?
I gravitated towards Wilton Santos' work not because he's really good at science fiction -- although he is -- but towards his character work. I read his stuff in Star Wars, but every time I saw him draw a young person, it felt like an organic and real point-of-view to bring to this story that I thought was really important. It was just a pleasure to bring him on. He was passionate in capturing this world so perfectly, especially the energy of the young people. It's got heart and vibrancy.
Jason Wordie brings this painted texture and nuance that really makes it emotive. There are a lot of colorists who could've delivered a slick sci-fi look here and he just brings a real gentle touch with the colors. There's these gorgeous washes and they just work so well in concert together as a creative team. With Jim Campbell, there's a lot of tactical necessity here with the letters to navigate these complex layouts that we try to do and really capture the energy of the heist story. Jim just nails it. He's so good at what he does. It's a fantastic team and a real joy. Like any good heist story, we need a good crew with just the right skill set to pull this off.
This is your first project with Dark Horse Comics. How has it been working with them?
It is my first Dark Horse project and it's been an absolute joy to work with them. They're one of the best publishers out there. They really support their creators. They really saw the vision of this and it was just exciting from the get-go. I can't say enough good things about it. I think it was a really great project for Dark Horse because Dark Horse has a lot of great comics that focus on character in addition to spectacle. Having a great story just felt like a great fit for Dark Horse.
Zack, what else can you tease about Break Out ahead of its launch?
Break Out is a four-issue miniseries on intention because when we set out to really structure this story, every issue needed to be really substantial in terms of having the excitement of the heist, the spectacle of the science fiction, and the emotion of the character story. Issue #1 is 28 pages long and each issue after that is more substantial than a typical comic. I think fans and readers will really be surprised by the balancing that we're doing in giving them everything: The exciting heist moments in putting a crew together and all the things that could go wrong and the spectacle of the ships and robots and danger. Balancing it out among these young people is Liam, a character who just wants his brother back.
To touch a little more on the protagonist, he's a little bit like me in that he sees the world's problems at the onset [of the story] and he's overwhelmed by them. He doesn't know what should be done about them. When his brother is taken, he knows he needs to do something, and he decides he's going to put himself on the line. He's planning everything out, which is a staple for any good heist planner, but he comes to realize that things go wrong in a heist.
That's some of the fun in creating a really good character study in the midst of all of this, to see him learn that he has to rely on his teammates and to trust one another and be ready for the unexpected and fight no matter what. Those are things we're used to seeing in a teenage adventure, but to do it with the right heart was something really exciting for me to tackle. I'm excited for readers to experience that.
Written by Zack Kaplan and illustrated by Wilton Santos, Break Out #1 goes on sale April 13 from Dark Horse Comics.