Geekscape Comics Reviews Tribes & An Interview With Writer Michael Geszel
Tribes: The Dog Years
Story & Script: Michael Geszel and Peter Spinetta
Art: Inaki Miranda
Color: Eva de la Cruz
Letters: Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Cover: Inaki Miranda and Eva de la Cruz
Produced by: SoulCraft Media
Publisher: IDW
Tribes: The Dog Years is a post-apocalyptic adventure with a literal youthful twist. Written by Michael Geszel and Peter Spinetta, the story begins 200 years after a nano-virus has infected the Earth’s entire population causing humans to expire by the age of 21. In this new primitive world, a historical social structure has reemerged. The children of our planet have organized themselves into tribes, each with its own unique culture, language and mythos. Our guides on this journey are Sundog and Fallingstar of the Sky Shadow tribe. Their destinies cross paths with an Ancient, a 59-year-old scientist called Adams, from an underwater world. They, along with a ragtag group of other tribe members, embark on a mission to ensure that humanity can know its children’s children.
As a lifetime lover of ancient mythology and the post-apocalyptic genre, I was instantly immersed in the story. It’s more than just that kind of a tale though. It’s a story of adolescence, a story full of passion and impulse, of cause and effect, of youth and the fear of aging. I often find myself drawn to young adult characters. Life is so immediate for them. It’s filled with such a sense of urgency. Tribes takes that concept and magnifies it. These children will never really have a chance to grow up and give up. What if your first love was your last love? What if your childhood best friends were holding your hand on your deathbed? What is your wild imagination was never tamed? This is the world of Tribes. This idea is enhanced and brought to life by the stunning artwork of Inaki Miranda and Eva de la Cruz. This Madrid based team deliver gorgeous visuals with depth, shadow and light in an amazingly cinematic panoramic view.
All and all, Tribes delivers an all-encompassing world that sucked me in as a reader. I sat down with the book and before I knew it I was finished. I personally will be awaiting the arrival of Tribes II.
At Wonder Con I was fortunate to be able to sit down with creator Michael Geszel for an interview. He appeared to me to be a passionate storyteller with love of history, myth and Sci-Fi who has put his heart and soul into this project. Here is what he said about the book:
Heidi Hilliker: What was your inspiration for this story.
Michael Geszel: I’m a big science fiction fan. I love reading about science. I’m a huge fan of movies like The Road Warrior and the great 70s Sci-Fi like A Boy and his Dog and the Planet of the Apes movies. So, I love post apocalyptic stories… when they’re done right… The premise came from reading about telemeters which are these sort of wick like structures in our cells that determine how long we live and the idea that what if some sort of nano-virus malfunctioned and shortened those telomeres. Sort of flipping Logan’s Run on its side and mashing it up with Lord of the Flies. Then 200 years later it would be this new primitive state of nature with just kids in different tribes. Then you have all of these different tribes… infinite number of tribes with different mythologies and superstitions and then that’s a world that really attracted me. Something I could sink my teeth into.
HH: This huge Sci-Fi epic is captured beautifully by the artwork.
MG: Inaki Miranda and Eva de la Cruz are a team based in Madrid. They were a dream to work with. A one in a million find… Couldn’t have turned out better.
HH: Who’s brainchild was it to present the story in a widescreen type of a format?
MG: That was a collaboration with Inaki and I. I told him I wanted something immersive and cinematic with larger panels not cut the story up. He said let’s do it widescreen and I said let’s do it. That has made mine… and IDW’s life much more difficult…. Barnes & Noble wanted to order 1000 copies of the book but because of the format only ordered 300 because they can’t stock it or fit it on the shelf.
HH: Wow. That seems a little ridiculous.
MG: That’s the reality of the marketplace. It’s been a big challenge getting the book out there and getting readership for it… I can see I don’t regret that decision for a moment.
HH: How did you first connect with Inaki?
MG: I saw a comic he did for a London publisher in San Diego (Comic Con International). I was looking for an artist and I saw Markosia. He did something called Lexington Chronicles for Markosia out of London and they had a table really… I saw one image, a cover, and I was like that’s it, that’s the guy, that’s the team, that’s the artist. That’s what I want.
Michael and Inaki are now great friends.
HH: Will there be a sequel?
MG: This is the first of a series. There will be three or four books. Maybe push it to 5 but I would say 3… 4 is enough to tell the story.
HH: It seems like there would be an element of freedom working primarily with young characters.
MG: It’s challenging too. You have to be a little careful with the sex… They are having children young… Although during Middle Ages women were having children at 13 or maybe younger. We allude to it but don’t really dwell on it. We try to keep it in the background. The story is an adventure so it’s really about a quest adventure…. I hope to explore that more in Tribes II and III. More of those issues… especially the effect that has on woman and how they deal with that…. Fallingstar is a little bit of a rebel. She hasn’t had children yet. She is a woman of vision and imagination. She understands that the mysterious adult is special and that he will bring light to the dark ages.
HH: Would you consider yourself a history buff?
MG: I’m fascinated by Renaissance history and sort of quote end quote primitive history, Native American history absolutely, history of the west. My dad is a big history buff. I think I get it from him… (Speaking of history) The lessons are all there.
HH: Will there be global Tribes?
MG: The possibilities are infinite.
To get a taste of Tribes: The Dog Years, you can read the first 34 pages free at http://tribesthecomic.com . The complete book can be purchase on iTunes for only $7.99 for the iPad ( http://itunes.com/apps/tribesthedogyears), on Amazon.com or at your local comic book store.
