by Ed Fortune

David Hine is a British comic book writer and artist, best known for his work on Bulletproof Coffin and Silent War. His latest work is Void Runners for 2000 AD, in collaboration with Boo Cook. We caught up with David to find out more.

STARBURST: What’s the pitch for Void Runners?

David Hine: Do you want the tag line, the log line or the elevator pitch? We originally went with ‘Moby Dick meets Dune’ but it could equally have been ‘Star Trek meets Jason and the Argonauts’. Boo Cook and I put together a pitch package for 2000AD with a breakdown of the story and beautiful character and concept sketches by Boo. The story is basically this: Humanity has spread through the universe, mingling with other alien species and cultures to form a Federation of states that is dominated by a priest élite, known as Ankorites, whose mystic visions give them the authority to rule. These visions are dependent on a psychedelic drug found only inside the Pleroma – massive creatures who roam through space, feeding on unimaginably large quantities of irradiated space dust, which they turn into a psychedelic substance known as Kali’s Dust. The Pleroma are hunted by Void Runners, and our heroes are the crew of the Nautilus, whose captain, Shikari, has ‘accidentally’ ingested a fair bit of Dust. Her private agenda is to share her resultant enlightenment with the rest of the crew and ultimately with every sentient creature in the universe.

Why psychedelic sci-fi?

I began reading science-fiction during my formative years and encountered psychedelics at key moments in my life. Putting the two together seemed like the obvious thing to do. Also Boo asked me if I fancied pitching a psychedelic sci-fi story to 2000AD. Boo had done a fabulous cover for an issue of Richard Starkings’ comic book ‘Elephantmen’, which I had written and drawn. We had also been following one another on Instagram, where we were both posting a lot of trippy images. We clearly had similar tastes and we met up at the Lawless Judge Dredd Convention in Bristol to thrash out the concept.

How much does Void Runners owe to the 1960s?
Percentage-wise, about 90%. I grew up in the 60s. I watched the first transmission of Dr Who in 1963, shortly after my parents bought our first TV. I had never encountered science-fiction before that and the concept of Time And Relative Dimensions In Space really did blow my mind. I got hooked on science-fiction, particularly Ray Bradbury and the British New Wave writers from New Worlds magazine – Michael Moorcock, Brian Aldiss and JG Ballard. The whole culture of the sixties was transformative. My older brother was bringing weird stuff into the house, The Mothers of Invention, Captain Beefheart, Moondog and Hawkwind on vinyl and also underground magazines like Oz, international Times, Frendz and the underground comics of Robert Crumb, Vaugh Bodé, Gilbert Shelton and Greg Irons. These were mind-expanding times and it all culminated with Ken Kesey’s Magic Bus trip across the U.S.A. turning on the nation with acid. Void Runners is going to be our Magic Bus trip through space.

What’s your favourite moment of chaos in the story?

There’s a moment when Moondog blasts some Dust into Shikari’s nostrils in imitation of a ceremony performed by Amazonian Shamen. The ensuing scene melted the pages of my copy of 2000 AD.

What’s the most fun to write?

The interactions between Shikari and Moondog are always enjoyable to write. Shikari is a totally anarchic hedonist and Moondog appears to be a miserable old grouch whose life’s work is to keep her under control. They actually adore one other and I love writing their interactions.

Is it for the squeamish?

There’s a scene where Shikari and Moondog strip off to wriggle through the slimy intestines of a giant Pleroma, a kind of space-roaming jellyfish. It’s going to be yucky or sexy, depending on your taste.

Which bit is going to make the readers grin the most?

There’s a scene where Shikari and Moondog strip off to wriggle through the slimy intestines of a giant Pleroma…

How does it compare to other 2000 AD strips? Is it closer to Dredd, Ace Trucking Co, Shakara, or something else?

I’m embarrassed to admit that I have never read ‘Shakara.’ I haven’t been a regular reader of 2000AD since about issue 1000, which is ages ago now. I should know it because I love Henry Flint’s art and Robbie Morrison’s writing. I had a quick look at it online and it looks closer to our story than the Ace Trucking Co. Dredd is a very different. He’s dour and humourless. Shikari and her crew are all about having a good time and finding enlightenment. I can’t imagine Dredd being interested in either of those activities, except to bust the perpetrators.

What would you say the biggest influence on this book is?

Kesey’s concept of taking a travelling circus across American with the ambition to create a bloodless revolution of the mind was anarchic and fun but also a very serious ambition. It influenced a lot of science fiction writers like Robert Silverberg and it has become part of history. I don’t think we could have created Void Runners without the Magic Bus. I guess we were all influenced by the French comics that came out of that era too, Moebius above all, but also Caza and Druillet.

Which creators inspire you?

There isn’t really a short answer to that. I have read a lot of books and comics, many thousands, and all of them have inspired me to some extent, but at the top of the list right now I would have to put William Burroughs as a writer, Moebius and José Munoz as artists, Charles Burns as a writer/artist. I am also very inspired by my collaborations with Mark Stafford and Shaky Kane and more recently with Boo on ‘Void Runner.’ Nothing is more stimulating than working with uniquely talented artists.

What tropes do you personally avoid the most?

I don’t really think about avoiding tropes. You use the motifs and imagery that are most appropriate to the theme of your story. Having said that, I did reach a point where I realised that I should probably stop using the Zombie Apocalypse as a metaphor for the breakdown of the social order. I’ve done it four times and that’s probably three times too many. In my defence I would have to say that three of them were work for hire on existing concepts: ‘The FVZA’ for Radical, ‘The Night of the Living Dead’ for Avatar and one that I can’t talk about that stalled before publication, based on a computer game. The only one that I stand behind 100% is the ‘Hateful Dead’ episode of ‘The Bulletproof Coffin’ with Shaky Kane. Living dead Vietnam Vets on a rampage through time. That was class.

If you could preserve one work of art, and have that last forever, what would it be?

It’s a toss-up between ‘The Bulletproof Coffin’ and ‘Void Runners.’ But apart from that, Part 8 of David Lynch’s third season of Twin Peaks. As a standalone piece, it’s the greatest moving-image work of art ever created. An absolute masterpiece.

If we like this book, what other books do you recommend?

I don’t know if these are necessarily similar to ‘Void Runners’ but I do like ‘Saga’ by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples, ‘The New World’ by Ales Kot, Tradd Moore and Heather Moore, and ‘Upgrade Soul’ by Ezra Clayton Daniels. And Did I mention ‘The Bulletproof Coffin’?

Void Runners can be found in current issues of 2000 AD. You can find out more about the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic here.