With the release of Skin Police #1 this week from Oni Press, we are delighted to be joined by writer Jordan Thomas again. Jordan has written many comics, including Weird Work, XINO and The Man From Maybe.
Hi Jordan, It’s wonderful to have you here with us again.
Can you tell us about the origins of Skin Police?
The initial idea for Skin Police came to me way back in late 2022 after watching Blade Runner at the cinema I started to think about what a wider scale story with that kind of premise could look like. Blade Runner is great, but it’s very small scale in terms of there are this specific handful of replicants that Deckard has to track down and that’s the story. So, I thought about a world where there were thousands of dangerous clones and a whole government task force dedicated to catching them was necessary, and the story grew from there.
How long have you been working on Skin Police?
Following on from having the initial idea back in late 2022, I wrote it up as a pitch and started sending it around places and it got a fair bit of interest, but Hunter Gorinson at Oni Press was the first person to really jump and make an offer to publish the book. That was back around June of 2023 and then I began working on the scripts late 2023 and wrapped them all up earlier this year even before we had Daniel Gete onboard as the artist, so it’s been quite a long journey for me waiting to see the first issue in print.
How did Daniel Gete, Jason Wordie, and Jeff Powell join the Skin Police team?
Daniel was sent to us like a gift from heaven. We’d been having trouble nailing down the right artist for the series and then Daniel’s portfolio appeared and I also scoped out his Instagram and saw that he had done a lot of work inspired by Moebius, which was exactly the style I wanted on the book. I asked him if he would be happy to push that side of his art and he said, “yes,” and off we went!
Daniel’s extremely detailed work then needs a very specific style of colouring to ensure all the detail still stands out without it becoming overwhelming. I’d hired Jason to colour a Geof Darrow cover for me before, so I knew that he would be a great choice and luckily he said yes. Our editor, Karl Bollers, then brought in Jeff to do the logo (which is great) and Jeff was also able to stay on as the letterer. He’s an absolute professional, so great to have him as the final part of our team.
What can you tell us about Agent Eckis?
Agent Brisson Eckis is the greatest DIC agent (or Skin Police if you’re being less kind) of all time. He’s a deadly badass. Judge Dredd and Sherlock Holmes rolled up into one granite jawed asskicker. However, as our story progresses he starts to be confronted by some uncomfortable truths about the intentions of the institution he has dedicated his life to. He’s asking questions about the things he’s being asked to do and starting to doubt the ultimate goals of the DIC and the government at large in United Europe.
Who is Agent Corfer?
Trainee Agent Sheen Corfer is the star of the academy and because of that they want to pair her up with Eckis as the greatest DIC agent of all time to hopefully create a second version of him. Eckis’ real partner is currently comatose after a dupe attack, so Corfer fills that spot on a temporary basis and gets a crash course of life as a Skin Police agent. She is incredibly capable but still very green, having not previously been in the field. She is what Eckis used to be in terms of a steadfast belief in the DIC as a force for good.
Could you tell us a bit about the world that Skin Police is set in?
Skin Police is set about 150 years in the future in The United Nations of Europe. Europe has been united somewhat unwillingly in a fascist coup and now is essentially run as a dictatorship. Over three decades before there was a fertility pandemic, which caused panic throughout the continent as well as globally and led to an influx of illegal black market clone babies. These babies have a 75% chance of becoming paranoid, homicidal, adrenaline-fuelled psychopaths around the age of 30 and there’s thousands of them dotted throughout society and it’s up to the Skin Police to track them down and put them out of their misery. However, the powers given to the Skin Police also creates a feeling of mistrust and unrest amongst the people of Europe, so the whole place is one big powder keg.
What has it been like working with Daniel Gete, Jason Wordie, Jeff Powell, and Oni Press?
Fantastic! They’re all amazing at what they do and I think we’ve created something really special that we can be proud of. The scripts ask so much of Daniel and what he’s delivered is above and beyond anything I could have hoped for with a spectacular combination of visceral action and world building. Jason and Jeff have then done a wonderful job of adding to that to make a really cohesive, beautiful comic.
How did you select the variant cover artists for the series?
My attitude to variant covers is always the same. Which artists would I love to see interpret the world we’ve created? Getting the incredible Nick Pitarra for issue 1 was a dream come true as I’m a huge fan of his work and we have some amazing artists lined up for the later issues in the series as well. I don’t think you’ll find a book on the stands with a more impressive line-up of cover artists than what we have in store.
Do you have a favourite scene from issue 1?
Issue 1 is so packed full of incidents it’s hard to choose but I do really like the page where Lacy, a suspected dupe, makes her escape as the way Daniel dealt with such a tricky page of script is really something to behold. Also, anytime we get a good look at the world I just want to zoom in on the panels and see all the fun little touches Daniel has managed to pack in.
How would you describe Skin Police?
As a thrilling mix of brain and brawn, the intense and violent action sequences may pull you in but the dense world building, complex characters and ever escalating mysteries will keep you coming back.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?
Right now Skin Police is the only new thing I have announced. Mugshots, the UK-set crime epic I co-created with Chris Matthews, has one more issue left to go and then it will be collected in trade. If people haven’t checked that out but love beautiful art or crime stories then I highly recommend they give it a look.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Just thanks for reading and to please pick up a copy of Skin Police when it hits shelves. The whole team has worked their butts off on it and I think it is a really different and highly entertaining comic in the market right now, and if people want to see more work like this they need to let publishers know by buying it and recommending it to their friends.
We would like to say a big thank you to Jordan for chatting with us, and we wish him the best of luck with Skin Police.
