With the release of his full-length comics debut Benjamin from Oni Press in June, we are delighted to be joined; by the Edgar Award and Philip K. Dick Award-winning novelist and writer Ben H. Winters. His novels include The Last Policeman trilogy, Golden State and Underground Airlines.
Hi Ben, it’s so great to have you here with us.
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Thanks, great to be with you as well! I’m a novelist and a TV writer, among other things: reader, guitar player, father, friend, dog lover, etc, etc. But for the purposes of this conversation perhaps I’m best identified as a debut comic-book writer, with a big thanks to my pals at Oni for taking a chance on this curmudgeonly middle-aged striver.
Could you tell us the origins of Benjamin?
For a long time I had this tiny little notion of using the legendary sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick as the protagonist in a sci-fi novel of my own, just because I like a challenge and I’m just arrogant enough to think I could create something that would do justice to his extraordinary imagination. Over time that idea morphed into a more generalized notion: what if a writer, not Dick but Dick-like, someone with his same wild existential imagination, a writer who had spent decades probing Big Questions about the nature of consciousness, had died…and then returned. And he didn’t know why, or how? And suddenly felt like he was the hero of one of his strange tales?
What can you tell us about Benjamin J. Carp?
He’s a genius. He’s a grump. He’s a cult sci-fi novelist, although he would hate that—he thinks the term “sci-fi” is a ghettoization of certain kinds of writers, and he thinks “cult writer” is a backhanded compliment. Like every writer I know, he thinks he should be more famous than he is. Oh, and he’s been dead since 1982. And yet here he is in LA, now, searching for the truth of his life—and the truth of all life.
What made Leomacs the right artist for Benjamin?
I mean, just check out his stuff! Leomacs does many things really well, including dramatizing small moments of understanding as they flicker across the human face, and pulling way back to show the weird workings of the cosmos. Both skills came in very handy with this weird-ass story I’m trying to tell. I’m also doing a lot of threading of Carp’s old novels into the story, and Leomacs has a lot of fun illustrating those ridiculous plots as they pop in and out of this one.
What has it been like working with Leomacs and Oni Press?
Give me a second to load up Thesaurus.com and put in “delightful.” Maybe I’m reacting to years of abuse from the TV industry, but comic-book people—and my Oni pals in particular—have a way of treating creators with, you know, dignity, that is highly refreshing.
Who is Marcus?
Oh, sweet Marcus. He’s the 20-something motel employee who ends up tagging along with Benjamin on his adventure. Marcus’s dad was a Benjamin Carp superfan, and so there is a cosmic synchrony between these two guys—and over the course of the story, Benjamin becomes as involved in Marcus’s life as vice versa. The part where Benjamin forcibly recovers Marcus’s dog from Marcus’s ex-girlfriend is a particular favorite.
Can you tell us about the world that Benjamin is set in?
LA, baby! Mostly the West Side, which is where I hang my own personal hat these days. Although they do make it out into the desert in the later parts of the story, as Benjamin inches closer to the truth of his resurrection. The almost surreally beautiful desert landscapes of Southern California are some of my favorite places in the world.
How long have you been working on Benjamin?
Like all artistic endeavors, comics-making has its own rhythm. I did the mass of my work on this in the summer of 2023, actually, during the stressful downtime that was the TV writers strike. And then there were many happy rounds of work with my editor, Sierra Hahn, and then most recently reviewing the art from Leomacs as it has evolved. So technically it’s been a couple years, but with actual work coming intermittently. All of it joyful.
Benjamin is releasing in a Prestige format; how did that come about?
I don’t like to say so, but I have a strict policy that when fancier formats are available I will only use those. I always get the extra legroom. I always add fries to my meal.
How did you select the variant cover artists for the series?
I’m lucky in that regard to be working with Oni. Sierra, publisher Hunter Gorinson and their colleagues have a wide network of artists they know, and just impeccable taste. So my job was really to sit back and go “sure, amazing” and “OK, cool, that sounds great.” The variant covers kill me—it’s a pure example of creativity being inspired by creativity, of talented people taking the ideas I’ve come up with and running with them. Absolute joy.
How would you describe Benjamin?
It’s a darkly comic sci-fi mystery about a darkly comic sci-fi mystery writer who wakes from the dead in a seedy motel room and sets out to figure out how he got there…and if he’s really himself at all.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
Thank you. Thanks for reading this, thanks for reading BENJAMIN, thanks for reading comics in general, thanks for spending your hard-earned scratch in support of people like me, out here making stories.
We would like to say a big thank you to Ben for chatting with us, and we would like to wish him the best of luck with Benjamin.
