Science Fiction
Science fiction is definitely my favorite place to go daydreaming. Recently, my imagination has busied itself almost exclusively with Futuro Darko. I feel that good science fiction cannot do without machines, robots, or interesting means of transport.
From The Jetsons to Blade Runner and the vision of the future in Back to the Future Part II, the flying car is still the hallmark of more distant depictions of the time ahead, in which technology has advanced significantly.
Science fiction games and series are definitely more popular. This hardly seems surprising, given the millions spent on production and marketing, but it does not mean that comic strips have lost their power to influence our imagination. I think they still have this potential, and remaining a little under the radar allows them to become more daring at times.
The Comic Book
As an illustrator, I typically work on my computer. This proves more efficient and convenient, as all the tools are available from the keyboard. I need not look for accessories on a shelf or under the desk. This is how the entire Futuro Darko comic book came into being – on a computer. Still, I sometimes make quick sketches with a pencil on loose sheets of paper to compose the frame, which my children color in afterward. And while working on my second comic book, I intend to draw at least several elements, such as the cover and the center spread, in ink on paper, to obtain some originals of my work.
I start with quick, rough sketches. At this stage, I have much freedom to introduce changes; for example, we can easily alter the order of the frames. Later on, such changes are much more difficult. Next, I apply the appropriate outlines and color, and finally, I prepare the files for printing. Working on a comic book is a long and arduous process, which lasted approximately four years for Futuro Darko.
I try to make the vision of the future in Futuro Darko consistent, logical, and distinctive. Of course, one can interpret this work in any way, but as an author, I do not feel particularly interested in the moral condition of humanity at the end of civilization, nor do I ponder “whether androids dream of electric sheep.” I wish to tell stories about specific characters who face various situations in their natural environment. They do not long for the world before the catastrophe, as they can barely remember that world. After all, a quarter of a century has passed since civilization collapsed into ruins. I want this postapocalyptic setting to be more interesting to readers than to the characters themselves.
Futuro Darko is a specific kind of a postapocalyptic story. It does not depict a radioactive graveyard of civilization, where people kill each other for the remains of resources.
In 2124, a quarter of a century has passed since the outbreak of the war that wiped centralized power off the face of the earth. The world is slowly recovering from its collapse and slightly resembles the USA during the Wild West era and the early railroad days. An illustration of this state of affairs is the construction of a power line and an aqueduct between Atomic City, built after the war around a reactivated experimental reactor, and Aberdeen, located near the American Falls Reservoir.
The Characters
Apart from their Polish surname and several hints suggesting the Broński brothers’ origins, the comic book does not provide much information about their past. In terms of the stories presented in the book, this aspect did not seem particularly important to me, but now I am actually thinking about it much; perhaps I will reveal more of this story in narrative flashbacks. I imagine Eryk and Władek as the sons of a Polish engineer who moved to the USA in the 2080s, where he held an important position in the American branch of a large Polish tech company. At home he would inspire the young protagonists with a passion for tinkering with cars. Eryk and Władek’s mother ran a veterinary clinic in Butte City, Idaho, before the war. Both brothers were probably born in the USA.
Polish Technology: The History of the Future
The backdrop for the stories in Futuro Darko is a world after nuclear annihilation, specifically the USA. Poles rebuilt the country economically and culturally long before the “Last War,” after the greatest economic crisis in human history, which took place in the 2050s.
The Wrocław-based electronics company Elwro and the Stomil concern developed the groundbreaking technology of antigravity cushions, which forever changed the nature of transport. Afterward, a new industrial revolution swept through a world devastated by a financial earthquake, led by Poles with their inventions. Hence, the comic book features signs of Polish presence in the form of companies, products, and even pop culture creations on American soil. More Easter eggs of this kind will appear in subsequent stories.
We have already seen the USA taken over by the Soviets, the Japanese, the Chinese, and the Germans, but in the depictions I remember from literature, games, and television, this always happened in dramatic circumstances. In Futuro Darko, the Polish presence on American soil results from economic expansion in conditions of mutual respect and peaceful cooperation.
In Futuro Darko, before the nuclear war, Poland was the land of modernity. But in the comic book, those are ancient times. Setting the action in the USA is no coincidence; it stems from my fascination with America, fueled by television pop culture in my youth. All that remains of this fascination today is my love of American cars. Besides, I think the flat lands of the Idaho, Nevada, and Utah borderlands create the perfect setting for my stories. Atomic City in China? Somehow, I find that hard to imagine…
Brands such as Polonez, Żuk, Star, or Unitra are by no means forgotten, and I feel that one cannot omit these elements when trying to conceive some kind of “PRL punk.” In fact, they keep reappearing, sometimes even with great success, as in the case of the video game Cronos: The New Dawn.
Therefore, this fascination is not unique to me. In my case, however, it stems from an interest in twentieth-century history from the perspective of inventiveness rather than political landscapes and events. I am also a modest collector of trinkets from the Polish People’s Republic (PRL) era. My collection includes catalogues, brochures, and prospectuses of Polish companies that no longer exist. There are also books, such as Jerzy Natkaniec’s story about Huta Silesia (Silesia Mill), which manufactured household appliances. The fact that Poland once produced literally everything, from AA batteries to huge construction machines and specialized precision equipment, has always made a great impression on me.
Regarding an idea of the future that emerged from some alternative vision of history, such as Stachanowiec in Space (Stakhanovite in Space), Błażej Kurowski’s comic book set in the present-day PRL, we encounter a future that will certainly not happen.
But I do not propose an alternative. In my naivety, I allow myself to think of my story as a probable scenario. I have even left myself enough time, and we will see if anyone manages to assemble some high-tech reality here, on the Vistula.
Transmediality?
I really enjoy creating and inventing this world, and adding new elements. I have much fun doing this, and I know that readers like it too. In the next album, I intend to show this world from an even broader perspective. However, I remain more interested in my characters and their adventures. From their point of view, this world is simply the existing reality, and I also treat it that way. Consequently, I do not ponder where everything is heading in the long term, but I do try to make this vision coherent, logical, and credible.
Is Futuro Darko a transmedia project? I believe so now. On a modest scale, of course. I invented and drew the characters and a world composed of elements that have always attracted me. I feel surprised and pleased that this world attracts attention, stimulates imagination, provokes questions, and even inspires creativity. This is absolutely amazing.
The Music
This is the result of a strange but fascinating coincidence. Roman Odoj, the composer of these fantastic pieces and my dear friend, approached me with the idea of creating a comic book for a music album. I liked the proposal, and we agreed to make a comic book to accompany Roman’s music in the world of Futuro Darko. This is how we brought the band Sticks N' Stones to life.
The Video Game
Futuro Darko Racer is developing independently of the comic book, but it forms an important part of this world. The game will open with a comic book intro, a rich story that will introduce players to the game’s background and shed more light on an important part of the comic book universe, namely motor racing. This part will also appear in print.
Before we became friends, Maciej Laskowski sent me a video of a game he had started creating on a whim, impressed by the world presented in my comic book. Currently, a small development team is working on the game, including Maciej Laskowski as the lead designer, Kacper Mach as the programmer, Maciej Malinowski as the 3D artist, Paweł Sulewski as the sound effects specialist, Roman Odoj as the music composer, and myself as the texture and drawing man. This is an after-hours hobby-based endeavor.