INTERVIEW: ‘Forgotten Home’ comes to surprising, startling conclusion
Image courtesy of comiXology / Provided by Superfan Promotions with permission.
Forgotten Home, the new comic book from writer Erica Schultz and artist Marika Cresta, follows Army veteran and deputy sheriff Lorraine Adalet as she looks into the mysterious disappearance of children in rural Montana. The community’s plight takes a strange turn when her Lorraine’s teenage daughter also goes missing. Eventually the sheriff must venture to another world known as Jannada and find (and perhaps confront) her daughter, Joanna.
The eight-part series, which recently released its final issue, comes to readers courtesy of comiXology, an Amazon company for digital comics. Each of the issues has also been compiled into a single collection with a cover by Bill Sienkiewicz.
Schultz’s previous credits include 2018’s Daredevil Annual and her original series M3, co-created with Vicente Alcázar. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with the writer about her new project. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired the creation of Forgotten Home and the focus on three generations of strong women?
At the time I first started writing Forgotten Home, I was actually working on a story that would be the anti-Frozen. I’ve never been one to be swept up in hype, so while everyone was belting out “Let it Go,” I wanted to tell a story that was somewhat darker. That original attempt morphed into something currently unpublished, but there were some bits and bobs I swept up that grew into Forgotten Home.
Generational conflict is an evergreen issue. Who hasn’t had the, ‘You just don’t understand me!’ conversation with a parent or grandparent? Every generation thinks they know what’s best, and if you look at social media, the mud-slinging is widespread. But this story is less about generational battles and more about people vying for agency and authority over their own lives. Jannada is a world where people have little choice. Your path is already chosen for you. Some people may find that lack of control comforting. Forgotten Home is about some of the people who don’t.
How would you describe Lorraine Adalet as a character and her transformation throughout the series?
Lorraine comes back to Jannada with a plan that quickly gets derailed. What makes her exceptional on earth is old hat when she’s home. She really has nothing but her wits and determination to get her through everything, and she questions herself at every other turn. She’s realistic and imperfect in every way, even with her best intentions with her daughter, Joanna.
Lorraine fled Jannada to give Joanna a life free of war, but she was caught up in a war on earth. Living under Queen Rani’s iron fist, Lorraine wanted to give Joanna a much different life, but Joanna ended up resenting her mother anyway. She really does seem like she can’t catch a break. But it’s through Lorraine’s failures and the fact that she keeps getting up again that her growth as a character resonates with readers.
Was it easy for you to blend the real world with the supernatural one? What were your inspirations?
Visual inspiration for the story was based on Ralph McQuarrie and Syd Meade. Both were the architects of my visions of sci-fi from my youth. I’d also add a dash of David Lynch’s Dune for flavor. The true architect of the look of Forgotten Home was the incredible line artist Marika Cresta (Doctor Aphra). She took the futuristic musings of titans like Meade and McQuarrie and gave Jannada its own look. She really did a phenomenal job of creating a new world.
In terms of writing about Jannada, it wasn’t difficult. With the exception of magic, Jannada has the same problems we face on earth: wars over resources; social, racial, and economic inequalities; mental health issues; the treatment of our veterans; etc. I believe if you strip a story down to what it’s really about, in this case, family, then everything else is set dressing.
Do you feel there’s strong social commentary within these pages as well? Perhaps a comment on issues impacting the United States in 2020?
I wrote Forgotten Home as it is now in 2014-2015. I could have never anticipated the state of the world right now. Issues of inequality and injustice permeate humanity and certainly the U.S. The commentary may be more of a byproduct of the story itself. However, if it gets people to think about the social issues in their community in a proactive way, then that’s a positive sign.
I feel that all art should elicit an emotional response from its audience. The worst thing art can be is just meh. If you love it, good. If you hate it, good. It’s spurned something inside you to churn up the emotions. If reading Forgotten Home moves someone emotionally to a call to action to help their community, then I think that’s a positive outcome.
Do you think digital comics is the future of the art form?
Digital comics are wonderful; however, as we’re seeing with the pandemic, humans crave tactile interaction. Maybe this is naïve or just nostalgic, but I never not want a physical copy of something on my bedside table that I can read over and over again sans blue light. Even if the vast majority of the world shifts to 100% digital comics, there will always be those who cater to the niche of print.
Are there more Forgotten Home stories that you want to tell?
Never say never. There are tons of other stories to explore in Jannada and within the Forgotten Home universe. I hope to revisit those soon.
Thank you for the opportunity to chat about Forgotten Home. I want to thank Marika Cresta, colorist Matt Emmons, cover artist Natasha Alterici, costume designer Yissel Ayala and graphic designer Kevin Maher for their incredible work on the book. I’d also like to [thank] Chip, Tia, Dane, Bryce, Pamela and David from comiXology and Superfan Promotions for their support with the book.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Forgotten Home, by Erica Schultz and with art by Marika Cresta, is now available from comiXology. Click here for more information.
