Artist and Author Josh Finney Brings Aviation Comics into the 21st Century With Titanium Rain
By S. Mark Rhodes
Set in the very near future, Titanium Rain deals with the ramifications of a civil war in China spills into a more international concern. The protagonist, USAF pilot Alec Killian finds himself quickly mixed up in a conflict, which will test his morality, humanity and will to live.
Titanium Rain (Archaia Comics) is a sleek piece of speculative graphic novel storytelling with an intriguing mix of political, science fiction and aviation themes created by Josh Finney and Kat Rocha. Mark Rhodes of In Flight was fortunate enough to interview co-creator Josh Finney about his work, his interest in aviation and the decline of aviation and war comics.
IF USA: It seems that you went deep into the research as far as the aviation technology goes; was it easy to find the information on the internet or did you go deeper than this?
JF: “With any project I undertake, I tend to research the hell out of the subject matter I’m writing about. Before pen was even set to page, I spent nearly a year reading everything I could get my hands on about military aviation – Tom Clancy’s Fighter Wing, Robert Wilcox’s Black Aces High, Once a Fighter Pilot by Jerry W. Cook.
“The most useful of all were the memoirs of fighter pilots, especially those written by pilots who’d served during the Vietnam War. That was the first ‘modern’ air war. Also, I took every opportunity I could to speak to pilots at Air Force and Navy air shows here in California. Another valuable resource in the writing of Titanium Rain has been the Flying Leathernecks Museum in San Diego. Staffed entirely by veterans, their time, insight, and life experience have been invaluable to the writing of this book.”
IF USA: This work seems particularly cinematic; did you watch any films while working on this?
JF: “Hands down, the biggest influence on Titanium Rain has to be the films of director Mamoru Oshii – Sky Crawlers, Ghost in the Shell, Innocence, Avalon. I was deeply inspired by how Oshii could construct films that are compelling and action packed, yet deeply philosophical. Themes of war, technology, and evolution are visible throughout his body of work, and in many ways, motivated me to do Titanium Rain.”
“Another huge influence has been HBO’s mini-series, Generation Kill.
The down and dirty honesty of that series was both impressive and groundbreaking. Really, as far as striving for realism, there has never been anything remotely as accurate or as powerful as Generation Kill. All the soldiers we’ve spoken with in person or online have repeatedly cited the book/mini-series as the most true to life portrayal ever made. And the Pentagon has on numerous occasions complained about Generation Kill for the same reasons. But aside from getting an inside look at what modern warfare is, Generation Kill did a lot to humanize the men in combat. Author Evan Wright went out of his way to make sure we knew who these men were, why they chose to become Marines, and how they felt about their mission in Iraq. Visually speaking, the look and feel of Blackhawk Down worked its way into Titanium Rain…not a huge surprise since I’ve always been a fan of Ridley Scott.”
IF USA: Any reason you set the story slightly in the future?
JF: “Well, at its heart Titanium Rain is a sci-fi story which explores a lot of “what if…” type questions. A lot of the politics, technology, and global events which drive the tale would be jarring if set against a modern backdrop. The twenty years in the future setting allows for a bit of a narrative cushion. Also, because I don’t want this to be a story about “predicting tomorrow’s headlines” the setting is actually an alternate timeline.
While it’s barely visible in the first book, as the series progresses reader will notice some key difference about the past in Titanium Rain. The story’s timeline actually diverges from our own sometime in the early 90’s.
Also the slightly futuristic setting may have somewhat to do with one of my personal heroes, Gene Roddenberry. When I was first conceptualizing Titanium Rain I recalled the political climate in which Roddenberry created Star Trek. The nation was divided, the country was at war, and nuclear annihilation was generally accepted as inevitable. Then here comes Star Trek with its vision of a better tomorrow. But not only was it a better tomorrow, it was a future where the worst had happened. Mankind had pushed itself to the brink of extinction with nuclear war. And yet, Roddenberry dared to show humanity climbing up out of the ashes to rise above its mistakes. This was absolutely the kind of story I wanted to tell. I wanted to show mankind getting dragged down by our worst instincts and still overcoming them. I wanted to show that we as a species are not only capable of greater things, but that it is in our nature to do so… to reach farther, do better, become more. And as cheesy as those old Trek episodes are, they really resonated. They inspired legions of fans to become doctors, scientists, engineers, even diplomats; all of them journeying out into the world with a desire to fulfill Roddenberry’s vision of a better humanity. Trek’s impact on our culture as a force for progress is not only measurable; it’s visible all around us. For all the doom-laden pessimistic ugliness that was gracing the big and small screen of the time – Damnation Alley, No Blade of Grass, Future World – it was Trek’s progressive vision that endured. So I figured it was time I make my mark. I would pen a tale that would follow one pilot’s journey through mankind’s worst, only to discover its best.
IF USA: The dialogue between the pilots seems casual and unforced; is this the way you imagine pilots speak or was it your experience?
JF: “Again, reading the memoirs of pilots had a lot of influence on the book, and I’m sure that seeped into the dialog. Also, when writing the pilots I kept in mind that these are all highly intelligent, competitive, type-A personalities who’ve been thrust into an extremely high-risk environment. Naturally, this unique combination of factors is going to make for interesting dialog. Actually, regarding the dialog, one thing that’s frustrated me to no end is the number of people who’ve asked, “Don’t you think the dialog is a bit too smart for soldiers?” I get this a lot from Hollywood types. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to explain that you need a master’s degree to be a fighter pilot.
IF USA: Once upon a time there were a lot of war comics with great characters like the German ace of Enemy Ace and Sgt. Rock why do you think these comics waned in popularity and why do you think there have been some attempts to tell aviation/military stories like yours more recently?
JF: “Oh man…okay this question will take us into deep geek territory here, but the reason why military themed comics fell out of favor has everything to do with the bizarre and sometimes painfully backward way comics have been marketed and sold over the last 25 years. With a few exceptions, nearly all comics are distributed by a company called Diamond, which has set up its business to cater specifically to comics shops. These are typically small, independently owned, hole-in-the-wall establishments whose customers primarily read superhero books and nothing else. In recent years the situation has improved quite a bit with Borders, Barnes & Nobel, and Amazon.com. With mainstream book sellers now carrying graphic novels, titles like Titanium Rain have been able to find an audience.”
For more about this title and the authors check out www.archaia.com and www.glitchwerk.com/
