Tanoor lives in an empty apocalyptic world of poison and decay. Her village is all that remains of humanity as they struggle against mutant beasts and rotting bones. But Tanoor finds a chance to save her people when a stranger drifts into town. A stranger armed with the power to grow life from death. A stranger who could change the world—if Tanoor can keep them alive in the deadly world of The Empty.

The Empty is the brand new series by writer and artist Jimmie Robinson that introduces us to a world of desolation and decay. The series is a science-fiction tale that instead of far out worlds or technology, instead takes an inward look at our own world and humanity.

We got a chance to talk to Robinson about The Empty including its inspiration, ecological disasters, and more.

Graphic Policy: Can you tell us a little about The Empty and how you came up with the idea?

Jimmie Robinson: The Empty was an idea I had in another form a long time ago. Way back in the 1990s I did an eight page short story based on the same concept— however, it used a classic medieval setting with swords and knights and faeries. It was published in an anthology called Mythography by a guy named Micheal Cohen. Last year I came back to the idea, but I gave it a new spin and a huge twist. I figured it was time to play in the fantasy realm again. I tend to do that a lot. I will hop from superhero, to all-ages, to drama, to sci-fi, to whatever. In fact, I have a crime mystery burning a hole in my pocket right now.

I get ideas from what I don’t see on the comic shelves. Some folks can read the tea leaves and see which genre will be the next flavor of the season. But my trigger is when I don’t see something that others are doing, or when I don’t see a certain story or topic being tackled. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not being done by someone. There are SO many comics being made today in print and online, you can’t keep up.

The Empty is about how diverse worlds collide. We see this through two characters. Tanoor is a fighter and hunter for her village in The Empty — a vast desert wasteland where hardly anything grows and survival is a daily routine. Lila, the second character, is the polar opposite. She comes from a paradise. However, in ways I can’t reveal yet, Lila ends up inside The Empty where she eventually teams up with Tanoor. Lila is frail, she’s not a fighter or a survivor, but she has a gift for growing things in a world where vegetation is very scarce. The story then becomes how Tanoor tries to save her village with the help of Lila’s abilities — but a whole host of problems come up which leads us to a much greater adventure.

GP: Why did you choose to tell not only a sci-fi story, but also to mix post-apocalyptic into it?

JR: When it comes to world building it’s a lot easier to say what isn’t in the world than what is. So making a desolate world is remarkably easier to build. The trick comes in explaining how it got that way. Also, sci-fi is fun in that it really explores what is going on NOW, just in a dramatic and exaggerated way. Often it’s the human condition that we cannot escape — no matter how much technology we have. But at a certain point, if we look at this in the long run, technology becomes magic. Just as right now we don’t truly understand all the technology we use around us. It just… works. We are told the magic spells, the buttons to push or whatever, but the basis and existence of that *magic* lives in another realm outside of our understanding.

By using a post-apocalyptic platform I can pin-point my story on the characters and their situation. There’s little to get in the way of the story. Also, the barren wasteland is a great contrast to the different worlds I’ve set up in the series.

GP: Can you talk about the design of the main characters?

JR: This came and went for me. I had plenty of ideas for the character designs, and I did a series of sketches playing with body structure. I didn’t want the characters to look like they just stepped out of a magazine. Often I see comics and the characters are so perfect. Lovely bodies, faces, etc. I didn’t want that. I didn’t want superhero bodies or people who were in great shape or very sexy outfits. I mean, I didn’t make them completely repulsive, but you get the idea. I wanted to break the mold… but not so much that it couldn’t be understood. So, instead of creating a new design I took liberties with existing forms. I lengthened the arms, or the neck. I widened the eyes and moved them apart — like an anime character. I tossed out traditional clothing and went for rags or Renaissance era clothing. I just wanted a mix-up of styles and such.

I did the same thing when it came to the weapon used by Tanoor, the warrior character. At first I had a traditional long sword, but then I tossed that idea when I saw another comic book that had a similar set up. So, out of the blue I came up with shields, but then I put a sharp edge on it, then the shield became more like a weapon. and then I was off to the races. Tanoor’s blades took on a life of their own. In fact, in later issues we will see them used as more than just blades. It’s like her Swiss Army knife.

GP: What was your inspiration for the poison?

JR: I have to admit the poison came as an afterthought. I wanted a destroyed wasteland, but often we see an apocalyptic platform built on an event that happened a long time ago. I didn’t want that, so I switched the dire situation to one that is a constant threat, not just a historical note. Otherwise, in my view, mankind would just pick up the pieces and get back to rebuilding what was lost.

Something that effects an environment on a large scale has to be something that doesn’t happen just once. It has to be ongoing. A mere explosion, or a war, or whatever would not be enough to wipe out life on the planet. Also, poison represents a symptom. What makes the poison? Why is something that’s poisonous now here that wasn’t here before? It’s not a simple fix. It’s not like killing the bad guy and the poison is gone. So the poison roots became a great visual for a situation that has gone REALLY wrong.

You might say it’s like the fears we have about radiation leaks at nuclear facilities. Nuclear waste and radiation has to be controlled, otherwise it could destroy our world, not just hurt it, but change it dramatically for generations.

GP: Are there any current events or issues that guided the direction of the story?

JR: A few things rattle around in my head, mutant frogs, Fukushima nuclear plant, oil pipe lines, species extermination and environmental loss — but nothing directly. The many ecological disasters that happen around the world makes me think, but these stories didn’t inspired me into a certain direction. You might say I was leaning on the overall thought of invasive technology gone wrong in a natural world. I admit, some folks might see some similarities with current issues, but in truth these are universal topics. Man has manipulated the planet in one way or another since the dawn of time.

GP: In a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, one of the characters uses religion as a tool to explain the horrible circumstances. Do you think that it is part of human nature to do so?

JR: Yes. But it’s not just religion, it’s basically a position of power. Some people have some real issues when they obtain power or prestige. It affects not only them, but also those in their immediate community. A person cannot have power unless it is given to them, thus it is like a snake eating its tail. However, while I admit I cloaked one particular character with religious phrases I never wanted him to be directly connected to any particular belief. In short, I just wanted to use the phrases of fear — which are often used in a religious context.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against religion. But it’s easy to pick up more than a few extreme examples of those who have distorted the good work and message of religion — often in ways that control entire communities. In my series the village in question is desperate, so divisions are seen between the characters. Dig in and weather the disaster, or move on to the unknown. It’s just human nature. There will always be those who are curious, who want something better than the last generation. There will be those who see traditional values as constriction.

GP: Talking about human nature, why do most loners from the wilderness have a dog-like companion?

JR: It’s funny you ask that. A little unknown fact about dogs, wolves and canines is that they are perhaps one of the most adaptive creatures on the planet. Add that to the near universal appeal people have for dogs and it was a no-brainer. I also wanted a unique creature around the main character to remind the reader that things in this world are not quite right. Likewise, I’m not a big fan of characters talking to themselves, but people will speak openly to an animal.

Also, pet companions are great for hunting. They have abilities that help the characters. They’re also seen as alarm bells, or the canary in the coal mine. We can see several examples of this through mythology in almost every culture. The creature often represents more than just a mere animal. It’s a connection to nature. A partnership that is needed to overcome a problem. Or they are often seen as the herald to adventure. The one that calls a person to follow them into the unknown. It’s a universal trope that people all around the world can recognize.

GP: Your series kind of raises the point, if not directly, that other sentient beings in the universe might be as destructive as we are about where we live. Do you think that it is something that is missed about aliens, that they have more imperfections than is often displayed?

JR: I do believe aliens are given shorthand details when it comes to some background platforms. Any race that can build a spaceship and travel a gazillion miles across the universe has to have some kind of waste issue. It’s not like you can grow spaceships on trees. Even the *organic* type vessels require a structure of some kind — not to mention the possibility of genetic manipulation. So yeah, the whole idea of a superior race other than us in the universe should also include a high probability of ecological damage. Granted, we have seen plenty of alien invasion films where our natural resources are targeted because the aliens are coming from a ruined planet. However, how their situation came about is never really put out in the open. How long did it take to destroy their planet? What did they do and was there any opposition or warning?

The idea that an alien life must be smarter than us just because they conquer another planet should be reconsidered. In fact, WE are the aliens when we explore other planets and I’m pretty sure we have a lot of issues going on among ourselves. In a way I do touch upon that in The Empty — but I can’t give away my plots and twists just yet, haha!