Comic Books

Silence in storytelling and sci-fi: Ben Stenbeck talks new series ‘Our Bones Dust’

Ben Stenbeck breaks down the series ahead of issue #1 on December 6.

October 31, 2023

A new sci-fi comic series is coming from Ben Stenbeck, and it’s not looking especially great for humanity.

Set in Earth’s distant future, Our Bones Dust follows a feral child as she tries to survive amongst the rubble of society — until coming into direct contact with an alien A.I. cataloging the dead world. A series that’s equal parts gorgeous and haunting, Steinbeck told us that the four-issue project has been in the works since 2012. It’s also his first solo outing after working alongside Mike Mignola on Hellboy and other projects for several years, and it proves to be an exciting change of pace for Stenbeck.

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Issue #1 of Our Bones Dust arrives December 6 via Image Comics. In addition to sharing the project’s extended origins, Stenbeck told us about his approach to the book, the unique alien design of the AI, what goes into making a cannibal family, and much more.

Courtesy of Image Comics.

AIPT: Our Bones Dust blends world-building, sci-fi, and more. How long has this story been on your mind before putting pen to page?

Ben Stenbeck: I took my first shot at it in 2012. It was supposed to be a twenty-page thing for fun. I got a few pages done and lost interest. It was just too dark and pessimistic. So I shelved it. But I kept thinking about this world and certain images and moments I wanted to tackle. I talked to a few people about it and got encouraged to try again. So, I made my first real start on it in 2020. Starting in lockdown.

Our Bones Dust is a story about a lonely feral kid who learned to kill as fast as they learned to walk. in a savage, hopeless, post-apocalyptic world. All this Kid really knows is survival. Until it’s discovered by an AI archeologist, who’s supposed to be detached and clinical and not supposed to interfere with the wildlife. But does, anyway.

Courtesy of Image Comics.

AIPT: The design of the artificial intelligence is so compelling. Where do you even start with something so fresh and original?

BS: Thanks! I had a rough idea for an AI character wandering around this world, so I started out with clunky, robotic-looking designs. But technical stuff really isn’t one of my strengths, so once I took it in a more organic direction. It immediately turned into something I was excited to draw. So it was sort of designed that way by necessity, as a way to avoid drawing anything too technical.

AIPT: At the start of the story, the world is very much destroyed. Do you get into what happened or any other details about where the setting is or how long society has been in tatters?

BS: Not really. I had all of that worked out and the whole history of the AIs. You get some glimpses of the old world, you get an impression, but in the end, I just felt like how it got to this state wasn’t important. I think we can all imagine a million different ways for society to collapse at this point.

Courtesy of Image Comics.

AIPT: With so many dystopian stories out there, how do you approach crafting a new one?

BS: I almost didn’t do it because of that. But someone pointed out that none of them are mine. This might sound self-important, but what I mean is at some point, you just have to think, “Well, mine might be different and interesting,” and hope for the best. Otherwise, you will never make anything.

I think there’s a certain grounded, realistic quality to this. I tried to steer away from anything that felt too “fantasy.” Even though there’s some outlandish and over-the-top stuff, I think the characters feel human. That’s what I aimed for anyway.

AIPT: When crafting design and costumes, what goes into making a group of characters work together? I’m thinking of the guy who wears license plates as a hat, for instance. Or do you design looks first and then put them into the book as needed?

BS: The license plate guy was always a character that was going to be in there, but his costume was right on the line for me. That felt very Mad Max/fantasy, but then he is supposed to be a sort of shaman. So I like the idea that he’s just this one character that has put together this ridiculous outfit. The people at that camp did have a certain aesthetic concept.

I don’t think I drew enough of them to get that across. But the leader shows it. It’s a sort of scavenged Zef style. The cannibal family were all put together from police mugshots. The clothes they wear are based on the clothing of homeless people. I felt like those references were the closest real-world analog to the kind of life these characters are living. Everything is tough, and you make use of whatever you can get your hands on. This family has no time for art or making nice, interesting things to wear.

Courtesy of Image Comics.

AIPT: The way characters speak is compelling, saying something about society. How did you end up crafting the language the way you did?

BS: The idea is that humans are on their way out and degenerating to a Stone Age existence, so language is degenerating. But at the same time, I didn’t want readers to have to sift through a bunch of jargon and get taken out of the story trying to figure out what everyone is saying. So, I tried to strike a balance. I think it was a bit of Mad Max influence creeping in there.

AIPT: There’s something incredibly powerful about a panel that chooses not to have characters speak. What goes into knowing when to pull back and to show a reaction shot or a close-up?

BS: Silence in storytelling is really important to me. I think you can say more with a silent panel than having a character try to explain everything they are thinking and feeling. The central character is the Kid, who doesn’t talk at all. There’s a quote I like, I think it might be Werner Herzog, but I’m probably wrong — “Silence is music.” I think that sort of sums up the idea of mood and atmosphere and feeling that you can get out of a series of silent images.

Courtesy of Image Comics.

AIPT: If Our Bones Dust was a song, what would it be and why?

BS: I listened to the soundtrack to Midsommar a lot while I worked on this. To me, that fits the mood. But something that fits with the overall ideas? Maybe ‘“Just Another Beautiful Story” by Regurgitator. It’s very pessimistic about the human existence but still upbeat and full of joy and fun.