Earlier today, we told you about The Principles of Necromancy, one of two launch titles from the brand-new Magma Comix. Now, after that decidedly gothic tale of death and a broken healthcare system, we leap into the (not so) shiny future with Silicon Bandits.
The brain-child of writer Jason Starr and artist Dalibor Talajić (co-creators of Casual Fling), Silicon Bandits takes place in a “near future where automation has caused mass unemployment.” When programmers Aurora and Kenji suddenly find themselves fired from their sweet tech gigs, they couple plan “the perfect bank-heist crew out of androids they programmed” — until, of course, “betrayal and sentience emerge in equally devastating turns.” With Starr’s penchant as a top-tier crime writer, Silicon Bandits is sure to be a painfully relevant and hugely gripping caper in equal measure.
Silicon Bandits #1 doesn’t arrive until April 10. (The final order cutoff should be March 11.) We got a chance to speak with Starr ahead of time all about the book, including his collaboration with Talajić, the ups and downs of telling futuristic stories, and some insights into our burgeoning “gangsters,” Aurora and Kenji.
Main cover by Dalibor Talajić. Courtesy of Magma Comix.
AIPT: What’s it like to reunite with Dalibor Talajić after Casual Fling. Is the second-plus time around easier or more complex for collaboration?
Jason Starr: It’s always great to be with Dalibor. We have the same dark, twisted, yet humorous attitude, and that’s so important in any collaboration—to have the same attitude and vision. The books we’ve done together are dark and twisted, but in very different ways. Casual Fling is a very intimate, contained story and Silicon Bandits is set in a big, futuristic world. It’s not any harder or easier, but we get to flex different muscles here for sure.
AIPT What’s the elevator pitch for Silicon Bandits?
JS: Ocean’s Eleven meets Blade Runner.
AIPT: You’ve written some great crime stories over the years (I’m quite partial to Tough Luck). What does that genre still mean to you after all these years? Why isn’t the well ever truly tapped some 20-plus years in?
JS: Ah, Tough Luck, a book that also has a heist that goes wrong, though it couldn’t be more different than Silicon Bandits. I love crime fiction and I’m always looking for different ways to tell crime stories. I think it’s finding the new ways into these stories, doing things I haven’t done before, is what keeps it fresh for me. That’s definitely been the case with this book.
Variant cover by Goran Parlov. Courtesy of Magma Comix.
AIPT: Similarly, what are the challenges and/or opportunities of telling a crime story in the “shimmery” future versus the past or present day?
JS: In Silicon Bandits, we do a lot of world building. While, at its core, the book is all about the characters and the plot it’s much different than writing a contemporary crime story because we’re constantly imagining a different world.
AIPT: Let’s talk about Talajić one more time. What does his work provide to you in shaping/honing this story and setting a very specific feel or mood?
JS: He’s been doing such amazing work on Silicon Bandits — I can’t wait till everyone sees it. It’s not just with the layouts and clever details, but it’s how he captures the emotion of the characters. He did it in Casual Fling, which is a very gut-wrenching relationship story, and he’s doing it again here.
AIPT: This book obviously touches on themes around artificial intelligence. Do you have a specific message or “agenda” here, or do you think you’re exploring the larger confines of this weird, still wholly untested revolution?
JS: There are a lot of ideas in the story about technology, creation, fate versus free will, and I guess strong point of view about what the future with artificial intelligence will be like, but in my entire career my main goal has been to first and foremost, write exciting stories, and to have any “ideas” and “concepts” come out on their own, almost accidentally. So, yeah, I have a lot of ideas about the dangers of A.I. and horrific worst case scenarios, but it’s important for me that the themes come from the characters and the story, not from me. Ideally. I want readers to get caught up in the plot, to only think about the themes after they read the book, not during.
AIPT: How do you feel about working with a new publisher in Magma Comix? Is it all excitement and joy or is there some minor apprehension given their youngblood status?
JS: All joy. A combination of spot-on editorial guidance and flexibility to tell the story we want to tell. Silicon Bandits is truly a creator-owned book.
Incentive cover by Mike Deodato, Jr.. Courtesy of Magma Comix.
AIPT: This book focuses on Kenji and Aurora. What can you tell us about our protagonists? And why are they such an interesting vehicle for this story and its themes/motifs?
JS: They get involved in big life-or-death conflicts, but there are conflicts in their relationship that they need to work out as well. Although the story is set in the future there are also universal, identifiable themes for readers to identify with, and Kenji-Autora relationship grounds the story. They also have different views on A.I. and morality which helps to dramatize these themes.
AIPT: What makes heist stories specifically (in the grander canon/experience of crime stories) continually exciting? Are there must-have steps/”events” for a proper heist?
JS: The stakes are always high in heist stories, tensions are high, so it’s a great way of developing characters and conflicts in the context of a suspenseful story. There’s always the big, looming question — Will they get it away with it? — that brings people back to heist stories again and again.
AIPT: Why should anyone read Silicon Bandits?
JS: Because it’s a fun, engaging, hard-hitting, emotional futuristic crime story with big themes that will stick with you long after you put the book down. But, mainly, it’s a fun ride.
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