Back in 2015, Der-shing Helmer, a science-fantasy and educational comic artist, launched a webcomic, Mare Internum. Marrying her multi-faceted interests (biology, education, and comics), Helmer created an approachable but gripping story about “the isolated inhabitants of the planet Mars, and the ability of life to persist through darkness.” Mare Internum eventually went on to be nominated for a much-coveted Eisner Award for Best Online Comic. Now, the full story is being collected and re-published (courtesy of Vault Comics) as The Internal Sea: Mare Internum.
The 320-page saga follows Dr. Michael Fisher, a “disgraced planetary geologist living on Mars,” and Dr. Bex Egunsola (the “station’s newest biologist”) after they “accidentally break through the floor of an unstable lava tube into an ancient subterranean world…and [find] they are not alone.” It’s then that the pair are faced with dire questions, like “how thin runs the line between life and death? And is there a chance for the fallen to return to the world of the living?” Referencing everything from The Haunting of Hill House to The Martian Chronicles, The Internal Sea: Mare Internum will push you grapple with your own humanity and what it means to truly live (or even die for that matter).
The Internal Sea: Mare Internum is out this week (September 9). Ahead of the release, we connected with Helmer via email to talk about the book in-depth. That includes the book’s move from webcomic to a traditional release; her penchant for stories about exploration/bodies of water; her work as an editor at Vault; and the relationship/dynamic between Fisher and Egunsola .
Courtesy of Vault Comics.
AIPT: You originally self-published this book/story. What was it like to go that route, especially since it was nominated for an Eisner?
Der-shing Helmer: It was a lot of fun! I self-published my first book, a physical volume of my other webcomic The Meek, a few years prior, and that was a great learning experience. My focus up to that point had been in publishing free-to-read webcomics, and the ability for me to keep messing with the art and sharing it without any barrier to access was one of the original reasons I started making comics to begin with. Self-publishing Mare Internum as a “fixed” version that I couldn’t keep updating was a bit tough to accept, but it came out well enough. I’m very grateful for the Vault re-release of The Internal Sea that allowed me to polish everything up one last time.
AIPT: Building off that last question, what was it like to return to the book for this re-release? Has your connection/understanding of the story changed at all?
DH: It is interesting to read it again — I become lethally embarrassed of my work about two seconds after finishing it, so I hadn’t actually read this book at all since my previous last time proofing it in late 2019. Re-reading it fully in 2025 made me realize that the story still holds a lot of water (HAHA) and has that kernel of truth to it that is the main reason why I make anything. And it still made me laugh out loud a few times too.
Courtesy of Vault Comics.
AIPT: What about these kinds of stories (exploration gone awry, especially if it’s underwater) appeals to you? What do you think you’re trying to work out with the specific confines of this narrative?
DH: I once had a highly-respected creator whose anthology I was participating in ask me what the point of my story (about suffering) was. I got so unnerved that I ended up submitting a completely different comic, but I still think about that question. I think I am maybe a bad person to some degree, HAHA; I am truly morbid as all get-out. I love adventure stories, exploration stories, true survival stories…anything where people are pushed to a limit and where they sometimes don’t make it. Writing stories like that, to some degree, is just me slowly rubbernecking a disaster that I control, but I also enjoy pondering human resilience, especially when it sometimes feels like persisting could be to one’s detriment.
AIPT: Is it more freeing or more complicated to act as writer, artist, colorist, etc.? How might this book have been different if you had collaborated with others more directly?
DH: I find it a lot easier and more satisfying to create solo comics. From a practical side, it is faster. From a creative side, I trust my ideas and don’t necessarily want to discuss or justify them to another person. I also am a workaholic and don’t mind spending 16-plus hours a day comicking when I’m in the zone. (At the time Mare was being serialized online, I was posting and promoting five pages a week between two projects.) I think my pace and interest level in creating the story would have waned a lot if I had to work with another person, but in my editorial role at Vault Comics, I have definitely seen the benefits to working in a team. I haven’t yet collaborated on a personal project, but after having managed and worked with so many great teams at Vault, I’m considering trying it out.
Courtesy of Vault Comics.
AIPT: You also work/have worked as a managing editor at Vault. How does that perspective inform the way you make comics and tell stories?
DH: Working at Vault has been fantastic. I really enjoy getting a close-up view of a multitude of processes, creative discussions, and learning about different technical and strategic aspects of making comics that wouldn’t necessarily have occurred to me working solo. But honestly, working with my editor-in-chief, Adrian Wassel, has been the biggest boost to my skills. This dude can seriously edit a rocket to the moon; an absolute story-analyzing legend. Learning from him has allowed me to build stories like I’ve never been able to previously, and he’s the primary reason I am re-publishing this comic at Vault.
AIPT: You have a background in educational art and comics. Do you hope people learn something from this book (and what might that be)? Also, how do you balance that educational aspect with telling a really poignant and stirring story?
DH: This is a stylistic art choice for me, but I try to draw in all of my backgrounds. I don’t leave backgrounds blank; it’s just my preference to not have the characters floating around un-moored. I feel the same way about the technical aspect of the science-fantasy genre I write in; I like structure, I like rules, and having at least some rigor baked into the science is necessary for me to enjoy writing it. Back in the day I was a research biologist, followed by teaching for a bit, so I’m comfortable with both scrounging for info and relaying it to an audience. Then I can focus on asking readers to connect to the human characters in the foreground before I get to the “fantasy” part of the “science-fantasy” label, and pull the rug out.
Courtesy of Vault Comics.
AIPT: The book features two scientists, Dr. Michael Fisher and Dr. Bex Egunsola. Who do you identify with more in this story? And should even more comics star planetary geologists and/or biologists?
DH: Every comic should definitely star a biologist and planetary geologist. I think it’s the second rule of comics making after learning how to panel. But I’m more of a Bex for sure… I like esoteric things and trust in my competency and decision-making, even if it’s not what others were hoping for. I’m not as wacky about the crickets specifically, but still a little out there.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment in this story; maybe one that’s the most telling or speaks to the core of this larger story?
DH: I like any moments with Thrip because I, too, am simpleminded and excitable. But I’m most satisfied with the flow of water in the story. The presence or absence of water on Mars is at the heart of the story, and water leaves its traces at key moments for the characters as well. The transition between the last page of the first flashback and the moment where Mike enters the sea is probably my favorite one.
Courtesy of Vault Comics.
AIPT: You also won an Ignatz for the truly great The Meek. Do you see any connections with that book and The Internal Sea: Mare Internum?
DH: Ultimately, all my comics tend to be the same question rephrased in different ways — what’s the point of all of this? In The Meek, the question is about inheritance. How is the next generation qualified to inherit the earth when humanity seems doomed to repeat old mistakes? In Internal Sea, the question is why we choose to persist when there’s no escaping death and sadness. So, basically the same questions, and me shouting back “Because, because…!” in different ways.
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about this story, you and your art, Mars, lava tubes, plants, comics, science, etc.?
DH: Sure. Look at that mishmash of words — HAHA. My comics are made up of a bunch of random things I find interesting and then I smash together with pictures. It’s great. Even when they’re not great, the act of creating something from nothing is fucking unbelievable. Before this, but especially during this age of computerized AI nonsense, I am blown away by everyone who makes comics and tells stories. Making original work based on my interests and experiences has led to so many wonderful things in my life. Hopefully any impact my little comics have or will had will boil down to someone else feeling inspired by what makes them excited, picking up a pen, and making their own art, too.
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