GUY ADAMS and MEGAN HUANG Give up the Goods on GHOSTED!

Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, is joined by Guy Adams and Megan Huang to discuss "Ghosted!" - their ongoing sci-fi collaboration in 2000AD.

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COMIC BOOK YETI: Welcome to the Yeti Cave, Guy! Megan, it’s good to have you stop by again! How are things going on your respective sides of the Atlantic?

GUY ADAMS: Well, is any side of the Atlantic truly safe? I think I’d rather be on mine than yours but, honestly, I think a Yeti’s Cave is a very sensible place to hole up.

MEGAN HUANG: Good! Working hard over here! Haha!

CBY: Regardless of the wild times afoot, we try to ensure the Yeti Cave is a safe space. Guy, I know you’ve been writing for 2000 AD for over a decade, but Megan, “Ghosted!” is your first run on the Progs. Can you both share a bit about your individual journeys toward working with Rebellion on this story together? How’d you end up with Simon Bowland coming onboard for lettering, as well?

GA: Over a decade? Jesus! See, this is sometimes the advantage of ADHD; passing time is distinctly slippery. The past is kind of “before now” and that’s as precise as I get. Over a decade though… This droid must be developing rust.

"Ghosted!" (originally labouring under a far less exciting title, “Ill Angels,” inspired by William Blake) was my response to a request from 2000AD editor, Matt Smith to come up with a future war idea. I’ve written "Rogue Trooper" in the past and cherish "Bad Company" and "The V.C.s," but haven’t really done much in that vein. 

I can’t remember how the idea of a split narrative first came about, but I think it was probably inspired by how remotely – how distantly – we associate with the idea of others at war. We’re living in a world where someone, somewhere, is always fighting for their life against an army of oppressors but we carry on with our iPhone dreaming, bored, and numb. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not being judgemental, empathy can be so overpowering, if we plugged into the misery of the world on a proper, bone-deep level, we’d rupture. But, yes, what if you were forced to really face that on a personal level? 

For ages, I was writing without knowing who’d be drawing it, which is never my favourite way to work. Roll on Book Two where I know the names and postal addresses of all my droids. 

MH: For me it was fairly straightforward. I reached out to editor, Matt Smith, and less than a month later I was on board. I was extremely lucky!

CBY: You've taken very different paths to wind up in the same place together! Prior to working on comics professionally, what sort of aesthetic influences fed most heavily into your creative exploration growing up? Approaching your roles as writer and artist, what led you both on your respective paths toward working in the medium?

MH: I really loved cartoons. More than comics. I’ve worked on comics based on cartoons too, haha. I think growing up with both western and eastern animation really led me to where I am.

GA: Film has always been the guiding influence in anything I do. I think in very visual terms, despite having been a prose writer for the first ten years of my career. Prose writing – for me – has to be very rich, very sumptuous in its language and imagery, otherwise I zone out. Comics were always what I loved to read most, cinema is where my heart lives. 

CBY: Turning to “Ghosted!” – I’ve read the first four instalments in Prog 2427-2430 – it’s titled as Book One in the contents. There are all sorts of details mentioned in passing that hint at a much more expansive narrative universe being built to accommodate this story. What is the expected run in mind for this narrative arc, and is a Book Two forthcoming?

GA: Book One is twelve episodes and, yes Book Two is happening.

MH: Hopefully we can go on for a while!

CBY: I don’t want to spoil any of the wild ride you’ve put together, but you’ve got a far future Democratic Republic of the Congo as a setting, centered around the capital of Kinshasa. The setting and subject matter convey some key cosmetic trappings of Africanfuturism work, but with neither of you being from Africa, how did you land on Kinshasa as a setting, and what steps did you both take to envision its character into this deep future depiction?

GA: I was always painfully aware that I was treading on unsteady ground by choosing the DRC. My first step was just to look at the world and try and read it in a way that was less western-centric. I wanted a huge city that could believably evolve into a daunting, sprawling location and Kinshasa screamed loudest. I then got stuck in an argument with myself as to which was worst; set the story in a place I had no rightful claim to talk about, or to fall back on the usual white-faces and westernised story tropes. 

Finally, given the distancing that the future setting and sci-fi structure brought to it, I leaned in the direction you now see. I wanted to write about a universal situation – the lack of traction truth has in our world, the inequality in our society – while also speaking to that universality by moving away from white boys in boiler suits shooting laser guns. I can’t swear to having made the right decision.

MH: I was brought on with Kinshasa already established. That being said, I’m not sure why it was selected. I’d have to pick Guy’s brain a bit more, haha. 

I personally looked at various African patterns for a lot of the design work when developing the world. Mostly in clothing and some architecture. I hope to be able to expand on designs and aesthetics as I go forth and continue to pull references and do some research.

CBY: With enough time or space, distance from the reality of the here and now can be created to allow depiction a world in which preconceived notions have dissolved and can be reconfigured into something new, particularly if homage is respectfully paid to the anchor points for that new narrative reality. On the topic of genre fiction, what sort of guidelines do both of you set for yourself when building both narrative worlds, and establishing motive and behavior for your characters? The conflicts faced by Benu Abo Kabamba – the protagonist of “Ghosted!” – are unique to the world in which she operates. How do you establish novel dimensions of a fabricated society to come into play with each other and create complications, both verbally and visually?

MH: I think Guy’s idea for the city being a literal vertical tiering of the classes really helped. Without the tiered groups on every level and the elevators the characters use to reach each one, I think a lot would be lost.

GA:  I wing a lot. I refer you back to my ADHD (honestly, it’s such a battle, I’m Autistic too, so one side wants all of the order and planning, the other is just screaming in new directions, constantly). 

Truthfully, this first book would have benefited from my moving at a slower pace at times, planning ahead rather than just following my gut. I’m not talking about plot, as that was all set in stone, but the language does morph across the run, becoming more and more unusual rhythmically. That became a big thing for me, to play with the language. 

Some of the sci-fi trappings: the sleep box; the fact that our hero’s been having a sexual relationship with someone she’s not physically met; the screens and the adverts, are part of character. They construct a world that could only contain certain types of human. We’re the product of the walls around us. They’re also me sprinkling details here and there that might be useful later on. I’m a great believer in that; keep dropping breadcrumbs, because who knows when you might get lost?

CBY: Guy, given you’ve established a somewhat free-flowing narrative structure for the story, and Megan, you’ve matched it with moments of very deliberate deconstruction of standard panel formatting (particularly in the second installment). “Ghosted!” has emerged with a rather unique look within the 2000 AD catalogue. What sort of guidance and communication did you provide to each other in outlining the intended structure, both narratively and visually, for this story? Megan, I know you’re working digitally, so can you share a bit about your technical process of illustrating with such a broad range of visual effects included in each installment? 

MH: Sure. I typically start with roughs in Photoshop, once they’re approved, I jump to inks and colors. Inks are done in Clip Studio and sometimes Procreate, and colors are done in Photoshop. That’s my standard way of working on this comic and most of my books. But I have been playing around with perspective tools and tools for lighting, mostly in Procreate as I’ve worked on this book. They’ve really saved time and improved the quality of the art.

GA: Megan had no guidance beyond whatever was in the script, and that was vague as it always is when I don’t know the artist (and therefore don’t know their language, if that makes sense? How they think, how their work breathes and flows…) The script, I hope, gave occasional nods towards tone, how an image was supposed to feel, but for the most part she was handed basic plot geography and had to somehow guide this thing home. The fact she did so wonderfully tells you all you need to know about how skillful she is. We’re so lucky to have her.

CBY: A mixed method digital approach I haven't had anyone mention in that configuration before, to the best of my recollection. Guy, you’ve written extensively in prose form without graphic accompaniment, having published a variety of novels (such as the Heaven’s Gate series)  and Megan, you’ve previously illustrated comics that you’ve also written (such as Rangers of the Divide). How do you feel that partitioning your roles and working in collaboration within the comic book format changes the way you approach your responsibilities to completing projects such as this?

GA: On a basic level it’s all just telling stories, that said, I’m obsessed with the language and structure of a medium. How prose works compared to comics, how audio drama thrives when compared to cinema, how a photograph can sing when it’s not forced to move… All storytelling can be visual, you just use different tricks to achieve it. 

MH: Honestly, I’m used to it. As much as I’d love to do more solo books as writer and artist, I primarily work on teams as purely an artist. I love to collaborate aside from working solo. It can be a headache when the team doesn’t vibe, but, and I truly mean this and not just for the interview, working with Guy has been lovely. I have no complaints and only good things to say.

CBY: In that case, hopefully we'll see your collaboration continue indefinitely into the future. We’ve talked a bit about the scope of “Ghosted!” and your intended run for the story, but what other work do you both have underway? Is there anything else awaiting publication or in development you’d like our readers to keep an eye out for over the course of 2025 (and beyond)?

GA: I’m currently finishing a novel that I’ve owed Rebellion FOREVER. After that I’ll also be finishing my weird biography of film director Federico Fellini, Felliniesque, which is written as if it’s a biopic of him where his spirit rises from the dead and gets involved, so all of his visual tics, all of his love of tall tales, dreams and a truth that has nothing to do with actual facts. That’s supposed to be out in the Autumn. 

MH: I have many secret projects, haha! but I do have an upcoming issue of ‘The Somewhat Incredible Jackie-Boy Man’ for Bad Egg and Jack Septiceye coming out. Though I think with distribution in flux, it may be delayed. You can also see one of those cartoon comics I previously mentioned coming out either late this year or next year, and quite a few covers too.

CBY: It sounds like you're both engaged in a diverse range of projects, and I'm keen on learning more about all of them now that you've mentioned them. From what I’ve gathered, this is your first time collaborating together, so given the ongoing experience, in the interest of fostering ongoing appreciation for each other over the rest of the run of “Ghosted!” let’s say you’re given the opportunity to recommend each other to future collaborators whom you both admire in the comics industry. What does your recommendation letter for the other look like?

MH: Guy is a dream to work with. I’ve had hiccups with some pair-ups that didn’t quite click, but Guy is very kind, understanding, and driven. Truly someone I am eager to collaborate with for however long.

GA: “If you hire Megan your work will look as if it’s been wired to Canada’s national power supply and then crocodile clipped onto the nipples of the reader. So use your common sense.”

CBY: Resounding endorsements, indeed. To close, what work from others, unrelated to “Ghosted!” has been catching your attention lately? Have any other comics, films, music, literature, and art been inspiring you that our readers should ensure they don’t miss? 

GA: I’ve been reading Huraki Murakami (Just finished The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle), everyone should. Before that it was a children’s book by Alexandra Benedict, The Mince-Pie Murders which is as rich and perfectly structured as its namesake. It’s the start of a series about a group of neurodivergent kids who solve crimes and I think it’s going to do really important, really beautiful things to the kids who read it. I always read Alexandra Benedict, she’s phenomenal and absolute proof of my deeply held belief: if you want to achieve complete happiness, marry your favourite author. 

Last two films I watched were Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Tokyo Sonata. Both amazing.  Both directors achieve wonderful, rich, deep and emotional storytelling through entirely different aesthetics. Some people say Wes Anderson is all style and no substance, which is just miserable and says something about the narrow filter we seem to experience art through these days. Something can be arch, beautiful and contrived and also say something important. Go and watch his short Roald Dahl adaptation The Swan on Netflix if you want proof, it couldn’t be more contrived and yet it will shatter anyone with a heart. 

Kurosawa – one of my very favourite directors – achieves unnerving, dissonant worlds through quiet gentility. A camera set-up that’s just a tiny bit skew-whiff in its balance, a pause that stretches just that hair’s breadth too long. An absolute master. He has a new movie, Cloud, coming out this year. 

MH: Sinners, of course, is a hit and it’s amazing, a must watch. I also was not a fan of Lady Gaga, I genuinely liked her as a person, but never really listened to her music, but her new work is perfection. Maybe I’m a proper fan now? I’m also currently reading The Palaeontologist by Luke Dumas. I’ve been busy, so it’s slow going, but it has mysterious disappearances, dinosaurs, and possible supernatural forces at work (I’m not far enough to know for sure yet!) I highly recommend it, as a major dino fan.

CBY: Guy and Megan, it’s been a delight! Before we depart, if there are any portfolio, publication, and social media links you’d like to share, please let us know below, and we’ll include them for our audience to check out!

GA: I’ve got a website which is only of much use if you want to look at my photography: guyadams.info. You can also find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/guyadams/ and  Letterboxd at: https://letterboxd.com/guy_adams/

MH: For sure! I’m @meganhuang5 on Instagram and twitter and meganhuang.bsky.social on bluesky. And a link to my portfolio here: https://meganhuang.artstation.com thanks!

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