JED DOUGHERTY and AUBREY SITTERSON Liberate our Notions of FREE PLANET

Austin Allen Hamblin is back with writer, Aubrey Sitterson, and artist, Jed Doughtery, in the Yeti Cave to discuss Free Planet, out now through Image Comics.

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COMIC BOOK YETI: Today I am honored to sit down with both of you, as I was lucky enough to read the first issue of this long before it was announced because Aubrey is, as the kids say, “a real one.” I enjoyed it a lot, but didn’t fully appreciate it until I was able to read it in print (which we will cover in our interview). I don’t know how to describe this book to someone, and I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. For those who may not know, what is Free Planet all about?

JED DOUGHERTY: The book is about a group of heroes called the Freedom Guard. They have just won the freedom of their world, Lutheria, in a brutal revolution. Lutheria is the sole source of orchaleum, a uniquely powerful fuel that has reshaped interstellar travel. Orchaleum has disrupted the machinations of two powerful interstellar civilizations which are vying for control of the myriad human settled worlds throughout the galaxy. The story takes place millennia into the future, after a galaxy-wide diaspora has scattered humanity throughout the stars. 

That sounds a bit dry. The book is also about our heroes battling on all fronts to keep their world free, arguing with each other about their differing interpretations of true freedom, and getting entangled in messy workplace romances.

AUBREY SITTERSON: Free Planet is an exploration of freedom, the sacrifice it requires, the discipline it necessitates and the authority that arises in its absence. It's geopolitical soap opera comprising three distinct threads braided into a cohesive whole; complex geopolitical maneuvering, explosive sci-fi action, and heated interpersonal drama.

CBY: You two are dedicated to making this book do things which lend the comic to be read in print, not a digital format. This is a bold move in 2025. What made you want to do this?

JD: I’ll let Aubrey field this one. I like a paper comic, but I draw on paper too, so my opinions are suspect.

AS: Free Planet is a comic for people who like the act of reading in and of itself and those appreciate comics as a medium. Rather than a cheap, grinding story-delivery mechanism, it's something readers are meant to pore over, reread and ruminate upon; it's both literature and art object. To achieve this, we pack every single page with visual information, inclusive of textual elements, which are always considered in Jed's layouts, and the page design itself, typically built around spreads. And that's key, because – paraphrasing our Uncle Howard Chaykin – the page is the fundamental storytelling unit of comics. Making comics as literature and art object requires both a density of visual information and a holistic approach to the page that can only be properly grappled with in the print periodical format.

CBY: In issue #3 you do this insane page turning experience (not in the way people would think) which is fantastic. What does the collaborative process look like for this comic? Is it different from your past collaborations such as Savage Hearts?

JD: With Free Planet and with Savage Hearts, the collaborative process started with a bit of brainstorming between us for character and environment designs before the story took shape. Aubrey is a fun writer to work with, in that he is willing to throw some chum in the water to keep the artist entertained by what they’re drawing. 

Savage Hearts was definitely more of a, “Hey let’s put on a show!” kind of comic, with both of us throwing in ideas we wanted to have in a comic; sexy, buff lead characters not wearing much and falling in love, dinosaurs, monsters, adventures, lunatic evil wizardry, comedy, and Bird-Men! It’s a fun, breezy comic.

For Free Planet, the meat and potatoes of the story and plotting is Aubrey’s. I have floated a few ideas for characters and character arcs, but the stories arrive very fully realized, down to ideas for spreads and layouts. The rotating dogfight scene is Aubrey’s idea; I think my contribution there was to cant the panel angles to try and line the reader up for the page turns and new reading orientation, the sort of rolling motion. Glad you liked it!

AS: Savage Hearts I wrote – for lack of a better term – like a normal comic. I broke the story into five issues, divided each of those into 20 pages, then scripted, averaging four panels a page, endeavoring to write to page turns and splashes, keeping things as visually interesting as possible. It's how the overwhelming majority of US comics are written. Free Planet is something else entirely.

The key and crucial difference in my process on Free Planet has been the addition of a new step; thumbnails. First and foremost, I never send these to Jed; he's a genius with this stuff and comes up with far better layouts than I ever could. I do monthly process posts in my newsletter and it's always readily apparent how Jed improved whatever it was that I had in mind for a given page.

But it's a crucial step nonetheless, because I thumbnail before I script, which forces me into ideation for every single page as, first and foremost, a holistic visual experience. It's essential to the literature and art object approach described above and it's why Free Planet is so different from everything else on the racks. It's designed, not as a story hammered into a comic, but as a comic above all else.

CBY: You are doing something very unique with your letters page. Could you talk about that?

JD: Clearly, Aubrey was suffering from some free time, so he decided to write the letter column in character. I think it’s a kayfabe thing?

AS: The Free Planet letters page, "Questions and Clarifications," is written by Dr. Aldous Foyroushi, expert on Lutherian history and both the narrator of the comic itself as well as the essays in each issue. Each month, it functions as a kind of "office hours," with the good doctor responding to reader questions provoked by the preceding issues.

Not only is it a fun way for us and readers to continue building out the world – universe, really – of Free Planet, but it also renders the book an even richer package, something worth every cent of your $3.99. Free Planet is designed to last you a full month and, since the letters pages are exclusive to the single issues, it – combined with spreads that demand to be read laid out flat – is yet another reason not to wait on the trade edition. 

CBY: I know Aubrey has talked on Substack about how much research went into this.  I’m wondering if Aubrey was assigning you homework?

JD: If he did, I didn’t read it! If you’re talking about him texting a bunch of photos of a Druillet comic at 10 o’clock at night as visual fertilizer, then I guess I did my bit to absorb it.

AS: When Eric Stephenson gave us the green light at Image, I immediately sent Jed two books that had been enormously impactful on Free Planet's development; The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas and The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow. I don't think "homework" is exactly the right word though; it was more passive aggressively assigned reading.  

CBY: This world is so fleshed out and it feels like you’ve thought about everything from economics to weather patterns. How long do you want this project to go? 

JD: When one of our readers presents the first doctoral thesis on Lutherian small arms manufacturing pre- and post-revolution, I think our work will be done. Until then we will totally not be laying tracks in front of a moving train. Currently I am finishing up inks on issue #9; look for it in 2026!

AS: I want the length of Free Planet to be measured, not in issues, but in feet; a full bookshelf dedicated to it. It's an idea and approach good and rich enough to warrant it.

CBY: How can people follow your work?

JD: I have a Patreon where I share archive artwork and a mix of drawings and process work:

patreon.com/Jebriodo179. Otherwise you can find me as Jebriodo on Twitter, Bsky and Instagram. Thanks!

AS: I'm easy to find online – there's only one "Aubrey Sitterson" – but I'm most active on my newsletter, where I do monthly process posts, explore Free Planet's extensive bibliography and more. You can find it at www.AtlantisStillSunk.com.

CBY: This has been Austin Allen Hamblin from Comic Book Yeti, signing off with another interview from the Yeti Cave! Be excellent everyone! https://linktr.ee/austinallenhamblin

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