STEPHAN FRANCK Rides Again with PALOMINO and ROMANCE IN THE AGE OF THE SPACE GOD

Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, hosts Stephan Franck's return to discuss Romance in the Age of the Space God and Palomino: Volumes 4 and 5, both available now via Kickstarter!

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COMIC BOOK YETI: Stephan, welcome back to the Yeti Cave! You’ve been exceedingly productive since we first sat down to chat nearly two years ago. How are you weathering everything back in Los Angeles, especially in the wake of the devastating fires this past season?

STEPHAN FRANCK: Thank you for having me! We’re doing all right. The fires were definitely a traumatic experience. We were evacuated for five days. In the end, our neighborhood remained intact, unlike so many friends and colleagues who have lost their homes… entire communities completely destroyed. It has been a heartbreaking process. 

CBY: Having had friends with family homes destroyed, I've seen from afar how sifting through memories and finding a way forward is an ongoing struggle for many. I realize we started our last conversation discussing the climate, as well. The scale of the situations we face keeps mounting, so at least that provides a form of transition towards the topic at hand – Palomino – you’ve got volumes 4 and 5 available in the forthcoming Kickstarter campaign. Can you give our readers a sense of where things are heading in the latest installments without spoiling the unfolding story? 

SF: The first three volumes of Palomino take place in 1981 and introduce Eddie Lang, musician by night and private detective by day, and his teenage daughter Lisette, who might be even more hardboiled than he is. Both get tangled in a web of interconnected crimes rooted deep in the town’s power structure, with environmental implications for the entire valley. By the end of Volume 3, Eddie catches a massive break in the case, but as Volume 4 begins with a 14-year jump, we learn it was never truly resolved. Now it’s Lisette’s turn. She’s 29, goes by Liz, and she’s ready to take the lead and solve the case… or die trying.

CBY: About that leap forward from 1981 to 1995, we had previously spoken about how heavily place-based the narrative is; you mentioned, “the town is not only the ecosystem where the characters live, it is a character itself.” By bringing temporality into the equation, how does the space treat the characters differently 14 years later, in a post Rodney King-riot Los Angeles where hip hop urbanism is in the ascendancy and the previous generation of Hollywood honky tonks has started to wane? 

SF: Yes, the spirit of the times is this underlying force that the characters must respond to. In real life, 1981 was the high watermark for the Palomino Club, and 1995 was the year it closed—so there’s a natural sense of symbolism and symmetry in those time periods. As I was writing the second half of Palomino, I started to realize what the story is truly about: change. Specifically, how the human spirit resists and endures in the face of it, especially when everything we take for granted is either gone or actively falling apart. That plays out in small ways. When we meet Liz in 1995, she’s a borderline Luddite who hates those newfangled things called email and doesn’t own a cell phone. She works as a punk-rock journalist for one of the Valley’s free weeklies, which felt like the future of journalism at the time, or at least its new normal. As she watches the Palomino shut down for good, she has no idea Craigslist is just around the corner, about to put her own platform in its grave.

Meanwhile, Liz’s childhood best friend, Kelly, has engaged with the times in a very different way. She’s part of a Wall Street forensic accounting team clearing the way for a ‘90s-style corporate merger—one that crashes straight into the regional “old boys club” behind the crimes and cover-ups from the 1981 storyline. Long-buried secrets resurface as the sands of time shift around them, setting the 1995 plot in motion.

CBY: That sounds like a fitting continuation, and I look forward to seeing how it all comes together! In our previous conversation, you’d intended to complete the story arc of Palomino over four volumes. It looks like you’ve since committed to expanding the narrative to elapse over six installments. What sort of total page count do you now envision for the title, and when can fans of the series expect to see everything come to a conclusion?

SF: Yes, my plan was originally four volumes. But when I started writing Volume 4, I realized the story had grown bigger and more resonant with our times than I’d anticipated. For one, the parent/child story needed to be told from both sides. And I wanted to do justice to the mystery and resolve it in style. When you start a long series, you can run on instinct for a while, but at some point, everything needs to click into place. That’s why, after finishing Volumes 2 and 3, I wrote and laid out Volumes 4, 5, and 6 in one big stretch, all the way to the end. Then I doubled back and finalized the art for Volumes 4 and 5, which we’re releasing now. All that’s left is finishing the art for Volume 6, which will take months, not years. That’s how I can tell you that the story ends in a big, epic finale that’s fully satisfying, and that the complete six-volume series clocks in at 635 pages!

CBY: It's been a delight to see how the first half has unfolded, and I look forward to seeing the nuance with which you handle the flash forward in time. I should also pause to draw attention to Silver, the vampire comic you completed before embarking on Palomino. Book 2, Of Hunters and Prey, also dropped after our last chat, released in October 2023. Can you tell us a bit about what else you have in store for Dark Planet Comics in the near future? Are you planning on releasing any titles by other artists, or focusing on your personal creations for the indefinite future? 

SF: I’m usually drawn to long-form mini-series in all their fun complexity. Silver was a giant supernatural pulp adventure where a crew of conmen teams up with the last of the Van Helsings to steal a mythical treasure from a castle full of vampires. Think Ocean’s 11 in Dracula’s castle by way of Indiana Jones. Dark Planet originally released it as four trade paperbacks, but we’re now doing a beautiful hardcover edition in two big volumes with Abrams ComicArts, which I think is the ultimate presentation of the material.

That said, I also love short stories that act as windows into a world, and give you a kind of story contact high. Those are not about having all the answers, but asking a very sharp question. That’s how Romance in the Age of the Space God came about. Forged in the mad days of the pandemic, it’s part sci-fi, part dystopian thriller, part slice-of-life (like everything I do), and part political satire. Oh, and it’s all done with adorable little mice. We did a very limited first run before Comic-Con last year, and it sold out immediately. So as part of this campaign, we’re offering it in a wider print run.

Once I wrap Palomino, there are other stories waiting on the tarmac. Dark Planet’s main mission is to be a home for my creations, but I do have a couple of exciting collabs on the horizon too. 

CBY: We look forward to hearing more about them when they eventuate. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t make mention of your ongoing work in the animation sector, including both major theatrical releases and television series as both an animation supervisor and director. What reflections can you share regarding the process of working with a cast and crew of hundreds to pull together an animated production compared to working on your own in regard to your comics?

SF:  The reason it took me three years to make Palomino Volumes 2 and 3 is because I was directing episodes of Marvel Studios’ What If…? at the same time. The days were long, but the years were short. Working solo on a comic and working with a team of hundreds on a big show are different in ways people might easily expect, but they share a common thread: the need to stay open to surprises. Writing solo, you might stumble into a plot twist or bit of character behavior you never planned for, but it feels so true you have to rearrange the story to fit. In a team setting, it might be an animator bringing you an acting choice or bit of character business that’s a total surprise. The key is to have internalized the material enough that you and everyone else can trust your instincts in real time. Once that happens, everyone can be fearless.

CBY: I’m also curious regarding your perspective on story development and continuity within a narrative world (as this was something I covered a bit in conversation with Si Spurrier); what sort of organizational structure guides the scripting and approvals process for introducing stories and determining the degree to which they tie into the grand design for broader narrative arcs? For instance, what goes into determining how much room (and resourcing) is made available for standalone episodes of a production without drawing away too much attention, time, and effort of the production team from the need to move forward the core plot? When you’re directing, or leading a team of animators, what sort of methods and measures go into guiding everyone in the same direction? 

SF: What If…? was essentially an anthology series, but with continuity built in over time. Naturally, you have more freedom on the truly stand-alone episodes than on the ones that build continuity. But on any project, there are really three stages. First: “Who, what, where?” That’s where the studio is most involved. Then comes: “Why is this happening, and why do we care?” where the director and writers really give voice to the material. Finally: “How do we make this as cool, exciting, and powerful as possible?” That’s when the full team of incredible artists and animators jump in. So the “what and why” is handled by a relatively small group. Then it becomes about performance and creating a shared headspace the larger team can inhabit too. As I mentioned earlier, everyone needs to feel supported, trust one another, and trust the vision enough to let loose and let good stuff come through.

CBY: On the topic of collaboration at a more personal level, you’d mentioned your wife, Christina, was keeping your inking efforts moving along with the pace of her color flatting. We didn’t really dive into it last time, but I collaborate with my wife on various projects when the occasion arises, so I’m always curious to hear about the work-life balance when spouses collaborate. What sort of communication and considerations go into making a successful working relationship a part of your marriage?

SF:  I come from a family where work and life were always intertwined. My earliest memories, as a small child in the ’70s, are of spending every possible moment at my parents’ store that sold books, comics, magazines, newspapers, cigarettes, bus fare, and even had a photo studio, and was just a couple streets away. It was my cave of wonders for storytelling. And here’s symbolism for you: the store and the house shared the same phone number. The house had my dad’s paintings on the walls and, later, became the band house, then the early animation studio, with animators set up in every room, a big Xerox machine by the piano, and my mom cooking pasta for the whole crew as we animated commercials. That’s the kind of home I grew up in. Crucially, when I was six and would steal the living room glass coffee table to use as a lightbox, my parents didn’t say, “put it back.” They said, “well, now you’re all set up to do your work.” And “work” didn’t mean “ job”—it meant that thing you’re about, that you clearly have to do.

So if you’re going to embark on that kind of life project, you need a partner whose soul is in the same place. Someone game for crazy ideas, who doesn’t sweat the big stuff, and with whom communication flows freely. Christina’s been part of the Dark Planet adventure from the beginning, including countless conventions! In more recent years, she’s done fewer cons, but she’s been known to fly around the country with big suitcases full of extra books on a moment's notice! If I’m allowed to gush, Christina is also a great painter with incredible taste in art, story, and life in general, and most importantly, she’s the most genuine and honest person I know. Those don’t always tell you what you want to hear, but they make the best partners in crime.

CBY: Allowed and encouraged, Stephan - wife-directed praise is about the safest bet a husband can make! To explore a peripheral element of Palomino that helped enrich the sense of place; one of your supporting characters, Stu N’Guyen, runs Time Fo’ Pho, the Vietnamese restaurant where your protagonist Eddie Lang’s daughter also works. We didn’t even touch upon it last time (which is a blinding oversight on my part), but Los Angeles has a wealth of amazing Vietnamese restaurants amongst the broader culinary scene. Where are your favorite places to get a bowl of pho around L.A. these days, and are there any other signature dishes you would recommend our readers check out next time they are in the vicinity? 

SF:  This is a tough one, because LA is such a melting pot of amazing food cultures. There are countless great spots around every corner, nameless strip mall joints, food trucks that gather on bank parking lots after hours. It would feel kind of fake to just pick one or two. Plus, part of the joy for me is spontaneity. So my food advice in LA is to foot-traffic yourself into a place you didn’t even know existed, catch a good vibe, and see what happens. That said, I love diners. Especially for writing. An old-school diner where I can park myself in a booth in the middle of the afternoon and break out the laptop? That, I dig.

CBY: Oh, yes - diners and bars (Barney's Beanery was my initial booth writing spot of choice upon arriving in L.A. fifteen years back). On the topic of Los Angeles landmarks, “Daughter of the Palomino,” the interview you included at the end of Volume 2 with Janet Thomas, the daughter of Tommy Thomas (the late owner of The Palomino venue) was a fantastic addition. It contextualized the centrality of the club to L.A.’s live music scene during its years of operation, mentioning a wide array of patrons and performers who passed through its doors. From regulars like Kris Kristofferson, Emmy-Lou Harris, and Linda Rondstat to visits from Elvis Costello and Elton John, the pedigree of guests demonstrate how central it was to the zeitgeist of the New Hollywood heyday, and Janet revealed although the club is gone, it can still be seen in the comedies Hooper, Every Which Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can. (Coincidentally, my last roommate before I left Los Angeles was David Worth, who would’ve been Director of Photography on-location with Clint Eastwood and Sandra Locke in the year or two before volumes 1-3 of Palomino take place, so I’m definitely going to ask him about his time there!) What other interviews and essays would you like to include in the upcoming volumes?

SF: Yes, it would be awesome to hear his recollections! Maybe because Palomino is so rooted in real life and personal experience, the back pages have become a great platform for interviews and essays. The first book features a super fun 5,000-word interview with musicians from the real-life Palomino house band and first-call studio aces. It’s an amazing piece of California music history, which I think holds real value even beyond the graphic novel. The Janet Thomas interview was also a blast, offering a slice-of-life look at what it was like to grow up in the midst of it. 

In Volume 5, there’s a long essay I wrote in early March on a plane to Emerald City Comic Con. It’s a kind of mood piece about 2025, and how that dovetails with Palomino’s unexpected timeliness, with its larger themes of societal impermanence, and even in smaller, more topical ways I’ll let readers discover. I’ve got more interviews and essays in mind for the final volume, but unlike the comic itself, you never know which ones are meant for the world until you have them.

CBY: That sounds like another element we can look forward to in the forthcoming volumes. Last time we spoke, you took the opportunity to recommend Peter Cooper in memoriam, whose music with Lloyd Green and Mike Auldrige garnered high praise. Two years on, what creative efforts unrelated to Palomino (including not only comics, but music, film, art, and literature) are inspiring you and holding your attention?

SF: One of my artistic preoccupations is “what’s next for animation,” and how different visions push the artform forward. I’ve just been binging Common Side Effects, the new animated series from the creators of Scavenger’s Reign and Mike Judge—it’s absolutely fantastic. Your disbelief is completely suspended, and you’re on the edge of your seat the whole time. And it’s all delivered with the charm and poetry of animation. Amazing show. On a broader note, it’ll be interesting to see how artistic work plays out in the harsher times ahead. More than ever, I believe true storytelling—anything that explores the human experience with honesty, no matter the tone, genre, or aesthetic—is the real antidote to propaganda. As they say, the pen is mightier than the sword… until someone comes at you with a sword.

CBY: Oh, Common Side Effects is now on my list - a much appreciated recommendation. Stephan, it’s a pleasure having you join us in the Yeti Cave again, and thank you for stopping by. If you’ve got updates to your portfolio, publication, and social media links you’d like to share, now is the time! 

SF: Thank you again for having me, it’s been my pleasure! People who wish to stay up to date on all things Dark Planet Comics can visit Dark-Planet-Comics.com, and sign up for the newsletter for release info. People are also welcome to follow me on Instagram and Facebook!