Trisha Mukherjee
American comic writer Joe Harris, who often turns to political events for inspiration, says he is yet to find a way to use his “talent” to address the situation the USA finds itself in after Donald Trump’s win in the presidential elections.
Best known for penning the comic book series based on the science fiction drama ‘X-Files’, Harris is in India to participate in the sixth edition of the Delhi Comic Con that began here today.
The artist, who “reads a lot, watches films and pays attention to the world around him,” says he did not vote for Trump and the results have made him “angry”.
“I am still trying to figure out the best way to comment on that (Trump’s win). People who follow me on social media know that I did not vote for him.
“I am ashamed (of the outcome). I am still trying to figure out the best way to use my talent and my resources and my position to do the best job of tackling this issue. I am not entirely sure how I am going to do it yet, but I am very very angry at the position my country is in,” he told PTI in an interview today.
Having written for both the leading comic book publishers in the United States - DC Comics and Marvel comics - and authored scripts for popular characters like X-men, Spiderman and Batman, he confesses that the superhero genre is not his “focus”.
What was once equivalent to fulfilling a dream for him, has now become more of “job that I enjoy”.
“Superheroes are not my focus. They aren’t my favourite thing in the world to do. It is just not fulfilling a dream anymore, it is a job I enjoy,” he says. .
A “big fan” of science fiction as well as horror, Harris says it is speculative fiction that he would like to explore more.
“I like speculative fiction in general. It is a broader idea where you can take a real world concept and make it fantastical, to make a point about reality. It’s about being political with the intention to send out a message.
“Sometimes you can be very passionate about something that is political, and that’s not necessarily a turn off, but that might not be as entertaining, if something is that hard-pressed in reality,” he says.
One of his more political works include the ‘Firestorm’ comics where each country has a similar Firestorm superhero with the ability to harness nuclear energies.
The aim was to showcase how two countries can be similar even if they were enemies, he says.
“Firestorm had an international cast. So, there was a French Firestorm...there was even an Indian Firsetorm. They all had similar powers of being able to harness nuclear energy.
“But, they were agents of their particular countries. The superpowers sort of became secondary. I was more interested in the international relations and the geo-politics, trying not being too dry and boring,” he says.
Even though Harris began his career as a comic writer, right after getting out of college, he soon took to filmmaking.
However, presently he sees himself as “a creator of properties and potential franchises that can stand a lot of media”.
“That’s the goal...not everything gets that level. Most things are starting off as comics and then we try to exploit the rights in other media and develop them into television production or a screen development,” he says.
He is currently working on a new Image comic series - a supernatural Rock-n-Roll thriller featuring investigators delving into the urban legends and histories of the music genre.
In a special session at the Comic Con tomorrow, Harris will talk about aliens, graphic novels and all things comics.
The Comic Con is set to continue till December 11.
