Interviews Editor, Andrew Irvin, welcomes Max Ferrada into the Yeti Cave as the chatter mounts around Stellarlands, with vol. #1 & #2 now available.
COMIC BOOK YETI: Max, thanks for stopping by the Yeti Cave! I gave your recent interview with Barbara over at Fanbase Press a read, so we’ll try to avoid re-treading similar territory too closely. In Stellarlands, you're building a sci-fi world with an ensemble cast assembled across the standalone issues into a cohesive narrative. When did the idea arise, and what other work has fed into your aesthetic as an inspiration while pulling your ideas together?
MAX FERRADA: The seed was planted during the COVID lockdowns, when my usual creative outlet—filmmaking with friends—was abruptly taken off the table, albeit temporarily. So, I turned to comics. Best pivot I’ve ever made. As Alan Moore said, “To make a film, you need an army. To make a comic, you need a biro.” Not entirely true—I needed an artist, a colorist, a letterer, an editor, and, occasionally, the patience of a saint—but you get the idea.
CBY: Indeed! I don't think I've ever encountered that quote as attributed to Moore, but I've certainly heard the sentiment repeated over the years. To that end, you’ve been working with Ben Worrell as artist, Wilson Go as Colorist, Es Kay as Letterer, and Katrina Roets as your Editor. Can you share with us how you met everyone and what the process of putting the creative team together looked like?
MF: It's not unlike putting together a film crew, but I had a bit of a head start in my connection to Es Kay, who is something of a comic book guru in the indie community - an Obi-Wan of the Aussie comics scene, if you will. He introduced me to Wilson and Katrina. As for Ben, I advertised on socials for an artist, and he was the first to apply. But, being a responsible adult, I went through hundreds of other applications before circling back to him. Felt like spending hours picking a movie only to end up re-watching the first thing I thought of.
CBY: Well, the "measure twice, cut once" approach also applies to selection criteria, and it looks like it paid off in the final outcome. You’re now two issues into Stellarlands, and you've mentioned an eight-part run is planned. Have you fully scripted and laid out the whole story arc thus far? Are there subsequent stories planned once you’ve told this initial tale in full?
MF: The main arc is locked in—character arcs, big moments, the whole blueprint. But I leave enough wiggle room. Sometimes characters get ideas of their own, and I have to let them drive for a bit. Tarantino famously said that writing dialogue is more like being a stenographer, it's no different in comics. But yes, all eight scripts are written. Now I just need time, funding, and for the stars to align.
CBY: An ironic attribution from Tarantino, considering he's functionally illiterate, though I get the sentiment of feeling like you're in the passenger seat when a character is fully embodied and lines are rolling out onto the page. To expand upon the broader story, you’ve clearly got a deep-future, multi-scalar galactic-level world you’re building. Feel free to withhold any spoilers, but can you tell us more about structure of this narrative universe? Having recently discussed the work of Ursula K. Le-Guin, whose Hainish Cycle takes place in a deep-future relativistic interstellar space, I’m always curious to hear how writers work out the science in their sci-fi - what can you share?
MF: With a mix of scientific plausibility and I-need-this-to-work-for-the-plot. FTL (faster-than-light) travel is still impossible (for now), so we use quantum slipstream corridors—fancy wormholes. But the real focus isn’t the tech; it’s the politics. Power struggles, backroom deals, diplomacy over warfare. I have a Masters in Politics, so there could be an allegory or two in these pages, but I’ll deny it if asked.
CBY: I don't think I saw anything allegorical within the pages beyond the realm of plausible deniability, so you're in the clear. Additionally, alien language is incorporated into the dialogue throughout Stellarlands. I’ve got through the process of trying to find suitable font designs for unintelligible dialogue - how did you land on the design you’ve selected, and is the dialogue itself written out in English before being translated for the page?
MF: I accidentally had a linguistic consultant—an online teacher thought she was just teaching me a language. Little did she know, I was taking notes for Stellarlands. After that, I built a grammatical structure, commissioned a custom font, and boom—fully functional alien language.
CBY: Ah, I was wondering about the design of the characters - very cool to know they're fully unique to this title. Issue #1 begins with the epigraph, “...But oh how the small stuff mounts,” attributed to Daffney Meadows, and issue #2 similarly starts with a quote from Caladin Gies, “It happens when I shut my eyes too tight.” These lines are pulled from the contents of the comics; what made you decide upon these in particular to introduce your characters?
MF: The Wire—greatest TV show of all time, no debate. The epigraphs serve as thematic appetizers. Daffney’s line is about how little things build up until they crush you. Caladin’s is about how ignoring problems makes them worse. They’re subconscious hooks before you even hit page one—like fortune cookies, but with an existential bent.
CBY: There is also an entertaining series of interludes in Stellarlands #1 in which a variety of futuristic products are advertised. These didn’t return for #2. What inspired their inclusion in #1, and should we expect to see more of these ads (or the products themselves) appear in later editions?
MF: They were a one-issue gimmick… for now. Each issue plays with format in different ways, so the ads might return when you least expect it—kind of like an old roommate who still has your Netflix password. For issue #1, they worked as an important plot device. Not the case with issue #2. Other issues will have their own Greek choruses.
CBY: I look forward to seeing what else pops up in future issues. I also enjoyed the fictitious biographies included for you and Ben at the end of each issue thus far, and the accompanying sketch material of the development process. What was the rationale behind dropping those in the mix?
MF: Just a bit of fun. It blurs the line between creator and creation, makes the comic feel like an artifact from its own universe.
CBY: To that point, we’ve talked a lot about your own worldbuilding, but can you tell us a bit about your appreciation of other story worlds - are there any existing intellectual properties you’d like to work on, if given the opportunity?
MF: Something absolutely no one is asking for. Right now, I’m deep into hard-boiled noir—The Maltese Falcon, Kiss Me Deadly, all that slick, smokey detective goodness. And you know who’d make an incredible trench-coat-wearing, chain-smoking detective? Toad. From X-Men. Don’t laugh—I've got something in mind. Put a coat on him and he's Humphrey Bogart in In a Lonely Place, but with a tongue so long it has an elbow.
CBY: That is definitely a take on Toad I haven't considered, and I can see how it might work. To close, we always provide our guests with an opportunity to spotlight other creative work unrelated to their own projects; what comics, films, art, literature, music, etc. has been catching your attention lately that you think everyone should give a look after they check out Stellarlands?
MF: I've been on a Salinger kick lately. Catcher is seminal, but don’t sleep on his shorts—Bananafish is haunting, and For Esmé is heartbreaking. Also, read plays! That’s my biggest advice for comic book writers. Plays condition you to dialogue, subtext, nuance, rhythm, everything that makes talking special. Right now, I’m reading The Flick by Annie Baker—it’s funny and grounded. And don’t skip the contemporary greats: anything by Tom Stoppard, David Mamet, Sam Shepard, Martin McDonagh. If you want a real challenge, go full Beckett.
You also recently interviewed the Mak Bros about Gods Among Men—it reads like a prologue, but still lands an emotional punch. Psyched to see where they take it. Also, a fellow Aussie writer, Peter Wilson, wrote and illustrated a great comic called Foes— where an alien faces off with a demon over a doughnut. It's fun and demented. I like to call it Spy vs. Spy on crack.
CBY: Plenty of good recommendations to keep our audience busy! Max, it’s a pleasure to have you drop by the Yeti Cave today. For our readers at home, please feel free to share any portfolio, publication, and social media links you’d like everyone to give a look!
MF: You can find me on Instagram and Facebook for updates, but if you want deeper behind-the-scenes insights, subscribe to my Substack.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellarlands_comic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stellarlands/
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