FUTURE AGENTS - SCI-FI, Drama WebComic showcase + interview
Updated: Nov 20, 2020
Hello, my name is Imani aka MaddMoniArt, I’m the creator of the psychological thriller manga Bleakville, and the founder of MaddIndies, a place where I review and support independent Web Comics
Today, we are showcasing a Sci-Fi, Action, Drama webcomic created by Pilot-Obvious called Future Agents. Paranoia is one of the themes of Future Agents. It is set in the year around 2033. Technology has taken over to the point where it's more invasive than ever. I got a chance to interview the creator. I appreciate her taking the time to give me an inside look into her story. Along with the interview, I'm going to share my first impression and thoughts on the first 10 episodes.
SYNOPSIS
Four unlikely candidates find themselves in one dysfunctional segment of a failing government program: Future Agents. After stumbling upon the nation's most extreme case of cyber-terrorism, they may just hold the key to stopping the most notorious criminal in Chicago: the haQuer.
first impression
The first ten episodes of Future Agents offer a hand full of realistic characters, compelling dialogue, action scenes, detailed artwork, and thrilling cliffhangers. The writer put a lot of thought into everything. The opening scene is an effective juxtaposition... a weird paranoid monologue inside a colorful cafe. The writing in Future Agents is captivating. The pacing is just right, nothing is out of place. Characters have time to develop, so when they interact with each other, it flows naturally. The cliffhangers are the best thing about each episode. The unclassified documents make the world-building have depth and feel realistic.
The art style has a Western anime-styled flavor. The art detail is just as precise as the storytelling. The cover itself sets the tone. It is very well done, from the logo, to the details, to the color. It gives off a vibe of paranoia because one of the characters is looking at something behind her. This draws you in. The stunning background is effective with color and details like pink phone backgrounds, and gadgets that play a part in the story. The paneling is professionally laid out for webcomic readers. The artwork is consistently sharp from start to finish.
Interview
1. How long have you been creating comic books?
I've experimented with creating comic book pages for fun for a few years now, but Future Agents is my first attempt at actually telling a long-format story. I had previously made one chapter of another version of Future Agents around 2017 but decided to focus on school instead.
2. What inspirations did you have behind this project?
Future Agents has been an idea of mine for over 12 years and I've had a lot of different inspirations throughout that time. Most recently, my biggest inspirations are Black Mirror, Ghost in the Shell, Star Trek, current-day technology trends, and current-day political issues. Both fortunately and unfortunately, our modern-day world has been a huge inspiration for me when I write about corruption and issues that stem from our obsession with technology.
3. What are the main themes behind the story?
There are a lot of themes that I hope to address, but the biggest one is definitely the consequences of relying too much on technology during everyday life. There is a big 'appearance vs. reality' debate of the technology featured in my series. Aside from that, power and corruption are two huge themes that will start to unravel.
4. What do you have to say about a certain character in your series?
I'm glad everybody loves Maddie! I'm excited for everyone to see her grow as a person throughout the series, because right now she has a lot of lessons to learn.
5. How do you come up with the characters in your story?
A lot of my characters have been around for over 12 years and I think it just took time for their personalities and appearances to develop! I like to say that they grew up with me! There are some other characters who were made specifically for this webcomic series, and I definitely took parts of some old retired characters to make them happen. I also love to 'interview' my characters and ask them a huge list of questions. I put myself in my character's shoes to answer the questions and it really helps develop how they speak and how they think.
6. How long are you planning this series to run?
I hope to have an arc (I call them cases) for each one of my characters. Some cases will probably be a lot smaller than others but I want a chance to tell everyone's story and share the struggles that they face in this modern day society. The case I'm currently working on is Maddie's and I thought it would be a great way to introduce the technology and the setting. I'm sure that will take way too long, but I hope everybody sticks around for the ride!
7. Any teasers you want to give your readers?
I kind of have a teaser in a theme song that was developed by Thomas Nelson of Unredacted Productions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdu7fvnf86U In it, a voice says, "This will only hurt a little," in reference to Maddie having her HUDset installed. Later in the song, the voice says, "This will hurt quite a lot." I won't give any further spoilers, but I just want to say that it will be relevant at some point.
8. Anything else you want your readers to know?
I don't have words to say how thankful I am for my readers. They are so engaged and amazing and it's just so encouraging to see them supporting me. I can't wait to keep putting out more chapters and hope you like where I take the story. It's only going to get more intense from here!
Maybe a did you know moment: Future Agents was originally going to be in an animated format. I had made the first part of a movie a long time ago. Here's the link if you want to check it out: https://youtu.be/Iph2qZst3M8 PS: Nothing that happens in this part is related to the webcomic in any way! I changed so much about the lore. haha, I started it when I was 14 and didn't finish until I was 19...!!!
