Kneel before the might of Galactor, worms! The first issue of the highly-anticipated miniseries from Mad Cave Studios, Galactor, written by Steve Orlando, and illustrated by Kath Lobo, is now available at your favorite local comic shop!
Galactor is under siege by a threat from within! After a secret attempt on his life, Berg Katse sets about to uncover a conspiracy within Galactor, born of their earliest days. Galactor’s second-in-command goes undercover to hunt, identify, and ruthlessly dispense a revolution growing within Galactor’s ranks!
Mad Cave Studios’ marketing manager, Maya Lopez, sat down with Galactor author Steve Orlando to chat about his take on the iconic Berg Katse, his creative process, the making of Galactor, and more! Read on for the full interview!
Q: Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions today! Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
SO: I’m Steve Orlando! As of 2024, I’ll be toasting ten years full time in comics and 15+ being published. I’m a writer, editor, and at times even a publisher. In fact, there isn’t a hat in comics I haven’t worn – I’ve written, penciled, inked, lettered, colored, edited, and even worked production. But writing is the hat that chose me for the long term. I’m also painfully interested in semantics and linguistics, but when it comes to traits that don’t drive away any but the most patient people–I’m a former wine and spirits advisor and big proponent of large format cooking.
Q: In Gatchaman, we follow the iconic science ninja team on their heroic adventures to save the Earth from the forces of evil! Can you please tell us about your connection to the series?
SO: So, I was a G-FORCE watcher growing up, no question about it. It was on Cartoon Network! And I was not a sporty youth. From there, I followed BATTLE OF THE PLANETS when it returned to comics through licensed publishing. And then, at last, I sought out the original–GATCHAMAN. In fact, I’m a longtime friend of main series artist Chris Batista, and it’s his enthusiasm for the property that first drove me to track down the original. Mine may have been a path walked in reverse when it comes to these characters, but the love and enthusiasm has been there since moment one. These are icons! And today, their creative DNA permeates more books and concepts than we’ll even be able to enumerate.
Q: Which Gatchaman character do you personally connect with the most?
SO: There’s a reason my launch book is GALACTOR. I’ve always loved Berg Katse, no matter what name he was going under and what version of the IP I was watching. And while I may not want to take over the world–at least not literally–I’ve always identified with his internal struggle over not just being a mutant, but keeping that part of his life a secret.
Q: What do you hope for people to take away from reading Gatchaman?
SO: I hope they see these characters like never before–relevant, evergreen, complex, and daring. I know we’ll be exploring parts of Galactor that have never been put on the screen in the pages of GALACTOR, and that’s how it should be. With comics, we can go to wilder places, tell bigger stories, spin stranger capers. And here, my hope above all is that longtime fans are reminded why they’ve always loved these characters–while new fans get to discover that love for the first time.
Q: Can you please tell us a bit about your creative process?
SO: For me, it starts with questions – where have these characters never been, what parts of them have yet to be explored? What threads are hanging off the narrative that have yet to be pulled? In fact, that’s how GALACTOR came to be…with a conspiracy stretching all the way back to the nascent organization’s birth.
Q: What was your favorite part of working on Gatchaman?
SO: I love a bit of science fiction, but that can mean a lot of different things. GATCHAMAN has always been such a unique blend of influences and elements. In a way, it’s like BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, with a world that’s at once futuristic but also somewhat classically analogue. Here, giant mechas roar alongside troops with lugers. That’s a world I could work in forever!
Q: One of the key themes of Gatchaman is environmentalism, which continues to be a relevant topic since its’ original run in the 1970s. Was there any special research that went into writing this new take?
SO: I will only say that for GALACTOR, there was absolutely special research involved. But since it’s a villain book, our research was a bit more esoteric. What am I saying here? Herb and spice farming, mafia structures, microexpressions and arcane corporate hiring practices…and the speech patterns of California’s wine country.
Q: Who/what are your biggest influences as a creator?
SO: I think anyone who’s read my work can see I’m a big Grant Morrison guy, but I’m an even bigger John Ostrander and Ann Nocenti guy, an even bigger Gil Kane guy than that, and an even bigger Jack Kirby guy than that! But I also pull heavy influence from creators like Werner Herzog, Anthony Bourdain, Mikhail Bulgakov and the exploitation films of the 1970s.
Q: What are your favorite stories/artists/genres?
SO: I’d say science fiction–in fact, I said it above! But the truth is if I had to pick a favorite, I’d modify the answer to speculative fiction, to stories that still have an unreal tinge…but are born a bit more directly from the current moment. And I love a surrealist telling, I love strange imagery, shocking arcs, and that big bold folklore style.
Q: Any upcoming projects we should know about?
SO: Plenty! We’ve just launched SILVER VESSELS with Mad Cave, and the collected edition for EXORCISTS NEVER DIE, perhaps my favorite book I worked on in 2023, has just hit stores as well! I’m also cracking along on SCARLET WITCH, SPIDER-MAN 2099, and more from Marvel. And FEEDING DANGEROUSLY,the documentary graphic novel that I wrote with Chef and Humanitarian Jose Andres is in stores now, showcasing real world heroism and disaster relief.
Q: Where can we find you next?
SO: I’m easy to find on Twitter (thesteveorlando) and Instagram (the.steve.orlando)! Otherwise, find me at your local con! I try to explore as many new ones as I can.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?
SO: GATCHMAN isn’t just for longtime fans, it’s not just a nostalgia project. These are foundational characters with a timeless cool and everlasting impact–so if you know and love the series, great! But if you don’t yet? Come on board! We’re not just nodding to the past, we’re building into the future, and taking these heroes and villains places they’ve never been before.
Writer, Steve Orlando
Steve Orlando has written for every major American comic book publisher. His works include the Eisner-Winning LOVE IS LOVE (IDW Publishing), as well as the Eisner-Nominated OUTLAW TERRITORY (Image Comics) and RAINBOW BRIDGE (AfterShock Comics). Outside of comics publishing, Orlando has written for and been featured in HELLO MR as well as NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine. In animation, he worked with Man of Action Studios on the fourth season of BEN 10.
GATCHAMAN: GALACTOR #1
(1:10 RETAILER INCENTIVE)
Cover Artist: Inaki Miranda
GATCHAMAN: GALACTOR
Writer: Steve Orlando – Artist: Kath Lobo
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
Release Date: July 10th, 2024
Gatchaman: Galactor #1 promises to be a spectacle, offering readers a front-row seat to the unfolding drama. With Katse at the helm, the stakes have never been higher, and the line between friend and foe blurs in the shadow of his tyranny!
Will you heed Katse’s call to allegiance, or will you stand against the tide of tyranny?
The choice is yours, worms.
Join Mad Cave Studios in their partnership with Tatsunoko Production to bear witness to the dawn of a new era, where darkness reigns supreme and the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, now available at your favorite local comic shop!
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