Writer Mark Bouchard and artist Shelby Criswell have launched another killer comic on Kickstarter, Business As Usual, and The Beat can reveal an exclusive preview and interview with the veteran indie team.
Edited by Lauren Lavín, Business As Usual is a snappy, near-future graphic novella about a group of activists who infiltrate an off-grid ICE detention center to free its prisoners. They expect violence, but not in the form of massive, carnivorous snakes.
Here’s the full synopsis:
Set in 2035, Business As Usual follows a group of punks dead-set on freeing the detainees from America’s first off-the-grid, generator-powered ICE detention center. The thrum of the generator powering the facility has disturbed a colony of enormous, man-eating snakes that live deep beneath the desert.
With the snakes hurtling towards the surface, and a budding situationship threatening to derail the mission, there are two fates awaiting our crew; death at the hands of the state, or the gnashing of teeth.
Is there really a difference?
The Kickstarter campaign launched today, and The Beat spoke with Bouchard and Criswell via e-mail about the book’s creative process and politics.
Samantha Puc for The Beat: When did you come up with the conceit for Business As Usual and how long did it take to finish the comic?
Mark Bouchard: I came up with the general vibe of the comic in like… early 2024. I forget which month, but my old dog was still alive, so probably in the winter/spring. I loosely laid out the vibe and then approached Shelby with it before I sorta outlined where I thought it would go. Then it sat for a little bit, before coming together mostly at the end of that year.
The script came together, for the most part, at the end of 2024/early 2025. Lauren Lavín came on to edit, after that—we’ve basically been chugging away ever since. So like… two years start to finish?
Shelby Criswell: Mark approached me with this idea in 2024, and I was gōnghé from the jump. We started working on character designs pretty immediately, and I finished up the comic pages in about a year, working when I could outside of my two jobs
How did man-eating desert worms enter the story?
Bouchard: Sand worms, giant snakes, whatever—they just make everything cooler. Also, for our purposes, there had to be a force that—not ‘banded’ the opposing sides together, but rather indiscriminately took players off of the board.
Criswell: I don’t know how, but I love them, lol.
In the character and creature design process, what were the tropes or recognizable traits you wanted to hit, particularly for the activists?
Bouchard: So my only involvement in that was through short character descriptions—I sort of laid out everyone’s vibe, and Shelby went from there. I think I said it would make sense for our main cast to be clad in all black, but otherwise, this was a Shelby game.
Criswell: Definitely wanted the characters to feel like anarchists, which is why a lot of them have a punk look. A lot of my designs always end up as people I know, so maybe you’ll run into one of these characters one day.
Do you have a favorite panel, page, or scene?
Bouchard: There’s a scene where an ICE agent laments the state of his bowel movements, on the toilet—and a giant sandworm breaks through the floor and swallows him (and the toilet) whole. It’s one of my favorite gags we’ve done.
Criswell: The explosion scene (spoiler!) was my favorite to draw and color. I love any excuse to break out my old comics and look for references of how other artists draw explosions
Did the script or art change at all in response to news events of the last year-plus?
Bouchard: There were a couple of elements that were phased out, or replaced partway into production. The problem was that stuff that was written to be cartoonishly evil just wasn’t hitting the same. It felt—not exactly tame, but more everyday, which I think would’ve bummed everyone out.
Criswell: I ended up having a lot more references for what ICE officers looked like, in particular the neck gaiters and ‘good ole boy’ looks.
As creators, what are you hoping to convey through this short but impactful comic?
Bouchard: While making this comic was a great creative exercise in imagining what things might look like a few years down the line, should the country continue on this trajectory (ex. Texas’s failing power grid being devoted entirely to crypto-mining, bringing about the ‘need’ for a generator-powered detention center), it must be said that the very existence of ICE is a blight, and abolishing it has been the moderate position since the Bush administration.
Criswell: ICE is evil and inhumane, simple as that. No human is illegal on stolen land. This country was built by immigrants, so it’s extremely hypocritical to imprison and deport immigrants.
Is there any practical advice in the pages of Business As Usual that you’d like to highlight?
Bouchard: This is a satire, and as such, I wouldn’t look to it for anything practical. That’s how we end up with Mr. Beast/Paramount’s take on the show “Ow, My Balls!” from Idiocracy. (I actually wouldn’t be surprised if that one was already in production.)
Criswell: ORGANIZE!!
Check out an exclusive preview from Business As Usual below.
Business As Usual is now live on Kickstarter.
