Lost Falls is one of the newest books from comiXology Originals, featuring a creative team of writer Curt Pires, artists Antonio Fuso and Pier Luigi, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Micah Meyers.
The first issue of the book is out now — and has been since August 3 — featuring a curious and intriguing small-town mystery motif, with the promotional material for the story billing it as “Twin Peaks meets Lovecraft Country” and a “socially-minded thriller.” I’ve had a chance to read the entire first volume, and it’s a very strong book, one of the highlights of the comiXology Originals lineup to date.
I also had a chance to send Pires some questions about Lost Falls via email. You can find them, along with his answers about the series (obviously), below…enjoy!
Interview: Curt Pires talks LOST FALLS
ZACK QUAINTANCE: This is a general question, but can you tell me about the process in creating that first page? It’s really striking and there’s a satisfying progression to it, and I’d love to know how you and the team built it all from start to finish…
CURT PIRES: The first page…that was with me almost from the very inception of the idea. I knew I wanted to start out with a bang in a way that would immediately establish a tone and really just get readers heads spinning as we head into the world of Lost Falls. I think any one of these stingers / panels pack enough of a WTF factor to sort of get people interested but when you put them all together it had an even greater effect. If feels like we’re leading readers into the maze of what lost falls is from the get go.
ZACK: Disorientation seems to be a major choice in this book (I mean, the protagonist’s name is Pynchon), was there a challenge at all in determining how much information to give the reader to keep them oriented without spoiling any of your mystery?
PIRES: It’s definitely a balancing act between establishing these mysteries and playing with the disorienting element of what we’re trying to do here without giving readers whiplash. Lost Falls consciously is a narrative that doesn’t hold you hand, but in that way it rewards rereading. A lot of my favorite stories are like that so it makes sense that I’d eventually craft something in their vein.
ZACK: One of the descriptions for the book is “socially-minded mystery thriller.” Can you talk a bit about how this book is socially-minded?
PIRES: That’s not so much in the first chapter but becomes clear in chapter two and onwards. We sort of confront the myth of small town America and the way in which these quintessential American spaces treat “othered” individuals. There’s also a Lovecraftian cult with ties to the KKK – which I think speaks to the racism in some of those seminal stories. I just wanted to try and push the genre and story into new spaces and take some of these societal conversations we’re having and craft a narrative around them.
ZACK: Finally, I can’t help but notice the “season one” tag on here…what’s the ultimate scope for this story?
PIRES: The scope of the story is pretty expansive. I’ve got a whole mythology for Lost Falls and its inhabitants and history mapped out. I hope like Youth I can do 2 or 3 more arcs of this story. I feel like if it goes the distance we have a chance at crafting something special.
