Love, Death, and Making Comics from the Moon

Greetings from the moon!

Well at least figuratively. Some years ago I had been sketching and daydreaming about this character, Nero. I did not have anything concrete, just visual snippets. I knew where he was and why he was there and the stakes he was facing but that was it. It was one of those corners of my imagination that was evolving on its own. Alas life happens and time slipped away and I didn’t come back to it until this year.

As is normal with my relation with Frank, I open all these closed doors and invite him into my madness and let out all these characters, vignettes, and craziness to see if there’s a story in there somewhere. While we were already working on Immortal Coil and A Thousand Cuts, Nero’s story began to take shape and Frank and I found something in this character that we wanted, no, we felt compelled to explore further.

Love & Death on the Dark Side of the Moon was born.

It felt organic and Frank created an environment that had structure, shape and emotion. He took my snippets and fleshed out a self contained story full of heart and character. It was clear we needed to take a break from making “floppies” and make an event. This could not be a story that was serialised. The stakes and story needed to be told in its entirety.

Comics are best when there’s a real story to be told. It’s a medium where true collaborations augment and shape a story beyond a singular vision. Love & Death is a perfect example of how such collaborative storytelling brings an idea to life in a way I could not have done in my own bubble. Frank and I have brought on Dave Fowler on colors and Edward Kane on editorial - who created an incredible comic of their own called Futility Shapes. It is in my top 5 indie comics of 2025. Continuing the collaboration further and watching a story I sketched out on scraps of paper some time ago grow into a world of its own.

Making comics is laborious, most of the time without fanfare or monetary compensation. It is an act of love, a compulsive need to tell stories in this way and this way only. I don’t think I could truly answer why comics, it’s a calling that cannot be ignored and a medium that I have loved since picking up my first comic off a dusty old shelf in a used bookstore in Upstate, NY in the early 80’s.

Creating Love & Death has been our happy place, Frank and I both stepping out of our mythological and horror work to put out this tragically beautiful sci fi fairy tale. We feel it’s more than just a comic, it is an experience and can’t wait for you to join us!

Gerald

Hey, everyone. Frank here, and as the days tick away to the launch of our next project, Love & Death on the Dark Side of the Moon, I have a confession to make: I’m nervous. Creators typically don’t like to talk about their nerves, but they’re there. Always. And no matter how many projects we launch, those nerves never quite go away. If anything, they get worse. Because the more projects you create, the bigger your ambitions grow and the risk you’ll fall short of meeting them.

Love & Death is by far the biggest project either Gerald or I have ever put together. But there was never a doubt in our mind about creating it. From the moment we started discussing the project, we blasted full steam ahead, working hard to create the best epic we could. It was only after the fact that we realized just how large the story had become. As we began crunching the numbers as to what it would cost to actually finance this project, Gerald and I had to take turns talking each other off the cliff.

But at the end of the day, there was no turning back. The thing I love most about working with Gerald is that he always shoots for the moon (pun totally intended). Whether it be converting the book into a unique webcomic experience or water coloring covers with emotion bursting off the page, Gerald is always looking create an event out of our comics. Being a part of that fills me with a sense of pride... but also fear. And that’s kind of the point. If you’re not putting your all into these stories, risking everything on their success, then what’s the point creating them in the first place? So yes, I am nervous. I’m also excited and energized to bring you a work very dear to both of our hearts. So we welcome you to join us on launch day November 3rd.

CHECK OUT THE LOVE & DEATH PRE-LAUNCH PAGE HERE

Gearing up for the Love & Death launch, I wanted to share some of my influences while writing the story. Here is half the list. The other half will come in our next email.

When talking about isolation in the depths of space, it’s hard to think of a film that encapsulates a feeling of loneliness more than Moon. Sam Rockwell stars as a worker who lives alone on the moon and is tasked with mining helium. Being alone, the worker tries to find ways to occupy his time, but the isolation starts to get to him as he slips down a whirlwind of a rabbit hole. The circumstances are far different than that of Love & Death, but the situation is similar. For something that can be seen from anywhere on Earth, the Moon is a barren place that can break a man’s soul down to madness.

This entry stands alone as the only video game featured on this list. Its gameplay and story were quite simple. It featured a lone astronaut sent on a mission to an abandoned moon base in order to save the world. There’s no action or combat. In fact, the entire story is just about exploring the moon base on your own to accomplish your mission. While that may seem boring, the experience gave off great atmosphere and influenced a lot of the mindset I used when writing Love & Death. The moon is a unique setting. It’s not a fantasy world. It’s a real place very few people have actually visited. This game allowed me to close my eyes and visualize what life on the moon might be like.

Very early on in the development process, I mentioned to Gerald how I pictured this story with a “lo-fi” design, and he immediately agreed. For those unfamiliar with the term, lo-fi refers to the retro feel of science fiction stories from decades past. Of course, technology has progressed leaps and bounds from the time when Alien first premiered, but the “future” tech featured in that film was locked in place like a time capsule. We could have easily tried to give our story a futuristic feel to it, but that would have been a distraction and taken away from the characters’ emotional journey. “Dumbing down” the story’s technology allowed us to focus on character first and foremost. Alien’s production design played a large role in that mindset.

That’s all for now. Be sure to visit the Love & Death pre-launch page and see you in a couple weeks,

Frank & Gerald

Third Contact Comics