Q&A: Writer Mark Russell Teams Up with Artist Russ Braun and AHOY Comics for THE FORGOTTEN DIVINE, Now on Kickstarter!

Diving into the surreal scenarios of Mark Russell's Thanksgiving and Cereal have been some of the most memorable comic book reading experiences I've had in recent years, so I'm especially excited to see him explore the enigmatic layers of a UFO cult in his new graphic novel The Forgotten Divine. Written by Russell and illustrated by Russ Braun, The Forgotten Divine is now on Kickstarter via AHOY Comics, and we caught up with Russell in a new Q&A feature to discuss his latest graphic novel!

Below, you can read our full Q&A with Mark Russell, and we also have the official press release, preview pages, and cover art for The Forgotten Divine, including the variant covers by Russell, Russ Braun, and Matt Bors. To learn more about The Forgotten Divine, be sure to visit:

• https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comicsahoy/the-forgotten-divine-by-mark-russell-and-russ-braun?ref=343cud

Thanks for taking the time to answer questions for us, Mark, and congratulations on The Forgotten Divine! When did you initially come up with the idea for this graphic novel?

Mark Russell: I came up with the idea years ago after hearing a podcast about a nun who was hearing voices in her head and wasn’t sure if it was the voice of God she was hearing. I wanted to approach that, the nature of faith, but from a non-religious perspective, so I came up with a science fiction metaphor for what she was experiencing. And, from there, it grew into a story about how cults form and why people refuse to leave them.

The Forgotten Divine follows “Rodney Coleman, an unhoused veteran whose sleep is haunted by dreams of a faraway planet.” How much time did you spend fleshing out Rodney’s backstory, and how important was it for you to make him a believable and relatable character before placing him into the otherworldly chaos of a UFO cult?

Mark Russell: I think Rodney’s backstory, being an EOD [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] who had to defuse bombs in Afghanistan, worked for me both as a metaphor for his visions, themselves being an explosive device he tries to defuse, and also as an explanation for why he needed something like these visions to give his life purpose and direction again. I think his backstory just sort of came to me as the flash negative of where his story was going.

The preview that I read of The Forgotten Divine serves up a great blend of humor and drama (and it also made me hungry for corndogs). How important is it for you to infuse humor in your stories and provide readers with some levity even in bleak scenarios?

Mark Russell: I don’t think it’s as important to use humor as it is to use bluntness, which is often funny. I never sit around thinking, “Okay, I need a funny line here.” As I’m writing, the irony and absurdity of the situations I’m writing about come to me and when I can capture that in a scene or a one-liner, then it becomes funny.

I love how Russ Braun’s vibrant artwork pairs with your prose to bring The Forgotten Divine to life. What was it about Russ’ visual style that made him the perfect fit to team up with on this story?

Mark Russell: I thought Russ worked equally well with gritty, mundane real-world scenes and surreal alien visuals, which is really what this comic is all about. The choice between a reality which feels like it’s grinding us down and a dreamworld which feels important and full of wonder.

Did you do a lot of research on cults and extraterrestrials while working on this graphic novel?

Mark Russell: No. In fact, I specifically didn’t want to make this a story about some sort of generic but realistic-sounding cult. I wanted it to be a story about this specific experience of this specific alien world and how a cult forms around it. I don’t think anyone gets up in the morning thinking they want to join a cult and any cult will do. They encounter something, they have an experience which changes them, and in following that experience they disappear down the rabbit hole.

Elements of Jacob’s Ladder and Stephen King’s “The Ten O’Clock People” came to mind when I first read about The Forgotten Divine (making me even more excited to see what awaits readers within its pages). Were you influenced or inspired by any other films, books, comics, TV series, or video games while working on The Forgotten Divine?

Mark Russell: I think the story that probably shares the most DNA with The Forgotten Divine is The Rapture, the Michael Tolkin movie starring David Duchovny and Mimi Rogers about a cult that forms to await the biblical rapture, which both reinvents the lives of its characters and destroys them.

AHOY Comics is launching its first-ever Kickstarter campaign for The Forgotten Divine. What types of goodies can supporters of the Kickstarter look forward to?

Mark Russell: Well, other than a virtual lock of Tom Peyer’s glorious hair, you can get a variant cover designed by yours truly, other AHOY books, and even some screentime with Russ and I.

You’ve previously worked with AHOY Comics on stories such as Thanksgiving and Cereal. What was it like to reteam with AHOY and collaborate with them for their first Kickstarter campaign?

Mark Russell: The thing I’ve always loved about working with AHOY is that they aren’t scared of big ideas. They don’t shy away from difficult or challenging subjects that other publishers wouldn’t touch with reactor mitts. They always let me go where the story needs to go.

From the first draft to the final version, approximately how long did it take you to write The Forgotten Divine?

Mark Russell: I wrote it over the course of a few months, often leaving it and coming back to it, which is how I like to write a project, because when you aren’t actively writing the story, trying to solve plot holes or thinking about character development and the like, that’s when your subconscious gets a chance to work on it. That’s when the themes emerge and, to me, that’s where the real gold of storytelling lies.

Do you have plans to continue the story of The Forgotten Divine beyond this graphic novel if the opportunity arises?

Mark Russell: No, this story is done. I would love to do another story like this, though.

Ultimately, what do you hope readers take away from The Forgotten Divine?

Mark Russell: I would like for them to think about their own beliefs. The things that give them meaning and ask themselves if it’s because they honestly believe these things to be true or if they merely need them to be true to make sense of decisions they’ve already made. Because, if it’s the latter, it might be time to re-evaluate.

In addition to The Forgotten Divine, what other projects do you have coming up that you can tease for our readers, and where can they go online to keep up to date on your work?

Mark Russell: I have a series called Dog Tag that’s out right now. It follows a war correspondent for the Stars and Stripes as he fights and writes about the last year of World War II. And, coming up, I have some more one-shots coming up with AHOY, including one about a prison run by five year-olds called Kindergarten Gulag. So keep an eye out for that.

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From the Press Release: Since 2018, Syracuse-based indie publisher AHOY Comics has made its reputation on witty satires, acclaimed creators, and a commitment to bold and risk-taking storytelling. Now the funnybook publisher behind The Toxic Avenger, Second Coming, Justice Warriors, The Wrong Earth and more is launching its debut Kickstarter for THE FORGOTTEN DIVINE, a satirical science fiction drama from writer Mark Russell (SECOND COMING) and artist Russ Braun (The Boys). The inaugural campaign from the publisher that asks its readers to Expect More will offer exclusive campaign-only covers, unique AHOY goodies, and more tantalizing perks yet to be announced.

“THE FORGOTTEN DIVINE is about why people join cults, assign meaning to mysteries, and find comfort in their own persecution,” said writer Mark Russell. “I feel like we can all either relate to these characters or see someone we know in them. We’re all looking for our Forgotten Divine.”

Meet Rodney Coleman, an unhoused veteran whose sleep is haunted by dreams of a faraway planet. (At least, he thinks they’re dreams.) Soon Coleman connects with others plagued by dreams of the same world and finds himself at the head of a UFO cult. The group's shared effort to understand their visions is heartfelt at first—but over time it descends into unreality, conspiracy, paranoia, violence, and conceivably… revelation.

“THE FORGOTTEN DIVINE is a challenging story, both to read and to draw,” said artist Russ Braun. “The subtleties involved in the storytelling required a lot of thought; the slow evolution, ramp up, and ultimate impact is a testament to Mark's writing. Visually, we got to put some stuff out there that hasn't been seen before and that's always a blast for me. We took some risks, but I think AHOY, Mark, and I are known for that and it definitely paid off.”

“We’ve always promised our readers they could Expect More from our line of comic book magazines featuring comics, prose fiction, poems, cartoons—and Kickstarter lets us deliver more More,” said Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “It gives us the absolute freedom to make a book that’s as jam-packed and utterly excessive as our wildest dreams will allow. Plus, by supporting the Kickstarter, you're playing an active part in making said book a reality and increasing the story's visibility, helping us guarantee that it’ll hit comic shops and bookstores. Man—you’re kind of a hero, aren’t you?”

Visit the campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comicsahoy/the-forgotten-divine-by-mark-russell-and-russ-braun?ref=343cud

For more updates on AHOY Comics, visit them on X, Bluesky, Facebook and Instagram.

Trade Paperback Cover Art by Russ Braun

Kickstarter Exclusive Hardcover Variant Cover Art by Mark Russell

Kickstarter Exclusive Hardcover Variant Cover Art by Russ Braun

Kickstarter Exclusive Hardcover Variant Cover Art by Matt Bors

The Forgotten Divine Preview Pages