"THEY HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD . . . WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO SAVE THEM?"
Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to announce THE FOREVER HOME #1 (of 6) – a startling sci-fi thriller from comics superstar Christian Ward (Event Horizon: Dark Descent, Batman: City of Madness) and visionary artist Sami Kivelä (Abbott) debuting in comic shops everywhere this September. Prepare to challenge the limits of time, technology, and human endurance itself as one family’s refuge from the end of the world becomes a mind-bending nightmare reaching far beyond the future. Inside: Time stands still. But outside: Something even worse than the apocalypse awaits...
I was absolutely blown away by the first issue of The Forever Home. It's a masterclass in creating a compelling first issue of a new series. Not only is it a marvel on a technical level, but it so expertly sets up the world and the emotional journey for its characters. I'm in awe of what Christian Ward and Sami Kivelä have created and can't wait to see where they take the story over its six issues.
The first issue will be released by Oni Press on September 9th, and, ahead of the first issue's pre-order deadline on August 3rd, I caught up with Christian Ward to learn more about the origins of the series, his approach to the sci-fi mechanics of this world, working with Sami Kivelä, and more:
An absolutely incredible issue! I can't wait to see what happens next! The story is high-concept sci-fi, but it doesn't seem too implausible given the state of billionaire bunkers and climate change. What led you to develop the idea for "The Forever Home" and its time dilation element?
Christian Ward: Thank you very much, Jon! Like many writers, I always look to the world we live in when thinking about the stories I want to write. My time is precious and people's money is short, so I always want to make sure that any comic book I put out has substance along with being entertaining. It’s always important that I ask myself, What am I saying? What am I discussing? What is this actually about? And ideas behind The Forever Home are all rooted in not just climate change but more specifically how the rich (both individual people but also nations) are attempting to draw up their drawbridges. More and more we’re seeing a move towards nationalism at a time when climate change threatens to make many parts of the world inhabitable. In many ways I look at time in this book as a metaphor for money. This is very much a story of “the haves and the have nots.”
Introducing the home's mechanism, the family dynamics, and the state of the world in a single issue is no easy feat. Can you talk about your approach to balancing the plot, the sci-fi, and your characters?
Christian Ward: I find writing with anger helps, haha. Truthfully, though, I’ve been thinking about this story for a number of years, so by the time I sat down to write it, it all came together pretty smoothly. Though, as you say, in this issue (and the wider series juggles a lot) the characters are our linchpin. The world is happening to them, so we see it filtered through them. They ground everything. Beyond that, as I wrote the book I constantly asked myself the questions I referred to in my previous answer. As long as all the elements spoke to the central thesis then it became easier to balance, since in reality they’re just facets of the same thing.
Why was Sami the perfect collaborator for this and how did Sami's involvement impact the story and/or its characters throughout development?
Christian Ward: I first worked with Sami back in 2019 on the first book I wrote, Machine Gun Wizards. I was immediately impressed with how Sami would take the script and panel descriptions and build upon what I intended in smart and insightful ways. I don’t say this lightly, I think he’s a genius. Page layouts are often unconventional, playful and inventive. He reminds me a lot of Hayden Sherman who is currently amazing readers on their work in Absolute Wonder Woman. He would add additional panels to highlight and intensify a moment or character's emotions. For example he might have a place page of a big moment and scatter small panels across it which would show each character's reaction to that moment. If we consider the idea that a single comic book panel represents a moment of time and the page as a whole present physical space, then Sami is a master of using both space and time.
Since finishing MGW, I’ve been trying to come up with a project that would really push Sami and give him the perfect platform to do what he does and in the truest sense possible, The Forever Home was written for him. Every page was considered with ‘what would Sami do’ in mind and boy, did he not disappoint.
What can you tell our readers about the family in this story and why they matter to you?
Christian Ward: As a father of two young children (who are 6 and 9 and actually contributed to the cover for #5!), family is everything. In that very personal way it’s a way of quickly connecting to the emotionality of the story and making this wild story feel grounded and relatable, but methodically speaking the family in this story represent us, as in society, with the adults being the older generation and of course the kids being the future.
What kind of research did you do when developing the home, its technology, and this post-apocalyptic setting? Were there any interesting discoveries that informed the direction the story took?
Christian Ward: Of course Sami is responsible for the actual design work, but when I talked about it in the script and direct with Sami, I discussed how a lot of the titular Forever Home and its connective technology are inspired by mid-century futurism. That idea took hold in America after WW2, where society looked to the future and imagined an utopia. That’s what the father here wants, but it’s twisted by our modern cynicism. The cult of self. He only wants that utopia for himself and his family. A sentiment I believe, unfortunately, is shared by many.
When it comes to the ‘outside’—I was a little freer when it came to envisioning that; it’s so far in our future (hundreds of thousands of years, after all those 20 mins inside the house add up!) that literally anything goes.
The Forever Home is a six-part mini-series and I can't even guess where things go from here. Can you give our readers (and me) a little tease of what awaits them over the course of the series?
Christian Ward: This is one of the wildest, unpredictable comics I’ve ever written. With this and The Patron, I’ve really been leaning on what the characters would do. The benefit of these being creator-owned over licensed Work-for Hire books, where you typically have to plot a book ahead of starting writing, is here I can be more flexible and respond issue by issue. Sometimes a character’s choices surprise me and if they surprise me then I think there’s a greater chance they will also surprise the reader. What I can say about The Forever Home is that one of my biggest ambitions in comics is to write a comic that would make someone cry, and I think issue 4 in particular might achieve that. Beyond that there's an abundance of action, thrills, underlying horror and wild sci-fi in store. I can say with absolute confidence, it's a book that fully delivers on the promise of #1!
Can you share some of your favorite sci-fi films and stories that influenced your approach to sci-fi storytelling?
Christian Ward: There are so many. Some obvious. Some less so. I will say, though, that when I wrote The Forever Home, I wasn’t consciously cherry picking influences and putting them into the melting pot. More than now that it's fully written, I can look back at and see my love for certain stories. I would say the biggest is the movie The Time Machine (1960), based, of course, on HG Wells’ novel. Especially how it uses time travel to explore a split society. Though I’m less a fan of Shane Carruth recently, his movie Primer is amazing and I've seen how he explores a very realistic take of time traveling and its effect on real people. There’s also some Silent Running in there with the robots and maybe a touch of Mad Max and even Avatar.
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Check out the covers and details for The Forever Home's first issue below. Also, be sure to visit the Oni Press site for the comic book series for an opportunity to win a rare variant cover if you submit your email address: https://www.onipress.
"Infamous billionaire scientist Henry D'mour could have saved the world. But he didn't. Instead, in a desperate bid to save himself, his wife, and their two children, he constructed THE FOREVER HOME — an ark of luxury and ultramodern convenience insulated from the agony of the planet’s death throes outside its walls . . . and even time itself. Inside THE FOREVER HOME, only twenty minutes pass for every year on the outside . . . allowing the D’mour family to slowly enact their plans for a new world as their automated environment and robotic companions keep them safe. Safe on the inside. Always inside. Until a childish misstep accidentally breaks THE FOREVER HOME’s barrier . . . and what’s outside decides it wants back in . . .
Inside their high-tech refuge, they found a way to protect themselves from the apocalypse… and time itself. Outside, something has been waiting eons for a chance to get in… Step inside this startling vision of one family at the far end of time itself this September when THE FOREVER HOME #1 (of 6) comes knocking — featuring ominous covers by co-creators Christian Ward and Sami Kivelä, as well as Frany (Miles Morales: Spider-Man), David Rubín (Cosmic Detective), and Miguel Mercado (EC’s Blood Type) – on September 9th, 2026!"
THE FOREVER HOME #1 (of 6)
After more than a decade as a consultant in the entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who passionately explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He is also consulted with as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, film festivals, and conventions.
After more than a decade as a consultant in the entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who passionately explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He is also consulted with as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, film festivals, and conventions.
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