Broken Frontier

Heaven and Hell. Fallen Angels and Demons. You’ve heard of these terms before, but perhaps not in the way Orlando Harding is handling them in his Pariah series, self-published through Revolution Comics.

BF spoke with Harding about his creation and the crossover between Pariah and Ant coming up in October.

BROKEN FRONTIER: For readers who will get their first dose of Pariah through his crossover with Mario Gully’s Ant in October’s Pariah #4, can you give us the essentials on your character and divulge some of the key events that have taken place in the book over the first two issues?

ORLANDO HARDING: In the first issue, Pariah’s origin story is told by a demon that he has just defeated, named Dyana. By defeating her, she was set free and was given something that she never had before: compassion and hope. Dyana had known about and been waiting for David since the beginning. In fact, she was created for the specific task of confronting him one day but even after eons of preparation she is still defeated by him.

Issue #2 is really where David first appears. He is shown right before he is banished from Heaven back to Earth. The reader can see exactly what happens and how; but not as to why he was expelled from the Pearly gates. As soon as David arrives back on Earth and in Oakland, he finds himself in trouble (through no fault of his own) and immediately has to run from and elude the OPD. He discovers that he has some unique powers and is scared and confused by them. He also finds out what happens if he breaks any of Heaven’s rules while on Earth—rules he was never told about.

I think my penciller/inker David Miller and colorist Roderic Rodriguez did an absolutely beautiful job on these releases and just wanted to take a moment to put that out there.

BF: No problem at all. Now, as a former servant of God, David once belonged in heaven, but come issue #3, it appears the other side will start to influence his actions when hell roars its ugly head.  How did the discrepancy between heaven and hell work itself into the story?

OH: Unbeknown to David, his exile from Heaven was his destiny. Hell knew it and had been waiting eons for it to happen, because if they get one more angel to turn away from God and join them they can unleash Armageddon. David will be like Job from the bible. He will have to take on a city run amuck with sin, he will see his family  and know that he cannot come near them; he will have to endure pain and humiliation  and finally have to persevere the temptations that Hell will set before him and remain steadfast on the intent of redemption.

It’s going to be really, really tough and Hell has an exact plan to break his defences down in order to get what they want. They’re in no rush, either. But who’s to say that it’s Heaven or Hell that is trying him? Things are definitely not always as they seem, and neither is true life.

BF: Something you already touched upon is the way the narrative in Pariah is told. It’s told from the point of view of a Demon. Why did you set on this specific approach?

OH: I thought it would be kinda cool to do it that way. I got the idea from the movie Titanic and took it a step further. The woman Rose (in Titanic) told the events of what had already happened that led to Titanic’s sinking years before.  Dyana is telling events about David’s story that had just happened and are still ongoing. And if things are still ongoing - a difference can be made but it depends on who is willing to take on the challenge. It is for this specific reason that she has sought out a true believer: someone who is compelled by faith not sight. Someone just like David.

BF: One of the fairly obvious influences on the character is Spawn, who’s forever mired in a personal conflict with hell to redeem himself. What differences separate David from Al Simmons?

OH: David will ultimately lose his fight with Hell, but through his failure he will save mankind and ultimately win the war. David is not sure who the enemy is. Hell will not appear as Hell has always been depicted in stories and fable. Hell will ultimately help him and guide him and by doing this the seduction will take place. Also, Heaven will not appear as Heaven always does. Heaven will sit back and let events unfold, but when things start to go wrong they will have to make a horrible choice regarding David.

With Spawn it’s pretty clear who the bad guys and good guys are. With Pariah, good and bad will both be sucked into the grey areas.  Everything in life is not black and white and that’s the beauty of the whole story. We will concentrate specifically on these grey areas of life and death. Truthfully, I would love for David to take Spawn on. It could really take the story in a direction that no one would see coming and put some real suspense into it.

BF: Speaking of taking on another publisher’s character, Pariah is scheduled to meet Ant in October’s issue #4. Many comic fans have become leery of crossovers between two heroes where they first face off against each other, kiss and make up, and fight a common foe afterwards. Will the meeting with Ant be any different?

OH: I can’t say too much without giving anything away, except that Ant will hate Pariah after they meet. No hugs and kisses or make-ups here.

BF: How did the crossover come about, by the way? Are you good friends with Mario Gully?

OH: I just met Mario for the first time at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, but the crossover was set up before. I was looking for a character for Pariah to fight and Ant looked pretty cool so I found a website where Mario had been posting and sent him an email. He responded and asked me to send him the first two issues of Pariah. He reviewed the books, gave me some rules and then gave me the go ahead.

Ultimately, Mario has to approve Pariah #4, but I have kept him in the loop on each phase. He even offered to draw an alternate cover for the book to help out—an offer that I of course accepted. The main thing I liked was that Mario offered feedback and made suggestions that would ultimately make the book better. I really appreciate him giving us this opportunity and will not disappoint him.

BF: Pariah is published through your own company, Revolution Comics. Are there any plans for other projects, or will Pariah remain Revolution’s only title for the foreseeable future?

OH: No, not right now. We are just trying to concentrate on Pariah, but who knows what will happen in the future. In the end I would love to do a couple of different titles, though.