When you think about it, we're pretty lucky that Gabriel Hardman makes comics. My fellow sequential art and illustration admirers probably know his excellent work on Marvel books like Agents of Atlas, Hulk, Secret Avengers, and Incredible Hercules (among others), but Hardman's visions reach a much bigger number of people through his work as a storyboard artist on such popular films as Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Superman Returns, Spider-Man 3, that awesome but aborted Kerry Conran pitch for John Carter of Mars... the list is impressive and very long. Film is a lucrative field, of course, and one to which comics has lost some great talents. That Hardman continues to work in the industry is, I think, a testament to his love for our medium -- a love that's especially obvious in the stuff he and his wife Corinna Bechko work on together like Planet of the Apes: Cataclysm for BOOM! Studios and their all-new creator-owned project, Station to Station, premiering later this year in the Eisner-winning Dark Horse Presents anthology.

Co-writers Hardman and Bechko told us a little about the new three-part giant monster serial, which begins in December's Dark Horse Presents #19, and also shared some beautiful artwork drawn and colored by Hardman himself.The premise of Station to Station is simple enough -- a secret lab, dangerous experiments, and an explosion in San Francisco Bay precipitates the coming of gigantic tentacled monsters that destroy everything in their paths -- but Hardman and Bechko told ComicsAlliance that there's more than meets the eye in this Outer Limits-inspired piece.

(click to enlarge)


Gabriel Hardman: With Station to Station we're trying to tell a smart, contemporary sci-fi story that doesn't skimp on the spectacle.

Corinna Sara Bechko: Station to Station is, at its heart, a story about monsters. What constitutes a monster? That depends on your point of view. Our main character Tim considers himself a good man, but his carelessness might have let something evil into the world. Luis thinks he's just doing his job, but he might not be the one doing the thinking. Explosions, ferocious creatures, and a giant tentacled monstrosity floating above it all...

(click to enlarge)



GH: We're both big fans of the original Outer Limits TV series written and produced by Leslie Stevens and Joseph Stefano. The show told smart, stylish stories that were often allegorical but not heavy handed. In a lot of ways Station To Station is the Outer Limits episode we would have made. And of course, since it's a comic, we don't have budget limitations so our monsters can be as tall as the Chrysler Building!

CSB: The boundary between horror and science fiction is always a little blurry in my mind, and while Station to Station is planted firmly in the sci-fi camp it certainly has a limb or two over that line. I couldn't be happier that it's found a home in Dark Horse Presents!

(click to enlarge)

Part one of the three-part Station To Station begins in December's Dark Horse Presents #19, which can be pre-ordered now from the publisher or at finer comic book stores. DHP is also available digitally from Dark Horse Digital. We're big fans of this anthology at ComicsAlliance, and you'll be seeing more from us about its future contents going forward.

More From ComicsAlliance