First Comics News: When does Delete take place?
Justin Gray: It falls under speculative science fiction happening in the not too distant future, the world is very close to what we live in now, with some technological assumptions about where we might be headed in terms of there being cameras everywhere.
I always like to say it takes place in a very near tomorrow. Everything in this story is as close as a discovery from being an actual thing going on in science.
1st: What is the world of Delete like?
Justin: We’ve reached a point where we can recover, delete and install memories. This comes with positives and negatives and it also calls into question the idea that all of our memories, even the painful ones are essential to who we are as people.
Jimmy Palmiotti: Its our world, mostly cruel with a sliver of hope. Same people, same buildings and cars and the same grind with one exception.
1st: Who is Kalina?
Justin: Kalina is a young girl with some physical disabilities who witnesses her parent’s brutal murder by a team of hired killers.
Jimmy: She is also the focal point of the story. She is the innocent a lot of guilty people are obsessing over.
1st: Who is Spencer?
Justin: Spencer is the handyman who works in the building where Kalina lives.
1st: Why does Spencer care about Kalina?
Justin: Despite being a full-grown man the size of a linebacker, Spencer is very childlike and his initial relationship with Kalina is that of two people similar in mental age. Spencer is the one Kalina’s mother entrusts with her daughter’s life. Her dying wish is that Spencer can get her to an underground medical clinic to erase her memories.
1st: Why does the government want to delete Kalina’s memories?
Justin: It isn’t the government. Although the story has these large concepts and backgrounds it is really a story about two people on the run and slowly unraveling a mystery. Why these people want Kalina dead is just one piece of the puzzle surrounding bother he and Spencer.
Jimmy: Like any good action mystery, the story has to unfold before your eyes and it does a little at a time each month till the reader gets to see the bigger picture and see what’s at stake. It’s a fun and violent ride with a lot of heart.
Is this something the government has to do surgically or is it done remotely?
Justin: This is a sister technology to cloud-based data accumulation where you’re using chemicals and tissues in the brain to store and redirect information, but because that’s really hard to draw we use physical machines to represent the technology.
1st: If they are captured won’t the delete their memories and set them free?
Justin: It isn’t that simple otherwise we wouldn’t have the dramatic tension needed to propel this story forward. It isn’t just a case of deleting memories, there are personal reasons involved.
1st: It’s it easier for the government just to kill them?
Justin: Again it isn’t the “government” in the way you’re thinking. This isn’t a case, as we so often see in science fiction thrillers, of the shadowy and corrupt government trying to control its citizens. This story has a lot more in common with the John Cassavetes film Gloria than it does with George Orwell’s 1984 or any number of recent dystopian young adult franchises.
Jimmy: The government isnt always the enemy of everything as pop culture and politics would like us to think. There are individuals involved that have their own best interests messed with by good people and it has a price.
1st: What makes Delete so cool no fan should miss it?
Justin: First and foremost the art is outstanding. John Timms brings so much energy and a slick sense of urgency to the action sequences that what you see and feel on the page is exactly what Jimmy and I were going for. That doesn’t happen on every project. Delete blends mystery with action and science fiction without ever losing sight of the characters and what’s at stake for them.
Jimmy: Working with John and the amazing color of David Curiel has simply been amazing. Both of these artists are at the top of their game. John has been knocking it out each and every month on Harley Quinn and having him work on this series has been a dream . Getting Davis was the icing in the cake as he made each and every page of Johns work come alive on the page. Both of them together have made this one of the nicest looking books I ever worked on. A lot of work went into this series and we all have been working on it for almost two years, so I’m especially proud to see it finally going to print.
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