Outlier: Worldforge Author B. Lincoln Bransch: An Interview

Interview by Dan Hickman

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with independent comic book author and owner of “Luckless Hero Presents” publishing, B. Lincoln Bransch. We had an awesome discussion about his upcoming project: “Outlier: Worldforge”, his love of storytelling, what drives him as a creator, his influences, and where he wants to go next. I was also pleased to find out that B. Lincoln and I share a birthday, separated by one single year… which meant we both grew up in the same time frame having many common references and influences growing up. You can check out Bransch’s upcoming project and support it on his Indiegogo page.

Dan Hickman: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. I was very excited to talk with you when I was given this assignment. I thought we could take this in kind of an open, free-flowing discussion, with just a few questions here and there, if that’s ok with you?

B. Lincoln Bransch: Thank you as well, I’ve been looking forward to it since you contacted me. I’m fine with that format.

Hickman: Excellent… well let’s kind of jump right into it then. How long have you been writing and really, what got you started?

Bransch: I got my start in the world of graphic design and I’ve written articles for international publications. I’ve created content and published works that have sold worldwide. I’ve always enjoyed sci-fi/fantasy writing and being part of the comics industry has never been far from my heart. It was about 15 years ago, on a family vacation, the genesis for this comic book happened. I was thinking to myself… “What if Celestial beings existed, but weren’t really gods or angels or whatever as we have always thought of them, but rather beings of immense power that in ages past have interacted with humans as deities, but were really supernatural grifters and con-artists? I was thinking of the Norse and Mesopotamian gods, and their stories and mythologies. The more I thought about it, the more intriguing the idea became. Initially I planned to focus on Loki, the Asgardian God of Mischief, who in modern times is in retirement and hiding from his fellow celestials. Living in modern times as Loki Jones, a bottom feeding private detective running “Low Key Investigations”. I had the main points of the story all mapped out, and then the MCU came along and made the “AVENGERS” a thing, and suddenly “Loki” was a household name. So the idea evolved from there without a great deal of trouble. Now the origins are a lot closer to those of Judeo-Christian angels. Created beings present at creation, and left running eternity when God seemingly went AWOL. The new protagonist in “OUTLIER” is named Rafe Gadara. As what we would consider an archangel, he was present and integral to the creation of reality, and was known as the Concordance, or Keeper of Knowledge. When his people began to disagree about how best to oversee the creation, he left his place and fled into the created reality, rather than be caught up in the conflict. The others despise and mistrust him for not choosing a side. In this story, reality is, in a lot of practical ways, a simulation, in much the same way that the environment of an open world game like “Skyrim” is a simulation. From the Celestials perspective, all reality as we perceive it, is an “open sandbox” experiment. This Earth is a parallel to ours, with many similarities, but a few key differences. Rafe has lived many lifetimes, hidden among humanity, but never really understanding the human condition. He is an eclectic collector of things in his lengthy attempts to better grasp what it is to be human, but Rafe is by necessity more of a loner and as the title of the book suggests, an OUTLIER; a being totally removed from any peer group, and isolated by the distance. He is in something of a rut, and when we first meet him, he’s staking out a group of diamond thieves, intent on relieving them of a part of their haul.

Outlier: Worldforge Author B. Lincoln Bransch: An Interview

Hickman: I love it! The concept of cosmic con-men sounds hilarious and intriguing. I think you’ve got a solid idea. I do like how it’s evolved as well, into them being part of the creation of this simulated world. You mentioned that he has knowledge that is sought after, from other Celestials or…?

Bransch: Actually the primary antagonist in the story is an amalgam of billionaires like Musk, Bezos, or Zuckerberg. Here, Kellen Bergman is a an uber-wealthy businessman, who founded this reality’s answer to social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, called “Graze” and “OpenField”. Bergman sees himself as the ‘hero of his own story’ and while his goals are noble, they are set to serve his own agenda. Among other projects, he has acquired an impossible artifact with reality altering powers. Believing it will unlock the means for him to make the world a better and more equitable place, he has been experimenting with the thing for years, changing little things, but with plans that are far far more ambitious. The problem for him is that not all around him are what they seem, and Bergman isn’t quite as smart as he thinks he is… At the same time, Rafe finds his isolation shattered when Celestials appear at his home and literally blow the door down, bringing their conflict to him at long last, whether he wants to be a part of it or not.

Hickman: So, he and Rafe will develop into major conflict throughout the storyline. How long will the book be? Are you publishing on a monthly basis, or in a graphic novel format?

Bransch: This is going to end up being roughly 180 pages, spaced out over four books at 40-45 pages each. I’d like to eventually publish it in an omnibus as a collected work.

Hickman: With the comic medium dominated by the ‘Big 2’ at the moment, I’m really impressed with your desire to go independent and start your own company. What was the impetus for you doing that?.

Bransch: I made the choice to do this right around the start of the pandemic. I feel that the opportunities for independent creators are so much greater than they used to be, with the advent of crowd source platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The Big 2 have kinda forgotten the heart of comics is great storytelling and escapism. I don’t want to do that… the motto of my little company is “SIMPLY AWESOME COMICS”, and it really is that simple. I wanna tell the kind of stories that I enjoyed growing up, with killer art, beautiful graphics, and colors that catch the eye, and thrills the imagination! I have no agenda other than to entertain my readers. I think independent books have a chance to make a big splash through crowd sourcing, as it allows more creators to have their own voice. So I just want to make a personal appeal to all the readers out there, if any of what I am saying appeals to you, please come aboard and back this book, because without your help, this kind of thing is literally impossible.

Outlier: Worldforge Author B. Lincoln Bransch: An Interview

Hickman: I’m very excited to hear about the talent working with you and how you got Bart Sears to draw the cover!

Bransch: First and foremost, I can’t say enough about my penciler, Flavio Giron. His art is intense and the layouts are amazing! I was very excited to begin working with him, because he has a style all his own just made for a book like this. As far as how I met Bart Sears… honestly, I looked him up on Facebook, sent him a message and it just kind of went from there. We’ve become friends, which is surreal for me, since I have been a huge fan of his work since his Venom cover for WIZARD MAGAZINE #9. So Bart drew our killer primary cover, and has since been readily available to me with advice and encouragement any time I reach out. I loved working with him, and look forward to collaborating a lot more with him in the future! For those who choose to support the book through our Indiegogo campaign, we’re offering some Bart Sears related perks, including autographed posters of the cover he created in both colored and black and white versions. We are also offering a very limited number of autographed copies of his brand new 144 page art book called “Heads Will Roll”, which is a collection of headshots of some of the most famous characters in comic books, drawn by Bart. I am very fortunate and honored to have his help and guidance. I’ve also been blessed to receive some excellent feedback from ‘Bloody’ Mike Baron. He’s written some of the most iconic stories for characters like “Batman” and “Punisher”, but also his own Eisner award winning works like “BADGER” and “NEXUS”. He has kinda become my own personal comic guru, and he is brutal. He totally shredded my initial script, but ultimately described my story as “gripping”.’ His feedback helped the book become what it is now.

Hickman: That’s pretty awesome… just a simple Facebook message opened a pretty huge door for you. I love it! Aside from your comic book influences, what would you say was/is your biggest influence as a writer?

Bransch: I would definitely have to say that Jim Butcher’s “Dresden Files” series is a huge influence. Butcher has this incredible talent for world building and this way of taking wacky ideas, which you wouldn’t expect to fit in the story, and making them not only fit, but actually turning them into geek friendly, cool lore in his stories.

Hickman: Absolutely, I think that the two best examples of this would be Tolkien’s “Middle Earth” and Rowling’s “Harry Potter”. Both of those writers developed their worlds into living, breathing settings that not only allowed character interaction, but actually interacted WITH the characters. From this discussion, I can tell you that I’m really excited to see this book when it comes out. I can’t wait to see how you build your world and draw us all into it.

Bransch: Thank you! I want “Outlier” to be in some ways, a ‘love letter’ for 80’s movies fans. There were so many great movies from that decade that told so many great and original stories. I hope my readers will see many parallels and Easter eggs in this. Plus, I always try to incorporate real world situations or concepts into my stories. I love the idea of blending just enough reality with fantasy that it raises plausibility in otherwise impossible ideas and situations.

Outlier: Worldforge Author B. Lincoln Bransch: An Interview

Hickman: Thank you so much for your time, we’ve been on for quite a while and I appreciate your willingness to share yourself with our readers. Before we go, how about a quick synopsis on some upcoming work you are planning?

Bransch: The big goal with a successful launch for Outlier is to give me the means to continue moving forward and introducing new stories, characters, and ideas. I have a sequel in mind for this story, if it does well, along with a lot of other ideas that dabble in different genres. To help with increasing my marketing exposure and audience reach with this campaign I have partnered with the comic book ad firm Inked Marketing. They have helped with a number of Kickstarters from first time creators to seasoned veterans. Their firm was built by creators for creators. They have a podcast show called “Atomic Comicradery” along with a podcast network called “NSC Road Show” and virtual TV network called “NSC LIVE TV” all to help support creators like me with crowdsourced projects. I will be on a number of shows on “The NCS Road Show Podcast Tour” talking about Outlier, so your readers might want to stay tuned for that. The next idea on deck for me is already in the works. It’s a little closer to a superhero story, but with what will hopefully become my distinctive twist. It’s a coming of age story, and very much a deconstruction of what makes a hero. A modern teenager learns what family means when he is thrown together with his very old world grandfather in a fight against long odds and unbeatable foes.

Hickman: That sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun! Thank you again for taking the time to sit and talk with me this evening. I definitely would like to keep in touch and hear about your progress with “Outlier: Worldforge” as well as your other projects, moving forward.”

Bransch: Thank you, I enjoyed this and we can definitely keep in touch! I appreciate your interest in my work and thank you for asking me to be interviewed for the website.

I have to admit, B. Lincoln Bransch’s enthusiasm for writing and for his projects was super infectious. The fact that his focus is on excellent, story driven writing that is designed to entertain the reader and not be a social evangelist vehicle (his description) is so refreshing today. I asked him where he came up with the name for his company and he said…”I believe things happen from hard work and determination. So in that way, I consider myself not “unlucky”, but rather “luckless.”

Please take a moment to check out his Indiegogo page and support this incredible author and his amazing work!

Thanks for checking out the Toybox and, until next time… Geek Out!

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