Taking place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, Don’t Spit in the Wind tells the story of a crew of garbage men tasked with cleaning up mountains of toxic waste since the planet became inhospitable, and after descending into a nuclear facility to search for a missing member, they find evidence that an unknown predator might have killed the crew, as if living in the new world wasn’t hard enough already.
Written and illustrated by Stefano Cardoselli, with colors and letters by Dan Lee, Don’t Spit in the Wind is Mad Cave’s first creator-owned comic. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to discuss the book with the creative team behind it ahead of its release on March 29th.
What’s your favorite sandwich?
Stefano: Club sandwich with a side of french fries or onion rings
Dan: Probably a nice meatball sub. Egg salad is a close second.
With doing double duty on writing and art, what about Dan Lee made them the best fit as a colorist for your art style?
Stefano: His color work on Don’t Spit in the Wind is just sublime! I had seen his work before and knew he was the right fit.
Most post-apocalyptic series have a drab sense of the world with the art and color. This book is a lot brighter. What about that do you think fits your story rather than something gloomy?
Stefano: I really like the contrasts, it reminds me of Cuban history with bright colors. I liked the bright, vivid colors despite everything going on in the story.
Dan: My thinking with the colour was to avoid the drab and gloomy look you mentioned to try and set it apart from other stories in this genre. I also felt it would kind of reflect our reality, where everything on the surface can be bright, colourful and distracting from this weird and dark undercurrent.
From the preview images, I’m in love with your design for the world. What were the inspirations behind your designs for the main character’s suit and the Atomic Brothers vehicle?
Stefano: Definitely huge garbage trucks of New York City. For the workers’ overalls I thought of doing something awkward and very bulky as if the layers of protection weren’t enough for the hostile environment.
The plot follows garbage men, what about this profession makes it an interesting narrative device?
Stefano: They are not superheroes with superpowers who save everything and everyone and not even soldiers with special training. They are simply men who have to face extreme situations the same as if something happens to us.
What would you say some of the major themes of the story are?
Stefano: It’s a love story that highlights the real problems of pollution.