DF Interview: Darcy Van Poelgeest returns to the dystopian world of ‘Little Bird’ with a prequel miniseries, ‘Precious Metal’

By Byron Brewer

Thirty-five years before the events of Little Bird Volume 1: The Fight for Elder's Hope, disillusioned mod-tracker Max Weaver's routine hunt for a modified child takes a grisly and unexpected turn. Now, saddled with an unpredictable mod who may be the key to unlocking his missing memories, Max will soon find that he isn't the only one interested in the child's unique abilities – and if he wants to know more, it's going to cost him everything.

Eisner Award-winning creative team Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram reunite for their gripping return to the dystopian American Empire in Precious Metal. I discussed the coming comic with scribe Darcy Van Poelgeest.

Byron Brewer: Darcy, why is now a good time to return (via a prequel) to the world of Little Bird with Precious Metal?

Darcy Van Poelgeest: Precious Metal was a series I started working on before Little Bird was complete, so the timing of its release isn’t anything strategic. We’ve completed it after five years of work and now we’re excited to share it with the world! It’s certainly for everyone who enjoyed Little Bird, but hopefully we pick up some new readers as well.

Byron:Talk about your award-winning collaboration with artist Ian Bertram and what it means to have him working with you on this prequel comic.

Darcy Van Poelgeest: I think Ian and I both felt early on that we had a connection in terms of the kind of stories we want to tell, and more importantly, how we wanted to tell them. Even from day one of working together, we seemed to understand each other’s tastes and ideas in a way that’s difficult to articulate.

And there’s so much I love about working with Ian, even beyond his obvious genius as an artist. Recently, we were discussing how I tend to write characters in a way that alludes to more of them and their lives off the page, and how Ian draws those characters with such empathy that you can really feel that. You can see their history, their dreams, their regrets. You can see all the baggage I saddle them with just by looking in their eyes. I think that’s a huge part of what makes Ian so brilliant and what works for us as a team. I love that we’re continuing to build on the art of our collaboration, as well as a world we really care about.

Byron: For those unaware (you know who you are!), can you please give us a summation of what went on in Little Bird and what if anything may connect it to Precious Metal, set 35 years in that world’s past?

Darcy Van Poelgeest: The best way I could describe the connection between Little Bird and Precious Metal is that they’re tethered together in some really interesting ways, but each one very much stands as its own story.  Essentially, if you’ve never read Little Bird, you can enjoy Precious Metal all on its own, but if you have read LB – there’s more depth there. It works on multiple levels.

Byron: Remind readers about the world you built (and are building) with Bertram here, the canvas on which this coming miniseries will play out. Remind us of this dystopian American Empire.

Darcy Van Poelgeest: With Little Bird, we jumped into the story with a lot of history already behind it; a theocratic American empire that was no longer content to rule within its own borders, and the Canadian Resistance that fought to contain that. But it was also a very personal story about a child soldier coming to terms with her own family roots and generational trauma – due decades of war.

In Precious Metal, we go back, not necessarily to “the beginning” but to a time when there was a lot of change and unrest within America, focusing on the city of New Empire, and we see the birth of a new kind of world that we’re more familiar with in LB. But again, this is a very personal story. The story of a morally corrupt mod-tracker, Max Weaver (introduced in LB #3) having to find a better version of himself for the sake of the greater good. But can he do it? And if so, at what expense?

Byron: Introduce everyone to Max Weaver.

Darcy Van Poelgeest: At this time, modified beings make up a large portion of the work force in America after the booming success of the Human Modification Project, which spun out of deadly anti-immigration policies. Some of the individuals, like Max, were people that were modified, and some of them are created from scratch in labs by designers and sold into indentured servitude to perform really specific tasks based on their own unique abilities. But not all mods are compliant, and when a “mod” takes off or is stolen, it’s Max Weaver’s job to find them.

Max is not a good guy but he’s not all bad either. There’re two sides to Max Weaver and they’re at war with each other, so we’re very much exploring that dichotomy of his character through this story.

Byron: What other characters are important in Precious Metal? Could you spotlight a few of them here?

Darcy Van Poelgeest: I really like writing ensembles even if I’m focused on one central protagonist. One character that emerged as being absolutely crucial is a respected designer named Selina Chen. Initially her role was intended to be smaller, but she quickly let me know that this wasn’t happening. And I think Ian felt the same. We were both drawn to this character in a really powerful way. We also both arrived at the idea of her being trans without ever fully discussing it. All I can say about her at this point is that she’s a genius level mod-designer and an important character in the story. There’s plenty of others too but I rather readers discover them on their own!

Byron: Darcy, would you mind discussing just a bit about your work in film and other media? Also: What upcoming projects in which you may be involved – inside or outside comics – can tell readers about?

Darcy Van Poelgeest: Coming from a film/commercial directing and editing background, I always have other stories for other mediums floating around in my head but for the time being I’m really happy telling the stories that I want to tell in comics. Perhaps one day, the strange and beautiful world of Precious Metal / Little Bird will lead me back to the screen. One never knows!

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Darcy Van Poelgeest for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Precious Metal #1 from Image Comics is slated to be on sale June 5!

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