VITA AYALA
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DF Interview: Vita Ayala puts a reverse spin on action sagas like Indiana Jones’ in the ‘Horizon Experiment: Finders/Keepers’ one-shot By Byron Brewer Comics writer Vita Ayala (New Mutants, Static: Season One) and artist Skylar Patridge (Absolute Power: Ground Zero, Supergirl) reunite for a new type of action-adventure tale. Finders/Keepers follows a Puerto Rican reverse Indiana Jones – a thief stealing from museums to return artifacts back to their native cultures. I have been following and reporting on this ‘Horizon Experiment’ since its beginning months ago. Here is what my friend, author Vita Ayala, told me about this most unusual (of course, that has been true of them all) offering. Byron Brewer: Vita, since this series of one-shots began, this “Horizon Experiment” has certainly given readers something different: stories whose formats and tropes we THINK we know, but they are presented through new lenses that have entertained and educated. Not only characters but perspectives have been flipped. Before we deep-dive into your offering, Finders/Keepers, tell us how you became involved in this great Pornsak Pichetshote project, and the inspiration for Finders/Keepers. Vita Ayala: Pornsak actually reached out to me! At first I thought it was a mistake – I am such a huge fan of him and his work, and I couldn’t believe I was getting contacted by him. He gave me the run down of the project and its goals, and basically said “so if you could do anything, what would you do?” The inspiration for the story is a big mix of things – my love for action-adventure as a genre, my experiences working at a museum (which was super goddamn cool), my frustration with how Western culture demolishes other cultures and the contexts of those cultures (and so, the artifacts and art of those cultures become sterilized), empowerment of people to take back what is theirs… Byron: Introduce readers to Ines, who is as described in one solicit a reverse Indiana Jones. And I take it, at least from what we will be seeing when we crack this Image comic open in January, there will be a lot of Vita Ayala in the protagonist as well, which has been true with most of these one-shots. In telling us all about Ines, could you discuss what of her is reflective of you? Vita Ayala: Ines is, at heart, a romantic in that she believes that there must be some sort of Important External Good that exists, and that she wants to find/be a part of. She read all the comics and snuck to her cousin’s to play all the action adventure video games and watch all the movies, and she came away with this belief that in order to Matter with a capital M, one must be a part of these seemingly larger than life Western institutions. “It belongs in a museum” to her was a directive, serving the purpose of preservation of cultures that would otherwise be ground up and disappeared. She learns better, clearly, but she is secretly a bit of a starry-eyed idealist. She’s also passionate about learning, competitive as hell, and can be a real smart ass. She does not know the meaning of the word quit, often to her own detriment. I’m older than Ines, and I’ve had my own awakenings through my life. The shine long ago wore off the propaganda in service of these colonial and destructive systems, but there is still a part of me that believes that preserving the lives, truths, and culture of the peoples of the global majority is very important work. There is no glory in it (nor should there be), and the methods are still finding their legs and space in the shark infested waters of these Western systems, but still, it is important to restore and protect who we are. When I let myself be, there are still stars in my eyes when I think of repositories of cultural knowledge. Byron: I think this “flip” on Western storytelling is so interesting, and yours starts from reverse aspects – and thus perspectives – of the first Indy adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Speaking of which, is there a chief artifact that will be a centerpiece of this story? If so, is it a “real” one… or one at least modeled after something missing from and belonging to the culture of Boriken (the Taino name for Puerto Rico)? Vita Ayala: There is an artifact at the center of the story, but it was very consciously NOT a real artifact or even really based on a specific one. One of the things that this sub-genre of action-adventure is guilty of is exploiting cultures/important cultural objects (especially non-Western cultures) for thrills and chills and plot, and it is really easy to fall into the trap of doing that even by accident. I wanted to make sure that while the artifact/story very much was rooted in the history of my Taino people, it felt wrong to use something real to do that. That being said, it is something that (hopefully) feels like a good metaphor for the heart of what we were getting at in the story. Byron: Now that we know more about Ines, can you tell us about some other important characters in her world? Could you maybe spotlight a few here! Vita Ayala: Absolutely! First (in my heart, and Ines’ as well) is Ana – Ines’ childhood best friend, and the inheritor of Ines’ grandmother’s role in her community (healer, adviser, midwife, with hints of fortune teller to her). She is strong willed, immovable like a mountain, slow to anger but once she does it is over. She’s also Ines’ ex. Another is Diego, the son of the man who is loaning the artifact to the museum in the story. Diego is a bit of a charming playboy, but is very clearly very intelligent. He has some pet causes he is passionate about, and has no problem breaking rules and spending money to get things done. Byron: What thoughts or message would you like readers – be they people of color or others – to take away from this first look at Finders/Keepers? Oh, and I meant to ask earlier, but tell us the importance of that phrase, that title as it relates to your book please. Vita Ayala: The second thing first. Finders//Keepers is definitely a nod to the common phrase, but in the context of the way Western nations treat pretty much the rest of the people on Earth. This refers to museums yes, but also entire cultures and territories being consumes, colonized, stripped of their context through forced assimilation and missionary work. All that. Finders keepers, losers weepers is an insane way to relate to other people, truly unhinged, and so many people (of all backgrounds) are brainwashed into thinking that this is the right or best way of things. No thank you. Now the first thing, which is partially laid out above. I would like people who have not really spent any time examining how things are to take time and really think about what it means to uncritically accept that institutions like museums, universities, governments (and even the rich) can decide that they are more qualified/deserve to own cultural (often sacred) artifacts, pieces of art, and even sometimes literal bodies of the dead over the people who made them. How does that extend beyond art, to other facets of life? How easy it is to dehumanize and privilege one’s own perspective over other, more vulnerable persons. BUT also, that we can tackle these stories—our own stories—and that it doesn’t have to be a total bummer! We can do this and have fun! Byron: I know the HE books have all been one-shots, but would you like to continue with Ines’ adventure should that become possible? Could you hint at other tales you would like to do in this world? Vita Ayala: Oh yes! We wanted to make sure the one-shot was a full, satisfying adventure, but we very much hint at what is on the horizon (ha)! The end of the book sets up another possible entanglement (trying not to have too many spoilers), and more characters to come. Honestly, this stands on the shoulders of giants like Leverage and Indiana Jones, and like those ideas, there’s a million more stories to tell… Byron: Talk about your collaboration with artist Skylar Patridge. Vita Ayala: Working with Skylar is one of my favorite things in the world. They are so sharp and creative, and also funny! And they like to go back and forth and riff ideas, which I love! I think their technical skills in terms of sequentials are in the top tier of the working industry right now, but I also think that in terms of emotion and tone and VIBE, they are so goddamn good. No matter what the project, they know how to navigate immersing us in the story in a visceral, tangible way through their art. If I could work with Skylar for the rest of my creative life, I would! But I am more hoping that people realize how incredible they are and treat them right/snatch them up for a million projects. Byron: Vita, tell readers about some of your other coming projects, inside or outside comics. Vita Ayala: I have had the amazing opportunity to work with the artistic superstar Sam Beck on an adaptation of Tamora Pierce’s Alanna the Lioness series. It’s a YA (but really, pretty much anyone can enjoy it) series about a young girl in a fantasy world who dreams of being a knight. When she and her twin turn 10, they switch places (with her pretending to be a boy) so that she can pursue the way of the sword (and him magic)… Dynamic Forces would like to thank Vita Ayala for taking time out of their busy schedule to answer our questions. The Horizon Experiment: Finders/Keepers one-shot from Image Comics is slated to be on sale January 15, 2025!
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