In a press release last week, the United Nations released sobering news about global warming. Per PBS’ website, “…the United Nations has acknowledged that Earth has lost its chance to prevent some of the worst of global warming’s harms. So now the world must figure out how to get temperatures below the danger zone and back to safety, officials say.”
To editorialize, this feels like information that has long been cautioned by climate scientists have been shouting from the mountaintops for years. The news about the ticking clock that hangs over the health and destiny of Earth isn’t new, but it hits straight in the gut every time. And that existential fear is reflected in our conversations, our actions, and in our art.
One such piece of art is The Forever Home, debuting this week from Oni Press. From the creative team of writer Christian Ward, artist Sami Kivelä, colorist Jason Wordie, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, the comic series focuses on billionaire scientist Henry D’mour and his family, who find themselves living in the titular home of Henry’s design. The world, to put it bluntly, is dead, with horrors awaiting anyone who steps out the safety and time-defying confines of the home. The billionaire could have used his wealth and acumen to save the planet, but opted to use those assets to protect only himself and his family. And protection they have, until an accident brings what’s outside the home into conflict with those inside.
The Forever Home #1 is one of the most inventive first issues to a comic on the market this year, with a deftly told tale that is an intersection of all of our fears about the crisis we find ourselves in and the horrors that threaten us, both external and in the moral failings of so many on our planet. I had the opportunity to speak with Christian Ward recently about the idea behind The Forever Home, his inspirations for the comic, and the cyclical nature of reality.
FreakSugar: Before we get into the comic itself, what can you tell us about the origin of The Forever Home?
Christian Ward: Unfortunately every time I put on the news I see inspiration, particularly with El Nino currently causing havoc across the globe. The seed of the book is very much based in the real world horror of climate change and looking both at how that very well might affect immigration and how the rich of the world are building bunkers to try and escape the planet’s extreme weather.
FS: For folks considering picking up the comic, what is the conceit of The Forever Home?
CW: It’s about a house, the titular Forever Home, built to withstand climate change but instead it also withstands time. For every 20 minutes inside the house a year passes outside and so we have our family of four and they watch the world end and a new one grow. The story is about what happens next.
FS: The look of the book is beautiful, sometimes unnerving, sometimes claustrophobic, sometimes sweeping–all perfect. What can you tell us about your collaboration with the creative team?
CW: Sami and Jason are a killer combo! I’ve worked with Sami before on Machine Gun Wizards where I learned just what a powerhouse he is. In many ways my entire collaboration is in my script. I can trust Sami completely to follow all the bread crumbs I’m dropping. He has an uncanny ability to nail every aspect of storytelling and always brings out the very best of the story. This is my first time working with Jason but he and Sami are regular collaborators. Sami loves working with him and now I can see why.
FS: What is your inspiration for The Forever Home? Is there fiction or nonfiction that impacts your writing?
CW: I think all great horror (and science fiction for that matter) is a response to the reality that surrounds us. Much of The Forever Home was inspired by real life. Seeing governments lean more and more on nationalism as they pull up their draw bridges. See billionaires building bunkers or even trying to escape the planet entirely.
Fiction-wise there’s lots of HG Wells Time Machine in the comic, but not the novel, the 1960’s movie starring Rod Taylor. I saw it as a young child and it made a lasting impression on me. Not least how it explores an ever fracturing society through a science fiction lens.
FS: Following up on that, the comic is set after Earth has been “killed.” Are we going to learn more about what exactly “killed” Earth? Will there be any parallels to real-world concerns with catastrophe on a planetary scale, either by ecological disaster, war, and so on?
CW: All I will say is that I finished writing this book about 6 months ago and there are moments in issue 4 that I’ve been seeing on the news recently which is ever so slightly disconcerting.
FS: Looking at the art and writing, I kept thinking about cycles and the cyclical nature of the Earth and of humanity. The ending especially drove this home for me. Am I reading that correctly?
CW: You’ve hit the nail on the head. Not that we’re doing time loops (or are we?) but we see history often repeat itself and it seems each generation makes the same mistakes as the previous. Likewise we have this with our father , who is abusive and a big tension of the book is our younger characters breaking that cycle of abuse.
FS: What are you reading right now?
CW: There’s lots of great comics right now. I honestly think we’re living in a golden age of comics. Some of my particular current favorite reads include Assorted Crisis Events, Deadman, Fraction’s Batman run and Absolute Wonder Woman. I’m probably most excited for The Karman Blade, Chainkata and Tradd Moore’s upcoming Oni book Touch Me Someplace Nowhere.
FS: Is there anything about what we can expect to see later in the series?
CW: There will be thrills, there will be horror, there will love and tears and the unpredictable nature of humankind.
FS: If you had a final pitch for The Forever Home, what would it be?
CW: The Forever Home is a book for today about our fears for tomorrow so please come in and make yourself at home, just remember to close the door after you.
The Forever Home #1 is on sale now from Oni Press.
From the official press release about the book:
THEY HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD . . . WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO SAVE THEM? Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to announce THE FOREVER HOME #1 (of 6) – a startling sci-fi thriller from comics superstar Christian Ward (Event Horizon: Dark Descent, Batman: City of Madness) and visionary artist Sami Kivelä (Abbott) debuting in comic shops everywhere this September. Prepare to challenge the limits of time, technology, and human endurance itself as one family’s refuge from the end of the world becomes a mind-bending nightmare reaching far beyond the future. Inside: Time stands still. But outside: Something even worse than the apocalypse awaits . . .
Infamous billionaire scientist Henry D’mour could have saved the world. But he didn’t. Instead, in a desperate bid to save himself, his wife, and their two children, he constructed THE FOREVER HOME — an ark of luxury and ultramodern convenience insulated from the agony of the planet’s death throes outside its walls . . . and even time itself. Inside THE FOREVER HOME, only twenty minutes pass for every year on the outside . . . allowing the D’mour family to slowly enact their plans for a new world as their automated environment and robotic companions keep them safe. Safe on the inside. Always inside. Until a childish misstep accidentally breaks THE FOREVER HOME’s barrier . . . and what’s outside decides it wants back in . . .
“The horror of THE FOREVER HOME was easy to find,” said writer and co-creator Christian Ward. “It’s in the ever increasing news stories that seem to surround us. Stories of a changing world. Of more and more extreme weather. Where it’s not hard to imagine people in the world whose survival is being pushed to the brink by that change and of course, it’s equally not hard to believe the conspiracies of the billionaires building themselves bunkers and liferafts for imagined apocalypse. That’s the angry seed from which we grow the story of this book. Soaked in the terror that sometimes you have to go impossible lengths to keep your family safe.”
“THE FOREVER HOME is like the perfect Ray Bradbury short story by way of Parasite,” said Oni Press Editor-in Chief Sierra Hahn. “Christian and Sami’s vision is haunting, prescient, and an unforgettable look into the future of the world, with cliffhangers worthy of Brian K Vaughan. It’s exceptional storytelling.”
“Designing this post-apocalyptic book was a fascinating process of visualizing what the world looks like when the past meets the future,” said artist and co-creator Sami Kivelä. “Our house and its surroundings are filled with retro-inspired sci-fi elements and robots, but they also include many details that feel familiar to people today. I think that this contrast creates an unexpected setting that invites our readers to explore more.”
“In my two decades of comic making, THE FOREVER HOME is one of the books I’m most proud of, not least because Sami Kivelä (who I’m reteaming with after working together on Machine Gun Wizards) is doing the work of his career,” said Ward. “So I hope you’ll join us in THE FOREVER HOME, but please, make sure to close the door after you.”
Inside their high-tech refuge, they found a way to protect themselves from the apocalypse… and time itself. Outside, something has been waiting eons for a chance to get in… Step inside this startling vision of one family at the far end of time itself this September when THE FOREVER HOME #1 (of 6) comes knocking — featuring ominous covers by co-creators Christian Ward and Sami Kivelä, as well as Frany (Miles Morales: Spider-Man), David Rubín (Cosmic Detective), and Miguel Mercado (EC’s Blood Type) – on September 9th, 2026!
