Pfeifer on MANEATER: The Fall of Mankind

Graphic novelist N. Pfeifer has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his computer-drawn, dystopian graphic novel MANEATER: The Fall of Mankind. Described as "a sexy, violent, neo-noir/cyberpunk graphic novel inspired by '80s science-fiction," the work draws its influences from 2000 AD, Blade Runner, anime and more. Here's the elevator pitch:

Life in Metropolis One is stable until the arrival of a terrorist named Deity Marvelous, a woman who threatens to destroy every human male from the chromosome up with a destructive new virus called the MAle NEgation And TERrorizing Agent or MANEATER. The Metropolis One Police Department springs into the action, sending gifted young detective Ram Crasher to investigate. Can Crasher stop Marvelous from unleashing the virus and destroying mankind?

Pfeifer joined ComicBook.com to talk about the project, which has about three weeks left to go on its campaign. You can also check out the proposal video at the bottom of our conversation.

One influence that isn't listed here, but that seems a bit similar is Judge Dredd. Is that a fair comparison? The two comics definitely share some themes, especially with 3000AD's portrayal to massive mega cities and violence, but it isn't directly sourced in the way that Heavy Metal is, at least in my brain. So was the dream that influenced this a recurring, single dream or an ongoing series of them? Oh, ongoing. These things only become more exciting and complex when you let them roll around in the hay a bit. It's what I think makes the concept so unique is that MANEATER isn't sourced from any one or two things, but from so many, like a kind of kaleidoscope. What made you decide to go with the CG-rendered art style? The character sketches on the Kickstarter blog obviously don't look like that, so at some point were you thinking of doing a more traditonally-drawn version? That's actually Cody's style that he hand-devised for the first few panels. It's not quite finished, but you'll remember that the 80s was a hot bed of very primitive CG and you'll see that in places here and there. Is this set in an alternate future where the Soviet Union is still around or is there an explanation as to why it re-forms prior to WW3? In this timeline, it never broke up. Realistically, there's no way it could have ever stayed together, but we skip the details. The Soviet Union was our most passionate enemy and frankly, I think we're all pretty worn out by fighting Muslim extremists or our own government at this point. No one could ever say that we should sympathize for the Soviets and they make a great background villain here, well into the future.