Futureluxury is Burning: An Interview with Scott Gerard Ruhl

While Rain and Vanity are battling it out in an impromptu bloody catfight, it felt appropriate to discuss with Futurelux author Scott Gerard Ruhl about his series, the past and the future.

Ruhl is currently writing and drawing the Dreamsicle series, self-described as a 'sci-fi fantasy horror tale' about two friends, Rain and Vanity, who grow apart while simultaneously developing a deathly rivalry. Dreamsicle is the first installment set in the Futurelux anthology series, with issue no. 3 releasing this fall.

Q: It was early October 2023 when you shared two important updates: Futurelux no. 3 was leaving the comic strip format of issue no. 1 and 2 and was going portrait mode instead of landscape. You also commented in an interview in November 2023 that you initially planned to keep this format up to issue no. 7. In your opinion, what made Futurelux no. 3 the ideal point for this transition? Is it influenced by the action now taking place in a futuristic setting?

Versions of the characters go back to when I was in high school back in 1992-1996 and were solidified in college somewhere around 1996-1999. I first started what would become issue 1 way back in 2003 and I had no plan, I just sat down one day and started drawing and writing it as I went along. That's why the first issue is broken into 3-5 page chapters, or strips. I figured this would keep each chapter consistent stylistically and allow me to grow over time and add to it. There would sometimes be 5-7 years between chapters, I really had no publishing plan in mind initially.

The landscape format was influenced at the beginning by Dave Cooper's comic Weasel which was more of a square shaped comic and Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library which played with all kinds of formats, and I had a desire to do something different.

Somewhere along the way I realized the story I was telling was 2 parts, one set in the past in a more children's book fantasy setting, and the other set in the future in a more sci-fi comicbooky setting.

Overall it told one grand story about two friends but I thought it would be cool to lean into the differences of each part and it became a meta commentary about the comic medium growing from a comic strip into a comicbook as the girls grow and the setting changes. There will be one more landscape issue, issue 4 is a flashback that shows how Sven met Bianco and how Sven ultimately became a cursed zombie. It answers all the questions from issue 1.

I was heavily influenced at the time by the movies Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Romeo Is Bleeding and I thought it would be cool to start a story with the inciting event and circle back around to the beginning. I realize it's a confusing read at first but I think when it all comes together it will make sense. At least in the way all goofy comicbooks make sense.

Issues 5-7 will all be in portrait format and continue the story set in the future. My plans are to eventually collect each of the halves separately in a slipcase to preserve the different formats.  

Q: You’ve clocked in a massive amount of work in this upcoming book. Do you feel you’ve put even more creative efforts and focus into this one than in the previous issues? Based on the extracts you’ve put up online, it definitely feels like you tried some new things.

Yes, definitely! In some ways this is the part of the story I've been most excited to tell, and that I think people want to see based on the imagery from the covers and character designs. I really want to make a splash with this and hopefully get noticed by more people and get them onboard.

Q: The series has been on the back of your mind for quite a long time now, and it must have taken a lot of discipline to make that first issue. What motivates you on a daily basis to get on the drawing table, especially now that you have two issues under your belt?

It's tough. I convinced myself a long time ago that I couldn't do comics, either because of the lack of money in it or my own lack of skill. A couple years ago I got divorced and was kind of in a sad place for far too long. Then I had a double hernia and I couldn't do anything but sit and draw. Instead of feeling bad for myself I decided to put some effort into something positive.

I'm very lucky to have the day job I have but I really just want to make comics. I wish I committed to it sooner but it took everything that happened for me to realize this is what I want. Now there isn't enough time in the day to get everything done that I want to do and I look forward to the day where I table at a convention and have a whole line of books to sell.

Q: Has working on Futurelux sparked ideas for other stories that might not directly relate to this series, different themes you would like to explore?

Absolutely! I always saw Futurelux as an anthology that will tell different stories over time. Right now the main story is Dreamsicle and when that's done I have ideas for continuing it with a new headliner. I don't want to talk too much about it until the time comes, right now it's just an idea, I haven't drawn or written any of it out yet but it's slowly been solidifying in my mind.

Q: I feel you’ve put a lot of effort into marketing Futurelux. You’re not just selling a book, but also prints and stickers. How much has your background as a graphic designer influenced your approach to marketing?

It's influenced it a lot. I feel confident creating all kinds of things and that's not something that would have happened had I started this years ago. I'll hopefully be designing some apparel soon, I'd like to have a limited amount on hand at upcoming shows.

I've also recently been playing around with producing a designer toy for Rain. Most likely this won't happen until the story is finished and collected but I've already been working on art and designs for it and have contacted some manufacturers in China. I'll probably do some skate decks too.

All this stuff is really pricey and I have to be careful about making limited amounts of it and not stretching myself too thin.

I only have three issues of the comic out so the goal right now is to create more comics first and build interest, but I'm excited and want to make all kinds of stuff. I see Futureluxury Is Burning as my own personal designer art house to make all kinds of cool stuff.  

Q: You’ve grown a remarkable audience and following since you first began posting about and working on Futurelux. Do you feel more confident about the upcoming reception of this third issue than when you first began publicizing your first issue?

Yes, I think people will love how awesome this issue looks and the contrast between this issue and the first two issues is huge. At the same time if you read all three issues together you start getting a clearer picture of what's going on and where it's all going. My plan was to keep surprising readers so they never really know what to expect or what's coming next.

Q: Back in March 2023, you contributed a pinup to Thrilling Suspense Fantasy Vol 3, with some incredible coloring by Raphael Cornford. You also had a pinup in an issue of Sundays in Space and a couple of pages in Spread Love Comix no. 20. While 2024 was admittedly a busy year with all the work you’ve put in Futurelux no. 3, do you hope to make more contributions to other publications in the future?

Now that issue 3 is done I'll be spending some time contributing to other creator's projects. I hope to do more work for Spread Love Comix and I'll be contributing to another project Raphael Christopher Cornford invited me to do. Raph also has a pinup in issue 3 of Futurelux and most likely issue 5! I get offers from lots of people and unfortunately I only have so much time to contribute to them between issues of Futurelux. I'm always hoping I can get faster so I can produce more for myself and for others.  

Q: Little nugget I think you’ll find interesting. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund has a list up on their website listing books that were seized by the Canadian Border Services Agency from 2003 to 2010. In it, we can find Blowjob no. 5 (2003, but seized in 2007!), in which you had a contribution (titled Emanuelle). Is submitting erotic work to adult comix still of interest to you or have your interests shifted since then?

That is awesome! I would love to do more erotic adult work. I'm not sure who puts stuff like that out now that Eros Comix went away and all the adult magazines are mostly gone. But certainly if the right opportunity comes along I'd be open to it!

Q: You also had another Emanuelle story in Rear Entry no. 3 (2003). You recently expressed in an interview not being particularly proud about these stories. Could you share why that is? And is Emanuelle a series you would like to revisit in the future? Personally, I found your contributions rather fun and lighthearted, and to be fair it was two decades ago, you had plenty of time to improve artistically since then.

That's very kind of you to say. I was young and didn't put as much effort into it as I should have, and it was also the thing that made me realize that comics are hard to do and maybe I wasn't as good at it as I'd like to be. Those Emmanuelle comics were influenced by the Laura Gemser Italian Emmanuelle movies by Joe D'Amato. Admittedly they look nothing like them or have anything to do with them other than the name. I would really love to do a proper Emmanuelle comic that does Laura and the movies justice.

Q: In a recent interview, you also stated that you used to actively avoid reading works from the underground comix scene to not feel like you’re missing out on it. Now that you’re more involved in that scene, is it the reverse?

It is. Tabling at indie shows and talking to other creators has been a huge eye opener. I welcome it all now and can't get enough of it. The only problem is once I started committing to creating Futurelux I haven't had much time for anything else, including reading. My "to-read" pile continues to grow and overwhelm me!

Q: You don’t hesitate to shout out other creators, such as when Raphael Delaquis sent you a collected edition of his D.i.C comics. Which underground artists are you currently keeping tabs on?

Raphael Delaquis' D.i.C. comics from Switzerland are some of my favorite comics and a real joy every time a new one shows up. Santos sisters by Greg and Fake is another favorite that I can't get enough of. I'll pick up anything by Matt Allison, Matt Lesniewski, Corrine Halbert, Tia Roxae, Wesley Griffith, Nate Garcia, Simon Hanselmann, Josh Pettinger, Adam Lemnah, Ian Cinco, Emily Carroll, Rick Lopez, Enzo Garza, Noah Van Sciver, Karl Christian Krumpholz, Jasper Jubenvill, Nick Cagnetti, Alexis Ziritt, Cantsin. Man, I can go on. I really dig Nick Forker's Eyeland and the youtube show Comics People he does with Mike Shea who's also a rad cartoonist. I'm sure I've forgotten tons of great creators.

Q: What’s great with the underground scene is that artists usually retain full right to their copyrights. Knowing that, have you ever considered sending out small samples of your series to zine anthologies to get the hype going? I know you got ads in The Santos Sister, that’s fun!

I'd like to but I'm pretty clueless when it comes to those things. I need someone to point out what the good spots are. I feel like I'm still trying to play catch-up after having ignored this stuff for so long.

Q: In early June, you released a studio tour video. You have an incredible comic book collection, including a closet full of shortboxes! What’s your most collected series? And what do you enjoy the most from collecting comic books?

That was only half my collection, I have another closet filled with the same amount of short boxes. And throughout the house are small bookshelves here and there. Hmmm, not sure what my most collected series is, I still probably have more Batman and X-Men books than anything else. My absolute favorite comic of all time is Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway, then later on drawn by Enrique Badia Romero and others. The prose novels are just as good too, I have every single scrap of Modesty ever put out, my one true obsession!

I don't collect mainstream comics anymore but my favorites among those would be The Wolverine solo series by Claremont and John Buscema, it has a fun Terry and the Pirates feel. I really love Garth Ennis' Nick Fury and Punisher war stuff. And once a year I reread Brubaker's Captain America and Bucky runs. I adore his Daredevil run too. All his Image books are great and some of the best comics out there. I love Darwyn Cooke's Parker series.

The Fantagraphics and Drawn And Quarterly comics by Dan Clowes, Chris Ware, Dave Cooper, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Jim Woodring and the lot remain huge inspirations and really shaped me early on. Robert Crumb's work is burned into my DNA, along with animators like Tex Avery, the Fleischer Brothers, Gene Deitch, and the Spumco studio. Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Peter Chung's Aeon Flux are all pivotal influences.  

Most of my favorites nowadays are all Euro comics; Blueberry by Jean Giraud "Moebius", Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt, Jeremiah by Hermann Huppen, and really anything by Hermann I'll grab. I'm rabid about getting all the Obscure Cities books by François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters. I think the three best graphic novels ever made were by Jerome Charyn and Francois Boucq; The Magician's Wife, Billy Budd KGB and Little Tulip. I absolutely adore Junko Mizuno's work, the comics, the art, the toys, everything! She's a massive influence on me. A little further away from comics but other big influences remain Glenn Barr and low-brow surrealist Anthony Ausgang. Classically the art deco illustrator/designer Erte continues to influence me and I obsess over his work.  

I love western comics and films. The aforementioned Blueberry is at the top but I also love Tex, Bouncer, Magic Wind, Trent, Rio, Scalped! The recent Lucky Luke comics by Matthieu Bonhomme are just wonderful.  

Futureluxury webstore: https://futureluxuryisburning.square.site/

Ruhl's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scottgerardruhl