“Doctor Who Meets Ocean Eleven”: Talking With James Aquilone And Zac Atkinson About Their ‘Omega Eleven’ Comic Book Kickstarter

You may not have heard of Doctor Omega, but you certainly know him. An old and almost forgotten property and a forerunner of Doctor Who, he is a space and time traveller who debuted in 1906 and is currently being revitalised by writer James Aquilone and artist Zac Atkinson on Kickstarter in a new comic book series, Omega Eleven. Which you can find here. I was able to link up with both creators recently to discuss their plans, the comic and more. 

Olly MacNamee: James, good to be catching up with you again ahead of your latest Monstrous Books Kickstarter campaign. As something of a Doctor Who aficionado, your lead, Doctor Omega, fascinates me immensely. But, for anyone not in the know about this turn-of-the-century French time and space traveller, how best to sum him up for new readers?

James Aquilone: Doctor Omega was created by French author Arnould Galopin in the novel Le Docteur Oméga, published in 1906. Doctor Omega is a scientist and is considered one of the early examples of science fiction literature in France.

Our Doctor Omega is a different take on the character. He’s more of a scoundrel who travels through time and space stealing artifacts, or at least attempting to steal them. And as a sidekick, we gave him The Artful Dodger, who’s pretty useful when it comes to theft.

MacNamee: And how did you stumble upon this quite obscure pulp hero?

Aquilone: I had never heard of Doctor Omega before. Zac pitched me the idea for the series a couple of years ago.

Zac Atkinson: I was researching public domain characters as I wanted to do some sort of pulp super group involving classic legends. I believe I ran across an article talking about him being the possible inspiration for Dr Who which got the ball rolling.

MacNamee: Now, it’s not the original novel that you’re adapting but an all-new adventure featuring some of history (and literature’s) most iconic villains? Anyone we may of heard about?

Aquilone: So far, we’ve revealed The Artful Dodger, Morgan Le Fay, and Merlin. We have a bunch more characters, which will be skewered versions of history’s most famous fictional thieves, but we’ll have to keep them secret for now.

MacNamee: And judging by synopsis to The Omega Eleven a trip to Arthurian Britain seems to be on the cards as Doctor Omega attempts to snatch up the Philosopher’s Stone?

Aquilone: The story begins with Doctor Omega in Camelot. The good Doctor is known for stealing things like the Philosopher’s Stone, but his main objective is to find repulsite, which “repulses” time and powers his ship Cosmos.

MacNamee: Now, Zac, you’re taking a trip through time as the artist on this series. What was the hook for you to get on board and join in this particular journey?

Atkinson: The hook was probably mine originally, which was Doctor Who meets Ocean Eleven seasoned with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

MacNamee: And how are you approaching the large cast of characters you will no doubt be drawing? Any sources you are particularly reaching out for? For example, Merlin is a character with over 1,500 years of history, with many a different interpretation of him through the ages. How do you sift through all of that, when Superman has had so many reiterations in just 80+ of history?

Atkinson: I’m taking what I find in research and doing my own spin. Dodger, for example, always wore adult clothes that were waaay too big for him, so I took that and updated it. He wears a tuxedo jacket that fits him like a trench coat, and he’s got some ragged jeans rolled up at the ankles. The thinking is Omega has hooked him up with more modern clothes but he still picks things that are way oversized. For Merlin, I just wanted our own unique look but with a familiar vibe to the Excalibur movie.

MacNamee: And what of your approach to Doctor Omega himself? Noted as a forerunner to the First Doctor, you seem to have degrade him somewhat. Any other subtle changes to his design and wardrobe? And what of his ship, the Cosmo?

Atkinson: I originally had Omega as an old man that looked a lot like the first Doctor, William Hartnell, but James wanted him younger. I did still base his head/face feature on his original French version … his hair and nose and glasses are all indicative of a younger version of that guy. His outfit is what I’m most proud of. I tried to throw in elements of my favorite time travelers while giving him his own iconic look.

MacNamee: And were there any particular challenges to the overall first issue, beyond capturing the essence of the large cast of characters?

Atkinson: Not art-wise: the challenge is how to introduce characters where it makes sense. That’s probably the most fun though too.

MacNamee: I imagine many people reading this will be interested in the various rewards they can back in pledging to this hurts of five issues?

Aquilone: We’re Kickstarting just the first issue in a five-issue series. We have five covers to choose from. Variants are by Dave Acosta (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, TERRORWAR) and J.K. Woodward (Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Star Trek). Plus, Zac did two homage covers, a Rick & Morty one and a Calvin & Hobbes. We also have original art by J.K. and Russ Braun, trading cards and a T-shirt.

Atkinson: We have a lot — I had a lot of fun on the covers, stickers, and shirts, and I’m offering a lot of commissions.

MacNamee: Interesting enough, I see this campaign will also help fund Monstrous #2 too. And again you’re asking would-be writers to be commissioned on short prose stories and four-page comic strips as well as articles. Hmmm, that sounds like an amazing offer for anyone looking to get their work published? Can you elaborate on that for any budding writers?

Aquilone: Monstrous is a horror comic magazine. Issue #2 has a time travel theme and will include a comic called “Rise of the Morlocks,” written by me with art by J.K. Woodward. The story sees the Morlocks finding the time machine and traveling to the 20th century where they set up a community underneath the New York City subway.

We’re looking to fill out the issue with a short story, an article and a short comic. More info is on the Monstrous Book website.

MacNamee: Finally then, to the both of you, what do you personally find so endearing about Doctor Omega? A character who seems to be almost forgotten thanks to the popularity of a certain other time travelling troubleshooter?

Aquilone: I like the fact that he’s almost forgotten because it gives us not only a chance to bring him to people’s attention, but a lot of leeway in how we portray him, since most people won’t have preconceived notions about the character.

Atkinson: He’s plenty smart but he’s not the overly capable Lawful Good that you would expect.

MacNamee: James, Zac, thanks so much, and all the best with this campaign.

Aquilone: Thanks, Olly.

Atkinson: Thanks a bunch!

Omega Eleven #1 is crowdfunding now on Kickstarter here.