Talking Mad Cave Studios’ ‘Liquidator’ With Writer Peter Milligan

The rules of time travel can be confusing to follow for anyone, let alone the person actually doing the traveling. And Aubrey Street is definitely starting to feel time travel’s effects in writer Peter Milligan and artist Piotr Kowalski‘s new series Liquidator. With colors by Brad Simpson and letters by Simon Bowland, here’s what Milligan had to share about Aubrey and her adventures:

Rachel Bellwoar: What was the initial spark that inspired Liquidator? Had you wanted to tell a time travel story or was it the main character who came to you first?

Peter Milligan: Like everyone, I’ve read a lot of stories involving time travel. From memory, [Isaac] Azimov’s The End Of Eternity really stands out. But though Liquidator is undoubtedly a time travel story, I have to confess it was my dream to write yet another story about time travel.  Liquidator really did start with character, the character of Aubrey, who messed up, making a mess of her life (for the very good reasons that we’ll discover). In some ways, then, Liquidator is a time travel story that isn’t about time travel. I was interested in what time travel did to people. More than that, I was interested in what kind of people would be good at time travel.  I began to think about what kind of people would be good or well-suited for it. And I started to enjoy the idea that those people who seem to be screwing up their lives, who society sees as hopeless losers, that these are the very people who are uniquely qualified for this vital role. I liked that idea.

Bellwoar: How did you decide how often to have Aubrey time jump in each issue? Did you always want to have her move around a lot, both physically and chronologically?

Milligan: It never felt like deciding how many times Aubrey ‘jumped’ per issue. What was important was what these jumps were doing to her.

Bellwoar: Given the frequency in which Aubrey moves around (at least in the first issue), what was it like having to set each scene and quickly establish where and when she is?

Milligan: What was it like? Well, I thought it was necessary, but I also felt a lot for my character, Aubrey, whom I like. I knew what this was doing to her. You’re right, she does get around a bit in the first issue. But I was happy if we didn’t always fully establish where we were. That was the point. I wanted to show the rootless, difficult, untethered quality of Aubrey’s life as a Liquidator. I wanted to give a flavor of what she must be feeling. Time sick, never quite sure what time or place she’s in. Enough to make you step in front of a speeding train and end it all.

Bellwoar. Aubrey also goes through a lot of wardrobe changes. How was it getting to imagine what she would wear in different eras or was it more about practicality than personal style?

Milligan: I think it often is a matter of practicality. And that might be one of the problems with Aubrey’s job. There probably isn’t enough time, as it were, to be too concerned with personal style.  In that way, your own sense of self—let alone your sense of self as someone who was created by and belongs in a certain moment—this can erode, time-travel erodes it, erodes your sense of who you are. This is for me the crux of the story.

Bellwoar: Was there a lot of research involved in choosing the places and times Aubrey would go and then recreating them, given that avoiding anachronisms is Aubrey’s job?

Milligan: A bit. Though, as the writer and master of this universe, I was able to direct the times where Aubrey ended and usually made sure they were eras that interested me and I knew a bit about. I’m talking particularly about Weimar/Nazi Berlin. Though you’re right, it was important to avoid unintended anachronisms, particularly in a book that’s also much about anachronisms.

Bellwoar: Whose idea was it to incorporate the snake eating its tail imagery for the liquidator’s main weapon?

Milligan: I think it was my idea to use the Ouroboros (correct me if you think otherwise, Piotr!). It’s an image that can mean so many things, from the cyclical nature of time to death and rebirth. The exact way that it looks has a lot to do with Piotr. I know we threw around quite a few thoughts and ideas about what the liquidator should use as both their modes of travel and their weapons.

Bellwoar: Aubrey seems to have at least some knowledge of history and the places she’s being sent to. Is that because she’s been briefed ahead of time or has that always been an interest of hers and what was it like deciding how much to reveal about Aubrey’s life pre-becoming a liquidator?

Milligan: She’s well prepared, spending all that time in the “Departure Lounge’, that place where Liquidators have to remain, soaking up the era they’re due to travel to. Without this preparation — changing themselves on a ‘molecular level’ — the time traveller will get seriously unwell when they jump.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Peter!

Liquidator #1 is on sale now from Mad Cave Studios.