With the publication of CLONE: VOLUME 2: SECOND GENERATION, Skybound asked me to jot down some thoughts about the exciting new arc of the series and my feelings on the science of cloning. I decided the best way to approach this request would be to actually clone myself and then have that clone interview me. Thankfully, the medical process of human replication is painless (and, thanks to 3D lasers, incredibly fast!). The following interview was conducted at my home in Los Angeles, California.
AARON: Okay, awesome, I’m excited. Let’s do this.
CLONE AARON: Great. I thought we should start by talking about what readers can expect from CLONE – Volume 2: Second Generation.
AARON: For the Second Generation, we knew we wanted to really… I’m sorry, this is just… This is just really weird.
CLONE AARON: It is, right?
AARON: Yeah. Like, I’m kind of freaking out right now.
CLONE AARON: Well, what did you expect? I mean, you had to know it would be weird. Sitting across from you, asking you questions?
AARON: I was just excited by the novelty of the thing, I guess. I didn’t think it through. I don’t know. Man, okay, sorry. Sorry. What was the question again?
CLONE AARON: What can readers expect from Volume 2–
AARON: Right, yeah… Okay, well, the “First Generation” book was absolutely incredible and it ended with this huge cliffhanger. Luke Taylor had discovered that he was the original – but that knowledge came with a death sentence. The “original”, we revealed, has Assinik Disorder, a rare disease that will inevitably claim his life. What’s worse, Luke‘s wife, Amelia, and his newborn daughter, Eva, are being held captive at a top secret government-funded research facility. Volume 2 follows Luke on an action-packed journey as he tries to rescue his family while battling the symptoms of the fatal disease.
CLONE AARON: And talk about the new clones we meet in this arc.
AARON: Another story point is Beta, the younger, stronger, soulless version of Luke we met briefly at the end of Volume 1. Beta has been unleashed and he becomes a big, big problem for Luke and the other clones going forward.
CLONE AARON: And if Beta is dangerous, what can you tell us about Gamma?
AARON: Why are you sitting like that?
CLONE AARON: Like what?
AARON: Like that. Like that. Do I sit like that? With my leg crossed that way?
CLONE AARON: Yeah, this is just how we sit.
AARON: Really? Hmm. I guess I’ve never knew what it looked like from an outside eye.
CLONE AARON: Should I cross it this way instead? Would that make this easier?
AARON: No, it’s fine, it’s… do whatever I do, I guess. What were we talking about?
CLONE AARON: Gamma.
AARON: Right. I think I’ll just let the readers discover Gamma on their own. But overall, the arc in this book really explores different forms of Luke’s identity. There’s Beta, the younger version of him, and we meet a clone who we call “Tat.” Tat is from Luke’s generation, but he has gone to great lengths to hide the fact that he is a clone – by covering every inch of his body in tribal tattoos.
CLONE AARON: And then there’s Gamma.
AARON: Forget about Gamma. Jesus. Am I always this persistent?
CLONE AARON: Apparently.
AARON: Well, it’s annoying.
CLONE AARON: Tell me about it.
AARON: Anyhow, we’re all really excited about this book. The story is like a runaway train, it’s non-stop action, and the art… The visual look of this book is, once again, unrivaled. Juan Jose Ryp takes such care to illustrate every blade of grass, every furrow in a concerned brow, I am blown away each and every page. And Andy Troy’s colors are absolutely dazzling. Add Russ Wooton’s lettering and–
CLONE AARON: It’s true. Ryp’s work is beyond detailed.
AARON: It’s insane, actually. He takes such time and care with each and every panel, I sometimes wonder how any one man could get all that work done.
CLONE AARON: Oh, I think I know how he does it…
Turning this back over to Skybound…
Thanks for the (slightly confusing) interview Aaron! If you all found that as entertaining as we did, follow his amusing tweets @DrLawyercop
