https://aethernaut.thecomicseries.com/comics/

It's hard to describe this series, but I guess we could go with: 'a coming-of-age adventure set in a 17th-century steampunk world.' It's been running for 12 years now, yet I almost feel as if it's just started to get rolling, which is maybe a tribute to the quality world-building.

On the surface, we have a dashing young protagonist trying to advance his fortunes, yet this series is just as much about the world itself, its cultures, wrangling political factions, unusual races (both humanoid and animal), and of course, a trickster-fool as a side character, getting our guy in and out of jams on a regular basis.

Mariah Kaercher (TCG): Browsing through Æthernaut, I got a Charles Dickens meets Pirates of the Caribbean space-adventure vibe. What inspired you to write this web comic?

Neal Skorpen: The world and main characters of Æthernaut were inspired by weird post-medieval art: engravings and drawings that have a dreamlike feel because linear perspective wasn’t quite figured out. The clothes are bizarre and awkward compared to the more familiar costumes of the deep Middle Ages or the 17th and 18th centuries. The first draft of the story was modeled on Gulliver’s Travels; four voyages to strange places, each one a metaphorical attack on one social injustice or another. In the years between making the first draft and beginning the current version, I’ve become less of a believer in such direct political satire, at least in my own practice. To a certain extent I can probably never get away from injecting social commentary, but a good story needs to be driven by the characters, so that’s become my focus.

Interview concludes here.