Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer is the story of run-away mechanic Pan and her journey to find her friend Tara, the missing princess of their homeworld, who Pan helped escape years before. Pan teams up with Cosmoknights Cass and Bee, warriors for hire that compete in battle royals to win a princess’s hand in marriage. Instead of delivering the princess to their client though, Cass and Bee let the princess go to live her own life. Soon after teaming up with Pan, their group gains a fourth member in Kate, who proposes that simply spiriting the princesses away is not enough, and that the entire tradition of jousting must be eradicated for princesses to truly be free.
C&Q: Let’s start at the beginning. What got you into drawing and comics in the first place? What are some of the inspirations that you’ve carried throughout your career so far?
H.T.: That’s a great question! I got into drawing when I was around 11 years old– I was really into Digimon and the movie Atlantis: The Lost Empire… I spent all my time drawing the characters and writing fanfiction, and that’s when I decided I wanted to be an artist. I really wanted to be a storyteller and create my own worlds for other people to fall in love with.
My biggest stylistic inspirations include a lot of early 2000s movies: Atlantis, Treasure Planet, The Mummy, The Matrix trilogy, etc…. I just really love that era of action/adventure, I feel like all those movies are so unapologetic and fun! I also draw a lot of inspiration from video games – I love Hideo Kojima and draw a lot of inspiration from Zone of the Enders and Metal Gear Solid. I remember playing those games and being so enchanted by the characters and worldbuilding, and I love the flair for the dramatic. In terms of comics, I really love Barbarous (Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota) and Fantasy Sports (Sam Bosma)– I constantly go back to those two series when I need a boost.
C&Q: I had completely forgotten about Zone of the Enders, but now that you mention it, yes! I can’t believe I didn’t notice the design inspiration! Very cool.
I also love that you mentioned movies like Atlantis and Treasure Planet being a source of inspiration, too. Regardless of their critical standing as part of Disney’s “dark era,” it seems that they still resonated strongly with many. Do you think it was primarily because of their action/adventure stories, or because of other elements like characters and themes?
H.T.: I think both! The movies released right around the time I was entering my teen years, and I was looking for something a little more “grown-up”, so a slightly darker animated movie was very appealing to me. Oh, and I think Titan A.E. also released around that time, another one of my favorites! Those films all dealt with more mature themes– I remember being really moved by the way Treasure Planet dealt with Jim’s relationship with his absent father, and I was fascinated by the way Atlantis incorporated early 20th century history– several of the characters were based on real historical figures, and I ended up doing a ton of research and really getting into WWI history because of that. Oh, and it didn’t hurt that those movies also both had great female characters– I was head-over-heels in love with Helga Sinclair and Captain Amelia, haha.
Credit: Hannah Templer
C&Q: What was the spark behind Cosmoknights? What was the creative process like as the world and story elements came together?
H.T.: I actually wrote Cosmoknights during a really turbulent time in my life– it was sparked by a lot of big changes: coming out as a lesbian, leaving my career in graphic design to pursue comics, and other personal stuff I won’t get into… but the story really reflects my own journey to find myself and understand the things I wanted in life. The story is about fighting for your identity as a queer woman, so it’s deeply personal and special to me.
Initially, I planned the book as a 30-page minicomic (I was just going to leave it at the prologue!), but then that turned into a long-form webcomic, so the initial creative process was quite loose and unpredictable. I had a slate of characters in mind and a general direction for the story, but after I posted the prologue the series quickly got picked up by Top Shelf Comics and solidified into a trilogy of graphic novels. Since then I have been very grateful to work with my editor (who is excellent!) and pull together this gigantic world.
These are the key things that were really important to me and still drive the project to this day:
- The story has butch characters that are well-rounded and depicted with complexity and love
- No LGBTQIA+ characters die
- Positive representation of platonic female friendship, regardless of orientation
C&Q: It’s good to hear that you had a creative outlet to channel all of that turbulence through. It really led to an amazing story that I’m sure has helped many others find some guidance. I’m also sure I’m not the only one that’s glad the story went beyond it’s prologue! As much as people appreciate a good one-shot short story, it definitely wouldn’t have been enough…
In regards to your 3 principles for Cosmoknights, are there any others you might add that — might not necessarily apply to Cosmoknights — but could help queer media at large with storytelling and representation?
H.T.: I would say that these are just things I find helpful to anchor this story specifically, but I would never prescribe them to anyone else, especially not another queer creator! And in the future, I may do a different story that breaks all of these principles! That being said, I do think it’s important for creators to evaluate the choices they make, and it can be helpful to be aware of compulsory heterosexuality and internalized homophobia as we create and critique stories. We still have a long way to go to dismantle white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, racism, colorism, and a whole host of other wrongs, and being thoughtful and vigilant as we create is vital.
If I had a more general rule of thumb, the question I ask myself the most is: in what way does this project benefit the real-life communities it claims to champion? It’s one thing to write a story, but it’s another to think about its impact, especially beyond sales.
Credit: Hannah Templer
C&Q: You dedicate Cosmoknights “to found family.” Are Pan, Bee, and Cass (or any other characters) based on any members of your own found family?
H.T.: Haha… that’s funny, I’ve never really thought about that. I don’t think any of the cast are individually based on real people, but as a whole, yes I suppose the queer family being built over the course of these books feels a lot like the community I have in real life! I will also say that each character contains splintered aspects of my own experiences as a queer woman. Pan going out into the world and exploring her queer identity, as well as Cass fighting tooth and nail to rescue herself both are very personal to me.
C&Q: I have to be honest, the chapter featuring Cass’s backstory is perhaps one of my favorites of all time. I knew I just had to write about it because it was the perfect blend of storytelling and amazing visuals. As a reader, I think you can tell that a lot of heart and soul was poured into those panels. Amazing work, really. Do you consider depicting more personal experiences through your art a natural process for you, or is it more of a deliberate choice you make?
H.T.: Thank you! It’s definitely a mix of both– it’s natural for me to want to draw from personal experience, but it’s a deliberate decision whether or not I choose to proceed. I have complicated feelings about this, because while I believe art and stories can be a great and healthy outlet for processing personal experiences, I do feel that some things are better left in therapy. It’s good for creators to think carefully about what they’re willing to share and explore on the page, and again, I always return to the question: “how does this benefit the communities it claims to champion?”. Am I willing to stand behind the impact this story will have, and is it my story to tell?
I do think drawing from personal experience can lend authenticity and heart to work though, and all of my best character acting comes from real moments and thoughts. I might compare it to using reference when you draw – there’s just a lot of nuance and unexpected detail that can come from reality – but again, only when observed in a thoughtful way.
Credit: Hannah Templer
C&Q: Reading Cosmoknights, I noticed that a lot of information regarding world building and its society are in the details. For example, how the castles and arenas are one and the same, how Viridian is financially hurt after Tara ran away, and how employing a cosmoknight as a proxy seems to be a relatively new practice. Would you say this is your personal philosophy when it comes to storytelling (more show than tell), or is it because of the medium of comics itself?
H.T.: Absolutely. I am not a fan of lengthy exposition or narration… to me worldbuilding feels most authentic when you are exploring it naturally– and it helps that Pan is new to this world in some ways so we can learn alongside her.
I think this is also something really special and specific to comics, because they’re visual– there are tons of opportunities for situational and environmental worldbuilding that rely on “show don’t tell”. I really think of comics as a series of windows into a world that fully exists– each panel is a portal into that universe, and just because you don’t see what’s in the margins doesn’t mean it’s not there. What happens between the panels is just as important, and as you mentioned, extensive worldbuilding can be felt in the details– I love when people notice little details in Cosmoknights because it’s all there and I put a lot of time into it! There are a ton of easter eggs in book one that will be rewarded in books two and three as well!
C&Q: I am guilty of reading through the panels a little too quickly sometimes, especially when the story is really engaging. I’ll have to go through book one again and see if there’s anything I missed! The question is… are the easter eggs mostly worldbuilding, or is there some actual foreshadowing?
H.T.: A little bit of both. I try not to point out too many because I think it’s more fun for people to find things organically, but an example would be the coat Kate wears in the final scene– it matches the fur of the tiger in the princesses’ portrait (don’t worry, it’s faux). There’s a lot of fun stuff like that going on in the backgrounds throughout the books!
I can definitely think of one really big specific piece of foreshadowing from Book One that’s going to be recognizable in Book Two– I won’t say what it is, of course, but you can be on the lookout for it.
Credit: Hannah Templer
C&Q: Cosmoknights depicts a reality-- not entirely different from our own -- where sport, power, and patriarchy are all clearly enmeshed. What other themes can we expect to explore as the story continues?
H.T.: I don’t want to spoil the second book, but if the first book was about “beating the patriarchy at its own game”, the second is about what to do when the rules aren’t always the same. I think the first book is a really fun introduction to this world, but when you add more characters into the mix, you begin to explore more conflict. For example, what happens when the princess you rescued... didn’t want to be “rescued” at all? What if the rules aren’t the same for everyone across the galaxy? What if what you believe to be “right” is not right for someone else?
I’m really interested in telling a story not only about this world and its conflicts, but about the individual women who inhabit it. The story is actually subtly structured episodically around each of the characters’ conflicts with this world and its limitations, and it follows each of their arcs as they grow individually and as a family. Each of them have a story to tell, but in my opinion it is the combination of their lives and personalities that makes Cosmoknights so special.
As the series goes on you can expect: more action and adventure, anti-capitalism, lots of gay space crime, and maybe…. even some romance (!!!)
C&Q: That all sounds incredible, and I want to read it now. Selfish, I know… How difficult is it for you to say: “Okay, I’ve put enough into these pages/story.” I feel that a lot of creators sometimes get overwhelmed by their imagination and ambition of the story they want to tell and the world they want to showcase. How do you make that difficult call of “this is enough”?
H.T.: Good question! This is a double-edged sword for me, because it’s just a gut feeling– if I feel something is done, it’s easy for me to move on. I just know it in my heart and can feel good about it. But unfortunately, the flip-side of this is that if I don’t get that gut feeling, I will keep working on a project and obsess over it and lose sleep until I do!
In a more practical sense, the way I’ve heard it described is “capture the epic, not the incident” – it’s not about filling in every inch of detail or exploring every option, it’s about creating a story that answers all of its own questions. There are always endless possibilities, but what keeps me going is remembering that I am only responsible for one window onto a world – there may be other routes to explore, and maybe other people would do it differently, but I am telling my version of the story, and after that window is closed, I can open a window onto another story! There are countless more to tell, and I think a big part of what makes projects so exciting is knowing that one day, you can move on.