And this week's guest in the microinterview series is Toeken, artist of “Believe Me” and “The Trident-Tailed Water Monster” in The Future Fire #76.
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| Art © 2026 Toeken |
TFF: How did you go about illustrating “Believe Me”?
Toeken: Though it is a short tale, Christine Amsden’s splendid story is filled with such vivid imagery that it was tricky distilling ideas into the final illustration.
TFF: What was the image that really stuck with you from “The Trident-Tailed Water Monster”?
Toeken: It was probably something as deceptively simple as the “abandoned pool that had gone green from algae.”
TFF: What would be the most terrifying thing about being in outer space?
Toeken: I’d imagine it would be just trying to comprehend the sheer scale, the enormity of space itself, the awareness of the immense gulfs of space between stars and planets.
TFF: Have you ever seen a statue or a piece of art that you wished was alive?
Toeken: Bill Sienkiewicz’s rendition of the character “Warlock.” That’d be a treat to see strolling around.
TFF: What else are you working on now?
Toeken: Working with the writer Phil Emery on a scifi/noir comedy graphic novel, Hammek, which is being shopped around now; Vampyre Noir, another comic series, more paintings and a couple of book covers, one of which is for the writer Simon Bleaken’s upcoming collection of dark tales.
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| Art © 2026 Toeken |
Reminder: You can comment on any of the writing or art in this issue at http://press.futurefire.net/2026/05/new-issue-202676.html.
