Christian Ward has a way of pulling you into a story before you even realize it’s happening, and Oni Press’s The Forever Home is one of those projects where that instinct feels supercharged. From the first page, you can tell Ward is building something equal parts intimate family drama and cosmic, reality‑bending sci‑fi—but he’s doing it with that unmistakable Ward flair: bold visuals, strange architecture, and characters who feel like they’re carrying entire worlds inside them.
What makes The Forever Home so fun to talk about is how personal it feels beneath all the surreal spectacle. Ward isn’t just crafting a wild sci‑fi concept; he’s investigating what “home” really means—how it shapes us, traps us, comforts us, and sometimes refuses to let go. It’s ambitious, it’s weird in the best way, and it’s exactly the kind of story that reminds you why Ward’s voice in comics is so distinct.
We recently spoke with Christian to explore how this world came together, the emotional core driving the series, and why The Forever Home may be one of Ward’s most impactful creations yet. So let’s welcome writer Christian Ward to GVN Talking Comics.
Creative Beginnings
GVN: Thank you for spending a small part of your day with us, Christian. Since this is our first chat, let’s start with some of your creative beginnings. When did you first take an interest in comic writing, and whose work or titles inspired that ambition?
CW: My father used to do shift work so we’d go days without seeing him, but sometimes when he was returning home from a night shift, he’d stop by the newsagents on the way home and leave a comic book for me downstairs for when I woke up. Comics very quickly equaled love to me and so I’ve loved comics ever since. They’ve always felt very important to me.
It was reading Grant Morrison and Dave McKean’s Arkham Asylum – A Serious House on a Serious Earth when I was 12 that finally lit the spark in me. Reading that book and seeing how impactful a comic book could be made me want to be a comic book creator.
I’ve spent the last almost 20 years as a professional comic book artist but the plan all along was to write and draw. In fact it was in 2019 with my Forever Home collaborator Sami Kivela that I wrote my first comic book series Machine Gun Wizards. It’s taken me 6 years to find the perfect book to reunite with him.
Planting the Seeds of “The Forever Home”
GVN: When it comes to your new series, “The Forever Home” blends domestic intimacy with cosmic unease. What was the first image, idea, or emotional beat that convinced you this story needed to exist?
CW: The very first seed of this book was exploring billionaires’ climate bunkers and having the idea of a house built to withstand climate change and ending up withstanding time itself. From there I thought about how climate change or at least the threat of it is affecting not just the weather but society. It goes back to me thinking about parents and the idea of being born to boomer parents and living through a generation where we’re seeing (some of) that generation vote against the interests of their children. Whether that be Brexit, Trump, or, in the case of this book, climate change.
The Writers Approach
GVN: You’ve always played at the edges of genre. How did you approach merging haunted‑house tension with the grand, psychedelic scale readers associate with your work?
CW: Well, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tip my hat to the two artists bringing this book fully to life, the aforementioned Sami Kivela on lifework (and his genius page layouts ) and Jason Wordie on his incredible and (as you mention) psychedelic colours.
The Emotional Foundation
GVN: At its heart, this is a story about a family under pressure. How was their emotional foundation crafted so that the supernatural elements enhance, rather than eclipse, their real-world struggles?
CW: Being a parent of two small children, this story at its heart was always about family. The horror is grounded in my fears about the world my children will inherit. For all the sci-fi, a big part of the conflict in The Forever Home is this family having conflicting views. The backdrop might be post-apocalyptic but the drama is ‘kitchen sink’. And relatable.
Artist Sami Kivelä
GVN: Artist Sami Kivelä brings a grounded, atmospheric weight to the book. How did your collaboration evolve as the story shifted from quiet domestic moments to full‑scale cosmic intrusion?
CW: That’s all Sami. The wonderful thing about working with him is that I just have to write him a great script and I know he’ll knock it out of the park. I made sure Sami had the pitch document and was involved from the get go so he was fully aware of all our gear shifts. But going back to my previous answer, I think the secret is we always remind ourselves that this story starts and ends with our characters.
Establishing “Home” Rules
GVN: The story plays with reality, memory, and especially the spaces we call home. What internal rules or constraints did you set to keep the supernatural logic consistent across the series?
CW: To be clear, our fantastic elements are all based in science fiction and as such are quantifiable and actually pretty straightforward.
For every 20 minutes in the house it’s a year outside. I was never far from a calculator. When we join our story, our family have already been in the house for over a decade. That’s a lot of 20 minutes. Meaning that the outside was set in the far far future and because of that we could really push our imagination and go to some very wild places.
“Belonging”
GVN: “The Forever Home” feels like a meditation on belonging, fear, and the places we retreat to when life feels overwhelming. What themes were most important for you to explore, and how did you weave them into the narrative without losing momentum?
CW: Belonging is a big one. As is family. I don’t view the themes as being in addition to the story. More like the themes are our road map for the story.
The Future for “The Forever Home”
GVN: Thank you again, Christian. In closing, the world you’ve built in the “Forever Home” feels rich enough to revisit. Are there corners of this universe—characters, histories, or cosmic forces—you’d be excited to explore if the opportunity arose?
CW: Never say never, but one of the things I love about this story is its completeness. As good as the opening is, the closing is perfect, and honestly, I’m not sure I’d want to mess with that. That said…it is called The Forever Home, so who knows.
Talking with Christian Ward about The Forever Home feels a bit like stepping out of the house he just built—your head’s still full of strange angles, bold colors, and ideas that linger longer than you expect. Ward’s blend of cosmic weirdness and grounded emotional storytelling will make this series one of those projects you keep thinking about after you close each issue. It’s ambitious, it’s personal, and it shows a creator pushing his own boundaries while inviting readers to sit with the uncomfortable, the beautiful, and the unknown.
As The Forever Home continues to unfold, it’s clear Ward isn’t just crafting a sci‑fi mystery—he’s exploring the architecture of identity, family, and the spaces we carry with us. And if this first installment is any indication, there’s a lot more to discover behind those walls. Look for the opening of Oni Press’s The Forever Home by Christian Ward and Sami Kivelä on September 9th.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
