Trivia / The Human Target (2021)

• Inspiration for the Work:
  • Tom King got hooked onto making the series based off a rather funny origin: in March 2020 while responding to a fan tweeting him about it, he made a joke tweet about how he would write a 12-issue Human Target (panel 1, Human Target looks at rain. Panel 2, Human Target gets shot, goes "I should've seen this coming." Fin.). The same day he posted it, he was called by his editor asking him if he wanted to do a Human Target series for real, which King didn't realize was a serious offer at first until he said "yes" out of confusion.
  • King cites Mad Men as a major influence on the 60's-70's noir aesthetic of the series, with his depiction of Christopher Chance being greatly influenced by Don Draper, as well as hints of Dick Powell.
  • Ice became a major character due to King's sons begging him to write about her, with Ice being one of his sons' favorite superhero.
• Reality Subtext: The series was written during the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with King and co remaining in lockdown due to fears of a deadly virus. King described that broad, existential fear as being a massive influence towards the overall plot and Chance's personal plight: someone on death's door now looking back on his life with ennui and regrets, realizing the loneliness of his existence and trying to make something of it, but simply having no time.

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