Phoenix native's graphic novel inspired by Holocaust-era opera

Dave Maass is one of those people who needs answers, and he usually gets them. As the current director of investigations at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), he monitors modern technology and how it affects society, mostly to assuage fears of AI takeovers and cybersecurity breaches.

He is also an award-winning journalist who uses his powers of investigative reporting to expose corruption in political organizations and other institutions that may be hiding their unscrupulous tactics from the public.

When he is not policing the digital space in one role or another, he is a Professor at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he educates future generations on protecting the world from its own devices.

This year, Maass added author to his collection of titles, writing “Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis,” a graphic novel adaptation of the one-act opera “Der Kaiser von Atlantis,” which was written by composer Viktor Ullmann and librettist Peter Kien while they were imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. (Both men died in Auschwitz in 1944.)

The book, which features art by Patrick Lay and Ezra Rose, was recently included on the New York Public Library's list of the best graphic novels of the year.

Phoenix New Times talked to Maass about his novel and picked his brain on what he thinks the future of artificial intelligence holds for society, and if we should fear a James Cameron "Terminator" universe where machines overpower humans and take over the world.

Phoenix New Times: I know the story is inspired by a powerful opera, but what gave you the idea to create a graphic novel based on that disturbing narrative?
Dave Maass: Of all the places for a project to begin, perhaps the Best Buy over by what was once Paradise Valley Mall is perhaps the most mundane. But there I was in the late '90s, in my late teens, wandering around looking at the CDs, when a sampler of music suppressed by the Nazis jumped off the shelf at me. That sent me down a rabbit hole of discovery, and "Der Kaiser von Atlantis "struck me as this very dark, funny and politically poignant allegory on war and power that deserved to be translated into a popular medium. Then, a few years later, as the U.S. passed the Patriot Act and was gearing up for war, I decided that bringing this to the comics form would be a major item on my bucket list.

How long did it take you to complete?
So, we could say since 2001, but really I started working on this in earnest in 2018. I went to Alaska Robotics Comics Camp, an exclusive retreat for comics creators, to learn how to make it happen. That’s where I met Patrick Lay, who eventually became one of the two main artists on the project. In 2019, I started writing the script and finding the artists, and by 2020 we’d secure an agent, and by early 2021, we’d signed with legendary comics editor Karen Berger’s imprint at Dark Horse. So, gosh, six years? It doesn’t feel like that long, but time started to have no meaning during the pandemic, which is a line I ended up attributing to the character of Life in our book.

What do you hope people take away from this story?
I love to see the different interpretations of the book, since the opera was both of its time but also timeless in its satire on war and power. And it brings me endless joy when people say, “This is funnier than I thought I would be,” since when you hear Holocaust and comics in the same sentence, people immediately think of Art Spiegelman’s sober opus, “Maus.” But I do hope people come away understanding the potential of art and humor as enduring tools of resistance, and that people are able to process current events through the lens of these creators from the past. One other lesson is on the dangers of devaluing life and losing sight of the meaning of death. When casualties are reduced to numbers and mathematical equations, it’s time to ask if death wasn’t an option in a time of war, what would we pursue instead?

Did the illustrations turn out just as you saw them in your head?
The art turned out way, way more vivid and evocative than I could ever have hoped. When I first discovered Ezra Rose’s work, inspired by anti-fascism and Jewish mysticism, I immediately recognized the aesthetic I was going for. Then Patrick was able to bring those characters to life and build out the world. One of the best decisions was to bring Patrick to the Czech Republic so he could draw from the artifacts and architecture and also incorporate some of the artwork left behind by Peter Kien, who not only was the opera’s librettist but a talented illustrator. At the same time, it was important to give Patrick and Ezra some creative freedom, and, as a result, even now when I open the book, I keep discovering new details.

You are originally from Phoenix, a city in what historically has been a very conservative state, what was that like and would you ever move back?
I can’t imagine ever moving back to Phoenix, but I do feel like the broader West is my home. I’ve lived and worked throughout the Southwest — I joke that I’ve scored a border state bingo — and now am up in Reno, Nevada. It would be very difficult for me to consider living in any other region in the U.S., although I have also spent a lot of time in other countries.

As a kid (I’m 56), we were told comic books would “make you dumber.” Trust me, it was a common utterance from my dad. Do you think that mentality has changed in recent generations? And how do you think comic books and graphic novels are different today?
It makes me pretty sad to hear that. I think a lot of people weren’t aware of the rich history of literary comics. “A Contract with God,” Will Eisner’s classic graphic novel about Jewish tenement residents, came out in 1978 when you were probably around 10 years old. I like to think that these days people recognize that combining art with words is a potent way to engage the imagination and can help young people (and adults) grasp concepts that they might glaze over in an academic text. But even with superhero comics that might’ve been considered literary junk food in the last century, I believe people now recognize that they are a fundamental part of our culture, whether we’re talking about the mega-popular (and lucrative) Avengers movies or more heady cinema like “Road to Perdition” and “Shortcomings.” But today, I feel that parents are probably on their lawn, shaking their fists at kids who devour derivative TikTok memes. I do worry about the emptiness of some of today’s online culture, but I have a feeling that 30 years from now, that will also seem like an antiquated perspective.

You have a background in cybersecurity, especially when it comes to protecting the border. In James Cameron’s Terminator universe, something like that overpowers mankind and becomes a weapon against us. Do you ever think of that and how far tech will go to become self-aware? And what are your thoughts on AI?
I often feel humankind’s concept of self-awareness is already an illusion, but perhaps that’s another diatribe. I think the threat posed by AI is a lot more mundane: an overreliance on AI, a dearth of skepticism, is resulting in a lack of accountability (blame it on the computer!). The dangers posed by AI are often in the mistakes AI makes, and not some nefarious Skynet/"Matrix" dystopia.

If there is one book (other than your own) that everyone should read, what would you suggest?
I’m not so arrogant to presume that everyone has the same tastes as me and engage with literature the same way, so I’d like to reframe the question a bit. If I had to choose one graphic novel I read over the last few years that really affected me, made me laugh, helped me grow as a person, and that I recommend over and over again, I’d go with Alison Bechdel’s “Dykes to Watch Out For.” It’s a collection of one-page comics spanning 25 years, from 1983 to 2008, that follows the trials and tribulations of a circle of queer friends grappling with their identities and the tide of human events. So many of the themes Bechdel explores in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s are major topics of conversation that the rest of us are only just now coming to terms with, whether it’s supporting transgender children or confronting wars abroad. It’s also so very funny and engaging; the type of book where you find yourself up at 2 a.m. unable to put it down.

What are your next projects and where do you see yourself in five years?
People often assume that when you put a book into the world, that’s the end of it, but it’s really not. There’s still a lot of work that goes into making sure it gets into the hands of readers, and so visiting Holocaust museums and universities takes up a lot of my time. I’m also very thrilled with my day job at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where I get to dive deeply into the rise of the so-called “virtual wall” at the U.S.-Mexico border, and we just published a zine to help people identify the various types of surveillance technology you’ll find in the borderlands.

And at the risk of triggering awws or eye-rolls, we had a child a few years ago, so I am also very focused on raising her to be resilient, empathetic and justice-minded in a world that seems to be rapidly degrading environmentally and democratically.