A Solarpunk Western?

An exclusive interview the creator of a gun-toting solarpunk comic

What happens when you remix a classic cowboy story with sustainable technology and queer representation? The answer is Bounty Hunter Solafunk, a new comic that's reimagining the western through a solarpunk lens.

We did an exclusive interview with its creator Sam Henze from Boise, Idaho, to talk about why she created it.

A New Old West

“It’s loosely inspired by True Grit,” Sam explained. “The main character is a child who has lost her father and is looking for a bounty hunter to help track him down. But instead of the traditional Old West, I set it in the future, where some regions operate using collective solarpunk-style technology. There are cities inside bubbles, like giant greenhouses and all vehicles are powered by renewable energy.”

For Sam, integrating solarpunk wasn’t just an aesthetic choice. “I was feeling really downtrodden about the direction of the world, especially where the U.S. government is going. I heard about solarpunk on a podcast and thought ‘This rules! This is exactly what I need right now’ so I wanted to explore it in my own work.”

Why a Western?