Today on Word Balloon, I’m talking with a guy who’s built a career jumping between crime, history, and deeply human storytelling, Ande Parks. You know him from powerful graphic novels like Union Station and Capote in Kansas, and from his work across comics and film, where he always finds a way to ground big ideas in real emotion. Now he’s back with something new, and it’s a sharp turn into darker territory. We’re talking about Bad Thoughts, his latest project from Ignition Press.

It’s a military espionage story on the surface, but underneath there’s something far stranger and more unsettling at work. This isn’t just about missions and secrets. It’s about what happens when the battlefield starts bending reality itself. And visually, the book hits just as hard. It’s brought to life by Dave Wachter, whose gritty, atmospheric style perfectly matches the tension and psychological edge of the story.