The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

Back in the summer Leah Moore and John Reppion chatted with me about their work, most notably Albion, which finally came out in collected graphic novel form just before Christmas (and ended up being a present to myself), which teamed them with Leah’s dad, a certain Mister Alan Moore and artist Shane Oakley (who Lew Stringer praises over on his new blog) for a brilliant modern tale of classic British comics characters; seriously good stuff, mixing classic characters like Robot Archie and Captain Hurricane with modern sensibilities and political events. I thought it was accessible regardless of your familiarity – or lack thereof – with these older, wonderfully eccentric Brit characters. Now with the impressive Albion tucked under their collective belts it is onwards for the Moore-Reppion team who have a slate of new comics work coming up through 2007, so join us as we discuss literary figures, mythic weapons, zombies and reality shows:

FPI: Hi, guys and a very warm welcome back to the FPI Blog. You’ve been very busy since we last spoke to you back in the summer, with not just the finale of Albion, but a nice riff on the old Lampton Worme folktale for the recent (and highly enjoyable) Dark Horse Book of Monsters, Witchblade: Shades of Gray and now Raise the Dead for Dynamite due in March. All this and stories to go along with 2006’s Royal Mail Christmas stamps in-between staying in odd rural Lancashire hotels and running your site – so fair to say you pair have had a productive year then?

John: We’ve been pretty busy, yeah (well done for spotting the Lampton Worm reference by the way). We’ve still got lots of new stuff in the pipeline too and you’ll probably be sick of hearing about us by the end of 2007. We’re going to take it easy on the conventions and signings this year as we did at least one or the other a month in 2006 and it was a bit knackering (not to mention expensive at times). Besides, we’ve got too much work to be getting on with, which is a very nice thing to be able to say.

FPI: Before we get into the new comics I have to ask about the stories which went along with the Royal Mail Christmas stamps – how did that come about and did you enjoy doing it? And does this mean we will be seeing Aunty Leah’s picture books for little children in the near future??

Leah: It was down to a very nice chap at Royal Mail who is quite fond of getting unusual people in to do stuff for the stamp sets. They are a nice little collectible thing and he enjoys mixing it up a bit I think. I had to write a story using the characters on the stamps and in no more than 700 words. It was really tough to get it down to that few words, especially as I’m more used to rattling on for hours and boring everyone to tears. It was a very cool and unexpected treat, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if I got the chance to do kids books I’d jump at it. “Aunty Leah’s bedtime stories…” sounds a bit unsettling now I think of it…

FPI: Hmm, depends on the context I suppose! Still, I think it would be terrific to see you on the morning TV shows discussing your delightful new children’s books, with the presenters unaware it was all part of a cunning plan to lure kids into later reading comics. You seemed quite jazzed by the idea of working on Witchblade when you first mentioned it to me, so I take it you are fans? I understand this is a limited crossover series between Dynamite and Top Cow, so perhaps you could tell us a little bit more about it?

John: Well, I hate to sound like a stuck record but, for the benefit of those who haven’t heard/read me saying it before, Leah and I are appalling at keeping up to date with current comics and following ongoing series. We both knew bits and bobs about Witchblade and had read a few issues here and there (mainly the very early ones) but we weren’t right up to speed with everything that was currently going on with the series. Basically, we had to a bit of reading and research to make sure that we knew what we were talking about and Top Cow have been understandably strict about certain things. There was, of course, some other research to be done as the second protagonist of the series is non-other than Dorian Gray. It’s quite a bizarre pairing which is initially why we liked the concept, I think; it’s one of those ideas that really makes people go “What?” and pay attention. Shades of Gray is set back in 1997, so it slots into the existing Witchblade continuity, and focuses on a time when Sara Pezzini was less sure of her role as the blade bearer and of the powers of the Witchblade itself. It’s kind of an “untold tale” sort of thing.

FPI: Being asked to work on a popular series is a real feather in the cap for writers, but I imagine it is double-edged in that you are aware you have a whole established history you have to work with. I always thought the mythological aspects and the moral maze Sara Pezzini goes through – is the Witchblade a force for good, evil or is it outside of those human values? – elevated Witchblade above just being a (beautifully drawn) T&A wish fulfilment fest; I’m guessing the folkloric and mythological aspects appeal to you too?

Leah: Definitely. The appeal of the Witchblade for me is the relationship between her and the blade. She has this thing bonded to her and she kind of uses it and it kind of uses her. It’s a complicated idea which we’ve really enjoyed exploring. It’s nice that the blade has such a history already because you don’t have to find a whole new direction to drag the character in; she already has a weapon that has been with lots of other people over the years, so Sara is always going to be surprised by something. There’s enough story in the past to play with for a while before you need to think about the future. Although having said that I believe Top Cow are putting out a brand new Witchblade series as we speak which is doing just that. Maybe you need to work with a character for that many years to be confident in taking her forward. We also stuck to the past because the costumes are cool to be honest.

FPI: What inspired you to draw on Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray as a character for this series? I’ve often thought Dorian is like Jekyll and Hyde in the way he has penetrated our culture so much that he is often referenced even by people who have never actually read the book; I suppose that makes him almost folkloric himself – is that part of why he appealed to you as a character to use?

John: He’s not exactly Oscar Wilde’s Dorian; he’s Dynamite’s version of that character. That sounds a bit like I’m nit picking or trying to dodge some copyright issue or something but it’s actually quite an important point. Since the Witchblade universe was the pre-existing one we had to deal with, it would have been very weird to try to slot Wilde’s character into that place and have him speak and act the way he does in the original book. We had to come up with a more bouncy, comic book friendly version of Dorian Gray in order to make the whole thing stick together properly. That’s not to say that you couldn’t do a brilliant comic book adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, I’m sure you could, it’s just that it wouldn’t make sense to then have Sara Pezzini and the Witchblade crop up in it.

You’re absolutely right though, Dorian Gray, like Jekyll and Hyde or Frankenstein or Dracula, has almost become a term rather than a name; it’s convenient short hand for a whole reel of complex ideas and concepts which you don’t even have to fully understand to reference anymore. Wilde’s novel is surprisingly dark in places and the core of the story, the portrait, is such a simple yet truly terrifying concept; the idea of our sins, our bad deeds, our evil thoughts becoming somehow visible for all to see. I think it speaks volumes about the human psyche that we’re all a bit uncomfortable with that.

FPI: Were you worried that some people might think using Dorian Gray is too close to Alan Moore’s use of 19th century literary characters in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Of course Alan isn’t the first person to use existing literary (or historical) figures in a tale (you only have to think of Kim Newman’s delicious Anno Dracula books or Tim Powers’ classic Anubis Gates as examples) but with the family connection it would seem inevitable someone will make that comparison – are you happy enough that your story and your use of the character stands well enough so when folks read it they can see why you used him?

Leah: Do you know those are two of my favourite novels ever…dad actually read Anubis Gates to me and my little sister when we were kids and it was fucking terrifying. He did all the voices and everything. Horrible. (if you are unaware, Tim Powers’ Anubis Gates is an astonishing book of a poetry expert sent back in time to meet Coleridge and involves an amazingly macabre journey through the freaks of the underworld of pre-Dickens London: it’s one of the Books You Must Read – Joe).

I think comics have arrived late to the party when it comes to using established literary characters in a new way, and I think League was surprising because rather than timidly trying to use one or two characters and smoosh them together he just used every single one of them. Except Dorian Grey as it happens. Yes, he made a reference to Dorian in book one I think (I have no evidence of that by the way) but he didn’t include him in the cast at all. Dorian’s character in the film of the comic (which I thought was entertainingly appalling by the way) was a likeable rogue and a foil to the equally unlikely Mina/vamp/fetish lady character. It worked perfectly for the film as the rest of it made no sense either, so you could have all these British characters suddenly bundled in with Huckleberry Finn or Popeye or whoever it was and it just rolled along regardless.

I don’t feel any pressure to make our Dorian stand up next to that Dorian as to be honest I don’t think that was a particularly amazing version of the character. I also don’t feel any pressure to make him stand up next to the original character from the novel. The novel was written as an extended allegory about lots of very clever things. Ours is a comic with pretty ladies and loads of fighting. They don’t really bear comparison very well from either angle. Although, Lily Allen did say recently that she’s the new Ghandi, so we could be the new Oscar Wilde I suppose. It’s a bit of a free for all by the look of it. Grab someone quick or you’ll just be the new Rod Hull (who would be Emu then? – Joe).

I also don’t mind if people say “well it’s not exactly League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” because I’m not my dad and to produce work exactly like his, or to be honest of the same density and style as his would be really weird. I’m only comparatively young, and I have a lot to learn yet, but that’s okay by me. I’m in no hurry.

FPI: Quite right, every writer and artist needs to find their own voice and experimenting is part of that process otherwise there can never be any development. You also have another series coming out from Dynamite early in 2007 and I know it is a genre that is very close to John’s heart: zombies. Care to tell us a little about Raise the Dead? Is this a mini-series or will it be ongoing?

John: Raise the Dead is planned as a four issue mini at present but we’ll see how things go, eh? Yes, I admit that I love zombies (we have to do that every week at the start of our “zombie fans anonymous” meetings) but, the comic book market is pretty much flooded with zombie books at the moment, so why do another one? Well firstly, because Dynamite offered us the chance to do it, and what are we going to say, “no”? I don’t think so. Secondly, (and more seriously) I think it’s worth doing because, even though I’m a massive fan of the genre, there are very few zombie comics out there that either I or Leah actually enjoy reading. Obviously, I don’t want to name check books and start slagging people off here but a lot of zombie comics seem to end up with either page after page of talking heads and very little actual zombie action or wall to wall gore with no plot. It’s a selfish reason to do a series I suppose but, as creators, we’ve got to entertain ourselves first and foremost otherwise how can we hope to make it interesting for other people?

We can’t really give too much of the plot away at the moment (although, you can probably guess the bare bones of it) suffice to say that we’re not trying to re-write the rulebook on this one, we’re just trying to do things properly. Anyone who’s read World War Z by Max Brooks should know what I mean.

FPI: There seems to be a never-ending wave of zombie comics in recent years, from Samurai versus the undead in Zombee to the very Romero-influenced drama of The Walking Dead (one of my favourite ongoing series at the moment) and even classic stuff with Marvel’s Essential Zombie. I’m guessing you aren’t the types to jump on a bandwagon for the sake of it, so what is it that you feel you can bring to this pretty crowded genre that is different enough to persuade the comics fan to put their hand in their pocket for it?

Leah: To be honest we would be doing a zombie book right now even if everyone stopped buying them tomorrow. John has been the biggest Zombie fan since forever and once we started going out I was educated in all the subtle joys of the undead. I honestly had no idea there were so many zombie films. It’s a genre already bursting at the rotten seams with references and gags and in-jokes, so again comics are just late to the party. The zombie comic explosion came about with the recent zombie movie boom. Land of the Dead the Dawn of the Dead remake and Shaun of the Dead etc.

All it means is that a generation of zombie fans has suddenly realised that they are the ones writing the films and comics and that they have a chance to indulge their favourite passion. I doubt that there are many people who go “well if I do a zombie book I’ll get rich so I suppose I’ll just grin and bear it” I think it’s a heap of zombie nerds all suddenly saying “here’s what I love about zombies” but all at once. We’re happy to join in that mayhem to be honest. What we bring to it that other books won’t is up to the readers to decide. It’s definitely a zombie lover’s book, so anyone who loves Romero and all the weird Italian zombie films and the old black and white ones will probably find something they dig in our story.

FPI: Ah, you are ticking so many of my horror fan boxes there; I got so excited when Romero himself talked to the audience at the Edinburgh Film Fest premiere of Land of the Dead. Looking at the Arthur Suydam cover (you must be pretty pleased at having him, surely? And Sean Philips for the other cover) of a rotting Uncle Sam in the classic finger-pointing pose I get the impression that there will be some humour in with the horror and gore, is that a fair assumption? I can just imagine a speech bubble under Zombie Sam “I want you(r brains).”

John: We’re chuffed to bits with Suydam and Phillips covers, working for Dynamite has given us our first taste of the whole multiple cover thing and we’re still really excited by it all. Did you know that there’s a special glow in the dark version? How cool is that? I’m co-writing a zombie comic that has a glow in the dark Sean Philips cover! Could I be any more pleased? The zombie Uncle Sam cover is great and I think there’s supposed to be a whole zombie icon theme running through Arthur’s covers for the series. Eagle eyed comics and horror fans alike will undoubtedly note that the whole zombie (or just plain evil) Uncle Sam thing has been done before but they should also be the first to admit that both horror and comics are pretty incestuous by the their very natures; we all love spotting the borrowed lines of dialogue, character names and other homages, don’t we? I propose a mass Googling and trawling of the net so we can do a comparison of all the cool Evil Uncle Sam covers, posters and t-shirts and see who can find the best one.

FPI: Oh, totally – one thing horror (and SF and comics) fans love is spotting references, homages and in-jokes from other films and books, it’s part of the fan process and fuels many a post-movie pub session chat – in fact it was one of my pleasures in reading Albion, spotting background characters and thinking, hold on, is that…? And a glow-in-the-dark cover? Perfect! Reminds me of those old glow-in-the-dark monster model kits you used to get. On another undead-related theme, John, how did your zombie army work out? (in case you missed it, this was a bit of a running joke which ended up with John Freeman of Down The Tubes and his artist friend Paul Harrison Davies getting involved, with Paul producing the ultra-cool design below. I still want this on a T-shirt) Did you manage to use them successfully for your Christmas shopping and is it true the smartest one is called Bub?

John: I did most of my shopping online but they helped me with the wrapping (that’s my excuse anyway). Bub went off to stay with his Aunt Felicia this year (after being constantly pestered by her on the phone) so I put that chap they call Tarman in charge. Messy bugger.

Thanks for all your help with the recruitment campaign by the way.

FPI: I know you were up at the Lancaster Comics Convention, which had a focus on the small press publishers and that you have worked with the Indy press here before – are you still keeping in touch with some of what is going on in the UK small press scene? How did you find the Lancaster gig? Are we likely to see more contributions to the mooted second issue of Puny Earthling?

Leah: Lancaster was great! The convention was at the top of this enormous hill like mount Olympus in a Victorian monument with a room in the domed roof, and big classical murals on the convention ceiling (the Ashton Memorial – Joe). The top of the hill was covered by a rain cloud, so even when we were right next to the convention we couldn’t see the building. It was like visiting Zeus only to find he’s out and a load of comic fans were house sitting. It was small and cosy with all our favourite faces from the small press scene. We got offered work, invited to other conventions, and we had lots of nice beer, so to be honest it was a prefect con. Anyone who read our blog shortly after the con will also know that we had to drive off in the middle of the night to escape the Lancaster equivalent of “The Slaughtered Lamb” from An American Werewolf in London. I am trying to make sure no-one ever stays at the Farmers Arms ever again in the history of the world. The scary thing is, I don’t think they’d much care.

John: Yes, we had a great time at the com itself and there lots of the small press crowd were there; we actually spent most of the Sunday sat behind the Accent UK table. I’m not sure what’s happening about PE #2 now as Mister Ó Méalóid is a bit busy these days but I have been assured that the zine will return in some form very soon. Also, we’ll be contributing to The End Is Nigh #4 which will be launched at the Bristol Comic Expo in May so we’re still keeping our hand in.

(cover of the first Puny Earthling by Leah Moore)

FPI: You obviously have a pretty full slate, but I have to ask, what else is on (or just over) the horizon for the pair of you? Please tell me there is no truth in the rumour that you are entering as the comics industry’s entry to Strictly Come Dancing (unless you are doing it dressed as Gomez and Morticia Addams).

John: Ah, you think it’s funny now but, with the way all these celebrity reality things are going, how long can it be before they work their way down the list past all the ex-Blue Peter presenters, near relatives of chat show hosts and forgotten Doctor Who companions and finally end up having to ask comic writers and artists to eat kangaroo’s eyes live on prime time telly? I’ll enter if it’s Strictly Non Dancing and I can just sit at the side drinking, occasionally being asked if I want to dance. “No, I’m alright thanks”.

Apart from Witchblade – Shades of Gray and Raise the Dead we’re also writing a little serialised story called Battle for Atlantis for Dynamite’s Savage Tales. We’re really excited about that because we’re working with the legendary Pablo Marcos! We’ve got another story with Dave Hitchcock in this year’s Accent UK anthology, we’ve got a story coming out in Th3rd World’s Space Doubles series, we’ve written a Poe adaptation for an anthology called Nevermore, we’re going to be doing some work for a new UK company called Good Cat Bad Cat, and, and, and… just loads and loads and loads of stuff really. We’ve never been busier.

FPI: Very good to hear for readers and of course it helps keep the pair of you out of mischief. So what books and comics are rocking your reading world at the moment? Any new works coming up you’re especially keen to get your hands on?

Leah: I got Marjane Satrapi’s Embroideries for Christmas which I am looking forward to reading, we are both really enjoying Brodie’s Law which we grabbed at the Birmingham convention, it’s really fast paced, and the art gives it a really unique atmosphere. Very cool stuff. We also grabbed Falling Sky by Ben Dickson, which has another unique drawing style and a very discomfiting story. We were happy to see that the guys at 20,000 Leagues had got issue #3 of Sancho out in time for the con. They even got Davy Francis (who I loved when he was in Oink) to do a strip for it. Lots of good stuff about at the moment to be honest.

John: I’m really looking forward to seeing #4 of Mike Raicht’s Zombie as soon as I can lay my hands on it. That’s one of the GOOD zombie comics! I’m also really enjoying Elephantmen from Image at the moment (big thanks to Mike McClean in Aberdeen for keeping us semi regular on both these series; we couldn’t have done it without you). Leah got me the English translation of Blacksad for Xmas which I already loved to death even when I had to try to (badly) translate it all in my head. It’s one of those books that’s so simple but just really works; I’m blown away by it every time.

FPI: Blacksad has been a firm fave with some of our gang at FPI and I’ve been delighted to see several Elephantmen/Hip Flask titles coming up myself. Leah Moore and John Reppion, it’s been a pleasure as always – thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us and of course folks can keep up with your latest news via your site.
J&L: Cheers.