INTERVIEW: Stuart Moore - Wordsmith
Interview Conducted by Ed Mathews

Stuart Moore is a man of many talents who has been working in the comic industry as an editor for years (DC Comics- Helix, Vertigo; Marvel Comics- Marvel Knights) and now has taken on the role of comic book writer (DC Comics, Dark Horse/Rocket Comics, PlanetLar/AiT, Penny-Farthing Press,Harris Comics) and internet columnist (Newsarama). This award winning industry professional took time out of his busy schedule to tell us about his upcomming projects and to reflect on the transition from Eisner winning editor to freelance writer.


We know you as a former Vertigo editor and an editor at Marvel, Stuart. What is the origin of Stuart Moore and what's on the horizon for Stuart Moore, Comicbook Writer?

That's a big question. Let's see...

My story about getting into comics is different from most people's: I answered an ad in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. At the time, I was a pretty successful young book editor at St. Martin's Press, specializing in science fiction and various pop culture subjects - I'd done a few comic strip collections and comic book-related titles. DC wanted to expand Karen Berger's department - which became Vertigo, a few years later - and they wanted someone from outside comics, with connections to prose writers. We hit it off and I was there for nine years, during which time we started the Vertigo and Helix imprints.

DC was great, and the early '90s in particular were a real growth period for comics. But the thing that really showed the strength of Vertigo, to me, was that it survived the boom. I got restless and left in '99, working for about a year on an exciting but ultimately doomed comics/dot-com venture that...well, I'd say it went the way of all dot-com ventures, but it really didn't even get that far. It taught me a hell of a lot, though, about computers, business, and do-it-yourself comics creation.

I joined Marvel Knights in fall 2000, and that was an amazing ride. The newly-installed management was really eager to turn the whole place upside-down. Things happened dizzyingly fast - it was really fun.

But from the time I left DC, I'd been working on my writing. I'd done two miniseries for Penny-Farthing Press: ZENDRA 1 and 2, a far-future science-fiction epic. I'd written a short STAR TREK piece for Wildstorm, and a lot of intros and "liner notes" here and there. When the first ZENDRA trade paperback came out to generally very good reviews, I decided that writing was really important to me, and that it was time to make the jump to doing that full-time. Penny-Farthing had expressed interest in doing another, original series of mine, and that sealed the deal.

As for what's coming up: I'm spreading myself around - creator-owned, company-owned, superheroes, science fiction, satire, etc., etc. Here's what's coming out in the fall:

LONE, a new series from Dark Horse/Rocket Comics, debuting September 2003. Futuristic western action/adventure set in a post-disaster western U.S. Artist: Jerome Opena.

PARA, a new Penny-Farthing Press miniseries, debuting fall 2003. A paranormal thriller about nuclear physics, one haunted girl, and the beginning (and end) of the universe. Artist: Pablo Villalobos

GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS, graphic novel from AIT/PlanetLar, December 2003 (tentative). Political satire about the U.S. Dept. of Giant Robot Warriors, which has to move fast when a mideast country achieves Giant Robot technology. Artist: Ryan Kelly (LUCIFER).

JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES: Two issues so far, one focusing on Green Lantern & Hawkgirl, the other on The Flash. First one is out in August 2003.

VAMPIRELLA: A fun short story, parodying of 100 BULLETS, rap moguls...and white people. All in nine pages, including two (count them) Vampirella raps. Artist: John Lucas. Fall 2003.

I'm currently in kind of a mad projects-development phase, talking with a variety of artists and editors about new things. Including: a far-future space adventure, a mood/character piece about a medium and a vampire, a near-future biopunk paranoia story, and something insane that's basically a cross between LAW & ORDER and LORD OF THE RINGS.

I also write a bi-weekly column at Newsarama, A THOUSAND FLOWERS. That grew out of the conviction that comics people tend to look at their field in much too insular a way. The comics industry tends to either ignore the larger media world entirely, and believe that comics' problems are unique and a result of a persecution-complex-style lack of respect; or else to embrace other media too much, and (for instance) advocate a complete shift to a book-publishing model. Both approaches are flawed. The real solutions to our problems lie, not in IMITATING other entertainment media, but in looking at where we stand in that larger world, playing up our strengths, and taking lessons from TV, films, prose, etc., selectively, where they're applicable.

In a way, that outside perspective is the same reason I was originally hired at DC - to (somewhat awkwardly) bring this long-winded answer back around full circle.

How do you feel your experience as an editor has prepared you for the rigors of freelance writing? It seems like the tie that binds in all the above projects is the speculative fiction aspect (aside from the column, of course). Even the JLA focuses on Green Lantern (super science) and Hawkgirl (space cop). Do you feel your experience as an editor has taken you in this genre direction?

Hmm… that's two different questions. Being an effective editor does require a certain amount of organizational skill, which gives me a leg up as a freelance writer; I prioritize well, and I tend to think through the implications of what I'm doing. I've had editors tell me that they like working with me because I understand how the business works. All of that's secondary to the quality of the work, of course; but it doesn't hurt.

As for science fiction or speculative fiction: That's just always been my favorite genre. It's not so much that my editorial experience pushed me toward science fiction; it's more that I've always gravitated to that kind of story. I like the thrill-ride aspect of it and I love the potential it has for social commentary and speculation on the human future. When you can successfully put those things together, you've got the ideal genre work: something that works on a superficial level as an adventure story and on a deeper level as well.

Let's talk a little bit about LONE. Does this fall into the category of steampunk? Who is the protagonist?

LONE isn't really steampunk, although it has a similar mixture of old and new technology. It's set in the future, not the past - it's much more in that classic MAD MAX-ish after-the-big-war-that's-devastated-America tradition.

Lone, the character, was the toughest gunman in a revived old-west culture that grew up after the war, when western towns found themselves isolated, reverting back to frontier ways. Now he's given all that up, living all alone in the most toxic, polluted spot in the western wasteland. He thinks he can escape his past, walk away from the things that changed him, both during and after the war. But he's wrong.

There are a lot of mysteries about Lone, how and why he does what he does, that unfold over the first five issues.

This sounds like a dystopian future. Which type of future do you find more challenging as a writer: dystopian or utopian? I don't think there's any utopian visions listed above, but then you may surprise me with the details on PARA...

I don't have a real preference. I don't believe the human race is either inarguably destined for greatness or hopelessly doomed to failure, degradation, and extinction. I do think - and you've actually made me realize, Ed, that this is a recurring theme in a lot of my current work - that we've got a lot of crucial decisions to make as a race over the next fifty years or so that will likely decide the question. As biotech becomes pervasive and incredibly destructive weapons become smaller and more portable, we'll have to stop and look carefully at what we're doing, at every stage. That's what our current administration is trying to do, in their incredibly arrogant, imperialistic, ultimately destructive way.

LONE is definitely dystopian, yes. PARA isn't really a futuristic story per se; it's set in the present day, but it does deal with the dangers of destructive technology - as does GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS, in a more satirical way. My second JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES story, which I can't talk much about yet, is explicitly about our choice between destruction as a race and cooperation with those different from ourselves. That makes it sound like an easy choice, but you know, the consequences aren't always obvious.

How much of the above work is work-for-hire and how much is creator owned? What is your personal philosophy on the WFH vs. CO debate?

JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES and VAMPIRELLA are work-for-hire, of course. So is LONE; Dark Horse approached me about the book. I own GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS, and the deal on PARA is...complicated.

Of course I'm a big believer in creator-ownership; it's much better for the creator in the long run. But there are economic realities at work here. For the most part - with exceptions - creator-owned books just don't sell as well up front as established properties. That means companies are more likely to pay you more for work-for-hire. It's not evil, it's not exploitation; it's just economics.

The trick, for me, is the balance. GIANT ROBOT WARRIORS is my own creation; that's a great thing, and I think I used it to craft something different from anything else out right now - a kind of screwball political satire/romantic comedy. But in the JUSTICE LEAGUE story, I discovered it was really fun to write Superman, a character I'd never really thought about much before.

The most important thing is to give your all to every project - otherwise, don't do it. I've always tried to do that with my full-time jobs, too. If you're going to roll your eyes and grimace at Vampirella, don't write the story. It might pay the rent, but long-term, you're not doing anyone any favors.

I never roll my eyes, since I'm of the mindset that there are no bad characters, merely ones that could use better execution. What is your take on the essence of the Vampirella character? What makes her "work"?

Vampirella's just a great laugh. She's tough as hell and she doesn't take anything from anybody. Once you start with that, you can put her in any kind of story. Mine is a bit of fun about hip-hop and exploitation in the music industry.

Is Vampirella going Dazzler on us?

Heh! Dazzler is strictly old school, yo...

I'm an Old School Player, heh. So, aside from the comic writing, you have a column at Newsarama. How is that going? Do you ever feel that there's a week where you just want to talk about anything but comics?

Absolutely - which is one of the reasons the column, A THOUSAND FLOWERS, is bi-weekly. Actually, it's not a problem because I try to avoid dealing with current events in comics. That's not what the column is about, except for the occasional satirical piece - which I tend to use to provide a different perspective on subjects from other recent columns, anyway. The big exception was MY CITY IN RUINS, which I'm still very proud of. That was a much longer, more autobiographical piece about the vile motives behind the (then-upcoming) Iraq War, and the terrible things this presidential administration was and is doing to my home, New York City. (Plus anecdotes about sleeping with roommates and living in a zombie movie.)

But since the column deals mostly with the historical place of comics in the larger world, I can write a little ahead if I need to and then come back to it later... it's not really a weekly, or bi-weekly, grind. The tough part of the gig is that some of the installments require a fair amount of research. That's the REAL reason A THOUSAND FLOWERS is bi-weekly instead of weekly - I couldn't keep up the quality at a faster pace.

There are supposed universal truths and there are unique experiences that may or may not be duplicated in other professions or even other positions within a profession. Are there any horror stories (or positive stories) you'd care to share with us that sprang from working as a comic book editor? It could have been at the workplace, at a convention, being recognized at a bar...

I don't have anything as dramatic as those Alan Moore stories of having scripts shoved at him in men's room stalls - editors don't get that kind of attention. By and large, my contact with people in the comics community has been very positive - it's one of the things that's kept me here.

Unique experiences... Portfolio review, at conventions, has always been hard for me. I'm not art-trained, and you have to make a spot-evaluation of two different things at once: how good the art is, and how commercial the art is for mainstream comics - which are NOT necessarily the same thing. The process was worst in the early 90s, during the boom, because kids who came to the cons didn't want to hear any criticism - they just wanted to get rich fast. You can usually get a much better dialogue going now.

I have a lot of funny stories. When the late Lou Stathis joined Vertigo, he was a real character - he liked to say deliberately provocative things. He'd just inherited ANIMAL MAN, which Jamie Delano was writing, and they met, I think for the first time, at the San Diego convention that year. At one point at the DC booth, Jamie was talking to a very nervous, teenaged girl who was a big fan of his and was very into the subtext of his work... the kind of intelligent conversation you don't have as often as you'd like at these chaotic conventions. Lou walked up behind Jamie, clapped him hard on the back, and said, "JAMIE! LINING UP THE BABES, HUH?" The poor girl fled in terror. (Lou and Jamie eventually became friends.)

Part of me hopes that girl became an excellent writer and is working in the industry today, heh. And what of Stuart Moore: The Marvel Years? Anything equally interesting happen that can be talked about yet?

Most of Marvel (Knights) was a blur... things like writing an entire ratings system in one three-hour meeting. (Which wasn't really that hard.) The place is so fast-moving and quick-changing... you edit as many books there in two years as you would in five or six anywhere else.

The best story I have is probably the "Superheroes for Real Heroes" dinner where Kevin Smith auctioned off artwork from the HEROES benefit book. I wrote up the whole story in the MY CITY IN RUINS column - I'd provide a link except Newsarama's back columns seem to be down right now - but the gist was this: It was a benefit for local firemen and cops organized by a local promoter at a private club. The crowd was a mix of civil servants; a few rich people who'd paid $150/plate; comic book people in suits; a dozen or so fashion models "donated" by Glamour Magazine; and Spider-Man. The models were supposed to escort auction winners to the payment table, but all they really did was stuff themselves on the seafood buffet. Spider-Man was more popular than they were - possibly because his outfit was even more, er, frank. It was the single most surreal night of my life.

I wish we had a photo of that. Or maybe I don't. The imagination probably filled in the correct blanks with the "models finally eating" picture. One final question, Stuart: you joined Marvel prior to the destruction of the WTC. What was it like in the office after that event? What was it like trying to get back to making fantasy books?

I was very glad to be at Marvel when that happened. That was where Marvel's biggest strength - the ability to move FAST - really helped: We were able to get that benefit book together quicker than anyone else. That was a great thing for the Twin Towers Fund, of course, but it was also good for us. You know what it was like in New York then; most people weren't sleeping very well, and it was a little hard to sit at your desk and make ELEKTRA a priority, you know? But this was clearly an important project, and something we all pitched in on together; no one editor would have had the rolodex to get that lineup of creators to contribute.

My wife is a freelance writer, and she didn't have that kind of support system around. She kept saying to me "I didn't know anyone who died or anything, but I just can't get over this." I said, "Of course you can't. Your city, your home, has been attacked." I'm grateful I had an office around me during that time. And, hey, I got back to ELEKTRA sooner or later.

Ed Mathews is Co-Editor in Chief for PopImage


PopImage Forum - Discuss this message at the PopImage forum.
E-Mail Us - Send us an e-mail commenting on this article
A Thousand Flowers - Read Stuart Moore's column at Newsarama

Industrial Archive - Read past Industrial articles