JEFF MOY: BRINGING THE FUTURE TO THE SEQUENTIAL PAGE
From LEGIONNAIRES, STAR TREK, and GEN 13, an interview with Jeff Moy by Jonathan Ellis.

Jeff Moy is most famous for stylizing DC's LEGIONNAIRES characters over 5 years and giving life to the 30th century. Jeff started out as an inker's assistant for Pam Eklund who first introduced him to KC Carlson at a comic convention. A little later, he ended up working for him.

PopImage: How did you get into drawing comic books?

Jeff Moy: I pretty much started out as a fan and once I decided I wanted to draw comics I geared my education toward the art field, seeing if I couldn't make in comics, I could try movie storyboarding or animation. I went to Northern Illinois University where Mark Nelson was teaching at the time, because he was also a freelance fantasy/ comic illustrator and who better to learn from. I graduated from there with a Bachlors of Fine Arts degree. After a couple years of working for some smaller publishers and meeting other professionals like Adam Hughes, Brian Stelfreeze, and Karl Story, I got my big break at DC Comics. I sent stuff to the Gaijin Studio guys for fun, but I didn't realize it would help get me a job. Karl was leaving LEGIONNAIRES when Chris Sprouse left the book and he called me up and asked if I wanted to try out for the book, because he knew I was a big fan of LEGIONNAIRES. I called up KC Carlson and sent in some samples. He asked me to draw up two pinups featuring the characters and that lead to a fill in on LEGIONNAIRES #15. I did work on the two LEGION annuals that year and KC asked me if I wanted to draw the LEGIONNAIRES title on a regular basis. At that time I didn't realize they would be restarting Legion history, but since they were going to still be kids starting out, I was all for it, since the Legion I was really familiar with was the Shooter/ Swan stuff. I worked on LEGIONNAIRES for 5 years and still have a love for drawing the characters.

Team books or single characters, which do you prefer; to read? To work on?

To me if the characters are well drawn and interesting to me it doesn't matter if it's a team book or single character. For working the same applies although if I had to draw a book on a regular basis, it would have to be a team book. There's just more variety there. I'm sure saying that will come to bite me on the ass. :)

Working on LEGIONNAIRES you worked on several, SEVERAL characters at once, did you ever draw a page or issue and just wish for a break?

There were a few times over the years where I started to feel burned out but working on LEGIONNAIRES was so fun for me I really didn't feel I needed a break. It's just something that you have to work through as a professional. I know the work I turned in wasn't the best I could've done but I'm really there to tell the story and not just make it pretty. I feel I've gotten better over the years and that just comes from drawing all the time.

Any plans to ever write your own project or do an independent book?

Yes, it's called VIDEO GAME GALS or VGG for short. If I don't get tied down to any regular books I'm interested in, I'll probably start on that, since it's close to being proposed.

Ahh, time for those quirky and fun interview games; 1) Of choice; what is your drink of choice?
Water. I'm boring so sue me. :)

Restaurant of choice?
Usually fast food, Wendy's, McDonald's, Subway, Bill's Pizza. Bob Chinn's Crab House in Wheeling, IL for special times.

Movies?
Sci-fi. Star Wars Trilogy, Fifth Element, Apollo 13 (okay that's not fiction).

Books?
Don't really read too many books nowadays. Star Wars books if any. Can't believe they killed Chewie.

Music?
Mostly Soundtracks, anime, rock, old and newer stuff.

Artists? etc?
Comic wise...Adam Hughes, Alan Davis, some manga artists like Kenichi Sonoda, and Kosuke Fujishima.

What's your dream project? If you could work with any companies, characters, writers, artists, no restrictions, no rules, complete creative freedom, crossover as many characters from as many different companies as and if you wanted without any complaints, put together whatever creative teams you wanted, and no one would stop you, what would you do?

Well, I pretty much have had my dream projects, LEGION OF SUPERHEROES and STAR TREK. Not a lot right now interest me. Maybe a crack at FANTASTIC FOUR, that's always been my favorite since I used to read the Kirby and Byrne issues. Anything else? Probably make some decent superhero smut comics using Marvel and DC's characters. Everything else has been done with them except that. Ain't I sick? :)

The quicky Q's; Favourite characters? Heroes? Villains? Matter eating bouncing lighting triplets?
Legion of Superheroes, Fantastic Four, original Frightful Four, Fatal Five...

Most influential Author? Artist?
Not really influenced by writers, more of a visual guy. Hughes, Sprouse, Syd Mead, manga artists Otomo, Fujishima.

Favourite old school artist? Writer?
Curt Swan, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko.

Best Kirby creation?
FANTASTIC FOUR

Most under appreciated creator currently in the biz?
Me, dammit. :) Not really, I'm fine with where I am and I'm still appreciated even after LEGIONNAIRES, thanks! I really don't know anyone really under appreciated. I'd like to see more work from Adam Hughes, and Travis Charest, but that's more on their end. Adam should be drawing that Gen 13/ Supes thing, BTW.

Worst fanboy experience?
Guy asking for sketches of anthropomorphic-mech cat girls with six breasts. But I just say no. Haven't had any bad ones, guess I'm lucky to have nice fans. Except the ones that commission a sketch of their character and fail to pick it up. Grrr...

Proudest body of work?
The Emerald Vi saga we did around LEGIONNAIRES #39. Lots of fun drawing the characters and designing the separate Triads. Plus Vi as the Empress looked very hot in those issues. I'm also proud of the Golden Age Legion in LEGIONNAIRES #54. What a fun book to design and reference.

Advice to those trying to make it in the Biz today?
Turn back!!! If you really want to be in this biz, draw a lot! Try and draw everything and if you don't know how to draw something, get some reference. Make sure you put characters in environments and have a good storytelling sense. After you get the hang of those things, start sending in samples and go to cons to meet other artists and editors. Be persistent and don't get discouraged if you don't get something right away, go back and keep drawing.

What has been your favourite book to work on?
LEGIONNAIRES, duh. Wouldn't have spent five years on a book I didn't like. :)

Current titles everyone SHOULD be reading?
Of mine? Gen 13 #51, STAR TREK VOYAGER: FALSE COLORS and soon STAR TREK VOYAGER: ELITE FORCE, as well as FORCE SEVEN #6 from Lone Star Press and whenever I get that LOVE IN TIGHTS story done. Other peoples work, AUTHORITY, more manga like SHADOW LADY, RANMA, MAISON IKKOKU, OH! MY GODDESS. I suppose you could try that Legion book that's been getting a lot more promotion in the past month than it did in the previous five years.

Favourite character(s), title(s) to hopefully some day work on?
Something I like, I hope. Right now I'm happy working on Voyager for the next month. After that, who knows?

Comics journalism, in any form, how important is it?

I think it's important. Fans like to know what's going on. It was really different about 20 years ago when all you knew about comics was that they were fun to read. Hmmm...maybe we should go back to that. :)

You've just been given a chance to rework the industry, starting with the major publishers and distribution companies, what do you do, what DO you do?

Give creators more control of what they create, better benefits and contracts, and get comics to the people and not just in comic shops.

And now...
Plug time! This is where you plug as many things as you want, comics, websites, movies, homemade explosives, novels, anything old, new, current and upcoming, sushi- just sushi, where to buy your books, scripts, and whatever else. Anything that could somehow lead towards a thick as a phonebook wad of cash in your pocket, and then we, the reader, go out and spend obsessive fanboys, they're obsessed I say, obsessed!

Too tired to think and type anymore. Live long and prosper, eh!

Jeff

PopImage and I would like to thank Jeff for participating in this interview and want to remind you pick up all his works. All. Not just some, ALL. And now. All of them! Now!

All characters, titles, images mentioned or shown are copyright and trademark their respective creators.

Jon Ellis is Interviews Editor of PopImage.

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