For those of you who enjoyed Peter Hogan’s recent work on the America’s Best Comics’ The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong, you’ll be pleased to hear his and Alan Moore’s six-part miniseries, Terra Obscura, is slated to go on sale June 25. In order to get the details on this project, which spins out of the pages of Tom Strong, SBC recently chatted a spell with Mr. Hogan.
Tim O’Shea: Given that the Terra Obscura/ABC characters partially stem from the Golden Age, how much research (as you put it "I read a small mountain of their Golden Age adventures") did you do compared to how much was just ignoring the past limited history and just forging your own path? I assume the latter since at the same Wildstorm website story you commented that with the project "we wouldn’t be hamstrung by decades of continuity"
Peter Hogan: Well, it’s true – I did read a ton of old Nedor material, just to get a taste of how each character was handled way back then and to see if there were useful ingredients that could be dragged into the modern world. But very few readers will have seen any of that stuff, so we’re more or less starting from scratch – and the fact that these characters aren’t carrying a ton of baggage with them does make them a lot easier to deal with. There was nobody to tell us we couldn’t do things because of some dumb convoluted clone story twenty years ago.
TO: How did you come to first work with Alan Moore, and does it ever intimidate you to work with someone who is relatively legendary in the industry?
PH: I’ve known Alan for donkey’s years, had interviewed him several times back when I was a journalist, and we’d always got on pretty well. So, when I started writing comics I’d send copies to Alan, and he must have liked some of what he saw because he invited me aboard the good ship ABC. Yes, of course it was a little intimidating … but the really good things in life usually are. It was also way too good an opportunity to pass up - a chance to learn from the best there is.
TO: How would you describe your collaborative process in general?
PH: Well, first off, Alan’s an incredibly generous and supportive collaborator. Even when he disagreed with one of my ideas, he was never just dismissive, and would always explain his reasoning. As to how it worked … we did a certain amount by phone and letter, but the core of the work was done face to face in Alan’s front room, and involved many cups of tea. We plotted it all out together, over the course of seven meetings, and then I went off and wrote the scripts. Alan would then sometimes make a suggestion or two after he’d read them, but the bulk of it was nailed down in advance.
TO: You've tackled Tesla Strong, now Terra Obscura...any one else strike your writing fancy in the ABC universe?
PH: They’re all good characters, and I’d happily tackle any of them. Since finishing Terra Obscura I’ve also written a few fill-in issues of Tom Strong, and hopefully I’ll be writing a few more ABC stories before it all wraps up. But it’s up to Alan and Scott (Dunbier) as to which characters they’ll involve.
TO: Can you provide some details about your upcoming Tom Strong issues?
PH: Don't want to ruin any surprises, so I'll simply say: one's set on the moon, and the other focuses on a figure from Tom's past.
TO: How much is the ABC line a commentary on past comic genres? And has it reached a point where rather than homage/commentary it has evolved into a present day subgenre of its own?
PH: Hmmmm. That one’s probably better answered by a critic. But personally, I don’t feel it’s just a question of nostalgia, or of knowingly humorous post-modernism. I think it’s simply a matter of saying some of this old stuff still works just fine if you scrape the crap off and give it a polish, so why not use it?
TO: Of the Terra Obscura team, did you start out with one character as your favorite and then find yourself partial to another by the time you had written a few issues?
PH: Yes – in fact, my favourite changed quite a few times. Alan once said something to the effect that one’s favourite should ideally be whichever character you’re writing at the time, and he’s right – but you can’t help liking some more than others. I think I’ll always have a special soft spot for the Ape.
TO: I think writers are always delighted to see how artists interpret their work. What pleases you most about the Yanick Paquette and Karl Story interpretations of Hogan narrative?
PH: The fact that it’s downright gorgeous. I think they’ve both done an amazing job … plus, whenever there were logistical problems with the script that Alan or I were to blame for, Yanick always came up with great solutions.
TO: For folks like myself who were first introduced to your work with the ABC line, what previous works of yours would you recommend fans seeking out?
PH: If you like Vertigoish material, try The Sandman Presents Love Street, which features a teenage John Constantine. If you like action stuff, apart from The Many Worlds Of Tesla Strong you could try Captain America & Nick Fury : The Otherworld War.
Hope you like 'em.
TO: Is there anything else about Terra Obscura you would like to discuss?
