AHOY Comics, the publisher that tells readers to “expect more,” is keeping the supply line fresh with a continuous deluge of new books on every topic under the sun. As an essential part of the company, writer/editor Stuart Moore’s been on the front lines with several releases. Following the success of Captain Ginger, Moore’s latest endeavor, Bronze Age Boogie, has recently been collected in its first volume.
If you thought cats in space was a truly bizarre concept, just wait till you dive into Boogie. As an introduction, we touched base with Moore to discuss the graphic novel, his artistic team, creating wacky characters, and much more.
Bronze Age Boogie volume one is out now at all fine comics shops/outlets.
AIPT: First off congratulations on the series! It’s not often that a story so deep in nostalgia can be spectacularly original at the same time, how did these ‘70s genres come together?
Stuart Moore: Thank you. I’d had a lot of the ideas and characters floating around in my head for a while. Once I realized they all fit together, it became a game of seeing how much trash culture you could fit in one book and still have a compelling, coherent story.
I did NOT want the book to be a pure exercise in nostalgia. I looked at it more like mining old movies and comics for concepts that could still work today. And I have a fascination with New York City in the time before I moved here, when it was in decay and near financial collapse. It’s so different now.
AIPT: The art in Bronze Age Boogie is something else, what was it like working with Alberto Ponticelli and colourist Giulia Brusco?
SM: I’d worked with Alberto before, so I knew he could draw anything. What I didn’t know is that he’s a martial arts teacher! Which made the combat scenes much more compelling. He also does wonderful designs…the Martians, for instance. They’re recognizable as H.G. Wells tripods, but they look much faster and more organic, like deadly metal insects.
I’ve known Giulia for years, but this is the first time we’ve worked together. Alberto asked for her, and I immediately saw why. Her work is breathtaking—she takes every scene and gives it its own flavor, its own temperature. She did great SFX for the mysterious Taboo Zone, too.
AIPT: Each chapter features an illustrated prose page which really makes the book stand out amongst the others on the shelves, where did that idea come from?
SM: I took that straight from some of the more complex, literate Marvel comics of the 1970s, like Killraven and The Defenders. It allowed me to weave a much more complicated plot than would have been possible otherwise.
AIPT: Without giving anything away, the ending certainly leaves readers wanting more, when can we expect another instalment of Bronze Age Boogie?
SM: Ha! Yes, there will be more. I can’t promise it’ll pick up exactly where we left off, though. There will be curveballs.
AIPT: Coming off Captain Ginger, it comes across that you’re having a lot of fun writing these stories, what is it like to work for AHOY Comics?
SM: I’ve never felt more trusted by a publisher in my life. These are gorgeous books, lovingly produced. Both June Brigman and Alberto are artists I’ve collaborated with before, and now we’ve been unleashed on our own projects. It’s great.
AIPT: Lastly, can you give readers any hints to the identity of Miasmic Moon-Thing? Asking for a friend…
SM: I’m glad you asked! The Moon-Thing, for the readers out there, stars in his own short feature in the middle of the book, drawn by the astounding Shawn Crystal. First take a look at the Moon-Thing’s sparring partner in that story…there are a lot of hints as to who HE is. Then think about the time-frame where that character’s story would take place. Finally, go back and consider the minor characters in the main Boogie story, and how they might wind up.
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