There’s really interesting sci-fi, and then there’s Roche Limit.
Launched way back in fall 2014, Roche Limit is the daring and inventive brain-child of writer Michael Moreci (Barbarian) alongside a suite of artists (Vic Malhotra, Matt Battaglia, and Kyle Charles). Across three volumes and 14 separate issues, the series was instantly heralded for pushing forth the genre with its intensity, prescience, political savvy, and general flair and creativity. (Publications like Paste and Nerdist readily sung its praises as at or near the likes of classics like 2001.) It was a book very much linked to a pure sci-fi experience, but also something altogether more beguiling.
Roche Limit kicked off with its first five-issue arc (“Anomalous”) from 2014 to 2015. Here, we were introduced to the Roche Limit colony, a city of promise “situated on the cusp of a mysterious energy anomaly” that had instead become a “melting pot of crime and terrible secrets.” With the disappearance of one young girl, her sister and some of Roche Limit’s more nefarious denizens quickly launched into an “odyssey that reveals a grim future for mankind.”
In 2015, Roche Limit expanded with a second arc, “Clandestiny.” Taking place some 75 years after the debut series, a “crew of military and science personnel are sent to the forgotten and desolate planet on a mysterious expedition.” What they find isn’t just lost promise, but a “mysterious presence that haunts them all.”
Finally, in 2016, the four-part “Monadic” arc wrapped up the story of Roche Limit. (At least for now…) With the Earth nigh-oblitered after the actions of the Black Sun, we delve into the last remaining city, where “inhabitants fight for survival, while a chosen few realize that their world may not be what it seems.”
So, why are we talking about a 10-ish-year-old series like Roche Limit? Well, for one, there’s the quality and prowess contained within it. Plus, the whole “billionaire space explorer sees bright vision of the future blow up in his face” is painfully relevant to 2025. But if nothing else, it’s because Moreci has recently launched a Zoop campaign for a deluxe hardcover. Not only does it collect the entire series, but it features “a brand-new introduction [from Moreci] and extra material.” That way, you can read one of the last decade’s most vital sci-fi stories as intended: In its full, unwavering power as it makes you second guess the future.
If you’re inclined to support the Roche Limit campaign, head here. In the lead-up to the campaign, Moreci was kind enough to answer a few of our most burning questions via email. That includes how he views the story at-large, the larger prescience/relevance, what’s included in this deluxe hardcover, why the book took off, and even possible future arcs/add-ons.
AIPT: How do you view Roche Limit in the grand scheme of your career/bibliography? When it first released, what did it do for you creatively or maybe bolstering your career?
Michael Moreci: That’s a great question. I really look back at Roche Limit as my breakout book. Maybe some would argue it’s Barbaric, but I’m not sure I get to the stage in my career without Roche Limit. It was my first genuine successful comic, both commercially and critically — and I think the latter is even more important. The response I received from critics, and readers, gave me the confidence to know that the things I’m interested — artistically, philosophically, and just pure entertainment — were resonating, and that made all the difference in the world.
AIPT: How has your relationship with the book/story evolved over these years? Do you think it’s somehow more relevant nowadays?
MM: Well, you always look at your past work and think how you would’ve done things differently, and that’s no different with Roche Limit. I probably would change a ton, though. Just details that I’m surely the one who obsesses over.
To answer your second question, I do think, sadly, it’s more relevant than ever. A billionaire promising the stars but delivering filth? I mean…at the time that wasn’t so salient, but now it’s on every street corner. We live in the era of big promises coming from little men, and that conflict is at the heart of Roche Limit.
From Roche Limit #2.
AIPT: What was it like reconnecting/reuniting with Kyle Charles and Vic Malhotra for this process? How has that collaborative process changed over the years?
MM: I was so glad to talk with both of them again! It’d been way too long. Vic and Kyle are both tremendous artists — anyone can see that — and wonderful, wonderful people. I’ve truly missed not only working with them, but being around them.
AIPT: You were really ahead of the curve on the while “billionaires trying to change the future only to then drop the ball.” Where did the original idea come from, and what were you working through socially/politically in 2014-2015-ish?
MM: In some ways, sadly, it’s kind of an evergreen idea. But I really did see the writing on the wall during that time period. Circa 2014 is when seemingly everything was being sold off to corporations and privatized. Everything from war to parking meters was being sold to big businesses, essentially placing the future of the world in the hands of entities that don’t care all that much, if at all, about the greater good. S
o, if we ever are to reach the stars, like Chuck Palahniuk has said, it’s going to be on a McDonald’s rocket going to Planet Starbucks. And, look, this is a complicated relationship, and I’m barely scratching the surface. But the point is that I did see these things happening, and it did make me consider how billionaire people and multinational corporations owning everything would impact the fate of our world and existence.
From Roche Limit: Clandestiny #1.
AIPT: Do you have an issue/story section that stands out as being particularly exceptional and/or important? And why that one?
MM: I love them all for different reasons, but “Clandestiny” really stands out as something really special. There’s so much of me in it, and it’s also such a strange book — strange but somehow very human. I really love that story.
AIPT: The series also got massive praise upon its release. Did that response shock you at all? Did you think the book would be perceived as being so inventive and novel?
MM: Oh, it definitely shocked me. I always figured the familiar elements would help it get by — like, comparing it to Blade Runner and 2001 never hurts — but I do recognize the story is pretty unconventional. What starts as a sci-fi noir in volume one (“Anomalous”) veers into some pretty unusual territory pretty quickly. Then, in volume two (“Clandestiny”), you get this Alien-esque survivor story that, again, turns into something else. And volume three (“Monadic”) is just wild start to finish.
AIPT: If you could somehow change one part of the overarching story during the re-release process, what would it be and why?
MM: I’d change the first issue. It haunts me to this day! And this has nothing to do with any of my collaborators — this is purely a script problem. I just don’t think the hook is strong enough. If I had to do it over again, the issue would have a totally different ending; I’d plant a much better hook and end on a more surprising twist. The ending as is…it’s fine, but it’s not the gut-punch you need to propel readers into a second issue.
From Roche Limit: Monadic #1.
AIPT: Can you give us a little teaser of what you might be discussing in your brand-new intro?
MM: Well, a lot of it we’ve discussed here! My plan is to peek into the legacy of the book and how its themes have, for better or worse, remained salient with our times — as good sci-fi should. And I think it’s important that art functions in this way. It should help us consider where we are and where we’re going, and hopefully Roche Limit accomplished this then and continues to do so now and into the future.
AIPT: Could we see more Roche Limit in the future? What might a subsequent story look like?
MM: I think about it constantly, I really do. But I’m so afraid of taking the wrong step an undoing a book that didn’t overstay its welcome. I certainly don’t think the book is perfect, so it’s not like I’m messing with perfection; but I do think it’s the exact right dose.
But, then again, I never thought Blade Runner could be continued, and 2049 proved me dead wrong. So, you never know…
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about Roche Limit, sci-fi, terrible billionaires, space travel, the future, etc.?
MM: Yes! If any billionaire promises you a bright shiny future, know that any promised future will come after said billionaire’s thirst is quenched — thirst for glory, money and power. And believe, that thirst is unquenchable.
To support the Zoom campaign for Roche Limit, head here.
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