The following is an interview with Stuart Moore regarding the upcoming release of his comic book one-shot, The Wrong Earth: Purple #1, through AHOY Comics. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Moore about the shared creative process of working with artist Fred Harper to bring the story to life, his experience of working with the shared Wrong Earth universe, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming release of The Wrong Earth: Purple #1! As this comic is part of AHOY’s The Wrong Earth comic book event, what can you tell us about the event’s premise, and what inspired you to tell this specific story?
Stuart Moore: The event itself, as explained to me, was wide open: Tell stories in one or more of the worlds of THE WRONG EARTH, Tom Peyer and Jamal Igle’s series about night-and-day superheroes who have to learn to survive on each other’s Earth. I’d had a few ideas rattling around in my head that fit into that frame, and Tom understood what I wanted to do immediately.
I’d been playing with a very different story set in the 1980s, and this seemed like a chance to examine rich industrialist Richard Fame, the alter ego of all the WRONG EARTH Dragonfly characters, through that lens. The ’80s was a time when Wall Street tycoons were practically deified—that’s when we really decided rich people deserved to own everything. So, Richard Fame, on this previously unseen Earth, is riding pretty high. But is he living up to his ideals? That’s the tension, the drama that sets everything in motion.
Well, that and a homicidal villain who plays the saxophone. And some sort-of guest appearances by the main Dragonfly characters. And a drug trip, which Fred Harper just drew the absolute living sh*t out of.
BD: What can you tell us about your shared creative process in working with artist Fred Harper to bring this story to life?
SM: I pretty much wrote the script and he drew it. Late in the process, we asked Fred if he wanted to try the book in purple tones, because of the villain—and the title, of course. Fred went away and did a subtle, full-range coloring job that is just gorgeous. I’ve never seen a comic book that looks like this one.
BD: As with all of AHOY’s releases, there will be incredible extras included within the comic, including amazing variant covers. Who are the stellar artists who will be providing Purple #1’s cover artwork?
SM: The main cover is a lovely job by Jamal Igle. He really caught the beauty and lyricism behind The Player, our villain, who in some ways is the only hero in the story. It’s sort of an ’80s thing; you had to be there.
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects on which you are working that you are able to share with our readers?
SM: I have a fun story in ET ER #2 from AWA/Upshot in June. It’s in that sci-fi medical farce genre that everyone’s talking about! I’m working on a new Marvel novel for Aconyte Books. And Fred Harper and I enjoyed working together on this book so much, we’ll be unleashing another big surprise on the world very, very soon.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about The Wrong Earth: Purple #1 and The Wrong Earth comic book event?
SM: Just buy it! Then you’ll learn the meaning behind this enigmatic song, performed by our villain:
Seven spires,
Two souls lost.
One craves money.
One knows the cost.
