The following is an interview with Stuart Moore regarding the recent release of his new comic book series, Highball, through AHOY Comics. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Moore about returning to work with artist Fred Harper, the special features that readers will have in store, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of Highball! What can you tell us about this off-the-wall series, and what inspired you to tell this story?
Stuart Moore: Thank you! Highball is the story of the greatest space pilot in the Earth Corp, a marksman without peer but with one terrible flaw: He can only hit the target when he’s terribly, awfully drunk.
On the one hand, Highball was inspired by a friend of mine who gets better at darts the more he drinks. Seriously, just hits one bullseye after another. On the other hand, it’s about the things we all do in order to keep from thinking about the consequences of our actions.
And on the third hand—we can have three hands in science fiction!—it’s a thrilling space opera with a bit of humor all through. Like an American Hitchhiker’s Guide or Battlestar Galactica if they all just f**ked off from their duties and hung around Central Perk all day.
BD: You have been reunited once again with artist Fred Harper to bring this series to life. Do you find that you share a creative shorthand together in light of your past collaborations?
SM: Fred and I have worked together once before, though we’ve known each other casually for a long time. He’s a wonderful collaborator…we’ve gotten used to throwing ideas back and forth. His sense of humor is pretty close to mine, too, I think, which helps.
BD: How many issues do you have planned for this first story arc, and, if given the opportunity, would you expand Highball’s story into subsequent adventures?
SM: This first Highball series runs five issues and tells a full story of galactic intrigue, space adventure, terrible drunken behavior, and much much more. There’s even a mystery: What’s up with the ship’s captain? The answer may confuse you!
But the series takes place within a very big universe, with six major alien races in addition to humankind. So yeah, we’ve got a lot more stories we could tell, if people are interested.
BD: As with all of AHOY’s releases, there will be incredible extras included within the comic, including work by Chris Duffy, Julia Scott, and James Finn Garner. What are you most excited for readers to enjoy with these added features?
SM: I wanted to try something a little different with the editor’s page in this book, so I commissioned Chris Duffy to draw little comic strips that will run across the bottom of those pages, in every issue. Chris is best known as an editor, but he’s a hilariously quirky cartoonist, as well.
The book will also feature the usual array of AHOY prose stories. There’s a very special one in issue #2—so special that it’s accompanied by an illustration from the January 1881 issue of Harper’s Monthly Magazine.
BD: Are there any other upcoming projects on which you are working that you are able to share with our readers?
SM: My next Marvel novel, Into the Dark Dimension, was just announced. It’s another big, multi-character epic tied into the Marvel Crisis Protocol game, and it’ll be out in May 2023. I’ve got a few other interesting things in the works, including a bit more Captain Ginger for AHOY, with June Brigman.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Highball and your other work?
SM: Please visit my website, stuartmoorewriter.com, which I swear I will get around to updating soon! Meanwhile, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter at stuartmoore1, and on Instagram at stuartmoore01 (just to be confusing).
