The Forbidden Planet blog talks at length with author and comics writer Charlie Huston about his Joe Pitt series of vampire-crime novels, and his revamp of Moon Knight for Marvel Comics:
My take on Marc Spector involved doing a slight reboot on his story by assuming he’d been knocked out of commission and that now, at nearly 40, he was looking to get back in the business of kicking asses. Violence being the medium through which he tries to redeem himself for his violent past as a mercenary. An irony he’s not at all self-aware enough to register. And not likely to dig into over much as it would force him to think about just how much he enjoys hurting people.
The Batman comparisons I understand, I just think they’re pointless. There are maybe a half-dozen (some would say two) models for superheroes, so what you have out there are about six pretty original heroes, and a few thousand rip-offs. Really, who gives a f***? As far as making Moon Knight relevant, that wasn’t necessarily what I was trying to do. He was always a visceral character to me, and I wanted to try and share that feeling with other readers. Violence, drug abuse, mental illness, moon copters, these are all visceral elements. I wanted Marc Spector to be a shambling mess of a human being who only comes alive, who only understands the world when he puts on a cowl and a cape and jumps out of a helicopter and lands knuckles first in someone’s f***ing face.
Huston also reveals that he’ll likely be taking a break from comics writing to focus on his novels.
“It’s most likely that I’ll be taking a hiatus from comics work,” he tells Forbidden Planet. “I love it, and I intend on doing more in the future, but this is going to be a very busy year for me, and I doubt I’ll be able to keep up with a monthly schedule. That said, I have several Moon Knight scripts in the bag with Marvel, and those will all publish this year.”
January 24th, 2007 at 9:57 am
“An irony he’s not at all self-aware enough to register. And not likely to dig into over much as it would force him to think about just how much he enjoys hurting people.”
So in other words, he’s an idiot?
January 24th, 2007 at 11:26 am
This is an awesome book! I’ve loved the character from back in the Doug Moench run. I love the new take on MK and the artwork has been fantastic IMHO. Hate to see that he will eventually be leaving the title, but glad to see I have all of 07 to enjoy him.
January 24th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Re: Dan Coyle
I don’t think it makes him an idiot, but he is doing this as an emotional response rather than a logical one. He’s trying to make up for being a mercenary by being a hero and saving people. I think the question Huston is asking is why did he choose a violent way to make up for his actions. There are a million things he could have done to help people, but this is what he chose.