Zeb Larson talks to comic book writer Daniel Corey…
Zeb Larson: When did you first conceive of Red City? What made it come together?
Daniel Corey: I was working on my previous Image Comics series MORIARTY with artist Anthony Diecidue back in 2011 when the idea came to me. I had just finished writing the MORIARTY: THE LAZARUS TREE storyline, and Anthony was starting the artwork for that. I had a talk with Image publisher Eric Stephenson around October of that year, and told him that I wanted to do “Phillip Marlowe on Mars.” He said, “That’s cool.” So the story was approved at that point.
From there, it was a matter of finishing the scripts, which took about four months or so. Then I had to assemble a team of artists, which took a few years. We secured a release date around December 2013, and issue #1 hit stands June 2014.
As of this writing, RED CITY issue #4–rounding out our first story–will be releasing in less than a week, on Wednesday, September 17th, 2014. Almost three years from the time I first pitched the idea. A lot of readers don’t understand how difficult it is to get a new indie comic released into the world. Take it from me: it is tough. A lot of obstacles to overcome.
Fortunately, I had a great team of artists to work with. MORIARTY’s Anthony Diecidue took over pencil and inks for RED CITY #3 and #4, Chris Fenoglio did color for all four issues, and Dave Lanphear handled letters and design. Dave also created our excellent logo. Dave is fresh off a Harvey Award nomination, by the way.
Anthony, Chris and Dave are an amazing team who worked their hearts out to get this book done and out on time. God bless ‘em.
ZL: Were there any film noir influences you had in mind as you were writing the series? Likewise, were there any specific literary influences you had?
DC: I’m a huge fan of crime films, as one might guess. “Heat” is one of my favorite movies of all time. There’s all the other obvious influences: “Godfather,” “Goodfellas,” “Chinatown,” etc. Classic movies like “The Big Sleep,” “Double Indemnity” and so forth.
The one movie that really influenced the writing of RED CITY’s leading man Cal was “Harper,” starring Paul Newman. “Harper” was based on the Lew Archer novels by Ross Macdonald. Legend has it that Newman requested a name change, because he was in the middle of a string of “H” hits that included “Hud,” “The Hustler,” “Hombre.”
Paul Newman is a huge factor in everything I put out, no matter what it is. He just had a way of bringing characters and myths to the screen that would linger for generations. All of his characters in the “H” films would come together to form Cal. But Harper, he was something special. A really loveable louse, he was. Although it didn’t show, he was doggedly committed to his case. You never really quite know what drives Harper, how an otherwise irresponsible guy would be so committed to a job. But that’s what made him so fascinating.
In literature, of course Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Chandler and Hammett. On the sci-fi side, Ray Bradbury stands out in my mind as a rather singular giant. Newer writers would include Lehane, Ellroy, Blessing.
On television, recent crime shows that I love include “The Killing,” “The Bridge” and “Terriers”. Growing up in the ‘80s, “Magnum P.I.” really taught me a lot about the detective genre.
One of the greatest TV influences that formed RED CITY–and also informs everything I do– is “Star Trek”. Catching “Trek TOS” in reruns as a kid taught me that sci-fi could be a vessel for many types of story, whether it’s a murder mystery, political thriller, social commentary, what have you.
ZL: A lot of the postwar boom in noir and detective stories came out of veterans of WWII. Talmadge is also a vet. Was that a conscious decision on your part? And if so, is there a link in your mind?
DC: Yes, it was a conscious effort to make Cal a war vet. In RED CITY, I wanted to use time-proven elements and turn them on their head in a sci-fi setting. The idea of a war-torn hero coming home to a boiling pot of conspiracy is an idea that has resonated with audiences for decades. Think about it, they did that on “Magnum,” as well. Tom and his friends were Vietnam vets, Higgins was a World War II vet. Issues from their past lives were always resurfacing and resulting in new cases. War changes what you are, changes society. So the idea of the vet-as-detective brings this idea of a person trying to escape a violent past, one that they’re not totally responsible for.
It seems to me that the American public developed a fascination with the noir/crime genre during the ‘30s and ‘40s because, during the Depression and World War II, people felt lost in the dark. Times were bleak, and everyone wanted to find a way out. The hard-boiled noir hero’s struggle is a spiritual one, in my view. He or she contends with forces greater than themselves, and must gather arcane facts and clues in order to find their way out of the maze. And the results are usually gray and ambiguous.
ZL: Moriarty is a series about a popular villain. Talmadge is not your typical good guy either. Are you drawn to misunderstood protagonists?
DC: Yes, I like my heroes complex. That comes from my background as a writer and actor in live theater. When you’re performing in black box productions in regional theater and reading a lot of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter and Edward Albee, you start getting ideas about character and story, and suddenly, writing a white-hat good guy that always wins the fight and gets the girl isn’t enough. Audiences today don’t want that, anyway.
Just look at “Breaking Bad”. People want to understand the other side. They want to walk the dangerous line as they consume books and television. I myself want to walk that line. Writing MORIARTY took me to places of spiritual discovery, I have to say. Understanding the darkness makes you really crave the light.
ZL: Red City has a developed backstory. How much of that did you flesh out before you started the series?
DC: When I had the initial idea for the series, first thing I did was write an outline of the structure and history of the NSS, the New Solar System. The story of RED CITY deals with a fully inhabited Solar System: there are Martians on Mars, Venusians on Venus, etc. (That’s the Ray Bradbury influence.) The planets have come together to form the NSS, and are trying to operate as one unified nation-state, but it never quite works. We’ve just come out of the Unification War, in which Cal served, and the entire system is a ticking bomb just waiting to go off.
All of this would form the character of Cal and the issues he deals with. But really, in my mind, everything in the universe of RED CITY exists as a result of who Cal is. The character is the story, and the story is the character.
ZL: Do you have any plans to revisit Red City?
DC: I hope that we will have a chance to do Vol. II. Like I said, indie comics are very difficult to produce. It’s a slow and expensive project of love.
ZL: What comic projects do you have on the horizon? And what about in other mediums?
DC: RED CITY Vol. I is coming out December 3rd, and will feature a new MORIARTY short story titled MORIARTY: ENDGAME. It’s a 10-page story written by me, art by Anthony Diecidue, letters by Dave Lanphear. I’m very excited at the prospect of people seeing this new story. I think that the three of us created something very special.
I have a few other comics that I’d like to do, just need the funding. One is a horror story-crime blend, featuring FBI profilers and demon-possessed serial killers.
As far as other mediums: I live in Los Angeles, and I’m currently taking a lot of meetings concerning RED CITY, MORIARTY and another project (whose title I can’t drop yet). Television studios are the ones expressing most of the interest at this point. But nothing is definite yet, so we’ll have to wait and see.
ZL: Are there any topics or genres you’ve wanted to tackle for a while?
DC: I have a few non-sci-fi/horror genre pieces that I’d love to see adapted as films. I wrote a play called “Joggers” several years ago that would make a great Wes Anderson-style, “Rushmore”-ish type indie film. Also, I wrote a novella titled “Elizabeth Kilbride,” which is a sort of literary pulp thriller in the style of the Mr. Ripley stories.
“Elizabeth” is starting to get a little attention lately, as we see programs like “Downton Abbey,” “The Tudors,” “Ripper Street” and such doing well. Period intrigue is in. I’m very happy about that.
ZL: When you’re not working, what do you do for fun?
DC: It feels like everything that I do revolves around work. What do I do for fun? Go to comic conventions, mostly. Really looking forward to New York Comic-Con next month.
But really, I live in Los Angeles with my wife, Brenda, and we love hopping the train and exploring the city. Just last weekend, we were in Chinatown, browsing the art galleries. Sometimes just going for a drive through the city or the surrounding mountains is a good time. Finding a new bookstore, a new restaurant, locations from movies that we love. Going to a concert. We just got tickets to see Daniel Lanois. Totally excited about that. We just saw Elbow a few months back, and it was an amazing show.
I also play guitar and sing, as my neighbors could tell you. I wouldn’t be doing anything in life if it weren’t for music. Music gives us purpose. And at the end of the day, that’s what the characters in my stories are really looking for: purpose.
Zeb Larson
