JEFF
MOY
Jeff
Moy is a professional penciller who has contributed work
on books as varied as Batman: Gotham City Secret
Files to his soon to be released contribution to
WildStorm's Thunderbook #1.
He
is best known, however for his 5 year run on the most
famous team from the 30th Century, the Legion of
Super-Heroes in Legionaires. Moy's most recent
work has been a Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force
book for WildStorm and his upcoming project for Lone
Star Press's Force Seven issue #6 which should be
out in November.
We
caught up with Jeff and subjected him to, well, me.
Wacky hi-jinks ensue.
The
Slush Factory presents: 20 Questions with: Jeffrey
Moy
Interview
Conducted By
Ed
Mathews
1) Tell us a little bit
about yourself, Jeff. Where did you learn to draw? Are
you self-taught or did you go to an art school? Did a
radioactive aardvark bite you?
I thought about drawing comicbooks back in highschool
and took more art classes during my last two years.
After that, I went to Northern Illinois University where
I earned a BFA in Illustration. I learned a lot there
and it helped me know what to do to get my portfolio in
order and what I needed to work on.
2)"Zero Hour" effectively wiped away 30
years of Legion of Superheroes history. Did
anything help to prepare you for the reaction that
Legion fans had after the reboot?
I actually had no idea about the size of the Legion
fandom, until I went online and started seeing postings
and websites. The reaction was mixed like it always is
whenever there's a major change that takes place. My
concern was more for the art than anything. I did read
the early Legion stories when I was a kid and in a sense
that's what I was drawing a lot of nostalgia from and
putting it onto the page. It was that and the
combination of the Sprouse/ Immonen look that really got
me into drawing the Legion.
3) Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish! What was up with the
snake? (smile) Most Legion fans never had a problem with
new alien life forms, but a good number of them really
didn't care for Princess Projecta and all of her
subjects becoming, well, snakes. Was this done to prove
how different this Legion was from the previous
incarnations? Did you expect the reaction?
Hey, don't forget about the raccoons, too. The snake
thing was something that was to do a twist on the
previous incarnation. The reaction was expected. A lot
of Projectra fans would be in an uproar and those who
didn't care much for Projectra didn't mind the change
and thought it was more interesting than the character
had previously been. I think the view is now, this isn't
Princess Projectra, but Sensor, like they're two
individual characters, which is what they are. I did
propose a Super-pets story where we could examine
Sensor's human side, but since we're not on the book,
it's doubtful it would ever be told. It would've been
fun too.
4) Your most recent work on Star Trek: Elite Force
was a videogame tie in. Will you be working closer with
videogame companies, perhaps even designing characters
or doing box art?
We did work close with the game company, Ravensoft, in
order to get the look
of the book so it matches the game. They even had some
aspects of the book added into their game, which I
thought was cool, since we were suppose to be adapting
them. As far as the game business goes, that's the
extent that I have participated. I would consider
looking into doing game stuff, if I couldn't find enough
work in the comic field, which is getting close.
5) By the way, Jeff, don't think we didn't notice the
tongue in ST: EF. How
did this become your signature face pose? What is it
about you and tongues? ;-P
There was a tongue in there? I don't remember. When I
was doing Legion I drew upon some anime/manga poses that
had characters acting cute that gave them a youthful
feel, that is needed for the current Legion incarnation,
otherwise, they might as well be adults if they're going
to totally act that way. The tongue popped up when there
was some joking around or characters displaying distain
for someone. I guess I did it a lot in those early
issues, but I didn't notice. KC Carlson, the editor at
the time, told me to stop it and I did. Until there were
a lot of fans who were having fun looking for the
tongues and even making some lists on where they could
be spotted. I started putting them back in and KC was
kind enough to let me continue, although I started
making them more rare. It's just a fun thing to do.
That's what we tried to do on the Legion, just bring
back a sense of fun and adventure.
6) Are you considering a creator owned title and if
so, will you have a partner or do it all as the writer
and artist?
I do have a project in the works I call Video Game
Gals. I shopped it around at the San Diego con and
I'll be following up on it at Wizard World in Chicago.
It'll be set up by me and I will have control of the
direction, but I'm looking for people to write it. It
will work like a television show where they have a bible
created by me and will write stories based on the
characters I've created. I'll be drawing it while W.C.
Carani will be inking me. We work well together and are
best friends, so it's only natural to keep a good thing
going.
7) Your style on ST:
EF was a bit darker than the usual Legionaires
fare we have been used to seeing from you. Is this the
new direction of Jeff Moy, or would you rather keep the
upbeat, happy style that some have described as "Archies
in space"? Do you think that description is a fair
criticism or just mean-spirited?
I think the actual term I've seen used was "Archie
crap". In that description, I would say it's mean
spirited and used by people who can't have their Legion
back. The Archies in space description is milder and can
convey that the book is fun and light-hearted, but I
don't think they've killed off anyone in Archie, so it
can only describe a general uninformed feel for the
Legion book.
As for my style on Legion
and Star Trek, I look at them as two different
properties that has different feels to the storyline. My
art is there to service the story first and foremost. I
will tend to draw the way the story sways me. The Legion
was new, bright, fun, and a place you would want to be
and that's the way I drew it. That's the way I liked
drawing it. Now with the new direction, I would've
started to change the feel of my drawing to accommodate
the story, but needless to say, I wasn't given the
chance.
From DC's standpoint, in
order to get a book noticed again, you have to make it
look different and stand out from what's been done
before. For the most part, I agree with that assessment.
That's how I came to be here today. The Trek
books offered me another dream job and I consider myself
lucky to have worked on projects I have wanted to ever
since I got into the business. It also showed fans and
editors I could do draw more than just happy futures.
Lets face it, when you draw a certain way for 5 years,
some people think that's all you can do. It'll be
interesting to see what they think when they see the Magique
annual coming out this October.
8) Can we expect more WildStorm Star Trek work
out of you in the near future?
I don't know. That's up to Wildstorm. I'd like to
continue working on Trek projects for them, but no one
has approached me for anything new.
9) What is it like working on a team of characters
with such a tight grasp on what their mythology is like
Star Trek? Did Paramount have certain requirements that
you had to meet in order to be able to work on the
Voyager crew?
For Voyager, being in the Delta Quadrant has its
advantages. You could pretty much make up a new alien
race and you don't have to worry about it. Now if you
were in the Alpha Quadrant, you would have to make sure
the uniforms and aliens looked right, when the aliens
appeared, and stuff like that. If you weren't a die-hard
Trek fan, you might have to do more art corrections.
For Voyager, Kate Mulgrew
was the only actor that had likeness approval, so I
mainly had to appease her to get the job as well as the
Paramount licensing department. I don't know how they
did it but DC/Wildstorm seemed to have gotten Paramount
to go easier on us artists. I've heard the horror
stories from past artists working on the book and I must
say I haven't had the pleasure of having any horror
stories like that to pass along. Wildstorm and Paramount
has treated us very well and I'd like that to continue,
if they would have us back.
10) What will you be doing for WildStorm's Thunderbook
#1? DV8, correct? That's a far cry from XS, isn't it?
Can we expect more WildStorm work out of Jeff Moy,
perhaps even some ABC? Tom Strong? Tomorrow
Stories?
I will have a 12 page DV8 story in there, that I
actually started after Legionnaires and finished
after Voyager: False Colors. So it might still
have a Legionnaires feel for it. The challenge
there was to draw real cities and objects again. DV8
appears in their street clothes. Somehow I keep getting
these stories where the characters aren't in costume. Gen
13 #51 was like that too. It's weird. As far as more
work from Wildstorm, after the Magique annual, I
have to look for some more work. Whether it's at
Wildstorm or somewhere else, I don't know. That's the
downside of being a freelancer. I really don't have the
need to work with certain writers. As long as the story
it good and the characters are interesting, I can work
with just about anyone. I'd like to get onto another
regular book that I can sink my teeth into, but if that
doesn't' come along, Video Game Gals might be
coming out soon.
11) Fans of your run on Legionaires
and LSH were given teasers in the DC Chat rooms
on AOL that one of the Legionaires was gay by the
creative team. First, we all know it was Lyle Norg,
Invisible Kid. Was he picked because in the pre-boot, he
really had no romantic history and died before any could
be established? Did "C." stand for
"Condo" and why did this sub-plot get shelved?
Was it an editorial decision? If so, with the success of
characters like Apollo and Midnighter, why the
hesitation? Was the Charma story supposed to be his
coming out tale?
I really don't know the whole "C" story. We
were setting something up for Lyle, but after an
editorial change, that direction was not one that would
be followed up. The "C" from what I've been
told did stand for Condo, but for the story being
shelved, you'll have to ask the editors. Maybe since the
book was geared for a younger audience, they didn't want
to open that can of worms. I mean, Condo is older than
Lyle and that just makes it worse, I suppose. I don't
think the Charma story was a coming out tale, but you'd
have to ask KC Carlson about that. I didn't even get to
draw it.
12) What was the anomaly supposed to be and how long
did you guys intend for Brainiac 5 to keep the silly
name upgrade?
I don't know what the anomaly was. Something that Paul
Levitz came up with. I thought Brainy's upgrade was a
permanent thing. As for the other changes, I didn't
think that's the way they should've gone. That's just my
personal feelings on the matter.
13) Any chance you will do some fill-in work on some
DC titles like Impulse, Young Justice, or Superboy
in the near future?
Unless I get a call from an editor, nope.
14) You're also a writer. Do you have any stories to
tell that you'd like other people to draw? Who would you
pick and what genre would you explore? Exclude Phil Moy
(but let him know that his Powerpuff Girls stuff
rocks).
Who told you I was a writer? Hunt them down and smack em
around! :) I don't consider myself a writer. I'm an
artist first and I get some ideas that I like to flesh
out. The stuff that I write, I'd like to draw myself,
because that's the main reason I wrote it. :) As for
what genre, there's been a serious lack of good
superhero porn books around. It's an untapped market. :p
15) You do a lot of sketches for fans at conventions,
don't you? How much do you charge on average? What's
your favorite "request" story if you don't
mind telling us?
I did about 25 at the San Diego con this year. I charge
$25 to $35 for a pencilled sketch. Cons are really a
blur to me, so I don't' think I have a favorite request
story. I see this one guy who asks for some really
bizarre stuff that I turn down every time (no not you
Kim) and it just seems that he doesn't get the hint.
16) Mark Waid told us that he actually had some guys
in Vermont convince him to come up by buying him his
airfare under the pretense that they were a comic shop
and it was just a bunch of fans in that
"Misery" kind of way sans the sledgehammer.
Have you had any bad fan experiences?
Nope, Mark's the lucky one. I just get that guy asking
for the weird stuff. I find that I'm not big enough to
warrant that fanaticism, and the people that don't like
my stuff don't bother me about it.
17) How much time does it take to pencil a monthly
book? You managed to do this for about 6 years, correct?
Closer to 5 years. Depending on the story and number of
characters, generally about 25 days. Working on this
schedule, we did have to have a few fill-ins over the
years and sometimes I took off an issue of two to work
on a related Legion project like the Annual, Legion
secret files, LOSH fill-in, and Legends of the Legion
mini. So with that in mind, we've got a pretty good
record.
18) Is the Magique annual still on? Can you
spill any beans about it?
It's got Deathblow, and Christie Blaze in it. The rest
of the Fallen are in the first part. Had fun drawing
Exotique, yum. It's a set up for the Magique character
that will have her own book coming soon. End of the
world type stuff. Real wrath of God. Dogs and cats
living together. Mass Hysteria. :)
19) Who or what was your favorite comic book
character or book while growing up?
Fantastic Four and Superboy and the Legion.
I have a lot of faves, but those keep standing out.
20) There are a Legion of Moy fans out there on the
net. The number of pages is amazing, with a range from
con sketches to an Italian Legionaires page. Is
there anything you'd like to tell them?
I'd like to let them know that I'm still doing work.
Hopefully it'll be on something regular. Thank you for
all the support over the years and please burn your
copies of my early work. I have no idea how I got hired.
I will try and get my web page back up and running and
have some sketchbook stuff on it. As for the
international fans, thank you for enjoying my work and
if you have copies of my work in a language other than
English, please let me know, and maybe we can work a
trade for something. Jeff Mariotte gave us some German
versions of Voyager: False Colors and I think
it's the coolest thing I've seen. If you have any
questions or comments, I can be reached at Legionmoy@aol.com.
Thanks again and I'll see if I can slip some tongues in
my future work!
Thanks
for letting us turn your brain to Slush.
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