Welcome back to Hoax Hunters Backstage Pass, where you get a behind the scenes look at the latest issue of “Hoax Hunters” with writers Michael Moreci and Steve Seeley. They’re taking you inside the big moments & mysteries of every issue.
This month the “Hoax Hunters” took a pretty physical beating across the board, supernatural secrets crept ever closer to being revealed, and things spiraled toward what is sure to be a gripping ‘Season 1’ conclusion in “Hoax Hunters” #13
Special thanks goes to Tim Daniel for supplying us with our terrific “Hoax Hunters Backstage Pass” banner! You can see more of his work here.
Remember that we’ll be spoiling these issues, so read the book before getting the inside look. Let’s dive in:
Michael Moreci: Yeah man, thanks for the review! The response has been so positive. Hearing people say they’re more excited about “Prime-8s” than anything at Marvel or DC warms the cockles of my heart. I don’t think a superhero story, with monkeys, is what people woud’ve expected as Steve’s and my follow up to “Hoax Hunters”, but here we are. That’s my thing–I really don’t want to write the same book twice, or become known as the “horror guy” or the “weird sci-fi” guy. Rolling stones collect no moss.
As for the plug, that’s simple. Silver age fun with a heart and a mind. Kirby “Fantastic Four” meets Incredibles, with monkeys. And, it’s 24 pages of story for .99 cents. Seriously, that’s more pages for a fraction of the price of the big two. You’re out of excuses, comic readers.
We see Ken come in contact with the “Mothman.” Now that’s a classic and well-known urban legend. Is this the same thing? How much will “he” factor into “Hoax Hunters” going forward?
Steve Seeley: I love the Mothman legend. So yeah, its very close to the same thing in mythos. For those familiar with the Mothman legend know that he appears, warns and disappears. We sort of loosely follow that. Hes essentially a warning of things to come. As for his role, you’ll have to wait and see!
Regan gets a chance to use her powers for good. Is this a turning point for Regan?
MM: I’d say so. With each character, we’ve always wanted to show how they’ve gotten to this point in their lives–how they were manipulated, how tragedy forged who they are. For Regan, she had to go through some really bad stuff to have a redemption that allowed her to come to terms with her powers. It’s a classic coming of age arc–you have to hit your low point before you can journey back to where you’re supposed to be. With Regan, of course, there’s some manipulation from the Faceless Man, but she comes away with the valuable lesson that she can do good, and that puts her on the right path.
Along those same lines, The Faceless Man says that he is trying to find a purpose for Regan. To what end? What are they after? And how will this affect the integrity of the Hoax Hunters as an organization?
MM: There’s this saying, from Chekov, that says if you show a rifle in the first act of a story, it must be fired by the third. This is us showing the rifle–we’ll see it fired in season two. I’ve been really happy that the hints we dropped and the threads we started throughout season one have come to some sort of conclusion, or are taking the next, bigger step in the story’s evolution. Now, it’s time we start laying the groundwork for what’s to come at the same time. And Regan’s role in the story is about to shift to the forefront. She is immensely powerful, and the HH organization needs to protect that power, or utilize it in some way. Either way, she has to be dealt with. And now, with the Book of All Futures, she’s more powerful than ever. This is a major arc in season two, and some cool stuff is going to happen with Regan.
Continued belowIt looks like Donovan was telling the truth when it comes to the source of Regan’s powers. The demon they’re fighting near the end of the issue claims to have invented her powers. What exactly is this thing? What connection does it have to Regan?
MM: Well, yes and no. The demon just wants to use her power to manipulate the book. He’s a demon, but not the exact one that cursed Regan. But, his presence to bring Regan to the book, which is a big deal for a lot of reasons, all to come…
As has been the case in recent Image Comics’ history, nothing good comes out of a trip to Wausau, Wisconsin. Murder is in pretty rough shape now. Is Murder’s existence linked to the Mothman somehow, or is this merely a case of the Mothman exerting his will on our heroes?
SS: Murder and Mothman definitely share a connection that the rest of the team does not. Mike and I have referred to Murder as sort of a pawn in Mothman’s “game” if you will. I’ve always dug the Mothman legend because despite being creepy as hell, he’s not the antagonist. He’s, well, sort of a good guy or at least he has good intentions. So if you think about it that way way, him and Murder are pretty similar; quiet, misunderstood and creepy as hell.
What in the world was spiking the drink of that poor bastard at the bar Ken and Jack were drinking at?
SS: It was just watered down beer. That Werewolf was just a lightweight. All them Peoria Werewolves are. Yeah, I said it.
How are the events that we’ve been seeing in this arc going to seed into what we’ll see going forward into season 2?
SS: We’ve planted a lot. In fact, I’d say there will be ramifications from all the events of this arc, some just more-so than others.
MM: Yeah, we tied up quite a bit nicely in issue #13, coming in January, while laying some groundwork for season two. I think when you look book, season one will stand pretty well as a chapter all its own, in context. Now, we just need to do the same with season two.
Previous Issues: #0-#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11
