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Hoax Hunters Backstage Pass: Issue #7

By | February 13th, 2013
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Welcome back to Hoax Hunters Backstage Pass, where you get a behind the scenes look at the work done by writers Michael Moreci and Steve Seeley. They’ll take you inside the big moments & mysteries of every issue. This month, Steve is in an undisclosed location, so Michael will be our sole tour guide to issue #7. This month, it’s seemingly everyone versus the Hoax Hunters, Ken Cadaver sees some painful memories, and our pal Donovan gets even slimier.

Remember that we’ll be spoiling these issues, so read the book before getting the inside look. This is the beginning of a fun new arc and a great place to jump on, but it’s not to late to go back and get caught up either! Let’s dive in:

We get the deeper look into Ken Cadaver’s past that you guys promised a few “Backstage Passes” ago. There is a very real sense of tragedy given to this story that puts Ken in a new light. He’s had everything taken from him, including his wife and his scientific work. What keeps Ken going

Michael Moreci: My favorite line in this issue is when Ken points how the Albino King reminded him he’s “been alive for too long.” Ken is a noble and tragic figure. He’s a husband and former NASA employee — duty is an important part of what makes him tick. And, now, his duty is to the Hoax Hunters. To this cause that he sees as being important. That’s part of it. The other part is that Ken is a man who literally cannot die. So, for better or for worse, he has to find a way to fit in with the world. That’s a common thread with the Hoax Hunters; part of the reason they do what they do is because they have no place else to go.

How did you approach Ken’s backstory?

MM: One of my greatest fears, being totally candid, is outliving the ones that I love. It’s hard to
imagine a world where you have to move forward without certain people in such a final way.
But, it’s inevitable, either for you or your loved ones.

Again, going back to tragedy (sheesh, this is a light one, eh?), we all see these immortal figures
portrayed in film, comics, etc, but they never really stress that aspect of their existence: That
their life is constantly losing people. It’s a downer, sure, but if you really want to be true to the
character, you have to confront those difficult pieces of who they are. That’s what we did with
Ken, which is quite simple: We were just honest.

“Hoax Hunters” is a book with mysteries on top of mysteries, but rather than piling them up and not answering them, you make sure to answer a few while introducing some more. We’ve talked about “L O S T” before. How hard is it to avoid getting wrapped up creating more and more secrets to the point where they become unmanageable in the way that Lost eventually did? (in this humble writer’s opinion!)

MM: To me, it’s all about story control. I’m a meticulous person when it comes to organizing
and planning what’s happening in my scripts, what it means for the characters, and what it
means for the story. I can sit down with you tomorrow and tell you exactly how season one of
Hoax Hunters ends (and it ends in November, you heard it here first!). I can tell you how season two ends. Season three…that’s a little hazy, but Steve and I know where we want to go.

Part of the key, when it comes to this type of serialized mystery, is balance. I want to drop
clues for the bigger picture story, stuff that will be explained much further down the road, but
also build some smaller mysteries that can be explained and make for a more fulfilling reading
experience. I’ll give two examples of each. First, the longer: The Faceless Man (who we’ll see
again in issue #8). We won’t learn much about him until season two, at the very end. And that
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issue, “How The Faceless Man Became” is one I’m dying to write. So we’re having fun with him now, dropping him in here and there as this cipher that readers can gnaw and, hopefully, wonder “who is this guy?” “what’s his role in all this?” Then, on the more immediate level, there’s the mystery we’re just getting into of “who/what the hell is Donovan?” We’re going to explain exactly who he is, and that revelation will really start to bring a lot of the pieces of the larger plot together.

Taking it to an extreme, in terms of immediate satisfaction, we also utilize standalone issues.
Five was one example, issue nine will be another. These are self-contained stories that are
meant to be accessible to anyone.

Back to our buddy, Donovan. First of all, kudos for the way you had Jack describe Donovan: for him “even obvious facts are something to kick dirt over.” Hell, I know guys like that! What has the fan response to Donovan been like? I can imagine that some might just love to hate him. He’s just so skeevy!

MM: I love that a lot of readers have been wise to the fact that Donovan is up to something.
But they’re cool with that! He’s one of those characters that readers are already loving to hate,
as you say. He’s a skeez, but you can tell he’s also probably fun to be around. We all have those people in our lives, right. Where you say, “sure, he’s an asshole, but he’s our asshole.”

We finally get to see Donovan and his goons in action, manipulating crime scenes to get what they want. Ken also sees Donovan when he tries to read the Albino King’s mind. How far do Donovan’s manipulations go? I’m beginning to assume that he’s behind this entire Hauncheyville hoax. We already know that “Hoax Hunters” the show is about keeping the public from knowing that the truth is out there, so what does it mean for Jack, Regan, and Ken themselves when so much is being kept from them as well?

MM: Awesome question. Donovan, it’ll be revealed, is manipulating a deep agenda all his own.
And, again, it plays into the bigger HH picture. Thematically, you’re right on: This is a world that
hinges upon secrets and lies, which makes for a fun dynamic to play with. Because if everyone
is hiding something, then everyone has to take certain measures to keep that thing hidden.
Viola, drama 101: Conflicting agendas.

We see Donovan manipulating a golem-esque figure to do his dirty work. We also are led to believe that he’s manipulating the Albino Man, or at least Ken’s attempt to read into his mind. What sort of power does Donovan have? Both meta-physically and also in the grand power- struggle of life?

MM: You and your prescience! We’re going to answer this directly in the third arc, which begins
in issue #10. I will say this: Donovan has a story that is very, very unexpected. And what may
be important is not how powerful he is, but what he does with that power. And the depiction
of that will be pretty surprising; it’s a little more complex than one would imagine, given what
we’ve seen of him thus far. Don’t take your eyes off of Donovan.

We’ve talked about this before, but Murder is my favorite character in the book. I’m sure I’m nowhere near alone in that. When it comes to fan art and the Hoax Hunters covers & sketch pages, Murder seems to dominate. Is it accurate to say that Murder is a breakout character among fans? Did you realize how great of a character he was when you created him?

MM: Oh yeah, for sure. He’s so iconic in design, and so weird in execution. He’s literally
just this thing that hangs around, an astronaut suit filled with crows that has a semi-human
consciousness. I always knew, visually, he’d be a hit; there’s nothing in comics like Murder.
Nothing. But I’m surprised readers have grown such an affinity for him. People are really
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concerned about Murder! We constantly get asked when there’s going to be more Murder, if
there’ll be a Murder one-shot, what his role in the next arc will be. We love it, because Murder
is a blast to write and have around.

Does it re-direct the focus of your work when fans react to certain aspects of it? I’m again thinking of Murder specifically, but have their been any reactions that have caused you guys to pick up the ball and run in a different direction than you expected?

MM: Definitely. Look, Steve and I know we’re not infallible. There’s a lot that we’re still
learning, and will continue to learn. But we do listen to readers. For instance, after the first two
issues, we heard grumblings that, for a comic about a reality TV show, we weren’t using the TV
aspect nearly enough. And Steve and I had to scratch our heads and say “yep, that’s right.” And
we made it point to infuse that into our scripts more prevalently the best we could. Because it’s
true, we weren’t using the reality show angle at all, and there’s so much you can do with that—
like the Hoax Hunters Hunters, who are a major part of this current arc.

How do the “Hoax Hunters” prevent the “Hoax Hunters Hunters” from blowing the lid off of this whole thing now?! Certainly, they’ve seen too much at this point…

MM: Well, one’s dead, so check.

Kidding!

You’ll have to see in issue #8…

Finally, you’ve said that you hoped to learn from your experience with the first arc of “Hoax Hunters”? What have you learned? What have you improved upon? What can readers look forward to if they jump on with this Hauncheyville gnomes arc?

MM: Well, there’s the reality show angle, which I touched on in question #8. That’s a big
one. But there’s also the question of how to handle the mystery and balance that with the
characters. One misstep we had in the first arc, to me, was starting things off by yelling
“MYSTERRRRRRYYYYY!” before really laying some important groundwork. Specifically, I wish
issue #1 had a little more character focus, all-around. Owing tot that, in the second arc, we
made it a point to, one, strengthen the team dynamics, the interplay of Ken, Murder, Jack, and Regan; and, two, give more about who they are and add some emotional depth, which did with Ken in issue #7 (as noted above) and you’ll find this with Regan in issue #8. All the while, we’re still developing the mystery, adding layers, explaining things as we go. So, if I can kick myself for issue #1, I think I can pat myself on the back for issue #6. That’s us finding our stride and, hopefully, it continues for a good long while.

Previous Issues: #0-#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6


//TAGS | Hoax Hunters Backstage Pass

Vince Ostrowski

Dr. Steve Brule once called him "A typical hunk who thinks he knows everything about comics." Twitter: @VJ_Ostrowski

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