 by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
Another comics creator has joined the manga bandwagon, specifically
TOKYOPOP’s Original English Language (OEL) manga line.
Stuart Moore, who’s written Para and Zendra for Penny-Farthing
Press, Lone for Dark Horse/Rocket Comics, Giant Robot
Warriors for AiT/PlanetLar, Justice
League Adventures for DC and is currently writing Firestorm,
is writing Earthlight for TOKYOPOP. Moore was also a comics
editor for Vertigo and Marvel Knights. He has won the Will Eisner
award for Best Editor 1996 and the Don Thompson Award for Favorite
Editor 1999.
“Earthlight is a high school drama set on Earth's first moon
colony,” Moore told Newsarama.
Moore’s background is in American comics and American book publishing,
“but I take inspiration wherever I can. Earthlight is very
much in the mold of the classic Robert Heinlein "juvenile"
novels like Red Planet and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
-- which were always read and enjoyed by adults, too. It's heavily
inspired by the Canadian TV series Degrassi,
too, both the original and Next Generation,” he said, adding that
his all-time favorite manga is Mai the Psychic Girl, though
he’s more into American comics right now. “I'll mention Stray
Bullets because I love the way the kids' stories intersect with
the adults' -- that's very close to what I'm doing here, too.
“I've been wanting to do a near future,
hard science fiction story for a while -- something very rooted
in current social trends and technology. And I love high school
stories. Earthlight really came together when I realized
that life on a moon colony would be very difficult and tense --
so the adults really wouldn't have much time for their kids. The
teenagers would be on their own, even more
than usual; they really have to solve their own problems. And any
little mistake they made might turn out to be fatal.
 
”There's also a very complex political
situation back on Earth. Earth has divided up into various camps
-- largely western vs. Islamic nations, which really don't like
each other. But they're all completely dependent on the energy being
beamed back from the moon. So the colony is the center of all this
tension and conflicting agendas, some of them obvious and some of
them hidden behind the scenes.
“There are strange, quirky bits throughout, too. For instance, the
colony is multinational, but there are no British people. The British
government, today, officially does not support manned spaceflight
-- they consider it a waste of resources. So in this future, the
British have kind of missed out on the era of international space
exploration. That has all kinds of ramifications down the line.”
“The main character is fifteen-year-old Damon Cole,” he continued.
“As we open, there's been a terrible accident where several teenagers
were killed -- so the board that administers the Earthlight colony
has decided to replace its chief administrator. Damon's dad, Aaron
Cole, is the new head of the colony. The colonists don't trust him
-- not because he's African-American, but because he's a politician,
and most of the colonists are engineers and scientists. Added to the mix: Damon's mother, Leyla,
has been brought on board to start up the colony's first organized
school. So Damon's dad is the adults' boss and his mom is
the kids' teacher. It's a nightmare!
  
“The stories are a combination of
teen drama -- the first volume involves a girl who's being abused
by her boyfriend -- and sci-fi action. In the opener, Damon must
make a dangerous climb to the top of the main colony dome as a sort
of initiation stunt. And there are larger problems, too: The colony
is always in danger of terrorist attack, for instance.
“Basically, it's a big rich stew of different elements and I'm having
a lot of fun with it.”
Moore said that he has former TOKYOPOP editor, Mark Paniccia, who’s
now at Marvel, to thank for landing Earthlight at TOKYOPOP.
“I was talking with Mark Paniccia and he told me TOKYOPOP was looking
for "teen dramas with a twist." This seemed to fit!”
According to the writer, Earthlight gets the standard three-volume
deal at TOKYOPOP. “It's one volume to start, with two more likely
to follow. The first three form a unit,
but I'd love to continue it further if the demand is there.”
 
On the art side of things, Chris
Schons is on board to tackle his first
major project. “He's a talented young artist -- you can see his
work at www.volcanokit.com/skullbunny
. I met him through Peter Gross, a good friend of mine who draws
Lucifer for DC/Vertigo.
“I finished the script months ago. Chris is really doing an amazing
job on this... the art I've seen is just beautiful. He does great
characters and great tech, both.”
Other than Earthlight and Firestorm, Moore is keeping
himself busy with other projects as well. “My novel, American
Meat, will be out from Games Workshop this fall -- I'm working
on the sequel now. I've written a comics adaptation of the best-selling fantasy novel RedWall for Penguin/Philomel; I have two short Legion
of Super-Heroes stories this November and December, a Wolverine
story in X-Men Unlimited in December, and a second Escapist
story from Dark Horse coming in January. Avatar will publish some
Stargate Atlantis comics
by me in '06, and I should have more from DC very soon.
“I like to keep busy, and I really like the variety. TOKYOPOP is
really pushing an ambitious new list here, and it's very exciting
to be part of that.”
In conclusion, Moore wants Earthlight to seem real and he hopes that
it surprises people. “There's a real twist partway through the first
volume, and I think it explores some interesting questions of what
gets us through our adolescent years, and what odd lessons some
people take from their experiences. I can't say more without giving
too much away.
“I also want to show both the wonder and the hardship of space exploration.
These kids didn't ask to live on the moon; it's a great thing for
them in many ways, but it's also a tremendous burden.”
Look for the first volume of Earthlight in October, 2006.
 
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