Broken Frontier

Can a lie change the world? If you're Shadrach Stone, then the answer is yes. An original graphic novel by Stuart Moore and Jon Proctor, Shadrach Stone explores what happens when lies literally take on a life of their own. This is conspiracy fiction with a good dash of alternate realities, as Shadrach Stone is sure to intrigue genre fans, indie fanboys, and compulsive liars alike. Broken Frontier sat down with writer and co-creator Stuart Moore to get the scoop on Shadrach Stone.

BROKEN FRONTIER: Shadrach Stone explores the lies that permeate our society today. In a culture like ours where truth has become a relative term, how does one keep a firm grasp on reality? How does the comic reflect this?

STUART MOORE: That's an interesting way to approach the question, actually. Shadrach Stone is about deliberate lies, lies that create new realities. Shadrach himself, the protagonist, is a lifelong liar, and at one point he says: "That's the secret to a good lie. You have to believe it." Without giving too much away, the graphic novel is about what happens when the lies become too real.

BF: The events of 9/11 have a significant part in the story of Shadrach Stone. How did the events of that day affect Shadrach? And how did they affect you as a writer?

MOORE: I was in Manhattan, working on staff at Marvel Knights, on that day. We all watched the towers fall, and then ran around trying to find places to give blood. The blood banks were overloaded with people, and there weren't really many patients—people [were] either died right away or survived. But we all wanted to do something, and it was hard to get home to (in my case) Brooklyn. The weeks afterward were very difficult; people don't talk about this much, but the city just seemed very sad. And there were so many security alerts—it was hard to get around.

Shadrach Stone grew, initially, out of a single image: a man who, upon seeing the planes hit the towers, finds himself irresistibly drawn toward Ground Zero, while everyone else is running away. Drawn to a kind of truth he must know, even at the risk of his life. A truth too big to fully comprehend; a knowledge that can't help but change him forever.

BF: Conspiracy fiction has become increasingly popular in recent years. Why do you think modern audiences find this genre so appealing? Does it properly reflect the fears of the current collective unconscious?

MOORE: Yes. The world has become so heavily interconnected that people are searching for a way to pull all the threads together, and the internet gives the (largely illusory) impression that it's all out there, if only you can figure out the puzzle. 99 times out of 100, conspiracy theories are nonsense. But sometimes there are people out there pulling strings, or at least taking advantage of circumstances to further large-scale agendas.

BF: What are the elements that set Shadrach Stone apart from other works of conspiracy-oriented fiction?

MOORE: Without giving the whole story away: It's all about lies. How they work, why people tell them, and how they can change the world.

BF: Was there a singular moment when the idea for Shadrach Stone was conceived? Or was the concept formed over time in bits and pieces?

MOORE: I played with the character, and the initial image I described above, for a while. But I wasn't really sure what to do with him. I was trying to make him work as a psychic detective, kind of an American version of John Constantine, but that never gelled. Then I came up with a paramilitary team called Force Majeure for a projected revamp of Nightwing at DC, which they ultimately passed on. When I laid it onto Shadrach, it fit perfectly, as though I'd invented the team just for this. That's when the story really came together.

BF: You've said that the writings of Robert Anton Wilson were an influence on Shadrach Stone. How did Wilson's philosophy affect the telling of the story?

MOORE: Wilson's playful explorations of quantum physics, especially in his essays, were a big influence. Early on in the graphic novel, a character refers to a theory of Wilson's that, as your brain reconfigures itself—billions of bits of information forming new configurations all the time, reshaping countless times per second—it actually changes reality. Now, is that your personal reality, or some external, objective reality? That's the question.

BF: Jon Proctor's art really complements the book's theme well; the shadows and coloring are fantastic. How did you two first approach this collaboration?

MOORE: Jon and I met through Axel Alonso at Marvel—I think we almost did a Wolverine story together, but it didn't come together. I showed him this project and he loved it. We developed it ourselves for more than a year before I pitched it to Penny-Farthing Press, whom I've worked with before. I agree about Jon's color work: he's one of the best color artists in the business, and his hard-edged, dark style was exactly what I wanted for this.

BF: The comic seems to have a noir-like look and feel. How did you develop this atmosphere, and what were the influences behind it?

MOORE: A lot of that is down to Jon. Most of the story is fairly realistic and straightforward, but there are also some surreal, mythological sequences—and toward the end, things get very, very strange. Jon pulled it all off beautifully.

BF: You've worked on both big licensed books and smaller independent fare like Shadrach Stone. What do you find are the advantages and disadvantages of working in each format? Is there any difference in the creative process?

MOORE: Every project is different. Shadrach was great to work on because it was all mine and Jon's, though the people at Penny-Farthing made some great suggestions—together we worked out a radically different climax than I'd originally had in mind, and it's about 40 times better now. The back-and-forth with Jon and Celina, our editor, was terrific.

BF: Do you ever plan on returning to the world of Shadrach Stone? Do you have any other independent projects in the works?

MOORE: I definitely have more ideas for this world, if the demand is there. And yes, I seem to have a scary number of other original projects at all stages of development, including a brand-new one with Jon that I'm very excited about. It's a tough market for new comics work, but hopefully people will respond to what we're doing here.

Shadrach Stone is published by Penny-Farthing Press and currently retails at 19.95.