Date: Thu, 15 Jun 1995 11:45:31 -0400
From: [gn 307] at [cleveland.Freenet.Edu] (Gregory M. Greene)
Subject: CHRIS MOELLER INTERVIEW
Reply-To: [gn 307] at [cleveland.Freenet.Edu] (Gregory M. Greene)

This interview was conducted in December 1994, in response to
several posts inquiring about Christopher Moeller's epic series
SHADOW EMPIRES.  I phoned up Chris for the following interview.
Sorry it's not transcribed, but I didn't tape record the
conversation.
    
    
Topics:
The Empire and the Theocracy
The Vaylen (plus the Kerrns and the Trolls)
Trevor Faith and the Monkey King
A Little Personal History
A Chris Moeller Bibliography
    
The Empire and the Theocracy

SHADOW EMPIRES takes place ten thousand years in our Earth's
future.  Mankind sprung from the Earth, which became the center of a
sprawling interstellar civilization.  This ancient republic was called
the Federation.  Eventually, internal pressures wrecked its republican
nature, and it became the Imperial Federation.

The Imperial Federation lasted until forces both internal and
external caused it to collapse.  Feudal barons then grabbed up its
fragments and formed eight different states, called the Inner Empires
(see map in SE:Faith Conquers #1 or 2), all of which together were only
a fraction of the former Federation.  These states share the curse of
medieval Europe: there is no central rule among them.

The Darikahn Empire is one of these states.  Its emperor is
actually the most powerful of many barons, and he can be overthrown by
the combined strength of the others.  Earth and Hotok are two chief
planets in Darikahn.  Hotok (the setting of SE:FC) is a stark
fortress-world on the edge of the Void, which is now an unruled no-mans
land; whole societies are broken off from and lost to the main of human
civilization.

A ninth state, the Theocracy, exists within the Darikahn empire;
like the papal state of the Catholic church, it is autonomous.  Also, it
carries significant temporal power, both political and military,
thoughout the Empire.  The Theocracy has two arms: the ecclesiastical
(i.e., the priesthood) and the military.  The Theocracy hires
mercenaries to enforce its power in the realm, and though those troops
are in a sense warrior-priests, they are not under the constraints of
the clergy; for example, they don't have to remain celibate.  Trevor
Faith and his Grey Rats are soldiers in the Theocracy's army.
 
The Mundus Humanitas is the orthodox church of the Theocracy.
However, a heretical sect known as the Church of the Transition ("CHoT")
has gained in prominence and popularity among many religious people as
well the the Imperial govenments.

One of the Darikahn Empire's greatest emperors was Baron
Hanrilke, after whom the present age is named (SE:FC begins in year 597
H.E.--the Hanrilke Era).  He made the Mundus Humanitas the official
state religion, which helped to cement his rule.  The church in return
received special treatment--exemption from taxes, for example.  But when
Hanrilke died, the Darikahn Empire grew hostile toward the Mundus
Humanitas.  The church retained its power and position, making the
relationship between church and state tense.  The Empire has begun to
support the Church of the Transition so that it may be used as a weapon
against the Mundus Humanitas.
	On Hotok, the highest imperial official is the Lord Steward.
The highest church official is the Archotare.  The leader of the
church's army is the Cotar-Fomas (Trevor Faith's title).


The Vaylen (plus the Kerrns and the Trolls)

The greatest threat to the Inner Empires is the Vaylen, a race
of worms that possesses other creatures' bodies by burrowing into the
victim's brain.  Before taking a host, the worm is called a Naiven, and
is a mere animal with survival instincts like other animals.  But when
it bores into an intelligent brain, it can think with that host's
intelligence; it is then called a Vaylen.  Vaylen are capable of
thinking, plotting, and forming an army.  The Vaylen can invade a planet
or society, defeat its military, and insert Naiven into the populace,
thus expanding their empire and army.

The Vaylen have come from across the Void and are now
threatening border worlds like Hotok.  They wanted to set up an enclave
on Hotok, and their first target was the Mundus Humanitas temple.  But
on learning that the Empire wants to push the church off the planet,
they realized this would be unsafe.  So instead, they proceeded to build
a secret enclave in the temple of the Church of the Transition, which
has better relations with the government.  (Cotar-Fomas Kesling got
caught in the middle of the Vaylen's scheme and that is why he was
murdered.)  Though the Vaylen threat seems to have arisen only a few
generations before Trevor Faith's time, Moeller says "They have always
been around."

The Vaylen genetically engineered a race called the Kerrns to
provide them with slave labor.  The Kerrns are seven- to eight-foot tall
bipedal lizards.  They are intelligent (i.e., they possess higher brain
functions), and are as strong as a man in iron.  They are also
strong-willed and resilient, making them too rebellious to be slaves.
They mutinied against the Vaylen in what Faith calls "the Kerrn
Disaster."  Now the Kerrns are homeless, wandering space in arks.  They
are capable of adapting to human society and language, as we see with
Gopher, a member of the Grey Rats.  (Incidentally, read Gopher's
dailogue with Arnold Schwartzeneggar's accent and you'll see where
Moeller got it.)

After the Kerrns rebelled, the Vaylen created a race called the
Mukhadish, or "Trolls" as they're commonly known.  They are huge,
hulking brutes, strong like the Kerrns, but slower and more stupid.
Kerrns and Trolls are natural enemies, and apparently will attack each
other on sight.  Faith says that if Gopher and the Troll in SE:FC #2
were to meet, they'd level half a city block.  (Moeller notes that this
should not be taken literally.)


Trevor Faith and the Monkey-King

Trevor Faith is the son of Baron Richaert, a lesser noble who
fought fanatically during the crusades to attain his office.  The ruling
Duke was forced to acknowledge Richaert, and so gave him some token bits
of ruined land.  Richaert "gnawed that bone as if it were a banquet" and
bragged to his family about his high position, though they were
humiliated by the situation.  Trevor was disgusted by his father and
vowed he would never beg like that.  When Baron Richaert died, his
son Courtney inherited the title, and Trevor left the barony, wandered a
couple years, then joined the church "to be part of something again."

Moeller says that Faith has great potential to become a tyrant.
His chief motivation is that he won't be anyone's slave.  But to keep
anyone from being oppressed, he must gain temporal power--the same power
that would allow him to oppress others.  His story is having to deal
with this tension.  "He won't find his answer within the church.  He must
make peace within himself."

The crest on Faith's iron is a circular snake devouring its
tail, which is the Richaert's baronic symbol.  The snake surrounds a
screeching, crowned monkey's head, which is Faith's personal signet.
Faith calls this the Monkey-King, and refers to it gnawing and pounding
on his insides.  Moeller explained that the Monkey-King is part of a
long and involved Chinese myth about a monkey who spontaneously emerges
from a rock.  He goes up to heaven, but the gods spurn him, giving him
lousy jobs like cleaning the celestial stables.  He's happy until he
realizes that cleaning the stables is an insulting job, then he comes
back and kicks the gods' butts.  After that, he goes to hell and kicks
all their butts, too.  The Monkey-King is an irrepressible little guy
whom everyone underestimates, but who always comes back to stomp his
enemies.

Notice that Trevor Faith wears the insignia of the church on one
arm and the Monkey-King on the other.  Though he has joined the church,
he thumbs his nose at their apathy and heavy-handed, oppressive
authority.


A Little Personal History

Christopher Moeller grew up in Syracuse, New York.  He attended
the University of Michigan School of Art, and got his MA in illustration
at Syracuse.  After a few years working in commercial art, he began
drawing comics in 1991.  He is now married and lives outside of
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  Curiously enough, when he was a kid, he wanted
to be either a monk or an Airforce pilot, which pretty well describes
Trevor Faith.  

Comics he likes includes all the Legend guys, especially Frank
Miller; Moebius, and other European artists introduced to him in the
pages of HEAVY METAL; lots of Dark Horse's stuff because it's good (and
it doesn't hurt to get the stuff sent to you for free.)


Bibliography

ROCKETMAN (Innovation) 1991, a limited series, now available in TPB.
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (Innovation) 1992, did most of the covers and
	five of the interiors.
SHADOW EMPIRES: THE PASSAGE, 1993, a serial in Dark Horse Presents
	#79-81.
SHADOW EMPIRES: FAITH CONQUERS (Dark Horse) 1994, a four-issue limited
	series.


Upcoming stuff:

--JAMES BOND: QUASIMODO GAMBIT (Dark Horse), 3 covers, begins Feb. 95.
--THE SPECTRE (DC), 1 cover, uncertain which issue.
--One STAR WARS: GALAXY III trading card (Topps), Summer '95.
--Wolverine/Sabertooth poster (Marvel), and a cover for a Marvel video
	game.
--Hopefully, a Typhoid Mary poster in Summer '95 (Marvel).
--SHADOW EMPIRES: FAITH CONQUERS TPB in Spring '96, including some new
	sketchbook material.

AND REMEMBER YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!!  Chris went into negotiations on
January 3 with Kitchen Sink to publish the next Shadow Empires series.
The next book will be about a human who meets a shipload of Kerrn
adventurers (Gopher's people).  It will probably be a three- or four-
issue story, and Kitchen Sink should give it the promotion it deserves.
He said it took a year and a quarter to do all four issues of FAITH
CONQUERS, so I'm guessing we'll see the next series by Spring '96.  (By
the way, Chris does have a direct sequel to FAITH CONQUERS planned.)  A
year is a long time to wait between story arcs, so Chris is considering
working with other artists, letting them draw his Shadow Empires scripts
so that the book could be out more regularly and he could still take his
time painting some stories.

Be sure to look for Chris at the San Diego Con this summer!
He'll have a Shadow Empires display at his table.

One final note: Chris does have original art for sale from
ROCKETMAN, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, and the SHADOW EMPIRES series.
If anyone is interested, mail me and I'll get his agent's number or
address for you.

[Disclaimer:  I did my best to make this information down accurately,
but we talked for over an hour and this conversation was not taped.
The possiblity of some slight errors should be recognized.]

Thanks for readin'!

Greg Greene