INTERVIEW: Monsters? Check. Kung fu? Check. Cosmic adventure? Check. Welcome to ‘Bronze Age Boogie’

AHOY Comics continues its shaking up of the comic world with a series of wave-two releases in 2019. One of the most anticipated is the comedy series Bronze Age Boogie, which simultaneously skewers and celebrates all the elements of 1970s comic fandom: Monsters, kung fu and cosmic adventure abound!

At the center of the narrative is Brita Constantina, who needs to battle a Martian invasion in both 1975 BCE and 1975 CE. Adding to the fun is an adventure called Major Ursa, about the first bear in space.

The comic was recently released by AHOY, and new issues are planned in the coming weeks. Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with writer Stuart Moore, who helms Bronze Age Boogie, and writer Tyrone Finch, who helms Major Ursa.

What inspired Bronze Age Boogie?

Stuart Moore: On my first-ever visit to New York City, I bought the graphic novel Detectives Inc.: A Remembrance of Threatening Green, by Don McGregor and Marshall Rogers. The depictions of NYC in that book were so real, so vivid, it felt like you were there. And I was there! New York was past its worst period by then, but it was still a much rougher place than it is now, very loud and smelly and alive. I moved to Brooklyn four years later, and I’ve lived here all my adult life.

There was also that night at the Meadow Lakes Retirement Home kitchen when we were on skeleton staff because the Cars were playing the Spectrum.

That’s part of the inspiration, anyway. Basically Boogie is an ode to a time, a place, and a whole range of pop-culture entertainment that reigned at a time when nerd culture had not yet conquered the world.

Are you a personal fan of this decade of comic books?

Stuart Moore: Guilty, yeah. When I was 16 a friend of mine sat me down with piles of the Marvel Comics of the 1970s, and it kind of fried my brain. I particularly loved the experimental books — Warlock, Killraven, Man-Thing. Howard the Duck was the pure stuff. I loved the way these writers and artists were doing wild, boundary-pushing work in an environment of benign corporate neglect.

Tyrone Finch: Absolutely, the stories were unlike anything I could find anywhere else. I’m not claiming I understood all of them. There are some Howard The Duck stories that still keep me up at night, but I loved reading and re-reading them.

Stuart Moore:  That said, I love modern comics, too. Boogie is inspired as much by Saga and Transmetropolitan as it is by Dr. Strange.

What was the working relationship like with writer Tyrone Finch and artists Alberto Ponticelli and Mauricet?

Stuart Moore: Alberto is my co-creator and the whole reason this book works. I’m writing the series plot-first, largely as an experiment in duplicating the energy — though not the style — of the early Marvel books. It’s the first time I’ve done a whole series that way, and it would not work without Alberto’s storytelling sense and his patience with my notes. His character work is stellar; his environments are rich and immersive.

I have to praise Giulia Brusco’s coloring, too. Alberto asked to work with her, and they’re an incredible team. She can make a scene rich and warm or ice-cold, and she’s particularly good with energy effects, which will become more important as we go along.

With the Major Ursa feature, I’m the editor. I put the team together, and I oversee every aspect of the series. Tyrone and Mauricet are both extremely talented and very professional, too. This is Tyrone’s first extended comics work — there’s both a directness to his writing and a subtlety too, which is a rare and powerful combination. I’ve known Mauricet for a while, and I knew he’d draw a great bear. But I never dreamed he’d put so much loving detail into the project. He and Lee Loughridge have worked closely together on the colors, too. I’m very happy with the results.

Tyrone Finch: Working with Stuart and Mauricet was terrific, and the collaborative process was unlike anything I’ve ever done. Stuart may not be aware of it, but during his first round of notes he said one word that completely changed the tenor and the direction of the story. It felt great to make that sort of discovery during the writing process. And waking up to find an email filled with art from Mauricet made every one of those days feel like my birthday. The care he put into Elvis and every panel is amazing. Honestly, he made Elvis so lovable and sympathetic that I felt bad putting the character through some of what he has to endure. And there’s a page in issue two that makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Where did Major Ursa come from as an idea? What can we expect from the first bear in space?

Stuart Moore: Tyrone pitched AHOY a longer project, and I kind of zeroed in on this bear character and asked him to expand on it. The whole thing sort of evolved and grew from there.

Tyrone Finch: As Stuart said, Major Ursa was a small part of a larger idea pitched to AHOY. I had no idea that the bear would become the breakout character. I can’t tell you what to expect in the future without ruining a few twists and surprises. I can say that Elvis has the heart and mind of an explorer, and there is a lot that he hasn’t seen or experienced.

When did you first fall in love with comics?

Tyrone Finch: My older brother gave me my first comic book, so I have to blame him for my love of comics. Although, I can’t say I loved them immediately. When I was 6, I would get upset when Batman and Superman seemed to be betraying each other in an issue of World’s Finest. I knew that things would work out by the end of the story, but some of their clever ruses put me through the wringer.

Stuart Moore:  I try not to fall in love, you know? Comics will break your heart — I think it was Gil Kane who said that. Better to just flirt a bit, flip through the pages and flash a little smile, then go write a novel. It’s cool, we’re all adults here …

… oh, who am I kidding, I love comics! The affair probably started with Batman and the Legion of Superheroes, but fortunately, the medium has evolved and become more varied and complex over the years. I don’t know if comics and I will ever get married, but judging from the look of my office, we’ve definitely moved in together.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Bronze Age Boogie and Major Ursa are now available from AHOY Comics. Click here for more information.