Questions for Michael Moreci @ Chaos: The Chosen
1. Michael, how did you happen to get attached to this Chaos! One-shot?
MM: I had worked on a different one-shot, for a book called My Little Phony. It must have went well because, after that, Dynamite offered me another gig—this one for The Chosen, famous of the Chaos line. It's a perfect fit and right in my wheelhouse. Monster-chasing is something I can't get enough of. I write Hoax Hunters for Image, which is kind of like The Chosen minus the '90s attitude and plus an astronaut suit filled with crows.
2. Am I correct to assume this spins out of what happened in the Chaos! Miniseries?
MM: Absolutely. I'm a fan of the Chaos line, and Tim Seeley (Chaos scribe) is a good friend of mine. So, I had been reading his scripts for the series already and knew where he was going with things. And, truth be told, I absolutely love the work Tim did with this relaunch. His six issues are far better than anyone can ever ask for.
3. The Chosen are a group of monster teens who travel the world with one agenda – hunting other monsters! (laughs) Can you tell me about the individual members of this team?
MM: The Chosen are basically this ragtag team of teenage/early 20s misfits who all have some kind of “monster” power. And they use their powers to hunt down other, bad monsters. They're horror X-Men, in a sense. The characters are Vanessa, a necromancer and kind of the leader of the team. She's reinforced by Danny/R.I.P., a kid who can turn into a raging demon, and Rashad/Carcass, who is a super strong half zombie. Theres also Rosa/Oblivia, a sexy vampire, Sara/Serendipity, a ghost, and Vex, and earthy clairvoyant.
4. Who is Suspira?
MM: Haha...Suspira is a character even I vaguely remember. I was trying to draft someone cool and off the beaten path from the Chaos universe to use in my story, and she made sense—I was thinking along the lines of a witch coven. That said, Suspira is a bad ass witch who is also part demon. In the story, called “Death Skull” she acts like a mentor to Vanessa, who is a necromancer and similarly has witch-like powers.
5. Big-bads? I hear there are at least two in this double-shot of horror, action, and humor.
MM: In the first story I use Epitaph, who was Suspira's nemesis back in the day. The idea is that Suspira had trapped Epitaph in hell, and he's using his own mystic powers to possess a trio of young women who were dabbling in the dark arts to set him free—by gaining possession of the Death Skull! It's silly fun, for sure, but Epitaph was a giant sleaze in the Chaos world, so it was enjoyable to bring him back, if only to give him some comeuppance once again.
In the second time story, I wanted to do something more standalone, to show how The Chosen function outside of the established Chaos universe. The monster is the giant squid-Cthulhu monster of the ocean. Sort of BPRD-esque, in a way.
6. Will we see any other familiar Chaos! characters in this one-shot? Purgatori perhaps? She seems to be everywhere! (Is Deja Thoris on vacation?)
MM: No Purgatori! Which I now regret, because she is everywhere. And why not? She must be super fun to write. I ran with just Suspira and Epitaph—characters who, I'm willing to bet, no one else is using in their Chaos books. The Chosen is such a big team, so it's a little challenging to add anyone else to that mix.
7. What about the art of Ivan Rodriguez and Rod Rodolfo? What do they bring to the table?
MM: They're both so great. I love that they have a Chaos-inspired aesthetic, in a way, but are very distinct as well. The stories both really pop and make full usage of the setting and type of story being told. And how about that cover from Tom Raney?!
8. Michael, would you like to see The Chosen become an ongoing, and would you be interested in writing it?
MM: Yes! I'd love The Chosen to become an ongoing, and I'd sign on the dotted line to write it tomorrow. . What's really greats about the series is that it, for one thing, has endless potential. A group of teenage monster hunters—it's like Monster Squad with more violence and sex. Who doesn't want that?! Not just that, but any series could float in and out of the Chaos universe, giving the story flexibility to build its own mythology while drawing on the strengths of what's already there. You could have monsters of the week mixed with appearances by Chasity and Purgatori and, hey, maybe a return of Suspira!
1. Michael, how did you happen to get attached to this Chaos! One-shot?
MM: I had worked on a different one-shot, for a book called My Little Phony. It must have went well because, after that, Dynamite offered me another gig—this one for The Chosen, famous of the Chaos line. It's a perfect fit and right in my wheelhouse. Monster-chasing is something I can't get enough of. I write Hoax Hunters for Image, which is kind of like The Chosen minus the '90s attitude and plus an astronaut suit filled with crows.
2. Am I correct to assume this spins out of what happened in the Chaos! Miniseries?
MM: Absolutely. I'm a fan of the Chaos line, and Tim Seeley (Chaos scribe) is a good friend of mine. So, I had been reading his scripts for the series already and knew where he was going with things. And, truth be told, I absolutely love the work Tim did with this relaunch. His six issues are far better than anyone can ever ask for.
3. The Chosen are a group of monster teens who travel the world with one agenda – hunting other monsters! (laughs) Can you tell me about the individual members of this team?
MM: The Chosen are basically this ragtag team of teenage/early 20s misfits who all have some kind of “monster” power. And they use their powers to hunt down other, bad monsters. They're horror X-Men, in a sense. The characters are Vanessa, a necromancer and kind of the leader of the team. She's reinforced by Danny/R.I.P., a kid who can turn into a raging demon, and Rashad/Carcass, who is a super strong half zombie. Theres also Rosa/Oblivia, a sexy vampire, Sara/Serendipity, a ghost, and Vex, and earthy clairvoyant.
4. Who is Suspira?
MM: Haha...Suspira is a character even I vaguely remember. I was trying to draft someone cool and off the beaten path from the Chaos universe to use in my story, and she made sense—I was thinking along the lines of a witch coven. That said, Suspira is a bad ass witch who is also part demon. In the story, called “Death Skull” she acts like a mentor to Vanessa, who is a necromancer and similarly has witch-like powers.
5. Big-bads? I hear there are at least two in this double-shot of horror, action, and humor.
MM: In the first story I use Epitaph, who was Suspira's nemesis back in the day. The idea is that Suspira had trapped Epitaph in hell, and he's using his own mystic powers to possess a trio of young women who were dabbling in the dark arts to set him free—by gaining possession of the Death Skull! It's silly fun, for sure, but Epitaph was a giant sleaze in the Chaos world, so it was enjoyable to bring him back, if only to give him some comeuppance once again.
In the second time story, I wanted to do something more standalone, to show how The Chosen function outside of the established Chaos universe. The monster is the giant squid-Cthulhu monster of the ocean. Sort of BPRD-esque, in a way.
6. Will we see any other familiar Chaos! characters in this one-shot? Purgatori perhaps? She seems to be everywhere! (Is Deja Thoris on vacation?)
MM: No Purgatori! Which I now regret, because she is everywhere. And why not? She must be super fun to write. I ran with just Suspira and Epitaph—characters who, I'm willing to bet, no one else is using in their Chaos books. The Chosen is such a big team, so it's a little challenging to add anyone else to that mix.
7. What about the art of Ivan Rodriguez and Rod Rodolfo? What do they bring to the table?
MM: They're both so great. I love that they have a Chaos-inspired aesthetic, in a way, but are very distinct as well. The stories both really pop and make full usage of the setting and type of story being told. And how about that cover from Tom Raney?!
8. Michael, would you like to see The Chosen become an ongoing, and would you be interested in writing it?
MM: Yes! I'd love The Chosen to become an ongoing, and I'd sign on the dotted line to write it tomorrow. . What's really greats about the series is that it, for one thing, has endless potential. A group of teenage monster hunters—it's like Monster Squad with more violence and sex. Who doesn't want that?! Not just that, but any series could float in and out of the Chaos universe, giving the story flexibility to build its own mythology while drawing on the strengths of what's already there. You could have monsters of the week mixed with appearances by Chasity and Purgatori and, hey, maybe a return of Suspira!