Daniel Corey Masters The Mystery of Moriarty Part 2

Earlier this week we got to shoot some questions over to Image Comics creator Daniel Corey about his killer new comic Moriarty:The Dark Chamber. In the first round we talked about his experience with kickstarer and just how awesome the Victorian era was. Continuing our interview we now turn our attention to the Digital age and what’s in store for Moriarty as the series begins it’s second story arch.

What about inventions? The books so far have featured some great steampunk-esque gadgets and gizmos where did the ideas for them come from?

I knew I wanted to bring in some sort of metaphysical element to the story, but I wanted it grounded in science fiction. The idea of having a cult in the storywas fascinating to me, so I made them a sort of “science cult” called the Red Masques, who have a fixation on the works of Poe. The Masques are working on a technology that Moriarty experiences in the first issue, a sort of psychic camera obscura.

Predicting the future seemed like a sort of ultimate weapon that everyone could vie for, and it needed to be personified in a device of some sort, a “psychic box.” This box uses a special “amplified light” (what we know as a laser) to penetrate the mind and unlock unknown regions that allow us to see the future, and project the images onto photographic paper. So it’s psychic photography. But it has a pseudo-scientific explanation.

Since Moriarty has such grand designs to control everything around him, going to these fantastic lengths seemed necessary. So that’s where the Dark Chamber itself came from.

The main gadget on display throughout the story is his multi-purpose walking stick, which also serves as a sword, gas lamp, flame thrower, and other nifty things. I was a huge fan of “Wild, Wild West” as a kid, and that probably had something to do with the creation of the multi-use walking stick.

Going back to the source material, got a favorite Holmes adventure from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories? What was it that inspired you the most?

“The Final Problem” is my favorite. It gave us the Professor.

What are your thoughts on Moriarty going digital? Do you think the professor himself would approve?

I’m not sure the Professor would approve of anyone talking or writing about him. He does like his anonymity. If Moriarty knew about this, we wouldn’t be doing this interview. He’d fix it somehow.

As for me, as an independent comic creator, I love ComiXology and digital comics. It gives me a way of getting the book out there without having to worry about printing costs. And the Internet is world wide, so the world becomes the oyster of comic creators everywhere. I can’t stress enough what a fan I am of ComiXology, and I’m happy that Image embraces the digital revolution.

With the first arc about to be collected in a Graphic Novel Trade, any chance you could leave us a peak at what’s to come?

The next storyline is in August Previews. MORIARTY #5 is subtitled THE LAZARUS TREE, and it will see the Professor mixing it up in colonial Burma. He’ll be meeting up with a bothersome Imperial Policeman called Blair (a reference to someone we all know, if you think about/Google it), and getting involved in some political intrigue that involves more fantastic, sci-fi grandeur.

MORIARTY: THE DARK CHAMBER, our volume one trade, is hitting shelves September 14th. Then on to THE LAZARUS TREE in October, a storyline that will stretch several issues and eventually be collected into volume two.

I can’t wait for everyone to see what’s coming next. It’s going to be pretty wild.

Keep up to date with the latest in comics that are going digital and making waves as we continue to bring you the latest interviews from today’s top creators. Check out the first four issues of Moriarty: The Dark Chamber today and get an eye out for more to come!