Talking ‘Riley’s Rebels’ With Honor Vincent And Stewart K. Moore

The Alabama Morass may not be a mirage, but that doesn’t mean it’s a green oasis either in Honor Vincent and Stewart K. Moore‘s post-apocolyptic all-ages tale, Riley’s Rebels. With letters by Simon Bowland, here’s what Vincent and Moore had to say about setting their tale in the Cursed Earth, being inspired by Gautier, and the strip’s sibling survivors:

Rachel Bellwoar: What is Riley’s Rebels about?

Stewart K. Moore: It’s about a terrible and lawless place and it’s about some kids lost in that place who have been kidnapped by truly awful people, it’s about a kind of future slavery and those kids coming of age and just not accepting it anymore. It’s about revolution in a radioactive desert. But it’s about more, it’s about finding a pocket of life in a world of death and the inspiration that brings for the young.

Honor Vincent: The story is about a brother and sister who are living in a sort of summer-camp-child-labor-prison in the Cursed Earth run by The Elders. The Elders have mech suits that keep them ticking and make them basically impossible for the kids to take on in a fight. They kidnap and keep the kids around to collect parts to fix up their suits, which The Elders see as beneath them — both because they don’t know how, and because, as they like to say, they’re “retired.” They dangle the prospect of earning a suit through good behavior over the kids, but that’s a lie.

Riley is one of the older kids in the camp, and the best at suit modification and repair. We follow her and her little brother Clint as they venture into the Alabama Morass in search of parts to add some little fans to the suits (it’s hot!). They find someone in an abandoned village deep in the swamp who can perhaps help them escape The Elders.

Bellwoar: What made you want to tell a story about siblings?

Vincent: I started writing this as just Riley, but she was too empty without someone to really fight for. Clint still has his hope and innocence and excitement about the world, despite everything that’s happened to him and his family, and he’s what keeps Riley going – she wants to get them both out of The Elders’ grasp, but she can’t go spear-gun blazing because she also couldn’t live with herself if Clint got hurt.

Moore: I will share something strange that happened. This may not seem true but it is. I don’t care if you believe it, coincidences happen. One Monday, early this year, I woke up thinking I’d like to work on something set in the Cursed Earth, I’ve always liked the CE setting, but this was a stronger than normal desire to work in that arena. So I wrote an email to Tharg to ask him to keep me on radar next time he gets a script that is specifically set there. I then deleted the email. I didn’t send it. I’ll pitch ideas to The Mighty One but usually backed by a sketch. It didn’t feel right just throwing this out there without something more from me, some unique visual angle and I had no story to pitch him. So I deleted it.

Maybe three hours later I received an email from Tharg asking if I’d be interested in that very thing – drawing Honor’s story set in the Cursed Earth. Now I know that seems far-fetched. And I am fond of the setting. But I don’t get emails like that very often. I checked, I didn’t send that email to him by accident either. So I decided that it had be down to Tharg’s alien mind being telepathic.

Anyway, you can imagine my sheer delight when I read about the mech suits, the elders and these wonderful tough kids. I grew up on Dredd and as I’ve said elsewhere, I would almost certainly not be an artist today had I not been a fan. So it was all systems go!

Bellwoar: How does the Cursed Earth compare to other dystopian settings?

Moore: The Cursed Earth gives the futuristic world of Judge Dredd a western style sandbox. A frontier, but a ruined one filled with incredible horrors. I believe the game Talking ‘Riley’s Rebels’ With Honor Vincent And Stewart K. Moorewas based on The Cursed Earth – and the Cursed Earth was first introduced to readers through the work of Pat Mills, I believe. But the Cursed Earth was also a nod to science fiction films of the time such as Damnation Alley and others. Interestingly Pat’s work hosted a ‘Jurassic Park’ long before the film or Michael Crichton published the book!

In addition there are areas run by gangster fast-food corporations and much more, slavers, aliens, mutants, various inexplicable violent monstrosities …y’know it reminds me of Scotland! In fact it makes me homesick 😀

Vincent: From a writing perspective there’s such a great foundation to work off – lots of awesome stories have been set there, and the Dredd universe is so deep with different factions and minor warlords and aliens and all kids of fun stuff. But there are also lots of lesser-explored corners –  America is a big place and most of it is the Cursed Earth, so there’s also a ton of room left to play.

Bellwoar: Despite being raised in a very harsh environment, I love the visual reminders that Clint is still a kid. Where did the idea for his wardrobe and cape come from?

Vincent: Me too! And that was all Stewart.

Moore: Great question. I modelled Clint’s wardrobe on the work of French fashion designer Jean Paul Gautier. Look closely at the colours and he is wearing a child’s version of the clothes of Corben Dallas, famously played by Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element.

Radiation Cloaks are common kit for Judges and I thought there probably would be some kind of child’s version on the market in Mega City One. The children are living in deprived circumstances and far from the city, but they’ve acquired that cloak somehow, it’s a hand me down from somewhere, old and beaten yet that little cloak is a thing of value. Although more noticeable on Riley, both Riley and Clint wear colourful sunblock on their faces. Just like snowboarders wear today.

I thought the wee cloak and sunblock could be symbolic of Riley’s protectiveness over Clint. I imagine she also insists on the sunblock. ‘Rad’ was a common word in Southern California when I spent time there as a child. It was short for ‘radical’. ‘I’m RAD!’ – In this case it’s a joke on the radiation cloak protecting the wearer against Rads or excessive radiation levels.

Bellwoar: The reason Riley and Clint are helping Elder George is so that they can earn points for a mech suit. Why are these suits so popular?

Vincent: They’re really a surer way for someone who’s not at their physical peak to survive in the Cursed Earth, which is a rough place (as even a Judge would tell you). The Elders desperately need them to survive, and the kids see them as this mark of being a full person, being able to make it on your own.

Moore: The suits are popular with Riley and Clint’s captors. They would be unlikely to survive the harsh nuclear wasteland otherwise, with its many dangers, without the mech suit protection.

Vincent: To Riley they’re also the only way to go toe-to-toe with the Elders. Each Elder has a kind of power set determined by their suits – Elder Sarah, the de facto leader, has a pretty terrifying war suit, where Elder George’s is much junkier and clankier, because he’s more towards the bottom of the pile popularity-wise.

Bellwoar: Elder George isn’t in great physical shape. Did you always want to play up the gross factor with him and is this a warning that Riley and Clint should be weary of the suits?

Vincent: Elder George is waaaay past his expiration date, and the suit is keeping him mobile and moving (even when he’s dozing off). I wanted him to be gross, and this is another spot where Stewart really took it to another level. The suits don’t hurt wearers (unless they’re sabotaged), but they do make the Elders able to live out their worst impulses. A tool in good hands used for good vs. a tool in bad used for bad things, etc…

Moore: I don’t imagine it’s a graceful experience, growing old in the Cursed Earth. I doubt anything or anyone gets much chance to age out there, it’s a deadly place. The suits allow for that, maybe sustain them and protect them beyond what the grim environment would normally allow.

As an artist I take my lead from the script. Honor had mentioned a few aged US senators in reference to George. I initially drew a caricature fusing the two men that were mentioned. But I didn’t go with it so directly. I think something of the two men remain, but it’s far from obvious.

Bellwoar: In part one Riley and Clint are pretty isolated. Will we meet more of “Riley’s rebels” in future installments?

Moore: And how! Readers can expect both friend and foe alike! I think it’s fair to say it’s going to get quite intense and they’ll need all the friends they can get.

Vincent: You certainly will! And a few animal friends, too.

Bellwoar: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Honor and Stewart!

Riley’s Rebels debuted in Judge Dredd Megazine #474 from 2000 AD. Part 2 will drop December 18th in Judge Dredd Megazine #475.