At C2E2, one of the most hopping indie exhibitor booths was Impact Theory. Which included the creative team behind the upcoming must-have book Hexagon [Script by Michael Moreci; Story by Michael Moreci, Tom Bilyeu, and Don Diablo; art by Jheremy Raapack; produced by Tom Biyeu and Don Diablo]. Their signing lines were consistently fairly long but I was able to sneak in a few minutes to talk to Tom Bilyeu & Michael Moreci
Eric: Thank you for speaking with The Pullbox Today. I got to read the preview issue of Hexagon #1 this morning. It’s fantastic!. It is this awesome 80’s sci-fi adventure. Where did the inspiration come from?
Tom: Well, for anyone who reads it, they will very quickly see that 80’s cinema did play a big role. There is certainly a nod to The Last Starfighter in the book. We just really tried to do something that is grand in scope and but intimate in connection. So, we wanted a big story that didn’t get lost in the size of the sci-fi world and sort of starting with that bubble, we handed it over to this man (referring to Michale Moreci) and he turned it into a real story with real stakes and real characters. Working with a writer of his caliber has been extraordinary. Then we collaborated with Don Diablo the DJ, who has phenomenal ideas and it was a great collaboration all around. But it never would have come together without Michael Moreci.
Eric: This first issue gets us in the doorway to this world. Is there a bigger world planned? What is the scope of the story of Hexagon?
Michael: There is definitely a bigger world. I think we want to take the main character (Don) on a hero’s journey. No hero’s journey is complete without trials and an introduction to a larger world, you need to leave home and your world to go out to somewhere new. So, Don will definitely be going somewhere new. Since this is a comic, this new place we have for him will be extraordinary. It is robust and visually stimulating. So the readers will be seeing this huge world for Don to enter into. It will be an adventure and have real stakes that we all always say feels robust and intimate at the same time. Seeing Don thrust into that will be a pretty great story for the next four issues after this first one.
Eric: And it looks like it’s not just the stakes for Don, but it looks like stakes for the whole world. This feels like it was written for a movie or an episodic series on Netflix. What are the plans for Hexagon beyond this initial series?
Tom: Well, after this initial five issue arc, it really depends on how well it sells. We tried to tell a story that was complete, so we aren’t hedging our bets. Readers will be very satisfied, this arc has a beginning, middle and end. But if it smashes, we have opened a big world so it would be very easy to pick back up in that world.
Eric: Tell me about the title, where did Hexagon come from?
Tom: So the title is very much a nod to Don Diablo, our collaborator on this. Hexagon is his brand, and a lot of the core DNA of the ideology of the planet we go to comes from him. So, naming the very planet after him just made a lot of sense to us. There is core iconology and imagery in the book that directly relates to his music and artistry,
Eric: I appreciate you spending a few minutes with The Pullbox today. I know the fans appreciate all of your work. Shameless plug time, are there any other projects that are coming up that you would like to talk about?
Tom: Well, everything Michael Moreci touches is great, so we could start with his upcoming catalog for sure.
Michael: So beyond Hexagon, I’m writing a series called Archangel 8 that comes out in March. But really I’ve got my eye towards though is Hexagon. We have the preview issue here at C2E2, but the official launch on March 18th. It will available in stores and Comixology. It will be exciting. We are going to hit the ground running and have the five issue series coming out monthly.
Eric: Awesome! Once again thank you for your time and I hope you have a great con
Tom / Michael: Thanks, you too.
You can follow Tom, Michael, and Impact Theory below.
