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Leah Moore - It’s awesome actually! It’s usually a really nerve wracking wait between the comic being written and then finding out what people think of it, so to have such a lot of praise heaped on it before it even hits the stands is amazing. Its also great encouragement for writing the latest issue (we are on #4 at the moment) and to keep it the same quality all the way through.
AC - You are one of a small group of married creators working in the comic book medium today. What's it like working on a project together? Is it harder to give honest feedback knowing that you have to share bed with other person later?
John Reppion - We’ve never worked any other way so I can’t really compare it to anything else to be honest. We’re never shy of telling each other that something’s crap or not how it should be but that’s more to do with the fact that they’re our collective ideas as opposed to the ideas of one or the other of us. That sounds idyllic I know but it isn’t; we still argue disagree at times. The most difficult part about working and living together is that everything affects everything else – work gets in the way of “real life” and vice versa.
AC - Without giving too much away can you give us a bit of story from Sherlock Holmes #1 to whet our appetites?
Leah Moore - Well it begins like many other Holmes mysteries, with an intriguing letter arriving on the famous Baker street doormat, apparently an ex police commissioner is going to be killed at precisely seven o’clock the following night. Holmes is certain that himself, Watson, Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard and a dozen of the Yard’s best bobbies will be able to scupper the murder plan, but then events take an unexpected turn, and everything is suddenly not so simple!
AC - Did y’all dig on the Jeremy Brett Adventures of Sherlock Holmes episodes from the late 80s and early 90s?
JR - We’re both big fans of Mr. Brett’s Holmes as well as Clive Merrison’s portrayal of the character in the BBC audio versions. Brett in particular brought out the odder side of the Great Detective and I think that makes him more believable. Holmes is always arrogant but it takes a good actor to show that he’s also in a bit of a world of his own – operating at a different speed as it where.
AC - Apart for the obvious answers, are there any writers or creators that you feel that you have taken particular inspiration from?
LM - I have always been really into Love and Rockets, and I think the way they frame their shots, and pace their pages has had a profound effect on my writing. They don’t miss a trick when it comes to storytelling, and quite often they do it without many words which I find really pleasing. It’s a self defeating exercise as a writer, to write silent comics, because everyone assumes the artist just drew it that way, but I think its more of a challenge to write something and rely on the pictures alone. One of the very best examples of this exact thing is Bob Byrne’s Mister Amperduke which is a complete graphic novel, it’s totally silent and tells a really heart breaking and terrifying story without anyone uttering a word.
JR - I’m not consciously inspired by anyone really but I think everything you enjoy influences you in some way, be that comics, novels, films or music. Getting the music right when I’m typing is definitely important to me.
AC - Leah … John’s moustache must be a ticklish little devil eh?
LM - Sometimes he puts moustache wax on it…then its spiky instead…
AC - I have to ask what you are currently reading … what are you currently reading that you feel is so awesome you have to pimp it?
JR - I’m currently reading Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill in-between reading and re-reading loads of Victorian and Holmes related stuff. The most recent comic series I’ve been enjoying is The Umbrella Academy – Dallas but I’ve fallen behind on that now so I’ll have to wait for the collected edition. I’m really bad at keeping up with the monthlies.
LM - I’m currently reading House of Cards by C E Murphy, it’s kind of like beauty and the beast but with gorgeous gargoyles, it’s fantastical without ever being sappy! I am also reading God Killers which is the work of multitalented comic artist Liam Sharpe, it’s a selection of stories which he paints as beautifully with words as he could with a brush.
AC - If you had one dream project to work on together what would it be?
LM - We were just talking about this the other night, actually. We’d love to get a chance to return to the first character we created which was Wild Girl for Wildstorm. We did a six issue miniseries and we would love to revisit those characters and take that series further. We were kind of young and naïve when we wrote it, and I think we’re better writes now, So I’d love to get a second go at that.
AC - That “TAG CLOUD” feature on your website is awesome! I got sucked in and played it for a few hours … I did get the high score though! Can I get some pub on the site for that?
JR - It is rather hypnotic isn’t it? And now you’re inexplicably drawn to interview us and order our comics you say? Interesting…