Michael Moreci’s “Roche Limit” was an inspired neo-noir science fiction series that embodied the best parts of Blade Runner. Now, after an incredibly successful and suspenseful first arc, Moreci is fast forwarding 75 years to show a new part of his world with new series artist Kyle Charles.
In ROCHE LIMIT: CLANDESTINY #1, it’s 75 years after the events that left the Roche Limit colony in flames. When a crew of military and science personnel are sent to the forgotten and desolate planet on a mysterious expedition, they quickly learn its dark secrets—and that their mission is not what they thought it to be. With danger lurking all around, the crew members fight to find a way off the planet and resist the mysterious presence that haunts them all.
Bloody-Disgusting sat down with Moreci and talk about what to expect in this brand new series.
BD: First off, why the name change and new numbering?
Michael Moreci: Well, we all know renumbering is, for the most part, a sales ploy. You slap a new number one on there and say “jumping on point!” and, viola, an increase in sales numbers. The decision to do so with Roche Limit, cross my heart, is purely creative. Each volume is very, very much its own story. It isn’t accurate or fitting to have the “Clandestiny” story be #6, because that would make it seem like it’s a direct continuation of issues 1-5, which it is not. Don’t get me wrong—these stories, all three volumes in the trilogy, link together in a very purposeful way. But they all have their own story and characters and stand on their own. You can read “Clandestiny” without having read volume one (which, little known fact, is titled “Anomalous”). It’s a better, richer, and more rewarding experience to read them both, but it isn’t essential.
As for the new name, I think I just like weird-sounding words!
BD: Clandestiny does rolls right off the tongue, but it also seems to allude to a secret fate. Do you find this relates more to the characters or to Dispater itself or possibly both?
MM: Definitely more that characters. The tagline for this volume is “This Is Where You Belong,” and I think one of the most prevalent threads in this story, and Roche Limit in general, is discovery yourself, internally and externally. There’s something to be said about a destiny that’s hidden, because that means you have to find it—but what if you’re wrong? We all thing that, individually, we’re supposed to do something meaningful or worthwhile with our existence; collectively, we have a similar sense of forging ahead with technology, exploration, things like that. The dangerous thing is that we never wonder if we’re even supposed to—who said we’re meant to “boldly go…”? That’s a big part of the book, seeing characters whose reach exceeds their grasp. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do these things, not at all, but I do think there’s something to be said about what happens when we get too ambitious or want things without ever really knowing why.
But, stripping all that down to be more direct about “Clandestiny,” the thing we’ll see is characters struggling with where they belong, the reality they’ve made for themselves and if it’s truly what they want. And if not—maybe they can change it…
BD: It’s a bold choice to say goodbye to all the characters from the first arc. Was this a purposeful decision from the outset or one that developed as you wrote?
MM: Oh, for sure. It’s like Chekov said “if you have a gun on the mantle in the first act, it must be fired by the third.” Similarly, if you show a bomb in a characters chest in the second issue, well, that thing pretty much has to go off. I don’t know that I really had an exact reason for killing off so many characters, although I like that it plays out like a Shakespearean tragedy in the end. But, also, there’s this sense of death pervading over the book, the death of idealism, ambition, dreams, and I think the literal deaths followed from that. Langford’s death was the most profound, I’d say, because he had the most significant fall from where he was too where he ended up—his dreams broken around him, powerless to do anything about it. But, still, in his mourning, he realizes what is most important and delivers, in issue four, the most direct, hopeful message of the book: the best change we can make is within ourselves, and the greatest heights we can hope to achieve, as humans, is to love. It sounds hokey, it worked for The Beatles!
BD: 75 years seems specific for a time jump. Is that length of time important to the events that’ll unfold in Clandestiny?
MM: Not precisely, no. I figure that’s enough time where the colony and what happened there could realistically be forgotten. A generation has come and gone, and history moves fast, so it’s not too much of a stretch to believe that the place, and everything that happened there, would fall out on public consciousness. And that’s what I wanted—I never want to blow this story up so you have, like, the U.S. president getting involved and secret agents and all that. The story is intimate and has to remain so by keeping it low-fi. That closeness to the characters and richness of the world, to me, really helps make Roche Limit effective and resonate with on a more deeper level.
BD: Big stories can often become too focused on spectacle, losing profound character moments in the process. It’s nice to know that Roche Limit will stay true to itself in this sense.
Clandestiny looks just as astounding as Roche Limit did before it, but was it hard saying goodbye to Vic Malhotra & Jordan Boyd?
MM: Absolutely. We got close, as a team, and I’ll always have respect for those two guys. We still talk, and I consider them both friends. But things happen, and for various reasons it made sense for all of us to move on. I couldn’t be happier to welcome Kyle Charles and Matt Battaglia to the team; not only are they both tremendous artists, but they are absolutely perfect for the tone, look, and feel of “Clandestiny.” These guys are crafting something special, and I’m so excited for people to enjoy their stellar work.
BD: Is it important to you that your work be scientifically accurate? For example, the Roche Limit anomaly is fictional but is any of it based in real science?
MM: I’ll be honest—I’m not really interested in the science beyond the idea of what a Roche limit is being a cool parallel to the story. A Roche limit is the distance where one body enters another, larger body’s gravitational force and is basically torn apart. That’s how Saturn got its rings, some speculate—a smaller moon got too close and Saturn broke it into pieces, and those pieces got caught in its orbit. My story, of course, is very keen on things coming apart by overwhelming forces. But otherwise, no, I’m not too concerned with science. There’s this strange, ridiculous onus on serious sci-fi that it must be accurate. Like, if you don’t, Neil DeGrasse Tyson is going to tweet you apart. Movies like Transformers, though, are somehow excluded from this scrutiny.
What matters to me, what will always be paramount, is story. As long as there’s nothing horrendously egregious on a factual level—like people breathing in space or something—then I think there isn’t much of a problem.
BD: Would it be safe to assume that the soul Alex forgot to retrieve at the end of Roche Limit will play heavily into Clandestiny?
MM: So glad you picked up on that! The answer is ohhhhhhh yeah. It most certainly does.
ROCHE LIMIT: CLANDESTINY #1 hits stores on May 6. Cover A (Charles) can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code MAR150507. Cover B (Malhotra) can be pre-ordered with Diamond Code MAR150508.