Terry Moore on Rachel Rising #23 and Vicious Rumors He Wishes He Thought Of

Things are heating up in Manson--even though it's freezing cold and there are feet of snow everywhere and more falling every second. As Rachel/Bryn, Jett/James and Zoe came together in Rachel Rising #23, the trio create one of the most intimate issues of the series so far...except that it really isn't. Filled with mythology and aimed at the most epic showdown we've seen so far in the series, our three heroes may spend much of the issue alone, but it doesn't mean the story itself is small. Plus: Rachel finally opens her box of potions--an event that many of Terry Moore's fans have been waiting for since before this series started since a virtually-identical box belonged to Julie Martin in Echo, Moore's previous series, and we never got to see what was inside! Moore joined us to talk about the issue, and tease the future... Reminder: These commentary track columns are spoiler-filled. If you haven't already read Rachel Rising #23, go buy it and read along with us!

ComicBook.com: That thing that Rachel has that she thinks can be used against Lilith? Have we seen it before or is it new? Moore: It's new to us, very old to Lilith. ComicBook.com: Is the body that's obstructing Zoe's tire the owner of the van (we saw her kill him, obviously) or a new victim whose story we don't know? Moore: That's the guy she ran over at the gas station. But if you want to say it's a new victim, or several new ones, under there, might as well. I'm not sure she can reach the brake pedal. ComicBook.com: It suggests to me that Jet may really be gone-gone, since she has no recollection of Zoe. Wouldn't that part of her brain, if it was still working, recognize the kid? Moore: If you look at the way it worked when she was possessed by Malus, she was gone then, too. So it made sense to me that when James arose, he would be dominant also. ComicBook.com: That said, how much does Zoe know about Rachel's backstory when they start into the back-and-forth? Moore: My take is that Zoe's been around for 50 years and she learned a lot from what Malus knows, like Lilith's story. Zoe knows that because Malus knows that and Malus was in her brain for 40 years. How much would she know about Rachel depends on how much Rachel interacted with Lilith. It's like me knowing about my brother-in-law because I live with his sister. Over time, you hear the stories, right?

ComicBook.com: Does Zoe have a plan or an agenda now? She seemed to be headed for just "get out of town" last time we saw her and before that she even had a moment of just wanting to finally die and be at peace. Moore: You have to read 24. You'll see a twist. ComicBook.com: That is some solid guilt-tripping that not-Jet is laying on Rachel in the van. You think there's hope for them to find some kind of workable status quo (assuming they survive the next few issues)? Moore: It poses an interesting dilemma, doesn't it? For James and Rachel. It's interesting to imagine what James would have to adjust to in order to get comfortable in his new body and new world. I'd like the reader to think about it between issues. Then read #24. ComicBook.com: It really never occurred to me until now: Was Jet secretly somebody else as far back as when she knew Francine and Katchoo? Moore: My take is James has been deep inside her the whole time. It's how he survived for numerous generations, imbedded in his descendants. ComicBook.com: Did Rachel respond particularly harshly to Zoe's slang because she said "witch's tit?" Moore: Looks that way. I love it when somebody in the car has no filter. ComicBook.com: Just spitballing: is there a chance Zoe is the reincarnation of the guy who ate his sleeping wife? Moore: What?! Huh? That is a vicious rumor. Wish I'd thought of it. ComicBook.com: What made you decide to depict the "lights-out" scene the way you did? Were you going for an old-school horror vibe of having absolutely nothing to see, or just inspired by old Rainbow Raider stories in Justice League? Moore: I wanted that total black out thing you saw in old movies before that made faster film and better cameras. But I've already established we see fully lit people in dark scenes, so it just ended up looking like a lit person in a black out. I kind of liked it. The goal was for you to have that sense of an un-navigable corridor and room. So, got it.

ComicBook.com: Will the good doctor's confession mean anything to Johnny, assuming they bring her back? I mean...her soul wasn't in the body when he told her about his wife and hinted he might like to molest her. Moore: True, he was speaking to a spiritless body, but the brain is alive due to forced mechanically enforced blood flow. If the ears pick it up, will the brain register the sounds? And would the file be available to the consciousness when it returns with the spirit? Or, is it like talking to a shut down computer? Interesting question. ComicBook.com: Could Johnny and Earl find happiness together (in a platonic way), since it seems their respective loves are gone? Moore: What?! Huh? [laughs] I've never thought of that. If they ever did share rent, you know it would be platonic, but it might be entertaining to put that odd couple together. ComicBook.com: Pretty cavalier about "kill the dog," there. Have you got hate mail yet? Moore: No. Are you going to send me one? ComicBook.com: Do you think it's wise for Rachel to leave a process like bringing Johnny back in someone else's hands? Moore: No. [smiles] ComicBook.com: I suppose that Earl won't let anything much happen... Moore: Riiiight. Because everything's gone perfectly with him around. ComicBook.com: Should I remember the name Firehill Observation Point from earlier in the series or is that a new drop-in? Obviously I remember the locale but not the name. Moore: That's an actual exit on the road up the hill, or whatever a short mountain is called.

ComicBook.com: I love the way you're writing the dialogue for not-Jet. The 4x4 one-liner is one of my favorites. Moore: I've tried to be aware of what a 17th Century person would say and observe today, without getting too stilted by it. But you'll notice something else in James' comments: how many times he says "I don't know what that means." Must be very frustrating. ComicBook.com: Obviously you've been open about the fact that we're nearing the end of your originally-planned arc for the series. Have you made any major tweaks along the way? It seems we're preparing to end it where we started it...for everybody. Moore: I changed the ending from what I first imagined. I originally had something much more drastic in mind. But I decided it might be too much and went with something a little more earthy and organic to the plot. But I do wrap up many loose ends in the final chapter. I love it when all the pieces come together. ComicBook.com: It's interesting: following up on the Earl/Johnny thought from earlier, it seems as though a persistent theme here is that your friends/allies/soulmates are not always who you think they are. The fact that the girls have to team with Zoe is a good example, but obviously so is Bryn's misinterpretation of her Great Love. Moore: Exactly. And we do it with everything, don't we? We project onto others what we want them to be. A married couple don't remember something the same way even though they were both there. It's all perception, misconception, what you paid attention to while things were happening and being said. You see somebody you like and imagine them as being this or that. And if they turn out to be even close, you close the gap for them in your mind. Billy Joel sang about it, that we all have a stranger inside and we take them out when everyone has gone. ComicBook.com: Zoe, too, is providing some much-needed comic relief. How do you find the balance of leaving that in there while still keeping the stakes high and the book scary? Moore: I love it. There's always somebody in the group calling bullshit. And I think it defuses the dangerous trap of taking yourself too seriously. If a writer tries to overwhelm you with the gravity of the moment but it's not grabbing you that way, you'll lose the reader. Having some balance of perception in there helps make the medicine go down and stay down. I learned that from all the bad superhero comics I've seen where absolutely every character is gritting teeth like a hemmohroid sufferer. So, I try not to do that too much. A little grim goes a long way. ComicBook.com: That is one heck of a creepy visual to end on...who are these women? Moore: The Manson 100.