Hexagon’s Don Diablo, Michael Moreci, & Tom Bilyeu Tease Their Nostalgic Sci-Fi Tale (Exclusive)

The first issue of Hexagon arrives in stores today, bringing the latest original comic series from Impact Theory. Set in the 1980s, the five-issue miniseries follows a young boy named Don, who wants nothing more than to defeat the popular and seemingly-unbeatable arcade game, Crucible. Through a series of events, he manages to do just that — which unintentionally catches the attention of a group of invading space aliens. Suddenly, Don is thrown into a years-long intergalactic battle, which he doesn’t necessarily know how to handle. The end result is a series that’s part The Last Starfighter, part Star Wars, and perfect for readers of all ages.

At the center of Hexagon is Don Diablo, a beloved DJ and music producer who has worked with the likes of Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers, and Coldplay. Diablo – who the younger Don is based on – partners with comic writer and novelist Michael Moreci (Star Wars Adventures, Roche Limit) and artist Jheremy Raapack (Injustice: Gods Among Us) to bring the story to life. ComicBook.com got to chat with Diablo, Moreci, and Impact Theory founder Tom Bilyeu about the series during last month’s Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Read on to find out what the collaborative process has been like for Hexagon, striking a balance between space opera and family drama, and where fans can expect the series to go next.

Collaboration

ComicBook.com: I loved the first issue of Hexagon, and I’m really excited to see where things go from there. What has the collaborative process been like?

Tom Bilyeu: You are talking to three people that absolutely love collaboration. It started with, I got connected with Don. I was blown away by how creative he is — not just the music, but he does his own music videos. He’s got a whole cast of characters in his music videos that he created. He did a collaboration with Lucasfilm on a Star Wars clothing line. I was like “Yo, this guy is legitimately into sci-fi.”

Because you never want to collaborate with somebody who is posing. So, connecting with him, seeing that he had the roots. And then, what we were vibing on, I was like, “I guarantee I know the perfect writer for this is, Mr. Michael Moreci.” And I had read his novel, I’d read his comics. I think he’s one of the greatest living comic writers. He’s f-cking amazing. And I knew he’d be great at the collaboration.

So, I got the three of us together. We just started jamming literally from the first call. It was just extraordinary, when the ideas are popping and people can both put an idea forward, and recognize when somebody else’s idea is great as well. It was just magic.

For Don, in particular, how has working on Hexagon been different from your music and your other enterprises?

Oh, it’s been completely different, obviously. Normally I do everything by myself, and I’m kind of used to just being the lead, and taking the lead mostly. Here it was, I had an idea, and it’s amazing to see people that are better at something than I am take that thing and make it better than I ever dreamed of.

First, there was Tom, he put together an amazing team. He’s actually really creative himself and really gets into the story as well, which is like something that really was very helpful. And he put together these amazing artists and obviously, Michael. Honestly, it really kind of is growing over my head, to be honest.

It’s really kind of a dream collaboration, in my opinion. It’s kind of what you dream of. Even within my music or when I did the clothing, anything I would do, I wish it was a collaboration like this. The talent of people that take what I do to the next level. Usually, people always say that, but I actually never say that. I’ve actually never said that in an interview before, because usually I just stay silent.

Creativity

For Don, in particular, how has working on Hexagon been different from your music and your other enterprises?

Don Diablo: Oh, it’s been completely different, obviously. Normally I do everything by myself, and I’m kind of used to just being the lead, and taking the lead mostly. Here it was, I had an idea, and it’s amazing to see people that are better at something than I am take that thing and make it better than I ever dreamed of.

First, there was Tom, he put together an amazing team. He’s actually really creative himself and really gets into the story as well, which is like something that really was very helpful. And he put together these amazing artists and obviously, Michael. Honestly, it really kind of is growing over my head, to be honest.

It’s really kind of a dream collaboration, in my opinion. It’s kind of what you dream of. Even within my music or when I did the clothing, anything I would do, I wish it was a collaboration like this. The talent of people that take what I do to the next level. Usually, people always say that, but I actually never say that. I’ve actually never said that in an interview before, because usually I just stay silent.

What’s to Come

What can you guys tease about where the story goes from Hexagon #1?

Bilyeu: So, the whole thing that Michael set up was he’s always grounding it in — Don had a vision for making this really about family. And so, how do you have an intergalactic battle and make it really core about the family? And that’s something that Michael does so well. You must read his novels, by the way, they really, really show how well he could do that.

You’re going to take a kid who’s a normal kid, but he really finds out that he’s not as normal as he thought. But nothing comes easy to him. Is he going to be willing to put in the work to step outside of his comfort zone and have these credible stakes? Which is where we take it. So issue #1 is a small family drama. But by issue two, you’re in outer space. And it’s like, “How the hell do you make that leap without losing the characters?” That’s what I’m excited for people to see is, yes, in issue #2 it’s spaceships and it’s traveling at lightspeed. And yet you never lose sight of a 12-year-old boy trying to figure out what he would look like as a man. So that’s interesting.

And then, watching how we’re literally weaving Don, the real person, into both, because the character is Don as a young boy. It’s literally Don imagined in a different universe, but Don as a young boy essentially communing with himself as an adult. What is that interplay?  The way that Michael handled it, it’s literally a boy communing with the man he could become and how hard that is. He captures that in a way – I literally have the chills – in a way that is so human, while you’re on an alien planet. I think that’s really the magic of these two coming together.

Audience Response

What are you guys most excited to see readers respond to with Hexagon?

Michael Moreci: For me, I think it’s a continuation of the journey. I want to see readers respond, especially young readers who pick us up. I have two sons who are both addicted to the first issue, I see them reading it all the time. And I want them to continue to follow this journey and be excited and be right in step with Don, and have this extraordinary adventure, but also see the stuff that he does and unlock that stuff within themselves as well.

As readers, we’re like, “Hey, you know, I can also find these really key moments in my life of growth and development and encountering tough situations and get better beyond that.” To have that nugget, but also take them on a really cool adventure into space, is stuff that we all love and people love so much. I want to see that excitement and that the exhilaration, but also seeing that personal states within them, reflected within them should be great.

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Hexagon #1 is available in stores now. Issue #2 will be released on April 22nd.