Rob Rogers

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PIRATES. CIRCUS FREAKS. SUPERHEROES. I KEPT WAITING FOR A COUPLE OF ASTRONAUTS AND A DINOSAUR TO SHOW UP AND MAKE DEVIL'S CAPE THE BEST BOOK FOR BOYS EVER.

Man, that would be a great pull quote. Can I use that? :)

HAVE THESE THINGS ALWAYS BEEN OF INTEREST TO YOU?

Oh, sure. All three of those, going back to childhood. Superheroes are obviously the core of the book. The pirate and carnival freak themes came in a bit later. I wanted to create a fictional city - a kind of villainous city - as the setting of the book and wanted it steeped in flavor, so I brainstormed a bit and came up with the idea of a city actually founded by a masked pirate. That gave me some fun, exciting options as far as describing the city's history, giving it its own flair, etc. The carnival freak theme came in when I developed the team of villains that were going to be a menace for the heroes. Again, I wanted some atmosphere for the group, and I focused on a carnival connection for them. While the heroes have separate origins, the shared history of the villain group allowed for a shared origin, which helped keep things tidy.

I WAS BORN, RAISED, AND EDUCATED IN THE SOUTH - I READ IN YOUR AUTHOR BIO IN THE BOOK THAT YOU WERE, AS WELL. I CAN'T QUITE PUT MY FINGER ON IT, EXACTLY, BUT DEVIL'S CAPE FEELS VERY "SOUTHERN" TO ME. HAVE YOUR SOUTHERN ROOTS INFLUENCED YOUR STORYTELLING STYLE IN ANY WAY?

Yes. I wasn't actually born in the South (I was born near Chicago), but the rest is definitely true. I think that some of the southern influence of the book is a side effect of the Louisiana setting, but a lot more comes from my influences and training. My favorite teacher in high school was someone who was quintessentially southern somehow--on the one hand, he wore tweed with those patches on the elbows and a bow tie and talked about Faulkner a lot, and on the other hand he'd been an Airborne Ranger and could kill you with his bare hands if he needed to. A lot of my strongest lessons came from him -using lots of relevant imagery and description to ground a scene, listening for patterns in dialogue, etc.

I HAD A PROFESSOR LIKE THAT IN COLLEGE. HE TAUGHT ENGLISH 365: LITERATURE OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH, AND HAD A DRAWING OF A WOUNDED CONFEDERATE SOLDIER ON HIS OFFICE DOOR WITH A CAPTION READING "FORGET, HELL."

And I guess, too, that some of the themes of the book are popular themes in southern literature - the importance of family, the weight of legacy, the corruption of government. The occasional shout-out to Flannery O'Connor doesn't hurt, either.

I LOVED THAT THE BEHEMOTH READ FLANNERY O'CONNOR STORIES BETWEEN FREAKSHOW APPEARANCES.

That was a fun bit. Little elements like that help make characters breathe for me.

YOU MENTIONED THEMES IN THE BOOK - I THOUGHT DESTINY (JASON AND JULIAN, IN PARTICULAR) AND LEGACY (DOCTOR CAMELOT, OBVIOUSLY, BUT ALSO AMONGST THE MOB FAMILIES) WERE TWO OF THE KEY THEMES. YOU MENTIONED THEM AS COMMON IN SOUTHERN LIT, BUT THEY'RE ALSO BIG SUPERHERO COMIC THEMES, AS WELL.

I didn't sit down at any point and sketch out particular themes for the book. I started with a setting and characters and a few situations or ideas, and then everything else rose organically from that foundation. But I think you're definitely on target with the themes you mention and their connections to comic books and southern literature. The relationship between Jason and Julian started as a twist on the "evil twin" trope. I like to think it developed into something richer and more interesting than that, but that was the root of their relationship. The destiny theme for them developed because of the origin of their powers, their own family legacy, and the mythology behind them. Doctor Camelot is definitely a legacy character, created very much in the vein of the characters from the original Infinity, Inc. title - she steps into a legacy role as an adult, recreating the Doctor Camelot identity to better fit her own talents and personality. It was important to me that she do more than just assume the role of her predecessor - she needed to be able to improve on that role due to her ingenuity and training. Redemption is another theme that I touch on, and another one with deep roots in both southern lit and comics. There's some of that in the development of Bedlam's character, and it's a theme I'll probably be revisiting when I continue the story of Devil's Cape.

CONTINUING THE STORY? AS I FINISHED THE NOVEL, I FELT THAT IT ENDED IN A WAY THAT BEGGED FOR A SEQUEL.

Sure, I'm working on a sequel. It's hard sometimes to work it in around a full-time job, a family, promoting this book, etc., but I'm really excited about where I'm taking the characters next.

My aim with Devil's Cape was to provide a complete story with resolution and a climax, while still leaving some avenues to take the characters farther. The characters still standing by the end of the book have some stories left to play with. I've been trying to think of a good analogy, but the best I've come up with is Star Wars (which I guess now A New Hope - don't get me started). At the end of the movie, the heroes have blown up the Death Star and saved the day, but Vader and the Empire are still out there and the individual characters still have some paths to follow and lessons to learn. There really aren't a lot of similarities between Star Wars and Devil's Cape, but that was the kind of ending I was looking for - a sense of resolution with doors open for more.

A LOT OF 'MODERN' WRITERS WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE'S NO PLACE FOR SUPERHEROES IN TODAY'S WORLD. OBVIOUSLY, YOU BELIEVE DIFFERNENTLY, EVEN IN A HOPELESS CITY LIKE DEVIL'S CAPE. HOW RELEVANT CAN SUPERHEROES STILL BE?

Oh, as relevant as you want them to be, I think. Reading and writing for me are largely forms of escapism. I'd like to think that the stories I tell are relevant because I try to make my characters real and well-rounded - I hope that readers will find relevance in how these characters deal with their
circumstances. But ultimately, I'm much more interested in fun, exciting stories than relevance. And superheroes are fun. They're great escape mechanisms. How cool is it to imagine yourself flying or outsmarting bad guys or turning up clues with your super senses?

As for how relevant superheroes are in the city of Devil's Cape? I think they're essential. It's a pretty hopeless, corrupt place, and its citizens need something to inspire them, to give them the idea that it might change for the better someday.

HAVE YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO READ ANY OTHER SUPERHERO FICTION? WILD CARDS, MAYBE?

I've read several of the Wild Cards books, but that was fairly quickly after the series debuted nearly twenty years ago. I haven't read them recently. I've enjoyed the pieces I've read in your publication, of course. And I've participated in a couple of play-by-e-mail role-playing games with superhero themes in shared universes. That's kind of a collaborative fiction process and some of the participants are really sharp and talented.

Right now, I'm loving Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, as well as Last Defenders and a slew of others. Suicide Squad stands as one of my all-time favorites and the recent mini-series has been a step back in time. I loved Captain Atom back in the day. I'm a big fan of the Justice League and the Avengers. Other favorites include the Comico run of Jonny Quest, a ton of the Valiant comics, All-Star Squadron, and Astro City.

ASTRO CITY COMES UP A LOT IN THESE PAGES - IT SEEMS THAT SUPERHERO PROSE WRITERS ARE REALLY DRAWN TO THAT BOOK. (IT'S MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE COMIC). ANY FAVORITE STORIES IN THE SERIES?

I love Astro City. It's hard to pick a favorite story, but I'm fond of the "Confession" storyline. Hey, it deals with legacies, destiny, and redemption. Plus superheroes! How could I not like it?