Earlier this year I caught up with bi-sexual comic book writing heavy metal demi-god, Chris Mole, to talk about his creative inspiration, creative trauma, music and other things. Yes, I know I should have posted this interview sooner. Shut up, Mum!
Ahem, enjoy the interview.
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Interview with Chris Mole
: Hi Chris, how are you going right now? How is this chaotic world treating you?
Chris Mole: Hey there! Not too bad, thank you – life could be a whole lot worse, and while I have low-grade anxiety about the future I’m doing my best to live in the moment.
: Where in the world are you from?
Chris Mole: The leafy little city of Sheffield, in the UK. It’s one of my favourite places in the world and I can’t really imagine living anywhere else!
: What projects are you currently working on?
Chris Mole: I have a few things currently on the go – chief amongst them is my fantasy/pagan/superhero series Brigantia, about a pagan goddess from pre-Roman Britain who’s thrust into the modern day and has to cope with a world that’s wildly different from the one she left. Volume 1 of that is being wrapped up as I type, and work starts on Volume 2 later this year – it’ll be nearly 200 pages long when done, so that’s a big project!
Beyond that, I have an ice hockey/murder mystery/period drama which we’re hoping to pitch to publishers, an emotional sci-fi story written and waiting for an artist and a couple of other things in the works.
: How did you first get started?
Chris Mole: Technically, the first comic I wrote (and drew) was an adaptation of the movie Superman II when I was about 3 years old… I think my mum still has it somewhere, so… your move, DC! Jokes aside, I got started writing comics properly in around 2011 – a friend of mine from University (Owen Watts, now the Eisner-nominated colourist of the marvellous series Hocus Pocus) was putting together an anthology and suggested that I try writing a story for it.
I did a little 4-page noir story about a time-travelling private detective (called Whiskey & Wormholes, with art by the phenomenal Neil McClements) and it came out really well, and gave me the itch to write more!
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What’s your favourite era of creative work by other artists?
Chris Mole: I don’t think I have a specific era that I latch onto – the first comics I properly got into were manga from various different periods (the 80s with Akira, the 90s with Dragonball Z, the 00s with Battle Royale) and then I got more into modern stuff, but I don’t attach particular personal importance to any one time. Good comics are good comics, it’s less important to me when they were made!
: Are you more of a horror or sci-fi nerd? What are your go to films to check out?
Chris Mole: Can I say both? I’m a lifelong Star Wars nerd (we have lightsabers on the mantlepiece at home, that’s the level I’m talking about) so I love sci-fi, but I also love horror – I routinely put together a month-long schedule of movies every October, called Shocktober. I design a fancy booklet for it and everything! As a result of that, I’ve watched A LOT of horror films so I’d definitely class myself as a nerd in that arena.
My favourite sci-fi movie (which actually straddles the line between the two genres perfectly) is the original Alien – it’s probably in my top 5 movies of all time, any genre. I can watch it again and again, and love it every time. I picked up the 4K version recently and that was a very worthwhile purchase!
: Who are your main creative influences and what aspects of your creative work can we find them in?
Chris Mole: I’m a big fan of comic writers like Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and Grant Morrison (the “British invasion”) but I don’t know how much influence I take from them in my own work – I’ve never consciously tried to copy anyone’s style, so my guess is that my work is a big mishmash of various styles and influences.
Outside of comics, I’ve been hugely inspired by Terry Pratchett (RIP) – I think it’s safe to say I wouldn’t be a writer today if I hadn’t fallen in love with his Discworld books. I don’t think we have room for me to talk about all the musicians that inspire me! But if I can shout out one, it’s my favourite band, The Ocean, a progressive metal group from Germany who seem to just get better with every new album.
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: Who are your go to musical jams to put on while you’re working?
Chris Mole: Videogame soundtracks are very good for working to, because they’re mostly wordless and I can concentrate on scripting rather than singing along – I’m a huge Final Fantasy fan, so I usually default to Nobuo Uematsu’s soundtracks (FF7, FF8 and FF9 had some of the best music ever written)!
: What strengths in previous jobs have helped strengthen your creativity?
Chris Mole: The main one is professionalism – I have a day job, as most comic writer/musicians who aren’t getting paid by Substack probably do, and working in a professional environment for that has helped me to tackle my creative endeavours with the same kind of mindset.
Obviously making comics is fun, and it’s okay to get excited about seeing art land in your inbox, but it’s important to be professional in your dealings with other creators so that you’re not wasting their time or acquitting yourself poorly.
: What weaknesses have you identified in your current project that you’re going to work on in the future?
Chris Mole: The main weakness I’ve picked out is the amount of time it’s taken to get to this point – I approached the first issue without a coherent plan for funding & telling the rest of the story, and the result is that it’s been a long while since issue #1 came out and I’ve essentially shifted focus halfway through (moving to collected volumes rather than single issues).
For future projects, I’m definitely going to get everything locked down in advance so that we can keep the release schedule tighter and not have such long delays between issues!
: Let’s talk about some memories that you had when you first started getting creative? How has this changed from childhood to adolescence to creating as an adult?
Chris Mole: I’ve always enjoyed writing – when I was younger I spent a lot of time involved with an online Star Wars club, which involved me doing a lot of fiction writing. I learned a lot from others in the club who were better than me and it definitely helped me get better at finishing pieces of writing.
I also remember being in the school brass band at the age of around 8 or 9, on the tuba – I stopped playing that instrument when I went to high school in favour of learning the electric guitar (because I thought it was much cooler) but that definitely kindled my love of and passion for music, classical and otherwise. The less said about the sprawling manga epic comic script that I wrote in high school, which starred manga versions of myself and various of my classmates and friends, the better…
: What’s the worst nightmare you’ve ever had?
Chris Mole: I distinctly remember having one as a child which woke me up in a cold sweat – it was a weird, sound-based nightmare, where there was a hill covered in stick things (like hurdles, but just made out of branches).
I was climbing up the hill but every time I passed one it fell over and made a loud clicky-clacky noise – that then kept going on and on. Each fallen stick thing added to the racket until it was completely unbearable, and at the top of the hill there was a blinding light which made an ear-splittingly high-pitched loud tone.
I woke up absolutely traumatised and ran downstairs to my parents but it was impossible to explain why I was so upset!
: Do you have a favourite soft drink?
Chris Mole: If I’m feeling fancy, Virgil’s vanilla cream soda – but on a day-to-day basis Pepsi Max Cherry is the stuff.
: Who’s your favourite telepath or gifted character in pop culture?
Chris Mole: I love Dr Fate from DC – the helmet is iconic and the Egyptian mythology that has been woven into the character over time is very interesting to me.
: Which creative work would you most like to be remembered for?
Chris Mole: Brigantia is definitely my passion project – I’ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into it, and I think it’s an emotive and powerful story that people can really connect with. I’d love to be remembered for that!
Check out other creative trauma inspired work by Chris Mole (which is pretty awesome)
Chris Mole on Twitter
Chris Mole’s Website
