Blood. Theft. Sex. Magic. All elements are present in the new series, Hexed from BOOM! Studios.
We spoke with creator, Michael Alan Nelson, about Hexed.
For those that may not be aware, Luci, had her first appearance in Fall of Cthulhu. Did you expect this character to be popular enough to spin off into her own mini-series?
 Michael Alan Nelson: To be honest, no. As I began to craft her story for the The Gray Man
arc in FoC, I became fascinated with her character. The more of her I
created, the more of her I wanted to know. But that's no guarantee that
readers will feel the same way. Yet after a while, it became apparent that
readers really enjoyed Lucifer. Fortunately, the folks at BOOM! liked the
character as much as I did and loved the idea of giving her her own title.
She was such a rich character that we all felt we couldn't just let her fade
away.
The Big Bad Wolf: Can you give us a little more information about the character, her powers etc?
Michael Alan Nelson:
Lucifer is the conjunction of her two first names, Luci and Jenifer
(as I was doing research, I discovered that several Brazilian women with
those names really went by "Lucifer," so I knew I had to use it). Orphaned
at an early age, she survived as a child in a Brazilian favela by learning
how to become a master thief, stealing food and money whenever she could.
All while avoiding death squads and other horrors street children in those
favellas have to cope with every day. That is until she picked the pocket
of a professor of magical studies who, instead of turning her into the
authorities, took Lucifer under his wing, schooling her in the ways of the
mystical underworld.
As for her powers, she has none. And this is something I really wanted
focus on. Lucifer gets by on her wits and natural physcial abilities
alone. Yes, she can use magic, but she is not some sorceress who can
twinkle her nose and make things disappear. Lucifer has to use artifacts,
talismans, or rituals in order to work magic. It's her knowledge that
allows her to perform magic, not an innate ability. She's skilled at what
she does because she's worked hard to become skilled. When she faces a
demon or a random thug, she doesn't have any super-powers to rely on. All
she has are brains and the experience of hard living to carry her
through. For me, that makes her even more impressive.
The Big Bad Wolf: Can you catch us up to date on what happened to the character in Fall of Cthulhu?
Michael Alan Nelson: Well, I certainly don't want to spoil anything for readers, but I will
say this: if you, like Dietrich in Hexed, want to know what happened to
Lucifer in Massachussetts, you'll find the answers in Fall of Cthulhu.
It's interesting because when we decided to give Lucifer her own series, we
wanted to do it outside of the Fall of Cthulhu universe since FoC takes
place within the Cthulhu mythos created by H.P. Lovecraft. I wanted Hexed
to be all my own, so I had to completely remove her from that Lovecraftian
universe and build a new one around her (which also means taking along some
of my own creations from FoC, making, for lack of a better term, the Nelson
Mythos). That is why in Hexed I never get specific about Lucifer's past.
Cthulhu doesn't exist in the Hexed universe. That being said, I didn't want
to negate Lucifer's history either. So I simply infer that she was involved
in something rather horrible three years prior to the events in Hexed, yet
never naming it specifically.
I know I'm asking a lot of readers to allow me these vaguaries in
continuity, but I wanted to make sure that readers of Hexed could enjoy the
story on its own without ever even having heard of FoC. These vaguaries do
not affect the story. But if readers are curious, Fall of Cthulhu is there.
Another reason I wanted to bring Hexed out of the FoC world is that
Lovecraftian stories have a certain tone to them (or at least they should).
They are dour, dark, and filled with hopelessness. With Hexed, I certainly
wanted that element of darkness, but I also wanted a glimmer of hope, a
brightness and sense of beauty in the world.
The Big
Bad Wolf: Issue two just got released, what has been happening in the series so far?
Michael Alan Nelson:
Lucifer had just finished "recovering" a pair of stolen angel wings for
her boss, Val. After returning the wings to their rightful owner, Lucifer
is confronted with and old boss, Dietrich, who has spent the past three
years hunting her down since she left him in the middle of a job after
discovering, too late, that he wasn't the model citizen he claimed to be.
Dietrich forces Lucifer to "pay back" the money she lost for him by
retrieving an ancient and deadly artifact known as the Carasinth. If she
refuses, he'll kill Lucifer's boss and friend, Val. Not really having a
choice, Lucifer makes her way to the lair of a demon named Quandrin,
searching for the object of Dietrich's desire. Issue 2 begins right after
Lucifer crawls through the gruesome doorway into Quandrin's world.
The Big Bad Wolf: The first and second issue received very great reviews. Is that any added pressure on you to make the final two issues of this mini series that more special?
Michael Alan Nelson: You have nooooo idea! Obviously, some of that stems from the basic
insecurities that all writers have. The higher the expectations are, the
more difficult it is to meet them. But since all four issues were written
and most of the art completed before reviews for #1 even came out, there
really is nothing I can do about it, even if I wanted to.
But the bottom line is simply this. All I can do is write the best story
that I can and hope readers enjoy it as much I did writing it. We're all
very proud of Hexed and think it is really something special. And I have a
very strong feeling that readers will too.
The Big Bad Wolf: A very cool scene in issue one was Luci carving the stomach of a dead man and diving in to get to the lair of Quandrin. Can we expect more scenes like this in upcoming issues?
Michael Alan Nelson: Maybe not quite as gruesome, but there are definitely moments that
should squick out the reader. The purpose of the corpse scene was to show a
couple of things. One, getting into another realm, be it to visit a demon
or simply as a quick way to get from point A to point B, isn't as simple as
snapping your fingers. Two, magic isn't always pretty. There's a reason
Lucifer works for the curator of an art gallery. She works with such
ugliness and has to do some truly awful things that she needs to surround
herself with beauty to remind her that there's more to the world than the
magical underbelly she dwells in on a daily basis.
The Big Bad Wolf: When is the release date of the third issue?
Michael Alan Nelson: I believe it comes out on March 11th and the 4th and final issue hits
shelves on April 8th.
 Has there been any interest from Boom Studios to expanding this title to an ongoing series?
Michael Alan Nelson:
Absolutely. We'd all love to see more of Hexed. Of course, we'll have
to wait and see how it performs. It doesn't matter how good a title might
be. If it doesn't sell, it won't continue. So it really depends on the
readers. If they like Hexed and support it by purchasing it, we'll
definitely be bringing it back.
The Big Bad Wolf: Would you be up for writing this title as an ongoing?
Michael Alan Nelson: I would love it. I already have a handful of story ideas as well as an
ultimate end-game for the series kicking around in my head. As soon as they
give me the go ahead, I'll be all over it.
The Big Bad Wolf: How has it been working with series artist, Emma Rios?
Michael Alan Nelson:
I can't praise that woman enough. She is simply phenomenal and I am so
happy to have had her work on this project. Not only is her work amazing to
look at, but she gets it. She understands the character and my story
telling style. Emma has been able to take my mediocre scripts and turn them
into something truly wonderful. Remember her name, folks. She's going to
be a rock star.
The Big Bad Wolf: Who's the rest of creative team on the book?
Michael Alan Nelson:
Line art was done by Emma Rios and the colors by Cris Peter. And I
also want to praise Cris for her work on this title. Her colors have really
made the book pop. She captured that elusive mix of beauty and horror that
is so hard to find. I think her color pallette really helped define the
tone of the story. She and Emma work wonderfully together. I'm very lucky
to have had them on this project. These two women brought their A game to
the table and it shows.
The Big Bad Wolf: Has there been any interest yet in this title in other mediums, like film or video games?
Michael Alan Nelson:
I'm not directly involved in that part of the business, but I know that
there are always suited humans sniffing around. From my understanding,
there has already been some interest, but I couldn't tell you specifically
who or for what medium. And to be honest, it doesn't matter. My job is to
make the best comic that I can and I feel that I did that with Hexed.
Everything else is gravy.
The Big Bad Wolf: Where can our readers find out more about Hexed?
Michael Alan Nelson:
As always, the BOOM! Studios website http://www.boom-studios.net/ is
a great source of information. They have forums, blogs, and you can
purchase all of their titles directly from the site. I lurk the forums all
the time so if anyone has any questions about any of my books, that's the
place to ask.
The Big Bad Wolf: In closing, what would you like to say to our readers about Hexed?
Michael Alan Nelson:
Everyone who has been involved with Hexed really feels that it's
something special. And we feel that the people who read it will feel the
same way. So tell your friends about it. And if you haven't read it, go to
your LCS or head over to the BOOM! website and pick up a copy. You'll be
glad you did.
The Big Bad Wolf: Thank you for your time, Michael! Best of luck with Hexed. Comment
on the Michael Alan Nelson - Hexed Interview.
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