Gus Moreno may be best known as the author of 2021’s excellent This Thing Between Us. (This is basically what would happen if Alexa went crazy and started threatening the homeowners.) Moreno is currently starring alongside artist Jakub Lebelka (Origins) in her debut series, Epic I am working on a manga with the title “When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee”. .
Described as a “fascinating and thrilling descent into hell,” When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee follows Father Verera, who is “banished” to the ultra-remote South American town of Puerto Cristina. Once there, he teams up with Father Stygian, whose exorcism approach “predates the Church” and even upsets those in charge.
The resulting story will see the two delve into the story of a mysterious hospital patient who has been in a coma for nearly half a century and hasn’t aged a single day, as Barrera attempts to “unravel the mystery of the Stygians’ strange habits.” is depicted. Oh, did I mention that this town is rife with evil and paranormal phenomena? Because it is.
Ahead of When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee #1 (released January 1st by BOOM! Studios), we recently caught up with Moreno to talk story elements and more. Fans of Moreno’s other work will find the same wit and inventive flair in this title. And that makes When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee a challenging, multifaceted work of horror that’s as frightening as it challenges our basic humanity.
“When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee” FOC is Monday, December 9th.
Valiant cover by Jacob Phillips. Courtesy of Boom! studio.
AIPT: What was it like making the leap from novels to comics?
Gus Moreno: To be honest, it was a lot easier than I expected. That’s thanks to two people. My editor, Ramiro Portnoy, did what great editors do and steered me all over the place in the right direction. And Clay McLeod Chapman was generous enough to let me pick his brain and read old scripts.
AIPT: Similarly, what do you think this story will be for fans of This Thing Between Us?
GM: Fans of this book will recognize my love of “weird stuff” and the escalation that builds with each issue. I love keeping readers guessing, and that’s definitely a key element of When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee.
AIPT: You mentioned on Instagram that you’re “relaunching the exorcism genre.” What drew you to this and how do you hope this title differentiates itself from similar stories?
GM: I haven’t quite formulated it in my head yet, so I hope it makes sense, but I think there are two forms of storytelling that I’m really interested in. One is a really personal, specific story that feels like the writer shortened his own life. It takes years just to tell them, and there are also “sandbox” stories where writers play with similar tropes, themes, and archetypes. The vampire genre is an example of a sandbox story where writers from different backgrounds and different eras talk to each other. I’ve always wanted to jump into one of these sandboxes. And I thought the exorcism genre was perfect for me.
One, I grew up Catholic and have always been interested in the inner world of priests, and two, there’s a lot of interest in this genre, but outside of something like The Exorcist. This is because I felt that there were not many outstanding works. . Most exorcism stories end up with the actual exorcism, which is very boring. Because no one can improve on what Friedkin and Blatty did. So I decided to go a different route and completely reformulate the entire exorcism ritual. I think something will come out of that. It feels esoteric and primal, adding a new dimension to this subgenre that we’ve never seen before.
AIPT: Based on your last question, your debut song Exorcism feels even more novel. It feels romantic, serious, or loving in a way and is more poetic than you might expect. Was there a particular tradition or approach you explored to achieve this “feature”?
GM: We researched how Catholic priests today perform exorcisms, but exorcism didn’t originate with Christianity, so we looked at how rabbis performed exorcisms before the Catholic Church existed. We investigated whether they were doing so. If you read enough of these methods, you’ll see that most of them have a pattern, so I took that pattern and created my own version.
AIPT: Are there any movies, books, stories, etc. that center around exorcism? Do you think that is the golden rule? Is there an ideal that you would like to strive towards?
GM: I think The Exorcist is the masterpiece, but the real inspiration for me was The Exorcist III. In this film, a detective and a priest track down a serial killer on the run. It’s the perfect blend of religious iconography and the hard-boiled detective genre. Most of the movie consists of two characters sitting and talking. It’s the best.
AIPT: What was it like working with Jakub Leberka? What did you think about adding another cook to the kitchen, so to speak?
GM: I love writing novels. Because that is my unique vision. But when I jumped into comics, I was really excited about the idea of collaboration. And working with Jakub was an absolute dream. I don’t know how to explain it, but after seeing his first sketch, writing the problem became a lot easier. The script became more about me getting out of the way and letting Jakub do his job: creating compelling images that make you want to stay all day long.
AIPT: Do you sympathize with Father Stigian or Father Varela?
GM: As a young man, I probably would have resonated more with Father Stigian. He is an island unto himself. Someone who is very calm and exudes self-awareness and an understanding of life that is far beyond my understanding. But now I resonate more with Father Barrera’s words. Because life knocks us all down and the only thing to do is withstand the punches. Or go crazy.
AIPT: Maybe we all just have Trump in mind, but is there anything particularly timely/relevant about this story? When I say “believers who (hope) to weave their suffering into the story of the world,” I am thinking of the seeds that have been planted.
GM: That’s interesting. I had never thought of that, but you’re right. That line was in some ways a critique of internet culture, where people look blankly at niche communities and embrace a group’s individuality as their own, but it also applies to our current political state.
AIPT: What about incorporating a police procedural structure/elements/atmosphere into this story that makes sense and what does that add to the story as a whole?
GM: I love the structure of police procedurals. Law and Order: SVU is the type of show that has been on the air since the advent of television, so I think everyone can get the gist of the episodes in their head. This structure provides a kind of restriction that you can bounce off, subvert, or maintain, and I loved playing with it. Especially since our main character is not a cop at all. When you remove the law enforcement aspect, the proceedings become a search for truth, a quest to uncover the central mystery, and in some ways an attempt to solve the mysteries of life in general.
AIPT: I feel like the setting here is as much a character as anyone else. Why choose a place like Puerto Cristina, the southernmost place/city in South America?
GM: The Chilean archipelago is a very attractive region. It has a unique climate and many animals that most people have never seen. At some point during the year, killer whales, great white sharks, blue whales, and more can be seen on some islands. It seemed like the perfect place to set a story about an exorcist who is used by the church but who is quick to deny his existence when push comes to shove.
AIPT: What do you take away from the rest of this story? Is there anything we should be careful about or focus on?
GM: We haven’t even touched on the exorcism yet, which sets off a chain of events that no one in the comics was prepared for. Perhaps it’s one thing to tease and not one thing to exorcise. And once the mysteries get set in motion, they don’t stop until the final pages of the series. Get ready for Training Day levels of escalation and suspense.
AIPT: What else should we know about “When I Lay My Vengeance Upon Thee”, exorcism, fiction, art/comics, etc.?
GM: Stay away from Ouija boards.
