Interview: Caleb Monroe Mystifies with CLOAKS

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Prepare to be mystified and dazzled as writer Caleb Monroe takes you into the world of magic in the new BOOM! Studios series Cloaks. Originally created by David Henrie, the series focuses on a young magician with a Robin Hood complex who is part of a deeper world than he ever could have known. Monroe was kind enough to talk give Comicosity the scoop on Cloaks, which hits stores tomorrow, September 3, 2014.

Aaron Long: Thank you for your time, Caleb! Cloaks was originally created by David Henrie, how did you become involved with the project?

Cloaks01_coverBCaleb Monroe: Last summer, just as I was wrapping up my run on STEED & MRS. PEEL, I was looking for what my next projects would be. BOOM! thought I would be good fit for CLOAKS, which David had created and brought to them, and approached me to see if I was interested in writing it. I took one look at it, and I was definitely interested! It’s a great, entertaining concept, with a ton of potential and one of those fantastic so-simple-why-didn’t-I-think-of-that premises.

AL: What can you tell me about the world of Cloaks? The book deals with magic, but are we talking magic as we know it in this world, such as David Blaine and David Copperfield, or does Cloaks deal with magic on a different level?

CM: Magic as we know it. The Davids Henrie, Blaine and Copperfield! There is actually a long and elaborate history of crossover between spycraft and illusion magic, dating at least back to Houdini’s 19th-century namesake, Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. We’ve attempted to take a look at how some of those historical dynamics would play out here in the early twenty-first century.

AL: The protagonist in Cloaks is Adam, a kid who is skilled at mystifying the public and has a heart for those who are needy. Who is he and what is his goal in Cloaks?

Cloaks01_PRESS-5CM: Adam is a young street magician who performs anonymously as The Kid and has gathered a cult following, both on the streets and online. He’s set this life up for himself of illusion and what he considers justice, which he just loves. He uses his magic to wow people, and to entertain, but he also uses those skills and the cover of his shows to become a modern-day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the needy. Then some Cloaks agents show up and throw that idealistic life out the window. When your previous existence depended so much on anonymity and mystery, having a government agency show up that knows all about you ruins it. So what parts of that old life were circumstantial, and what parts essential to his identity? How does he adjust to his new reality without losing touch with who he is and what drives him?

AL: An influence in Adam’s life is Blackstone, a magician who is a father figure to Adam. Can you discuss how his relationship with Blackstone affected him during his formative years?

CM: It’s pretty complicated, but then aren’t all the best family stories? Blackstone is actually Adam’s third and final father figure. After his parents disappeared when he was young, Adam ended up in the foster system, then adopted by a wealthy Wall Street broker, then Blackstone became his guardian. Blackstone was a good friend of Adam’s father and loves him like a son. Though he was more than just an adoptive father, he was Adam’s teacher, instructing him in the ways of magic. In that regard, Blackstone’s probably the most formative influence in Adam’s life. But it wasn’t necessarily idyllic. Adam’s always wondered why Blackstone didn’t adopt him immediately. Where was he for those years immediately after Adam’s parents vanished?

Cloaks01_PRESS-6AL: Cloaks appears to be very accessible to all-ages. Was that a goal of the series from the beginning, or will Cloaks be shifting into darker territory as the series progresses?

CM: In the sense that people use “all-ages” to mean for kids or younger readers (which is more “specific-ages,” I suppose), there wasn’t any specific effort on my part to make it so. In the sense that it means a story someone of any age would enjoy…I think a lot of my stuff tends naturally to skew that way. Less intentional than instinctual, I think you’d say. At the same time I was working on CLOAKS, I was also writing PEANUTS, which is light-hearted and kid friendly but never shies away from the more depressing side of things, and DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, which contained some really dark stuff. And I was just coming off STEED & MRS. PEEL, which is superfun, supercool, eccentric tongue-in-cheek spy-fi, but which also contained some of the most twisted material I’ve ever done. I don’t think there’s any reason those extremes can’t coexist. My own childhood taught me there can be light and laughter and pain and suffering all at the same time and that kids are often better at handling that paradox than adults are. They’re elastic. The short answer is: our goal was for every person who picks the book up to be able to enjoy it and identify with someone in it. There’s some darker stuff, but it’s not at all a dark book.

AL: Any final words for Comicosity’s readers regarding Cloaks?

CM: If you’ve never read a book from BOOM! before, or by me, or by David, or by our amazing artist Mariano Navarro, then this is the one to start with! If you’re looking for something fun and new, something only four issues self-contained, something that’s going to ship on time every month, then this is the book for you!

Also, for anyone in the Los Angeles area, David and I will be doing a release signing Wednesday, September 3rd, at Collector’s Paradise in Pasadena from 6-8pm. Come say hello!

Cloaks hits stores September 3, 2014 and a preview of the first issue can be found here.

 

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