GBBP 177: Kyle Higgins & Stephen Mooney

This week, we’re talking about the Cold War, surprise reveals, and alternative history with Kyle Higgins and Stephen Mooney – the creative team behind The Dead Hand from Image Comics. If you haven’t already jumped on board with this title, what are you waiting for? Issue #1 is on comic shelves now, and I guarantee you’ll be hooked by the final page.

The Dead Hand might seem like it follows a familiar trope. Namely, retired Cold War-era superspy is now the sheriff of a small town, and everything seems peaceful until his past catches up with him. Except all is not as it seems. Not by a longshot. Higgins and Mooney dive headfirst into this alt-history story, and the first issue not only sucks you in but also establishes a world filled with mysteries and mysterious characters (undoubtedly to be explored more fully in future issues). I’ll admit that this one caught me by surprise, but I’m all in.

In addition to The Dead Hand, Higgins has also written for various DC superhero titles (including Nightwing and Batman) and is currently writing Power Rangers for Boom! Studios. Mooney also pulls double duty on another alt-history book, Half Past Danger, for IDW. In short, they’re both used to the hussle.

On this episode, we talk about The Dead Hand, whether the Dead Hand program was a real thing that actually existed in the Soviet Union, how research informs (but also stifles) alt-history stories, the vast differences between creator-owned works and work for hire, working across the Atlantic, and which came first: the chicken or the egg?

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