HERO
by Perry Moore
Paperback available 5/05/09
Excerpt
Thom Creed is used to being on his own. Even as a high school basketball star, he has to keep his distance because of his father. Hal Creed had once been one of the greatest and most beloved superheroes of The League-until the Wilson Towers incident. After that Thom's mother disappeared and his proud father became an outcast.
The last thing in the world Thom would ever want is to disappoint his father. So Thom keeps two secrets from him: First is that he's gay. The second is that he has the power to heal people. Initially, Thom had trouble controlling his powers. But with trail and error he improves, until he gets so good that he catches the attention of the League and is asked to join. Even though he knows it would kill his dad, Thom can't resist. When he joins the League, he meets a motley crew of other heroes, including tough-talking Scarlett, who has the power of fire from growing up near a nuclear power plant; Typhoid Larry, who makes everyone sick by touching them, but is actually a really sweet guy; and wise Ruth, who has the power to see the future. Together these unlikely heroes become friends and begin to uncover a plot to kill the superheroes. Along the way, Thom falls in love, and discovers the difficult truth about his parents' past.
When I picked up Hero it only took one paragraph to get sucked in. The characters in Hero were so unbelievably vivid, especially Hal Creed who both filled my heart and shattered it to pieces. I know I get to close to the characters in the books that really speak to me, but that is a trait about myself that I wouldn’t trade for anything. These characters are able stay with me long after I’ve read that last sentence. I fell hard for the characters of Goran and his little brother with his high kicks. Getting to know Thom was getting a glimpse into a character who's thoughts and worries were not so different from my own.
"....I filled my head with thoughts of the future, of infinite possibilities. There's someone out there for who will one day find me and fall in love with me and prove that all this waiting actually meant something...."-Hero.
How can I measure the importance of a book like this? I’m so tired of gay characters being the joke in a book, the easy laugh, the one who can never defend themselves and gets kicked around a lot. We all have a popular hero to look up to (don’t we), some kind of super hero that is identifiable to everyone, but just not an easily identifiable gay super hero. That was before this book. I picked this book up on a Saturday evening, just before I had to get ready to go out. And I literally got to the end of the first page and I cancelled my plans for the night. I could predict what a Saturday night in downtown would be like, but I had no idea where this book would take me. Read what Perry's written about gay characters in comis:
WHO CARES ABOUT THE DEATH OF A GAY SUPERHERO ANYWAY?:
A HISTORY OF GAYS IN COMIC BOOKS
"...I looked over to him, a little boy just wanting his dad to look back at him with approval... I wanted him to muss my hair and take me home... I wanted him to tell me everything would be okay..."-Hero.
The thing that really made this book so close to my heart wasn’t just that Thom is an amazing kid or that Goran is uber mega-hot sexy, but it was the relationship between Thom and his Dad Hal. When we are young we see your parents as these superheroes who can do anything and fix anything and will always make it all ok. At least that’s the way it should be. And if you’re lucky enough to have that, it’s really only for a short time. Growing up is sometimes a rude and often jarring awakening to the fact that your parents are HUMAN. That they are as fallible and full of self doubt and make mistakes as anyone. And even then, if we’ve been lucky, when we think the illusion has completely fallen away our eyes remember that parent as the one who healed our wounds when we were hurt, who hugged us because we were afraid and taught us that how to be the people we are now. And those are not such small things.
I first read this book last year just a month before SD Comic Con, so it was a total shock and thrill for me to spy non other than the author Perry Moore walking around the convention floor on preview night. I did what I always do when I meet someone I admire, I froze like a deer in head lights. I got as far as tugging on his shirtsleeve and saying a stammered, "I l-l-love you!" I am so embarrassed. But he couldn't have been lovelier and invited me to see his panel the next morning (one I had already made plans to attend). Here is what made this panel extra special. I swear when I looked over and saw Stan Lee standing right next to my seat before he got introduced I thought I was going to fall out of my chair! I was on a cloud for the rest of the day, Perry even gave me a shout out during the panel asking if there were any librarians in the house. Yup.
Ok, so after all this I was still too shy about asking for an interview, but I saw Hero was set for release in paperback and I just new I had to do something for the book. So I took the plunge. And I'll tell you now, Perry Moore is everything that is talented and charming and can make you feel as if you are the most special person in the world. I really admire this guy, he has already done so much in his life and is definately a hero to me.
IBT: If you could choose one fictional character to bring into real life, who would you choose?
PM: Just one?!?! How unfair! Let me think of a couple off the top of my head…
Colossus from Ultimate X-Men—especially the Ultimate version who is gay.
Heathcliff—from Wuthering Heights, I'm such a sucker for the dark, brooding Byronic Hero...
Hercules—love the Greg Pak comic book series, and he’d (good ol' Herc) love me, I stand to wager… Would love to see him and Colossus duke it out for my affection.
Javier Bardem – the personas that actors present, with a few wonderful exceptions I know, are about as real as any character in literature. They’ve created their own fictions that they live by. Would be so interesting to see what they’re really like underneath the facade.
IBT: How did you survive being a teen?
PM: Don’t quote me on any of these, but this is what comes to mind…
Comic books
Faith
Libraries
Great books
Mythology (I’ve been obsessed with all kinds since second grade.)
Some exceptional teachers (my English teacher Pat Hume at Norfolk Academy, in particulary!)
Volunteer work (a medical mission with Operation Smile to the Philippines when I was sixteen, and then the work I did for them for the rest of my teen years... so formative, so important.)
Supportive friends for life (I based Scarlett’s voice on my best friend ever—Bretta!)
Dreaming of becoming free, that all this suffering would be worth something
Academics (I was an ace student)
The fun part of sports where you actually got to play, and none of that other ray-rah nonsense.
The beach (thank God I lived right by one!)
Being a camp counselor and mentor
And more comic books
And a little beer, here and there, safely imbibed, no driving involved, never hurt me.
My fraternity brothers (Jimmy, Chad, and Greyson) who dragged me kicking and screaming out of the closet when my teen years turned into twenty.
And getting out of the house and out of school as much as was humanly possible, which I did on a very regular basis. As long as I made straight A’s, my parents never bugged me about going to or missing class. (I was ready for college after ninth grade.)
IBT: Have you ever written something that you feel uncomfortable writing, knowing that your family and friends will probably end up reading it?
PM: You ask tough questions. The answer is yes. HERO was tough. A lot of the things Thom faced were things I went through verbatim. The story about how his father sat him down and told him what it meant to be gay, as a result of a newspaper article on Martina Navratilova, is word for word how I was told. I pulled a lot of punches though. I mean a lot. When I found out HERO was to be published, I gave it to my mother, and my sisters (my little sister Jane is my biggest fan—she eats up young adult literature and can really tell the good from the glorious, so what she thought means a ton to me), and then we were all talking about when the heck and how I was going to give it to Dad.
I mean, he’s in it. The book is ABOUT him and his relationship with his son. Nothing could hit closer to home. So I sent it to him, and halfway through he called me and said, “Perry, I wasn’t that much of a monster, was I?” I just said, keep reading, Dad, keep reading. And he did. And he’s very, very proud of it. As he is of me. Dad’s my hero, no two ways about it.
IBT: I used Hero as one of our Book Club titles last year and a funny thing struck me by the reaction of a few of the teens, they were so surprised at the struggle Thom faced coming out. I know that San Diego is not the most conservative of places, but my brother struggled to come out twenty years ago. I remember the anguish he went through, he had no idea how our family would react, it’s something I can never forget. Have you noticed a significant difference for kids today?
PM: First of all, thank you, I’m very honored that you used HERO in your book club. I wish the book were taught widespread in high school English classes. I remember we always read books that opened our eyes to growing up black, growing up Hispanic, growing up mentally ill, growing up over-yet-underprivileged. Yet there’s very little about growing up gay that straight kids would want to read to. Call me biased, but I think HERO is that book. And if you want understanding, start young.
I’m from the South, so I’ll say this: old bigots don’t bother me. They die. It’s young people that concern me the most. And there’s something in HERO for everyone. Yes, I have noticed from the heaps of e-mails I get that there are so many more young people coming out or considering coming out everyday.
This is a great thing. But we’re not there yet. I get a few letters from parents, thanking me for the book, giving them a tool to talk about it. I do interact with the people who write me, and it’s one of the most rewarding parts of the gig. To have someone write you and say you’ve saved their life, you’ve given them hope, you’ve inspired them to come out… I wasn’t prepared for any of this, but it makes me feel the power of HERO is just beginning.
As more and more teens come out, a demand for more and more material like HERO will follow. I advised a few young people, who found it difficult to say the words, “I’m gay” to their parents or friends, to give them the book as an icebreaker so they could sit down and discuss it.
It was harrowing for me to give the book to my father, in particular, before it was published, and I’d already come out years ago, but it took me right back. He was not a big fan of the publicity HERO drew, citing me as an “openly gay writer.”
That’s a funny term to see in print. Imagine describing Stephen King (whom I love) or John Grisham as an “openly straight writer.” Kinda makes me laugh.
But back to your question, yes, there is a difference today. But it’s still hard to come out. Especially if you’re on a sports team. Name one male role model who’s actively playing football, basketball, baseball, hell, even tennis, my favorite sport. YOU CAN’T NAME ONE! There are a few who come out after the fact, but I don’t think that part has changed; it’s just as difficult an environment to be a gay athlete as it was when I was in school.
Even my mother is a great example. She is the most loving Christian woman I know. And she really did her homework when I came out. She’s educated, and that’s her way. She called me once to inform me she’d read that they’d discovered a “gay gene.” “God doesn’t make mistakes,” she said. “God made you like this for a reason, and I feel sorry for all the ignorant people who don’t understand.” That part’s wonderful. But then she had a great “mom” moment when she was trying to be understanding, and said, no, it’s not a choice, it’s something you’re born with, like a birth defect.”
“Uh, mom,” I said. “Being born liking men is not really like a birth defect.”
She was quick to say she was sorry, but I know she’s well aware of Matthew Shepard’s fate and other hate crimes. They still exist. That’s undeniable. And I’ve faced discrimination for being gay. I can’t tell you about it, because it would land me in hot water, but maybe in a few years…
And I still wasn’t satisfied with media stereotypes of gay people. HERO defies almost all of them. One review even made a checklist of all the clichés and how HERO avoided all of them. That was a proud moment for me. I thought I was really sending a message without being preachy. After all, HERO is first and foremost an entertaining story. Hopefully, at best, an inspiring one.
For all the steps we’ve made taken in the right direction, we must still push forward!
IBT: How have the books you’ve read or movies you've seen inspired the books you’ve written, if at all?
PM: Oh, I think I’m inspired by all my favorites. Margaret Atwood, certainly there’s no better. I like how she’s adamant about how what she writes (e.g. Handmaid’s Tale) is SPECULATIVE fiction, and not science fiction, because it could happen. Same goes for another favorite of mine, Octavia Butler. Even though, may she rest in peace, she won the Hugo and the Nebula Awards, she called her genre not sci-fi, but “literature of the imagination.” And all of the comic books that inspired me, like Alan Moore’s Watchmen, and everything else he wrote. Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” that’s a major inspiration. Since my father wouldn’t’ talk much about Vietnam, he gave me that book and said, “if you want to know what it was like for me to be over there, read this.” So I did. I was interning for the White House at the time (during the Clinton’s first year), and I remember writing letters back and forth to Dad about the book and how visceral experience was, how it put me in the shoes of an American soldier.
So when it came time for me to write a book, I wanted Dad and everyone else to know what it was like to grow up in the shoes of a gay teenager. And I chose to marry that concept with the world of superheroes, and that’s what provoked HERO. Now matter how supernatural the powers are, the reality comes first, characters first, real humans, real human emotion. That part was really important to me. I learned that from working as a producer on the Narnia movies, it was something the director Andrew Adamson said over and over in creating that world: the best fantasy must be grounded in reality.
I think I took that notion and ran with it in telling my own story. Just with some superpowers, to boot.
Movies used to be my primary inspiration, but no longer. Once you work in that business for so long…. Well, I want to put positive things out there. That’s why I’ve never worked on one of those “let’s-disembowel-the-teenagers-and-get-rich-quick” movies. Not for me. It’s a business driven by spread sheets. I was so shocked that Disney considered Narnia to be a “surprise” hit. I never had any doubts about the power of that story, nor did I have any doubts about the widespread fan-base. I guess that’s one of the advantages of having grown up Christian in the South. My entire perspective has never been limited to Hollywood. I’m really proud to be part of the amazing team that put together the screen version of “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” and I’m always shocked by people in the industry who didn’t see its success coming. So, no, some movies still inspire me, but not many new ones. Most of the best new work from interesting perspectives is being done in literature (books and comic books) and cable television. That is one distinct way the business has changed!
IBT: What is the strangest thing you have ever gotten inspiration from?
PM: A PICTURE OF A DEAD MAN WITH HIS BRAINS SPLATTERED ON THE DIRT ROAD HE WAS LYING ON. I found this picture in my dad’s secret collection in the attic. I have no idea if it was an American soldier or a Viet Cong. I was fifteen, and I was shocked. Even more shocked because Dad caught me looking at it. He didn’t freak out. He sat down with me, and we went through this whole box of pictures he’d taken when he was in the Army fighting in the Vietnam War. His camp was overrun one night by the enemy. Dad earned a Bronze Star for Valor, but there were so many holes to the story. Parts of the story were vivid. He said he’d found the mama-san who’d been their barber strung along the barbed-wire; apparently she’d been working with the other side, and he’d remembered how many times her razor was shaving his neck. How easy it would have been to kill him. But she’d waited with the rest for this one night. He remembered this native American soldier he’d been buddies with, who died in the tower that night. Lots of details. But I was to rapt with attention to ask all the questions I wanted to ask. As far as I know, he’s never talked about that night since. That was the one time he opened up about it. You’d get a piece here or there over the years, but not much. That was the way of the Vietnam Veteran. No parades for their homecoming. Just scars. Lots of scars.
And in many ways, discovering those pictures inspired specific scenes in HERO. Hal and Thom polishing his Dad’s old uniform, his father opening up, but then the walls came right back up. The secret history of pictures Thom finds of his mother, her secret life as a hero.
I suppose on a creative level, you search for answers and explore questions you’ve been holding inside for such a long time. I chose to explore them in HERO in these ways…you can find many other examples in the tragic character of Hal Creed, Thom’s complicated father.
IBT: Where did the inspiration for Goran come from, he is a special favorite of mine and want to hear more about him.
PM: You will learn so much more about Goran and his past in the SEQUEL TO HERO! Look for it! Imagine what he had to do to get here in this country with his little brother safely. I’ll leave it at this, it was anything but easy. And there are consequences that will come back to haunt him. I hope he and Thom survive these new challenges. It will take every ounce of heroism in them, and it will test the depth of their relationship to its very limits!
My inspirations for him were specific and many. Colossus. I grew up totally in love with that big galoot from the X-Men. Here was this huge, young guy, always trying to do right, in a strange land. And he had the heart of an artist, but rarely the words to express his true feelings. I tutored at a high school here in lower Manhattan where most of the students were from another country, so it was easy to come up with how he and Thom initially met.
I named him Goran as a fuck-you and an homage. The fuck-you was to tennis player Goran Ivanisevic, who on his umpteenth try finally won the Championships at Wimbledon…. In the post-game interview, he called a linesman who made a call not in his favor, “a faggot.” Just after winning Wimbledon. And no one reprimanded him, at all! Could you imagine if he’d used the N word? Yet, it was totally acceptable for him to call this linesman a faggot. So take that, Goran Ivanesivic! THE hottest gay superhero is named after you. Live with it! And I also named him after the actor Goran Visnjic on ER, because have you seen that guy? He is all kinds of dark and brooding and handsome. The ideal older version of who Goran is now, physically at least. It’s also a common first name in Goran’s homeland, so it made sense.
I’m also a big fan of Wuthering Height, always have been. That’s where most of the Dark Hero stuff came from. Tough love, following Thom, a real harsh hero, but with a true heart capable of bearing the greatest love. And he’s saved it all for Thom, all these years he’s waited. And he finally met Thom, who moved him so greatly.
Thom and Goran are a couple for the ages. I pray they can fend off everything I throw their way. There are some major challenges coming, and these two simply BELONG TOGETHER.
I wanted an iconic, strong, complementary couple of heroes, who just happen to be young men having to grow up in such a short time, faced with such incredible challenges. I think it helps when you face hard things together, with the one you love. Goran is there for Thom at the end, a gentle abiding love, for such a kick-ass character.
IBT: Many writers say parting with a character is hard. Do you ever look back on a character and wish you had changed something about him or her?
PM: SPOILER ALERT: Wow, you really kill me with these questions. You’re good!
Yes, it is hard. It is devastating.
When I had to let go of Ruth, losing her was as earth-shattering for me as it was for Thom. I loved writing Ruth. Pure joy. Nothing but pure joy. I remember when I was just getting started with the book, when I’d just spent a month putting every scattered idea I had down on the page and then trying to coalesce some form of an outline, I couldn’t help myself. I know you’re supposed to start from the beginning. Always best to go in chronological order, but RUTH! She burned a hole, like the rest of the story, right out of me. I remember it vividly: a core Narnia team of us were in London, workshopping with young actors to play the kids during the day, and meeting with established actors at night. We had dinner with my favorite, Tilda Swinton, whom I’d been pushing for to play the White Witch, lined up for that night, and I had an hour and a half to get ready. In that time, I wrote the scene where Thom follows Ruth after the first probationary scene and he asks her to read his future, and she says, “You have secrets, kid. I HATE secrets.” Finished that scene, felt really good about it, then ran off to dinner with our future White Witch.
Letting go of her made me cry, and it often has that effect on the reader. At least some of them tell me that.
Same with Hal. God, he’s so tragic. You know, originally I had him at the end alive and well and proud of Thom, watching the trains go by. That’s a hobby of my own father’s. It was so bittersweet writing that scene with Goran and Thom, instead of Thom and his dad.
But when you create characters in the context of a story, they’re alive. You have to make sure you don’t get in the way of listening to them, of telling their truth. That may sound strange for fiction, but it’s very true. I remember, Hal was the first character who took over, which is very Hal if you ask me. One of the opening scenes, where the criminals bust in his house to rob it and Thom is recuperating on the couch. I hadn’t planned any of what happened next. Hal just appeared and went to it, dispensing each criminal. I couldn’t believe it when the scene was over, because I felt I hadn’t really done any of it. Hal had written his own actions, made his own decisions in that section. Ruthless, brutal, protective of his son and his home, and missing his wife, who’d left him so long ago. That was his truth, and he acted accordingly.
So when it came time to write the climax, I always wrote that section to a specific Sibelius symphony, I just knew Hal had to go. That would be his decision, given that terrible choice, he would say, “This is what he do son,” as he put his old gloves and mask back on, fatally wounded, dragging Justice with him so he couldn’t hurt anyone else. “We save people.” That part still brings tears to my eyes too, Thom watching helplessly, but knowing that his father loves him for who he is, sexuality and all, the proudest father on earth, his last moments defined him as no other situation could. “Promise me you’ll love as much as you can,” Hal demands of his son before he blasts off with Justice to make sure the threat is gone for good. “Promise me!” And all Thom can say, wracked with tears, as he’s about to lose the one person who truly loves him unconditionally, is, “I will.” It’s so bittersweet, heartbreaking really. These two souls who long to find their place in the world, finally understand each other. They get that chance at peace, at communicating a love true and never-ending, even in death.
I will say this: expect MAJOR SURPRISES in the sequel. You may see more of RUTH and HAL revealed in ways you never thought possible. What do you supposed that stack of letters was that Ruth had Thom mail, the ones she stayed up all night writing, knowing that it was to be her last day on earth?
HERO’s sequel has major plans, and major surprises, in the most unexpected places. I can’t wait to write it! I started mapping it out before HERO was published. A third book, too! And what do you suppose Lila had been up to in her absence? Makes you wonder. I know for a fact Thom will wonder, and where will this lead him?
And, no, as hard as it was to let go of those characters, I can’t imagine writing it any differently. Not once have I thought about that, because like I said, I was just relaying what they were telling me to do. It’s happening with my next book, too, but these kids are cryptic—they’ve been part of a secret pact to hide each other from so long that it’s hard to listen, because they don’t want you to hear!
A
IBT: What is the one thing such as, sky diving or any other daring thing, that you would love to do but you are too afraid?
PM: Well, I already do it with surfing. Some days when the waves are way over head high, you get those butterflies in your stomach. Sometimes taking off on that wave is an incredibly steep drop, and your shaking and just holding on for dear life! If there’s one life lesson I’ve learned from surfing it’s that there are things in this world, natural elements, in this case the ocean, that are so powerful, it can be incredibly humbling.
I do have a fear of heights. Not sure I’ll ever sky-dive. Some of the crazy helicopter rides we took when making the first Narnia, through the mountains on the South Island, well, let’s just say I’m happy to be on the ground now.
IBT: What do you do when you are faced with writer’s block? What helps you get over it?
PM: Research, research, and more research.
Also, I usually just turn to another project. I have so many other stories to tell. HERO, the new book that rewrites the werewolf mythology, some other stories I’m dying to tell. My problem is rarely getting stuck; it’s more a problem of which story I want to sit down and write that day.
IBT: I was super fortunate to be there at Comic Con last year where you and Stan Lee announced (without officially announcing) that Hero would be a movie. What if anything can you reveal about the project so far?
PM: We’re in the final stages of writing the pilot script. Please tell everyone you know to write Showtime to tell them you want this series. It’s groundbreaking, but not just because of the premise. It’s the way we tell it. All Thom’s struggles, internal and external, all the mysteries he uncovers, it’s a labyrinth, more along the lines of LOST. But Thom is the catalyst for all of it. His journey ignites the story, fuels it. And there are so many twists and turns along the way. I think most people, especially those unfamiliar with the book, will be pleasantly surprised by the emotional depth of the story.
I can’t wait to keep telling his story! There’s so much more for him and the other characters to tackle…
IBT: What’s your favorite type of hero?
PM: My favorite hero didn’t exist. So I sat back and dreamt of my favorite hero, what I wanted to read the most.
And that became HERO. Thom, Goran, Hal, Ruth, the whole probationary gang. They’re it!
IBT: Hero had to be one of the best and most exciting books I read last year, will we be hearing more from Thom, Goran, and company?
PM: You can bet your mask on it – there will be sequels! As long as these characters keep telling me their stories, I’ll keep writing them. Thanks for the compliment and the interview!
Please let everyone know they can contact me directly with questions at my website: perrymoorestories.com
And writing positive reviews online (especially on Amazon.com), joining or starting a fan club for the book, or just telling people about HERO and the upcoming series – it all helps get the book in the hands of those who need it.
And now more than ever, the world is ready for its first gay teen superhero, front and center, out and open, not a victim, not silly comic relief…but a HERO. That very thing which makes you uniquely you doesn’t have to make you feel alienated. Gay or straight, black or white, big or small, old or young, there is a hero in all of us. Believe!
Among his many other projects Perry is also working on and another book, called The Way of the Wolf Book 1: Fire, a new fantasy series that he describes as along the lines of the Twilight. He's rewriting the werewolf mythology combining a lot of follore from American, French, and Japanese origins. The series centers around triplets, a young girl and her two brothers. I can't wait to read it!
