Stuart Moore & Andie Tong Unleash Primal Superpowers in The Zodiac Legacy
When Stan Lee announces a new series of illustrated novels featuring super-powered mercenaries and the mysteries of the Chinese Zodiac, you know you’re in for a wild adventure.
Created by Lee, The Zodiac Legacy series opens with Chinese-American teen Steven Lee on an educational trip to Hong Kong. A routine tour of a museum takes a turn for the magical when an ancient force is awakened, releasing 12 powers linked to the Chinese Zodiac into the world. Now Steven, transformed by the power of the Tiger, must join forces with an eclectic group of characters to defeat a villain intent on controlling their powers.
Paste caught up with The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence writer Stuart Moore and illustrator Andie Tong to discuss zodiac mythology, diversity in publishing and the infamous Stan Lee. Check out the interview below, and learn how you could win the book and art by Tong here!
Paste: What sparked the idea for this series, and how did you get involved in the creative process?
Stuart Moore: Stan [Lee] sparked the idea! It came from him, from the same well that gave us so many other heroic concepts. Disney developed it for a while and brought in Andie to do concept art. Then they hired me to flesh it out.
Andie Tong: When I was approached by [editor Nachie Marsham] and Disney, the main introduction was more or less, “Stan Lee has an idea!” And we rolled from there. Being Chinese, the Zodiac was something that I grew up with. First thing that popped into my mind after reading the email was “Why didn’t I think of this!”
After reading the basic synopsis, I was excited about taking on this project because I would be working on it with Stan “Da Man” Lee and Disney. Plus, I loved the fact that the idea was more grounded compared to all the superhero stories out there. An additional bonus was that I got to visually create this Zodiac Legacy world from the ground up.
Paste: What aspects of the Chinese Zodiac’s mythology intrigued you the most as a writer/artist?
Moore: I like the interplay of the animal signs with the characters’ own personalities. For instance, Steven was born in the year of the Tiger, which is why the Tiger power chooses him—he’s ideally suited for it. The power brings out the best and, in the case of the villains, the worst in its hosts.