by Milán Kovács

Interview with writer Ryan Colucci

Interviews, , , R.E.M., ,

Ryan Colucci is a multi-talented sports-film-animation-comics guy working from the US and on apropos of his R.E.M. Kickstarter with artist Zsombor Huszka I did an online interview with him.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): Now let’s see how he describes his own way into comics and everything else:

Ryan Colucci: I went to school to play lacrosse, not for a real career in anything… studying Accounting at Villanova. I spent a year overseas studying Economics and Political Science at Cambridge University – and when I came back I knew I was destined for other things. I transferred to Hofstra University to study Film – but I was still playing lacrosse after graduation and then I got accepted to the Peter Stark Producing MFA Program at USC, which was really the turning point in my life. I knew no one in the film or publishing industries, so it was there I met classmates I would later work with – when I graduated I helped launch Snoot Entertainment. Our first project out of the gate was Battle for Terra: 3D and we actually built our own animation studio from scratch in Los Angeles. While at Stark I started to beat down the doors trying to get the rights to Terry Brooks’ Shannara series, which took years of prodding, but finally happened. It was there I also met classmate Dikran Ornekian, the co-writer of my first book, Harbor Moon.

Battle for Terra

Battle for Terra

Can you tell us something about your previous project, Harbor Moon? What was the public reception like?

Financed independently as well, Harbor Moon is a werewolf spaghetti western. I co-wrote it and oversaw the entire book. It debuted in April of 2011. It was nominated for a Goodreads and Horror Comic Award for Best Original Graphic Novel, as well as some individual blog awards. I really worked my tail off on getting the word out – and was able to get over 60 reviews for the book. The very large majority were all very good, if not glowing. It was scary when it first went out, but things turned out pretty well.

R.E.M. is almost 180 pages your previous comic work is also a graphic novel. What do you like in working with the graphic novel format as opposed to monthly published serialized comics?

Although I grew up reading monthly comics, I come from a film background. So, my stories tend to play out over the length of a movie – which just seems to fit the graphic novel format better. Harbor Moon exists as issues digitally though. In fact, all of the projects I’m working on will exist digitally as issues as well as the full books – except for R.E.M. It’s just not something that plays out in small chunks.
And, to be honest, a large part of it is economically driven. It’s not cheap to make a graphic novel, but it’s a lot cheaper than producing a monthly book. I wouldn’t be able to afford to tell a story over a long period of time. It’s just the reality of my financial situation right now.

R.E.M. Kickstarter

R.E.M. Kickstarter

I asked the artist of the book, Zsombor Huszka from Hungary about this subject too. But since you’re the one responsible for it, please tell me how R.E.M. (Rapid Eye Movement) came as a title? Did you meet the question what do you do for the band R.E.M a lot of times? Was it intentional to use this medical and scientifical expression to set the mood for the comic?

The project comes from my own research into a sleep chair/chamber, just like in the book. The runner-up title idea for the book was Soma, which is the name of the chair itself… But R.E.M. felt right. Once you read it, you will see that it fits pretty easily.

Having done a marathon-like 2-hour interview with the artist of the book, I can fairly say I know a lot of things about him which I can’t yet say about you.

I’m somewhat shy, but I am an open book… so if I leave anything out – just ask.

Soma chair from R.E.M.

Soma chair from R.E.M.

Please tell us a bit about your sleep chamber experiences. I myself had experiences of sleep deprivation and my ears were very prone to high-pitched sounds.

The inspiration for R.E.M. came from my own research into sleep. Ever since I was a child, I have always hated going to sleep. I couldn’t understand why we were wasting these hours that we could be doing other, fun things. It really manifested itself when I was in college, because I struggled with bouts of insomnia, something I never really told to anyone. Sometimes I would go days without rest, through the sports and the weight lifting and rigorous course load, knowing that ultimately the fall from that will be epic. And it was. I wouldn’t call it severe sleep deprivation and heightened senses… It was more about having zero energy and being tired. I hate that feeling.

The Kickstarter seems to be going well and the campaign is already funded. Do you consider it to be a success or is it just a jump-start?

So far so good. I can’t say enough about the Kickstarter community. They’ve been great, and the messages I’ve been receiving have made it all worthwhile.
The campaign is for printing costs. Kickstarter is all or nothing. I needed to set a goal that made sense. The other costs were already spent, but printing was something I just couldn’t afford. So I’m beyond thrilled we even that mark. I had my doubts leading up to the start (I spent a lot of time preparing for it), but we were able to hit our stated goal in ten days. But to put it in perspective, the book itself (without printing) cost just over $20,000.
Is the Kickstarter a success? Absolutely. More than I could have ever hoped. But this is hopefully just the beginning. And what is more important to me is that those that get it on Kickstarter like what they are reading.

Regarding the Kickstarter campaign I see a lot of interesting pledge levels and rewards. One that caught my eye was also your idea as I found out from Zsombor, I’m talking about the custom-made online avatars. There are a lot of other interesting ones but this one is something new for me. How did you conceive these and did you think them out all alone or do you have some team help?

I worked really hard on the campaign. Coming up with the rewards/campaign was me, but I had to run everything by Karol Wisniewski and Zsombor. Because I wanted them to think they were good ideas – and I also can’t offer something like an avatar by Zsombor if he doesn’t want to draw it. We had a lot more rewards, but I cut them down.

R.E.M. Trailer

R.E.M. Trailer

The Kickstarter video is also your creation and since you work as a film producer and you have a production company I was wondering if you deliberately mashed comics and animation and film together or was it only a lucky “Frankenstein’s monster experiment”?

This is what I do. I wanted the trailer to feel more like a live action feature – because I wanted to reach the audience that doesn’t normally read comics/graphic novels. Zsombor and I worked really hard on the trailer, so hopefully everyone loves it (okay, they can like it too).

What’s after R.E.M. and how do you see the future of your comics and independent comics in general?

I’m actually hard at work on my next book with Zsombor, called Chasing Rabbits. It is a gritty detective story about the hunt for a serial killer in the gothic city of Wonderland, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s books. It is more akin to Silence of the Lambs and Seven than anything else. Also being done right now is a book that is almost finished that is totally out of left field for me – a young adult comic called Bulderlyns about two mythical creatures, one that wreaks havoc on a town and the other one that must stop it. It is somewhat dark, in the vein of Gremlins.

In less than 10 days from the available 30 you achieved your main goal on Kickstarter and you’re going into “overtime” and heading towards the stretch goals. I know it isn’t over yet but I think a lot of people would like to know about your crowdfunding experiences.

It’s been overwhelming. I can’t say enough about the Kickstarter community. They’ve been great, and the messages I’ve been receiving has made it all worthwhile.

Do you regard this type of fundraising as sound? Would you suggest indie comic writers and artists to use this resource? Do you have some advices for Kickstarter-wannabes?

Put out the best book as possible – and don’t just expect people to find you. You need to work really hard, not just on the content of the book, but on the campaign itself. I’m very much a wannabe myself so I shouldn’t give out too much advice.

Is there anything else I didn’t ask about you’d like to tell us?

If you enjoy a challenging story, I hope you’ll check us out – but I think there is something in the book if you are looking for a different type of love story as well.
Anyone can read the first 30 pages on the R.E.M. website… so give it a shot. That’s all we ask. You can actually check out a prequel of the story as a short film on the website as well. And let me know what you all think – the email on the website goes directly to me. I promise I read and respond to everything sent my way. Including questions about getting your own book off the ground… I’m not a superstar, but I have been down this road twice now and have two more books in production right now.
And if you like what you see and want to know what else is coming from us, follow us on Faceboook or on Twitter.
Thanks so much for this interview!

Thank you for answering my questions, Ryan!

As I concluded the interview I just realized Ryan is going to tattoo this illustration from the book on his leg. This was the $10.000 stretch goal so keep pledging till the $35.000 mark and let’s see how his back will look like after that!

R.E.M. - Tree of Life

R.E.M. – Tree of Life

Interview with writer Noah Dorsey

Interviews, , Noah Dorsey, Saint Chaos,

Noah Dorsey is a Denver, Colorado native who is a giant comic, film, and all around pop culture fanatic. His first novel, a horror/thriller titled Blackout, was his first publication. He co-created the comic Non Humans for Image Comics with Glen Brunswick and Whilce Portacio. Along with Saint Chaos he has two other comic projects he’s involved with that he’s hoping to have out early next year.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): You chose a very interesting title for your 4-issue limited comic series with Hungarian artist Zsombor Huszka. Saint Chaos to me sounds like a real saint first and a Greek God a few moments later.
Did you come up with the title first or did you derive it later from the complete or semi-complete story?

Noah Dorsey: The title definitely came first. Just kind of popped into my head out of the blue and I wrote a screenplay in 2007 with the title. The stories for the comic and the screenplay are similar, but I think the idea needed some time to gestate first because the story for the comic is way more solid.  The rights for the screenplay sold in 2008 to a small production company in L.A. and they began putting all the pieces together to bring it to the screen. Michael D. Olmos was attached to direct and they started gathering investors as well as other key players. The whole thing fell apart at the end of the year and I threw it in a drawer until I brought it out for the comic.
We’re also hoping that it will be an ongoing series. The only reason we numbered the first few issues is because it’s the first story arc and very significant to establishing the Saint Chaos lore. We wanted a definitive beginning and end to the first chapter.

How did you and Zsombor find each other? How do you think your collaboration is going? Do you plan future projects together or is this a one-off team?

I got extremely lucky. I posted an ad on Craigslist for a different project that I was working on and Zsombor responded. Unfortunately, at the time I had already found an artist, but I loved his work so much that I pitched him another idea for a comic that would become Saint Chaos. He really dug the idea so I got a script together and we had the first issue out in a few months.

Saint Chaos #1

Saint Chaos #1

Seeing the cover first (as the way usually is with a comic) I immediately wondered if that’s a kind of self-portrait of Zsombor, the artist.
Did you think about this or did you notice the resemblance? Even better did you give him the instuction to look like him?

Huh. I guess I never really noticed, but I suppose you’re right. It’s the bald head right?  There were never any notes in the script to what Simon would really look like. When I write a comic script I don’t usually add specific details unless it’s pivotal to the story. It gives the artist some room to be creative themselves. If Zsombor planned on making Saint Chaos resemble him a little that’s fine by me.

The comic opens with the death of a pet animal. I hope I won’t spoil anything if I tell that it ends with another animal’s salvation.
Do you consider yourself an animal-lover in any sense? It seems to me that it’s no coincidence.

Nah, it won’t spoil anything. I am very much an animal lover, very much a dog person.  In fact, the bulldog that Simon frees in the comic was inserted because I have a Victorian bulldog myself. That chubby canine is like a son. The opening scene with the cat committing suicide was more of a joke. A cat doesn’t always land on its feet… that’s the punch line. A sick joke for sure, but there is a lot of black comedy throughout the story.

Saint Chaos #1 - CAT dies

CAT dies

I had a feeling reading the first issue that this particular style of the artist suits both him and the story very well. Did you request this type of artwork when you layed the story out or it’s just a lucky accident?

Lucky. Lucky. Lucky. Like I said before it was pretty amazing that Zsombor answered my ad because once I saw his artwork I immediately got to thinking about the story of Saint Chaos.  His style very much inspired a lot of how the story was constructed. Definitely the first issue for sure. Once I had the first script the story kind of just wrote itself.

Saint Chaos #1 - Candy Puller

Candy Puller

Actually, I don’t believe I told him anything about my childhood working in a handmade candy factory until after he drew that certain scene. It was a little crazy that he got the look of the equipment right off the bat. The candy puller for instance looks exactly as I remember it as a kid. I described it as best I could in the script, but he got it spot on. Working in the factory when I was young was interesting. I heard lots of stories. Some that particularly made my stomach twist. The people who worked on the factory floor with me would tell me horrific stories of accidents that had supposedly occurred. The shot where Honeycomb uses the candy puller to tear the arm off of a helpless victim is a real story I was told. A man who worked under my grandfather wasn’t paying attention and got his arm caught in the rotating steel bars. The bars move so fast that it almost took his arm immediately. Evidently he lived, but not before being horribly injured.

Also how do you think Zsombor approaches these parts of your Saint Chaos scripts? How much detail do you give for these scenes?

I see working with an illustrator on a comic as a collaboration. I like writing with a sort of “bare bones” mentality. I want Zsombor to have his own creative input as well so I’ll intentionally leave some details out of the script so that he can have a say in the design of the characters, setting, and stylistic choices. Unless I feel that a detail is especially important I won’t include it.

Saint Chaos #1 - Honeycomb

Honeycomb

The design of Honeycomb was a big part attributed to Zsombor’s artwork. There were a few details that I included but the appearance is mostly his. However, Honeycomb is very much his own character. If he ever met the Joker they may acknowledge their physical similarities to a certain degree, but as similarities go it would end there. These two characters are egomaniacs and certifiable psychopaths, but while the Joker does not have control over his psychoses (even though he is aware of it) Honeycomb is in complete control and knows exactly what he’s doing. When he tortures all of those innocent people he does it because he loves it. He gets off on it. It can be argued that the Joker does as well, but he HAS to do it. It is the only way he can function. He thinks it’s normal. Honeycomb does it as a CHOICE and that makes him much scarier I think.

Was it always the idea to publish this comic in digital-first and how did your co-operation with Mile High Comics came?

Actually, Saint Chaos hasn’t come out on Comixology yet, which is the largest digital platform for comics by a long shot.  It should be out in September sometime. The publication through Mile High Comics was a pretty random one. I had gone to college with the daughter of the guy who owns Mile High. On a whim I emailed and asked him if he’d be interested in partnering up to bring this comic out. They responded positively and we collaborated to put it on the shelves. They also took it out with them to San Diego Comic Con where it did quite well.

Lastly is there anything you’d like to add I forgot to ask you?

Issue #2 is officially finished and should be out in the next couple of weeks.  Those who are interested can go to er-studios.com to order a copy. Zsombor and myself will also be at the New York Comic Con. He’ll be promoting a couple other books along with Saint Chaos at his own booth and I’ll be crawling the floor (not literally) with a few copies myself. If anyone is attending and want to meet up email saintchaoscomic at gmail dot com and I’ll respond to where I’ll be. Thanks!

Thank you for taking your time answering our questions, Noah and also good luck for NYCC!

Saint Chaos #2 page 1

Saint Chaos #2 page 1

Interview with comic book artist Jimmy Broxton

Interviews, Comic Strip, , Goldtiger, Independent, , Jimmy Broxton, , Knight and Squire, Sex and Violence

This interview is about the mysterious Jimmy Broxton who works in comics but does not give too many interviews. So please enjoy this rare occasion.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): Please tell us about Jimmy Broxton.

Jimmy Broxton: I’m a graphic artist and designer, based in the UK, comic art is my main focus as telling stories is my passion.

What was it like working on a comic book like Knight & Squire for DC Comics with writer Paul Cornell?

A dream job, Paul [Cornell] is incredible, he understands so well how to entertain an audience, but make them think as well, not in a dry way, he builds worlds, and the rest of us get to play in them, either as readers or collaborators, the world of Knight and Squire, as envisaged by Paul is quite something, a world I’d love to revisit one day (hint… hint).

Knight and Squire #1 cover

Knight and Squire #1 cover

In Knight and Squire I would guess you and Paul did your own ideas? Was it difficult to get them through editorial? Each issue had an interesting appendix about British slang and history which was very clever and instructional for non-Brit people.

Most of the ideas were Paul’s of course, he ran the show, I added layers of my own, and the odd character here and there (Birthday Girl being my favourite addition to the K & S mythos, a throwaway character I put in the background, which Paul took and did something wonderful with I think). It wasn’t a case of getting things through editorial, the scripts were approved before I drew them, but on occasion I came up with images that were not deemed appropriate, for example, in the scene where the Organ Grinder is asking for directions in Mr Patels’ newsagent, I added a generous selection of “top-Shelf” magazines in the background, some did not make the cut, I distinctly remember the lovely Janelle Asselin (our editor) saying to me: “If you think DCU is going to publish a comic featuring a magazine called “Lick-ASS” you are very much mistaken”. The less said about what I did with the Milk of human kindness the better, one day, all will be revealed.

Madefire: The Engine

Madefire: The Engine

What are your future projects, Jimmy?

Right now I have my ongoing series with Guy Adams for Madefire: The Engine, a very cool iPad/iPhone comic strip, and also GOLDTIGER, and another as yet undisclosed crime/horror prject which I think will surprise a lot of people.

What technique do you use? Are you doing things 100% digitally or is there some produced artwork for your projects nowadays?

No, all my art is hand drawn, with pencils and ink (brushes, pens etc), very old school, I even do my lettering by hand sometimes. So my art actually exists, but I never sell it, so any opportunity to get it is very rare indeed. Most of my colouring is done on the computer though, Photoshop/Illustrator etc.

GoldtigerI know you are no stranger in the Kickstarter territory. The first „we do not speak of” but the second one with Jimmy Palmiotti, Sex and Violence is slowly coming to fruition. Can you tell us about it and what you think of crowd-funding itself?

Well, Sex and Violence is not slowly coming to fruition, it is finished, it was practically done before Jimmy [Palmiotti] and Justin [Gray] launched the Kickstarter. Printing takes time, and there were lots of very cool incentives that could only be done after the project got it’s backing, Jimmy runs a very tidy ship, I was very pleased to be asked to contribute to Sex and Violence. Right now of course I have my own Kickstarter project with Guy Adams, something a little different, that is probably best explained by looking at this page: http://kck.st/Vl9xTt

How did Goldtiger come into your life? Why is it so important to Jimmy Broxton?

Goldtiger is the project I have been wanting to do since I was a kid, this is dream come true time for me, it’s very exciting…

Goldtiger - A strip

Goldtiger – A strip

So let me get this straight, this is a comic strip book that includes a lot of things from the past, present and even future. I mean you guys write and draw quite a few stuff for this Kickstarter book.

I honestly don’t think there has been anything like it, we do so many different things, the medium of comics is pushed to the limit, we don’t just break the 4th wall, we build a 5th and smash that as well.

Goldtiger - The Book

Goldtiger – The Book

In my opinion JimmyB is a one of a kind rare artist who has almost unlimited styles. How do you manage to do this? Looking at your first sketchbook published last year it’s almost unbelievable how many different styles are in there.

That is very kind of you to say so, I’m not sure I have so many styles, I like to experiment, with design, technique, materials, all of that is cool, but art is about communication, I’ll attempt to do that in the most effective way possible, if it’s a dry brush or a digital construct, or found images… it matters not. If what you do has honesty and truth (a few tits and explosions also help) it will resonate, at least that’s the plan. Here’s to resonating… oh, and drinking.

Interview with Ryan Browne of God Hates Astronauts

Interviews, , , ,

Ryan Browne you will see is an exceptional comic book writer, artist and illustrator you may not know. His work on God Hates Astronauts, originally a web-comic is bending the superhero genre like nothing else in this business. I had the chance to interview him online regarding his life itself and his upcoming projects.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): Please tell us about yourself, what did you work on previously and how did you get into comics?

Ryan Browne: I attended the Rhode Island School of Design where I majored in Illustration. I have been working as an illustrator and designer for the last five years while working on God Hates Astronauts (GHA) on the side. My first work in comics was for Devil’s Due Publishing and I only got the job as a fill-in artist because I had a friend that was working for the company. Since then I have worked on Smoke and Mirrors for IDW and am currently working as a fill-in artist on The Manhattan Projects and will be taking over as the regular artist on Bedlam.

God Hates Astronauts #3 cover

God Hates Astronauts #3 cover

Please tell us something about God Hates Astronauts.

God Hates Astronauts is a book that I’ve been doing off and on for the last six years on the web. It originated as an improvised 24-hour comic that I then refined and rewrote and turned into the script for the first issue. So basically the book is not super well planned and started as a vehicle for me to tell ridiculous jokes with ridiculous characters and overly descriptive sound effects. I love humor and referential parody and in print comics that is something that doesn’t exist too much anymore so GHA found it’s home on the web. It’s strange to me that humor is so prominent in most forms of media but NOT in “comics”. They’re called COMICS for Jupiter’s sake!

How did the weekly web-comic idea come? What do you think you learned during the progress?

GHA became a web-comic because I was losing too much money on self-publishing and very few people were reading it. The current version of the first issue that I sell is actually the third print of the book and it only exists because the web-comic started creating a demand for print versions. Web-comics taught me a lot about getting involved in social media and how to lean on your friends (and vice-versa) to get the word out.

Do you recommend up-and-coming artists to start their own webcomic?

YES! It’s the best way to gain exposure and tell exactly the story you want to tell. Don’t waste your time doing pencil submissions forever, if you want to draw comics, start drawing them!

GHA is a very unusual touch on so-called superheroes. What interests you in these guys and what inspired you when you first started writing and drawing them?

Well most people in comics grew up drawing superheroes. As an adult, the whole concept just seems kind of silly — so for me they are an easy target for parody.

God Hates Astronauts #1 & #2 covers

God Hates Astronauts #1 & #2 covers

Do these characters in GHA have backstories?

Yes and that’s part of the fun of GHA: The Completely Complete Edition which I am funding on Kickstarter. I hired 17 amazing artists to draw two page origin stories of my character from GHA that I wrote specifically for each artist. I’ve got amazing artists such as Tradd Moore, Tim Seeley, Jenny Frison, Hilary Barta, Riley Rossmo, Nick Pitarra, Tom Scioli and many many more. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

As far as I know you successfully used Kickstarter already for funding Blast Furnace, another experimental comic work of yours. What’s your opinion about crowdfunding?

I love it but it takes a lot of trust from people and is highly stress inducing. When you start seeing the orders pile up it can be overwhelming to comprehend shipping out that many books! It’s fantastic to be able to interact directly with the fans and to get the amazing outpouring of positivity from everyone.

Resin Statue - $100 level

Resin Statue – $100 level

So what exactly do people get if they pledge on your GHA Kickstarter? Are there crazy incentives like the ‘mustache-level’ in Blast Furnace where you said you’d draw every character a mustache in the whole comic book?

Yeah there are a lot of fun levels. My favorite is the “Defaced Edition” where I treat your copy of the book like a men’s room wall and scribble crass things all over it. I’m excited to do that. Very excited. Also we have a resin statue of the main character and every backer gets a digital download of the God Hates Astronauts theme song that was written and performed by “Murder By Death”. It’s so damn awesome.

In these times where not only indie and creator-owned comics rule but Kickstarter and other crowd-funding websites revolutionize comics (and so many other genres) where do you think the future of comics takes us? And not just simple comic books, there are interesting new approaches like Madefire which provides more than just viewing experience.

Yeah I think things are moving in a very exciting direction. The comics industry and the music industry have many things in common in terms of how they are adjusting to using new media. Perhaps at some point we will start seeing companies with digital subscription fees for their entire catalog. I’m just excited that we are at a time that creators can have such direct contact with their fans. I sure hope that people keep up with actually fulfilling their promises as far as crowd funding is considered. I have a fear that too many people will start getting involved that don’t have the ability to actually deliver there products.

Smoke and Mirrors #1 from IDW

Smoke and Mirrors #1 from IDW

I find it strange that a good artist (and writer) like you don’t already work for big publishers regularly. But there was Smoke and Mirrors at IDW which you provided art for, right? Can you tell us about the project? It was quite interesting in its concept and the fact that you included some “magic” in the back material too.

Well I have a reasonably un-mainstream comics style. I am currently drawing issues of The Manhattan Projects and Bedlam for Image Comics so I am certainly moving in the right direction. I’m not entirely sure if I would enjoy drawing for Marvel or DC, but I won’t know until I do. Smoke and Mirrors was a fun experiment in incorporating slight of hand magic and visual trickery within the frame work of a comic narrative. It was co-written by Jon Armstrong who is one of the premier “close-up” magicians so the tricks were all heavily researched and tested before we used them in the book.

Going back to GHA, do we also get some behind the scenes material from you? I think I’m in the majority to say that I’m quite interested in them.

The hardcover book features the two 24-hour comics that I produced in the GHA-Universe plus an essay on the story of GHA. It also features the original covers and a fun reference guide for the entire series. I considered adding early sketchbook stuff, but at 180 pages I thought it would be just way too much. I’m pretty sure you will be satisfied with the end product. As far as I’m concerned, it contained all the comic that was fit to print. :)

Along the years with GHA you printed GHA-inspired pin-ups by Tim Seeley and Chris Burnham just to name a few. Do you still have some surprises for the fans of GHA in this Kickstarter?

TONS OF THEM. There are a boat load of new pin-ups as well as those old ones you mentioned. Great stuff from Tom Fowler, Ryan Stegman, Rebekah Isaacs, Ethan Nicole, Andy MacDonald and a bunch of others. It’s going to be so damn cool!

Thank you for the interview! So guys go now and pledge for the
 God Hates Astronauts: The Completely Complete Edition Kickstarter
which got fully funded in the 24 hours.

God Hates Astronauts: The Completely Complete Edition

God Hates Astronauts: The Completely Complete Edition

Interview with Frazer Irving from Thought Bubble 2012

Interviews, Thought Bubble, Thought Bubble Leeds, , , , , , , , ,

Leeds was quite a lucky place for me as I got to interview two of my favourite artists (sadly I missed Cameron Stewart who is another favourite of mine, next time!). After Paolo Rivera’s interview I had to wait for Frazer Irving to appear at the 2000AD signing table and roll through the crowd of excited fans with his quick sketches and not-so-quick signatures.
The wait was always worth from the beginning and we had a nice chat about comics and digital techniques in the Holiday Inn next to the Thought Bubble convention center.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): So I don’t like to do interviews in a Q&A style…

Frazer Irving: More like a conversation I guess.

Yeah I will sometimes interrupt you sorry for that in advance…

I might interrupt you as well.

What’s it like to work with Grant Morrison? What’s your method of adapting a script?

The technical process you mean… Okay I lot of scripts I get from him and well all the script I’ve ever had from him have had gaps like these other texts which haven’t been written like a dialogue to be decided later. Or some of the panel descriptions were a little bit vague or kind of very broad, like with Klarion the Witchboy; he didn’t describe any of the animals that lived in Limbo-town, he said there are animals and I was like what kind? And he seemed to be kind of slightly put out that I actually asked him to tell me which ones he wanted and gave me a few examples off the top of his head and then I realised what he wanted was for me to contribute more than just drawing what he described. And basically every time I work with him since then his scripts have had room for me to kind of breathe and explore my own ideas and to interpret his ideas in many different ways. To the extent where I think the more liberties I take the more I kind of like shift everything to suit my particular visual voice. I think that he likes that more. So I mean it’s still quite tight in terms of like how they’re paced…

So it’s more like a collaboration with him I guess…

More like a collaboration than any other job I do but it’s still not a full collaboration because I’m still following the scripts. In Batman and Robin there was one shot with Gordon tied to a table on a stage [in Batman and Robin #14]. That fisheye thing from above that’s all my idea. And after that he said: “That’s exactly the kind of thing I wanted you to do. I say he’s on a stage and these people walk on from the left but if you can find a better way to telling it in your own voice, please do.” And I think he leaves gaps to encourage this, forces me to be more inventive.

Batman and Robin #14 – Commissioner Gordon’s fisheye scene – © Frazer Irving and DC Comics

You know I chatted with Frank Quitely at Kapow! Comic Con in 2011 about the Batman and Robin covers he did throughout the series and he also drew the first 3 issues’ interiors as well. He said that none of the covers were actually his ideas. Grant [Morrison] sent layouts for nearly all the covers. And he wasn’t that happy about that, at least he said that. Maybe that’s why he’s working with other writers now. I mean that’s just speculation from me.

Honestly I do not know.

Because there’s going to be Jupiter’s Children with Mark Millar and you may know Mark and Grant are not the best friends to say the least.

Yeah I know the politics there.

So I was quite surprised actually. I know they may be friends I don’t know I mean Mark and Frank.

Yeah I mean the entire Scottish crew are mates anyway so they definitely know each other quite intimately I assume. But you know I kind of can’t comment on why an other artist would defect for a rival writer.

No of course.

[A private phone call interrupts our interview for a few seconds]

So you use a Wacom Cintiq for drawing. What size? Because yesterday Yanick [Paquette] showed that he has the biggest size available.

I have the previous model, the 21 inch because that was the biggest one they did at the time. And I don’t need to upgrade it yet I’m going to stick with it.

I think you don’t always have to upgrade to the newer versions.

Yeah it depends on if it has any new features but the size is very nice I’ve seen it and it feels like a proper drawing table and I would like one but there’s a few things for example the touch technology is not good enough. It’s sluggish and I’ll wait until they fix that and then I’ll upgrade. That’s another 3 years probably.

Interviewing an exceptional artist: Frazer Irving

So where were we before your phone rang…?

So Frank said that none of those covers were his idea. And I instantly asked him what’s your idea of the comics I brought you to sign? And he picked a few but almost all the Grant Morrison penned ones were Grant’s ideas. So is the situation the same with you working together with Grant?

No I don’t get those. The only sketch I’ve ever seen from him was a sketch of Klarion the Witchboy which I needed to use as a guide. He sent me some cover sketches for a different gig and I know I could use them or I could discard them because what he wants is for me to do my thing. He never sends me drawings and I don’t want to see them. I don’t want him to put any more than he’s already putting into it. Because I like this relationship the way he encourages me to be better.

So it sounds this might be a very different relationship than with Frank [Quitely].

Yeah I mean I don’t know why maybe it’s because they worked a certain way for so long that they felt they needed to change.

It’s interesting because Frank is a very imaginative guy like you.

I don’t know maybe I’m just hungry for it or maybe it’s because we’re at the courting stages in our relationship and we haven’t quite found out what our thing is yet. Bear in mind they did All Star Superman together and that was like their big statement together you could say. And after you might feel that maybe it’s time to move on. Me and Grant haven’t done that yet, we haven’t done that big thing.

Do you have a favourite writer you previously worked with? Or do you have someone who you would want to work with in the future? Do you actually want to write your own stuff?

I want to write my own stuff. Of course I’ve written stuff before and I’ve done graphic novels on my own in the ‘90s. And the only reason I didn’t become a writer is that artists get paid more and I can draw so it’s kind of silly to do the other thing. But I also want to write my own stuff because there are things which aren’t being discussed in comics just like as an art form it still sticks to very specific genres. Especially in the western world I mean Japan has its own thing but I think want to incorporate ideas which major publishers would not publish simply because they can’t sell underpants or lunchboxes of it. And I don’t want to go to a writer and get their ideas because again I’m just going to be doing someone else’s stuff. I want to be able to express myself. When I get a bit of my soul and put it on the internet and people will like laugh with joy or cry with fear or whatever. As long as it’s an honest bit out there, because when I’m gone and I’m dust all that’s going to remain is what I’ve done. And I want it to be 100% me as opposed to 50% like now where half is the writer and half is my drawing. But in terms of writers I would like to work with it doesn’t matter. Good writers can turn-in bad stories and shit writers can have moments of inspiration so I wouldn’t want to say “I must work with Alan Moore!” because that might be the only occasion when he kind of drops the ball, but you know if it happens it happens. As long I get paid [laughs]. Because this is a job.

Well you know Cameron Stewart is writing his own stuff like BPRD…

The Assassin’s Creed…

Actually it was very nice, I mean BPRD: Exorcism and I asked him about if he did all the writing and he said yes, Mike Mignola only suggested some things.

When did you go fully digital? Why is it better for you? Why did you make the change?

I went fully digital I mean 100% digital in 2006 when I got the [Wacom] Cintiq. I did do some stuff like a Robin comic book which had to be inked because it was following on the Klarion the Witchboy series, but that was a blip. Everything else from that point onwards was 100% digital. So I’m like a hipster, you know, I was digital before anyone else was. The reason I did it is because of the artistic freedom I mean when you’re doing a drawing with a paintbrush if you think I want to be bold I want to explore something but if I make a mistake I have to paint over again and it’s a hassle. So therefore fear restricts me. Digitally I can do anything if I want to make your eye like really big or I can just shrink it. I’m completely in control of every aspect.

You use very unusual perspectives also in your comics. Like in Batman and Robin and also other works of yours. And I thought that might be the use of perspective tools in Photoshop.

No I mean the scenes we were talking about all of them have been eyeballed freehand. So I don’t really do those in Photoshop. If I would distort something you probably wouldn’t notice that it’s been distorted if you know what I mean. But yeah it’s very little of the computery aspect of computers in my work it’s still like Yanick Paquette was saying when he started doing digital work he was using a very traditional process and a very traditional approach. Not necessarily like the stages it’s the way you kind of build the picture up. I mean we sketch and then outline it. The only thing which we’re really using is layers. Layers are like the best thing ever invented.

Yeah you don’t have to print out the blue lines and then ink it and…

I’ve been there with lightboxes but the computery aspects is very very minimal in my stuff and I think that’s important because real painting has a character you see the brush marks and you can see where the canvas has been scraped a little bit and has life. So when you’re painting in Photoshop you’ve got to have have a brush and you’ve got to build the color up, you can’t just select and fill because it’s going to be lifeless.

Did you ever use a Wacom Tablet? Because Brian Bolland is using those even nowadays. He just doesn’t like the Cintiq somehow.

There’s the thing about those when you start using the Wacom Tablet before the Cintiq your brain adjusts to like seeing the screen and having your hand down below and also because your hand is not in front of the drawing you can see the artwork being constructed. When you get the Cintiq your hand gets in the way like in regular drawings and you have to readjust. That was one of the unexpected side effects of the Wacom Tablet with the fact that some people work better that way.

Did you think of doing anything other than comics, like book covers and stuff?

You mean ever? I’m an artist and I need to make a living. So if someone says ‘hey, Paul McCartney has done a new album and we think you’re really really super-fab, and we’re going to pay you X-amount of pounds to do an illustration’ I won’t say no. It depends on whether the person is a good client to work with. But yes any drawing’s drawing. The only reason I’m in comics because each job takes so long you don’t really have time for anything else. But I do stuff on the side.

Are you angry at me for starting this whole pre-show commission thing [laughs]?!

No not at all. It organizes my convention an awful lot better in respect actually I have something to do.

So I contributed to your convention schedule…

Yeah, my rebirthed convention schedule [laughs] my rejoining society, yes you helped with that.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

[Original interview edited by Frazer 'The Editor' Irving]

Interview with Paolo Rivera from Thought Bubble 2012

Interviews, Thought Bubble, Thought Bubble Leeds, , , , , , , , , ,

One of my favourite comic book painters agreed to do an interview with me at the Thought Bubble Festival in Leeds this year. Paolo Rivera – despite his European-sounding name – is an American comic book artist who broke into the industry by fully painted art on various Marvel books like the Marvel Mythos series. He is a very funny and constant positive guy who has a great talent for his job.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): So first question: who’s your favourite contemporary fine artist or painter?

Paolo Rivera: Fine artist? I don’t know. When I think of as my favourite painters all of them are comic book artists or illustrators.

Alright so who are those?

I don’t know it changes as I grow up. When I was in high school I’d say my top four were Jim Lee, Joe Madureira, Alex Ross and Adam Hughes. And I still like all those guys but what happened is as I went to school I discovered a lot of guys from the past that the other students were looking at. So it got to a point I found out who they were looking at and just studied them up. So now I can list a few of them who are long gone but I like. A lot of Alex Toth, a lot of [Jack] Kirby. It’s really hard to narrow it down. When I was in school I got really into painting and when I was learning to do that I looked at a lot of Phil Hale and Jon Foster and that time I was only going to do painted stuff so that’s what I looked at.

You wanted to do painted comics.

Yeah I mean that’s how I originally broke in so it just made sense to look at those and see what I wanted my work to look like.

It’s better to break in with an unusual style or fully painted pages I guess.

Yeah it made breaking in for me much easier than it would’ve been otherwise for sure.

Do you do paintings of other things than comics? Or more like did you?

I did a lot in school and haven’t done so much lately. When I’ve got a little bit extra time I did go to some life drawing events at the Society of Illustrators. I mean I love drawing from life but I never have the time to do it so as soon as I find a little more time in my schedule… I live close to the Society of Illustrators but I hadn’t been there in like 8 years. In the past I went there like two weeks in a row and I’ve got busy again.

I forgot to ask, what school did you attend to?

Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. I went there four years but one year was in Rome, that was my junior year.

So you studied in Europe.

Well I mean, yeah for one year [laughs]. But it was a damn good year.

What kind of scripts do you like? Do you like them detailed or if you have more freedom?

I like Mark Waid’s scripts [laughs]. (Mark Waid was sitting next to Paolo)

Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera

I can totally agree with you.

One of the nice things about working with [Mark] Waid is we had never worked before Daredevil. And as we did over the course of six issues he gave less details because we trusted each other and that goes back and forth.

So you’ve got to know each other’s working methods.

Yeah it’s a level of being comfortable with whoever you’re working with so I like both but if it’s a more spare script I like to know the person and talk about what they’re going for. So it kind of depends on what kind of story it is.

[A fan interrupts us asking for a Daredevil sketch. Paolo kindly tells him to come back later when he’ll be doing quick head sketches.]

The fans…

No it’s been great [laughs].

Do you have some Spanish roots (because of your name)?

Yeah my Dad is Mexican but I’m a third generation [American]. My grandfater was born in the [United] States but his older siblings were born in Mexico. So he was born in like 1922, anyway quite a while back. And then my Mom is just who knows Irish, Dutch, English, German.

So you’re pretty mixed.

I’m a mud [laughs]. What it comes down to it. People always ask because I have an Italian first name but I’m not Italian and a Mexican last name but I look more Italian than Mexican. But the funny thing is I look more like my Mom but I have coloring more like my Dad. So my Mom’s got black hair and blue eyes [laughs]. It’s a craps – you never know what you’re gonna get.

What about your new project you’re working on? Can you tell something about it? When will it see the light in the future?

I’m giving myself like 2 or 3 years for the 200-page graphic novel because I will be doing other things in the meantime like covers and stuff. The basic story is about five robots and their creator on a desperate search for fuel. So things are going pretty well, they’re living life, they’re doing fine until they run out one day unexpectedly. They thought they had enough to last for a very long time and they find out that somebody’s been using the energy that they thought they had. You know all the good science fiction parameters are in there.

But now you’re writing it as well.

Yeah I’m writing as well and I’m about 25% of the way through the script. I have the basic story figured out but I gotta go through there and write the whole thing.

In a traditional comic way I guess…

Because I’ve never done it before I want to make sure I have a structure to it.

And do you have assistance from Mark [Waid]?

Once I finish the script I’ll definitely get him to read it. No doubt. He said I could so I’m gonna use him.

You’ll have a free lesson on how to write comics then.

Exactly, we’ll see. We haven’t worked out terms yet [laughs].

You seem quite funny and relaxed. At yesterday’s Sketching Spotlight you almost seemed like a buddhist monk, a zen-type of creature.

Do I? In what way, am I relaxed or…?

Paolo Rivera drawing Iron Rex on Saturday’s Sketching Spotlight

I don’t know. Part of it is you seem quite relaxed and the other is you seem like you’re at peace with yourself.

Yeah that’s a good way to describe, I’m at peace with myself. I don’t worry about a lot of things because so far things have gone very very well for me and I hope that continues but if it doesn’t it’s been a great ride. So I don’t know what the future holds but you know I’m pretty optimistic I can get cynical sometimes but I never get angry and I’m not like a ball of rager really.

And the other question was where do you get your energy?

That’s something else, I don’t know. It’s tough. It’s a drive that I can’t quite explain. When you want something from the time when you were very very young you can try and explain where that comes from. But really, I don’t know it’s just when I woke up on this Earth I loved superheroes and I wanted to be one. And when I found out that I couldn’t be one I wanted to actually draw them. It was the next best thing and it was the only thing I felt I was meant to do. And I wanted to do it really well so I practiced and practiced and I don’t know if you can instill that in anyone. I always thought that you can always learn how to draw but you can’t make people want to draw. So it’s tough. I definitely practiced very very hard all my life but at the same time I wouldn’t be able to put in those hours had I not wanted to achieve a certain level.

How much time did it take you to complete a fully painted issue of Mythos for example?

Each issue is different so my first fully painted book was the Spectacular Spider-Man #14 and that took me 3 and a half months which was very very fast but I did not go outside for that 3 and a half months.

Like you said it yesterday on the [Sketching] Spotlight that you didn’t have a real life that time.

Well that time it was much much worse I mean I literally had myself on a schedule where I slept like 5 or 6 hours a night. Which is not that bad I’ve done worse but I would shower every other day to save time which was disgusting. But when I look back on it I could’ve showered every day and when I think of what I did at that time I used every waking moment to do that one issue. Because at that time I used oil [painting] so it took a lot more time to draw I was also preparing all my own boards so I was cutting down masonite and priming each board. If I did a double page spread sometimes I had to build a frame for it.

And you work at home, right?

Yeah, I work at home so I was breathing these fumes [of oil painting] the entire time. So I actually got sick at the end. I never want to work that hard again but I’m glad I did. Unfortunately that’s what’s necessary to get a leg up in this industry. That’s what it takes and if you don’t love it enough you won’t be willing to do that. But getting back to the question: Mythos, the first issue, X-Men I painted in oil so it took 10 months and the last month was just cleaning up files in Photoshop. Because I couldn’t figure out a way to scan or photograph them to have a look as good on the computer screen.

I can imagine that. So you had to adjust the colors and stuff like that?

Yeah and really just taking out all the imperfections because oil attracts dust and if you glaze on top of that you get all these reflections. It was very bad. After that I knew I had to make a change I went to The Hulk and I painted it in black and white and colored it digitally and that took 6 months. And then the whole time I was getting paid the same amount of money so I made a little bit more because I was a little bit faster. Mythos: Spider-Man took 3 and a half months. Again that one I did very very quickly but again I didn’t go outside.

One of the staff members in Travelling Man said that he read that issue of Mythos: Spider-Man like 10 times and that’s his favourite comic book. He even had the cover as his wallpaper on the staff computer.

Well, that’s awesome. That was definitely the fastest of the Mythos books. My favourite one is by far Captain America and that one took a solid 6 months of constant work.

Paolo sketching Daredevil for a fan on a blank cover while I interview him

Man, that’s half a year of your life… And that’s only for a single comic issue.

Oh yeah, I mean I did the first cover in December, 2004 and I did not finish until May, 2008. So for 6 issues it took a little over 3 years of my life. I know it’s pretty insane, it was originally going to be 8 issues and when I got Captain America they [Marvel] were going to cut it off and making it 6 issues altogether. And I’m glad they did because we made a nice book and it allowed me to make the jump to black and white art. Otherwise I don’t know what I would’ve done.

Yeah, you just can’t do this in your whole life. I mean painting these comics in full color.

Well I like painting still I just want to limit it to just covers and commissions and that kind of stuff because it takes way too long. When I do my own thing it’s still going to be black and white plus [digital] color.

OK I think that’s all and I don’t want to disturb you any more and make your fans angry. Thank you very much for the interview. It was a pleasure.

Well, my pleasure too.

Dave McKean interview from Łódź Comics Festival, Poland 2012

Interviews, , , , ,

This is an interview that happened at the International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź, Poland on 6th October, 2012. After Dave McKean’s panel on Saturday, I approached him and asked for an interview which took place in a friendly café not far from the main hall while drinking beer, wine and eating a cheesecake.

I went to that Polish comics festival to see mainly British comic artists like Dave McKean, John McCrea, Simon Bisley and Warren Pleece. But there were some other interesting guests from all over the world like Cameron Stewart from Canada/Germany, Tony Sandoval from Mexico and also comicbook writer, Brian Azzarello from the US.

Milán Kovács (Comic Conventions): During your panel there was a question from the audience about the fact that three quarters of stuff you had done comicbook-wise was with Neil Gaiman. What was your take on it?

Dave McKean: I’ve done a lot of stuff with Neil [Gaiman] but I tend to split my time fifty-fifty between working with other people – obviously with Neil a lot – but other people as well and then half of my own things. Books and films and sometimes comics, music and other stuff and exhibitions as well.

How do you renew your style? How do you approach new styles? Not many artists can do that and forget the style they always use so people would recognize their work.

I think it’s really boring. For me at least. It may be fine for other people but for me I would be bored stiff if I had to do the same thing all the time. I don’t mind doing one thing and really working on it and getting it right, but not forever. I simply like to learn new things. And there’s so much in the world to get inspired by…

Absolutely. And your (art)work is very diverse. On one hand you use digital techniques, photos and often manipulate them and on the other hand some of your works are ’simple’ line art. But when I see a piece of work from you it’s immediately recognizable. We can talk about styles but style is not the artist. I think it’s quite an outdated cliché.

Yes, it is. It’s just a medium, it’s not the guts of the ideas. The idea is important. The idea can be in a story or in a single image or in a concept for a whole range of things. But it’s the strength of the idea what’s important and how best and clearly to communicate it so you’re understood. I’m not interested in being vague if I have something I want to say. In fact I try to say it as clearly as I can.

And you want to say it in that style which is suited for it.

Correct.

How was working with Grant Morrison back in the day when you illustrated Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth?

He’s wonderful. I think he’d be an amazing writer no matter what medium he’s using. And he’s a man of great ideas but personally I wish he would not do so much superhero stuff but probably that’s just me being selfish.

He just announced he’s quitting superheroes…

He’s always quitting then restarting again. I think he has a genuine love-hate relationship. There’re some things in superhero comics that I don’t see but he sees for himself as being important and he works at those and I think he gets bored down with the companies, the publishers themselves and the editors. And you know a lot of the fans whose expectations he’s way ahead of; I think he gets bored down with that too and I think he needs to occasionally do something else. But he kind of always goes back to it.

So that’s his nature. But I think this was the only time you worked with Grant Morrison.

I did a short story with him which was completely…

Sorry but where was it published?

It was published in Piranha Press Magazine called Fast Forward and actually I’m going to try and reprint it. I’m gonna try to do a third Pictures That Tick book of short stories but they’ll all be collaborations so I’ve done a story with Grant [Morrison], another one with Neil [Gaiman] and I’ve done one with guitarist Buckethead. He wrote the story and I adapted it.

That’s very interesting. I mean it’s always special when writers from other genres come to the comics medium and they usually find new ideas and bring some fresh air too.
 Was it difficult to make it interesting visually? I mean in Arkham Asylum roughly the whole plot happens in the same place.

Actually I really liked that. I like it when you got a defined place even though it was a labyrinthine kind of woolly space. I like it when you got something that sort of hangs around and then it becomes more of a psychological space. So to make it different you have to not just draw what it looks like but what the feelings in the room are.

It’s kind of an expressionist approach on your side.

Expressionist, exactly.

What do you think of people saying that Arkham Asylum is a complicated and therefore uncomprehendable work?

That’s fine. The two different reactions are ’I’m not sure I understand this but I want to think about it further, read it again and see what the references are and look them up and spend some time on it’ or ’I don’t really understand this and therefore it doesn’t make any sense.’ So I understand both reactions but honestly I have more sympathy with the first one.

Honestly Grant Morrison’s other works are like this too so some people hate them and others like them but they don’t necessarily understand them.

But you have to think. He demands the attention to details. People who don’t want to pay attention have to read someone else’s stories.

Actually I’m in love with these references in his stories and Arkham Asylum like you drew it was also like a big symbolism psychologically. And it was also an expressionist and experimental graphic novel. The characters weren’t the same from page to page and that’s OK for me but I can understand not everyone likes comics this way.

Absolutely, I suppose you also have to question your own expectations. If someone wants to read a classic Batman story there are thousands out there. We were trying to do one book that was a bit different.

But I think it came out in the right time I mean the same year the first Batman movie came out. That was a lucky shot.

Yes, you know the best plan is to be lucky.

How would you describe your style as a comic artist – I think it’s impossible – and as a fine artist? Who were your influences?

There’re so many it’s very hard to pin them down. There have been people whose work meant a lot to me at a particular moment and there are a very few who stayed with me for the whole time. So I mean the comics I liked when I was very very young are not really the comics I like now. You grow and change. A guy who was doing comics in the 2-3 years before me and using illustration techniques and everything was obviously Bill Sienkiewicz in America. And I liked them very much when I saw them but they don’t mean as much to me now. When I first saw Lorenzo Mattotti’s comics they meant a huge amount to me then but they really stayed with me and I think he’s the best in the world.
And in fine art most of the greats I love. They’re greats because they’re great.

But do you have some contemporary artists you like?

I do, I really like Rachel Whiteread who makes installations.

So you like installations?

No. I do like all of everything. Some of them are rubbish but some are good. You can’t just say it’s all great or it’s all bad.

Dave McKean at his panel and ‘The Blue Tree’ behind

But like your recent exhibiton called The Blue Tree in the Rye Art Gallery was more of an installation than a simple exhibition.

They were very much together. They paid off each other. And the interesting was the fact that the installation went out into the town and grew out into the town as prior to the exhibition opening we went out at night and put these small blue branches on the trees.

Artists do things like that in Hungary too but as far as I know it’s illegal.

Well we were strictly illegal but they were very forgiving. But the thing about a lot of that stuff it may be fun and it may be out in the streets but that’s a good thing. But very often it’s pretty hard to discern really what it’s about. So that’s why I still love the simple act of telling a story. And the story exists in a room and in the room there’s an installation that goes out to the street and it all starts to talk to each other. But you can read the story and the story is great for opening the door into your thoughts. You know often galleries are very forbidding and you don’t know how you supposed to react. And maybe you feel a bit stupid because you don’t get it, all of those feelings which I understand correctly. The stories are great for breaking that down and inviting you in.

When I was in London at the Damien Hirst exhibition sometimes people stared at paintings section watching the colourful points and circles and they said ’oh that’s fantastic’. What do they make of them?

I’m not sure why they do that.

I like Hirst’s works. Some of his works. But not all of them.

Again, some. You’re allowed to do that.

You have a huge collection of cover work for Sandman. How did you approach each new cover so don’t make them too much alike?

Well, looking back at the covers because it was quite a long time…

Actually I didn’t even read comics when you started…

That’s pretty terrifying. So it took up quite a chunk of my life. Looking at them now they’re like a diary. A monthly diary where I got to do a cover a month and that month, at that moment looking at them now I remember exactly the music I was listening to and what I was feeling, the art I discover at that time as well. Because when you make something, you draw something or create something you really pay attention and you’re very focused and so seeing it again brings back exactly how I was feeling, where I was doing it and stuff I was listening to. It’s really sharp.

But it’s maybe because you’re a visual man, you have a visual memory.

I think it is to do with how much your senses are waving. You know your entire act when you’re creating something. I noticed it with my children I did these little travelbooks, sketchbooks…

Yes they’re very nice but I don’t see where I can buy them. I didn’t even know they existed.

I know. I’m trying to find individual shops in different cities to take them.

Because this is the one the tourists have to buy. Not those maps with photos and those street photo books of famous buildings and sculptures.

I agree completely, absolutely. I started in Vienna I had a sketchbook and my kids had a sketchbook and we got to the end of the holiday and usually my kids used to remember the minibar in the hotel and the airport, they never remembered anything that we saw.  But because they’ve drawn it all – we went to galleries and we drew everything we saw like statues and paintings, they remembered everything, even the names of the artists. It’s wonderful.

It’s very interesting and it helps them to broaden their memories.

Yes, it just makes you more sensitive.

What did you want to be when you were just a child? Were drawing and illustration always present in your life?

Yes, absolutely yes. I always remember drawing and then I play the piano as well so music and art were my two big loves. I never really wanted to be anything else. I never wanted to be a fireman or…

This is the best I think if you don’t do this because your parents wanted you to be an artist.

In fact quite the opposite I think my parents… because they didn’t know any artists so they didn’t know anybody who made a living doing anything creative they were worried that I would not make a living so they tried to suggest things that were a bit more sensible.

What do you do in your spare time – if you have any? That’s also part of the question.

Much better. I like drawing so I do it most of the time because I would do it if it was my job or not. I just like doing it. Anyway I play badminton and I play music. And that’s about it but of course I have a family and wife so family life as well.

Do you read comics? If so what comics are you interested in?

I do. I don’t really read series anymore. I read the volumes and mostly graphic novels and I tend to read a single graphic novel and they tend to be the ones published by one of the modern book publishers who’re pulling together wonderful graphic novel lines. I haven’t read a series for a long time.

What did you read recently?

Well, Lorenzo Mattotti’s Stigmata came out in English and also another book that just came out from Fantagraphics called The Crackle of the Frost. A book by Frederic Peeters called Blue Pills and also Shaun Tan’s The Arrival.

I also want to read other stuff I don’t know about. I started with superhero comics like most people but nowadays I’m more into more serious and creator owned stuff.

Yeah, there’s just a world of other things like that. I really love Shaun Tan’s books, The Arrival, it’s a beautiful book. Do you know his books?

Not really but I will surely check out with your other suggestions too.
Thank you very much for the interview and it was a pleasure to meet you, Dave. Hope to meet you again soon!

Thank you and my pleasure too.