I seriously doubt that I’m throwing too many spoilers out there for this, but I did an interview recently that will be appearing in the Platinum Studios releases for the month of December. Here’s the special edition, EXPANDED interview from that for all the rabid fans (probably mostly friends and family actually) that read my blog on a daily basis, enjoy! More indepth answers you won’t find anywhere, as well as a BONUS question that didn’t end up getting used because of space constraints. Be sure to check it out in the back of Hero By Night issue 1 landing next month!
What was your first job in the comics industry?
I started out inking a book called Zombieopolis, drawn by some guy named DJ Coffman, and written by a guy named Bob McDeavitt. It was supposed to have been a mini-series published by a fairly small publisher in the late 90’s. We did like the first 2 issues or so, it ended up getting cancelled, so DJ self-published it in graphic novel format just to get the book got out there. That book actually got me some inking work on some small press stuff, I inked a story in the very first issue of Digital Webbing Press which was probably my first work that got onto shelves. Then I sort of went through a period where I just got out of comics for about 4 years, after banging my head against the wall as an inker, working for peanuts, and getting a lot of “close, but not quite there yet” stuff from most of the major publishers. Actually, it was funny because when I DID get back into comics, I was inking a book for a guy and he was having a REAL hard time finding a good colorist for our cover. So I had bought a Wacom tablet a few months prior, and after seeing the results he was getting back from various people, I just kind of told him, “you know what dude? Let me try this coloring thing out.” Not only did it look pretty good, but I think it showed me in just one page, that I should probably be focusing on coloring and painting, than on inking. It was just a lot more natural for me to see the finished product, than just working in black and white.
Who were some of your influences and inspirations growing up?
I’m grown up? That would be news to my family and friends. Seriously though, when I was younger I bought comics for about 6 years I think, religiously, in the late 80’s early 90’s. Pretty much before the advent of computer coloring. I’d have to say that I have a strong liking of guys like Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane’s loose style, and I think Kirby was a great storyteller. I follow a FEW colorists in the industry today, people like Brian Haberlin, Alex Sinclair, Rod Reis, Dave Stewart, Richard Isanove. Stewart and Sinclair are probably my biggest contemporary influences I think in terms of comics. Jim Valentino also taught me a LOT about comics when I was first starting out. I’ve always drawn a lot more inspiration and knowledge from classic masters like Rembrandt though. I’m a HUGE Rembrandt fan. Also, I’ve been getting into a lot more painting and digital art, including 3D lately, which has opened my eyes to a massive number of inspirational artists and really taught me a lot more about being an artist and really understanding art than comics probably ever could. I’m more a traditional guy though, so I kind of like to look at the NATURE of art and not really focus on how it’s created. I mean, we’ve got ALL theses tools today, that are really just extensions of us as artists. So it’s more about what you want to accomplish, rather than how you get there you know.
How were you brought on to Hero By Night?
I was finishing up work on my last issue of Shadowhawk over at Image for Valentino at the time. I’ve known DJ now for going on 10 years almost. I knew he had won the Comic Book Challenge, and I think I called him a few days after he got back from San Diego, just to tell him congrats and wish him luck. He called me back a few weeks later I think, maybe it was a month, and asked how Shadowhawk was going, and if I’d have time to maybe fit in his Hero By Night book. Shadowhawk had actually just wrapped up over at Image like a couple weeks beforehand, so I told him I’d love to come onboard. I had a lot of fun working on a superhero book, and DJ liked what I was doing at the time and thought I would be a perfect fit for the look he was after.
As a colorist, how closely do you work with the rest of an art team or the writer on a book?
Well, in terms of Hero By Night, it’s sort of a different situation because until James Patrick came onboard, there were only 2 people producing that book. DJ and I talk multiple times just about every single day of the week and weekends, either on the phone or we’ll instant message each other. I think as a creator, you need to understand that you have to have someone, or a tight knit group of people, you can trust to bounce ideas off of. DJ and I have the sort of relationship where he knows he can run stuff by me and I would tell him if it sucked or not. We’re always talking about HBN back and forth, not in a way where I’m really doing anything with the plot or storylines, but you know, I’ll have an idea now and then of something I may want to do, or add in, and I can run it by him and usually we work out something that might be even better than what we were after initially. There is a respect I think that comes from familiarity, that I don’t have with other books or creators really. He knows that I’m a creator too, that I’m also a pretty decent artist in my own right, and that I understand the entire comic making process from conception right through to getting your books printed and distributed by Diamond. Other books, I have pretty set guidelines of what I have to do and I can’t stray from things very much. Books that I’ve colored straight from pencils, almost everyone that I’ve done, the editors or publisher has realized early on, that I can clean up the pencils and fix things that might be off, fairly quickly and easily, so I go in and make things look their best. I mean, I’m technically the LAST stop for the artwork, and it really comes down to just putting the best product on the shelf at the end of the day that you can.
If you could color any book in comics today, which would it be?
I’m already coloring it aren’t I? Outside of Hero By Night though it would be a tough decision. For a long time my favorite character was Spiderman. But right now, I’d have to say hands down, it would be Batman. I would love to color just about any Batman book out there.
What’s on your plate next?”
I’m currently working on the graphic novel Hotshot and Mighty Girl coming out early next year from Platinum Studios Comics, as well as the new ongoing Hero By Night series. I’ve got some other books and personal projects I’m currently working on as well, when I get some time in between deadlines and coloring of course. One is a fantasy based online type of project incorporating digital painting, another is a darker, murder mystery type of graphic novel project that I’ve just started writing in the last month here that I’m really excited about, and I have another project that I’m doing a rewrite on at the moment that is sort of a suspense/thriller type of story.
