SiDEBAR - COMICS, ART & POP CULTURE

Podcast Episode 217 :: WILLIAM WRAY

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William Wray is a trip. Let me say that up front. He is a former comic book artist, former animator, former cartoonist, and present-day fine artist; but turns out his real superpower is that of storyteller.

And his stories will trip you out.

If his name sounds familiar, that's because Wray went by 'Bill Wray' in his commercial art days. As Bill, he worked in animation for companies like Spumco and Cartoon Network, created backgrounds and storyboards for television shows like The Ren & Stimpy Show and Samurai Jack, and was the creative force behind Monroe, a cartoon strip he did for MAD magazine. Monroe ran in over 100 issues of MAD before BIll, frustrated with editorial, finally hit the ejector button.

Turns out, he's also done some comics. In 1997, he co-created Hellboy Junior with his friend, writer-artist Mike Mignola. The series was a one-shot, but is remembered fondly by rabid fans of the Hellboy universe.

During our conversation, Wray dropped a few names, but not at all in the douchey way. When one has had as varied a career path as him, one is bound to have run into everybody: Dave Stevens, Doug Wildey, Howard Chaykin, John K., Roy Thomas, Al Williamson, Tony Dezuniga, Alfredo Alcala, Jack Kirby, Ashley Wood, etc. (Exhausting, right?)

We jumped on board the Bill Train and held on for dear life as he regaled us with tales that will literally curl your hair. And he also shared some insights into his life now as a fine artist; a pursuit he finds richly satisfying, but replete with its own unique challenges.

Oh, and do pick up a copy of Wray's new art book from Brandstudio Press called Monolith. It's his second book with Brandstudio and looks to be 48 pages of full-color, full-bleed, urban landscape awesomeness.

Thanks for checking out the interview. We had a lot of fun. William Wray was a hoot.

And a trip.

- SWAiN

***Bill's blog.

Below are a few of Wray's fine art pieces. The first being the Cap painting he mentions in the episode.

Podcast Episode 214 :: JOHN ROMITA, JR

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With a career spanning over three decades, John Romita, Jr. has come to be known as "Mr. Marvel" or simply "JRJR". Like his father, John Romita, Sr., his name is practically synomynous with Marvel Comics as he has depicted nearly every character in the company's universe.

With a style typified by solid storytelling and powerful visuals, JRJR puts the 'super' in super-heroes. He is as adept at illustrating tales of street-level crimes as he is with capturing the majesty of galaxy-spanning demigods. 

Romita, Jr. has been a personal favorite of mine since my first issue of his Iron Man run (#258, to be exact). I got it as part of a 3-for-$2 grab bag when I was a young teen. Shortly thereafter, I started collecting anything I could find of his: Uncanny X-Men, Daredevil, Punisher War Zone, Daredevil: Man Without Fear, and of course, Amazing Spider-Man.

But JRJR's success and longevity have not come without joys and pains as we discover in our conversation. He details his early career wrought with accusations of nepotism, and his mission to establish his own artistic identity apart from that of his legendary dad.

John also regales us with hilarious stories of the 1980s-era Marvel bullpen and him being the first (and only) Marvel "Hunk of the Month". And he speaks warmly of his collaborations with writers Frank Miller, Ann Nocenti and Mark Millar, as well as inkers Al Williamson and Klaus Janson.

- ADRiAN

* Special thanks to our friend Warren Drummond for helping make this interview possible.

Podcast Episode 212 :: Shine On — TONY SALMONS

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In this latest edition of our 'Shine On' series, we focus on artist Tony Salmons. In the circles of comic book art, Salmons has been lauded for his energetic, avant-garde approach on titles such as Dakota North, Vigilante, The Mark and Doctor Strange.

A thinking man and an "artist's artist", Salmons is hailed by his peers as one of the brightest of their generation. However, many of those same peers will also relate that Tony seems plagued by misfortune, chronic lateness and the ruination of relationships in his professional and personal life.

Swain and I discuss these aspects of Salmons' career as well as his influences and his influence on other cartoonists.

- ADRiAN

**Special thanks to friend of the show Michel Fiffe for his excellent three-part interview with Salmons at The Factual Opinion. Many of the points from our conversation were culled from Fiffe's interview. 

***And another thanks to past guest Toby Cypress for his story about meeting Salmons. We quoted him from his post on the DrawingBoard.org forums.

 

Podcast Episode 207 :: STEVE 'THE DUDE' RUDE

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Steve Rude aka the Dude is by far one of my favorite comic book artists and illustrators. By far. So it was a real honor to finally interview him for this podcast. Oh, sorry — Steve Rude is generally known as the Dude to his friends. (Come on, try to keep up.)

I’m a fan of the Dude’s going back to my late teens. With his brilliant, sci-fi adventure series Nexus (with writer Mike Baron), The Incredible Hulk vs. Superman, World's Finest, X-men: Children of the Atom, and his work on so many other titles; the guy is just the best.

I have my pal Don Hillsman to thank again for turning me on to Nexus, and essentially, on to Steve Rude. Don was reading Nexus in the ‘80s, and as he had done many times before, shared the love. I said he was a pal, right?

After that, I became a rabid fan of Rude's stuff. I bought all of his comics, and eventually his art books, too. And discovered he was not only an outstanding comic book artist, but an outstanding all-around artist. The Dude can do it all — illustration, portraits, landscapes, commercial art — all of it! But as we found out in our talk with him, at the end of the day, comics are home. They are his calling.

Originally from the Midwest (like Dwight and I), Steve now makes his home in Peoria, AZ. He’s a family man (which comes up in the interview), fiercely loyal to his friends, and dedicated in the truest sense to his craft. You won’t meet a guy more committed to growing as an artist.

Our conversation covers it all, although not step-by-step. We thought it best to try and ask the Dude good questions and just let him talk. I mean, he’s been at this thing for over 30 years, right? We figured he had some stories to tell and opinions to share. And he damn sure did!

 

Our thanks to Steve for coming on with us and being so epic. (We knew he would be!) Our thanks to you all for listening in and supporting the show.  And check out Steve’s new DC project, a Dollar Bill One-Shot, when it hits stores everywhere in January. It looks amazing.

Okay, enough typing. It's time for hyperspeed! It's time for the Dude!

- SWAiN

**Scoop a copy of his 2007 art book — Steve Rude: Artist in Motion.

Podcast Episode 206 :: LEINIL YU

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I wanna talk about Adrian Johnson for a minute. Yes, I know today’s interview is with 'The Quiet Superstar' Leinil Yu — but indulge me, please.

The three of us are all fans of Leinil’s, but it was Adrian who pulled the trigger and invited him on the show. Yu and Adrian are roughly the same age, both are Image Comics babies, and Adrian became a fan of Leinil’s right from the jump: his professional comics debut on Marvel’s Wolverine (1997).

Adrian was majorly excited when the Manila-based artist said yes to the podcast invitation. He dove headfirst into his prep and research for the talk. And it was a real treat to sit and watch my boy cheezin’ like the Cheshire Cat as he interviewed someone for whom he's been a longtime fan. Matter of fact, it always is. When Dwight does it, I love watching it; and I’m sure when I do it, those two guys get a kick out of it. Okay, back to Leinil!

Wolverine, Superman: Birthright, Batman/Danger Girl, New Avengers, Supercrooks, Superior, and now Indestructible Hulk — Leinil Francis Yu is rocking it. And not just because of the kinds of books he works on. The dynamism and raw energy in his work put him head and shoulders above many of his peers — but then so does his prolificity. In a fanboy world where we throw the term ‘superstar’ around willy-nilly because someone “draws good” and quickly gains popularity, Yu actually cranks out the pages.

He does the work. He makes comics.

It’s a shame that one has to parse that distinction from other so-called comics superstars, but it’s true. (They know who they are.)

Enjoy hearing about Leinil’s early days and the influence of guys like Travis Charest and Yu’s mentor, Whilce Portacio. Enjoy hearing about his excursions into concept art for film (Serenity). Enjoy hearing Leinil very pragmatically reconcile himself with the lofty term ‘superstar’. And definitely enjoy listening in on the overall good time we had chatting with this humble, yet multi-faceted guy. Because it was like that!

Thanks, Leinil.

- SWAiN

**Some Firefly/Serenity concept art by Yu!

Podcast Episode 205 :: Rise & Shine feat. JANE RADSTROM and JAMES HARREN

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On this podcast, we talk to tons and tons of creators. The vast majority of which have had long and very fruitful careers. They've seen it all and done it all, too.

Well, we thought it was high time we got off our asses and created a format where we could bring some relatively new talent to the fore. You know, guys and gals who are on the front ends of their careers, but show incredible promise even now. Hence, Rise & Shine: Their stars are on the rise and we wanna give them some shine. So, here goes!

First up is Jane Radstrom. Without giving too much away here, Jane is an artist and illustrator based out of Austin, Texas. She's a grad of the Ringling College of Art and Design and now works, not only as a freelance illustrator, but also as a drawing instructor for The Art Department (TAD).

Don't be fooled, though. Jane's real secret weapon is her personal work. Not to downplay her skills as a commercial artist (she's got 'em), but her fine art is amazing. You can find the charming Ms. Radstrom on-line right here. Do click now.

Next up is sensational young comic artist James Harren. James hails from Doylestown, Pennyslyvania, but received his formal art training at The School of Visual Arts in New York. And as fate would have it, legendary artist and inker (and past SiDEBAR guest) Klaus Janson was one of Harren's instructors while he was in school.

After SVA, James cut his teeth freelancing for a year at Marvel Comics, then settled in nicely with the folks over at Dark Horse. So far, he's done a killer job on titles like Abe Sapien, Conan the Barbarian, and of course, B.P.R.D.

This guy is definitley the one to check for. You can find him on-line at his DA page, as well as his blog Pregnant Void. (Yeah, we know — dope name.)

- SWAiN

**Here's a link to a cool short video featuring Jane Radstrom. Below are two of her personal pieces.

 

And here are two images by Mr. Harren. The one on the left is his latest B.P.R.D. cover.

 

Podcast Episode 197 :: MICHAEL WM. KALUTA

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Hero moments are pretty easy to come by doing this show. One minute, you're conducting an interview and trying to be professional. The next, a "fanboy unease" comes over you when you realize you're talking to someone whose art you've admired for most of your life.

That happened to me in waves while chatting with Michael William Kaluta.

Since I was a teen, Kaluta has been an artistic hero of mine. I was a fiend for his run on The Shadow with writer Denny O'Neil, all of his short stories at DC Comics, and the stacks and stacks of comic book covers he drew throughout the '70s and '80s.

It was somewhere in those '80s that I rediscovered Mike as a painter and illustrator. He had joined up with a unique quartet of artists that you may have heard of. Yes, that's right — The Studio. Together with Jeff Jones, Bernie Wrightson, and Barry Windsor-Smith, Mike Kaluta made fantasy art history in the New York City loft they all shared on West 26th street. Oh, to have been a fly on their wall.

Much of the above and more is covered in the interview, so settle in. We also get the scoop on what he's working on these days (hint: it involves a certain princess on a certain planet in our solar system). Here's the one and only — Mike Kaluta!

- SWAiN

**And here is a link to the Alan Parsons Project's video for "Don't Answer Me". Mike did design and concept work on it.

Podcast Episode 190 :: ARTHUR ADAMS

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The chat of all chats is up and available in our free feed: Arthur Adams. Longshot, Uncanny X-men, New Mutants, Fantastic Four, Monkeyman and O'Brien, Ultimate X — you know his hits! Arthur joined us on the mics and we had an absolute blast with him.

In the interview, we cover some background, breaking into comics, working on Longshot and the much-talked about Speculator Boom of the late '80s.

Also, Arthur gives us his take on drawing fast vs. drawing good, his love of Godzilla and monsters, and the "rarefied air he breathes" as a sought-after illustrator who still wants to make comics.

Adams gave it all up and cracked us up while he was doing it, too (something we didn't expect). Our thanks to him for taking the time out to come on the show.

**There's a little Easter Egg at the end of this one. Don't miss it!

The picture above was taken by Eddy Choi at Wondercon earlier this year. We thank him as well for letting us use it.

Podcast Episode 188 :: NIC KLEIN

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Nic Klein has the goods, baby. He draws his ass off, paints traditionally and digitally, and he friggin’ rocked it on Viking, his 2009 Image Comics mini-series with writer Ivan Brandon (Secret Invasion, NYC Mech). Oh. And he’s about to do it again with his next book, Dancer. 

We've never met Nic face-to-face, but we know people who know him. He hails from Germany (Kassel, to be exact), and is pals with former Marvel Comics exclusive artist Marko Djurdjevic. As a matter of fact, Nic was part of the staff for Marko’s MADE symposium back in 2010. In the interview, he tells us all about the experience and doesn’t spare any of the funny bits. HIGH-larious!

Nic is also boys with Wizard of Oz artist Skottie Young. Skottie told me in an email that Nic was the first guy he knew of (other than Jon Foster) who could paint digitally and make it look just like his traditional stuff. And Nic all but confirms this in our talk with him.

After a slew of covers for New Warriors and other Marvel titles, and after getting much fan love for the conquering Viking (see what I did there?) — here comes Dancer. Due out tomorrow, it’s an espionage tale (of sorts) with full art by Klein and script by Nathan Edmondson (Who is Jake Ellis, Olympus). We’ve seen the previews and it's really killer. Very different, too, from Nic’s other work.

See, told you he had the goods. You gotta change it up or get stale. Go, Nic.

- SWAiN

**Below is a page of interior art from Nic's new book, Dancer.

Podcast Episode 175 :: CHRIS SAMNEE

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Pronounced like "Omni".

It’s 2012, so I’ll let you all in on a little SiDEBAR secret. Most of the blog posts we write as companion pieces to the podcasts are written ahead of time. Not all, but most. I can’t speak for Dwight and Adrian, but for me, I sometimes get an angle on a guest or topic that I think will be interesting, and I try to run with it. Doesn’t always work out, but hey, where there’s a spark, there could be flame, right? So, here’s what I have to say about today’s guest, Chris Samnee, and how I think things will go with him. 

I first heard Chris' name a few years ago on the Around Comics podcast. He was probably drawing Capote in Kansas at the time. Then, in early 2009, I attended the very first C2E2 in Chicago, ran into Sal and the AC gang on the floor of the con, and Sal showed me a commission he’d just gotten from Samnee — who was in artist alley. It was an awesome little piece with this serious chiaroscuro thing going on. Very noir, very well composed.  I hightailed it over to Chris’ table, never said hello (asshole), and after rifling through his originals, just fell in love with what I saw. His stuff was reasonable, too. 

Since C2E2, Samnee has gone from working on smaller projects to working very much in the mainstream. He did a great job on Marvel’s limited series, Thor the Mighty Avenger (2010), with Roger Langridge and Matt Wilson. And he just finished up on the monthly series, Captain America and Bucky, with Ed Brubaker, Marc Andreyko, and Bettie Breitweiser (both the Thor and Cap projects were just in time for the films).

All of this means Chris' star is most certainly on the rise with fans and art nerds alike. Which is a good thing.

So, how do I think the interview with him is gonna go, you ask? Quite well. Chris Samnee is a young guy, seems pretty laid back, and his work oozes a love for his job. I suspect we’ll hear that much of what he’s learned about drawing and mark-making, he learned by observing and self-educating. I think we’ll hear some classic comics names as well as a few names from his youth as influences. And I think we’ll get an inkling from the conversation that even bigger things are on the horizon for this remarkable talent. And that, too, is a good thing. 

Listen in and find out if my powers of prognostication are on or off. As I said earlier, I’ve been wrong before. 

-SWAiN

**Below are a few of my favorite Samnee one-offs.

Podcast Episode 173 :: HOWARD CHAYKIN Revealed

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Howard V. Chaykin.

Comic book writer/artist. Illustrator. TV writer/producer. And eternal digressionist. OK, I made that last one up, but it aptly applies. He’s quite the talker.

I’ve been a fan of Chaykin’s ever since I was a teenager. I met him in person briefly at a comic book convention here in Atlanta back in the 1980s. He was there with his then-wife, and it was during the apex of American Flagg! fever. I didn’t really talk to him. I just sort of stood back and watched him interact with fans. He was gregarious, very professional, and very direct. The exact impression of him I had gotten from his print interviews.

Before that con, I had just started following his work after having read several of his graphic novels: The Stars My Destination, Empire, The Swords of Heaven, The Flowers of Hell. All of them were full color, mixed media, and very sophisticated stuff. Some of the first works of their kind here in America.

I proceeded to pick up loads of his comics later on (though I wasn’t a Star Wars guy, per se). I did, however, become a complete fiend for Flagg!, The Shadow, Blackhawk, and so on.

Going back to Howard’s interviews for a minute — as a kid — I'm pretty sure I read them all. At that particular time in my youth, I found him to be a fascinating figure in comics. And not just because of the material he was working on. As a person, he seemed to be well read, had an acerbic wit, and was opinionated as all get out (I related strongly to that last one).

Plus, from where I sat, Chaykin came off like an adult. Once he stepped up as writer and artist on his stuff, it became glaringly apparent that he wasn't guided by a 14 year-old's idea of heroism and benevolence. His work was layered with themes like politics, sex, death, betrayal, and guilt. And usually at the center of it all, was a protagonist with questionable motives and feet of clay (just like in real life). This was completely diametric to my pals and I who, back then, well — we were still very much into punching and saving the day!

The other thing about his interviews that intrigued me were these little tidbits he would drop. Things about himself, his background and his profession that he never really expounded upon much until recently. Chaykin has always been a good soldier when it comes to promoting projects (an aspect of his professionalism that I’m sure his publishers adore). Yet I’m quite certain his comments in print have gotten him as much buzz as the work he creates.

And that’s why we chose to call this interview Revealed. The goal wasn’t to be sensational or provocative — in fact, not at all. We genuinely love Howard’s stuff, but were curious if the perception that many fans may have of him is at all accurate or justified. And frankly, he surprised us.

After nearly four decades in the business, you won't find a smarter writer or more graphic designer of the comic page than Howard Chaykin. However, the meat of our discussion with him today reveals more about his background, the person he is, and more importantly, the professional that he is. I, myself, find those things almost as interesting as the stories he tells. And I hope you do too.

- SWAiN

Podcast Episode 172 :: JOE PHILLIPS

 

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Like the legendary hip-hop group, Whodini, said back in 1984, "Friends, how many of us have them?" I've got a few. And you're about to meet one of them right now.

I first got to know Joe Phillips years ago, 'Nation. I won't embarrass him or I by telling you how many years — just know it was a lot! We were both drawing at the time. I clearly remember Joe, me and four other buddies sitting around on his living room floor drawing. And drawing. And drawing (though I've since become more art lover than art maker).

Even then, Joe was really good and already an entrepreneur in his own right. He had his own small comic book company, his own characters and super team — the whole nine. We were all like, “Daaamn!”.

Fast forward a few years, and Joe's working in comics full-time. A year after that, he co-founds a very popular Atlanta-based art collective, Gaijin Studios. Oh yeah, and he starts ballin' outta control (my words, not his).

He's penciling tons of mainstream comics (Green Lantern, Justice League, X-men), doing crazy trading cards, and straight makin' bank. It was the well-documented era of the early '90s known as 'The Speculator Boom'. And of course, it didn't last.

But Joe did.

He and I fell out of contact by that point. And as he shares in today’s interview, he ended up leaving the studio and starting anew by “going west, young man”. Over the course of the next decade plus, it was t-shirt designs, an apparel company, a magazine, illustration work, animation, calendars, and yes, some comics here and there. Dude kept busy!

Now, all the stuff that happened in between the highs and lows (there was a lot) kinda gets covered in our conversation with him. Kinda. Our chat with Joe was very much just that — a chat. Old pals reconnecting. It's not in any way formal, so do your best to keep up.

I saw Joe again recently for the first time in about 15 years. It was at this year's Dragon*Con. And it was all good. Obviously, we'd both changed a bit, but he seemed to be enjoying his time back home.

I told him right there on the con floor, that while I had proudly followed all of his successes from the sidelines — the comics, The Heretic, the Joe Boys stuff, the national ad campaigns — I never stopped thinking of him as anything other than my boy. That same talented, but humble kid sitting on the living room floor drawing and cracking jokes. 'Cause in my mind, that's where it all started.

Friends. How many of us have them, indeed.

- SWAiN

Podcast Episode 164: Dragon*Con Panel featuring MIKE GRELL

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American Flagg, The Rocketeer, Jon Sable Freelance. Those were just a few of the titles I cut my teeth on as a young comics reader. Amongst many others, they were indicative of the new wave of American comic books in the early 1980s. There was a palpable excitement in the air as scores of great books hit the shelves.

New things were also going down behind the scenes. Royalties and incentives were finally being paid for the first time ever. Independent publishers began wooing seasoned creators away from the Big Two with opportunities to tell the types of stories they'd always wanted to tell. And one of those creators was Mike Grell. 

I actually found Mike (or maybe he found me) in the mid '70s on The Warlord at DC Comics. Warlord was a Verne-esque tale about a modern-day Air Force pilot "lost in a lost world". I was also quite fond of Mike's work on Legion of Super-Heroes from a few years earlier. Super-powered teens in the 30th century? What was not to like?!

Later, I was floored to find out those Legion stories had been written by a then-teenage Jim Shooter (he started writing them when he was twelve). To paraphrase Mike from today's panel audio, Legion of Super-Heroes was a book aimed at young readers that was being written by (at the time) a very young reader.

After Warlord and Legion, I pretty much checked out everything the guy did — the aforementioned Jon Sable, Starslayer, Green Arrow - The Longbow Hunters and even some of his rare Marvel work.

Moving forward, our hometown convention, Dragon*Con, brought Mike to Atlanta this year as a special guest. I had the pleasure of moderating a panel with him. Grell was funny and in great spirits, and the crowd was full of enthusiastic fans.

All of the above was covered in the sit-down, but we also got an ear full on the writer-artist's background, how he broke into the business, and the scoop on his latest project, The Pilgrim (with writer, Mark Ryan). Good times.

Thanks to Mike for his candor and humor, thanks to the crowd for being all kinds of awesome, and thanks to the promoters of Dragon*Con for having me as a moderator.

- SWAiN

**The picture of Grell above was borrowed from maggiethompson.com. Thank you, Maggie.

Podcast Episode 161: DUNCAN FEGREDO

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I've been a Duncan Fegredo fan ever since his American comics debut on DC's 1991 Kid Eternity series. The original Kid Eternity was (at best) a book featuring a forgettable, tertiary Golden Age hero. However, the '90s makeover it received from Duncan and writer Grant Morrison was extraordinary, and KE ended up being a precursor to what we now call the Vertigo line.

One of the things over the years that's kept me locked in on Fegredo's art is simply watching it evolve (as it should be with any artist). He wore some heavy duty influences on his young sleeves when he first broke into comics, but his stuff quickly crystallized into something singular and all his own.

If you wanna see some great drawing by the man, scoop up back issues of Enigma, GIRL or a story in Spider-man's Tangled Web called "Flowers for Rhino".

The Rhino tale is a charming, little riff on Daniel Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon" — one of my favorite short stories as a kid. On it, Duncan teams up with his then-frequent collaborator, writer Peter Milligan, for some "romper suit" fun.

And let's not forget his cover work. Fegredo absolutely crushed it covering for books like Lucifer, Books of Magick, Shade the Changing Man and various Star Wars titles.

Having spent the last four years exclusively telling Hellboy stories over at Dark Horse Comics, we caught up with Duncan as he was finishing up "The Fury", his final run on the series. Mike Mignola, the book's well known creator, will be back to take over art chores on the new arc.

So, what's next for Duncan Fegredo you ask? Listen in and see, folks. But also covered in our chat with him are his opinions on formal art training for comics, how he and Milligan began their working relationship, and those early days at DC/Vertigo.

We also find out how he feels about working traditionally vs. digitally, bad coloring jobs, and Intersections, his experimental artbook mash-up with fellow artist and pal, Sean Phillips.

- SWAiN

**This episode is cheerfully dedicated to our friend, John Robinson, at Graham Crackers Comics. Graham Crackers has been our sponsor for almost two years now, and John's always been super supportive.

Podcast Episode 159: Tying Up "Loose Ends" with JASON LATOUR

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Lately, I've become a huge fan of crime fiction in comics. I'm lovin' me some Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, and Scalped by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guerra. And it looks like Loose Ends, the new 4-issue limited series from 12 Gauge Comics, is on its way to joining those gully ranks.

Written by Jason Latour, and illustrated by artist Chris Brunner and colorist Rico Renzi (aka the Kickstand Kids), Loose Ends delivers big time. So, why not have the writer and co-creator of the book on to chat about career and his new project, right?

Though coming into his own as a writer, you'll probably know Jason best as an artist whose star is fast on the rise. His partial resume is listed below with more to come, but by all means, please pick up Loose Ends #1 (out right now). It's Southern-fried crime noir, but it's served up scattered, smothered and covered — just the way we like it!

Chris and Rico, Latour's collaborators, are doing some of the best work of their careers on the art and Jason's dialogue in the script is dead on.

As alluded to above, the story takes place in the Dirty South with specific mentions of some Atlanta landmarks. And since the entire SiDEBAR crew lives in the metro Atlanta area, we've figuratively met these characters before and literally been to several of these places (... no, we weren't slangin' in "the trap").

In the interview, we get some background on Jason's upbringing, how he broke into comics, how he almost broke out (ha), and how Noche Roja, an OGN from Vertigo's recently departed "Crime Noir" line, turned it all around for him.

Hats off to JLa and the Kickstand Kids for putting it down with their first creator-owned book. A lot of people in comics talk about doing one, and while Ends was a long time coming, they did it.

Nuff respect, fellas.

- SWAiN

Jason's partial resume: Battle Pope, The Expatriate, Pop Gun, Daredevil B&W, Wolverine, Noche Roja, Captain America and Loose Ends.

 

  

I've loved this classic Spidey image that Jason did from day one!

 

Podcast Episode 154: DAVID 'BROHAWK' WILLIAMS

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Your bro' with the mo'. And he's no poser either.

Comic artist David Williams was rockin' a mohawk long before it came back en vogue a few years ago. He and the odious Puff Daddy actually started wearing one around the same time.

Puffy adopted the look as publicity for his run in the 2004 New York City Marathon. David's reasons were a bit more personal. Peep the interview, please...

While preparing to speak with him, we took a look at David's timeline in comic books and found that to be a point of interest unto itself. He started out as a penciler, worked into the '90s, went into animation and consumer products for about 10 years, and thankfully, is back doing more comics stuff than ever before.

If you wanna "see what he got", check out his pencil and brushwork on characters like The Authority, Batman, Hulk and Power Pack, She-Hulk and Uncanny X-men. And his current assignment doing covers for IDW's G.I. Joe title is straight up monthly eye-candy.

David says his time in animation pushed him and made him a more well-rounded artist. I agree, although my first introduction to his stuff wasn't until 2008 (tardy to the party, I know). And I have my buddy, colorist Rico Renzi (Loose Ends, Frenemy of the State), to thank for it.

Rico not only put me on to his work, but also shared one of Dave's dirty little secrets — he's a big Prince fan, just like me.

As a matter of factoid, back in '94, David illustrated a book called Prince and the New Power Generation: Three Chains of Gold. It was pubbed by Piranha Press/DC Comics and was penned by the recently deceased, Dwayne McDuffie.

*I have this book, by the way, but more on all that later.*

Renzi and McDuffie aren't the only 'creator-badasses' Williams has rolled with in his time. Over his career, he's been mentored and/or friended by guys like Darick Robertson (The Boys), the late Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer), Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami (Justice League, Batman Beyond) and Frank Espinosa (Rocketo). Yeah, I know, right?

We caught up with Brohawk at his hidden lair in Alburquerque, New Mexico and ran it all down. From the rooter to the tooter, as we say! His background, his start in comics, some great stories from his past, and what lies ahead for him (can you say creator-owned?).

It's all in there. Hope you enjoy.

- SWAiN

**Below is a Cobra-esque Joe image David calls 'Endless Love' (left) and a somber 'Cap's Back' image (right).

  

Two creatures of the night: Batman from the DCU proper (left) and Midnighter from the Wildstorm side of things (right). Notice the blood on Trent's nightsticks.

  

An older piece called 'Heroic Trio' (left) and a pencil drawing of the Man of Steel in up, up and away mode (right).

 

Podcast Episode 152: DAVE STEWART Colours Our World

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None of us here at SiDEBAR are exactly sure when we first noticed Dave Stewart's work and said, "Damn, he's puttin' that down". But clearly, at some point, we all did.

In the twelve years that he's been in comics, Dave has rapidly ascended to the top of many an artist's and editor's preferred list of colorists. This man knows his stuff.

He's laid his stylus to tons of regular books — B.P.R.D., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Detective Comics, New Avengers, Superman, The Goon, Hellboy. And he's no stranger to special projects and limited series' like Greendale, Joe the Barbarian and 2003's breakout hit, DC: The New Frontier.

I think New Frontier was probably my baptism into the gospel of Stewart. I found the color choices in each scene were at once sophisticated, and just as much fun as the tale Darwyn Cooke was weaving.

With the variety of stories thrown at him every month, Dave's intuitive ability to adapt has become a precious and sought-after commodity in comics. And that's important to note.

No matter what one's discipline, be it writing, penciling, inking, lettering — what have you — everyone working on a comic book is a storyteller. Or at least they should be whether one knows it or not. Dave certainly knows it and shows it with much panache.

This modern day 'Peter Paul Rubens' hails from Portland, Oregon; the home of Dark Horse Comics, the company that gave him his professional start. Portland is also the home of Greg Manchess — painter, illustrator and Dave Stewart fan, just like the rest of us (more on that connection covered in our talk).

We ran Dave down at his home studio and chatted with him about those early days at Dark Horse, his process (lots of process), the joys and the rigors of his gig, and some of the incredible artists he's had the pleasure to embellish — Cliff Chiang, Darwyn Cooke, Guy Davis and Mike Mignola.

Thank you, Dave, for making time for the Boys at the 'Bar. We appreciate it. And thank you, 'Nation, for checking back in once more.

- SWAiN

**The title of this episode is a clumsy reference to the 1970 ballad, 'Colour My World', recorded by Chicago and written by band member, James Pankow. Great song!

Below is a 'creeplicious' Richard Corben Hellboy image (left) and a 'bootylicious' Frank Cho image (right).

  

A couple of cool comic pages — one from The Goon penciled by Eric Powell (left) and another from DC: The New Frontier by the aforementioned Darwyn Cooke (right).

   
Dave adds hue and value to Sean Gordon Murphy for a Joe the Barbarian cover (left), and to Guy Davis for B.P.R.D. (right)

 

Podcast Episode 150: CLIFF CHIANG

 
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Some four years into SiDEBAR, Dwight, Adrian and myself are proud to present our 150th episode. Wow! Aren't you glad you stuck around to see it?!

*Don't answer that.*

And what better way to celebrate a milestone than to feature a talk with the always formidable comic artist, Cliff Chiang (Human Target, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Zatanna).

Cliff was great. We've met him in person twice — once at the Heroes Con in Charlotte and again at the New York Comic Con. Both times he was affable and generous as all get out (he gave me one of those Batgirl/Purple Rain 'album' covers like the one below).

Our thanks to him for coming on the show and chatting. The conversation takes an interesting turn towards the end there, but it's all good. Not your average comic book interview stuff.

"So...so when you drew Batman...that was pretty cool, huh?!"

Nahhh, not average at all. But we hope you enjoy it none the less. Take care!

- SWAiN

**Here are four of my favorite GA/BC covers by the Cliffster:

   

Next are Cliff's covers for Greendale and Dr. 13. Greendale is an original graphic novel that came out in 2010. It's based on a concept album bearing the same name recorded by rocker, Neil Young. And if you haven't read Dr. 13 by Cliff and Brian Azzarello, do so. HIGH-larious!

 

These are some fun '80s themed mash-ups Chiang made. If you're old enough, you'll get the refs:

 

And last up, the Archies gang. Only re-imagined as an indie rock band! A slight tip of the chapeau to one of Cliff's artistic heroes, Jaime Hernandez:

 

Podcast Episode 149: NORM BREYFOGLE

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Dynamic. Energetic. Classic.

All these words come to mind when I think of artist Norm Breyfogle. 

However, to most, 'Batman' comes to mind at the mention of Breyfogle's name. Norm was THE Batman artist for an entire generation of comic book readers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. We cover all that and more in our talk with him.

Norm details his beginnings as an artistic prodigy in his native Michigan, his discovery by Mike Frederich at the 1984 San Diego Comic Con, and his meteoric rise to penciling the Batman titles (below). This was at the height of 'Batmania' with the release of Tim Burton's titular 1989 movie.

 
As Norm himself quotes, comics were "berry berry good" to him and got even better with the release of Prime, the flagship title of Malibu's Ultraverse line in 1993.

Conversely, we discuss the lean side of comics freelancing in the years following the bust of the speculative boom of the early '90s. Breyfogle regards his travails to publish his creator-owned project 'Metaphysique', his efforts to garner regular work from his previous publisher DC Comics and the career rebound he's made through independent publishers and freelancing outside of comics.

Then we cap things off with a look at his recent projects, not the least of which is his current stint as an artist for Archie Comics and their line of 'New Look' books for the gang from Riverdale.

-ADRiAN

**Speaking of Riverdale, check out these model sheets by Norm for the 'New Look' Archie and Jughead:

 

Powerful images from Norm's creator-owned book, Metaphysique:

   
 

Some illustrations he's done outside of corporate comics:

 

'Prodigy' Breyfogle in 1974 at age 14:

 

Podcast Episode 147: JAIME HERNANDEZ

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I had the good fortune of meeting Jaime Hernandez at my first comic convention, HeroesCon, in June 2006. He and his brothers, Gilbert and Mario, were at the same table and I was awestruck. I'm pretty sure I came across as a big goof, stammering something about, "You're awesome..." and loving their work as they signed my books.

Cut forward to almost five years later and I have the good fortune of speaking with Jaime again, albeit in a more composed manner. Barely.

The guys and I chatted with him from his home in Southern California about all things Love and Rockets and beyond. We touched upon his childhood love of comics, early influences from cartoonists such as his older brothers, Alex Toth and Bob Bolling of the classic Lil Archie series, his love of dialogue, the spirit of 'Do-It-Yourself' in comics, the recent art book 'The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death' by Todd Hignite and much more.

I am wont to say that Jaime is probably one of comics' greatest open secrets. Universally acknowledged as a godfather of alternative comics (in my eyes), it is surprising that many people have never given Love & Rockets a try.

With the entirety of Jaime's work in print by Fantagraphics Press and the aforementioned art book, there has never been a better time to discover his work. You'll come for the superb draftsmanship and nuance of his art, but you'll be come back for the mature storytelling with Maggie, Hopey, Ray, Vivian the Frogmouth and the rest of the gang                                                                 of Hoppers.

- ADRiAN

**Click here for a scan of the signature and free Maggie sketch by Jaime in my copy of the 'Ghost of Hoppers' hardcover from HeroesCon 2006

Podcast Episode 144: TOBY CYPRESS - Fast Cars, Gangsters and the Road to Rodd Racer

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There's a saying in music that goes like this. Sometimes a singer or band will record their very first album and it's so good, so fully formed, that it sounds like they spent their whole lives writing it.

While this isn't his first rodeo, Toby Cypress' first creator-owned project, Rodd Racer, reads like a lifetime labor of love.

One of our buddies, artist Leland Purvis, (Vóx, Resistance: Book One) got his hands on a copy earlier this year and said it best. "Rodd Racer is like Toby throwing down the gauntlet to other artists in this business saying show me what you can do". That's not a direct quote, but you get his point.

This gasoline-fueled tour de force is set in a fictitious past where zepplins fill the night skies and a deadly race called Thunder Alley is the city's main event. Below is Toby's own description of his noirish tale:

"He keeps his past to himself, but Rodd's always been running from something."
Former stunt driver, turned racing legend, Rodd Racer has made a reputation built on risk.
But, he's finally risked far too much by involving himself and his love, Susie, with gangsters that want them both dead."

I became a hardcore fan of Cypress' after seeing some of his older stuff that another buddy, Rico Renzi, (The Perhapanauts, Loose Ends) had colored. I was all like, "Who's that?!"

"Toby Cypress."

"Have I seen his work before?"

"If you haven't, then you need to."

After that, it was Killing Girl for me, Batman/Nightwing, The Tourist and a few other goodies.

 

Toby doesn't do an awful lot of mainstream work. He confesses to a deep love of independent comics. And that makes sense—he likes to do his thing.

His style, while grounded in classic art influences like Alex Toth and Noel Sickles, is also shaped by other things like old b&w movies, cartoons and his own eclectic taste in music.

And just like the name of his publishing company, PUNKROCK*JAZZ, he comes off like this weird and wonderful amalgam of all that stuff.

With so many folks out there talking about doing their own projects, it's nice seeing Toby Cypress finally make Rodd Racer happen. And then some!

- SWAIN

Below are various images Toby's done that I really dig. The first being Bomber Blakely, a reoccuring character in the Rodd Racer storyline. Blakely is the one person in the book that Toby says he identifies with the most.

 

 

 

 

 

Podcast Episode 143: An Interview with KLAUS JANSON - The Inker Without Fear

 

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Okay, that isn't just a play on words from Klaus' days working on Daredevil (who is the real man without fear, by the way). It's a heartfelt statement from us about what he brings to the game as an inker and a finisher.

Over his 30 year career, he's embellished a plethora of pencilers and always brings out the best in them. From Sal Buscema to Gil Kane to Frank Miller to John Romita, Jr, Klaus Janson continues to rise to the challenge and make it all good.

Since his start in the comic book business back in the '70s, Klaus has worked on literally thousands of pages of comic art. He's either drawn or inked nearly every character in both the Marvel and DC universes—and is still going strong.

In 2008, along with writer Mark Millar and penciler Romita Jr, he helped launch the very successful Kick-Ass mini-series through Marvel's Icon imprint. And between Kick-Ass, Spider-man, Punisher War Zone and now, Avengers, many Marvel editors consider Klaus to be the JRJR inker.

We spoke to Janson for the first time on this very podcast about a year ago when he generously agreed to take part in an Alex Toth tribute we were doing (he himself being a big fan of Toth). I hit him up then about coming back on for his own proper interview, and with schedules slowing down for the holidays, we thought now was a perfect time (Christmas with Klaus).

One of the things that makes him such an interesting guy to talk to, other than his staying power, is his versatility. He's best known as an inker, of course, but he's also a penciler (most inkers are), a colorist and an occasional comic book writer.

And in recent years, he's added a few more notches to his belt—author and teacher! He's written two books on creating comics—2001's The DC Comics Guide to Penciling Comics and 2003's The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics. Both great reads and both great resources for budding artists.

And to his teaching at SVA (The School of Visual Arts) in New York City, Klaus says it's been one of the real highpoints of his career (as fate would have it, he himself is a self-taught artist).

Stan Lee said, "With great power comes great responsibility". Klaus, with his drawing and inking, has already shown 30 plus years of great power. By sharing his knowledge and experience of this medium with young minds, he's now showing his responsibility, too. And he's to be applauded for that.

- SWAIN

Podcast Episode 140: Dial V for VAN FLEET - Illustrator JOHN VAN FLEET Picks Up the Phone

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John Van Fleet is an illustrator and comic artist who's work I've enjoyed for many a year. He graduated from art school at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY alongside the likes of Kent Williams, George Pratt and Mark Chiarello. Adrian warmly refers to them as "that Brandywine crew." For me, they'll always be The Fab Four.

Van Fleet started out studying graphic design at Pratt, but hated it. After seeing what his buds were doing in comics, he decided to make the switch.

The stuff by him that you'll wanna check out weaves back and forth between full blown comics, masterfully illustrated comic covers and trading cards. I say look for Typhoid, Batman: The Chalice and Batman: The Ankh if you want some really fun comic stories.

As for single images, try his covers for H-E-R-O and American Century. You cannot go wrong. And all of his trading cards are super nice, too—he's done tons.

John lives outside of Chapel Hill, NC with his family and works from his home studio. We caught up with him there and found him to be affable, funny and pretty free wheelin' in our chat. He was a hoot!

In the interview, we cover his background and some hilarious stories from his days in NYC, how his approach to picture-making developed, the sometimes 'arduous' use of photo ref and freelancing after all these years.

- SWAIN

**There's a really funny Easter egg at the very end of this episode. Check it out!

Also, the title of the interview is a reference to the H-E-R-O series Van Fleet worked on back in 2003. It was a new take on a Silver Age DC book from the '60s called Dial H for H-E-R-O.

 

Podcast Episode 137: Seeing RED - A Dragon*Con Panel featuring Artist CULLY HAMNER

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The convention audio drags on. Get it...drags on..? Sorry.

Cully Hamner is a near 20 veteran of the comic book business and has a pretty respectable resume, if you ask us. Besides some really excellent work on titles like Detective Comics, Black Lightning, Blue Beetle and The Ride, he and Warren Ellis collabed on a creator-owned mini-series back in 2003 called RED.

RED is the story of a retired black ops CIA agent named Paul Moses who becomes a target and ends up reactivating himself 'red'.

The book was a hit with fans and apparently movie studios, too. It was optioned by Summit Entertainment in '08 and is now set for release as a major motion picture on October 15th of this year.

The film adaptation of this DC/Wildstorm series stars Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Mary-Louise Parker. Cully mentioned recently on his blog that he'll be leaving the New York Comic Con one day early so he can fly out West and attend the big Hollywood premiere (I know...don't hate).

Since he's an Atlantan and a regular guest at Dragon*Con, Hamner kindly agreed to sit on a panel over the Labor Day weekend and talk about all things RED. We had the pleasure of moderating the shindig and happily bring you the audio today. Hope you enjoy.

Podcast Episode 127: The Original TREVOR VON EEDEN

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Our conversation with comic artist Trevor Von Eeden is special to us for several reasons. One, he was one of a handful of guests Adrian wanted to invite on the show just after he joined it. Two, Adrian and I are both HUGE fans of the guy's work from the '80s and '90s. And three, having him on kind of jump-started a desire in us to chat with other seminal creators, like himself, who really came to the fore during our formative years (more on that part later).

Now, for those of you who don't know his work, Trevor's most noted contribution to the DC Universe has always been considered the co-creation of Black Lightning with writer Tony Isabella, back in 1979. What we think he should be most known for are his innovative layouts, amazing storytelling and avant garde approach to drawing comics.

The work he did on Batman (Annual #8), Green Arrow and of course, Thriller, with co-creator Robert Loren Fleming, are inarguable examples of his maverick thinking. Trevor really was doing something new when he worked on those characters years ago.

Other than his superb art, there are a few things about Von Eeden as a person that came out in our talk with him as well. Some of it was covered in The Comics Journal interview he did from last year (#298), some wasn't. Either way, we ain't gonna spoil much of it here. Let's just say, he was very young when he got started at DC, he's an intelligent guy and highly principaled, and he's had some special relationships with other professionals in this here industry.

And last of all, we'd be bad hosts if we didn't mention The Original Johnson here. Trevor embarked on his first creator-owned project a couple years ago and we saw Part I make its debut in late 2009. The Original Johnson is his bio-comic about the life and career of famed heavy-weight boxer Jack Johnson. At the time when we first spoke to him, IDW had just released Part I and Trevor was hard at work on Part II.

The story of Jack is a fascinating one anyways, and it's made all the more so by Von Eeden's deftful retelling of it in TOJ.

Part II is out this month and we do recommend you check it out.

Our sincerest thanks to Trevor for chatting with us. Again, he's a guy who's been rockin' our worlds since we were in our teens and it's nice to see he's still at it.

**The Original Johnson was inked, in part, by our good buddy, Don Hillsman II. Go, Don!

Podcast Ep. 124: Twenty Years of Art & Skulduggery with TONY HARRIS

 

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Comic artist and illustrator Tony Harris has been makin' pictures for a good long while now. Two decades to be exact. And depending on who you talk to, he can be described in a lotta ways. Here's what we found in our interview with him.

He's a passionate artist who's committed to his craft, loves this medium, a devoted family man and he wears his heart on his sleeve. Yes, he has his rough edges and bad days like we all do, but don't define him by just that stuff. Pick up and read his new artbook.

After 20 years in the only profession he's ever wanted to work in, Art & Skulduggery, is a massive tome that covers his earliest work in comics, all the way up to the immaculate conceptions of current day (from the rooter to the tooter, like the old folks say).

Available in March from Desperado Publishing through their new IDW imprint, Tony and his publisher, Joe Pruett, have put together a must-have for old and new fans of this industry's original pirate.

Inside, you'll find all the goodies a die-hard Harris follower will wanna see: Nightmare on Elm Street, Starman, Obergeist, Spiderman, Ex-Machina, War Heroes, license stuff, prelims, pictures of family and friends, convention photos, tales of Jolly Roger, personal work, unpublished work and all of it peppered with lively and colorful commentary by the man himself. It's a true look at "a brilliant career", as Tony's ex-studiomate Cully Hamner once said. We agree.

Tony revealed in our conversation with him that he got a bunch of friends and professional peers to write a few words about him for Art & Skulduggery. Only a handful of the writings made it into the final edit, but it's an awesome handful: Adam Hughes, Dave Johnson, James Robinson, Tim Bradstreet and the late Jim Royal, just to name a few.

Everyone speaks openly and honestly about knowing the guy, working with him and almost all the way down the line, about how much they respect his talent and body of work (and it doesn't turn into just a big circle jerk either—honesty is a sword that cuts on both sides.)

For us, Tony was a lot of fun to talk to and seemed to be a true fan at heart—which is cool. Speaking of which, there's an Easter egg about Christopher Walken at the very end of the show. It's priceless! 

Enjoy the conversation, 'Nation and pick up Art & Skulduggery wherever you can. It's a thick-ass book (ha).

   


 

Podcast Episode 123: Superstar Comic Artist DENYS COWAN

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Denys Cowan is that dude. You know the one. That guy who's known for all the best stuff to be known for.

Talented. Ambitious. Professional. Charismatic. Well read. Genuine. Friends in all the right places.

And yet with all that on his side, he doesn't come off full of himself...he's a great guy.

Yeah, we hate him, too (kidding—JOKES!).

Actually, about a year ago he left his position at BET as Senior Vice President of Animation and returned full-time to his first calling. Comics. Now that, we can't hate on.

Here's what you need to know about Denys before you listen to the interview:

He started assisting professional comic artists at the age of 14. He interned with Neal Adams and a slew of other well known creators at Continuity Studios at the ages of 15 and 16. Started getting regular assignments from editors at 17. In his early 20's, he worked with renowned writer, Denny O'Neil, on The Question for DC Comics and was nominated for an Eisner award. In 1992, Denys along with Dwayne McDuffie, Derek Dingle and Michael Davis started Milestone Media, an independent imprint of DC. At some point, he began a career in animation that includes the original Static Shock TV show, a character he helped create during his Milestone days. He helped launch the animated version of Aaron McGruder's lampooning comic strip The Boondocks. He worked for years at BET under friend and then President of Entertainment, Reggie Hudlin, heading up their animation department. And now, almost ten years after the series was cancelled, he's back to his comic book roots doing The Question again.

Issue #37 is in stores now and it's a one-shot follow-up that has Denys once more collaborating with Denny O'Neil. Only this time you can add to the mix current Question writer, Greg Rucka, and art legend in his own right, Bill Sienkiewicz, on inks.

See, that's how you do it.

We cover the whole gamut in this mammoth interview with Cowan—and we mean all of it. Denys has done and seen much in his 35 year career, and doesn't mind talking about any of it. So be prepared.

Remember what we said earlier about what he was known for? Well, guess what?

Three decades into this thing, he's still talented. Ambitious. Professional. Charismatic. Well read. Genuine. And has even more friends in all the right places.

Okay, enough with the hate already. Ladies and gents—Denys Cowan.

Dewars Man          The Breccia Sketch

 

Podcast Episode 122: The Continuing Saga of HO CHE ANDERSON

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Dwight and I were joined on this one by our good buddy, Adrian Johnson, and for two reasons.

One, Adrian brought up Ho Che Anderson's name as someone that would be cool to chat with and we were like, "Yeah!"

And two, Adrian has so much admiration and love for Ho Che's work that we knew he would add something special to the mix. And indeed he did.

For those of you who don't know Ho's resume, he's best known for his KING series that came out in the early '90s from Fantagraphics Books. KING was a sequential art retelling of the life and last days of Martin Luther King, Jr, with some fictionalized elements thrown in. It ended up being a critical success that brought a lot of eyes to Ho's work.

Beyond KING, he's worked on a variety of interesting projects like Pop Life, Young Hoods in Love, the erotic I Want to Be Your Dog and Scream Queen (by the way, Fantagraphics is releasing an expanded version of Scream Queen this month called Sand & Fury—check for it).

Anderson was born in London, England but has lived in Canada for most of his life. In our conversation with him, we cover that aspect of his background, some of his influences, much of his comics work and his future as a budding filmmaker.

He and a friend, Gerald MacKenzie, have just recently launched a small production company called Assassin Films. With the release of their first short, The Salesman, Ho Che is on his way to making the transition from comic book creator to movie maker—should be interesting!

We also get Ho's take on the Comics Journal interview he did back in the day and end things with a nice, little surprise for Adrian (you have to hear this one to appreciate it, 'Nation).

**The extra surprise Ho sent with it (yes, it's the original).

  

 

Podcast Ep. 119: JAKE PARKER and Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher

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Jake Parker is a talented artist friend of ours with a new children's book out. It's called Missile Mouse: The Star Crusher, it's pubbed by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Books, and we dig it thoroughly. He kindly sent us a copy to preview before our interview with him and it's full of high adventure, sci-fi fun and life lessons.

And even though it's a kid's book, Jake doesn't skimp at all on things like cool tech and alien character designs. The look and feel of Missile's world is pretty funky.

We ran Parker down at his home in Connecticut and talked to him about The Star Crusher project, his background as an animator with Blue Sky Studios, his work on the film Horton Hears a Who and the whole thing. It was good stuff!

Check Jake out at his site and blog below.

Agent 44 Site

Agent 44 Blog

**For this episode, we played Ramblin' Man by Lemon Jelly, an excellent tune, folks.

And we make no apologies for the pic of Jake and his Spartan friend raging (ha).

Podcast Ep. 118: The P. CRAIG RUSSELL Interview

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It's a new year, so how 'bout a new episode—yeah?

Dwight and I have been fans of this man for forever and I don't care how much that statement dates all three of us. Craig's been brilliant from the word, "go".

Phillip Craig Russell is an Ohio native, studied art at the University of Cincinnati and has worked professionally in comic books since the mid '70s. He's known most for things like Killraven, Elric, his opera adaptations like Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung, and his collaborations with Neil Gaiman on projects like Coraline and the recent Sandman: The Dream Hunters.

Plus, as an inker, he's inked countless comics for Marvel and DC over the years. Russell was considered by many to be the inker for Mike Mignola long before Mignola became a fanboy fav (see: Gotham by Gaslight and many others).

We chatted with PCR from his home about his stellar career, art, his penchant for literature and adapting classics, and we had a great time doing it.

As for two late X-mas presents to yourself, you should pick up his 2007 'Art of' book from Desperado Publishing. It's an excellent retrospective of his work and Craig himself helped design it alongside publisher Joe Pruett.

Also, the collected Dream Hunters just came out in hardcover in November.

The official PCR website

  

 
 
 

Podcast Ep. 117: The HITCH Factory - SiDEBAR Talks to BRYAN HITCH

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Today's interview is with superstar artist and storyteller, Bryan Hitch. You know him from titles like The Authority, The Ultimates, Fantastic Four and Captain America: Reborn. We know him 'cause he gave us his phone number and said we could call (ha)!

Our chat with Hitch covers his early days, artistic influences, some process stuff and many of the projects mentioned above.

Also discussed are his design work for both the Doctor Who television show and the latest Star Trek movie directed by J. J. Abrams.

**Picture by FurryFam.

Podcast Ep. 116: WebComic Creator JAY POTTS and His 'World of Hurt'

Dwight and I met Jay Potts at this year's Heroes Con and knew we would one day chat with him. Well, one day is today, folks. Jay writes and draws a strip called World of Hurt and it's the Internet's #1 Blaxploitation WebComic.

For those who're either too young to remember or from outside the States, blaxploitation is a colloquialism that describes a certain period in American filmmaking during the '70s. It was the first time ever that black actors were cast as the leads in "mainstream" action, adventure, crime and horror movies.

Some were good and some were bad** like anything else, but overall, this era is celebrated for its spirit, dynamic characters and powerful realism.

We spoke to Jay from a secret location in Columbia, SC and talked about his background, his goals and intentions with World of Hurt, merging blaxploitation film sensibilities with a weekly comicstrip and we end things with some movie and TV talk.

Click here to download the show.

**The use of the word bad in this blog entry is not meant to denote bad meaning good, but bad meaning baaad (ha)!

Also, we played several snippets of music on this epsiode. In order, they are: Trouble Man by Marvin Gaye, Superfly by Curtis Mayfield, The theme from Shaft by Isaac Hayes, Freddie's Dead again by Curtis and The theme from The Equalizer composed by Stewart Copeland.

 

Ep. 115: Power to the People - Concept Artist DERMOT POWER Comes to the 'Nation

Dermot is referred to by some as a concept artist's artist. We're certain that's because not only do producers and directors who hire him love his work, but so do his peers.

(Here at the 'Bar, we just call him a beast—this dude is killin' it.)

As a matter of fact, his whole filmography is filled with ridiculous eye candy. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, three of the Harry Potter movies, Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, V for Vendetta and he just finished up on Alice in Wonderland with Tim Burton.

Dermot often gets hired to create characters, creatures and costumes, but don't sleep on his environments—they're the sh*t as well. Take a look at the images on his site for Gotham City and those castles from The Chamber of Secrets.

We chatted with this Irish born artist from his home in the U.K. and he gave us an ear full. Power confesses to being a bit of a talker (he is). We confess to suffering from the same thing (we do). But what he had to say, especially as it pertained to concept art, was definitely worth hearing.

In the interview, he describes what it's like working in the film industry, dealing with producers and directors, and how to handle George Lucas himself deciding the fate of your ideas.

Also covered are his eight years as a comic book artist, how he once lost his portfolio on a city bus and what's up with that new blog anyways.

Mad fun and interesting stuff with Mr. Dermot Power. He's a talented guy who stays in demand and we can see why.

Oh, and do check out his brand new blog featuring the panel-a-day webcomic thingy he's been running (a hint: read it from the very bottom, up).

 

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Ep. 114: Spinning the Chamber with STUDIO REVOLVER

"Man...who are these guys?" Glad you asked that question, 'Nation. We'll tell ya.

Studio Revolver is a diverse collective of artists and creative types who share studio space here in Atlanta. We've known most of them, some in passing, some more personally, for forever. They're all good people, very talented and very focused on combining their individual strengths to make the whole stronger.

Other than talent, one of the things that makes Revolver unique is how many members there are. They're nine deep, folks—nine. That's a baseball team! They can kick the asses of any other studio you know just based on numbers (kidding—JOKES).

Seriously, we were destined to chat with them at some point, and now seemed like as good a time as any for us to do it. Plus, they just moved into their spacious new spot about a year ago.

The studio roll call is as follows: Casey Edwards (artist and graphic designer), John Tyler Christopher (artist and graphic designer), Tariq Hassan (artist and graphic designer), Tom Feister (artist and inker), Kevin Stokes (artist and inker), Jason Pearson (writer and artist), Georges Jeanty (artist and illustrator), Dexter Vines (artist and inker) and Bernard "Shay" Shepard (graphic designer and inker).

In the interview, they all kinda give a brief mention as to what they do and what they've done that you might know.

**Note to listeners: Studio Revolver didn't start out as a complete Sausage Party. We know there's been at least one female member (we met her). However, this industry tends to be full of dudes, so whatareyagonnado?

We caught up with the fellas late one Friday night at their lair, which is located right in the heart of downtown Atlanta. And yes, hilarity did ensue.

Dwight and I have to thank 'em for letting us bring our new fangled set-up into their space. It was a lotta fun and we had a great time as always. Thanks, guys!

**For this episode, how could we not play snippets of Revolver by Rage Against the Machine? I mean, c'mon?

In the pic above are just a few of the guys. Left to right, top to bottom: Kevin, Dexter, Jason, Casey, Tom and Georges.

Go here for their personal websites: John Tyler Christopher, Casey Edwards, Tom Feister, Tariq Hassan, Georges Jeanty, Kevin Stokes and Dexter Vines.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 110: 'Bravo for ALEX TOTH' - Celebrating the Life and Art of a Comics Legend (Part II)

Thanks for coming back for Part II of our tribute to Alex Toth. Alex was a giant in the comics and animation fields and deserves all the accolades we can give him.

This second half features more audio from creators who either knew Alex personally or just loved his work from afar. They all speak honestly and straight from the heart, and it's really great stuff.

Also in the mix today is Toth's eldest son, Eric Toth. I contacted Eric through the TothFans.com site and he kindly agreed to join us and chat about his Dad.

Speaking of joining us, the official Roll Call for this one goes a little somethin' like this: Jim Amash, George Pratt, Michael Oeming, Toby Cypress, Steve Rude, Darwyn Cooke, Mark Chiarello and again, Alex's son Eric.

Our many, many thanks to all of these guys for participating in this tribute. It was a labor of love for us to work on and we had the best time! 

**We played lots and lots of terrific music between Parts I and II. Here are the performers and song titles in order of appearance: Bob Dylan's Things Have Changed (Alex's Theme), Glenn Miller's In the Mood, The Theme from Space Ghost, Colin Hay's I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You, Neil Young's Old Man, Dave Mason's We Just Disagree and Norah Jones' Peace.

All of these, with the exception of the Space Ghost theme, are available for purchase on-line through Amazon and other music sites.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 109: 'Bravo for ALEX TOTH' - Celebrating the Life and Art of a Comics Legend

Hey everybody, it's me, Swain.

I'm pretty sure my first exposure to Alex Toth was during his Warren days. My father was a butcher for 35 years and worked for a grocery store chain in Chicago called Del Farms. I remember sitting in the isles at Del, on the floor, thumbing through Creepy and Eerie—and loving them. Maybe later, I picked up some Silver Age DC stuff by Alex.

One that I clearly recall is that Flash/Atom story from Action Comics where Flash gets tied down like Gulliver in Gulliver's Travels (...wow). After that, it was Hot Wheels, a 'war' story called Dirty Job and by the time I saw Death Flies the Haunted Sky, I was all in—my conversion was complete!

His animation work for TV shows like Johnny Quest, Space Ghost and Super Friends, I didn't pick up on until a little later. Bravo for Adventure, Torpedo 1936 and his collected Zorro stuff, I didn't read until way later.

In my teens, I bought The Black Hood published by Red Circle because of their distinctive covers and guess who did them? Alex Toth. He also wrote and drew a back-up story in those books featuring this noirish character called The Fox—and it was EXCELLENT!

Keep in mind, folks, at that point in the '80s, Alex must have been close to 60 years old. Still kicking ass like nobody's business! Quoting my friend, Mark Chiarello, Alex actually got better as he got older. He and Will Eisner both had some odd wiring in their DNAs that made them even more awesome as they aged (I know that's poor grammar, but it feels accurate). We should all hope for the same, by the way.

When I proposed doing this tribute to Toth, Dwight and I didn't have a clue what it would turn into. Almost nobody we approached said no. Right away, it went from let's chat with a few creators—to let's do a two-parter. Apparently, I wasn't the only rude little kid sitting on the floor in the market reading comics and such. Thank God.

The Roll Call for Part I of our celebration of the life and art of Alex Toth is as follows: Klaus Janson, John Paul Leon, John Hitchcock, Howard Chaykin, Tim Sale, Paul Pope and Rubén Procopio. All of these guys are either friends, fans or peers of Toth's—and in some cases, all three. Either way, they were great for agreeing to take part in this. We thank them.

Look for Part II of 'Bravo for Alex Toth' soon and we thank you all as well—for listening.

**Lots of people to acknowledge here, so grab a sandwich.

Mark Chiarello (O Captain), your greatness is only exceeded by your tiredness (ha)—many thanks, brother! TothFans.com for being such a great resource. Alex's son Eric for chatting with two art nerds he's never met before (Eric will be featured on Part II). Rubén Procopio for his candor, his help and his answering machine message—thank you, my talented friend. Paul Gravett of The Guardian (I shamelessly pillaged and personalized his brilliant Toth obit from June of 2006)—my apologies, but thank you, sir. Adrian Johnson for his enthusiasm and encouragement. And last, but most of all, my man Dwight, for supporting me on this 'vanity project'. Thanks, sibling!

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 105: The Art Nerds Catch Up with J.H. WILLIAMS III

I'm gonna refrain from referring to Jim "J.H." Williams III as J3reezy, although I did call him that once while talking to Dwight (oops). The man's artwork transcends such nonsense. Look at the design, look at the layout—look at the red! Lots of it!

But done for a reason, true believers. That's kind of Jim's thing—he's always trying to push the graphic nature in the art, while staying true to the story. Moving the narrative along, as he puts it.

We wanted to chat with him about more than just Detective Comics and Promethea, but alas, it didn't happen. Oh well, best laid plans of mice and men. Tons of process in there though and plenty on the new Absolute Promethea coming out this October.

Plus, Williams pulled back the curtain for us. Apparently, he's just as hard on himself as every other creator is (go figger).

All in all, we got some sweet audio for you to check out. Jim gave us a bunch of his time and we 'preciate it totally. We're fans now more than ever.

Hope you dig it!

The J3 site

**On this episode, we clear up a rumor about Jim that's been going around for a while now. Always happy to embarrass ourselves in the name of truth (ha)!

We also played a snippet of Elvis Costello & The Attractions' Watching the Detective.

Click here to download the show.

   

Ep. 103: 'Devil's End' - Daredevil Artist MICHAEL LARK Talks Past, Present and Future

You gotta give Michael Lark and Ed Brubaker credit where credit is due. They picked up their run on Dardevil right after Bendis and Maleev, and have done a stellar job over the last three years. Most creative teams don't stay on a book longer than six issues these days, let alone years. Kudos to these two gents and the Editors at Marvel for consistency and excellence. Daredevil's been in very capable hands...

Me (Swain), being the art hound that I am, I was aware of Michael long before he started appearing in the pages of DD (this is one of few times I can make that claim, so I'll revel in it). The guy has done some really great work, folks:

Scene of a Crime through Vertigo, his first effort with Brubaker.

A wonderful 'Elseworld' story called Batman Nine Lives written by Dean Motter.

The intense cop drama, Gotham Central—this one had Brubaker and Greg Rucka teaming up on the writing.

The Pulse over at Marvel with Brian Michael Bendis.

And let us not forget his awesome flashback sequences in Captain America (once again, with Ed).

As a penciler, this dude has impeccable storytelling chops and he creates some of the most accurate settings in comics. Go back and take a look at how authentic his WWII pages were in Cap. Or the grittiness of his Hell's Kitchen in Daredevil. It's all dead on!

With his run on DD sadly coming to an end, the interview covers what his plans are for the future, cool past projects, tools of the trade and more.

I've wanted to get Lark on SiDEBAR for a long time now, so this was very cool for me. Hope you dig!

**Picture by EnjoyTab!

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 102: The Kids Gotta Have It - CHRIS BRUNNER & RICO RENZI of The Kickstand Kids

SiDEBAR has gotten to know both of these guys pretty well over the last year or so. Rico, the colorist half of the duo, wrote us a complimentary note about the podcast and he and I (Swain) have been emailing each other ever since. We finally met in person and became buds at the 2008 Heroes Con.

Chris, we later found out, is a SCAD grad and the penciler/inker of the two. The images start with him, for the most part, and Rico's the guy who comes in and swoosh—puts the icing on the cake (or hangs the fuzzy dice on the mirror of Brunner's tricked out whip, as he puts it).

If you aren't familiar with these fellas already, consider this an introduction. One you'll appreciate.

Renzi is the regular color guy on The Perhapanauts, a book by Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau, pubbed by Image. He also put it down on Killing Girl with Toby Cypress and did some hot stuff over Nathan Fox recently for WIRED magazine.

Chris drew a killerrr run on Legends of The Dark Knight that I'll swear by, right here. He also penciled an incredible short story in a one-shot issue of The Ride series called Language Barrier. If you haven't read it, go get it now.

Seriously, I'm not kidding—now! It's that good!

Ron Marz wrote it, Rico did the 'zip effects'—and it's the sh*t! So much so, that the Kids feel like they have to outdo it with their upcoming creator-owned project, Loose Ends.

Loose Ends is a crime fiction tale penned by their friend, writer and artist Jason Latour, and it takes place in none other than the Dirty South. From what I can tell, it's full of Southern slang, guns, drugs, Daisy dukes and red clay (and maybe a mullet or two).

I have an ashcan demo of the book I got from them and it looks really sweet. Ends will be out from 12 Gauge Comics some time next year.

We stole Chris and Rico away from their tables at this year's Heroes Con and chopped it up in one of the convention center rooms. It was a lotta fun, not to mention, way over due. They both have been really supportive of the show and we've been fans of their's from the gate.

Look for Loose Ends when it hits, grab anything else you can find by the 'Kids' and thank us later. We promise you will.

Their blog

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 100: GEORGE PRATT and the Mississippi Blues

'See You in Hell, George Pratt' was our other choice for a title, but we thought better of it!

This is Part II with the man and we start it off with some process stuff for Wolverine Netsuke and Batman Harvest Breed, then move right into his work with Illustration Academy at Ringling.

We were told by our friend, Francis Vallejo, to ask George about some of the practical jokes he's pulled at IA in the past—and we did (oh boy).

The end of this episode, however, is no joke. Pratt takes us on a wild ride with him through the Mississippi Delta as he regales us with stories from his documentary and book about the Blues. 'See You in Hell, Blind Boy - A Tale of the Blues' is not just an award-winning film. It started out as a book he was working on and folks...it's the real deal.

Hearing him describe his journey to find out about great Blues men like Jack Owens and Mississippi John Hurt will blow your mind. It really is a testament to how wonderful a storyteller he is. If Dwight and I sound a little shell-shocked at the end, it's 'cause we were. We had no idea that, we too, were going on a journey.

Our thanks to George for hanging out with us so long. D and I asked a lot of questions and he was very giving of his time. He was a real sweetheart.

**For this episode, we played snippets of the following songs: Robert Johnson's Crossroad Blues and Jack Owens' Good Morning Little School Girl.

Oh, and happy 100th episode to us!

 

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Ep. 99: I Remember GEORGE PRATT

Hey all, Swain here. I met George Pratt many moon ago at a Dragon Con here in Atlanta. Probably '94 or '95.

I was a huge fan of the guy and he was in attendance at the show with several other awesome painters. It was him, Jeff Jones, Mike Kaluta, Kent Williams and I think, Jon J. Muth (I know, I know).

George was doing these cool b&w commissions with this marker pen back in those days (lots of Batman, as I recall). After he'd finish the basic idea, he would dab his finger on his tongue and smear the drawing in places to get that terrific effect he gets. It was all that!

I walked up to his table, babbled on for a minute or two about Impressionism and Expressionism (they're the same thing, right?), and he just politely smiled and listened. He was very kind to me.

(Oh, and it's not like it would go any better if I saw him at a convention today—I'm just 13 years older.)

As a younger man, seeing George's brilliant work on Enemy Ace: War Idyll and Wolverine Netsuke, made me wanna pick up a brush and paint . And I did. I never got very good at it, mind you, but he inspired me.

And I guess he's still inspiring others today. He's been teaching art, off and on, for the last 15 years at schools like The Pratt Institute (where he studied), The Kubert School, The School of Visual Arts, and now at Ringling in Sarasota (lucky kids those Floridians).

To have him come on SiDEBAR with Dwight and I is pretty special stuff. His art has always spoken to me beyond just my interest in comics. It provokes me. It illuminates me. It makes me think. That, to me, is art's purpose.

To be honest, his killer covers for Marvel Comics Presents and Detective Comics from years ago—all made me wanna find out more about fine art. From his work, I probably bumped into Gustav Klimt and Munch. Go figger.

This is only Part I with George, but it's full of goodness. The man is a storyteller. He tells us about his background growing up in Texas, about meeting and hanging out with one of his idols, Mike Kaluta, working on his first big graphic novel, Enemy Ace, and a bunch of other cool stuff.

He's a friend of a friend (thank you, Francis), and I have to say it brought me full circle to babble on with him again for this here podcast. I guess not much has changed in 13 years, huh?

 

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Ep. 98: Shootin' the Sh*t with Atomika Creator SAL ABBINANTI

Just a couple a guys sittin' around talkin' about whatever—comics, Cons, people, porn, Tijuana...

We're kidding, we'll be serious now.

We had never heard of Sal Abbinanti before checking out one of his appearances on Comic Geek Speak a few years ago. We laughed our asses off thinking, who is this guy..?! Later we found out about Atomika, Mercury Comics, Buzz and everything else.

He told us in our talk with him that the first time he went on CGS, he didn't like how pretentious he sounded, so he came back and kept it real. You know, like guys do.

Well, it worked and the rest is podcast history. Sal's sense of humor is infamous! If you have sensitive ears, trust, this ain't the one for you.

All that aside, we do think he's a decent guy, and Atomika is a comic worthy of your attention. The concept is extremely interesting, the hero's design is iconic beyond words, and Sal gets the best of the best in this business to do covers for him. For this blog entry, we've featured the most recent ones by Travis Charest, Darwyn Cooke and Glenn Fabry!

Since indie creators do have to promote, promote, promote, we caught up with Abbinanti on the 'AtomikaisinPreviewsagainsoletsgetthewordout' Tour. He's been humpin'-to-please trying to let everybody know what and where the book is, and we ain't mad at him. We wish him well.

Not much serious talk inside, folks, but hey, it is what it is. Sal kept us in literal stitches, as he has many times before on CGS, so it's all good!

Atomika at Mercury Comics

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 97: JOSH MIDDLETON Shows Us the Sky Between Branches

Doing it all is a rare trait in American comics. Doing it all and doing it well is even rarer. And that's exactly how illustrator Josh Middleton has made a name for himself.

He started his career as a young artist back in the late '90s at CrossGen, the Tampa-based comic book publisher. He and a bunch of creators signed on for what looked like a bold new direction in the making of comics—and it was.

After relocating to Florida from Pennysylvania, Josh worked on their title Meridian and fans ate it up. But it wasn't long before things went South (pun intended), and he and others decided to part ways with the maverick company.

Post CrossGen, Josh pubbed a creator-owned project called Sky Between Branches with a European company, Com.X. The preview issue of the book got the attention of Joe Quesada at Marvel, and he asked Middleton to collaborate with him on a little something called NYX.

That series was, of course, a huge hit and from there Josh worked on Superman/Shazam First Thunder over at DC among other things. He's also done a ton of covers over the last few years for titles like New Mutants, American Virgin, Vixen and Supergirl.

As implied earlier, this guy is somewhat of a white tiger. He's one of few comic artists living here in the States who handles all the art chores himself. Every bit. You tend to see more of that sort of thing in places like Europe, so it makes him a rare breed on this soil.

In the interview, we cover some background, the 'dark days in Tampa' (HIGH-larious), many of the projects mentioned above, and just why he decided to take the reins and do it all himself.

Plus, Josh gives us the inside scoop on his recent book cover illustrations for Tor and Scholastic, and tells some funny stories about his recent experiences in Hollywood.

Middleton's Site

**Picture provided by Midus Unknown.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 95: TOMM COKER'S Noir

Tomm is an awesome artist I discovered last year on a fill-in issue of Moon Knight. I dug his work, did some googling and found out he's been doing his thing off and on since the early '90s. Well, kill the off 'cause it's definitely on now. His art on Marvel's new Daredevil Noir mini-series will turn some heads—and with good reason.

Knowing a little about the guy's backstory makes his work all the more interesting. Tomm got into comics at the tender age of 17, worked for several major publishers, made great money, lost his way, then left the business to find it.

Along his journey, he did storyboards for commercials, animated TV shows, movies like The Mummy and The Watcher, and music videos like Aaron Carter's 'How I Beat Shaq' (sadly, we forgot to ask him about that one).

After some years away, he was lured back to his first love in 2003 by Vertigo, to work on a vampire mini-series called Blood & Water. Blood introduced comic fans to a brand new Coker. Tomm's drawing had matured and become much stronger. He was spotting blacks like crazy and his images were grittier and more realistically rendered.

He followed that series up with things like The Monolith for DC, an issue of The Ride for 12-Gauge (sweet), and covers for Exiles and Agents of Atlas over at Marvel. It was all good!

And you can put his current project, Daredevil Noir, up there as well. Written by Alexander Irvine, Noir is a DD story told 'Elseworld' style with a serious crime fiction overtone. Issue #1 is out now and I'm feelin' it big time. Go pick it up!

Now, the other thing about Tomm that I haven't mentioned is, he's a movie director. He made a feature film back in 2007 called Catacombs with his friend, screenwriter David Elliot. It stars the lovely Shannyn Sossamon and pop singer Pink, and it's a horror picture of sorts, set under the streets of Paris.

Tomm rocked it for his directorial debut and while the movie's completion had its hurdles, it's definitely worth checking out (look for the director's cut).

We cover all of the above and more in our very candid talk with this Renaissance Man. Plus, he shares lots of cool stories about comics, art, filmmaking and just...life in general. Hope you enjoy!

**A special shout of thanks to David Elliott for his unplanned appearance on this episode.

Click here to download the show.

   

Ep. 94: 'Keep Saying AH!' - More with Us and ADAM HUGHES

This is Part II of our interview with Adam and he's still crackin' us up! We were rolling! But in between the laughs, he still dropped lots of gold nuggets as far as art and illustration go.

For those who're unfamiliar with his work (all two of you), this is an excellent opportunity to hear from an artist's artist. A guy who's admirers include, not only comic fans and art collectors, but his peers as well.

We start this second half off discussing his killer line of comicquettes for Sideshow Collectibles, then ease into some Star Wars talk. Adam is a huge fan of the franchise and so is Dwight. I must confess to being slightly anemic on the subject, so I kept my mouth shut!

Anyway, those two mix it up like Luke and Vadar in Empire, only no one loses an arm (ha!).

After that, we get into topics like commissions and eBay flipping, Hughes' recent work for Playboy Magazine, and of course, the infamous 'All-Star' question.

Adam was the best and we thank him much for hanging out with us. He, like many of our other guests, was awesome to put up with me and Dwight's shenanigans!

 

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Ep. 93: 'Just Say AH!' - SiDEBAR Interviews ADAM HUGHES

There are guys who can draw and then there are guys who can DRAW. And after those guys, there are these other guys who can DRAW women—damn well, I might add! That's Adam Hughes.

Adam falls in a long line of illustrators who create exceptionally beautiful images of the fairer sex—Gil Elvgren, George Petty, Vargas, Dave Stevens. And we put him right up there with all those folks! The grace and expression he's able to capture in the female form is masterful. Not many artists see it...the way he sees it.

Dwight and I have known Adam in passing pretty much since he moved to Atlanta from New Jersey. He was one of the early members of a local art collective, Gaijin Studios and I believe, that's where I first met him.

I was visiting Gaijin  (The Honeycomb Hideout) with a buddy back in 1994 and wandered into his space as if invited in.

"Hey, who's that?"

"Umm, Power Girl."

"Wow, you draw pretty good, man!"

"Umm...thanks."

**curious look on his face**

Later, after my 'genius' moment, I went out and bought his runs on Maze Agency, JLA, Legionaires and a pant load of covers (sorry about the visual).

Dwight says his conversion took place upon seeing Hughes' short, but sweet stint on Dark Horse's Ghost series.

About ten years ago, Adam stopped doing sequentials and became a cover artist exclusively. This wasn't by choice. Many of his clients began to only comission him for cover work. We, like the rest of his fans, started feenin' for more gorgeous interiors, but happily made due with his many Wonder Woman, Catwoman and Tomb Raider pieces.

Now, one of the things that makes today's interview so special is, it's Part I of a II-Parter. We had a long, fruitful conversation with the man and lots of cool stuff came out of it, so we decided to break it in half.

The other thing is—he had us in stitches! Adam has a serious wit and he's quick with it, too! I'm sure many of his fans don't get to see that side of him, so brace yourselves. We had a blast hanging out with the guy and we hope you enjoy listening in!

Just Say AH!

**Many thanks to Ms. Allison Sohn for her help in facilitating Adam's appearance on SiDEBAR. It was invaluable.

And for this episode, we played snippets of The Tubes' She's a Beauty. Hey, the three of us are '80s kids—what did you expect?!

 

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Ep. 91: DUSTIN NGUYEN is Watching the Detective

Some days podcasting is so much fun, we'd almost do it for free.

(Hold up...we ARE doing it for free!) **stops to call his agent**

Well, I'm sure if food and shelter weren't such a looming factor, DC might be able to get Dustin Nguyen to draw Batman for free. Might! The guy has such a thing for that character and we ain't mad at him—he draws the hell out of some Batman!

He's been the regular artist on Detective Comics for a year now, alongside his faithful collaborators, writer Paul Dini and inker Derek Fridolfs. Those three have been putting it down on that book from day one and I for one, dig it!

I was a Dini fan from his awesome work in animation with Bruce Timm. And Derek and Dustin have been an art team going back to their early Jet days at Wildstorm.

A quick moment to gush, if I may. Nguyen's covers for Detective, especially the super-gorgeous watercolor ones he's been doing lately, are like whoa! We have a saying here down South that I must apply—"Dude put his foot in those damn covers!" Don't worry, it's a compliment.

In our chat with him, we discuss his beginnings in Georgia, before planting roots in California, the industrial design work he did prior to getting into comics, some fun times at Wildstorm Studios, and a few titles he's worked on like Wildcats 3.0 and Manifest Eternity.

Also covered is his new Batman series—Streets of Gotham, friends and mentors like Eric Canete, Sean Murphy and Jim Lee, and a couple of personal projects he's got cookin', too.

Never a dull moment hangin' with Mr. Dustin Nguyen. He's got energy for days and I for one, am jealous!

**And post-interview congrats to Dustin for Batman: Heart of Hush hitting #2 on the NY Times Best Sellers List for graphic novels.

Click here to download the show.

Ep. 90: 'The Man Behind the Iron Mask' - An Interview with the One and Only BOB LAYTON

This one's sorta NSFW, kids, so don't play yourself at the Joe Job.

We talked to Bob about coming on the show when we ran into him at the NYCC and had no idea how uncensored it would get. Not that he's all about the filthy language or anything (notice I said all). But colorful adjectives aside, he was very candid and very, very open about his life and career. The guy laid it out there.

Backing things up a bit, our connection to the man, of course, goes back to his stellar runs on Iron Man in the '80s with writer David Michelinie. I read those books as a 17 year old kid and loved 'em! Iron Man had everything I wanted in a comic—over the top fight scenes, cool characters, fun stories, drama! It was just the best!

Later on, I ended up checking out his Hercules mini-series and a few of the titles he worked on over at Valiant Comics. And I must admit to being a little less familiar with the Valiant stuff, as my fascination with girls at the time began to emerge (boo-yow).

After Stan Lee, Layton's name is probably the next one that comes up if you're talking about Iron Man. He and David's contributions to the character are indelible, and their "Demon in a Bottle" storyline truly broke new ground during the Bronze Age.

We get into all that in the interview with him and thankfully, a few more goodies too! Like his early days in Indianapolis, being an apprentice to the late Wally Wood, how he and Michelinie got the job working on Iron Man, and his persona back then as a flashy dresser (dude, looked like a straight pimp!).

He also shares a few fond memories from his Valiant days, describes his departure and return to comics, and tells us about all the stuff he's got comin' up.

This one was a hoot and indeed uncensored, but in Bob's own words, "I've always tried desperately to keep one foot in the real world."

We agree—that's the way to do it!

Bob's Site

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Ep. 89: Makin' Moves with TOMMY LEE EDWARDS

An artist friend of ours once referred to Tommy Lee as 'Boss Player' and we have to agree. Even though the guy is way laid back and approachable, you can just tell he's got some cool stuff goin' on behind the scenes. And he does—trust! But more on that later...

I first got hip to Tommy back when he and Rick Veitch did that Question series for DC in 2005. His lines had all this crazy energy and charisma to 'em. I remember looking at those bold ass gestures and thinking, "Man, this guy has no fear!" Plus, he colored the book too, which also stood out to me.

We ended up meeting him and the rest of The BLVD Studio at a Heroes Con in Charlotte the next year. All super nice guys, by the way, and all major talents in their own rights.

After The Question, Edwards worked on Bullet Points, What If, covers for Daredevil, and 1985 with writer Mark Millar. All over at Marvel. As a matter of fact, most of his mainstream comic book work since '05 has been for Marvel. Hmm...

Beyond comics, his name is also a staple in the movie world. He's contributed to the style guides for a couple of films you may have heard of: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Men in Black II, Batman Begins and Superman Returns.

Not to mention, he's doing concept art for a Hughes Brothers picture that's in production right now. Here's a teaser for you—there's an Oscar-winner in the lead role who's a huge star. Now, that's what we call makin' moves!

We cover that project, his craft, Star Wars, conventions and comic shops, and everything else we could in the time we had with TLE. Hope you enjoy this special extended episode and we'll see ya next time!

TLE's Site

**For this one, we played snippets of the following: Will Smith's "Men In Black", Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California", Montell Jordan's "This Is How We Do It", "Duel of Fates" from Star Wars and Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild".

Photo taken by Albert Hughes.

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Ep. 88: 'Back to the Drawing Board' - A Conversation with THE BLVD's JOHN PAUL LEON

My first real connection with John Paul's art was at a Heroes Con back in 2006, I think. I had, of course, seen his epic work on Marvel's Earth X series, but up until then, was more a casual fan. That weekend, we met all the guys from The BLVD Studio and Dwight picked up their three sketchbooks (all of which are great, by the way).

Later that night, we attended the Art Auction which is always one of the high points of the convention. I'm standing in front of the original art display, floored by this one killer Wolverine piece, and I can tell this guy next to me is feelin' the same way (it was the hotness).

We go back and forth for a minute, then I look up and realize---the guy is Tony Harris! The artist from Ex-Machina! Tony is pretty amazing himself and apparently, a big Leon fan (later that year, JP ended up doing an Ex-Mach Halloween Special). You just never know...

The man's vitals are these: he was born in NYC, but makes his home in Miami. He started working professionally at the age of 16 doing stuff for TSR's Dungeons magazine. He graduated from SVA with a bachelors degree in fine art. He's a member of The BLVD Studio with four other exceptional artists---Sean Chen, Bernard Chang, Trevor Goring and Tommy Lee Edwards. He created licensing artwork for the mega-hit film Batman Begins and also contributed to the Superman Returns style guide.

And he rocks it on all of the following comic titles: Tom Strong, Wintermen, Midnighter, Scalped, both Ex-Machina Specials and those DMZ covers.

I've been a staunch JP fan ever since that time in Charlotte (isn't it obvious?). In my almost never humble opinion, you'd be hard pressed to find a bolder, more dramatic storyteller working in comics today. Leon's approach is near-cinematic, to quote a friend of mine, and I can't front---I'm lovin' every frame of it.

Oh, and he's famous on YouTube, too!

    

JP's Site

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