Rough Stuff #3

No. 3 Winter 2007

$6.95

Celebrating the ART of Creating Comics!

ED

ICK PAQUE

RAIG RUS S

ELL

EE WEEKS

L

P. C

HN BUSCEM

A

JO

TTE

YAN

MIKE ALLR

Featuring

JOHN ROMITA JR. Interview & Art Gallery Spider-Man, Invisible Girl, Wolverine, TM & ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc. Madman is TM & ©2006 Mike Allred. ©2006 P. Craig Russell.

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Volume 1, Number 3 January 2007

Celebrating the ART of Creating Comics!

EDITOR

Bob McLeod PUBLISHER

John Morrow DESIGNER

Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Christopher Irving COVER ARTIST

John Romita Jr. & Bob McLeod

FEATURED ARTISTS 3

Mike Allred

12

John Buscema

29

Yanick Paquette

62

P. Craig Russell

72

Lee Weeks

COVER COLORIST

Tom Ziuko CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Bob Brodsky, Seastone Marketing Group

ROUGH STUFF INTERVIEW 38

John Romita Jr.

SPECIAL THANKS Mike Allred Brad Burch Philippe Cordier Michael Eury Drew Geraci David Hamilton Klaus Janson Joe Jusko Michel Maillot Yanick Paquette Walt Parrish John Romita Jr. P. Craig Russell Bill Sienkiewicz Ken Steacy Lynn Walker Eric Nolen-Weathington Lee Weeks

ROUGH STUFF™ is published quarterly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Bob McLeod, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: ROUGH STUFF, c/o Bob McLeod, Editor, P.O. Box 63, Emmaus, PA 10849-2203. E-mail: mcleod.bob@gmail.com. Fourissue subscriptions: $24 Standard US, $36 First Class US, $44 Canada, $48 Surface International, $64 Airmail International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Central cover art by John Romita Jr. and Bob McLeod. Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. All characters are © their respective companies. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted. All editorial matter © 2007 Bob McLeod and TwoMorrows Publishing. ROUGH STUFF is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING. ISSN 1931-9231

ROUGH STUFF FEATURE 24

What Did You Say, You’re Having a Breakdown?!?

Bob McLeod

ROUGH STUFF DEPARTMENTS 2

Scribblings From The Editor Bob McLeod

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Cover Stories Bill Sienkiewicz and John Romita Jr. reveal the process of creating a cover.

60

PrePro Art by featured artist Lee Weeks, done before he turned pro.

82

Rough Critique Editor Bob McLeod critiques an aspiring inker’s sample page.

86

Rough Talk Comments and opinions from our readers.

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FREE Preview of DRAW! #13

In Memoriam: Dave Cockrum 1943-2006 JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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SCRIBBLINGS FROM THE EDITOR:

R

ough Stuff #3 is here at last! That three-month wait between issues is brutal, isn’t it? I’m excited about this issue for several reasons, but at the top of the list has to be that I get to showcase one of the best artists ever to draw a comic book (and also one of my comic art idols), Big John Buscema! His comics were my textbooks when I was

struggling to learn how to draw comics. If you’re like me, you flipped right to it before reading this, right? Wasn’t he awesome? If you haven’t seen it yet, go ahead and skip ahead to his beautiful artwork and I’ll wait here until you’re finished drooling! Go ahead, I’ll still be here when you get back.

Amazing, isn’t it? He was always my favorite artist to ink, but we have even more great stuff in this issue. First up, “Madman” Mike Allred gives us an advance peek at his new series, among other things, and you’re going to like it! Then, after you enjoy John Buscema’s section all over again (I wouldn’t ask any artist to follow Big John), there’s a brief article by yours truly, explaining the terms that describe the various forms of preliminary art we focus on here, so you know what you’re talking about when you tell your friends about all the great art you saw in Rough Stuff! After that, there’s some drop-dead gorgeous art by Canadian penciler Yanick Paquette, who I was lucky enough to ink on Wonder Woman a few years ago. He’s even better now than he was then. As unlikely as it may be, I’m hoping you’ve never seen his work before so I can be the one to introduce him to you!

Our interview subject this issue is none other than John Romita Jr., who’s every bit as jazzy as his dad, if not more so (if you were born yesterday and don’t know his dad’s work, run, don’t walk, to your local comic shop)! That cool Spidey art gracing our cover was just a quick sketch he tossed off without even trying (later inked by me for art collector Walt Parrish-thanks, Walt!). As impressive as JRJR’s art is after it’s inked, though, just wait till you see his stunning pencils! And he’s got plenty to say about it, too. What a fun interview. Klaus Janson also chimes in with some comments as well (dang, I owe him another nickel...!).

But we don’t stop there. Once again, we have two covers shown before and after inking in our Cover Stories feature. And then, you asked for him and here he is: P. Craig Russell! I think the ‘P’ must stand for perfect, because he shares some really beautiful pencils with us. And last, but very far from least, is master artist Lee Weeks! We run our featured artists in alphabetical order, because otherwise we’d never be able to decide who to put first. Lee’s feature is sure to leave you wanting more and hungry for our next issue, so it all works out! But there’s even more after Lee, because I’m critiquing yet another new artist’s sample page. This month I thought it would be interesting to critique an inking sample. Check it out, because I predict you’re going to be seeing this guy in a major comic book soon! If you think you have what it takes to draw or ink comics, just send me a sample page, and if we publish it along with my critique, we’ll send you a free copy of Rough Stuff with your art in it.

Is this a fantastic issue or what? How can we possibly top it next time? Well, just wait and see, because I still have a lot more art up my sleeve! Meanwhile, be sure to visit the Rough Stuff page of my website (www.bobmcleod.com/roughstuff.htm) to see even more art and comments by our featured artists that we couldn’t fit into the magazine! And be sure to write and tell me what you think about Rough Stuff. I want to hear from you. Also, check out the websites of our featured artists from this and previous issues, many of whom accept commissions: Art Adams:www.tslendinga.com/adams/aacomics.htm Brian Apthorp: www.westworld.com/~lapthorp/briantex.html John Byrne: www.byrnerobotics.com Paul Gulacy: www.gulacy.com Jerry Ordway: www.jerryordway.com P. Craig Russell: pcraigrussell.net Lee Weeks: members.aol.com/inkdropinc/leeweeks.htm

Mike Allred: www.aaapop.com Frank Brunner: www.frankbrunner.net Alan Davis: www.alandavis-comicart.com Kevin Nowlan: members.cox.net/nowlanink/63.html George Perez: www.george-perez.com Matt Wagner: www.mattwagnercomics.com/home.html

Bob McLeod Editor mcleod.bob@gmail.com www.bobmcleod.com PO Box 63 • Emmaus, PA 18049 2

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

MIKE ALLRED

I S T A R T

e Allred, e heard of Mik I had of cours art up to en much of his but I’d never se ther all pleasure to ga a as w it So . now eow you, and hop sh to k or w t ea ce. His this gr a wider audien to t ar an m ad M the best fully expose his e fetched one of er h n ow sh ch sket ction!

Wonder Woman Day charity au an om W r de on cent W prices at the re

MIKE ALLRED: A page in progress from the upcoming Madman Atomic Comics series.

BOB MCLEOD: For the students among you, since Mike left me some room, I’m taking this opportunity to do some teaching. I really like the way Mike’s drawing different types of autos here, instead of just generic cars.

He’s also composing with a lot of diagonals and placing his focal points well, i.e. the face, hands, and feet are all carefully placed and unobstructed.

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred

MIKE ALLRED

D U R E F E A T

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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MIKE ALLRED: This was a trip!

Early in the days of the Legend imprint we were able to play with each others characters.

This was when Mike Mignola’s Hellboy made a brief appearance in Madman Comics. I wish I had worked up a bigger plot for Hellboy to take part in.

BOB MCLEOD: Notice how he drew Madman’s arm beyond the panel border. Failing to do this can result in the forearm looking unattached.

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred Hellboy TM & ©2007 Mike

MIKE ALLRED

Mignola

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

MIKE ALLRED: I did have a bigger picture for Frank Miller and Geof Darrow’s Big Guy, still one of my all time favorite comics.

The 2-issue team-up (#6 & 7 of Madman Comics) became the comic book debut of their character.

These copies were made so Frank could write Big Guy’s final dialogue, which explains the blank balloons.

BOB MCLEOD: Look how 3-dimensional the figures look in panel three because he used a 3/4 view. Notice also the near hand and foot of Big Guy are larger than the far ones, but not extremely so.

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred Big Guy TM & ©2007 Frank Miller &

MIKE ALLRED

Geof Darrow

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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MIKE ALLRED: One of my favorite collaborations ever!

Working with Geof Darrow and Frank Miller on a crossover with their creation THE BIG GUY.

BOB MCLEOD: Notice how the Madman figure is a different size in each panel on these pages, and how he keeps changing our viewpoint. Variety like this is what keeps the visuals interesting.

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred Big Guy TM & ©2007 Frank Miller & Geof

MIKE ALLRED

Darrow

MIKE ALLRED: The Big Guy’s appearance in Madman Comics #6 & #7 was his first comic book appearance, which gave me access to tons of Geof’s designs long before the giant series would see print. Pure fun!

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred Big Guy TM & ©2007 Frank Miller & Geof Darrow

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

This was pure joy and contains one of my all-time favorite Madman moments when The Big Guy shoves Madman into a dumpster and uses a VW Bug to keep the lid shut.

BOB MCLEOD: For you inkers: It’s a good discipline to ink the outlines like this

MIKE ALLRED

MIKE ALLRED:

before you start putting in any rendering or blacks. Taking a methodical approach gives the art a unified and consistent look.

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred Big Guy TM & ©2007 Frank Miller & Geof Darrow

MIKE ALLRED: Here’s another page from the first issue of the new Madman series.

BOB MCLEOD: Drawing a car with the door open like this is very difficult. Students should get reference and learn to draw cars from all angles, being careful to keep everything in perspective.

Also, study how Mike’s drawing Madman’s hair. The artist I’m critiquing in the back of this issue is struggling with this.

Madman TM & ©2007 Mike Allred

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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MIKE ALLRED: A Superman drawing, warming up for a possible collaboration with Paul Chadwick.

BOB MCLEOD: Notice how each building is designed a certain size and shape in order to fill a certain negative space, not just drawn any old place.

The building behind his foot is important to show depth.

Notice also the careful, natural positioning of the fingers.

Learn to draw hands!

Superman TM &

MIKE ALLRED

©2007 DC Comics

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

MIKE ALLRED: A drawing for a “Wonder Woman Day” charity event.

BOB MCLEOD: This beautiful Wonder Woman drawing sold for one of the highest bids in the charity auction.

It demonstrates that you don’t need to exaggerate the female form to draw beautiful women.

And I like an artist who isn’t afraid to draw feet!

Wonder Woman TM

MIKE ALLRED

& ©2007 DC Comics

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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MIKE ALLRED: The splash page for The Untold Tales of Spidey annual #1.

BOB MCLEOD: Again, what wonderful diagonals!

Not a vertical or horizontal line to be found. He’s also balancing his blacks well around the page. All artists should start with simple, fundamental figures like these before adding bulging muscles and complex rendering.

Mr. Fantastic TM & ©2007 Marvel

MIKE ALLRED

Characters, Inc.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

MIKE ALLRED: A page from the Untold Tales of Spider-Man Annual #1 Joe Sinnott’s in progress inks over my humble pencils.

That was a huge thrill.

Fantastic Four and Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel

MIKE ALLRED

Characters, Inc.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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D U R E F E A T

I S T A R T

JOHN BUSCEMA

hear that rtened lately to ea sh di en be I’ve much s haven’t seen n fa ic m co t en curr 0s a! During the ’7 em sc u B n h Jo work by l rsonified Marve pe lly ca si ba e h to ink. and ’80s, vorite penciler fa y m ay aw d far an you here Comics. He was cil art to show n pe t ea gr is h o much of OUGH STUFF There’s way to re to visit the R su be so e, ac in our limited sp e more! site to see som page of my web

BOB MCLEOD I’ve unfortunately never seen Buscema pencil anything like this before. John was a Frazetta fan, and this may have been inspired by the many tonal pencil renderings that Frank did.

Conan TM & ©2007 Conan

JOHN BUSCEMA

Properties Intl. LLC

BOB MCLEOD Buscema often filled up the backs of his pages with little sketches, in pencil or ink, and we’re presenting as many of them as we can squeeze in on these pages, and in the margins of the other pages. These are just a few of the hundreds.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

BOB MCLEOD I like this because of the graceful, balletic composition of such a violent scene. Notice all of the foreshortening as the various forms come forward and recede in space.

Conan is twisting and writhing as much as the snake!

Conan TM & ©2007 Conan Properties Intl.

JOHN BUSCEMA

LLC

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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BOB MCLEOD I originally photocopied this off of the back of a Conan page when I was working in the production department at Marvel. John had put all this work into this figure just for the pleasure of drawing him. It’s fairly common knowledge that Buscema often drew sketches on the backs of his pages to “warm up” before drawing a page. Imagine my surprise when the inked pages came back to the office and I discovered that inker Ernie Chan had inked this figure, also just for fun! You can see Ernie’s inked version on the Rough Stuff page of my website: www.bobmcleod. com/roughstuff.htm

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

BOB MCLEOD Buscema’s habit of drawing on the back of his pages inspired many other artists to do likewise, but they soon gave it up because no one could compete with Big John.

Many of these designs would find their way into story panels, but just as many or more were never used for anything more than John’s own practice and amusement (and ours!).

JOHN BUSCEMA

Courtesy of Joe Jusko

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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BOB MCLEOD This is a great example of how Buscema worked. He decided on camera angles and the composition in a rough layout, usually on tracing paper, then lightboxed the rough onto a sheet of Marvel paper. His breakdowns often had some blacks indicated, depending on how much time he had, but he usually just gave the inker the absolute minimum needed. You had to know what you were doing to ink John.

JOHN BUSCEMA

The Avengers, Captain America TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

BOB MCLEOD Silver Surfer #12: These are early pencils, when Buscema was much tighter, and the influence from strip artists is very evident. Having inked so many of his breakdowns, it’s stunning to me to see him take the time to so completely fill in the blacks!

Courtesy of Michel Maillot Silver Surfer TM & ©2007 Marvel

JOHN BUSCEMA

Characters, Inc.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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BOB MCLEOD These Thor drawings were done in 1966 when Buscema returned to drawing comic books for Marvel after an eight year period doing commercial illustration. In his Thor, you can see the early beginnings of his love for fantasy that would later bloom when he took over Conan the Barbarian from Barry Smith in 1973.

Courtesy of Michel Maillot Thor TM & ©2007 Marvel

JOHN BUSCEMA

Characters, Inc.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

BOB MCLEOD Well, I missed this one when it came out! Did they write it just for John?? As great as he was on most books, it was generally agreed that he was never the right artist for Spider-Man. I guess because the poses were too unrealistic. But this scene is right up his alley. You can see he really had fun with this especially in the inks! I really wish we had a larger scan of this to show you.

These are some of the tightest inks I’ve ever seen by Buscema. He really had fun on that tree. I sure hope they colored this well. Tell me they

JOHN BUSCEMA

did!

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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BOB MCLEOD Well, this is just amazing. Buscema displays his wonderful inking ability over incredibly loose breakdowns without first tightening up the pencils at all. You can see he’s feeling his way in the inks, moving around to whatever interests him in each panel. He’s so confident in his inking and the finished images are so clear in his mind that he only needs to establish the basic layout and proportions before he starts final details in ink. Let me just clue you in if you don’t realize: very few artists can do this!

Conan TM & ©2007 Conan Properties Intl.

JOHN BUSCEMA

LLC

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

BOB MCLEOD Tarzan #9 page 17 This page was inked

by Alfredo Alcala, who was a brilliant inker, but too overpowering for my taste. The difference between his inked head in panel 3 and the rough here is striking. It’s also interesting to note that in this rough, the figure in panel 5 is placed up high in the panel, creating a dramatic sense of height. In the comic, the amount of text evidently forced the figure to be lowered, and the effect is lost altogether.

See the printed page on my site at www.bobmcleod. com/roughstuff.htm Courtesy of Lynn Walker Tarzan TM & ©2007 ERB Inc.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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BOB MCLEOD I know Buscema was reluctant to take on Tarzan because he didn’t want to compete with his idol, Hal Foster (not to mention Joe Kubert), but I think this shows that John’s Tarzan was totally his own and equal to anyone’s.

As much as I usually like John’s inking, I think this pencil version is far superior to his inked version, which was printed in issue #1 of Marvel’s Tarzan and can be seen here: www.bobmcleod. com/roughstuff.htm Tarzan TM &

JOHN BUSCEMA

©2007 ERB Inc.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

BOB MCLEOD This is such a great example of Buscema’s process.

First the rough, followed by his finished pencils, which he later inked himself. I’m very pleased to add that I was recently commissioned to ink this piece by lightbox by the owner of the rough, Brad Burch.

You can see my inked version, along with Buscema’s own inked version, on my site at : www.bobmcleod. com/roughstuff.htm

The inked version of the languorous La of Opar was published in Marvel Comics’ Tarzan #3 (August, 1977).

Buscema’s figures of both sexes always had some meat on their bones, and his women always looked like they would be all you could handle. He didn’t exaggerate their attributes, he just made them solid.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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What Did You Say,

BREAKD

P

By Bob McLeod

enciling in comic books takes many forms. In the first issue of Rough Stuff, I talked a bit about how pencils have gotten increasingly “tight” and exact in recent years. If you missed that article, you can still get a copy of our first issue at the TwoMorrows website. There’s also a small excerpt from it on my website. In that article, I also mentioned breakdowns, which played a large part in my career, both as a penciler and as an inker. Some readers

asked me to explain what breakdowns are (no, I don’t mean a nervous breakdown, though breakdowns can sure make one nerv-

ous), and explain in detail about roughs and thumbnails, etc. Since this magazine is all about the various forms of preliminary art, I think it would be useful to get our terms defined and make sure we all understand exactly what we’re looking at in these pages.

GIL KANE See the finished art based on this Gil Kane Star Hawks thumbnail at www.bobmcleod.com/roughstuff.htm.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

You’re Having a

DOWN?!?

L

et’s start with a “thumbnail”. In comics,

tion to create the “composition”. The terms “composition”

JOHN BUSCEMA

thumbnails are usually bigger than the very

and “design” are often used interchangeably, but in

This is a rough by John Buscema for the cover of Galactus the Devourer #2.

small images you see on the web which are

comic art you can usually think of objects as being

called thumbnails. A comic thumbnail is usu-

designed, and scenes as being composed. So generally,

ally about 4" tall. It’s used by the artist to compose a page quickly, rather than spending the time drawing it full-size. That way, it can be discarded without having wasted too much time, and the small size keeps the artist from getting caught up in details and forces him to focus on layout. An artist might draw three or four thumbnail cover sketches to show to an editor, or just to get his ideas down on paper for his own use. Neal Adams used to draw 4 amazingly detailed thumbnail pages, each on a quarter section of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, and then enlarge and trace them using a projector called an art-o-graph. I think he did it just to intimidate the rest of us, which it definitely did! Gil Kane also often used thumbnails for his covers and pages, but his were more like what you’d expect.

Then there’s what’s known as a “rough”. Roughs are usually full-size, but very loose, sketchy drawings typically used just to establish the size and position of forms from a certain viewpoint. There are very few details, if any. As with a thumbnail, the purpose of the rough is to establish the “layout”, which simply means placing the various elements (figures and backgrounds) of the page into posi-

Neal Adams used to draw 4 amazingly detailed thumbnail pages, each on a quarter section of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, and then enlarge and trace them using a projector called an art-o-graph. I think he did it just to intimidate the rest of us, which it definitely did!

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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JOHN BUSCEMA

when we speak of composition we mean the arrangement

added. My very first color comic inking job was over his

MICHAEL GOLDEN

of the various elements to make pictures. When we speak

breakdowns on Ka-Zar #7! What a trial by fire that was!

Two examples of breakdowns: Conan #123 p.1 by John Buscema and Howard the Duck #6 p.33 by Michael Golden. You can see a breakdown from New Mutants #75 by John Byrne at www.bobmcleod. com/roughstuff.htm.

Howard The Duck, New Mutants TM &

of design, we mean the way something looks, such as a

On the other hand, Michael Golden’s breakdowns are

character or a costume. Roughs are often used as a struc-

very clean, lightboxed line drawings that are all an inker

ture to trace on a lightbox to make a more detailed, finished

could ask for. The main difference between breakdowns

drawing. A rough might also be called a “prelim” or prelimi-

and finished pencils is that breakdowns usually don’t

nary drawing. A prelim is technically any drawing related to

have any rendering details, lighting or blacks added. The

but prior to the finished art, which is what this magazine is

idea behind using breakdowns is that the penciler can

all about. You can see a Neal Adams Green Lantern rough

spend his time doing what he’s supposedly best at: sup-

online at www.bobmcleod.com/roughstuff.htm

plying the layout and visual storytelling. The inker can

A “breakdown” is a step beyond the rough. The drawing is usually still somewhat loose, but is not so sketchy.

Each artist has his own style of breakdowns. On one end

also spend his time doing what he’s supposedly best at: refining the drawing and rendering details with style.

As I explained in my previous article, “finished” pencils

of the spectrum, John Buscema’s breakdowns used a

have changed in recent years. Until approximately the

Characters, Inc.

broken line technique that was almost impressionistic

1990s, finished pencils were still often very open to

Conan TM & ©2007

and totally intimidated many an inker, but the drawing

interpretation by the inker. The blacks and details were

problems were nevertheless basically all solved, and the

usually mostly all there, but they and the drawing itself

drawing just needed to be refined and surface details

were less exact. The intent of the penciler was not really

©2007 Marvel

Conan Properties Intl. LLC

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

to totally finish the art in pencil, but rather to give all the information needed to finish the art in the inking. The look of the finished art could vary quite a bit depending on who inked it. The various inkers over Jack Kirby’s pencils are a good example of this, or the various inkers over Neal Adams’ pencils.

Today, the intent of the penciler is usually to draw every detail exactly as it should look when printed. Many editors have come to expect this from a penciler. As a result, some books are now printed directly from the pencils, with no inking involved. The pencils are scanned into a computer and Photoshop is used to adjust the contrast so that the gray pencil line looks black. When an inker is used, the finished art often looks much the same whoever inks it. Inkers would no doubt argue this point, and there are obviously subtle differences in line weight and added details, etc., but usually nowhere near the differ-

Until approximately the 1990s, finished pencils were still often very open to interpretation by the inker. The blacks and details were usually mostly all there, but they and the drawing itself were less exact. The intent of the penciler was not really to totally finish the art in pencil, but rather to give all the information needed to finish the art in the inking. The look of the finished art could vary quite a bit depending on who inked it.

DAVE COCKRUM SCOTT EATON This page from XMen #94 by Dave Cockrum was considered tight pencils before, but the Thor#78 page by Scot Eaton is an example of a typical finished page today.

Obviously, the inker plays a much less important role today.

The X-Men and Thor TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy of Drew Geraci

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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ADAM HUGHES (below) Lara Croft by the most indemand sketch artist, Adam Hughes. This is about as finished as a “sketch” should be in my opinion, though my own sketches are usually in ink. (right) Here’s another sketch by Hughes showing how far we’ve strayed from sketching and toward illustration.

ence between Joe Sinnott inking Kirby vs. Vince Colletta inking Kirby, for example. There are still some inkers who stand out from the crowd, but they’re seldom given the leeway to add their style to the pencils in the way it was possible to do on the looser pencils of the past.

Lastly, a word about “sketches”. I guess comic artists began drawing sketches during the 1960s when comic conventions originated. Many, if not all, of the artists did them for free! Most European artists still do free sketches. But these sketches were typically small, rough sketches done quickly in a few minutes. I once sat next to Al Williamson at a convention in the early 1970s and watched him do a wonderful Flash Gordon sketch in about 5 minutes. It was maybe 4” tall and showed Flash standing on an alien landscape with his gun drawn. But it was very loose

and “sketchy”. No way could I have inked it without finishing up the drawing. In the first place, it wasn’t meant to be inked, and in the second place, I think he drew it in ink with a ballpoint pen without penciling it first! Now, that’s a “sketch”!

After a couple years, however, the fans began reselling those convention sketches, and the artists began to feel used, so they started charging for sketches.

The average price for all artists doing sketches was $25 for about 20 years. But since they were charging, many artists started feeling obligated to give the fans more for their money. Additionally, more younger artists began doing sketches at conventions, and they wanted to do the best drawings they could to impress their fans and their peers. Over the years, convention sketches have become more and more elaborate and expensive, often costing hundreds of dollars. Many of them, and not just the expensive ones, cannot properly be called sketches at all. They’re often actually finished illustrations, but as long as they’re drawn or even just sold at a convention, they’re still called sketches by most people.

OK, then, now that our terms have been defined and we’re all on the same page, so to speak, just sit back and enjoy the show!

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

D U R E F E A T

I S T A R T

E T T E U Q A P K C I N YA

adian is a French-Can te et qu Pa k ic n Ya sure of inko I had the plea h w t tis ar ic m co ago. His WOMAN years ing on WONDER ul, and if amic and beautif ly will be pencils are dyn already, he sure ts tis ar te ri vo fa your r the radar he’s not one of hat flying unde ew m so en be s e’ as is! H to be recognized af ter you see th re su s e’ h , is th ith talent like up to now, but w ars to come. in comics in ye ts tis ar p to e th one of

YANICK PAQUETTE: Avengers #56, pg. 12 Wide screen horizontal shots have been my basic page structure for a while now. I blame Brian Hitch’s evil influence.

YANICK PAQUETTE: Avengers #56, pg. 4 This was a monthly book and I was feeling bad for Ray Snyder having to ink that Optic-gray city in Panel 2. Yet I still believed it provided a nice layering contrast with the white clouds.

BOB MCLEOD: Students take note: This is a perfect sample page.

Great character shots, great camera movement, long shots, close-ups, sexy women, detailed backgrounds, good composition and clear storytelling; everything an editor wants to see from an artist!

The Avengers TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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YANICK PAQUETTE: Bulleteer #1, cover Eventually, that building background got lost in the printed version.

BOB MCLEOD: Note Yanick’s carefully drawn windows. You’d be surprised how many artists don’t understand how windows are constructed.

And his bricks are weathered and indicated by shadow rather than totally outlined.

Bulleteer TM &

YANICK PAQUETTE

©2007 DC Comics

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

YANICK PAQUETTE: Bulleteer #2, cover All of Seven Soldiers’ second covers were head shots.

BOB MCLEOD: This is a good lesson in 3/4 view facial construction.

Study the features, nose, lips, and eyes.

They change as the head turns. I also like her neck a lot.

It’s the subtleties that make figures fascinating, such as the careful curves of her lips, and the shape of the eyebrows. Loading on the mascara like this helps make a woman’s face more attractive in comics, too.

Bulleteer TM &

YANICK PAQUETTE

©2007 DC Comics

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YANICK PAQUETTE: Code Name: Knockout #7, pg. 11 Writer Robert Rodi had some hallucinatory scenes in there which gave me the liberty to go surreal in the background details.

BOB MCLEOD: I love the details in Yanick’s backgrounds. He draws great cars, and he knows perspective, but his sense of design is what really stands out. Study how he masterfully uses diagonals. Just try to find a vertical or horizontal shape or line.

Code Name: Knockout TM &

YANICK PAQUETTE

©2007 DC Comics

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

YANICK PAQUETTE: Terra Obscura, vol. 1 #2.

I’ve always been a Wrightson fan.

BOB MCLEOD: All those X’s indicate where the inker should add black, of course.

Notice that some of the blacks on the machinery will fade into the black behind it. The inker must decide whether to leave a white line separating them or just let them blend. And many beginning pencilers try to skip studying the skeleton, but here’s one place where it obviously pays off.

Terra Obscura TM & ©2007 America’s

YANICK PAQUETTE

Best Comics LLC

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

33

YANICK PAQUETTE: Terra Obscura, Vol. 1 #4.

This huge alien engine is indeed a collage of actual car engine elements.

Terra Obscura TM & ©2007 America’s Best Comics LLC

YANICK PAQUETTE:

YANICK PAQUETTE

Terra Obscura, Vol. 1 #5.

34

I’ve drawn so many canyons and rocks in these books.

BOB MCLEOD: See Yanick’s note at the lower right apologizing to the inker for making him ink all this detail? I wonder if the writer even thought twice about having Yanick draw it all! If anyone in comics draws better backgrounds than Yanick, I haven’t seen them.

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YANICK PAQUETTE: Terra Obscura, Vol 2 #1.

I guess Kirby’s way of doing techno random abstractions influenced me.

Although I’m more 3-D oriented, the high contrasted, almost checker-boardish aspect of it remains.

BOB MCLEOD: The solid white and solid black areas here are important to balance against all the complex grey patterns. And notice the backward ‘S’ flow as your eye follows the figures from panel to panel.

YANICK PAQUETTE

That’s no accident.

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

YANICK PAQUETTE: Terra Obscura, Vol 2 #2 This mini-series offered me the chance of drawing some creepy stuff.

BOB MCLEOD: Great flow on this page as well. A ‘C’ curve following the father’s face in every panel. I love the way Yanick drew the morgue guy’s face between the feet. And if he didn’t go camp out in a morgue to draw this scene, he sure makes you think he did. His art is just plain fun to see.

Terra Obscura TM & ©2007 America’s

YANICK PAQUETTE

Best Comics LLC

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INTERVIEW

JOHN ROMITA JR.

By Bob McLeod

F

or my money, there’s nobody working today who exemplifies Marvel Comics more or better than John Romita Jr. He’s been penciling for Marvel for over 30 years and I’ve watched in admiration as he continues to improve every year.

His pencils are fun to ink, too. But his debut back in the 1970s was not given the warm welcome you might expect

for the son of Marvel’s own art director and longtime renowned Spider-Man artist. There were many who bristled at him daring to follow in his revered father’s footsteps, and he faced quite an uphill battle proving his mettle, but prove it he has. Like his father, he’s well known for his exciting visual storytelling on his Spider-Man work, but he’s equally well known for his hard-hitting Punisher work, and his powerful recent work on the Hulk, along with many other titles. It was an honor to interview him for this issue and I was blown away by his pencils shown here. When I called, he had to turn down his TV to talk. I asked what he was listening to while he worked: JOHN ROMITA JR.: I listen to British comedy on Fridays…

BOB MCLEOD: No kidding!

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, it cracks me up.

MCLEOD: Do you have a different thing you listen to every day?

ROMITA JR.: No no, it’s just on Fridays. I TiVo all the British comedies from the previous Fridays and during the day on Friday I get sick of talk radio, so I listen to comedy. This is true! I get one day a week where I just listen to comedy.

MCLEOD: I like British comedies, too.

ROMITA JR.: I love British comedies. Because during the week it’s depressing enough to listen to talk radio and politics, and instead of throwing things at the television I just put on comedy on Fridays.

MCLEOD: I can’t listen to talk when I’m penciling. Music is all right, but I just can’t concentrate with people talking.

ROMITA JR.: I tried listening to music and then I found myself bobbing my head (laughs) and I was losing concentration…and some songs I hate... even on my favorite blues channels, I get annoyed ‘cause some songs I don’t like. I listen to talk radio even with the commercials, it frustrates me sometimes because I hate the guys I listen to, but still it gets my system going, it’s almost like exercise, whereas music almost puts me to sleep sometimes. I tried listening to classical.

38

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

JOHN ROMITA JR. The Hulk cover pictured here is an example of my attempt at channeling Jack Kirby’s power.

Most notable of Jack’s work, in my opinion, was the feeling of mass and weight, coupled with that power.

As a young artist, I had John Romita, John Buscema and Jack Kirby, in the back of my mind as I worked. I imagined John Romita’s SpiderMan, his storytelling and the depiction of women. I imagined John Buscema’s grace and illustrative beauty. Then, when there was no need for Spidey, women or grace, and there was a need for “balls to wall” comic choreography, I attempted to channel Jack Kirby.

I repeat, I attempted! It looked great in my mind... but by the time it got to the end of my fingers and on the paper, it, sadly, was mine.

The Hulk TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

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JOHN ROMITA JR. Black Panther #1, pg. 1 Working on the Black Panther was a joy for a lot of reasons... One was using Jack Kirby’s FF run as reference, another was working with Reggie Hudlin, and the other was working with Klaus Janson, who is my favorite artist to work with.

I think I referenced this assignment more than any other I’ve worked on. I spent hours online, locating and printing out material related to Africa. It was more challenging, artistically, than any other title. However, it was more rewarding, artistically, also. This work is among my favorites.

I don’t say that easily because I always seem to feel there’s room for improvement whenever I go over the finished product.

Black Panther TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

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ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

Classical puts me to sleep because I use it to go to sleep.

And then the blues gets me boppin’, and then some songs are annoying, and the same for jazz. The progressive jazz is screechy and it gets annoying. Anyway, so now you know all about my habits.

MCLEOD: Well, that’s an interesting thing to know.

ROMITA JR.: Let me put on a headset and put you on speaker. This way I can actually work and talk to you at the same time.

MCLEOD: That’s amazing that you can actually work while we’re doing an interview. I could never do that.

ROMITA JR.: I can also talk and walk at the same time!

MCLEOD: (laughs) OK, so let’s get going: where and when were you born?

ROMITA JR.: I was born in Brooklyn, NY on August 17, 1956.

MCLEOD: And where do you live now?

ROMITA JR.: I live in Port Jefferson, Long Island.

MCLEOD: Have you ever lived anywhere other than around the NY area?

ROMITA JR.: Yeah! I spent the previous nine years in San Diego.

MCLEOD: Oh, no kidding! I didn’t know that.

ROMITA JR.: That’s where my wife is from. Up until about a year ago I was out in San Diego.

MCLEOD: But you were still working for Marvel during those years, right?

JOHN ROMITA JR.

ROMITA JR.: Oh sure, as long as Fed Ex can reach you…

Black Panther #1, pg. 13

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

I remember this vignette well. The idea was to have the Boer Captain look through his telescope

MCLEOD: Yeah. Do you have any brothers or sisters?

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, I do. I have one older brother and his name is Vic and he lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife Nancy and his two daughters, Allegra and Christa.

MCLEOD: Has he ever had any interest in art?

to check up on the Wakandans. He then has something obscure his view and, when he re-focuses it ends up being a rather scary image, to him, of the Black Panther. In this instance, the Black Panther is an ancestor of the present day Panther (for explanation, please pick up the TPB... shameless plugger, that I am).

The only thing, in retrospect, I would have done differently is for the page to be turned before

ROMITA JR.: He doodled a little as a young boy… when

seeing this version of the Panther. Since, as I recall, this was the first image of the Panther, it

we were both very young, when my father was doing

would have been great to see a full page shot of him in all his glory. It worked out fine the way it

Spider-Man, there was a novelty to it, but when it didn’t

was but illustrates the difference between “script” and “plot” storytelling.

come to him easily, I think he abandoned it.

Black Panther TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

MCLEOD: (laughs) MCLEOD: Yeah, my older sister was like that. Do you

ROMITA JR.: He was that way when he was a baby and

have any children?

even at 10 he’s still that way.

ROMITA JR.: I do. I have a son, Vincent, and he’s 10 and he is such a novelty in the house. He’s like having a car-

MCLEOD: Cool… How old were you when you started

toon character running around the house.

drawing?

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

41

ROMITA JR.: I’d say, according to my father, I thought I

trated with that he says I didn’t want to show him, and even

was younger, but he says about the time that he first

into college I didn’t want to bring any of my stuff home

started doing Daredevil, I started doodling. I think I was

because I was frustrated with it.

8. I don’t know if I did any doodling before that but he

MCLEOD: Well, was he...did you think of him as critical

said I made a concerted effort to draw then, when I first

or was he real supportive, or...?

watched him do superheroes. I read...he used to bring

ROMITA JR.: Always supportive…it was always my failing.

home some of DC’s superhero comics—Metal Men and

To this day it’s my failing. I’m very critical of myself, and I’m a

Hawkman and the like—when he was doing romance

perfectionist. Now where my father was a perfectionist and it

books, but apparently I couldn’t be bothered because of

paralyzed him, I’m a perfectionist and it invigorates me,

the romance books.

because I’ve always got to be better and better and better, which is good because my feet are on the ground, and

MCLEOD: (laughs)

there’s no such thing as an ego in the Romita family.

ROMITA JR.: So when he started drawing superheroes again, my father says I picked up the pencil.

MCLEOD: That’s true, I’ll back you up on that.

ROMITA JR.: Now my brother, who’s brilliant, has his share

MCLEOD: Well, you’re kind of unique, along with the

of ego...it’s a confidence thing, it’s not an ego. My confi-

Kubert brothers, in having such a renowned artist as your

dence is a little bit weaker than it should be. I know that I

father. Did you spend much time in his studio when you

could do a certain amount, and a certain quality, but it’s just

were growing up and were you welcomed there by him?

not good enough. Because there’s always, and these are

ROMITA JR.: The answer to the second question is very

the words of my father when I was a kid, “There’s always

welcome, and that’s something my father has over me. He

somebody better, bigger, stronger, smarter”.

has more patience than Job, and it’s not that I kick my son out of the office, but after a certain amount of time I start to

MCLEOD: Well, I think most artists feel that way, they

lose track of things and instead of turning around, picking

think they can always do it better and they can never

him up and taking him outside and playing ball with him like

quite measure up to their own opinion of themselves.

my father did, I get a little bit “OK, Vinny, I got to get back to

They’re just never as good as they want to be.

work, I’m running behind”. Whereas my father was always

ROMITA JR.: I think it’s excellent in an art field as long as

very patient with me and always had plenty of time, and he

it doesn’t paralyze you. My father wasn’t paralyzed as

says I was up near his desk fairly regularly once he started

much as it was—he was delayed. Me, I’m always thinking

doing superhero books, and then when I started drawing I

about it, and probably to a fault, if you ask my wife, but

didn’t take the artwork up to him per se, but I would go up

art envelopes me.

and watch him and then I would go down and draw. He would disappear up to his attic regularly and have overnights

MCLEOD: Did you ever visit the Marvel office much while he

and deadlines and we wouldn’t bother him then, but I would

was the art director? I never saw you up there when I was

go up and check on him once in awhile and I’d go rummag-

working in production, but I was only there for a short time.

ing through his attic and take a look at old comics, and then

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, I did visit, as a young teenager, and

when we moved to Queens, I did the same thing. I was look-

then when I went to college I would go up in between

in’ through the old books, the comics he brought home, and

semesters and make a pest of myself. I actually got some

I would sit there and read ’em.

freelance work in between my first and second year in college and got some sketching and pinups done for the British

MCLEOD: You said you would watch him and then go

department and another year of college went by and then

down and draw. Did you mean go down on the floor or

they offered me a position. So after my second year of col-

go downstairs out of his studio to draw?

lege I got the job as a production assistant, which was pret-

ROMITA JR.: I never drew in front of him and from what I

ty much a minimum wage apprenticeship job. And It helped

hear, I didn’t want to show him very much because I wasn’t

me in that at least I wasn’t a pest… I was at least making

very good, and (heh) things haven’t changed! He says that I

some use of myself (laughs).

was not ashamed, but I didn’t want to show him because it

42

was so...apparently in comparison, and as much as he want-

MCLEOD: What were you studying in college?

ed to see, I wouldn’t show him. Eventually he saw what I

ROMITA JR.: My major was in advertising illustration. It was

was doing, but because I wasn’t very good and I was frus-

a two-year school, a SUNY (State University of New York)

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

two-year school—but it was a great, fulfilling curriculum.

yet, just stuff on the floor, but my father’s

It had most everything, and according to several of my

office was an attic—an unfinished attic—

friends who are now teaching, guys that have graduated

with press board walls and he had

college, they said that that same curriculum pretty much

stacks and stacks of photos and maga-

envelopes the 4-year program. So we didn’t really get

zines and newspaper articles and clip-

shortchanged for only going the two years. I’m closer

pings and he had this old wooden

to my bachelor’s than I thought I would be after two years,

desk. And the desk looked a lot like

and that’s actually very exciting, but it was an advertising

the way you remember his desk look-

illustration course.

ing in the Marvel offices. You know, he had his little box for his ink, and

MCLEOD: Well, you mentioned your bachelor’s, are you

his little box for his whiteout, had his

thinking of ever completing that bachelor’s degree?

pens and his pen points, and his

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, but it’s only for a selfish point. If I get a

brushes, perfect, and that’s what it

chance to go back to college it’s because I’ve succeeded to

looked like. It was this perfect lit-

the point where I can retire and go back to college. (laughs) I

tle desk area and around him

don’t know if that’s ever going to happen, though.

was organized chaos.

MCLEOD: How does your studio

MCLEOD: (laughs) And

compare with your dad’s studio that

yours is similar?

he had back then?

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, it’s

ROMITA JR.: The studio that my father

similar! Only because

had in Queens Village looks a lot like

my wife hasn’t

my office right now. It’s a desk with

put a gun

a lot of stacks of books and

to my

stuff because we’ve only

JOHN ROMITA JR. This two-shot of Spidey brings two thoughts to my mind....

One: I love working with Klaus Janson because he adds his amazing style to the PENCILS while allowing the PENCILER to

moved into this house

show through. No small feat, that.

about a year ago, and

Two: I REALLY miss drawing Spider-Man...There is something

my office is the last

about the character and the history of the character that makes me

part of the house to be

crave the monthly title. I think after working on a slew of outer-

turned into sanity,

worldly special projects, I miss the grit of the street scenes.

no shelves

Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

KLAUS JANSON: The Spider-Man cover for Scarce was a bit more of a heavyhanded approach, compared to the Wolverine cover on page 64. I’ve always felt that I can control my impact on a penciler and do what’s asked of me. And since (if memory serves me right) I was asked to add something to the piece, I did. I adhered to the pencils on the figure but added a bit of background in a more or less spontaneous burst being careful to work with the design that John had indicated. I think I used a wide brush built for oil and acrylics to get some wider brush strokes and play with the dry brush effect. Almost a study in contrast: the slick inking of the figure next to the rougher brush work of the background. The point I would make is that I’ve found different situations to have different needs and I try to be versatile enough to pinpoint what that need is and fill Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

it. Always do what’s best for the story.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

43

JOHN ROMITA JR. Gray Area #1, pg. 15 The next two images (pardon the pun) are from a pet project of mine, The Gray Area.

The main character is, basically, me, without the corruption, drug dealing and infidelity, of course. The story, in a nutshell, is what happens to the majority of us, humans, who are imperfect. We lie, sometimes cheat, sometimes steal... but are basically good, so where do our imperfect souls go? Do we go to Heaven, hell or somewhere in between? I’ve always had this question in mind since my Catholic upbringing. So we (Glen Brunswick, and I) came up with the Gray Area.

The first page is soon after Rudy Chance has seen his wife and son murdered. His greed is partially responsible for their deaths and now he is going after the members of the “mob” that he feels caused all his problems.

I love choreographing scenes like these (and I think it’s my strength much more so than the art) because I feel like a director in a movie. If I were to actually direct a film, this would be the angles and cinematography I would use. I feel all good comic storytellers are directors. ©2007 John Romita Jr. & Glen Brunswick

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

44

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

head to get shelves up in my office just yet. That’ll happen, but we have other things to do on the house still.

MCLEOD: Did your dad sit down with you and actually try to teach you about drawing or did he leave you to pick it up on your own?

ROMITA JR.: He would only suggest or instruct when I came to him or it seemed appropriate. He was of the opinion that he didn’t want to alienate me from art. He wanted to alienate me from the cartooning industry because he felt that, as you remember, when we first started there were no royalties. The living was not that good. It was work for pay.

MCLEOD: When I started, everyone was saying comics were going to be gone in about five years.

ROMITA JR.: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that was, as you remember, some of the old-time staffers, Morrie Kuramoto and Danny Crespi, (imitating Morrie:)”...Just a matter of tiiime before they close it!”

MCLEOD: That’s right, yeah. (laughs) ROMITA JR.: So we started when it wasn’t that good pay, and he would say to me “You’re crazy”. And I was always telling him, “ah, a couple years between college and I’ll go back, and become a teacher.” And it just kind of perpetuated itself, and it got larger, but he didn’t want to alienate me from art, he just wanted to warn me against the comics industry. So when I would go up to him and ask him, that’s when he’d give me advice. Or he would work and I would watch him. Or I would read, for instance, a perfect example, a microcosm of my father’s teachings was reading Stan’s books, reading the FF or Thor and asking him what the meanings of some of the words were and he would tell me.

Or he’d say, “Get a dictionary” and I was learning to read as a young guy and learning how to improve my vocabulary, and that’s pretty much the way it went with art. I would go up to him and ask him “I’m struggling with this...” and even through college, “I’m struggling with this, what do you suggest”, but only if I asked him. It was never unsolicited advice.

MCLEOD: Do you ever, not actually ask him for advice, but do you discuss your work with him now?

ROMITA JR.: Oh, yeah. Much akin to when he was the art director, I would bring a full set of xeroxes to him and show it to him and to this day—he’s a fan of my stuff—but he’ll say, if there’s something that bothers him, he would say it—more now that he’s retired, he says “I really like this..”. He says “you do this better than this guy”, not necessarily mentioning names, but “you do this better than

most, you story tell this, this kind of design is this...I like

JOHN ROMITA JR.

the way you do this”. So it’s positive reinforcement as

Gray Area #1, pg. 26

he’s retired, but he was always offering advice. When he

This is the scene in

inks a cover, it’s improvement by example. He’ll fix something I’ve done, if a distortion is there, if I’ve rushed a cover out. He’ll repair it—the man does that and he can’t help it. Y’know? He’s like the mechanic, you bring a car that’s tuned improperly, he’ll tune it for you.

which Rudy is murdered (oh well, there goes one of the twists in the story...spoiler warning?). He and his

MCLEOD: Right, yeah, I got that impression when I was

partner are ambushed,

working in the office, he always knew how to fix every-

again due to his own

thing. So how old were you when you decided to make a

pigheadedness, leaving

profession out of this?

his partner in a

ROMITA JR.: Let’s see—I’m 50 now—I’d say, not that

coma...and Rudy to

long yet... I haven’t decided. I’m joking. I think I was in my

meet his destiny in the

teens when I got that job as the production assistant. I

Gray Area.

still wasn’t 100% sure but I knew it was a nice fill-in job,

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

45

and then when I got my first regular assignment on Iron

MCLEOD: Yeah, I took a class from John up at the

Man, I said, “I think I could try this for a little while” and

Marvel office. He had all of us come in to try to teach us

then it was cemented when royalties and salaries went

how to draw faster and that was one of his bits of advice.

up a little bit and I could make a decent living. I would

ROMITA JR.: The ironic thing is that after hearing that from

say—was it ’84? When were the royalties implemented?

John Buscema and watching my father labor, but then my

MCLEOD: It was before then, I think, maybe ’82 or

Raiders. There’s a new program implemented with Marvel

somewhere...

where I’m going to be working with an internship; a group of

ROMITA JR.: I think at that point when royalties came in

young guys, a newer version of the Romita’s Raiders. I’m a

father becoming a teacher, so to speak, with Romita’s

and Shooter would say something to the effect of “It can

consultant; I’ll be working with young artists that need to be

only get better from here,” then I remember leaning

more prolific and interns who want to be artists. And they’ve

towards “Let me stay with this a while longer and enjoy

gotten me to do that now.

it”. I was single and I didn’t have a large amount of responsibilities other than rent and a car payment—and a

MCLEOD: That’s great...

bar bill, of course.

ROMITA JR.: So it’s ironic that we’re back to Romita’s Raiders again. I don’t know if I’ll be as good a teacher as

MCLEOD: (laughs) When you first started out, did you

my father, though.

make a conscious effort to have a style that was different than your dad’s or did you try to draw like him?

MCLEOD: Well speaking of that, It must have been

ROMITA JR.: I’ve always tried to draw like my father,

tough for you, entering the same business and not only

John Buscema and Jack Kirby combined. And I tried to

following his legacy but even having his same name!

take parts of their work and it never came out the way I

ROMITA JR.: It actually worked against me, Bob. I had

wanted it—it always started out in my head what I’d seen

more nasty comments than you might imagine. I had a lot of

before from my father’s storytelling, Jack Kirby’s dynamics

nasty comments and it wasn’t just relegated to the first

and John Buscema’s elegance and that is an absolute

couple of years in the business. I heard them 20 years later.

truth, however it didn’t work out that way. Now, my style ended up being an amalgam of the three of them and the

MCLEOD: Oh, no kidding....!

inability of my hand to copy ’em. So I call it deadline

ROMITA JR.: Oh, I heard it from guys in bars, I heard it from

style. Whatever comes out on time is what I have.

guys, because I would hang around socially at Marvel occa-

MCLEOD: (laughs)

ments at meetings, “Just because your last name is Romita

ROMITA JR.: I think it harkens back to the days when

doesn’t mean you’re gonna to get what you want”. And he

you had to work fast enough to make a decent living that

was the editor-in-chief at the time!

sionally, some of the editors I won’t name would make com-

my speed and my, well I don’t know about lack of quality, but the quality from that speed was determined because

MCLEOD: Oh, that’s terrible.

of pure greed, the need to make more money! And I wish

ROMITA JR.: Actually editor-in-chief at a time when there

I could’ve been of the more European style where you

were several editors-in-chief. There was a period of time

work on a book for 6 weeks instead of 2 weeks....

where one editor-in-chief got fired and they had editorsin-chief by committee.

MCLEOD: Or even longer, yeah...

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, exactly, but it didn’t work that way.

MCLEOD: Yeah, I remember...

So, my style began because of the need for speed—and I

ROMITA JR.: One of those guys, who will remain name-

call it deadline style—I still do. I don’t remember con-

less, made that comment to me across a table full of

sciously going back and erasing as much as I needed to

people, at one of the retreats.

get it done. John Buscema said “throw your eraser away.”

Those were the words. Quote, unquote. He said it to my

MCLEOD: So how long did it take before you felt like

father—he told Frank Miller and me in the offices of

people at Marvel and the fans respected you for yourself

Marvel one day. “Throw away your eraser!” “Throw away

instead of just thinking of you as John’s son, or do you

your F’n eraser” he said. (laughs)

still have a problem with that?

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, I have a problem with that, but again

46

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

JOHN ROMITA JR. This page is part of the Punisher/Batman story I worked on and it was great for the sole reason of being able to draw Batman and the Joker, after never doing them before or after.

Working with Chuck Dixon and, of course, Klaus Janson on the monthly Punisher was a true pleasure but then being able to work on Batman only added to it.

I think drawing the Punisher , along with Daredevil, is, artistically, more fun than any other characters. I consider Spider-Man to be my all time favorite character, in general, but drawing-wise, the Punisher and DD take the prize. The Punisher reminds me, visually, of some family and friends...and DD is just very easy for me to draw.

There is a good story about the Punisher I’d like to pass along.

I had based my version of Frank Castle on a variety of people I knew but I distinctly remember thinking of John Buscema’s Conan when drawing his face.

During my run on Punisher, John Buscema himself was either working on a fill-in or a separate issue of the Punisher, and told the editor he was working with that he was basing his visual of the Punisher on my version! He said he liked it! What a compliment! Ironic, that he based it on mine when I was basing it on his visual of Conan!

When told of this he cracked up!

Punisher TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. Batman TM & ©2007 DC Comics

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

47

JOHN ROMITA JR. Wolverine #20, pg. 11 This page from Wolverine, Enemy of the State, was a perfect example of a writer knowing what he wants. There are more than a few times that I’ve thought the opposite and had to storytell my way out of a difficult situation that a writer has asked for.

Not in this case, which is a testament to Mark Millar’s abilities.

He asked for what he got: A close up of Wolvie, interrogating, so to speak, some slime ball about the whereabouts of a kidnapped young boy.

Then a close-up of the slimeball, then a close-up of Wolvie as he is shocked... to find, in the next panel, that he’s been run through... rather quickly!

A great vignette and all due to Mark!

Wolverine TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

48

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

that’s still self-imposed. There were many years when I

up just because they were too sensitive and couldn’t

got a lot of credit from writers, editors and people—

take the criticism.

Shooter gave me plenty. Bob Harras gave me plenty

ROMITA JR.: Absolutely. Absolutely,

before I found out he really didn’t like my stuff and was

and I think that if I didn’t have some

b.s.ing me, which is fine because not everybody’s going

diplomatic editors, there would’ve

to like your stuff, and you know we have to have thick

been times when I would’ve thrown

skins. But I don’t remember exactly when I felt I belonged,

it all in, because I remember feeling,

but it took quite a few years because there was already

after getting a couple of screw jobs

somebody better than me. Y’know, the Frank Millers, the

by some editors personally, not put-

John Byrnes, and even Paul Smith who I followed on the

ting me back on books after promis-

X-Men. I didn’t feel uncomfortable because of Romita,

ing me, that kind of thing, and find-

JOHN ROMITA JR. Wolverine #20, pg. 24 This image was the first real money shot of Wolvie in this mini-series. I remember drawing and redrawing this page because I wanted it to be special... And, in the words of John Buscema, I should have “thrown away my eraser” because the first drawing I did was as good as, if not better than, the final drawing. Oh well... live and learn.

Buscema and Kirby, because they, to me, were hog-wild. But the guys who were my contemporaries—there’s always somebody better. And I’m being 100% honest. And now these days, there are still guys better than me that are my age or new guys that come into the industry.

And all you gotta do is just go into message boards and find that out (laughs)…. They’ll tell you exactly what they think of your stuff.

MCLEOD: (laughs) ROMITA JR.: So I don’t remember the exact year but I think it took at least 10 years till I felt comfortable in my own skin, so to speak.

MCLEOD: Can you say a little more about how we do need to have a think skin because we do get such criticism in this business.

ROMITA JR.: Yeah. (sighs) My father always stressed you have to have thick skin, because I watched him agonize over the comments that “Romita’s a hack” and “Steve Ditko should always be drawing Spider-Man”. He said that it took a long time before he got over that. So he said you gotta learn to be thick-skinned about it. He said you’re going to have several bosses and then you’ll have fans. Before I got good enough to be even noticed I would hear comments like “How dare you, you’re following Paul Smith, you’re not that good”.

MCLEOD: (laughs) ROMITA JR.: But I didn’t take it too seriously at that time because I understood, I didn’t think I was that good anyway. It’s a vital thing to be thick skinned in any industry or any medium that is scrutinized by the public.

MCLEOD: Yeah, sure. I’ve seen people give Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

49

ing out that they didn’t like my stuff. I was tempted to tell

Ann Nocenti. Full pencils, storytell the hell out of it. Go.”

everybody to go F themselves, but there still is enough

And if not for Ralph and that period of time, I probably

positive reinforcement from people. Ralph Macchio prob-

would have quit. I was very close...

ably kept me from quitting after I got off the X-Men and experimented with Shooter on Star Brand. After that fell

MCLEOD: You’re kidding...

through, I was pretty down on myself and Ralph came to

ROMITA JR.: ...to going back to school, and destroying it

me and said “Listen, I always loved your stuff. Get on

all. So again, you gotta be thick-skinned. But then you still, if

Daredevil and do whatever you want. You’re workin’ with

you’re sensitive to a certain point, just underneath that, then you look for the positive reinforcement and you strive.

JOHN ROMITA JR. Wolverine #21, pg. 1 The last image was a cover, the second issue in the Wolverine, Enemy Of The State mini-series, I believe, and all I remember thinking was, okay, it takes place under water, inside a sinking S.H.E.I.L.D. vessel, there are lots of dead bodies, lots of mechanical imagery, the two figures are locked in an intense battle, it’s got to have an interesting design, the editor must love it, the assistant editor must love it, the readers must love it, the readers from Montana, Iowa, Missouri, Florida and New Hampshire, must love it... I must love it... AND it’s GOT to be drawn reasonably well!!! ...piece of cake!

Wolverine TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

MCLEOD: Well, the flip side is at least we do get a lot of positive reinforcement in this business. We get people often telling us “Great job” and “I’m a fan of your work” and everything that people don’t get in other jobs.

ROMITA JR.: Yes, absolutely. And the flip side of that thick skin is you have to have a diplomatic editor or not read all of your press clippings and try to pay attention to some of the positive letters you get. So I balance it out. And to tell you the truth, and this is probably a failing of mine, I read negative letters not because I’m a masochist, but because it drives me.

And Joe Quesada, and this was just last week on one of his little “cup-o’-joe”s, his weekly blog, said you take negative fan comments pretty much the way a baseball player, for instance he used this example—he used David Wright of the NY Mets—a brilliant young ball player, a helluva ball player—who, when Joe Quesada would go to a game, as good as this young ballplayer is, would hear from moronic fans how bad he was. “You’re an F’n this”, “you’re a piece of garbage” and then if David Wright would come to the stands and sign autographs, that same guy would kiss his posterior.

MCLEOD: (laughs) ROMITA JR.: So Quesada really right there gave a perfect example of the same thing we go through in comics. The same guy that’s anonymous on a comic message board who will tell you you’re a piece of garbage will at a convention come up and ask you for your autograph and a sketch!

So you take it with a grain of salt, do your best work, and if your editors like it, your editor-in-chief likes it... and your wife likes it and your father likes it, you’ll be okay!

MCLEOD: (laughs) Exactly. What determines the style that you use on a particular job, and do you see a certain direction your style is evolving toward?

ROMITA JR.: The direction my style is going towards is my attempt at getting better at the things I feel I’m weak at. I still feel I’m not as polished as I could be. My storytelling is strong, my overall mechanical art is, I’d say ‘B’, but I see weaknesses in certain things, little particulars I can’t really say right now, but I feel I’m always striving for

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

50

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

perfection I guess, and that drives my style. I read a lot of

inkers of our generation haven’t complained, but there

visuals, I should say, I look at photos and illustrations

are a fair share of guys who said well, I’m not sure how

from books as much as I can. I look at people’s faces,

to handle this shadow because you didn’t feather it.

I’m a people watcher to the nth degree. I will sit on a train and I will stare, without people knowing I’m staring

MCLEOD: (laughs)

at them, at profiles of people’s faces, the different char-

ROMITA JR.: That’s a perfect example of the lack of

acters of people’s faces. And I’ll make a note of it. My

artistic talent of inkers sometimes. What’s to keep a guy

wife spent 10 days in the hospital and I took my digital

from throwing in a little feathering himself?

camera and filled up a card with reference on hospitals.

I make sure I have reference on hospitals, because that’s

MCLEOD: Well, speaking of inking, I’ve never seen you

something that’s always been a weakness of mine, how

ink anything.

to draw a really good hospital room.

ROMITA JR.: I’ve inked my fair share of covers.

MCLEOD: Oh they’re tough, yeah, I’ve done that.

MCLEOD: Have you?

ROMITA JR.: Oh, I have a studious nature and a studious

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, and I’ve been offered the chance to

curiosity on how to improve myself and I let it flow. When I

ink a full issue and I think I balked at it because of the

see something I need to draw better, I’ll make a conscious

amount of time it would take. I’m going to try that again—I

effort to go out and look at it in real life and see if I can draw

miss it—but I’ve done a lot of covers. And since the early

it better. The face, the human face is a wonder to me, so I’m

’90s, they have used me more for my speed and my sto-

always working on that. The anatomy, I’m always workin’ on

rytelling and pencil ability than they need me for inking.

that. So my style and the future of my style is working

But I do miss inking a lot, because I think at this point, I

towards getting better and I guess nothing’s better than per-

can probably pick it up in a short time with a little bit of

fection so it’s that impossible goal of perfection.

work on my mechanical skills. In the meantime, they got

MCLEOD: So when you say better, though, do you want

I feel the need for the novelty.

me doin’ so much work I don’t feel the desire as much as it to be more detailed and illustrative or just better in the sense of structure…

MCLEOD: Right, but you do enjoy inking?

ROMITA JR.: The structure I’m not concerned as much

ROMITA JR.: I love it, I love it, because when I do conven-

about because I seem to be able to tell a story and

tions, it seems like I get there on a Friday, do a sketch on a

design pretty well. My layouts flow really nicely, even with

Friday morning and I fumble with it, and then Sunday after-

a difficult writer; and I don’t mean difficult bad, I mean

noon before I’m leavin’ my inking improves tenfold.

writers who will pace and choreograph in a difficult way.

The full script causes you to follow the choreography of

MCLEOD: Well, you said you really enjoy working with

a panel differently than if you lay it out for a plot ,so

Klaus, but his inking is so dominating and different from how

depending on the writer, I gotta learn how to do certain

you’d finish the art yourself, so why do you prefer inks like

things in a certain way and I have to improve my ability to

his to someone who would stay closer to your own style?

draw, but the structure and design I’m good with.

ROMITA JR.: I disagree for one little reason. I see myself

However, I still feel I’m not as polished as I could be. I

through Klaus but I see Klaus a lot. With Klaus, I was doing

think I could be tighter maybe, I don’t know, I’ve heard

full pencils and I saw enough of myself through it, even with

inkers groan about the fact that I’m not tight enough for

Klaus’ distinctive style, I never ever felt that Klaus obscured

them. I work with some young inkers sometimes.

me or covered me. So, it’s a personal opinion—I don’t know,

MCLEOD: Yeah, I hate that, because I think your pencils

and then they see me. A lot of editors that I’ve worked with

are perfect for an inker.

with Klaus say they absolutely see me because the one sim-

ROMITA JR.: You’re of the age of Klaus, and Bob

ilarity with Klaus and me is that we have a crisp, gritty,

some people have said the opposite—that they see Klaus

Wiacek, and that age are used to working with my style

blocky, weighty style, I guess. Klaus adds line—this is one of

of art. Now, I don’t know if that means it’s not tight

my favorite things about Klaus, is he adds line variations

enough, or you guys are just better artists than inkers are

where a lot of inkers don’t. I give a very linear set of pencils

these days, I don’t know. Klaus always said that my stuff

and I throw weight with the side of the pencil on figures, but

was good enough, and Bob Wiacek said it, and all the

I don’t necessarily make the exterior line heavy in certain

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

51

spots. Klaus will throw that in when he sees fit. So I see that

quently. I’m actually quicker than Neil Gaiman right now

style from Klaus and I see myself—now I’ve worked with

on The Eternals, so I can’t judge how many pages I’ve

other inkers who aren’t as talented as Klaus—and I see as

done, but I was told that come Hell or high water I was

much of their style as I do mine, but they’re not as good as

averaging 7 or 8 pages a week over a long period of

Klaus. So I think it’s a personal opinion, but I always enjoy

time—which means that there are weeks when you have

Klaus because I like the addition of his style.

difficult pages, when there’s interruptions, health or family, and there are weeks where I’ll put out fourteen pages

MCLEOD: Yeah, I think you guys are a very good fit for

so really, it’s an ebb and flow, and I would say 7-8 pages

each other.

a week, which is never a full week. I always seem to miss

ROMITA JR.: I think so too—and he’s a hell of a nice guy.

days during the week and have to work weekends.

There’s always some interruptions; especially with my son

MCLEOD: Oh, sure.

being born 10 years ago.

ROMITA JR.: A great friend—and he’s helped me through some tough times with deadlines. He doesn’t say a word

MCLEOD: And do you try to work regular hours if possible?

when I send him pages that are late, if I’ve worked through the

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, for instance this morning I got up at

night. Everybody forgets that if the penciler has to work

4:30 to get to the desk early because I knew I’d be going

through the night, then sometimes the inker does, too.

out to dinner with my parents tonight. Whenever that

MCLEOD: Yep. Do you have a preference about drawing

try to go to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, I try to work

happens, I anticipate that happening, I get up early. But I breakdowns or finished pencils?

Sundays, and I try to put in during the week, I try to put in

ROMITA JR.: I don’t ever want to do breakdowns again.

8-10-12 hours a day and on the weekends put in 3 or 4,

Because I don’t think I know how to. (laughs) I would work too

whatever I do on the weekend is cake unless there’s a

hard at the breakdowns and not save myself enough time.

deadline arriving. But I would say I start definitely every day by 10 and finish by 8 or 10 at night.

MCLEOD: I’m so surprised to hear that.

ROMITA JR.: I just don’t know where to stop. I don’t

MCLEOD: Wow, that’s late into the evening.

know what the inker would like.

ROMITA JR.: Yeah. Working at home and I stop to pick up my son at the bus stop, I stop to take him to ju-jitsu, I

MCLEOD: I wonder if that’s because the expectations of

stop to help him with his homework; that kind of thing.

the inkers have changed over the decades.

So there’s always interruptions, and I’ll work as many

ROMITA JR.: That might well be true. You remember the

hours after that as I can to make up for the gaps.

days when inkers were working on breakdowns regularly, and they expected the lack of finish. And now these days

MCLEOD: What’s your primary method of penciling? Do

I think appearance has more weight than substance and I

you like to use a blue pencil? A lightbox?

think inkers are well aware of that and have to spend

ROMITA JR.: Nope, no lightbox, no blue pencil, I lay out

more time on it and the days are gone where you would

on the page and tighten up on the same page.

knock something out overnight, but the happy medium is prevalent—well I don’t think it still is now—but I think that

MCLEOD: Do you do any art outside of comics?

inkers tend to be a little bit more flashy than they used to

ROMITA JR.: Yes, for novelty effect, I do portraits of

be where they need it and they’ll noodle on a cover or

people, caricatures of people. I got a great story. Today,

figure much more than they should. Maybe that’s the dif-

oddly enough, I got a letter from David Mamet, the play-

ference between then and now.

wright and producer and director. I did a caricature of him and his wife Rebecca being held by Spider-Man in

52

MCLEOD: Yep. What is your daily schedule like? What

two webnets. A friend of mine and his now present wife

hours do you typically work and how many pages do you

were getting married, and they are friends of the Mamets,

try to finish in a day?

and the Mamets offered to use their house for the wed-

ROMITA JR.: I have to get at least one finished page

ding reception. So my friend said what do you get David

done or the equivalent of three. I like to get several

Mamet? You don’t get them anything because they have

pages laid out in one day. I’ll lay out five or six pages in

everything. Since I’m a friend of yours, and they apparently

one day and tighten up one, two, or three a day subse-

are friends of comics, David Mamet knows of comics and

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

Here’s John Romita Jr.’s pencil version of our cover. You can’t see it well in this scan, but he had indicated the grey arc in the background. I really enjoyed inking this sketch, because he drew Spidey in a more cartoony style than he usually uses.

Sketch courtesy of Walt parrish

Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

53

knows of Spider-Man, he said “would you do me a favor

need art so much, it’s such a therapeutic thing, it’s the

and do me a caricature of David and his wife?” So a cou-

one thing I rely on because I’m good at it and I’m good at

ple years ago, I did a caricature of David Mamet and his

it because I rely on it, so to to speak. It’s therapeutic, and

wife—sent them a full page of Spider-Man sticking to a wall

I think I would need it even as a senior citizen. My father,

and holding the two of them in a net, and he’s distinctive

and this speaks volumes of his personality, doesn’t need

enough that I got him; his wife is devastatingly beautiful, so

it. He walked away! He worked so hard at it for so many

that was difficult. But I just got the card in the mail this

years, struggled and then even years later couldn’t do it

morning, a scribble by David Mamet saying thank you very

fast enough for his own good, so he walked away. He

much. It’s belated, he said, but thank you very much for the

doesn’t paint, he does covers once in a while, but he

caricature, we cherish it and thank you, signed David and

doesn’t have a “jones” for it. I go away on a vacation, 2

Rebecca. And I got such a kick out of that, because I had

or 3 days into a vacation I’m doodling on napkins in bars.

forgotten about it completely. So I do those kinds of things.

So it’s probably a personality flaw.

I did one for Jay Leno, I did one for Howard Stern, I did one for Bill O’Reilly, and I never heard back from Stern,

MCLEOD: Yeah. I don’t know if it’s a flaw, just a person-

never heard back from O’Reilly, but met Jay Leno and got a

ality trait.

handshake and a thank you. So I do those kinds of things,

ROMITA JR.: Yeah, OK, thank you. I can see myself, and

caricatures and portraits of people. I do it for friends and

my wife would attest to this, I can see myself needing it

family. It’s a lot of fun.

as a senior citizen, maybe not for public consumption, but for exercise the way I need to go to the gym in the morn-

MCLEOD: Do you ever do any painting? Watercolors or

ing. Because I’m vain, as vain as I need to be to keep

anything?

myself in good health. I’m also probably artistically vain

ROMITA JR.: No, but I have plans for my future, my

and will be that way when I get older.

retirement, my wife is demanding I get back to painting so that she can sell my paintings, in the south of France

MCLEOD: Does your son like to draw? Are we going to

or something like that. So I have every intention of getting

have a John Romita III drawing comics?

back to painting. I’m gonna retire from this someday and

ROMITA JR.: Possibly. He does like to draw, but at this

I’m gonna paint. I’ve been messin’ with watercolors on

point he’s still kinda sittin’ back and enjoying what I do

scraps of paper, playing with the washes. I’ve got a lot to

and what grandpa does. He doesn’t get frustrated ‘cause

get back, it’s almost like getting back to inking. I would

he can’t draw very well—he’s got a lot of my wife in him,

need a reorientation period.

in that he is so cool, he’s Clint Eastwood. He plays baseball and strikes out three times, he’s cool! I will agonize

MCLEOD: What are your goals as an artist and have they

over it. I agonize over everything. If it rains, I agonize. My

changed over the years?

son is just very cool. He’s like my wife. It falls off his

ROMITA JR.: I have a goal in the comics industry, and this

shoulder, he’s OK. So if he’s got anything from me, other

is so self-serving and shallow, I want to have one year when

than looks, hopefully it’ll be artistic talent.

either I have the best book or I feel that I’ve reached that high point. So it’s such a subjective thing, I don’t think that

MCLEOD: Do you have anything that you wanted to talk

will ever happen. So as long as I have that goal, I’ll stay in

about that I haven’t brought up?

the business, so I think I want to have one year where I really

ROMITA JR.: Other than, if anybody who reads this interview

feel in my gut that I hit a home run.

is an aspiring artist, that it’s still an ongoing learning process. I think if I wanted to pass anything of mine onto a young artist,

MCLEOD: That’s going to be tough to determine.

it’s to never be satisfied. And it really works. Just remember

ROMITA JR.: Yes, that is the point of the answer. I don’t

the words of my father, “there’s always somebody better,

know when I’ll ever feel that way.

smarter, bigger, stronger, and better looking. (laughs)That will keep your feet on the ground!

MCLEOD: Do you think you’d ever want to be either an

54

editor or an art director like your dad?

MCLEOD: Yep. All right, well thank you so much, John,

ROMITA JR.: Interestingly enough, I don’t think I’d be

it’s been great.

able to only because I would miss drawing. This is anoth-

ROMITA JR.: Thanks a lot, Bob, I appreciate it. It’s been

er failing of mine, and this is probably Psychology 101, I

great talking to you.

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

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COVER STORIES

W

hat happens between the initial layout of a cover, and the finished, printed piece? Usually a lot of changes—some brought about by the pencil artist, some by the inker (assuming they’re not the same person as the penciler), and some at the request of an editor or publisher.

BILL SIENKIEWICZ: The differences between Big John’s cover rough and the final breakdowns that I finished in ink were changes that I’m willing to bet were all, or in major part, subconscious on his part; changes he made because they “felt right” to him, and also improved the storytelling and dynamics. This artistic instinct on his part comes quite simply from years and years of drawing. For instance, note how he changed the position of Galactus’ outstretched thumb.

Personally, I believe he did this because the thumb in the rough covered what would have been Galactus’ “metallic eyebrow”, also quite possibly obscuring or confusing (even if only a bit) the intended focus of Galactus’ attention, while also diverting the

56

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

Surfer’s as well. So moving Galactus’ thumb forward and downward helped intensify the thrust, the force, of who really wields the true power on this cover here.

Note also the shift in the angle of the Surfer’s body compared to the sketch.

It’s a minor shift of ten degrees or less, but it’s enough to strengthen the dynamism of the piece. It’s now decidedly off-kilter (I mean that in the best of ways). It’s become a bit more unsettling than the sketch, which is much more straightforward. The breakdown I inked, emphasized by John’s indication of up-lighting, shows how even the smallest of adjustments by someone possessing the right degree of knowledge, ability, and instinct can take a good idea and make it even better. All that was left for me to do as finisher was to not screw it up. I used more pen than my usual brush, because I wanted to render Galactus’ face to a greater, smoother, more realistic degree, almost like a true pen and ink portrait that I felt he needed to have for this cover.

Characters TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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KLAUS JANSON Wolverine #21, cover This piece and the scarce cover on page 49 represent two different approaches to inking someone else’s pencils. I thought the Wolverine cover was just beautiful both in its thinking and its execution. It was part of a 12 issue run that was a highpoint for John Romita Jr. Part of the reason for that was Mark Millar’s script. I felt it was a super example of hard as nails writing that would challenge any artist, and John rose to that challenge incredibly well. I couldn’t say enough about what a great team those two make. And when the pencils are that good, I see my job as basically getting out of the way. I’ll help a little with depth by using a thicker line for the bottom of

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Elektra’s arms and legs and some of the Wolverine outline. But most of the pop against the background is taken care of by the black of the hair and costume. The background was essentially done in a dead line with little or no weight and some texture scribble to make it look organic.

To me, the cover is all about the circular design (almost a circle in a square), depth and the overlapping junctures. The claws of Wolverines left hand, for instance, overlapping on top of Elektra’s head scarf; the wrapping around Wolverines right arm; the two sais overlapping Wolverine, the bubbles, etc. Those little compositional details made the cover for me. They were just so very smart.

Wolverine and Elektra TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy of Philippe Cordier

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PRE-PRO

H

ave you ever wondered how your favorite pro’s art looked back before he turned pro, back when he was just sitting at home dreaming about becoming a comic book artist? How would his early efforts compare with yours? Well, each issue we’re going to show you some examples of just that! This issue, Lee Weeks shows us several examples of his early efforts, from age 12 right up to shortly before he broke in at Marvel! As good as these are, wait until you see what he can do now, in his feature on page 72!

LEE WEEKS This page is out of a hardcover blank sketchbook my older brother gave to me for Christmas in 1974. I was 12 years old and began filling the book with my own comic book stories. Often I’d get my younger brother, Dean, to do the coloring. He was much better and neater with the colors than I was.

All four of my brothers could draw. I just happened to be the one who couldn’t put it down, but all of them had chops.

Iron Man, Electro TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS This is a pencil portrait I drew at the age of 20 (1983). It’s of my Dad. I used to do a lot of photographic portraits back then. When I started gravitating more to comics in my late teens, some people had a hard time understanding why I would choose the “funnybook” art over the more “serious” art of portraiture. My comics work looked so crude compared to the portraits. I’m sure they believed the portraits required much more skill, which in fact is totally opposite from the truth … at least as far as the portraits I did, which were for the most part from photographs. The truth is, drawing comics is the most challenging thing I’ve ever done artistically. The number of problems that need to be solved in a single page can be daunting. The comic book artist must execute the layout and design, storytelling, figure drawing, perspective, the acting of the characters, lighting, staging, not to mention leave room for the dialogue/narration, consider the color…and more …. All in a single page. Not only that, but all these individual problems must be solved in a way that their individual solutions work in harmony with one another. The page must work both as individual parts (panels) and as one whole thing (page)…or else it will fall apart.

LEE WEEKS (0pposite page)

LEE WEEKS (Above)

I was 19 and had just finished a

My year at Kubert’s just finished, I wrote

single year at a fine art school. I

and drew a couple pages of a story about

took a year off before going for one

a street person with an intimate relation-

year to the Joe Kubert School in

ship with the bottle who finds himself in the

New Jersey. In that off year, while

middle of an intergalactic conflict that

making pizzas in Augusta, Maine, I

threatens Earth’s existence. I drew this

drew several pages based on

shortly before the Double Vision assign-

some characters one of my oldest

ment for Marvel. I also lettered this and my

chums in the world, Howard

first two or three pro jobs.

Downs, had come up with. This is one of those pages.

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61

D U R E F E A T

I S T A R T

L L E S S U R G I A R P. C

ig Russell away by P. Cra n ow bl en be I’ve art; a time I saw his t rs fi ry ve e from th p way back h Conan pin-u Barry Smith-is developed 0s. He quickly ’7 y ose rl ea e th in uce some of th od pr to on e n d has go wonderfully his own style an seen. He has a ve I’ t ar ic m co g. I’m very most beautiful and storytellin on ti si po m co ith graceful way w l work here. me of his penci so se ca ow sh pleased to

P. CRAIG RUSSELL This page, though it comes about 90 pages into The Ring of the Nibelung, is the first one I drew. I like to try something difficult for the first drawing of a project, something I can feel happy with that will set a standard for the rest of the project. Siegmund’s entrance into Hunding’s hut, a single set that had to work almost threedimensionally for the next 30 pages was just such a panel. I filled pages in my sketchbook, working out the design and floor plan before attempting the final drawing. The page also had to accommodate Sieglinde’s entrance into the story.

P. CRAIG RUSSELL Always a challenge to co-ordinate scenes with multiple characters. Everybody has something to say and something to do at the exact same time as everyone else. Just keeping the action clear is a job. This page had eight characters in an escalating crisis leading to the introduction of a ninth, off-panel, at the bottom of the page. I mourn the passing of hand lettering. Galen Showman’s lettering on this page is peerless.

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P. CRAIG RUSSELL Another ‘spectacle’ panel as the tiny figures of the Valkyries in the upper left corner balance the fleeing figure of Sieglinde into the deep forest set against the nature upheaval of Voton’s very angry approach. (And more great lettering

by Galen

P. CRAIG RUSSELL

Showman).

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63

P. CRAIG RUSSELL Siegfried slays the dragon. Can’t find real life models for dragons so a lot of sketchbook studies were done of various reptiles until I could ‘construct’ one of my own.

BOB MCLEOD: Students! Let’s all take a moment (or several) to study the anatomy of those fists and that back! You should copy them in your sketchbook. You’d do well to copy the face in panel three

P. CRAIG RUSSELL

also.

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P. CRAIG RUSSELL This was one of the most labor intensive pages of the 400 page ‘Ring’. It had to show a suitably expressionistically twisted forest as Hagen appeals to the Dark Lord of the Nibelungs. It had to establish the other key players in the scene, illustrate an explosive crowd scene and end on the triumphant sound of Siegfried’s horn as he reasserts himself

P. CRAIG RUSSELL

into the scene.

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65

P. CRAIG RUSSELL An example of balloon placement as a storytelling device.

Siegfried is dead but his dead hand rises up in rebuke as Hagen reaches to tear the ring from his hand. As the crowd falls back and exclaims in horror their speech balloons remain beneath the up stretched hand to emphasize its size and height. Then as a transitional device we see, in panels 35, the hand filling the frame and then falling away to reveal the silhouette of Brunhilde who then advances for

P. CRAIG RUSSELL

her closeup.

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P. CRAIG RUSSELL A rare example of working the drawings out in my sketchbook without resorting to posing real people. The cartoonier approach seemed more fitting to this whimsical HellBoy story.

BOB MCLEOD: A theatre audience is a very difficult thing to draw, and Russell does it masterfully here. He’s also one of the best artists I’ve seen at using negative space to balance complexity.

Hellboy TM &

P. CRAIG RUSSELL

©2007 Mike Mignola

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67

P. CRAIG RUSSELL Fables Annual The layout of a page, designing the visual telling of the story through ‘camera’ angles and the placement of word balloons and narrative captions is the most enjoyable part of the process for me. It can all fall apart if the PENCILER doesn’t follow through. With Craig Hamilton I was fortunate to have someone who could both follow a lead and bring his own ideas to the finished piece. In panel one I had to design a bustling scene in the courtyard. The writer wanted a scene that conveyed the myriad chores and events swirling around Boy Blue.

Near chaos had to be evoked while not losing sight of the solitary figure walking through it.

Without becoming too visually specific I blocked in the crowd scene. In the lower right quarter I drew a sort of generic fairy

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princess facing Blue. When Craig Hamilton did the finished pencils he turned her into Little Bo Peep facing away from the center, staring out the lower right corner.

He found room to draw a small flock of sheep going the opposite direction, heading out the upper left corner.

This is what a good collaborator does.

He doesn’t change for the sake of change but builds upon and makes richer. ©2007 P. Craig

P. CRAIG RUSSELL

Russell

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69

P. CRAIG RUSSELL This is one of the very few times I ‘edited’ the pencils back to the original layout (while leaving the successful changes such as a weeping Cinderella in the foreground, intact.) I thought Blue’s figure should be set apart to draw our eye to him and the pencil version crowded him in and lost the many plunging angles around him.

I don’t make those kinds of changes lightly but it was the last ‘shot’ of the story. I called Craig to tell him and that was fine with him.

He said by that point in a very labor-intensive story he was running out of poop.

(But also note what he brought to the design of ‘The End’).

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71

D U R E F E A T

LEE WEEKS

I S T A R T

y Lee Weeks sylvanian budd n n Pe w llo fe y M tastic job ing out one fan just keeps turn . He’s one of year af ter year af ter another, d you can cilers to ink, an my favorite pen He does in these pages. easily see why ks, of dramatic blac t lo a h it w g n u want to great lighti d inventive. If yo an ic am n dy so are drawn, his and his layouts they should be ay w e th s ic m aw co learn how to dr ur textbook. art should be yo

LEE WEEKS Stan Meets The Thing, cover Marvel published a series of five books in 2006 where Stan Lee meets another of his famous Marvel creations in each one. I had the privilege of drawing the story where Stan meets the Thing. It was my first opportunity to work with Stan – he wrote and scripted the story—and it was simply fun. The cover (really Jack Kirby’s cover) is a riff on what I consider the greatest single issue story in the history of Marvel Comics—Fantastic Four #51, written by Stan and drawn by Jack, with inks by Joe Sinnott. And hey…I actually got to “write” some copy for the cover, too. Where on the original issue of Fantastic Four the story title reads, “This Man, This Monster”, I suggested for this one it should read, “This Stan, This Monster.” It was a natural fit!

Fantastic Four TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Cap Lives Again, #1, page 4 Cap has been pulled from the icy waters onto a Nazi sub instead of the Avenger’s ship. The first five panels are inset onto the last image. It all happens within the submarine, so I played the scene as five insets within the one exterior shot of the sub. The reference for this job was pretty brutal…but I like doing the reference so long as there is time to do it.

Captain America TM & ©2007 Marvel

LEE WEEKS

Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Cap Lives Again double page spread (pp. 10, 11) Back in 1999 I was invited to a weeklong convention in Gijon, Spain. My wife and I spent considerable time with Dave Gibbons, who was also a guest. We shared a number of meals, some brain teaser puzzles, a few card tricks, and talked about everything under the sun. The trip was more than worth it just for that.

At one point, he hinted at a Cap project he was writing that I think he already had an artist for. I remember wishing I could have worked with him on it … or any other project, for that matter. About two years later, Marvel decided on

LEE WEEKS

an artist change,

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and I got the gig. I was thrilled.

I loved the challenge of making this particular scene. It’s Manhattan twenty years after a Nazi victory in World War II (obviously, an alternate future/past), so we see the art deco of NYC as typified by the Empire State and Chrysler buildings, combined with Nazi symbols, the Albert Speer Dome, and lots of dirigibles. I call it the “Nazi-fication of Manhattan.” I think I had a week into this spread from planning to finish.

Cap is on the submarine heading into the harbor, so I intentionally made that the area of highest contrast… it helps establish scale and hopefully a sense of awe.

Unfortunately, there was an editorial mistake and the doublepage was printed on two sides of the same page in the original mini-series.

The trade paperback, however, corrected the error.

Captain America TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Winter Soldier, (breakdown) Same page as the thumbnail. For the job, I’m “officially” doing breakdowns, but I actually take them a lot further much of the time. In fact, this page was taken further before I sent it off.

Winter Soldier TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

LEE WEEKS Thumbnail for Winter Soldier, p. 14 After one quick read-through of a script, I like to go through it slower a second time with a pencil and scribble image ideas in the borders. Now that I get scripts by way of email as electronic files, I re-format them so that the right side border is about three inches. This way I can keep my scribbles next to the part of the script they pertain to. The next step after that is a thumbnail/rough at about 6 x 4 inches. This is one of those. It’s the first time we see Winter Soldier in action, so I wanted at least one full figure shot as a sort of “reveal”. I also wanted to demonstrate a sense of fearlessness in this guy (who is really Captain America’s original sidekick, Bucky), which is how I arrived at the angle of the final shot on the page. It is a big help when working with a guy like Ed Brubaker, too. He’s very good at writing to an artist’s strength, and I think it helps that he is also an artist … which I was unaware of until I met him via the phone for this job. He’s also a terrific guy.

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LEE WEEKS Punisher/Wolverine #1, pg. 21 I love composing with shadows. The jungle offers wonderful opportunities for neat framing devices. In looking at this page again, I would carry more of the deep shadows I used in panels one and two into the last three panels. At the time, I was trying to simplify the background as I went along and focus more on the flight of the character, but it almost looks like a different scene to me today. Too jarring a shift.

I was extremely fortunate to be working on this project with one of the all-time great inkers – Tom Palmer. He’s a great inker simply because he’s an excellent artist and really understands exactly what it is he’s interpreting. Tom has been an important person in the last five or so years of my career. We have worked on several projects together, and in that time he became a kind of professional mentor to me...which I never really had early in my career.

He wasn’t intending to or aware of it even, as it just happened as an outgrowth of our many phone conversations. A real class guy.

Punisher TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Amazing SpiderMan #29 (2nd volume), cover One of the better covers I have done. I struggle for cover ideas much of the time. This was one of those instances where I hit it just right.

When you walk into a comic book shop, a glance at the racks can be pretty overwhelming. So many covers…so many images…so much busy-ness. A cover that says it simply will tend to stand out.

Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel

LEE WEEKS

Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Spider-Man: Death & Destiny #2, page 3 My one significant foray into writing. It was tremendously liberating to have full control over the whole thing. Here, I used a Daily Bugle front page as my splash page for issue #2, with Spidey superimposed over it. It was a way of doing an “Our Story Thus Far” page without actually doing one.

I had been drawing for over a dozen years, yet I won my first award of any kind as a pro for the writing on this project – it was a Marvel.com “Spidey” fan award for best limited series that year…’99, I think.

Don’t ask me why I haven’t written more. I have no good reason!

Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Spider-Man: Death & Destiny #1, pg. 15 From the same series. This story actually builds from one of my favorite Spider-man stories when I was growing up—issues 8890, which culminate in the death of Captain Stacy.

I tried to keep a look that, though not exactly like the earlier tale, at least had a flavor reminiscent of the look of the book at the time, which was drawn by John Romita, Sr. Spider-Man TM & ©2007 Marvel

LEE WEEKS

Characters, Inc.

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LEE WEEKS Wolverine pencil cover I don’t even know what book this was used for. I’ve never seen the printed version. I drew the metallic “X” separately and assembled the two in Photoshop.

Mostly graphite, with some prismacolor black to darken where needed.

Wolverine TM & ©2007 Marvel

LEE WEEKS

Characters, Inc.

JANUARY 2007 • ROUGH STUFF

81

ROUGH CRITIQUE

By Bob McLeod his issue I thought it might be interesting to critique an inking sample rather than a penciling

T

sample. It’s difficult to really examine inks at print size, so I’m posting a large scan of the inks on my website at www.bobmcleod.com/roughstuff.htm

Marc Deering (www.electricdeerstudios.net) submitted this nice inking sample over pencils by Brian Hitch. When inking over another artist’s pencils, as opposed to inking your own pencils, it’s important to understand that your goal should simply be to enhance the pencils and make them printable.

Anything beyond that is probably exceeding your authority and is likely to make for an unhappy penciler and possibly an unhappy editor. These are the two most important people in an inker’s professional life, and you do not want to make them unhappy.

In #1, you lost the structure of the eye and nose and cheek bone.

In #2, you lose the structure of the ear, and as poorly drawn as the lights are in the pencils, you manage to make them even worse. In an instance like this, you don’t try to follow the sketchy pencil lines, you just need to ink a light.

So to make them happy and achieve your simple goal, you, as inker, need to follow the pencils instead of trying to “improve” them. Many aspiring inkers are under the misconception that inking just involves the ability to make attractive lines. Every inker must master control of the pen or brush, which you have, but you also need a sound understanding of how light affects form, a sound understanding of anatomy, and a knowledge of the standard techniques used in comics to soften the transition of black shadow to white light, so that you won’t misinterpret what the penciler has indicated. If you don’t totally understand what the penciler is showing you, you can’t ink it correctly. And when the pencils get sketchy, if you can’t draw you’ll be lost.

You are doing some impressive things here. Your rendering is mostly very Captain America TM & ©2007 Marvel

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Characters, Inc.

In #3, your outlining on the sleeve is poorly done, and your shoe is badly drawn. where I could clearly draw or render something better than the penciler, and to ink it as drawn would be senseless. And even then, some pencilers complained. One penciler told me “I know it’s wrong, but ink it like I drew it anyway, and I’ll do it better next time”.

In #4, you must draw a better shield. Here again, the point is not so much to follow the pencils, but to simply know how to draw his shield. You lost the structure of his feet, and his right shoulder and hand.

attractive, and you’re doing varied textures, which is important.

You’re attempting to improve areas you feel are weak, and you’re adding things to make the art more complete. The average person looking at this would no doubt be mightily impressed, and even most editors might be. Unfortunately, though, this penciler (Brian Hitch) is not an average person. He would be likely to complain, for the following reasons.

As in medicine, the first rule of inking should be to do no harm.

By deviating from his pencils, you’re too often making it worse, not better. You’re imposing your will over his, and at this point he knows far more than you do. I’ve often been guilty of changing the pencils when I ink (often dramatically so) but only in instances

I’ve isolated some areas where I see you going astray, and I’ve reinked them in a way that I think would be more in keeping with what the penciler wants. These are somewhat loose pencils, and we’re not inking on the original art, which

In #5, you’ve left out a foot! This is one of the reasons why inker Vinnie Colletta was universally despised! If the penciler draws it, you have to ink it. And you got lost on the sketchy door. As in example #2 with the lights, you just need to ink a door. The penciler is depending on you to understand a simple door.

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ROUGH CRITIQUE makes it more difficult and leads to errors, but we still must try to be more faithful. The point here is not whether my inking is better than yours, but whether In #6, you lost the structure of his arm. He drew an it’s closer to what elbow with a forearm below it. You amputated the the penciler is forearm. This is a good example of why inkers need to drawing. The speknow anatomy. You also made many unnecessary cific techniques changes elsewhere. aren’t the issue, either. You and I have different styles, but the style shouldn’t alter the underlying structure. Most often, your problem isn’t your rendering, it’s your drawing.

It’s nice that you added a floor pattern in panel 2, but you didn’t finish it, and the grid needs to be put in perspective.

All the lines going diagonally toward the upper right should meet at a vanishing point up above. The lines going diagonally toward the left should meet at another vanishing point off to the left on the same horizon, which should be In #8, you changed his quite far above the page, since nose for no apparent we’re looking almost directly reason. down at the scene. The lines on the doors also need to recede to points on that same horizon.

So now we see that inkers also need to learn perspective.

In #7, you changed the structure of the nose in the face on the left, and inexplicably added cross hatching to the face on the right., and changed the lighting on the forehead, as well as losing the structure of the nose. And you obviously don’t know how to draw an ear.

In #9, you reveal that you don’t know how to draw hands.

Marc, I apologize if I sound curt in these assessments, but our space is limited and I must be as clear and concise as possible.

Inking is much more than just making pretty lines. Your knowledge of drawing has a huge effect on your inking. And you need to follow the pencils as much as possible. Where you needed to improve the pencils, as on the lights and the door, you weakened them instead. These mistakes are common to most beginning inkers, so don’t feel alone. You can correct these problems with some study and effort. You’re too close to give up, so buckle down and work on your drawing. Your inking is fine.

Readers who want to submit a page of pencils or inks for a critique should email a full-size 300dpi scan to me at mcleod.bob@gmail.com, or mail a photocopy to: Rough Stuff Critique P.O. Box 63 Emmaus, PA 18049

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ROUGH TALK I have just recently read the Rough Stuff magazine, and it was great looking at the pencils from the professionals. I have been waiting for a magazine that shows the process behind a comic for a while. Between this and Draw!, it definitely gives a nice behind-the-scenes picture. I also liked reading some of the mindset the artists were in while drawing the images. I would love to see more of that, what they were thinking about, what worked and what they had difficulty with. I also felt really proud to be the first aspiring professional in your magazine. I can now imagine my back story starting off with “and it all started with my work being critiqued by Mr. McLeod....” Who knows, maybe I can be in issue number 50 as one of the professionals.

Keith Grachow I really enjoyed Rough Stuff #2, especially the Gulacy interview which gave a lot of insight into how he works. The art was great too!

Ray Wong Just a quick note to say how much I continue to enjoy your work on Rough Stuff magazine. The Brian Apthorp section was a revelation I feel bad about not knowing more about such a talented artist.

Your “Rough Critique” section has quickly become my favorite feature in the magazine. The lessons and criticisms are firm, but fair.

I thought your visual examples of how the artist might improve his composition were excellent - especially for the tricky stuff like drawing hands, where seeing how to draw hands right is every bit as valuable as reading (in words) how to draw them right.

If I were to issue my own minor “Rough Critique” of the 2nd issue, it would be about the captioning of images in selected locations of the mag. There were a couple of instances where the article text and the accompanying image descriptions were identical and sitting next to each other. In the (otherwise terrific) Gulacy section, for example, there was an instance on page 37 where Gulacy’s remarks about ‘craft tint paper and colorists’ are printed twice, sideby-side from one another. Although I know this was never the intent, the doubling up of text in these instances made the image descriptions seem redundant. This, of course, is just a minor quibble about an otherwise enjoyable and well put-together publication.

Please keep up the great work on this book. I won’t suggest artists to include for future issues, as you clearly do not need my help in that area. I hope you continue with your editorial commentary feature, as the first one was wonderful.

Looking forward to the Romita Jr. interview next issue. JR JR’s been a favorite of mine since he found his own style back in the mid-’80s.

Best, Brian Sagar 86

ROUGH STUFF • JANUARY 2007

I’m looking at that Silver Surfer model sheet in your issue 2 of Rough Stuff, do you really think that’s Alex Toth’s work? The art and handwriting look off, and it’s not signed by Toth anywhere I can see.

What makes you think this is Toth’s art? If you had reservations as to it’s authenticity, why choose it?

Scott LeMien (While I agree the style looks different, I have no real reason to doubt that Toth drew it. -Ed.) It pleased me greatly to see my own pencils for the first time printed somewhere. Not to cast aspersions on inking or inkers! But they looked good, objectified by being in a different context, (this was the first time that my pencils have appeared in print, as far as I know) and that made me feel proud of my own part in this stuff. THAT can be a relatively rare sensation, so thanks very much, Bob. I really like the way you handle the critiques of aspiring artists’ comics pages. One of my current students came into my weekly comics class with a copy of the first issue, and I’m sure he’ll benefit from it. I really appreciate the refreshment of your straightforward approach. It’s very solid, useful advice in clear and unequivocal language which still manages not to sound too heavyhanded. The changes you suggested and demonstrated for Gibson’s page, particularly the top panel, were elegant, subtle, and yet, made all the difference in the world, in ways which I should think all aspiring pencilers could really benefit from. Me too!

Cheers, Brian Apthorp Just want to drop you a line to let you know how much I’ve been enjoying Rough Stuff magazine. First off, it was an absolute pleasure to see the pencils of the Featured Artist Brian Apthorp. His name sounded familiar but I wasn’t familiar with his art at all. That is a rare occurrence for me, so it was a great to discover the work of someone new to me.

Although I feel Frank Brunner’s pencils have been hit or miss ever since he got involved in the business again a few years ago via commissions, it’s still always nice to see his stuff.

The interview with Paul Gulacy was a nice feature, particularly since Gulacy interviews haven’t been done very often over the years.

Pre-Pro is a great feature and I hope not only that it’ll be a regular feature in every issue, but also that it can be expanded beyond 2 pages if possible.

I loved the feature on Jerry Ordway! Jerry is one of the best draftsmen of the last 25 years and I never get tired of seeing his work. It was especially great to see lots of his work in “pencil only” form. You could fill up an entire issue of Jerry’s pencils and it still wouldn’t be enough to satiate me.

Finally, I absolutely love the “Rough Critique” feature. Having given up any thoughts I had of ever becoming a working artist myself back when I was still in my teens, the desire to discover new young wannabes with the potential to make it has always remained with me. So it’s great to be able to see samples from people who have enough ability to eventually “make it” but who aren’t quite there yet. The only drawback I find with this feature is that (as you know) 1 single page isn’t quite enough to get a good idea of the artist’s storytelling ability. But while I feel that 3 sequential pages would be perfect, I’m also well aware of how much time it takes for you to do fairly in-depth critiques on just a single page, so I completely understand why you have to limit the critique to a single page. The way you actually demonstrate better ways to improve the page is a fantastic way to get across what you’re trying to say, rather than simply stating it in text. Fantastic!

On the whole, the mag is terrific and I know that with a great veteran artist such as yourself in control of the mag as the editor, I won’t have to worry about seeing too many penciled pages from the modern “super tight” era. If there’s one drawback to the mag, I’d have to say that in this day and age of the Internet bringing the world closer together, it’s extremely rare for me to open the mag (or any related mag) and discover art that I haven’t seen before. More often than not, I find myself looking at the art in the magazine and trying to recall which collector owns the original, because many of the featured originals are pieces I’ve seen online before. So if I may, I suggest you print many more examples from your own files of photocopies, which will often be of familiar published pages, but at least they’ll be of the “pencils only” version which most people will not have ever seen.

Keep up the great work, Bob. Judging from the first two issues, I know the best issues are yet to come!

Cheers, Ruben http://www.ComicBookArtGallery.com I’ve really enjoyed the first two issues of your magazine. It was a kick to see Frank Brunner’s Kane piece that I had commissioned in your second issue. Some of the few things we saved when we ran from Katrina was my original art. I actually opened the box for the first time since the storm after seeing that piece in your magazine.

Thanks for the great magazine and keep up the good work.

Kevin Ammentorp First, I want to say thank you for this whole enterprise of Rough Stuff. I enjoy seeing the whole creative process of the artists involved and I enjoy your comments and critique as well.

It is very enjoyable to see your unabashed enjoyment at Alex Toth’s work, and yet there is part of you as a pro which disagrees with some of his choices. I love the passionate response to the artist and his work and the honesty which allows you to express an honest disagreement ( p.70). To my eye it is obvious that Toth’s version of the FF in civvies (p.63) was based on Jack Kirby’s splash page from FF #11 “A Visit with the Fantastic Four”—it might have been interesting to see Jack’s original panel shown for comparison

(where Johnny IS shorter than Sue, and they are all wearing the same outfits that Toth chose to render!).

I have to say that it is a joy to read Jerry Ordway’s comments on his work whenever he cares to make them. I miss seeing his penciling on a mainstream DC title—something he seems born to draw.

There is plenty of varied art styles and artists represented in your magazine, and I found myself pleasantly surprised to see the work of an artist whose work I was unfamiliar with and yet who is obviously so talented—I’m speaking of Brian Apthorp, here.

The Frank Brunner Supergirl piece was stunning and quite different from work that I see him do more often.

One slight critique of an editorial nature: the captions for artwork, such as those for the Paul Gulacy interview, ought to have different content than the interview itself, to do as the captions appeared in Rough Stuff #2 is the equivalent of a comic book writer putting in as dialogue information that ought to be conveyed by the artwork. I think captions would be well served by editorial comments by yourself to give some distance from the interview and a slightly different perspective.

You can count on me buying every issue of Rough Stuff at my local comic shop.

Best wishes!

Ray Cuthbert SEND YOUR ROUGH COMMENTS TO:

email: mcleod.bob@gmail.com (subject: Rough Stuff) or snail mail: Bob McLeod, Editor- Rough Stuff, P.O. Box 63 Emmaus, PA 18049

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We hope you enjoy this FREE

DRAW! #13 PREVIEW! Edited by top DC and Marvel Comics artist MIKE MANLEY, the Eisner Award-nominated DRAW! magazine is the professional “How-To” magazine on comics, cartooning, and animation. Each issue features in-depth interviews and step-by-step demos from top comics pros on all aspects of graphic storytelling, as each artist invites you into their studio to reveal their working methods and tricks of the trade!

Issue #13 features: A step-by-step demo of painting methods by cover artist ALEX HORLEY (Heavy Metal, Vertigo, DC, Wizards of the Coast)!

Part Two of our in-depth interview with KYLE BAKER! Plus, interviews and demos by Banana Sundays’ COLLEEN COOVER, behind-the-scenes on Adult Swim’s MINORITEAM, a “Comic Art Bootcamp” on Composition by BRET BLEVINS and editor MIKE MANLEY, links, an extensive COLOR SECTION, and more!

(88-page magazine) SINGLE ISSUES: $9 US SUBSCRIPTIONS: Four issues in the US: $24 Standard, $36 First Class (Canada: $44, Elsewhere: $48 Surface, $64 Airmail).

NOTE: Most issues contain nudity for purposes of figure drawing. Intended for Mature Readers.

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MATT HALEY, TOM BANCROFT & ROB CORLEY, ALBERTO RUIZ

RON GARNEY, GRAHAM NOLAN, TODD KLEIN, MARK MCKENNA

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COMICS

ALEX HORLEY

Interviewed by Mike Manley Transcribed by Steven Tice

AVENGERS, KANG TM & © 2006 MARVEL CHARACTERS, INC.

Born in the outskirts of Milan, Italy, in 1970, Alex Horley (nee Alessandro Orlandelli) has become one of the foremost painters in the comics and sci-fi/fantasy fields. Though heavily influenced by Frank Frazetta and Simon Bisley in his early years, Alex has since gone on to develop a style uniquely his own. DRAW! editor, Mike Manley, caught up with Alex to gain some insight into his background and current working methods.

DRAW!: Can you explain to us a bit on your thoughts on color, your approach to using it and what you learned from studying the Masters and artists like Frazetta and Corben?

AH: From Frazetta I learned mostly that, before coloring, you need to have a strong composition, lights and shadows and values figured out. Then you can move to coloring.... Some of his paintings are mostly tonal renderings in sepia or umber with just a hint of color and they’re perfect like that! Of course the choice of those few colors and the subtleties he manages to obtain—you have to see his originals!!—are part of his genius.

From Corben I learned the use of warm light-cool light—or I should say warm light-cool shadows and vice versa—and how to use it to emphasize volumes and shapes with color.

Color is also mostly based on an artist’s personality and how one deals with each subject matter. There are some rules that you learn along the way, and there are endless methods to coloring, but in the end what you want to achieve is to lead the viewer’s eye where you want and suggest the “emotions” you want them to feel through the colors you use.

DRAW!: I agree with what you say as far as color being emotional and very personal. It’s such a reflection of the artist’s emotions, his or her emotional expression toward a subject.

When you get an assignment, say a cover or an illustration—a single piece as opposed to a comic story—what is your

approach, the way you go about tackling the assignment? Do you do thumbnails, small layouts, etc.?

AH: With a cover you have to suggest a story—or part of it— with just one picture, and at the same time try to capture the reader’s attention with it, make them go “Hey, what’s going on here?” and pick up the book. So, compared to the panels from a comic book, a cover—or any single illustration, like gaming cards—has to be more “complete”.

I always do thumbnails, whether for covers, cards, or comic book pages. It’s so much easier to block down compositions at a small size. Then I blow them up to the size I need with a photocopy or with a projector. I have to do pretty detailed sketches to get approved first, but I don’t like to do super-detailed drawings; I like to leave some spontaneity to the painting stage. If I plan too much, then it becomes sort of like painting-by-numbers. If I know exactly where I’m going, it gets kind of boring.

DRAW! #13 PREVIEW

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ALEX HORLEY

COMICS AH: I use photos very rarely. I actually use photos only when I do covers for Heavy Metal magazine, for which I work with Stacy Walker, my one and only model. But even in those circumstances, I never start drawing from a photo. I always start with my own drawing, then I shoot the pictures—usually you have to take many different ones to “fit” your layout—and finally I “squeeze” the photo references into my drawing.

But I’d say that 90-95% of my work is without references.

DRAW!: How do you try and set yourself out front, separate yourself from the pack as it were, as one of many artists working in the illustration, fantasy, sci-fi, and comics field, which—let’s face it—is really going through a rough time in many ways?

CRYPTID ™ & © 2006 MICHAEL TODD.

AH: Good question.... how? I tried to figure that out for years, but in the end I just settled with my instincts. I’ve been lucky enough to keep almost constantly busy since I started working in this field. The market goes through trends and flavors; I just stuck with what I like doing and what I have fun doing. Of course, having the chance to choose the right projects helps. Some kids at conventions will often ask me “How do I find my style?” or “What style do you think I should use?” I don’t have an answer to that.

I can only say that it better be a way of working that you really enjoy because you’ll have to spend a lot of time doing it.

DRAW!: What’s your studio set-up like? I know you travel back and forth between the States and Italy; do you have similar studios in both countries?

At times I do small colored sketches—or color comps, which I suggest to do in general, in order to solve problems before you move on to a bigger surface—but I never have time now. At times I do “painted sketches” for myself, just for fun. To me those are real finished paintings; it’s all there, the energy, the spontaneity— but, you know, everybody wants “detail”! Sometimes I wish I had the guts to say, “This is my final piece!” but I like to eat, so....

AH: Heh! “Studio” is a big word. In Italy, I work in a former bedroom, turned into a comic book warehouse, turned into studio.

When I’m in the US, I work in the living room, but I don’t paint huge canvases—for now!—so I’m fine with that. Both “studios” look like an art store just exploded, taking down the action figures section of a Toys ’R’ Us....

DRAW!: How often do you use photos or models, and do you shoot them yourself?

DRAW!: What about digital media; do you use Painter or Photoshop at all in your process?

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DRAW! #13 PREVIEW

COMICS AH: Nope. I tried, but I prefer the “real” tools. I use Photoshop, but only to scan away my paintings. I’m working on a comic book for which I’ll paint the panels separately, rather than on one page, and then put the page back together digitally.

But the artwork is still going to be hand painted.

DRAW!: What kind of computer set-up do you have?

AH: I have a Mac G5 (I think), from last year. It’s the flat screen one, which is great, because takes up so little space and it’s pretty powerful, too.

DRAW!: I know in San Diego, the last time we saw each other, we spoke a little about the ownership of the images you create versus being the hired gun, where you create images you don’t own or, in the end, control. Artists like Frazetta became wealthy because, in part, he owned or controlled the rights to his work.

Where are you on this now? Are you trying to create a body of images that you can own and resell?

AH: So far, I’ve been too busy trying to make a living, but that’s definitely the direction I want to go. I have great admiration for those guys who succeeded in that, people like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Erik Larsen, and Eric Powell, who pursued their own projects and managed to mostly work on that. I have tons of ideas and projects on the backburner. I always focused on building a career through paying jobs, but I feel more and more that I’m going to take a chance and do my own stories and paintings.

© 2006 ALEX HORLEY

ALEX HORLEY

Before, I wanted to work on these icons, characters I grew up with. Now that I accomplished that, more or less, I feel more selfconfident and I’ll be working in that direction in the near future.

DRAW!: How does your website and doing a lot of conventions play into this?

AH: So far, I haven’t used the website venue to its full potential, but I’m building a new website right now, with which I’ll try to accomplish that and not just use it as an online gallery. I might eventually end up selling prints and maybe even my own comics online. Conventions are a great way to stay in touch with the readers, to get a first-hand reaction, good or bad, to my works. Also, conventions are great to get to know other fellow artists and share experiences and opinions.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES DRAW!: So give us the low-down on what you like to draw and paint with.

AH: I use HB and 2B technical pencils for drawing. I smudge a lot and use kneaded erasers to model and highlight my drawings.

I use tons of copy paper for sketches or even painting tryouts. I use mainly Bristol smooth finish paper for fine rendered pencil drawings.

For painting I use 90% Liquitex acrylic colors, both tubes and pots—a few Rembrandt and Golden Colors, too. In the last few years I’ve been using Winsor & Newton University brushes, any size and shape. I have some really old worn-out brushes—some about 20 years old!—which I still use for various effects only an old used brush can get. When I use oils I use Rembrandt and Winsor & Newton colors; mostly I use Liquin, a quick drying medium, and turpenoid, an odorless paint thinner/cleaner. I paint on every possible surface, from canvas board to pre-gessoed Masonite boards (gessoboard), to heavy paper and artboards (Strathmore cold press), and often canvas paper (Canson, Figueras). I like to switch textures around, depending on what the painting subject suggests to me.

I have every possible item you can find in an art store, stored somewhere in my studio, but these are the ones I use on a regular basis.

DRAW!: What was your big break? How did you get into the business, and did you break in America or Italy first?

PREVIOUS PAGE: Opening page to the Cryptid comic book series.

RIGHT: An oil study.

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ALEX HORLEY

COMICS

AH: My very first published work was for some local fanzines, then I did some interiors and a couple of covers for an Italian RPG magazine whose art director put me in touch with Dave Elliott, who, at the time, was editor of UK’s Tundra line and Atomika’s beautiful black-&white anthology, A-1. I flew to London and met him; he was working on a new series with characters created by Simon Bisley and asked me right away to do some pin-ups of those characters. I was in seventh heaven! Even if the line was ended before my art could be published, I consider that my “big break.” After that, one thing led to another, my art started being seen around, and eventually I was contacted by DC to work on Lobo, one of my favorite characters ever. I started going to conventions to bug editors and artists which I learned is fundamental if you want your work to be noticed.

DRAW!: So Lobo was your first work for the American market?

THE SPIRIT ™ & ©2006 WILL EISNER ESTATE.

AH: Yes, it was my favorite character at the time, and still is one of my favorites today. I had a ball anytime I worked on him.

DRAW!: Now, so far we’ve been talking about mostly your painting work, but I’d also like to talk about your work drawing comics. Do you have any philosophy in regards to page layouts, or preferences in plot vs. full script?

AH: I usually prefer a plot where I have a little freedom to work with, but I work with full scripts as well and, in those circumstances, the challenge is to make it “your own” even when following detailed directions.

ABOVE: Alex prefers storytelling over the “nice drawing” as illustrated by Will Eisner, among others.

NEXT PAGE: Alex enjoys working in the “Bruce Timm style” for fun.

DRAW!: It’s a different mindset to do comic storytelling, so would you say you are more in the school of the “nice drawing” which would be more like Adams, Wrightson, or Frazetta’s comics work—even Raymond and Foster—or the “Storytelling school” which I always think of more in the vein of Kubert or Eisner, and which is more cinematic, more design-oriented in the use of layout?

AH: I tend to prefer rather “simple” layouts over too fancy page settings. My storytelling bible has been John Buscema’s Silver Surfer and Thor runs—and Jack Kirby, of course. To me, the story has to be easy to read primarily, and, like in those comics, the pages were following almost some sort of grid, but it was what was going on inside the panels that was incredi92

DRAW! #13 PREVIEW

ble—the camera movements, the posing of figures, the dynamism, and the overall page’s balance of light and shadow.

If a page is full of beautifully rendered drawings, but you can’t tell which panel comes first, then I think you missed the target anyway. I think a comic book artist is the closest thing to a movie director, where you “shoot” the scenes, “direct” the characters, and edit your own work.... In short, you have to tell the story, first.

DRAW!: I saw on your website that you like to also play around with styles, you had some very animated-looking sketches and some Kirby-esque looking ones as well.

AH: I’m a huge fan of Bruce Timm’s work; I just love his approach, which is both classical and stylized at the same time.

COMICS

ALEX HORLEY

A few years ago, I tried to work in that style, just for fun, and got hooked by it. For someone like me, who’s used to rendering every shadow of every shape and muscle in a sort of “realistic” way, plus color, it was very refreshing to approach figures using only essential black lines. The Kirby-esque ones were just me going back to my roots, when I used to want to be Kirby (silly kid!).

anatomy in general was nothing short than Michelangelo-esque.

Few artists managed to render the “fleshiness” of their characters as he did. Other European artists that I haven’t been influenced by, but I greatly admire, are Jordi Bernet and Moebius (especially his early “Arzach” stories!).

DRAW!: Do you do any drawing or sketching outside of work?

Do you do landscapes and keep sketchbooks, attend life-drawing classes?

For the rest of this interview, don’t miss DRAW! #13, on sale now!

AH: No, but I really wish I could. I suggest to anybody, no matter what style you want to work with, try to do life drawings as often as possible. It’s very useful to improve your understanding of the figure. Take art classes or draw your sleeping grandpa, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care much for landscapes, but I’m planning to do life “paintings,” meaning doing quick figure studies directly in oils. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, and I’m determined to find the time soon.

I have to!

LOIS LANE, SUPERMAN ™ & ©2006 DC COMICS.

DRAW!: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

AH: “Never give up!”

DRAW!: What’s the worst?

AH: “Never give up!” [laughter] No, seriously, determination, in my opinion, is even more important than raw talent.

I’ve seen many talented artists giving up within their first year and less talented ones, who were more “driven,” ending up with professional success.

I’ve spoken with many artists, and I mean also some of my “art heroes,” and there’s something to learn from every single one, but also you can’t let someone else’s opinion or taste make you go in the wrong direction. On the other hand, there’s also people who don’t have a clue, they draw stick figures and can’t tell the difference from a real pro’s work....

DRAW!: Were you influenced in your comic approach by any of the great European artists, especially the artists from Spain or Italy?

AH: The Italian artist I studied the most is Tanino (or Gaetano) Liberatore, the artist who draws Ranxerox. His approach to figures and DRAW! #13 PREVIEW

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• Wraparound CARLOS PACHECO cover!

• More amazing information, speculation, and unseen ALL-STAR COMICS art!

• Unpublished 1940s JSA STORY ART not printed in Volume One! • Full coverage of the 1980s ALL-STAR Each lists PUBLISHED COMICS WORK in SQUADRON, with scarce & never-pub- detail, plus ILLOS, UNPUBLISHED WORK, lished art! and more. Filled with rare and unseen art!

(240-page Trade Paperback) $29 US (68/100 Pages) $8 US EACH

WALLY WOOD & JACK KIRBY CHECKLISTS

(192-page trade paperback) $29 US

Prices include US Postage. Outside the US, ADD PER ITEM: Magazines & DVDs, $2 ($7 Airmail) • Softcover books, $3 ($10 Airmail) • Hardcover books, $6 ($15 Airmail)

COMICS ABOVE GROUND SEE HOW YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS MAKE A LIVING OUTSIDE COMICS

HERO GETS GIRL!

THE LIFE & ART OF KURT SCHAFFENBERGER MARK VOGER’s biography of the artist of LOIS LANE & CAPTAIN MARVEL! • Covers KURT’S LIFE AND CAREER from the 1940s to his passing in 2002!

• Features NEVER-SEEN PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS from his files!

• Includes recollections by ANDERSON, EISNER, INFANTINO, KUBERT, ALEX ROSS, MORT WALKER and others!

(128-page Trade Paperback) $19 US

SECRETS IN THE SHADOWS: GENE COLAN The ultimate retrospective on COLAN, with rare drawings, photos, and art from his nearly 60-year career, plus a comprehensive overview of Gene’s glory days at Marvel Comics! MARV WOLFMAN, DON MCGREGOR and other writers share script samples and anecdotes of their Colan collaborations, while TOM PALMER, STEVE LEIALOHA and others show how they approached the daunting task of inking Colan’s famously nuanced penciled pages!

Plus there’s a NEW PORTFOLIO of neverbefore-seen collaborations between Gene and such masters as JOHN BYRNE, MICHAEL KALUTA and GEORGE PÉREZ, and all-new artwork created specifically for this book by Gene! Available in Softcover and Deluxe Hardcover (limited to 1000 copies, with 16 extra black-and-white pages and 8 extra color pages)!

COMICS ABOVE GROUND features top comics pros discussing their inspirations and training, and how they apply it in “Mainstream Media,” including Conceptual Illustration, Video Game Development, Children’s Books, Novels, Design, Illustration, Fine Art, Storyboards, Animation, Movies & more! Written by DURWIN TALON (author of the top-selling PANEL DISCUSSIONS), this book features creators sharing their perspectives and their work in comics and their “other professions,” with career overviews, neverbefore-seen art, and interviews! Featuring: • LOUISE SIMONSON • BRUCE TIMM • DAVE DORMAN • BERNIE WRIGHTSON • GREG RUCKA & MORE! • ADAM HUGHES (168-page Trade Paperback) $24 US

COMIC BOOKS & OTHER NECESSITIES OF LIFE WERTHAM WAS RIGHT! SUPERHEROES IN MY PANTS! Each collects MARK EVANIER’S best essays and commentaries, plus new essays and illustrations by SERGIO ARAGONÉS! (200-page Trade Paperbacks) $17 US EACH ALL THREE BOOKS: $34 US

THE DARK AGE Documents the ‘80s and ‘90s era of comics, from THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and WATCHMEN to the “polybagged premium” craze, the DEATH OF SUPERMAN, renegade superheroes SPAWN, PITT, BLOODSHOT, CYBERFORCE, & more! Interviews with TODD McFARLANE, DAVE GIBBONS, JIM LEE, KEVIN SMITH, ALEX ROSS, MIKE MIGNOLA, ERIK LARSEN, J. O’BARR, DAVID LAPHAM, JOE QUESADA, MIKE ALLRED and others, plus a color section!

Written by MARK VOGER, with photos by KATHY VOGLESONG. (168-page trade paperback) $24 US

(168-page softcover) $26 US (192-page trade hardcover) $49 US

DICK GIORDANO

COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION, VOL. 3

CHANGING COMICS, ONE DAY AT A TIME MICHAEL EURY’s biography of comics’ most prominent and affable personality!

• Covers his career as illustrator, inker, and editor, peppered with DICK’S PERSONAL REFLECTIONS on his career milestones!

• Lavishly illustrated with RARE AND NEVER SEEN comics, merchandising, and advertising art (includes a color section)!

• Extensive index of his published work!

• Comments & tributes by NEAL ADAMS, DENNIS O’NEIL, TERRY AUSTIN, PAUL LEVITZ, MARV WOLFMAN, JULIUS SCHWARTZ, JIM APARO & others!

• With a Foreword by NEAL ADAMS and Afterword by PAUL LEVITZ! (176-pg. Paperback) $24 US

ALTER EGO COLLECTION, VOL. 1 Collects the first two issues of ALTER EGO, plus 30 pages of NEW MATERIAL! JLA Jam Cover by KUBERT, PÉREZ, GIORDANO, TUSKA, CARDY, FRADON, & GIELLA, new sections featuring scarce art by GIL KANE, WILL EISNER, CARMINE INFANTINO, MIKE SEKOWSKY, MURPHY ANDERSON, DICK DILLIN, & more!

Reprinting the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #7 and #8 (‘70s Marvel and ‘80s independents), featuring a new MICHAEL T. GILBERT cover, plus interviews with GILBERT, RUDE, GULACY, GERBER, DON SIMPSON, CHAYKIN, SCOTT McCLOUD, BUCKLER, BYRNE, DENIS KITCHEN, plus a NEW SECTION featuring over 30 pages of previouslyunseen stuff! Edited by JON B. COOKE. (224-page trade paperback) $29 US

(192-page trade paperback) $26 US

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR, VOL. 1-5 See what thousands of comics fans, professionals, and historians have discovered: The King lives on in the pages of THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR! These colossal TRADE PAPERBACKS reprint the first 22 sold-out issues of the magazine for Kirby fans!

• VOLUME 1: Reprints TJKC #1-9 (including the Fourth World and Fantastic Four theme issues), plus over 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (240 pages) $29 US • VOLUME 2: Reprints TJKC #10-12 (the Humor, Hollywood, and International theme issues), and includes a new special section detailing a fan’s private tour of the Kirbys’ remarkable home, showcasing more than 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (160 pages) $22 US • VOLUME 3: Reprints TJKC #13-15 (the Horror, Thor, and Sci-Fi theme issues), plus 30 new pieces of Kirby art! • (176 pages) $24 US • VOLUME 4: Reprints TJKC #16-19 (the Tough Guys, DC, Marvel, and Art theme issues), plus more than 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (240 pages) $29 US • VOLUME 5: Reprints TJKC #20-22 (the Women, Wacky, and Villains theme issues), plus more than 30 pieces of Kirby art never before published in TJKC! • (224 pages) $29 US

ART OF GEORGE TUSKA A comprehensive look at Tuska’s personal and professional life, including early work with Eisner-Iger, crime comics of the 1950s, and his tenure with Marvel and DC Comics, as well as independent publishers.

The book includes extensive coverage of his work on IRON MAN, X-MEN, HULK, JUSTICE LEAGUE, TEEN TITANS, BATMAN, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS, and many more! A gallery of commission artwork and a thorough index of his work are included, plus original artwork, photos, sketches, previously unpublished art, interviews and anecdotes from his peers and fans, plus George’s own words!

TRUE BRIT

CELEBRATING GREAT COMIC BOOK ARTISTS OF THE UK A celebration of the rich history of British Comics Artists and their influence on the US with in-depth interviews and art by: • BRIAN BOLLAND • ALAN DAVIS • DAVE GIBBONS • BRYAN HITCH • DAVID LLOYD

• DAVE MCKEAN • KEVIN O’NEILL • BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH and other gents!

(204-page Trade Paperback with COLOR SECTION) $26 US

(128-page trade paperback) $19 US

HOW TO CREATE COMICS FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT

REDESIGNED and EXPANDED version of the groundbreaking WRITE NOW! #8 / DRAW! #9 crossover! DANNY FINGEROTH & MIKE MANLEY show step-by-step how to develop a new comic, from script and roughs to pencils, inks, colors, lettering— it even guides you through printing and distribution, & the finished 8-page color comic is included, so you can see their end result!

PLUS: over 30 pages of ALL-NEW material, including “full” and “Marvel-style” scripts, a critique of their new character and comic from an editor’s point of view, new tips on coloring, new expanded writing lessons, and more!

(108-page trade paperback) $18 US (120-minute companion DVD) $35 US

SILVER STAR: GRAPHITE JACK KIRBY’S six-issue “Visual Novel” for Pacific Comics, reproduced from his powerful, uninked pencil art! Includes Kirby’s illustrated movie screenplay, never-seen sketches, pin-ups, & more from his final series!

(160 pages) $24 US

CALL, WRITE, OR E-MAIL FOR A FREE COLOR CATALOG!

T H E U LT I M AT E C O M I C S E X P E R I E N C E !

TM

Edited by MICHAEL EURY, BACK ISSUE celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through recurring (and rotating) departments such as “Pro2Pro” (a dialogue between two professionals), “Rough Stuff” (pencil art showcases of top artists), “Greatest Stories Never Told” (spotlighting unrealized comics series or stories), and more!

DIAMOND’S “2004 BEST PUBLICATION ABOUT COMICS!” SIX ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS: $36 Standard US, $54 First Class (Canada: $66, Elsewhere: $72 Surface, $96 Airmail).

Prices include US Postage. Outside the US, ADD PER ITEM: Mags & DVDs, $2 ($7 Airmail) Softcover books, $3 ($10 Airmail) • Hardcover books, $6 ($15 Airmail)

#3: EVANIER, GIFFEN, MAGUIRE, BOLLAND!

#1: PÉREZ, KIRBY, BUSCEMA, KUBERT!

#2: HUGHES, RUDE, WAGNER, STEVENS!

“PRO2PRO” interview between GEORGE PÉREZ & MARV WOLFMAN (with UNSEEN PÉREZ ART), “ROUGH STUFF” featuring JACK KIRBY’s PENCIL ART, “GREATEST STORIES NEVER TOLD” on the first JLA/AVENGERS, “BEYOND CAPES” on DC and Marvel’s TARZAN (with KUBERT & BUSCEMA ART), “OFF MY CHEST” editorial by INFANTINO, & more! PÉREZ cover!

“PRO2PRO” between ADAM HUGHES & MIKE W. BARR (with UNSEEN HUGHES ART) & MATT WAGNER and DIANA SCHUTZ, “ROUGH STUFF” HUGHES PENCIL ART, STEVE RUDE’s unseen SPACE GHOST/ HERCULOIDS team-up, Bruce Jones’ ALIEN WORLDS & TWISTED TALES, “OFF MY CHEST” by MIKE W. BARR on the DC IMPLOSION, & more! HUGHES cover!

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

#4: BYRNE, CLAREMONT, #5: ROSS, HUGHES, LYNDA #6: WRIGHTSON, COLAN, #7: APARO, BYRNE, CASEY, SIMONSON! CARTER, LOU FERRIGNO! THOMAS, GODZILLA! LEE, EVANIER, & MORE!

“PRO2PRO” between KEITH GIFFEN, J.M. DeMATTEIS and KEVIN MAGUIRE on their JLA WORK, “ROUGH STUFF” PENCIL ART by ARAGONÉS, HERNANDEZ BROS., MIGNOLA, BYRNE, KIRBY, HUGHES, two unknown PLASTIC MAN movies, Joker’s history with O’NEIL, ADAMS, ENGLEHART, ROGERS & BOLLAND, an editorial by MARK EVANIER, & more! BOLLAND cover!

“PRO2PRO” between JOHN BYRNE and CHRIS CLAREMONT on their X-MEN WORK and WALT SIMONSON and JOE CASEY on Walter’s THOR, WOLVERINE PENCIL ART by BUSCEMA, LEE, COCKRUM, BYRNE, & GIL KANE, LEN WEIN’S TEEN WOLVERINE, PUNISHER’S 30TH & SECRET WARS’ 20TH ANNIVERSARIES (with UNSEEN ZECK ART), & more! BYRNE cover!

Wonder Woman TV series in-depth, LYNDA CARTER INTERVIEW, WONDER WOMAN TV ART GALLERY, Marvel’s TV Hulk, SpiderMan, Captain America, & Dr. Strange, LOU FERRIGNO INTERVIEW, super-hero cartoons you didn’t see, pencil gallery by JERRY ORDWAY, STAR TREK in comics, & ROMITA SR. editorial on Marvel’s movies! Covers by ALEX ROSS & ADAM HUGHES!

TOMB OF DRACULA revealed with GENE COLAN and MARV WOLFMAN, LEN WEIN & BERNIE WRIGHTSON on Swamp Thing’s roots, STEVE BISSETTE & RICK VEITCH on their Swamp work, pencil art by BRUNNER, PLOOG, BISSETTE, COLAN, WRIGHTSON, & SMITH, editorial by ROY THOMAS, PREZ, GODZILLA comics (with TRIMPE art), CHARLTON horror, & more! COLAN cover!

History of BRAVE AND BOLD, JIM APARO interview, tribute to BOB HANEY, FANTASTIC FOUR ROUNDTABLE with STAN LEE, MARK WAID, and others, EVANIER & MEUGNIOT on DNAgents, pencil art by ROSS, TOTH, COCKRUM, HECK, ROBBINS, NEWTON, and BYRNE, DENNY O’NEIL editorial, a tour of METROPOLIS, IL, & more! SWAN/ANDERSON cover!

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(108-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

#10: ADAMS, GRELL, KALUTA, CHAYKIN!

#11: BUSCEMA, JUSKO, BOLLAND, ARAGONÉS!

#12: GIBBONS, BYRNE, MILLER, FRENZ!

#8: ADAMS, VON EEDEN, #9: RUDE, TRUMAN, GIL & ’70S BLACK HEROES! KANE & COSMIC HEROES! DENNY O’NEIL & Justice League Unlimited voice actor PHIL LaMARR discuss GL JOHN STEWART, NEW X-MEN pencil art by NEAL ADAMS, ARTHUR ADAMS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, ALAN DAVIS, JIM LEE, ADAM HUGHES, STORM’s 30-year history, animated TV’s black heroes (with TOTH art), ISABELLA and TREVOR VON EEDEN on BLACK LIGHTNING, & more! KYLE BAKER cover!

MIKE BARON and STEVE RUDE on NEXUS past and present, a colossal GIL KANE pencil art gallery, a look at Marvel’s STAR WARS comics, secrets of DC’s unseen CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS SEQUEL, TIM TRUMAN on his GRIMJACK SERIES, MIKE GOLD editorial, THANOS history, TIME WARP revisited, & more! All-new STEVE RUDE COVER!

NEAL ADAMS and DENNY O’NEIL on RA’S AL GHUL’s history (with Adams art), O’Neil and MICHAEL KALUTA on THE SHADOW, MIKE GRELL on JON SABLE FREELANCE, HOWIE CHAYKIN interview, DOC SAVAGE in comics, BATMAN ART GALLERY by PAUL SMITH, SIENKIEWICZ, SIMONSON, BOLLAND, HANNIGAN, MAZZUCCHELLI, and others! New cover by ADAMS!

ROY THOMAS, KURT BUSIEK, and JOE JUSKO on CONAN (with art by JOHN BUSCEMA, BARRY WINDSOR-SMITH, NEAL ADAMS, JUSKO, & others), SERGIO ARAGONÉS & MARK EVANIER on GROO, DC’s never-published KING ARTHUR, pencil art gallery by KIRBY, PÉREZ, MOEBIUS, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, BOLLAND, & others, and a new BUSCEMA/JUSKO Conan cover!

’70s and ’80s character revamps with DAVE GIBBONS, ROY THOMAS & KURT BUSIEK, TOM DeFALCO & RON FRENZ on SpiderMan’s 1980s “black” costume change, DENNY O’NEIL on Superman’s 1970 revamp, JOHN BYRNE’s aborted SHAZAM! series detailed, pencil art gallery with FRANK MILLER, LEE WEEKS, DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI, CHARLES VESS, and more!

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(108-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

#13: STATON, CARDY, EISNER, ROMITA!

#14: GRELL, COCKRUM, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KIRBY!

#15: PLOOG, COLAN, WAGNER, KUBERT!

CARDY interview, ENGLEHART and MOENCH on kung-fu comics, “Pro2Pro” with STATON and CUTI on Charlton’s EMan, pencil art gallery featuring MILLER, KUBERT, GIORDANO, SWAN, GIL KANE, COLAN, COCKRUM, and others, EISNER’s A Contract with God; “The Death of Romance (Comics)” (with art by ROMITA, SR. and TOTH), & more!

DAVE COCKRUM and MIKE GRELL go “Pro2Pro” on the Legion, pencil art gallery

by BUSCEMA, BYRNE, MILLER, STARLIN, McFARLANE, ROMITA JR., SIENKIEWICZ, looks at Hercules Unbound, Hex, Killraven, Kamandi, MARS, Planet of the Apes, art & interviews with GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, KIRBY, WILLIAMSON, and more! New MIKE GRELL/BOB McLEOD cover!

“Weird Heroes” of the 1970s and ’80s!

MIKE PLOOG discusses Ghost Rider, MATT WAGNER revisits The Demon, JOE KUBERT dusts off Ragman, GENE COLAN “Rough Stuff” pencil gallery, GARCÍALÓPEZ recalls Deadman, DC’s unpublished Gorilla Grodd series, PERLIN, CONWAY, & MOENCH on Werewolf by Night, & more!

New ARTHUR ADAMS cover!

“Toy Stories!” Behind the Scenes of Marvel’s G.I. JOE™ and TRANSFORMERS, “Rough Stuff” MIKE ZECK pencil gallery, ARTHUR ADAMS on Gumby, HE-MAN, ROM, MICRONAUTS, SUPER POWERS, SUPER-HERO CARS, art by HAMA, SAL BUSCEMA, GUICE, GOLDEN, KIRBY, TRIMPE, & new ZECK sketch cover!

“Super Girls!” Supergirl retrospective with art by STELFREEZE, HAMNER, SpiderWoman, Flare, Tigra, DC’s unused Double Comics with unseen BARRETTO and INFANTINO art, WOLFMAN and JIMENEZ on Donna Troy, female comics pros, art by SEKOWSKY, OKSNER, PÉREZ, HUGHES, GIORDANO, plus a COLOR GALLERY and COVER by BRUCE TIMM!

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(108-page magazine w/color) $9 US

#18: NEAL ADAMS, GIBBONS, GRELL!

#16: ZECK, GOLDEN, ARTHUR ADAMS, GUICE, KIRBY!

#17: TIMM, HAMNER, INFANTINO, HUGHES!

#19: NEWTON, COLAN, #20: ORDWAY, SAL #21: MILLER, MIGNOLA, #22: GIFFEN, McCLOUD, BYRNE, GERBER! BUSCEMA, SIENKIEWICZ! ROMITA JR., KIRBY! GRANT, BREYFOGLE!

“Big, Green Issue!” Take a tour of NEAL ADAMS’ studio (with interview & art gallery), DAVE GIBBONS “Rough Stuff” pencil art spotlight, interviews with MIKE GRELL (Green Arrow), PETER DAVID (Incredible Hulk), a “Pro2Pro” chat between GERRY CONWAY and JOHN ROMITA, SR. (Green Goblin), the unproduced She-Hulk movie, & more. GREEN LANTERN cover by ADAMS!

“Unsung Heroes!” DON NEWTON spotlight, GERBER and COLAN on Howard the Duck, MIKE CARLIN and DANNY FINGEROTH on Marvel’s Assistant Editors’ Month, “Greatest Stories Never Told” on the unrealized Unlimited Powers TV show, TONY ISABELLA’s aborted plans for The Champions, MARK GRUENWALD tribute, art by SAL BUSCEMA, JOHN BYRNE, and more! NEWTON/RUBINSTEIN cover!

“Secret Identities!” Histories of characters with unusual alter egos: Firestorm, Moon Knight, the Question, and the “real-life” Human Fly! STEVE ENGLEHART and SAL BUSCEMA on Captain America, JERRY ORDWAY interview, Superman writers and artists roundtable with SIENKIEWICZ, NOWLAN, MOENCH, COWAN, MAGGIN, O’NEIL, MILGROM, CONWAY, ROBBINS, SWAN, and a new ORDWAY cover!

“The Devil You Say!” issue! A look at Daredevil in the 1980s and 1990s with interviews and art by KLAUS JANSON, JOHN ROMITA JR., and FRANK MILLER, MIKE MIGNOLA Hellboy interview, DAN MISHKIN and GARY COHN on Blue Devil, COLLEEN DORAN’s unpublished X-Men spin-off “Fallen Angels”, Son of Satan, Stig’s Inferno, DC’s Plop!, JACK KIRBY’s Devil Dinosaur, and cover by MIKE ZECK!

“Dynamic Duos”! “Pro2Pro” interviews with Batman’s ALAN GRANT and NORM BREYFOGLE and the Legion’s PAUL LEVITZ and KEITH GIFFEN, a “Backstage Pass” to Dark Horse Comics, Robin’s history, EASTMAN and LAIRD’s Ninja Turtles, histories of duos Robin and Batgirl, Captain America and the Falcon, and Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, “Zot!” interview with SCOTT McCLOUD, and a new BREYFOGLE cover!

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(104-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

ROUGH STUFF celebrates the ART of creating comics! Edited by famed inker BOB McLEOD, each issue spotlights NEVERBEFORE PUBLISHED penciled pages, preliminary sketches, detailed layouts, and even unused inked versions from artists throughout comics history, before-and-after comparisons, critiques, early work, and more from top comics pros!

ROUGH STUFF #1

ROUGH STUFF #2

ROUGH STUFF #3

ROUGH STUFF #4

DAVIS • PÉREZ • TIMM • NOWLAN GARCÍA-LÓPEZ • ARTHUR ADAMS BYRNE • SIMONSON

BRIAN APTHORP • FRANK BRUNNER PAUL GULACY • JERRY ORDWAY ALEX TOTH • MATT WAGNER

MIKE ALLRED • JOHN BUSCEMA YANICK PAQUETTE • JOHN ROMITA JR. P. CRAIG RUSSELL • LEE WEEKS

BISSETTE • CHAYKIN • COLAN KALUTA • ANDREW ROBINSON JOHN TOTLEBEN

(116-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

(100-page magazine) $9 US

TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom.

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

GREAT NEW STUFF STUFF FROM FROM TWOMORROWS! TWOMORROWS!

ALTER EGO #63 (NOW!) Tribute to ALEX TOTH! Neverbefore-seen interview with tons of TOTH art, including sketches he sent to friends! Christmas cards from MOLDOFF, MAROTO, LEIALOHA, FLESSEL, & others!

Our annual 1943 pin-up calendar

by ALEX WRIGHT, with Miss America, Namora, Sun Girl, Venus, and others as real-life ’40s starlets, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

Edited by ROY THOMAS.

(100-page magazine) $9 US

WRITE NOW! #15 (MARCH) J.M. DeMATTEIS interview on Abadazad with MIKE PLOOG, DC’s 52 series scripting how-to by RUCKA/JOHNS/MORRISON/ WAID, KEITH GIFFEN breakdowns, pencil art by JOE BENNETT and CHRIS BATISTA, JOHN OSTRANDER on writing, STAR TREK novelist BILL McCAY on dealing with editors, samples of comics scripts and art, and more!

Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH. (84-page magazine) $9 US

BACK ISSUE #20 (NOW!)

DRAW! #13 (NOW!) KIRBY COLLECTOR #47 (NOW!) Step-by-step demo of painting

methods by painter ALEX HORLEY “Secret Identities!” Histories of KIRBY’S SUPER TEAMS, with (Heavy Metal, Vertigo, DC, unseen 1960s Marvel pencil art, a characters with unusual alter egos: rare KIRBY interview, MARK Firestorm, Moon Knight, Question, Wizards of the Coast), plus interviews and demos by Banana EVANIER’s column, two pencil art and the Human Fly! ENGLEHART Sundays’ COLLEEN COOVER, galleries, a complete neverand SAL BUSCEMA on Captain behind-the-scenes on Adult reprinted 1950s story, author America, ORDWAY interview, Swim’s MINORITEAM, regular JONATHAN LETHEM on his Kirby Superman writer and artist roundfeatures on drawing by BRET influence, an interview with table with NOWLAN, MOENCH, BLEVINS, MIKE MANLEY, links, JOHN ROMITA, JR. on his work SIENKIEWICZ, COWAN, MAGGIN, color section & more! New painted with NEIL GAIMAN on the O’NEIL, MILGROM, CONWAY, HORLEY cover! Edited by MIKE Eternals, and more! Edited by ROBBINS, SWAN, new ORDWAY MANLEY. JOHN MORROW. cover! Edited by MICHAEL EURY. (100-page magazine) $9 US (84-page tabloid) $13 US (104-page magazine) $9 US

MODERN MASTERS VOL. 9: MIKE WIERINGO BLUE BEETLE THE KRYPTON ALL-STAR VOL. 10: KEVIN COMPANION (FEB.) COMPANION (NOW!) COMPANION MAGUIRE (JAN.) VOL. 2 (NOW!) His history from 1939 to today! Unlocks the secrets of Superman’s Reprints his first appearance from Silver and Bronze Ages, when ROY THOMAS’ new sequel, with VOL. 11: CHARLES MYSTERY MEN COMICS #1, plus kryptonite came in multiple colors more secrets of the JSA and ALLVESS (FEB.)

interviews with WILL EISNER, JOE SIMON, JOE GILL, ROY THOMAS, GEOFF JOHNS, CULLY HAMNER, KEITH GIFFEN, LEN WEIN, neverseen Blue Beetle designs by ALEX ROSS and ALAN WEISS, as well as artwork by EISNER, JACK KIRBY, STEVE DITKO, KEVIN MAGUIRE, & more!

(128-page trade paperback) $21 US

and super-pets flew the skies!

Features all-new interviews with ADAMS, ANDERSON, CARDY, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, GIFFEN, , MOONEY, O’NEIL, OKSNER, PASKO, ROZAKIS, SHOOTER, WEIN, WOLFMAN, and others, plus tons of rare and unseen art!

By BACK ISSUE’S Michael Eury!

(240-page trade paperback) $29 US

STAR COMICS, from 1940 Features EXTENSIVE, CAREERthrough the 1980s: Amazing SPANNING INTERVIEWS lavishly information, speculation, and illustrated with rare art from the unseen ALL-STAR COMICS art! artists’ files, plus an ENORMOUS Unpublished 1940s JSA STORY SKETCHBOOK SECTION with ART not printed in Volume One! some of their finest work, including Full coverage of the 1980s ALLUNSEEN AND UNUSED ART! STAR SQUADRON, with scarce & never-published art! Wraparound (120-page trade paperbacks with color sections) $19 US EACH CARLOS PACHECO cover, & more!

(240-page Trade Paperback) $29 US

SUBSCRIPTIONS: JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR: Four issues US: $40 Standard, $56 First Class (Canada: $64, Elsewhere: $68 Surface, $84 Airmail).

BACK ISSUE!: Six issues US: $36 Standard, $54 First Class (Canada: $66, Elsewhere: $72 Surface, $96 Airmail).

DRAW!, WRITE NOW!, ROUGH STUFF: Four issues US: $24 Standard, $36 First Class (Canada: $44, Elsewhere: $48 Surface, $64 Airmail).

ALTER EGO: Twelve issues US: $72 Standard, $108 First Class (Canada: $132, Elsewhere: $144 Surface, $192 Airmail).

FOR A SIX-ISSUE ALTER EGO SUBSCRIPTION, JUST CUT THE PRICE IN HALF!

For the latest news from TwoMorrows Publishing, log on to www.twomorrows.com/tnt

TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom.

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com