Interviews

Back in May, Stephen & I attended Ottawa’s very first Comiccon. We had a great time and representing our website was an experience we won’t soon forget (click here for my blog). But the highlight of the day was my one on one interview with illustrator Darick Robertson. I’ve been a fan of is work since the early days of The New Warriors & Wolverine to his work with Warren Ellis on Transmetropolitan (his finest) & to his work with Garth Ennis on The Boys. I had the questions written down and recorded the interview with a little voice recorder/mic. This was my very first interview so I was a little nervous & a little star struck. I was extremely bummed out that I didn’t have a chance to interview star giants like William Shatner & Lou Ferigno, but the people I admire the most our the men & woman creating comics today. For me, these are my celebrities. Robertson was the nicest guy you could ever meet, an intelligent and down to earth guy who answered all my questions willingly. For the purpose of this website, I’ve transferred this interview in written form and it went a little something like this…
 
 
CTG : Welcome to Ottawa’s first ever Comiccon. Quite the turnout.
 
DR : Yes, It’s very impressive
 
CTG : Can you tell me how you first got started in comics? Was it a childhood fascination? 
 
DR : To some degree. I always enjoyed drawing and kind of discovered comics when I was about 10. I was always aware of them, but I was blown away by The Flash #272 and I bought it at a drugstore. I fell in love with sequential story telling based on that comic and a lot of DC and Marvel stuff of those days and started becoming more and more interested in sequential story telling. When I was 17, I self published a book called Space Beaver with a company called 10 Buck Comics that ran a comic book store in my home town and that kind of got me going.
 
CTG : What can you tell me about your project with Grant Morrison entitled Happy ? 
(* note : at the time little was known about this project, click here & here for more
information)
 
DR : I can’t tell you a whole lot, but it’s original, co-creating it now, first issue is out in      
         September. It’s a Christmas story, it’s dark & different and I’m very proud of it.
               
CTG : All we have is an image of a feather
 
DR : All will be revealed

CTG : That’s through Image Comics, right?
 
DR : Yes with Image. The less you know the better. It needs to be pealed back slowly.
 
CTG : Have you ever worked with Morrison before?
 
DR : We’ve been friends for a lot of years, but this is our first opportunity to collaborate
         together, it’s a welcomed opportunity.
 
CTG : So the Boys series is wrapping up soon. How do you feel about your run on that series  
           & working with Garth Ennis?
 
DR : I’m proud of the work that I did, I kind of wished I could’ve kept up with a monthly
         schedule and not step away to do the mini series and I’ll be doing the last issue,
         but I’m happy & proud of the work I’ve done.
 
CTG : Besides Happy!, what do you have planned in the future?
 
DR : I got a couple more books lined up with Image right now, they’ll be announced
          soon, again I can’t talk too much about it. I’m co-creating a book called Power of    
          Attorney, a 6 issue mini series for DC comics. It started at Wildstorm, but
          eventually ended up at DC.
 
CTG : What are your opinions on e-comics, web comics & the future of comics?
 
DR : I think they haven’t found their footing yet, I think with mobile devices they’re sort
         of inevitable, but nobody knows quite what to do with them. I’m hoping that magic
         combination how to market them happens, but it seems to be more of how to market
         them rather than a resistance to the product itself . I think it’s a great way to get
         comics out there, they look fantastic when you look at them on an i-pad and there’s
         all kinds of bells & whistles to make it a more interesting read, but I don’t think it’ll
         fully replace printed comics any more than recordings got rid of radio. People were
         worried that VCRs were gonna stop people from going to the movies, I don’t think 
         that we need to be afraid of the technology, It’s new & different and we’re kind of
         living through that evolution , so where it’s going to go is a little unpredictable and
         it’s just going to lead more people to read comics and it’s ultimately I think a good
         thing.
 
CTG : I mentioned Image Comics earlier. What’s your thoughts on this company?
 
DR : I’m really excited to be working with Image right now, with this new wave of
         people going over it’s an opportunity for guys who’ve been in the business a long
         time to really find a good partner in the creator owned model where we don’t lose
         our creative rights so when it gets developed, we’re not caught in a legal mess trying
         to get something made and we get to steer the ship of our own books, it’s almost like
         we’re independent within it and that’s what Image’s vision is. I think Image is          
         finally living up to its true potential.
 
CTG : It’s true, this year alone is like this crazy second wave of great projects
 
DR : Very excited to be part of that, I didn’t know at the time, but Grant (Morrison) and I 
         were going over there that I was part of this wave until I saw the announcement
          at that expo. I’m in good company and I’m very impressed with the people I’m           
          surrounded by creatively, doing this big push.
 
CTG : Well this has been an honour for me, thank you for your time & enjoy the rest of
            Comiccon.
 
DR : Thank you and nice to meet you
 
 
So there you have it, I also have a fascinating interview with Dave Ross coming soon.