FOREWORD:

Well, I have to start this out by thanking you for all your help with the StDA Website. You have been a shining source of information, inspiration, and material (like the exclusive page previews we have all enjoyed). It has been your support of the project that has really driven me to make it as good as my talents will allow, and for that I am very grateful.

Now, lets see what kind of mess we can make :)

INTERVIEW:

From your bio we see that your first goal in life, being in advertising, was not what you had hoped. Can you elaborate on this a bit? Was it not the creative atmosphere you had hoped? Was it too stifling dealing with clients?

No, it wasn't the best environment for creativity, but I knew I had to pay my dues before things would get interesting. Unfortunately, it never got that interesting. It was exciting for a while, going to client lunches, attending big meetings, sitting in Skybox seats at White Sox games, going to parties, and, of course, FREE STUFF from clients and potential clients. There were some valuable things I learned like how different forms of media function, how to network, and how expendable employees are. That last aspect, as well as back-stabbing, were two big reasons I decided advertising, at least on an agency level, wasn't for me. Getting back to the creativity, yes, clients can be extremely stifling, to the point of dullness. I got into advertising because I wanted to make things better than a lot of the ridiculous, cheesy ads that still seem to perpetuate the airwaves and print. But, I now better understand the forces at work that allow this to happen.

For the better part of my life, I have always wanted to make things better; more interesting; more creative.

So you are a big fan of Punk Music? Care to list some of your favorite bands? And what was the coolest punk rock concert you have ever been to?

Oh, now your going to make me have to really think back! Back in the day, in the late '70s, early '80s, my favorite punk bands were, of course, the Sex Pistols, Generation X, Adam and the Ants, Dead Kennedys, Oingo Boingo, Black Flag, the Meatmen, Siouxie and the Banshees, Bow Wow Wow, and the Clash. All the good shows were in Chicago, at the Aragon Ballroom, but since I wasn't able to drive yet, and we lived almost an hour away, in Elgin, I never made it to any of those shows. The first concert I attended wasn't even a punk show. My eighth grade girlfriend got tickets to see Journey, on their Frontiers tour. It wasn't a problem for our parents to take us, because it was at a theatre closer to Elgin. It did make them a little nervous leaving me at a big arena, but I've always wondered how they would have felt about me going to a Dead Kennedys show. They're lucky they never had to worry about me going to an Ozz Fest, where bottles are thrown, and fires are lit. Then came the British Invasion, and it was all over. With the advent of New Wave, I was hooked on everything from Billy Idol to Duran Duran, and U2 to the Psychedelic Furs. I made it to almost every big New Wave-type concert throughout jr. high, high school, and college. Some of the coolest shows were the multiple billing shows like INXS opening for Men at Work, and New Order and Berlin headlining for the Thompson Twins. In college, I got more into groups like Midnight Oil, the Alarm, and Rush. The '80s was a very diverse time, and my tastes ran the gamut.

Also in your bio, it mentions that artwork at a 1990 convention is what truly inspired your obsession with drawing comic characters. Was it something specific, a particular artist's work, that really got under your skin? Or just the entire show in general?

There were a few factors at play. Since the 1989 Batman movie, I had gotten back into collecting comics, no thanks to the encouragement of a college friend of mine, John Mallory, who became my roommate in Chicago after we graduated. He had stopped by a downtown newsstand and picked up some Green Arrow comics, knowing I had collected them as a kid. I went NUTS when I saw them! Not only was it better color and print quality from the "old days," but Mike Grell was at the helm again! Soon, I was hooked on my favorites like Batman and a few new ones like X-Factor. When Malibu came out with the Planet of the Apes series, it was all over for me. I was getting a box of comics a month from the local shops in Lincoln Park and "Wrigleyville." These events got me back into comics, but what thrust me into wanting to become a part of the creative process, was that first convention I went to in Indianapolis, IN. I don't know how to explain it, but there was something about the energy I felt from the artists and the fans that made me feel like this environment just fit. Stan Lee was there, giving a demonstration on the process of putting a comic together. Once I saw the creative complexity of how it works, I was inspired. It didn't hurt that this inspiration was sparked by Stan Lee!

It seems you have always worked with color in comics. Was there a title you worked on in which you did other aspects, the penciling or inks? And on that note, did you choose Coloring as your specialty early on or was it just something that emerged over time?

I haven't ever had anything I've penciled or inked in print, although many times I, as other colorists do, from time to time, have had to "re-ink" or touch up, or fix artwork on the computer that needs to be changed at the last minute. I have always enjoyed painting and modeling. I enjoy the challenge of trying to make something pop off the page and feel 3-dimensional. Before I got into comics professionally, I, like most fellow comic freaks, created my own characters and stories. What I found I enjoyed the most was filling these characters with dimension and volume by using paints and markers. This was before I got into computers, but once I did, I couldn't get enough. The computer makes the possibilities seem more infinite and immediate, making the whole process more spontaneous and fun.

How did it come about that you are the Colorist for The Dark Ages? Through the history of the book, there have been quite a few Colorists, but I get the feeling that you are here to stay. Can we expect you to be on Color for StDA for awhile?

I have been with Todd McFarlane for over 7 years, coloring books like the Angela series, Blood Feud, Spawn, Curse of the Spawn, the Spawn Bible, etc. Todd moved me to Phoenix after a year of working freelance for him to start an in-house color department, at a time when that was the trend. 2000 was a tough year for comics, and has been for the last 3. I had two guys in our department, and myself, working on three titles, Curse of the Spawn, Cy-Gor, and Sam and Twitch, as well as various other TMP/TME/McFarlane Toys projects. When Todd had to cancel Undead and Cy-Gor, things got a little shaky. We discussed a number of solutions, which finally resulted in bringing Dark Ages in house (not what I had intended for Mark Nicholas), and putting me in charge of the new web department for Spawn.com. While this helped justify our salaries, and gave us new challenges we had been asking for, other forces at work moved Todd to the inevitable: dissolve the web and color departments. Other departments went as well. Knowing he was leaving us high and dry, he offered Dark Ages to me and Sam and Twitch to Jay. Drew, who had come from the events department to work with me, was moved over to working with Al Simmons on the Ball Tour. As far as how long I'll stay...with today's market, one never knows, no matter how loyal you are.

I enjoy working on this book and I really enjoy the team. It's always more exciting working on a book when you're inspired by the talented people you work with. Steve has done an outstanding job with taking this story in a new direction, while remaining true to history. It's really great to watch Nat's talent grow. He's a great artist who's constantly challenging himself, so just when you think he's out-done himself, WHAM! he hits you with a new page. Then there's Kevin. I can't say enough about how great it is to be working with him again. He's extremely talented, and a great guy to boot. Whew! Sorry for the long-winded reply, but to answer your question, I'll stick around as long as possible.

Do the pages come to you with notes about Color? In other words, is there a plan of attack for the Coloring before it ever reaches you?

Nope. Sometimes Steve will make notes in the script about certain character colors, if it's something critical to the story, but that's it. The only notes I may get from Nat or Kevin are to clarify little details that may be hard to distinguish in the art. Otherwise, the color is entirely up to me. That's one thing I've always liked about working for Todd, he trusts my color sense and allows me creative freedom.

Are you involved with the artwork before it gets to the final stages?

No, that's up to Steve, Nat, and Kevin to hash out. I'll make suggestions or comments after I get the art, for future reference, if I feel it would improve some aspect of the book, or make someone's job easier. For example, I've been telling artists for some time now, that they don't have to render skies or starry nights, I'll take care of that. Not only does this give me something to add some flare to, it frees them up to focus on other things.

I admit to not knowing a lot about how the Coloring is done for a book like Dark Ages. Can you briefly describe the process for us in a step by step format?

Sure. It's basically a three step process. It can be four if you scan the art first. Fortunately, Kevin has his own scanner, so he emails me pages when he's done, which also saves a TON on Fed-Ex bills and headaches. Once I get the inked lineart from Kevin, I prep the page and "flat" the colors in. This is a simple, but critical process, by which you set up the base colors for the entire page, and the pages that follow. It's basically like coloring a coloring book on the computer, using PhotoShop and a Wacom Tablet, instead of crayons. It's important to stay in the lines, but nobody's perfect. The art is on 11" x 17" boards, so that's the dimensions of the file as well, which eventually gets sized down to comic proportions, allowing for some margin of error.

After a page is flatted, I begin rendering it by airbrushing and using gradients. I usually treat each page like a painting, moving from the back to foreground, but each page is unique and may dictate a different order in how I color it. Setting up a light source is critical. If it's not apparent in the lineart, it's up to the colorist to make one. Usually, I like to set up the background lighting first, which makes it easier to render the characters and other objects, but sometimes it's just the opposite.

The final process involves color checks, touching up, and adding special effects, like glows. When that's complete, I prepare the files for Mike Heslip up at Studio Colour Group, Uncle Kenny's (Todd's Uncle) service bureau where the comics are processed for the printer. At the same time I send low resolution files to Oscar at Comicraft. When Oscar's finished, he sends the lettered pages to Studio Colour as well, where Mike joins the word balloons and text with the high resolution art from me.

Do you show the pages after you Color them to Nat and Kevin? Is there a final approval process for them before they move on to the lettering phase?

I send a majority of the book to Nat and Kevin while we're working on the book. When I'm done with a batch of pages, I shoot them off to them. I do this for two reasons: 1} They're excited to see how the book is turning out; and 2) They look for any problems that may help improve the book somehow. There used to be an approval phase, where I would send print-outs to Todd before the book went to Studio Colour, but not only is Todd busy with so many things that he doesn't have time to deal with it, he trusts me, as well as the other colorists, Jay and Dan, that the colors are on target and consistent. Studio Colour does still send a proof of the book to Brad Gould, TMP managing editor, before it goes to press. Brad has a great eye for any problems, and may involve Todd if necessary, but that rarely happens.

I'm asking everyone this... What are your thoughts about the comic industry and declining sales? What can Fans do to help? What can the comic companies do to help?

Don't get me started! We've been going around with this for the past 3+ years. Every industry cycles in some way. Because of the boom in the early '90s, this slump looks even more dismal than ever. I know I'm not the first to say it, but it's the comic companies that did themselves in an ruined it for everyone. Greed clouds reason. When sales were up, what did the companies do? Jack up the price, introduce multiple and trick alternative covers and tons of gimmicks. The consumer may have been able to stomach it better if the quality had remained. Six years later, and some haven't really learned their lesson. I think the industry has learned some things from the experience, and we're seeing that reflected in many good titles today.

One of the biggest problems has been with marketing and retail. Blame the retailers all you want, and they do deserve some, but there has never been a proven marketing plan that drives comic sales. I could expound on that for hours, but I don't want to bore any of you more than you already are. If comic companies could ban together and come up with a kick-ass marketing plan, things would greatly improve. But they probably won't. Too many egos and pocketbooks involved. I don't want to paint a dark picture (sorry, no pun intended), these issues are just the nature of the beast. But, as I've stated on this site before, a lot can be accomplished by the fans sending in letters and posting intelligent comments on the different message boards. You may not believe it, but they can have an impact.

Are there other comic book projects on your horizon?

I'm always open to new challenges, and I do lend a helping hand where I can, but I like a diversified portfolio. I've been helping wildlife conservation groups out by working on posters and art that's used as part of their fund-raising and educational materials. I'm also looking into working on children's books.

On this site, there is a painting of a wolf which you sent to me through email. Is painting something you do a lot of? Is it just for personal pleasure, or do you sell your paintings somewhere?

I haven't done much actual painting, in the traditional sense for a while, but I'm planning some pieces just for decorating our house. I have been doing quite a bit of painting with PhotoShop, just for my own pleasure, and to challenge myself. I did that wolf because of my love for them. I have been disgusted for years at the outrageous treatment of all wildlife and ecosystems by irresponsible people. Kevin feels the same way, which has sparked many lengthy phone conversations. This was the first painting in a series I plan to do. Some conservation groups have seen my work and asked me to get involved with their programs to increase awareness through art and various forms of media. That's the next step I'll take with this kind of art.

Not sure if you can really zero us in on this or not, but just HOW is The Dark Ages doing? Is it safe to say that the title will be around for a long time to come?

I wish I could say how long. It's doing pretty well. Sales have increased slightly since the new team has been together. The perception is that it's doing a little better than expected, but we can always hope for more. As I've stated, numerous times, sending letters and posting messages of interest will increase the odds that the book will be around for a while. Word of mouth would help the true dictator of success, that being sales.

In closing, I just HAVE to ask, what did you think of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace???

To be totally honest, I was satisfied and greatly entertained, but I had hoped my expectations would have been surpassed. Empire is still my favorite, but I really enjoy the simplicity of A New Hope. Lucas has progressively cluttered each movie with more eye candy and effects. While it's thrilling to see hundreds of Battle Droids marching and fighting, it has lost the edginess of Episode IV. I'm also annoyed by the formula each one fits into. There's a Jedi battle, a space battle, and a land battle, each alternating at nearly the same time intervals, where the good guys struggle to nearly escape the evil clutches of the dark side. It's what we've come to expect, but when it gets too predictable, it takes away from some of the enjoyment and hope for the unexpected. And for God's sake! Why does Lucas insist on making each movie more Disney-fied?! I was 9 when Star Wars came out, and I was fine with Stormtroopers getting blown away, and Chewbacca only grunting and growling, and looking a little scruffy. So, why did we have to endure Jar Jar?! I better not get started... I am still a big fan, and I'm looking forward to the whole Fett history, but I have to admit, I'm much more excited about Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes, due out July 27th, than I am about Episode II.

Thanks for your time. Everything you have done is appreciated and this is no exception.

Thank you, Twisted Spine! I appreciate your taking such an interest in the Dark Ages and helping to promote it. You've done an incredible job with your site. Quite a feat for someone who isn't even being paid for his efforts. Keep up the great work!