Veteran comic artist Ron Smith focus of new podcasts

(With thanks to Graeme Neil Reid): Over on the Everything Comes Back to 2000AD site the team have produced two podcast interviews with artist Ron Smith which are pure gold.

Ron talks about his whole career: obviously the podcasts centre mainly on 2000AD but he covers loads of his work.

• Part One: http://2000ad.wordpress.com/2013/03/19/ep113-ecbt2000ad-ron-smith-interview-pt-1/

• Part Two: http://2000ad.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/ecbt2000ad-ep114-ron-smith-pt-2/

Creating Aces Weekly: Behind the Scenes with editor Bambos Georgiou

Interest in Aces Weekly, a new weekly digital comic conceived by David Lloyd, has accelerated now the title is up and running, with the project attracting plenty of press attention at last weekend's New York Comic Con.

downthetubes caught up with Aces Weekly editor (and comic book inker) Bambos Georgiou and creator David Lloyd to get the latest on the project.

David Lloyd

As the co-creator of V for Vendetta and creator of the graphic novel Kickback, David Lloyd should need no introduction to regular downthetubes readers. He originally trained as a commercial artist in an advertising art studio before becoming a strip cartoonist in 1977 and his numerous credits include Night Raven and Doctor Who strips for Marvel UK, Hellblazer, Slaine, War Stories, Global Frequency, Aliens, Marlowe: The Graphic Novel and much, much more. Aces Weekly is his latest project, breaking new ground in the digital comics field.

Bambos Georgiou

A comic professional for over 20 years, who has read comics since age of 5, Bambos Georgiou worked as an editor for Marvel UK and has a string of creator-owned projects to his name.

"This project is fairly unique, as it's been set up by a couple of creators to benefit their fellow creators," explains Bambos of Aces Weekly's origin.
"The whole thing was David's idea and he asked me what I thought back in October 2011. I looked at his basic premise, put in my two cents worth and we took it from there, gradually laying the ground work.

"Fairly early on, we established that it should be weekly and available on home computers as well as on an iPad."

Progenitor © 2012 Phil Hester and John McCrea

It's an ambitious project that has attracted some top line creators across the globe, including Phil Hester, John McCrea, Kyle Baker and many more. "I don't think creators will get too many opportunities like this," Bambos enthuses. "They get to keep their copyright and the majority of the revenue is paid to the creators.

"The pages are all landscape," he says of the title's format, "as Aces Weekly is tailored for the screen ratio of all digital delivery devices. We want to reach everyone - at home or anywhere else they happen to be.

"Aces Weekly is readable on both home computers and tablets," he adds. "Our web designer has made it compatible with every device. You just need an internet or wifi connection.

"We have gone for straight comics without any technological tricks such as panel to panel progressions," he expands on the project's presentation mechanic.
"David and I both wanted to just make comic strips available exclusively digitally," he adds. It's very much about the strips as opposed to any technological gimmicks.

"I believe in the comic strip medium, I don't think it needs 'improving', he expands. "If you link content with technology, like computer games, the technology moves on and your content becomes old fashioned. You can still read V For Vendetta and it's a very good (make that great) comic, but people don't play Pacman any more because it's old fashioned, the technology's moved on.

"For me, digital media is just another way of getting comic strips in front of readers. It's up to our web designers to make it work – I'm just interested in the comics!"

Talking generally about the move to digital comics, "We looked at what had been done and realised that most comic companies were merely making their print books available in digital formats as well.

"We wanted to produce something that was only available in a digital format, exclusively. To sell that to the established comic market we knew we needed names that comic fans recognised and trusted. We know they'll be taking a leap of faith, but it's a bit easier when you've got well known, popular creators providing the content."

How did were the initial creators chosen for the first issues of Aces Weekly?

"David gathered together the talent, which comes from all over the world," Bambos reveals. "He's been going to comic conventions for years and has met lots of comic creators, many of them wanted to be involved with his project.

"Once people like Kyle Baker, John McCrea, Phil Hester, Mark Wheatley, Billy Tucci, Yishan Li and Alain Mauricet were involved, I knew it had a good chance of success. That was the first wave to say they were willing to sign up, so it really was a very positive response from the start.

Legion Zero, an upcoming story for Aces Weekly. © 2012 Kev Hopgood and Ferg Handley

"We've got creators from all over the world contributing, UK, US, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, China and the Philippines. It's a pretty incredible line up."

As to the title's planned frequency, "we're publishing Aces Weekly in volumes, seven weekly issues to each volume and a volume costs £6.99/$9.99/EU 7.99. There are two-week breaks before each new volume begins - this is to give those creators producing stories across volumes maximum time to deliver, whilst not keeping readers waiting too long for the following volume.

"Each issue has up to 30 pages of brand new comics including extras such as pencils and sketches which builds up to 210 pages per volume - a very good deal.

"In most volumes six stories are serialised through the seven issues, but in Volume 1, and other volumes coming up, we'll also be featuring self-contained three-pagers, that are previews of upcoming stories or comedies, or one-off dramas."

Paradise Mechanism © 2012 David Hitchock

The initial serialised strips are Valley Of Shadows by David Lloyd & Dave Jackson, Shoot For The Moon by Alexandre Tefenkgi & Mauricet, Return Of The Human by JC Vaughn & Mark Wheatley, Progenitor by Phil Hester and John McCrea and Paradise Mechanism by David Hitchcock.

"The self contained three pagers feature some well known characters making a welcome comeback; Combat Colin by Lew Stringer, Thrud by Carl Critchlow, Psycho Gran by David Leach and Gimbley by Phil Elliott. There are also strips by Spanish creator Esteban Hernandez and UK creator Rory Walker.

"I've teamed up with Mychailo Kazybrid to produce a three pager called Dr Queer. Mychailo and I work on the Wallace & Gromit strip which appears in the Sun newspaper."

And will any of the strips be returning in future volumes or will we see a change of line-up?

"Smash Mannix, Progenitor and Return Of The Human are all set to return," Bambos reveals."Any of the strips could make a comeback: it depends on the creators and the reader reaction, but those two strips are already booked in for future volumes. The self contained three pagers will also be appearing semi-regularly, which I think helps to break things up a bit."

Of course, despite the digital presentation of the comics, there are many who still like their comics on paper - so are there any plans for collected editions of the strips that feature in Aces Weekly?

"The title was designed to be exclusively digital, so we have absolutely no plans for print versions," says Bambos. "These creators are involved in the future of comics because the future of comics, and most media, is digital."

That digital new world remains something of an unknown and Bambos and David - and the creators - know the long term eventual success of Aces Weekly is not just down to great comic storytelling but letting people know the comic is available and encouraging subscriptions. But they also know it will be some time before they know if all the hard work they've put into the project so far has paid off for all concerned.

Art © David Lloyd

"In the direct sales market publishers and creators know how many copies they've sold three months before the comic's been printed," he acknowledges. "With digital comics it's a long term proposition, we'll still be on sale in three months or three years.

"It's down to us to get the message out there to the general market, you know the 99.99 per cent of the population that don't read comics in the UK and US. Now that's a prize worth going for and it's not going to be attained by turning a comic strip into a graphic novel and putting it into a direct sales comic shop."

Despite these unknowns, there is one positive for the creators concerned, Bambos reveals.

"The money our creators get from a single sale of Aces Weekly is greater than the royalty from most graphic novels – and that's just on 21 pages of material! "It's a sweet deal," he opines. "David and I are creators – so, as I've said many times, the whole project is geared towards the creators."

Initial reaction has been very positive, the title's creator, David Lloyd, tells us. "I had an excellent time promoting Aces Weekly at the New York Comic Convention over the weekend," he reveals. "There was no quiet moment from the beginning to the end - a dozen interviews with everyone from Canadian tv to the Wall Street Journal and including the trusty Bleeding Cool. Visitors to my table every minute were reacting with enthusiasm to my enthusing about Aces Weekly."

"Readers can subscribe now and get all the issues that have been published up to that point in our first volume," Bambos reminds us. "We're trying to make it as simple and attractive to buy the comic as possible."

• Head over to www.acesweekly.co.uk now and check it out for yourself. Issues 1 - 3 are now available!

Interview compiled with help from 'The Emperor'. Thanks to Bambos and David for their time providing this interview.

XIII Questions About Cinebook's XIII

Cinebook began publishing English translations of Franco-Belgian bandes dessinee graphic novels in 2005 and, with well over 100 titles now available, have succeeded in bringing many characters familiar to European audiences to the English speaking world either for the first time with series such as Clifton and Orbital or with multiple releases of series that had previously only had a few books translated like Lucky Luke and Thorgal.

One of the series that falls into this second category is the spy/mystery series XIII from writer Jean Van Hamme and illustrator William Vance which had only previously had the first three of its nineteen albums translated by both CatCom and Marvel in the US. downthetubes' Jeremy Briggs talked to Cinebook publisher Olivier Cadic and XIII translator Jerome Saincantin about the series.


DTT: XIII began in issue 2408 of Spirou magazine in 1984 before being complied into the first album Le jour du soleil noir (The Day Of The Black Sun). When did you both first come across the series?

Jerome Saincantin: XIII was one of the few comics that my father wasn’t buying religiously back then, so my first contact must have been around 13 or 14, when I began going to the local library after school – mostly because I’d run out of new stuff at home! I remember liking it a lot for the “real world” feel it had, something I’d only found in Yoko Tsuno thus far. But XIII was a lot grittier than Yoko, or the other BDs I was used to – Asterix, Achille Talon, Lucky Luke or even Valerian. While I always enjoyed reading it when I could, for a long time it remained a series I’d catch up on at the library or through my friends. It’s a problem – you can’t buy everything!

Olivier Cadic: It was our readers who asked me to publish XIII. I’d never read it back then.

DTT: What do you think sets XIII apart from other spy or mystery series?

Jerome: Well, the obvious answer is its quality. The art is consistently fantastic and didn’t lose anything over the years; and Jean Van Hamme really IS a master storyteller – it’s not just a sales pitch! He can weave suspense, action, humour and a great deal of plot seamlessly into a single story, and there’ll be something for everyone and no one will feel left out – that’s an incredible talent, right there. Not to mention the plot is actually intelligent and consistent. There are many other spy/mystery series available, some of them quite brilliant; but I don’t think any of them have that broad an appeal. Plus, at least for me, it was the ORIGINAL spy/mystery series. The very first! Maybe older readers would have a different take, of course, but as far as I’m concerned, new series get compared to XIII. It’s the reference.

Olivier: The outstanding quality of Van Hamme’s storytelling, combined to Vance’s unique art style.

DTT: Was the fact that the first three albums had previously been published in English in the States an issue in deciding to publish XIII?

Olivier: We had published other series by Jean Van Hamme - such as Thorgal, Largo Winch and Lady S. At first, readers believed that, like all other publishers before, we’d give up quickly. But seeing that we were in fact successful, they began asking us, week after week, to publish XIII. They were very frustrated at having only the first three volumes available. That’s what convinced the French publisher and the authors to sell us the rights.

DTT: The first story arc runs through the first five XIII books. Are there similar story arcs throughout the rest of the series?

Olivier: Buy your XIII book every two months to get the answer. ;-)

DTT: Rather than pause at the end of each series story arc, the Cinebook plan for XIII then is to publish the nineteen books of the series at the rate of one every two months over the course of 3 years to be completed in, appropriately enough, 2013. The only other Cinebook series to get the same speedy releases is the very popular Lucky Luke. Was this ambitious schedule part of your original plan when you were looking to license the series for English publication?

Olivier (left): One visitor at the Bristol Comics Expo had told me: “Never try to publish XIII. It’s cursed. No publisher’s ever gone past volume three.” My answer had been: “If Cinebook publishes XIII, it’ll be blessed.” So, when we got the opportunity to negotiate for the rights, I decided to show both authors and readers that it was Cinebook’s calling to let them find each other. The readers had awaited the rest of the series for too long. We wanted to present all those who believed in Cinebook, and had been waiting to discover the entirety of XIII, with a gift. To do that, it was necessary to let them know when the end would be published—so they’d know for sure that we intended to go the distance. The authors loved my idea: everyone will know who XIII is in 2013!

DTT: Have you had any feed back from writer Jean Van Hamme or artist William Vance about the Cinebook versions?

Jerome: I haven’t met William Vance, though I hope I get the chance at some point. I did meet Jean Van Hamme at Angoulème this year. He’s a bit of a formidable character! The man is quite nice, but he also has a no-nonsense, I-have-paid-my-dues-and-will-not-take-any-crap attitude that discourages the lowly translator from asking outright if he’s happy with the work done! I was afraid I might get eaten, you know! Joking, of course. He’s not an ogre! It’s just that I’m still in the “I can’t believe I’m working in this field” phase and am easily intimidated by celebrities! As far as I know, he has made no complaints about our translating work – and he does speak English. So I’ll take this as an endorsement!

Olivier: Jean Van Hamme came to London for the launch of XIII by Cinebook. We’d organised the launch in a club at midnight. I’d told our distributor that, exceptionally, Big Ben would strike thirteen times. They believed me - and luckily enough, no one went and checked!

DTT: The work of a translator, like that of a letterer, is often taken for granted - a good translation passes unnoticed but a poor translation is very obvious. The translation of XIII is so natural that it feels as if it was originally written in English. Did you find the series easy to translate in comparison to other albums or books that you have worked on?

Jerome (right in white with Orbital artist Serge Pelle): It’s important to note, first, that I’m the PRIMARY translator for this series and several others – but that every translation job is team work. I translate; the first draft is looked over by a first person in the UK for easy mistakes, then corrected by a professional proofreader in the US. It goes back to me, and back and forth as needed until we’ve reached a consensus on everything. Then it’s re-read yet again by a couple of fans in the UK for a fresh look. I think that’s one of the reasons for Cinebook’s success – from the beginning, Olivier decided to do things properly, not half-baked. So, thank you very much indeed for the compliment! But I will accept it on behalf of the whole team, not just me!

Now, about the actual question here - XIII is indeed one of the easier series to translate. I’m naturally at ease with fluid, familiar register dialogue, especially in “American,” and years of reading Tom Clancy and Stephen Coonts novels have given me a passing familiarity with the worlds of military and intelligence. The most difficult sometimes was to stick to the age limit, especially in SPADS – snippets of Full Metal Jacket and Heartbreak Ridge kept pushing their way into the dialogue, stuff that made even me blush!

In comparison, some series are difficult, or bordering on the nightmarish. Long John Silver is an absolute joy, but requires extensive research into period speech and naval vocabulary; The Bellybuttons had me delve into whatever language teenagers find “hip” these days which wasn’t always easy. And of course, there’s our collective bogeyman: Blake and Mortimer… Whole slabs of very formal, very British, 50’s text… Sometimes, when I’m working on B&M, at night, I curl up and cry… :p

DTT: How far ahead of the publishing schedule are your translations and how long on average does it take you to translate a book?

Jerome: I’m currently working on the September/October batch, for example. So I’d say 3 or 4 months in advance. The publishing side of things isn’t my department, so mostly I translate when I’m told! Speed of translation varies widely, depending on my schedule, on how inspired I feel by the comic at the time, and of course on difficulty and research needed. On average, though, I’d say it takes about a week of actual work to produce a proper first draft, then maybe another week or two of back and forth for an almost-final version. Last typo-catching sessions can still take place a lot later. That’s for normal comics of course. Blake and Mortimer, now… *shudder*

DTT: Since Jerome is not credited as the translator in the Cinebook versions of the first three books, did the Cinebook versions use the previously published translations those three books?

Olivier: Erica worked from Catcom’s version.

Jerome: Yes; the texts were given to Erica, our American proofreader, first, to check the language; then I was asked to read them to make sure there wouldn’t be any conflicts with the following volumes – on choices of names, for example, or the meaning of acronyms (SPADS), etc…

DTT: XIII Book 1: The Day Of The Black Sun was available free with issue 5 of Comic Heroes magazine. How did this come about?

Olivier: They contacted us and came with this great idea. I love great ideas!

DTT: The original covers that the XIII albums were published with have been updated with new illustrations by William Vance and Cinebook are using the new versions. Was there an option to use either the old or new covers or does original publisher Dargaud prefer that all foreign editions standardise on the current French covers?

Olivier: We use most of the new covers. We were free to decide which one we preferred.

DTT: There are French live action TV series and films of many of the Cinebook titles including Largo Winch and Iznogoud while XIII was made into a mini-series XIII: The Conspiracy in 2008 starring Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff and broadcast in the UK on channel Five. Have either of you seen it and is it any good?

Jerome: I must confess I haven’t watched it yet. Not out of doubt as to its quality, but because I don’t want to muddle my own (and by now, established) “sound” of what XIII is like with the movie’s take on it. I also have a backlog of DVDs to watch that’s bordering on the ridiculous!

Olivier: The Largo Winch movie is really great. The special effects are worthy of the effort, and our blue-jeans wearing hero was perfectly cast. The Iznogoud movie didn’t fare quite as well. It takes enormous talent to adapt Goscinny’s humour. But the fans can see their heroes ‘live’, and that’s always nice. I found the XIII mini series with Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff really outstanding. I’m not surprised NBC decided to broadcast it twice, a year apart, in the USA.

DTT: The main XIII series concluded with the nineteenth book however there is a sister series entitled XIII Mysteries currently running to three books and a 20th main series title due later this year in France, all of which have been produced by different creative teams. Could you tell us a little about these and if Cinebook might consider translating them in the future?

Jerome: Well, as far as publishing it, I cannot tell. Regarding the spin-off XIII Mysteries, I haven’t looked at it yet. I’ve lived in Ireland for ten years, a country where finding comics – especially European BDs – is akin to looking for snow in the Serengeti. I’ve been back in France for a year, but the backlog of comics I missed, and sometimes didn’t even hear about, is quite extensive. I’ll get to it eventually! As for volume 20, I just heard about it, and I’m very much looking forward to it! Youri Jigounov is an excellent artist who should be a good successor to William Vance. And I want to know what’ll happen to XIII – he’s a bit of a personal friend by now!

Olivier: The XIII Mysteries series is a massive success and I found the books really great. There’s every chance we’ll include them in our schedule for 2014 onward.

DTT: Olivier and Jerome, thank-you both for your time.

Jerome: Thank you kindly.

Olivier: Thank you!

There are more details of the English language XIII titles at the Cinebook website.

There are more details of the original French language XIII titles at the official XIII website (in French).

10 Questions: Comic Artist Jesús Redondo Román

Jesus Redondo in 2004

Following up on our interview with this week's 2000AD Terror Tales writer David Baillie yesterday, we're delighted to bring you an exclusive quick interview with the legendary artist on the story - Jesús Redondo Román.

Jesus returns to the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic for the first time in more than a decade with his art on this Tale, 'Birth of Mazzikim', which appears in 2000 AD prog 1737 – available now from all good newsagents and comic shops.

Jesus Redondo was born 8th August 1934 in Valladolid, Spain. His father was a teacher in Cubillas de Santa Maria, and he inherited a love of drawing, literature and other arts.

In 1958, after meeting with Miguel Delibes (then editor of the newspaper El Norte de Castilla), Jesus decided to move Madrid and began work at the advertising agency, Cid, and was appointed as Head of Studio within a year. In 1961, he sent samples of his work to Editorial Bruguera and began his career as a comics artist with the story 'Professor Woosly',  dated April 1962.

Down the years, Jesus has worked in various styles and for many very different publications, such as women's magazines, childrens' books and, in comics, on science fiction, heroic fantasy, adventure, thrillers and superhero strips.

In addition to his European work, which includes 'Edward' (for Tina), 'El Capitán Trueno' and 'Un Paseo por la Rioja', he has worked for a variety of British publishers, drawing strips such as 'Suzette of the Silver Sword' for Diana, 'The Mind of Wolfie Smith', first published in Tornado but arriving in 2000 AD with Prog 133 (running until Prog 177), various Future Shocks for 2000AD, 'Mr Black', a series for Creepy magazine, episodes of Motormouth and Killpower for Marvel UK, Star Wars and Kitty Pride Agent of SHIELD for Marvel US in 1998.

downthetubes: We haven't seen your work in British comics for a long time. What have you been working on?

Jesús Redondo Román: I have been working for publishers in France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Holland and the US - mainly for Marvel, Random House [and] Escolactic - making comics, storybooks and colour illustrations for childrens' books.

downthetubes: Have you been been keeping up with 2000AD and the people you worked with?

Jesus: Unfortunately not. Last year I met with Carlos Ezquerra, which made ​​me remember old times and I got in touch with 2000 AD and Rebellion again.

downthetubes: Do you still create you art in the same way you drew "The Mind of Wolfie Smith"?

Jesus: I think I still draw the same way and sometimes, they tell me, better. Although things do not always go as you want!

downthetubes: Are you working with digital art tools and which ones?

Jesus: I do not work with digital media. It's a strange world to me and I don't think I'll go there, so I keep my pens, brushes, markers etc.

downthetubes: Which artists most influence you?

2000AD Terror Tale 'Birth of
Mazzikim'by David Baillie
and Redondo

Jesus: Without a doubt, when I started the artists who influenced me were Jesus Blasco [who drew strips such as 'Steel Claw' for Valiant - Ed], Alex Raymond [creator of Flash Gordon] and Hal Foster [Prince Valiant].

downthetubes: Will you be drawing more for 2000 AD?

Jesus: I'd love to - it all depends on Rebellion. I've always tried to work with friends and I hope that having worked so many years for 2000 AD, [editor] Matt [Smith] will consider me a friend and give me more work.

downthetubes: Do you have a favourite 2000 AD character you would love to draw?

A page from 'The Mind of Wolfie Smith'
© Rebellion

Jesus: I'm not very familiar with the histories and contemporary artists in the magazine. But I always remember [the strips I worked on]: 'Mind Wars', 'The Mind of Wolfie Smith', 'Monster', 'Armageddon', 'Dan Dare'...

downthetubes: The comic industry has gone through many changes since you drew strips like 'Suzette of the Silver Sword' and 'Edward' (for the Dutch magazine Tina). Do you think comics still have a future?

Jesus: I hope so, although electronic competition is very strong. I think that having a comic book in your hands, turning the pages, smell the ink... it is very pleasant and always will [always have a place in] a corner of our closet where we store our treasures.

downthetubes: What advice do you give young artists wanting to draw comics?

Jesus: Learn to practice every day and not get discouraged. Learn from the artists who admire and study them, copy them, just for practice.

downthetubes: Do you have a web site or gallery where your fans can view your art?

Jesus: Yes, although there isn't much on it yet - a friend made ​​it for me:  http://jesusredondo.carbonmade.com

(Note: this is really a work in progress - we're including the link here for future reference)

'Wolfie Smith' was also drawn by
Vanyo

• Special thanks to Michael Molcher at 2000AD for arranging this interview and Esteve Dalmau at the Dalmau Agency for checking my rubbish Spanish!

Related Links on this site:

• David Baillie's Date with Terror (Tales, that is)

Web Links:

•  Jesus Redondo's Lambiek entry

• Detailed Biography on 'Por El Propio Autor' (In Spanish)

• Profile: The Dreamers (in Spanish, published in 2004)


• 2007 Interview on 'El Capitan Trueno' (in Spanish)

Here's our interview in Spanish, for the benefit of Jesus many Spanish fans (and just in case we have mangled Jesus replies!):

downthetubes: No hemos visto tu trabajo en el cómic británico durante mucho tiempo. ¿ En qué has estado trabajando?

A panel from 'Suzette of the Silver
Sword' a strip Redondo drew
for Diana in the 1960s

Jesus: Durante este tiempo he trabajado para editoriales de Francia, España, Alemania, Suecia, Holanda y principalmente para U.S.A. (Marvel, Random House, Escolactic…) Haciendo cómic, libros de historias ilustrdas y colorin books para niños.

downthetubes: Has estado manteniendo el ritmo con 2000AD y la gente que ha trabajado?

Jesus: Lamentablemente no. El pasado año me encontré con Carlos Ezquerra, lo que hizo que yo recordara antiguos tiempos y me puse en contacto de nuevo con 2000 AD (Rebellion.

downthetubes: Todavía creas el arte de la misma manera que dibujaste "El pensamiento de Wolfie Smith"?

Jesus: Creo que sigo siendo el mismo y según me dicen a veces mejor. Aunque las cosas no siempre salen como uno quiere.

downthetubes: Si no, estás trabajando con herramientas digitales y cuáles son?

Jesus: No trabajo con medios digitales, es para mí un mundo muy desconocido y al que pienso no entrar por ahora, de manera que sigo con mis lapiceros, pinceles, rotuladores, etc.

downthetubes: Cuales son los artistas que mas te han influido ?

Jesus: Sin duda ninguna, cuando yo empezaba, los artistas que más influyeron en mí, fueron, Jesús Blasco, Alex Raimond, Hal Foster...

downthetubes: Dibujaràs màs para 2000 AD?

Jesus: Me encantaría, todo depende de Rebellion. Yo siempre he procurado trabajar con amigos y espero que habiendo colaborado tantos años con 2000 AD. Me consideren un amigo y Matt me encargue muchos trabajos.

downthetubes: Tienes algùn personaje favorito en 2000 AD que te gustaría dibujar?

Jesus: No estoy muy al corriente de las historias y artistas actuales en la revista. Siempre recordaré… 'Mind Wars', 'Wolfie', 'Monster', 'Armagedon', 'Dan Dare' ….


downthetubes: La industria del cómic ha pasado por muchos cambios desde que dibujastes tiras como "Suzette de la Espada de Plata 'y' Edward '(para la revista holandesa Tina). Crees que los cómics tienen todavía futuro?

Jesus: Deseo que sí, aunque la competencia electrónica es muy fuerte. Particularmente pienso que tener un cómic entre las manos, pasar las hojas, oler la tinta….es muy grato y siempre habrá un rinconcito en nuestro armario donde guardar nuestro tesoro,

downthetubes: Qué consejo les das a los jóvenes artistas que quieren dibujar cómics?

Jesus: Que aprendan que aprendan cada día y no se desanimen. Que aprendan de los artistas que admiren y los estudien, que los copien, solo para practicar.

downthetubes: Tienes un sitio web o galería, donde tus fans pueden ver tu arte?

Jesus: Sí, aunque un poco escaso dentro de poco tiempo lo ampliaré. Es decir, un amigo lo hará por mí: http://jesusredondo.carbonmade.com

(Nota: esto es realmente un trabajo en progreso - hemos incluido el enlace aquí para futura referencia)

Art fr Emma's Gedachten  (Tina Issue 42, 2008)

David Baillie's date with Terror (Tales, that is)

Writer/artist David Baillie has been a stalwart of the British small press scene for some time, self-publishing his comics to sell online and at conventions. More recently, though, he’s moved into professional comics writing. 

This week, his new Terror Tale is published in 2000 AD (Prog #1737) so Matt Badham thought it was a good time to sit down and have a chat with him.

This interview is crossposted from Matt's blog with his and David's kind permission...

Matthew Badham: What tips have you got for those trying to write one-offs, Terror Tales or Future Shocks, for 2000 AD?

David Baillie: Well first off – I’m not claiming to be an expert. Also bear in mind: man cannot know the mind of Tharg. But I do have some thoughts on what makes for a good Future Shock/Terror Tale-style story, based on lessons I’ve learned personally and stuff I’ve observed in the work of others. (For starters, don’t begin sentences with ‘But’.)

I’d suggest doing some research – but don’t limit yourself to just reading old Future Shocks, or indeed just comics. Track down Golden Age sci-fi shorts by authors like Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, and in terms of more contemporary stuff I love Ted Chiang and Michael Swanwick.

Also, read outside of the genres – Saki, O. Henry and definitely The Dead by James Joyce. All of these guys wrote (or write) engaging short fiction with great central premises and non-ambiguous resolutions.

I suppose what I’m saying is make sure your story is engaging, has a great central premise and a resolution that isn’t ambiguous. And learn from the best. You only have four pages to tell your story so every panel has to do a job. Avoid repetition where possible. And make sure your character clearly wants something.

What was it like discovering that your new strip has been illustrated by Jesus Redondo?

David: Tharg told me who had drawn Birth of the Mazzikim at the Eagle Awards a couple of weeks ago and I was honestly dumbstruck. My ambitions in comics break down into three categories – things I hope might happen one day, things that are now impossible for some reason (I always wanted to do a signing at Comic Showcase on Charing Cross Road, but it’s now closed) and things that are so improbable that I hadn’t even contemplated them.

Having a legend like Jesus Redondo draw a story I wrote for 2000 AD is a firm #3. The man is a legend – among his many credits, he drew some of Alan Moore’s most well-remembered Time Twisters, The Mind of Wolfie Smith and M.A.C.H. 1. Stories I read again and again when I was growing up (in reprint – I’m not that old!) It’s even more incredible that the artwork for the story is as good as it is.

According to Wikipedia, Mr Redondo is now in his late seventies, but he draws like a hungry young whipper-snapper. It’s amazing. His storytelling is still world-class and, as Henry Flint said on Twitter the other day, if anything his work is tighter now than it was a couple of decades ago. I’ll go back to being dumbstruck now.

You’ve also written Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) for the Russian market. These are two-page strips. What are the challenges there? 

David: That’s been one of the most fun gigs ever. I’m the right age to have been knocked off my feet by the mega-franchise that is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the first time around. Then I became obsessed with ninjas and eventually tracked down the original black and white indie comics – so I’m a genuine fan.

The TMNT comic I’m working on is for younger readers and, like you said, the stories are all two-pagers. It’s a really interesting challenge to tell a story in that small a space. Introducing a problem, escalating it and then resolving it in a surprising way in around ten panels is a tall order and I’ve had to find new writing muscles that I didn’t even know existed.

On top of that, I have a bee in my bonnet about how a lot of boys’ fiction resorts to using violent resolutions. ‘Might makes right’ is a terrible lesson to be repeating so often. So yeah – when I remove that option it gets even more difficult, but also much more rewarding when it works.

Matthew: What other comics projects — or other projects — do you have on the go at the moment?

David: I think my next comic from the House of Tharg will be in the Megazine, but I know he has no qualms about decommissioning leaky droids so that’s all I’ll say. Apart from that, I have a few projects that are boiling away in the background. I wrote a radio play for Radio 4′s Afternoon Play slot last year, but the producer was let go in the big BBC reshuffle and I haven’t found a new home for it yet. I’m hoping to start work on something for BBC Scotland in the not too distant future.

I’ve also co-written a film script with fellow comics outcast, Dan Lester, and we’re going to start punting that around soon. My comics work is all on spec at the moment, so I probably shouldn’t mention it before I’ve even pitched.

Matthew: You’ve got quite a history of being involved in small press comics. Where can people get your small press stuff and do you have any plans in the near future in that arena?

David: I’ve been remiss is keeping my small press work in stock, unfortunately. Anything that doesn’t pay the rent has fallen by the way-side a little in the last couple of years.

In saying that, I do have copies of my fantasy graphic novel Tongue of the Dead and the excellent BASTARDS anthologies*. They can both be bought using the paypal buttons on my website or emailing me at [webhello at davidbaillie dot net].

I’d love to get back to doing small press work – it’s really liberating knowing that, as your own editor, everything in your head will be making it on to the page no matter how weird, personal or surreal. I suppose it’s just a matter of squireling away some cash and setting aside some time. I’m really lucky, though, that at the moment my main gigs are all things I’m really passionate about and it all feel like my own work.

Thanks to David for taking time out to talk to me. His website can be found here.

*Note from Matt: Tongue of the Dead and the BASTARDS anthologies are great, with the latter being especial favourites of mine.

Read West, Young Man (and Woman)...

by Matthew Badham - cross-posted here and on the Forbidden Planet blog with full permission. Read the original version here

West, by Andrew Cheverton and Tim Keable, is one of my favourite indie comics. It's the story of Jerusalem West, a conflicted anti-hero with a chequered and incident-filled past: smart, sophisticated storytelling that both subverts and embraces Western tropes.

I'm not the only one who likes it. The Forbidden Planet International blog reckon that "with this Morricone, Leone, Eastwood-inspired Western tale, Cheverton and Keable have delivered the goods."

Meanwhile, Comics on the Ration has called it "very well-written and well researched."

I decided to chat with Andrew and Tim about West and the following interview was the result:

An atmospheric panel from West: Stray Bullets. Art by Tim Keable.

Matt Badham: Please tell me how West first came about?

Andrew: Towards the end of 1993, I had packed in my job to look after our newborn son and started working Saturdays in the local comic shop to keep my sanity. Tim was one of the customers pointed out by the manager as "a good sort".

We began to discuss comics, movies, books and television shows, and have never really stopped. Our tastes are quite consistent with each other, and whenever we do disagree we have the best debates and arguments.

During this time, I had become quite prolific on the old Comics International group. I was later selected by moderator Phil Hall (based, I assumed, on my sarcastic and profane comic reviews on that group) to write for his online comics PDF magazine, Borderline. Initially, I did an opinion column called "The Blank Page", though I later branched out to reviews and even a few interviews (culminating in a Grendel feature/interview with Matt Wagner, who was my idol at the time).

Through Borderline I met such people as Jay Eales and Selina Lock, and was exposed to the British small press scene. Tim and I went up to a Caption event in 2003, held in the Oxford Students' Union bar. and were so enthused we began, separately, to get work published in The Girly Comic.

After having been friends for about a decade at this point, one day I asked Tim if we should probably work together on a short comic strip. His answer was, simply, "Okay. Something with cowboys or Romans."

Tim: I seem to remember Andy saying to me that Cowboys or Romans were definitely not his thing. Then, about a week later he called me up all enthused telling me he had an idea for a cowboy story! Then he had another one. And another...

It all kicks off in a story from West: Stray Bullets. Art by Paul Rainey

Matt: What experience have you guys got outside of small press comics? Tim, didn't you work on Doctor Who Magazine under John Freeman?

Tim: Yes, many years ago I did some one-off illustrations for DWM. I did these for John and for his successor, Gary Russell. Later I did some back cover CD illustrations for Big Finish's Dalek Empire which led to one more illustration accompanying an article in DWM about these. That would've been in about 2003. I also illustrated Jim Mortimore's Blood Heat. That was for Virgin's Doctor Who novels range in the 1990s.

Andrew: My experience, as far as writing goes, doesn't really extend beyond the stuff I did for Borderline and the two or three short strips I did for Factor Fiction (I think that 'Believers', the first West strip published in Violent!, was the third script I sent Jay and Selina). The debut issue of West, Justice, was the first time I ever wrote a full-length comic.

Matt: Had you both been 'creative types' since childhood? Always doodling or writing? Andrew, you draw as well as write don't you? Tim, do you write?

Andrew: Actually, I can't say that I was especially creative as a child, beyond the sort of thing all kids do. I had always drawn, copying characters from Marvel comics and, later, 2000AD, but it was never for more than my own amusement, though I would always add an illustration to the interior of friends' birthday cards. I barely scraped through O-Level art at school.

Writing short stories was something I experimented with in my teens, but that was just for fun too. I didn't do it with a view to submitting to magazines. Back then, it was all longhand and typewriters, and I had neither the patience nor the attention span.

If it hadn't been for Borderline (and having a PC word processor to organise my chaotic thoughts into actual writing) I wouldn't have been encouraged to write again, and wouldn't have become aware of the opportunities of the small press and desktop publishing.

Of course, once I did start writing again, I had more stories than I had artists to draw them. So that was a matter of sitting down, looking hard at the comic artists I liked (Ted McKeever, Mick McMahon, Matt Wagner, Nabiel Kanan) and teaching myself how to draw all over again.

Tim: I've been drawing ever since I can remember. At school other kids would get me to draw things for them. Usually Spitfires and the like -- I don't really write. It's not something that comes naturally to me.

'Guns on a Cold Morning' is about it, I'm afraid! That was a short West story that appears in Tall Tales, which was a collection of short stories we put out a couple of years ago. I was messing about in my notebook and sketched an image of these guns poking out of a saloon window. Then I thought about who might be behind those guns. Then I thought it'd be fun if they were all lying in wait for West.

I didn't really write it. I just drew it then did some dialogue afterwards. It was an exercise in page design really. I'd been looking at some of Dave Sim's crazy page layouts and I wanted to have a go at it. Then Andy had me add one line and suddenly it fit in with the big West story line. There's been a lot of serendipity about West.

Art by the talented Emma Price from the West: Stray Bullets anthology

Matt: So, how did West start to cohere into an ongoing after that first strip?

Tim: Andy just kept coming up with new ideas. I think it's best if he tells that one.

Andrew: Believers was, by publishing necessity (Violent! being an anthology title), only six pages long. I wanted it to be both a classic western, but also different. The last panel was the first thing that occurred to me: the gunfighter, his pistol emptied, facing off against a gang of men with only bluff and his reputation.

Writing the five pages leading up to that was simple enough, in retrospect. It was a classic barroom shootout. I didn't really give it any thought after it had been sent off to the editors. But every once in a while, Tim would ask me what happened next. I didn't know. We leave West there in the street, his gun empty, facing down two hardened gunfighters armed to the teeth, with only bravado to save him. That's the point of the story. Either the bad guys would draw and shoot him, or they'd both sheepishly wander off, their tails between their legs. Neither are good endings.

The only option -- as I wanted to keep working with Tim -- was to do a prequel. After a bit of brainstorming, I came up with what I thought was a simple Western ghost story. I checked with Tim that veering into fantasy territory was okay with him and started writing what became Justice. At some early point I may have naively thought I was writing another short strip that we'd send to Violent!, but it rapidly became clear that I was writing my first full-length comic.

As is usually the way with these things, the writing of one story lead to another, and a character for Jerusalem West began to form. I read up on a bit of Wild West history and the thing that struck me was that there didn't seem to be as many bad guys' and good guys' as the movies would have it. Outlaws would become lawmen and vice versa. Law-abiding men were easily driven to murder and men would travel, learning trades to survive. It seemed like one man could be, in a lifetime, many men to different people, depending on which stage of his life they'd known him.

As we'd already set the non-chronological template for West, I liked the idea of jumping around in time; it gave us the opportunity to tell many different types of story and to change West's personality a little bit to suit. In some stories, like 'Population 489' and 'The Last Bounty', he's proactive, with an agenda (even if it's not entirely clear from just that story what his agenda might be).

Some other tales, like 'Justice' and 'High Moon', simply feature West while the story essentially unfolds around him. And, as you say, 'cohere' is the right word. I have the whole story in my head (in fact, I have the final story already written), but it evolves in small ways all the time.

'High Moon', for instance, was a deliberate reaction to my noticing that the first two issues had West walk into a town, have an adventure and then leave. So I pointedly started 'High Moon' mid-adventure, told a separate story in the middle, and then had West abandon it halfway. I figured if the audience we'd built up at that point would go for it would quite happily read a comic with one and two half stories in then we were probably on to something.

Jerusalem West, in trouble as always. Art by Andrew Cheverton from West: Stray Bullets

Matt: Have you guys been surprised (gratified?) by the positive critical reception West has received?

Tim: Absolutely! Even more important to me is the vibe I get from the punters who regularly buy the book. I mean, sometimes it can be a real struggle creating something like this while doing a full-time job as well.

Enthusiasm is a strange viscous thing that grows and shrinks. Meeting the people who like what you do and keep coming back for more is very important as a driving force. That and the sheer vibe I get from reading one of Andy's scripts for the first time. It makes it all worthwhile.

As for critical acclaim -- I tend not to read our reviews. I get Andy to do it for me so I only get to hear about the good ones, lol!!

Andrew: Gratified, yes. It's always good to see that your hard work is rewarded. Surprised? If I'm honest, no. I don't mean that to sound conceited. What I mean is, I think anyone who creates something knows when they've done well, and every issue we finish is, I think, good work. If I didn't think my scripts were up to scratch, Tim wouldn't get to see them. And I have no doubt that if Tim thought his art was substandard, I'd never see that.

Every once in a while, Tim will pick out something in the script that doesn't work well -- as I will in the art -- but these are rare instances. By the time each issue is finished, it's the absolute best work we can do. I'm surprised, however, that so many people like it and like it as much as they do.

Having said that, I wasn't at all sure at the beginning who our audience would possibly be; after all, embarking on a multi-issue, non-chronological Western series and randomly switching genres with almost every issue isn't what you'd call a targeted plan. It's pretty much all of the things you're not supposed to do if you want to reach a market. But we've ended up with readers of all ages and both genders.

I like to think that's because we quickly steered away from using strong Deadwood-style profanity and portrayed strong female characters, on the few occasions women enter what is largely a male-dominated genre. As West is coming from the classic western background where his wife was killed, I think it's important to balance that with other women who aren't simply there to provide the men with vengeful motivation.

Jerusalem West under siege in a strip from West: Stray Bullets. Art by Warwick Johnson Cadwell

Matt: It suddenly occurs to me that I haven't asked you chaps for the Hollywood-style' "high concept" that underpins West, which would be useful for those unfamiliar with the series.

Andrew: West is, at its heart (and as much as we can make it), self-contained stories set in the Wild West but that layer each other the more [of them] you read. For the first six issues (what we're now calling Volume One), it wasn't obvious that the whole thing hangs together as a totality; that every issue contributes something to a larger story the reader can't yet see.

Volume Two (so far comprising the two parts of 'Distance') makes these connections far more apparent. Those two issues build up to one name written on a piece of paper, the name of a seemingly random bad guy from a previous issue.

It was very satisfying to hear from people who read that and then went back and reread everything. That's what I want: to let people make their own connections from the clues we drop and to occasionally surprise them with something they never saw coming.

Tim: Okay. How about Classic Revenge Western meets Universal Horror taking in George Romero on the way'? How's that for a Hollywood high concept pitch?

Matt: Andrew, you mentioned that you've taught yourself to draw so you could illustrate your own comics. What fresh insights, if any, has that given you into the medium of comics? Also, do you think it's helped your writing at all?

Andrew: For a start, I've stopped writing so many 12-panel pages for Tim to draw! He hates those and now I understand why. When I write a script (and I even write myself a script for the stories I plan to draw), I like to keep beats and moments running through the pace and I'm fastidious about only switching scenes mid-page if it's part of the plot. So I have a scene of West and I'm often left with the choice: is this scene worth two pages of steady action, or can I fit everything into one page? If it's three or four pages, where are the breaks, the mini-cliffhangers and moments of action or dialogue that I can end a page with to keep the reader turning the page?

As soon as I isolate those moments, I have the pace of a scene and that's something that I thought I knew as a writer, but I have a more solid sense of it now that I draw.

As soon as I start edging over six panels [on a page], I start to fret about it. I write West full script and I like to write dialogue, so the tendency to fill the page is always there. Six panels is about our comfortable limit (though I tend towards five or seven, to keep Tim from using a standard 23 panel grid!), unless we're opting for multiple small panels or splash pages for effect, such as we used in 'Distance'.

For my own comics, I love tiny panels. I hate drawing big. It's something I'll need to learn, but my preference is small panels of close-up faces: intimate character-based comics. I'm lucky enough to get people asking me to draw their scripts. It's a learning curve but I like to be challenged, otherwise I won't get any better. But once these next couple of scripts for other people are done, I'm settling down to draw a couple of projects I want to write for myself.

It's not all about Wild West shoot-outs. A romantic scene from a West: Stray Bullets story. Art by Jenika Ioffreda.

Matt: Tim, have you got anything you want to say on that subject?

Tim: Only that I think Andy's scripts are more visual now. I should qualify that: they were always visual but there was plenty of dialogue too. In fact when we came to publish the collection, Andy told me he was struck by how verbose the older stories seemed to be compared with what he does now. These days he's much more confident using an image to tell the story.

I also happen to think he has a very beautiful art style and he's much more confident about placing blacks than I am!

Matt: Please tell me about the the various West comics that are coming out in 2011, plus any other projects that are ongoing for you, either as individuals or as a team?

Tim: As far as 2011's comics go I'll leave that to Andy. I don't really have time for any other projects although I try to do one-off paintings when I can and I'm always happy to take commissions.

Andrew: The current issue of West is Stray Bullets, which is a bumper-sized special (32 pages!), crammed full of short stories drawn by guest artists. As well as having art by Tim and me, we also have Paul Rainey, Warwick Johnson Cadwell, Emma Price and Jenika Ioffreda.

It started out as a way to give Tim time to get ahead of his schedule, not only so that he isn't facing publishing deadlines all the time, but also to get him into a comfortable position to start work on our own bumper-sized West issue coming up soon that one's called 'Points West'.

In between both of these issues, though, we have 'Confederate Dead', which is the script Tim's drawing now.

For myself, I've recently drawn a script Rol Hirst wrote called 'Face For Radio', a one-pager for Simon M's The Sorry Entertainer, a newspaper comics anthology, and I'm writing and drawing a one-off comic called Pictures Made Of Light. Also, I'm writing a script for an AccentUK book, but I don't think they've announced that yet!

Andrew takes time out from West to illustrate
Rol Hirst's Face for Radio.

After that, both Tim and I are drawing some very short strips for a new Rol Hirst series, and I'm working with Chris Doherty (creator of the excellent Video Nasties) on a miniseries called The Whale House, which will be an off-kilter family drama, partially inspired by two types of movies the American awkward Thanksgiving get-together' movie and the British Old Dark House movie. I'm writing and Chris is drawing, but we're thrashing out the details and the characters at the moment.

Matt: Where do you hope to be in five years, with West and as creators?

Tim: In five years I hope West will be reaching a much bigger audience. Also I'd like to be able to spend more time on my drawing and less time in wage slavery!

Andrew: Last year was personally quite stressful and busy for me. I managed to keep on top of our commitments to West we finished both the issues we planned, and we finally had the collection published but I wasn't in any real frame of mind for much else.

We'd like to persevere with getting West: Justice into some comic shops and submitted to distributors. We actually took the book into a couple of small press-friendly London comic stores and were pretty much rebuffed out of hand. That was a knock-back, considering the reviews and feedback we've had on it as a professional-looking package. But, as with anything, I guess it's just a matter of plugging away at it. I have faith that it's a good story, well told. We'll get it finished one way or the other.

Thanks to Andrew and Tim for taking time to talk to Matt. For more on West, visit http://www.angrycandy.co.uk

Rogue Trooper: a round table with the new creative team

Art from the new Rogue Trooper story for Prog 2011 by Staz Johnson.
Story by Gerry Finley-Day. © 2010 Rebellion

Rogue Trooper is one of science fiction comic 2000AD's most iconic characters. A deserter in a future war, he roams the barren surface of Nu Earth, a chemical ruin of a planet, on a sworn mission to avenge his dead comrades from the Quartz Zone Massacre. He's accompanied on this mission by three fallen buddies, in the form of biochips imprinted with their personalities after their deaths.

Now Rogue is returning once more to 2000AD and, for the first time since 1985, original series co-creator Gerry Finley-Day is writing the strip.

In this round table*, conducted for the Forbidden Planet International blog and downthetubes by Matt Badham, Matt Smith (editor of 2000AD), Gerry Finley-Day, Staz Johnson (the artist on this new strip) and Pat Mills (veteran comics writer and friend of Finley-Day) all talk about the genesis of the new story, entitled Dead Ringer…

Rogue Trooper's first appearance
back in 2000AD Issue 228

Matt Badham: Gerry, what have you been up to writing-wise since you stopped working for 2000AD?

Gerry Finley-Day: Once a writer, always a writer… I have written novels and some screen plays.

Matt Badham: And what brought you back to 2000AD and to Rogue?

Gerry Finley-Day: When my friend Pat Mills returned from a comics convention in the States he told me that many people were asking about me. He seemed to think there was a demand for some fresh material from me and I thought, why not?

Matt Smith: Pat got in touch and said that he'd like to work (in an editorial capacity) with Gerry on a Rogue story. I think he felt that Gerry got unfairly sidelined out of 2000AD, and wanted to help him try to write something for the comic today. The plan was to work on a standalone Rogue tale, something that could slot quite easily into the comic.

A page from Rogue Trooper's
first appearance back in 2000AD Prog 228.
Art by Dave Gibbons

Pat Mills: Gerry was the creator of Tammy, from which Battle, Action and 2000AD are descended, so he is the founder of modern British comics. This has been pretty much ignored by comic historians and Gerry also had some insider-encouraged negative press on the web in years gone by, which made me seethe with anger with its inaccuracy and self-serving motivation.

The reality is fans loved his work, but it didn't find favour with 2000AD editorial at one stage. Having been Gerry's editor, I know the relatively small problems they faced (pacing and some story logic issues) but it was my view that it was worth dealing with them 'in house' because his stories were so popular. We all of us have our scripting faults and eccentricities and it's just something I felt we had to accept. Editorial didn't agree and I can completely understand why. But fans didn't agree with them either and kept asking for Gerry back, so I recently seized the chance and facilitated it.

Matt Badham: Matt, where in Rogue continuity is the story set?

Matt Smith: During the original run. It starts with the commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the Quartz Zone Massacre.

Matt Badham: How did you go about finding an appropriate artist for this new episode and why did you choose Staz Johnson?

Matt Smith: It was always the intention to run it in black and white, so I was after a good b/w artist. Staz has experience drawing Rogue and was champing at the bit to do it.

Matt Badham: How excited were you to welcome Rogue and his creator back? Were you a fan of the strip way back in the day...?

Matt Smith: It's good to see the original Rogue back in the prog for a simple, action-packed story. I was a fan of the original run, but he's a character who's been diminished, unfortunately, by too many 're-imaginings' and new directions. Just seeing Rogue back on Nu Earth fighting Norts is quite reassuring.

Art from the new Rogue Trooper story by Staz Johnson.
Story by Gerry Finley-Day. © 2010 Rebellion

Matt Badham: Staz, are you also a fan of Rogue from way back?

Staz Johnson: Absolutely I am. I was at the key 2000AD readership age (17) when Rogue debuted in 2000AD and it didn't take long before he had usurped Dredd as my favourite character. Anyone who has followed my blog will have seen this post where I posted some of my attempts at Rogue from long before I became a professional cartoonist, and just drew him for the sheer love of the character.

Matt Badham: So, how did you actually get involved with the new strip?

Staz Johnson: There was no alchemy to it, as it was simply the case that I had spoken to Tharg saying I was available. (I assume) when the script came in a few days later, he in his mighty wisdom figured I'd be a good fit, so he called me up.

Matt Badham: Pat, what was the exact nature of your 'editorial' involvement with the new strip?

Pat Mills: I made a few minor changes to Gerry's new Rogue story strip, but frankly it was just like I remembered his scripts. Not a big deal to make a few alterations. He has a feeling for some stories - notably war - which the readers intuitively respond to because of his own military background in the Territorial Army.

Matt Badham: Matt, are we going to see more Rogue from Gerry?

Matt Smith: I think Gerry would be keen to write more, providing it goes down well. It would have to be an occasional thing, a retro blast now and then, as I feel, as a series, the story's been played out.

Matt Badham: Gerry, do you think you'll return to Rogue again after this outing or maybe even pen further instalments of some of your other strips, such as The V.C.s or Fiends on the Eastern Front?

Gerry Finley-Day: I hope so, [but] that will be up to Matt [Smith].

Matt Badham: How easy was it to slip back into writing for the character and his world?

Gerry Finley-Day: As I said, I haven't stopped writing and Rogue is a good character.

Matt Badham: Did you enjoy the experience?

Gerry Finley-Day: Yes, very much so.

Matt Badham: Why do you think that Rogue has remained a fan favourite among 2000AD readers? What is the character's core appeal?

Gerry Finley-Day: I suppose because war - like it or not - is the ultimate adventure and Rogue is still the recognisable soldier no matter how far into the future.

Matt Badham: Pat, you facilitated Gerry's return so presumably you want to see him write more for 2000AD?

Pat Mills: Reader reaction to Gerry's impending return has been extremely enthusiastic and I'm hoping I can persuade him to write more. We really don't want anyone else writing Fiends, V.C.s or Rogue, any more than fans would appreciate anyone other than Alan Moore writing D.R. and Quinch or Halo Jones. Gerry is entitled to the same respect.

Art from the new Rogue Trooper story by Staz Johnson.
Story by Gerry Finley-Day. © 2010 Rebellion

Matt Badham: Staz, Would you like to do more Rogue?

Staz Johnson: I'd love to. I'd certainly hope that should Tharg choose to run more Nu Earth stories, I'd then be given the opportunity to draw at least some of them.

I suppose the question is whether there is a thirst among the current 2000AD readership for a strip that is essentially 'retro'. There's no point making strips just because the creators think it's fun to work on them. I think there's still a way to make war stories relevant to a modern, more sophisticated audience, without having to resort to gimmicks or by making a war story that isn't really about war. Take a look at Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. A Rogue with that level of visceral realism, gravity and pathos would be fantastic I think.

Matt Badham: What was it like working on a 'classic' strip with a 'classic' creator?

Staz Johnson: Well, that was the thing. As a fan of those original Nu Earth stories, it was a real thrill. Clearly, as the original writer, you can take as gospel that this IS Rogue… not just another writer's 'version' of the character.

Matt Badham: What approach have you taken to the visuals for this new episode of Rogue?

Staz Johnson: Well, one of the things that pulled me into Rogue way back in 1981 was Dave Gibbons' artwork. I had my old Titan Books reprint of the Gibbons strips on my desk the whole time I was working on the pages, so I took a lot of my design cues from him: things like the Southerner military police and the genetic camels, stammels. However, in addition to that, I looked at a lot of other old school 2000AD artwork because I definitely wanted it to have that 'feel'. In the end I think it wound up being close to someone like [Mean Arena artist] Mike White's work, with bits of Jesus Redondo thrown in. Hopefully with a healthy dose of Staz Johnson too, obviously.

Matt Badham: Who is your favourite Rogue Trooper artist?

Staz Johnson: Dave Gibbons, all the way. That's not to denigrate those who followed him, especially Cam Kennedy, but for me Dave is #1.

Matt Badham: Matt, Gerry isn't the only creator to have made his way back to 2000AD. You've also had Brendan McCarthy back in the mix. Why do you think these 'classic' creators are being tempted back to 2000AD?

Matt Smith: Partly because it's always there. If you've got a gap in your schedule, it's worth tapping up 2000AD for a short Dredd story or whatever. Also, because it's fun - no hoops to jump through, no marketing men to approve every process, just get back to having fun with comics. And 2000AD characters hold a special place in a lot of creators' hearts - they've been with them for the past three decades.

Matt Badham: Are there any other ex-2000AD creators you're particularly keen to welcome back into the fold?

Matt Smith: Plenty. Steve Dillon, Kevin O'Neill, Garth Ennis, Pete Milligan, Trevor Hairsine, Duncan Fegredo...

Matt Badham: What else is in Prog 2011 and why is it a good jumping on point for new readers?

Matt Smith: We've got a 12-page complete Dredd story by Al Ewing and Paul Marshall, called 'The Chief Judge's Speech'; the ten-page opening episodes of the post-apocalyptic Kingdom: 'His Master's Voice' by Dan Abnett and Richard Elson, pan-galactic weirdfest Shakara: 'Avenger' by Robbie Morrison and Henry Flint, supernatural thriller Ampney Crucis Investigates: 'The List of Ten' by Ian Edginton and Simon Davis, and Hell-set Necrophim: 'Civil Warlord' by Tony Lee and Lee Carter; 12 pages of Celtic barbarity in Slaine by Pat Mills and Clint Langley; and a one-off Psi-Judge Anderson story showing her as a cadet, by Alan Grant and Patrick Goddard.

If a new reader picks that little lot up, you'll get a good idea of what 2000AD is about - action, SF, horror, oddball characters and wild ideas, brilliantly written and wonderfully drawn. If you want a comic like nothing else out there, get into 2000AD!

• Thanks to Matt Badham for organising this round table. And thanks to Matt Smith, Gerry, Pat and Staz for participating.

• Prog 2011 of 2000AD will be available to buy from 15th December. More info at www.2000adonline.com

* Matt Badham originally conducted these interviews by email. They were then edited together to make a 'round table discussion'