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Interview:
Talking Infamy: The Big Honkin' Roundtable Interview
By Adam White
Published: 05 Feb 2006
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If you haven’t read Living in Infamy from Ludovico
Technique then you’re missing out and need to go read it right
now. After that (or before, I suppose, if you need further
convincing), I recently conducted a roundtable interview with the crew
behind “one of the best new series of 2005” (and yes, I
can paraphrase/quote myself if I want to) to find out what kind of
sorcery went into its making. Ben Raab, Deric Hughes, Greg
Kirkpatrick, Ashley Miller and Robert Meyer Burnett were all kind
enough to humor my questions with well-considered responses and give
us a glimpse inside the men behind Living in Infamy.
ADAM: First off, why are each of you a comic creator? What
motivated your career choice?
DERIC: I’ve loved comics since I was six years old and
always wanted to work in the industry. Ben motivated me, because he
was already a veteran in the industry and since we were working
together on film and television stuff we just started exploring comic
book ideas together as well.
BEN: From a purely logical perspective, I’m a comic
creator because I create comics. Y’know, that whole modus
ponens thang… But from a more personal perspective,
I’m a comic creator because, as a writer, I love the freedom of
expression that this medium allows. Words and pictures are two
incredibly powerful media when employed separately. But when you
combine them, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It
really is something magical. Kinda like chocolate and peanut
butter…
As for my motivation… Well — aside from the requisite
greed — comics were what I loved as a kid and writing was
something that I became passionate about because of my love of comics,
so it really was just a natural extension of that. But it wasn’t
until I became an editor at Marvel that I actually realized HOW to
make a career of it. Talk about an invaluable experience…
GREG: I have been in love with comics for as long as I can
recall. My parents would buy me comics, I spent my allowance on
comics, and I would be drawing pictures of all the heroes wherever
there was something to draw with and something to draw on. When the
time came to go to college, I had decided I would major in some form
of business, figuring that art could not be very lucrative of a
career. Thankfully, my parents and high school art instructors
persuaded me to pursue what I loved and what I was good at. From that
moment, I realized that no job in the world would fulfill me like
creating comics does.
RMB: I consider myself a filmmaker first (Free
Enterprise). With comics now looked upon as terrific source
material for feature films by the industry at large, it made sense to
begin publishing our own material, which we could quality-control and
develop in-house first, with a specific eye towards exploiting our
finished product across other media, whether it be television, video
games or feature films. After all, aside from Burlyman Comics, what
other comic publisher can boast real, working producers and directors
among its staff?
ASHLEY: I don’t consider myself a creator so much as a
facilitator — that’s what a good editor does, methinks. He
facilitates the artist’s efforts to do his best work and not
lose sight of his creative goals. I don’t care if you’re
talking about Stan Lee or Ezra Pound, the nature of the gig has been
the same since its inception. As for the choice to involve myself,
chalk it up to passion for the project and a desire to see it succeed.
If I didn’t care deeply about this book, I wouldn’t have
my name on it in any capacity.
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“The people who’ve had the
greatest influence on me creatively are Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and
Neil Peart of RUSH because despite their talent and success they
continue to strive to improve themselves with each album.”
— Ben Raab
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ADAM: You obviously have a mix of creative backgrounds among
everyone involved in the team, from a variety of mediums. What
creators, in any medium, were your biggest influences?
GREG: I was very impressionable when John Byrne and George
Perez were strutting their stuff. I would follow them anywhere back
then. I finally came to the realization that Jack Kirby was a genius
and not just the guy who drew square knees and created Devil Dinosaur.
Seeing his work full-size and in pencils in The Jack Kirby Collector
demands respect for his storytelling and the amazing pace at which he
produced action-packed work. Currently, I will get just about anything
by Alan Davis, Carlos Pacheco and Steve Rude. Solid artists, right
there.
DERIC: Wow… it really is just great storytelling no
matter what the medium that influences me. Too many to tell here, but
definitely movies and TV, books and manga were a big part of my life
helping me shape my storytelling abilities.
ASHLEY: Sam Peckinpah. Howard Hawks. Those are guys who
understood how to tell a story, how to create engaging characters and
how to be brilliant without feeling the need to reveal their hand in
every frame and every exchange. Hawks is a particular influence
— we’re talking about a guy who did everything from His
Girl Friday to Rio Bravo to The Thing for Another
World. That’s what I call “eclectic.” And that
eclecticism is a product of both his immense talent and his passion
for great material. Some day when I grow up, that’s who I want
to be.
RMB: As far as genre material is concerned, I’m a
child of television, so I adore classic Star Trek, the
Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. The Prisoner,
UFO and The X-Files are also favorites. I,
Claudius is probably the greatest thing I’ve ever seen on
television. As far as comics are concerned Howard Chaykin’s
storytelling in his American Flagg! was groundbreaking at the
time. Of course Watchmen, Sandman and The Dark Knight
Returns. I love early Stephen King, especially the original
version of The Stand. I’m also a huge fan of Dan Simmons.
BEN: Oddly, the people who’ve had — and still
have — the greatest influence on me creatively are Alex Lifeson,
Geddy Lee and Neil Peart of RUSH. Not simply because they’re
incredibly talented — and grossly underrated — musicians
who’ve achieved an amazing amount of success without
compromising their own artistic integrity, but because despite that
talent and despite all that success, they continue to strive to
improve themselves with each album. It’s that driven philosophy,
that unflinching work ethic, that I’ve tried to emulate most in
my own creative life. To be better at what I do tomorrow than I am
today…
Aside from them there are, of course, the usual geek suspects for
someone who came of age in the Reagan era… The original Star
Wars movies, the Indiana Jones movies, the Claremont/Byrne
run on X-Men, Alan Moore’s Watchmen, John
Byrne’s Alpha Flight run, Frank Miller’s
Daredevil and Dark Knight Returns, Walt Simonson’s
Thor, the Wolfman/Perez run on The New Teen Titans,
Star Trek, the Super Friends cartoons, Battle Of The
Planets, etc., etc.
ADAM: What were each of your first jobs in comics? What work
of your own are you most satisfied with?
ASHLEY: This is my first job in comics, and I must say
I’m immensely proud of Infamy so far… but I’m
never “satisfied.” Da Vinci said, “Art is never
finished, only abandoned.” That’s as true of comics as it
is for any other medium.
RMB: Publishing Living in Infamy is my first job in
the comic industry as well… and having other creators such as Brian
Vaughn single out the book as one of the best of the week is greatly
satisfying.
BEN: I started out at Marvel Comics in the summer of
’93 as an intern in the Special Projects department. Before
Marvel acquired Fleer, S.P. was responsible for creating all their
trading cards and posters and whatnot. But as a writer, my first gig
was a Giant-Man back-up story in Avengers #375. This weird little
psycho-drama about him dealing with his past and how big or small of a
man he really is, despite his growth powers. It was, to say the least,
interesting…
I don’t think I’m ever completely satisfied with any of
my work. Nor will I ever be. Which goes back to that whole
shark-brained “Don’t stop moving, keep improving”
mentality I’ve got… But I do appreciate the work
I’ve done largely due to the people I’ve been fortunate
enough to collaborate with. Like the X-Men/Alpha Flight and
Union Jack
miniseries with John Cassaday… The Legend of the Hawkman
miniseries with Michael Lark… The X-Men: Hellfire Club
miniseries with Charlie Adlard… The JLA: Shogun of Steel
one-shot and The Human Race miniseries with Josue Justiniano…
Wonder Woman #162-163 and Action Comics #791 with Deric Aucoin…
My work with Pat Quinn on Cryptopia and The Phantom… And, of
course, the entire creative team of Living in Infamy …
GREG: I did a 3-page story for a book called Occupational
Hazards which was a book benefiting the CBLDF through some other
small publisher. Shortly after that, writer Jai Nitz and I,
who’ve known each other from frequenting the same comic shop,
put out an anthology book called Novavolo (Have to rib Jai and
let everyone know he thought up the title).
DERIC: When I was twelve years old, I worked in a used book
store that sold comics and the owner paid me by giving me
comics… my parents weren’t too happy about that. Now
Infamy is my first real job in the comic book industry and Rob pays me
in comics and action figures. It’s a step up, but my parents
still aren’t too happy about the pay situation. And of course
since Living in Infamy is my first comic book, it’s the
book I’m most satisfied with. [continued on page 2]
—CCdC— Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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