Recent Interviews With Creative Team

The creators on the Supergirl book have had interviews posted  on some of the bigger comic sites around the net recently. As always, these are both great to read in their entirety. There is a lot of interesting information throughout them. As usual, I picked some of the blurbs that interested me and figured I'd share them here.

Between interviews and recent spots in 'Best of' lists, the book is getting some great publicity.

Here is the link to Ain't It Cool News which ran an interview with writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/52342 They were asked what is coming up in the book.

MG: At the end of issue #4, Kara makes a decision that leads her back to explore her home city of Argo in issue #5. We dig into the mystery of how Argo survived and drop hints about who sent her to Earth, which is part of her ongoing mystery. And we introduce a new villain with ties to Krypton. Issues #6 and #7 introduce the Worldkillers, who were first mentioned by Superman in ominous tones back in issue #2.

I have my crazy theories about Argo and how it can still be around. But the thing that grabbed me here was the 'who sent her to Earth' piece. Firmly entrenched in my history, I just assumed it was Zor-El. And it may still be. But the fact that it is a part of a mystery opens up the chance that it was someone else. 

I am interested in seeing what this universe's Argo is like.

MJ: Issue #8 also introduces the first important member of Supergirl’s new supporting cast, Siobhan Smythe, an Irish teenager who – like Kara – is a recent immigrant. She’s the first real friend Kara makes. Which sucks, because Siobhan’s alter ego is a big scary demon called Silver Banshee. Sterling Gates did a great job in the previous SUPERGIRL run establishing Banshee as an arch-foe for Kara. In our book we’ll see Siobhan’s first steps down a very dark road.

So I am a bit torn about this.

I am thrilled to hear that supporting cast is around the corner.

And I love the fact that the Silver Banshee remains part of the Supergirl's rogue's gallery. She seems a natural fit.

That said, I am cautious about how this 'frenemy' storyline will play out.

And Comic Book Resources ran an interview with artist Mahmud Asrar here:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=36033   Again, well worth reading the entire thing as Asrar talks about his approach to the character, the costume, and the covers her did on the Peaty and Deconnick runs.

Asrar's art has appropriately been lauded. His stuff just pops off the page. Here he talks about the process of using copic markers on the art.

Before I started working on the new "Supergirl" book, I used to work in a more traditional manner. I inked most of my work throughout my career except for a bunch of my mainstream stuff. The covers I did for the pre-relaunch "Supergirl" book fall into that category. However, in my private work and commissions I prefer to work with markers where I render an image in complete grayscale. My editors liked how those looked so they encouraged me to do this book in that style. Due to time constraints I couldn't fully work with that process in the first few issues but all the covers were rendered in markers 'til now. I've switched to drawing the interior pages fully in markers as of issue #4.

I have to say I was kind of reluctant at first. First off as it is a more time consuming process. Before this project, I hadn't tried it on storytelling before. Then there were production factors, like how it would print or if would it be colored properly. After some more insistence and arm twisting by the guys at DC, and considering the up sides of the process, I caved in and decided to go for it.

I do think that the underlying marker tones adds great depth to the art. It gives dimension to the work, a fuller visual experience (as seen in the above CBR exclusive preview panel).

When I'm doing all the rendering with the markers myself I'm more in control of the outcome as opposed to working with an inker and drawing in only black and white as a penciller. I get to add in more detailed lighting and I can define shapes the way I see it with the grayscale. This way I also feel I give direction to coloring without having to write notes or describe how I see the page. Using warm and cool grays I think I have a certain control over the colors, too, which all adds up to make the end result something I'm more fond of. It also eliminates any scapegoats as almost the entire blame lies on me, which can be a good thing and bad thing altogether.

For me, the process stuff is just as fascinating as the end result, so I thought this was some nice insight into how Asrar conveys what he wants on the page. This panel showcases how the marker adds subtle cues of contour and depth.

I really hope to see Asrar at a con at some point. I'd love a commission.