Ron Randall Interview

I recently heard that comic writer/artist Ron Randall was going to be producing another Trekker project and got pretty pumped about it. I discovered Trekker within the last handful of years (thanks to the excellent Trekker Talk podcast produced by Darrin and Ruth Sutherland) and love the book. Randall has had a long storied comic career and has crossed over into books I love, so I reached out to ask him a few questions. Enjoy!

1) You were the penciller on a number of issues of Supergirl during the period Kelley Puckett was writing the book. I also notice that Supergirl is a frequent commission request for you. Are you a fan of the character? Any recollections of your time on the book?

I am indeed a fan of Supergirl. That can be a bit demanding, as the character has undergone so many revisions/re-imaginings/reboots over the years.  But the core of the character and the concept has always been compelling.  And, I’ve always had a clear idea in my head of my particular “take” on Supergirl—how her character should “feel”—look, actions, movements, emotional responses, etc. In getting to work on that arc, “SUPERGIRL: WAY OF THE WORLD”, I felt my concept of the character fit perfectly. So, it has been one of the most comfortable, fun and rewarding experiences I’ve ever had while working on an established character.

2) The last issue you drew of Supergirl was a sort of flashforward story showing a Supergirl of the future in a sort full dress costume. We’re going back a way, but was that your design? Was it fun to bring in a new costume to the mythos?

I believe that design had already appeared elsewhere, briefly. But I’m afraid I can’t recall the reference image I was given, nor, unfortunately, the artist that designed it. I thought it was a terrific look.

 

3) I am going to be a bit over the map because your career has spanned so much. You were on art with Steve Bisette and John Totlenben for some of the Alan Moore Swamp Thing issues. What was it like to be on that book, even briefly?

Exhilarating, in a word. Steve was one year ahead of me coming out of the Kubert School, so we had been swimming in a lot of the same artistic waters, which really saved me, because it allowed me to get at least a bit of his sensibility into my own pencils, and I wanted to keep the look and feel of the book as consistent as possible with the brilliant work he and inker John Totleben brought to the project. As a side note, I also pinch-hit for John on inks on several of the issues. Usually four or five pages per issue were either my pencils or my inks. Consequently, I got to play a very small role in a real comics classic. Right place, right time. One more note: Steve and John are two of the most wonderful people you’ll ever meet, in addition to being blindingly talented.

4) You also were co-artist on one of my favorite recent titles, the Keith Giffen written Doom Patrol. You seemed to split art chores with Matthew Clark.  Can you talk about your time on that book? Was there a specific breakdown which determined who did which pages?

This was another awesome project that I got to play a supporting role in. Like Swamp Thing, my task was to maintain as much of the feel and approach that Matthew established on the book as possible. Very demanding, because Matthew pours so much work and distinctive personality into his pages. As with Steve’s work, I knew I couldn’t touch the magic of Matthew’s work, but I tried to keep the transitions between his pages and mine as smooth as possible, and to serve the storytelling needs of the book as well as possible. And Keith was writing some crazy and crazy-good stories there.

As to page breakdown, it amounted to whichever pages Matthew couldn’t get to fell into my lap. It was quite a fun hodge-podge!

 5)You also seem to gravitate to female protagonists. I only recently discovered Trekker within the last couple of years but have tracked down her first issues over time. When you started out writing Mercy in 1986, did you think or hope you’d still be writing her 32 years later?

Well, I never put a number or a date on it, but from the beginning, I envisioned a series that would be a long arc, tracing the gradual, personal evolution of the character, Mercy St. Clair, and the gradual expansion and increasing depth, richness and complexity of her world. So, I always planned for it to be a long tale.  I hadn’t anticipated all the long interruptions the series and its fans would have to endure along the way, though! But after having been away from the book for a long spell, I’m having the time of my professional life to finally be back to telling the rest of Mercy’s journey. And my patient readers seem to be liking it as well, So, no complaints!

6) Can you talk about how other works or titles have impacted your approach to Trekker? I recently read some of the Barren Earth stories and it seemed to have some early echoes of Trekker.

Yeah—I really need to give credit to The Barren Earth, and the great, great writer I got to work with, Gary Cohn, for the seed that planted in my imagination. With The Barren Earth, Gary and I wanted a strong, capable, compelling female-driven sci-fi comic. And it was so much fun to bring it to the page, that when I had a chance to make a series myself, I knew I wanted a lot of those elements, done with my own, personal “twist”. Trekker’s my shot at having everything I love the most about science fiction, about comics, and about great characters in one series. Any many of those ideas started to come into focus with the work on The Barren Earth.

 7) And I heard there is some news about Trekker for those looking to read more?

Yeah—pretty big news, in fact! On February 20, I’m launching a Kickstarter to get the next Trekker book into print! It’s called TREKKER: CHAPLETOWN. It’s a great intro to the world of my science fiction bounty hunter, Mercy St. Clair, and also a pivotal story in her life and in the series. I think it’s a blast! The art is already done, and the thing is all but ready to send off to the printer, so I just need the money to cover printing and shipping costs. I cannot wait to get it into the hands of readers who love a great sci-fi action adventure with a cool, smart and tough lead character and rich world to explore. People can check out the campaign, starting this Tuesday, February 20, at www.TrekkerKickstarter.com. How’s that for a sales pitch to end on? J

 Sounds great! Thanks for stopping by!