downthetubes: Jon, in
November 2006, you told me you thought your comics career was
"sinking like the Titanic"... Your five year run for Panini
on Spectacular Spider-Man had come to an end and your were out of
work after drawing two new Marvel Pocket Book covers. The next month, you
were working for Classical Comics. What changed?
Jon Haward: Getting an
e-mail from Clive Bryant, editor in chief of Classical
Comics. We decided
to meet up in Birmingham for the first Birmingham International Comic convention.
It was there he showed
me his vision of classical comics, to make classic literature appeal to
school kids through the form of graphic novels.(He even showed me an old
copy of Macbeth by Classics Illustrated). I was very excited about
the thought of drawing a more updated graphic looking Macbeth.
Nigel Dobbyn was at the
same con and it was on the strength of his Billy the Cat work for DC Thomson
that I asked him to join me on the Macbeth book. I've been a fan of Nigel's
work for years -- in my book he's a great person and great talent.
dtb: are you excited
by the upcoming release of Macbeth?
Jon: Yes, on so many
levels. After 21 years in comics I have my first graphic novel and it's
an iconic character/play written by a British icon. Everyone around the
world has heard of William Shakespeare and I think Macbeth is his
most performed play.
Plus, I created the look
of the characters which was hard work but a lot of fun -- over 30 in all.
dtb: Why did Clive choose
you for the project?
Jon: Clive's simple idea
was to try to make Shakespeare as cool as Spider-Man and as I had drawn
Spidey for Panini, it was a logical step for him to get a Spider-Man artist
on board. I'm just glad and lucky he picked me.
dtb: What were the artistic
challenges in creating art for a strip that would have three different
formats - original, plain text and quick text versions?
Jon: The main thing was
at layout/roughs stage, I had to make sure I left enough room for the big
speech balloons [that form the original text and plain text editions],
so some pages have only maybe two or three panels. The script was broken
down showing each version of the text alongside each other, so I could
double check everything - plus Clive helped out with his eagle eye's if
a balloon need more space.
dtb: How did you research
the historical period? Is it true to the period of Scottish history, or
did you have to wing some of it in favour of story?
Jon: As Macbeth is
a fantasy play that includes ghosts, demons, witches and a goddess I tried
to give it, shall we say, a bit of a Lord of the Rings feel in the
design -- plus, as far as tenth century Scotland is concerned there isn't
much to go on apart from the fact the Scots fought the Vikings a lot, so
I used the late great Angus Mcbride's book Warriors and Warlords for some
reference.
I got some books from
the library, but quite a bit of the design of the flags and castles decor
was from my head. I hope whoever sees the book will feel it looks the part
ok -- I tried my best.
dtb: What were your favourite
elements of Macbeth, and why?
Jon: The fact he starts
out the hero and ends up being a total anti-hero who kills his king and
best friend -- and in the end loses everything. It's very powerful in places.
Also, the witches and Hecate where fun to create .
dtb: What were your inspirations
when drawing the story?
Jon: Macbeth was long
before Lord of the Rings and Conan, but I wanted my Macbeth to
echo those films and books. I also love the Ray Harryhausen films.
In his film Jason
and the Argonauts Hecate, the goddess featured in Macbeth, is shown
as a three headed statue
I'm also a big fan of
Jack Kirby, so I used 'Kirby crackle 'when you see Hecate.
There are other influences:
John Buscema's Conan and Frank Bellamy's Garth... actually, page 36 has
a classic type Bellamy layout. Then there's Frank Frazetta. I told Nigel,
when he coloured the plain text cover to think Frazetta. So, lots of inspirations.
dtb: You've previously
described Macbeth as "a classic anti-hero". Do you still
feel that way now the project is complete?
Jon: Yes, I think he
was in many ways the first anti-hero but he's cursed by his greed for power.
Although he's a powerful person on the battlefield, inside he's weak and
does not have a strong moral backbone. In a lot of ways his wife was the
stronger person .
dtb: Were you a fan of
Shakespeare before you started the project?
Jon: No! When I was a
kid at school, we had small smelly old books to read with small type and
we watch old black and white films. I couldn't get to grips with the stuff
we where taught. But since I've worked on Macbeth I actually understand
Shakespeare, thanks to Clive's three different texts. I've enjoyed the
poetry and story of Macbeth a lot. Working on this project has opened
my eyes to a whole new world and I'm seeing Hamlet with a pal soon.
dtb: What are your impressions of the book and working on the project now it's published?
Macbeth was the toughest thing I've ever drawn in
comics - more demanding than any other project I've ever worked on.
I
drew the book for 54 weeks, so it was quite a mountain to climb, but
thanks to Clive, and my friend John Stokes (who gave me a lot of advice,
helped along by the fact that he one played Macbeth on stage in Norwich
in 1980's!), I managed to complete the play.
Macbeth was a great team effort for me, from the
other freelancers who worked on it to the Classical Comics team. It wouldn't
look as good if it wasn't for Nigel Dobbyn's great colouring; and Gary
Erskine helping me big time on the last third of the book on the inking
to meet a tight deadline. John Mcdonald's script was great -- working
from his script with the three versions written out helped a great deal
in understanding the play.
As for the Classical team, Jo Wheeler did a great job with
the design of the book and production, and Karen Wenborn's support and
marketing, plus her great notes in the book about Macbeth and
William Shakespeare were invaluable. And of course Clive Bryant is a
great editor to work for.
We all put a lot of time and effort to produce a quality
product, one that I'll always be proud of .
dtb: How do you feel
about Patrick Stewart's
support for the project?
Jon: That was a great
feeling to have his support. I'm a fan of his work, he has a great voice
and presence. I'm also a Trekkie, plus I love the X-men films and his Hallmark
film work, so it's an honour for me to have his positive comments on the
back of my book.
dtb: You're now working
on The Tempest - does that present different challenges?
Jon: Yes, this one again
is a fantasy based play so I want this book to look fantastical. I met
up with Nigel Dobbyn recently, to talk over how this one will be coloured.
It needs to be lighter in tone than Macbeth. There's more humour
in the play and the costumes are 1570s based, so it should all being well
look a feast for the eyes, especially as I'm very lucky to have the great
Gary Erskine inking me, too.
dtb: If there was one
book you could adapt for comics tomorrow, what would It be?
Jon: It's a tie between The
Time Machine by HG Wells or Jules Verne's Mysterious Island,
both great stories.
dtb: And, moving on from
that, if there was one character you'd kill to draw, who is it?
Jon: There are only four
characters I'd like to draw -- Batman, Lobo, Conan and Hellboy -- but the
chances of me working on any of them are slim because you have to be invited
to draw them by the editorial guys and in the USA I have no presence,,
although that might change if DC Comics gets Alan Grant to write Lobo and
Batman, and if
[Dark Horse editor] Scott Allie likes Macbeth! But I won't count
my chickens on it ever happening anytime soon and I'm very happy working
for Classical Comics .
dtb: You worked on Panini's Spectacular
Spider-Man for five years drawing 30 stories (last issue 142), do
you have any favourite issues?
Jon: A few. The Captain
Britain issues - the Fury story - got me a 9/10 review in Comics International!
The Doctor Doom time machine issue - David Roach did a brilliant
inking job on that one. Then there's the Spiderslayer issue with the Black
Widow, the Defenders issue, the Wolverine issue, the Silver Surfer... I
had a blast. I got to draw all the main Marvel heroes in my five-year run.
It's a shame Marvel US has only reprinted my Captain Britain/Spidey versus
the Red Skull story.
I had some great writers
on Spidey - Jason Quinn, Ferg Handley, Jim Alexander, Mitchel Scanlon
(For Marvel Rampage) and good inkers - John Stokes, David
Roach, Lee Townsend, Bambos.
Maybe if Macbeth does
the biz Marvel might get a US collection out of my work.
dtb: You've worked in
comics for 21 years. Aside from your latest projects, what have been the
highlights?
|
Above: Jon Haward and Alan Grant |
Jon: Dan Dare for New
Eagle, drawing a Judge Dredd story written by Garth Ennis
for 2000AD, Sinister Dexter with Dan Abnett, working with Steve
Moore with his amazing Tales of Telguuth scripts (lots of hard
work but a lot of fun) 2000AD, Spider-Man for Panini.
Then there's Hell
comes to Elf Town, co -created by Alan Grant and me for the Frank
Frazetta Fantasy Magazine, Shinobi for Sonic the Comic,
the Eternal Champions Origin Special, Sideburns with Jim
Alexander for Negative Burn /Bulletproof, Tales of the
Buddha, again with Alan Grant -- a true genius. Oh, designing Tiger
Steel and her world for a US jewellery company was also a cool gig.
I also had a great time drawing Ancient
Blood for the Warhammer comic, written by Mitchel Scanlon,
I was drawing Helmar, a guy like Conan meets Dracula. It's a shame I never
got the chance to finish the story - the comic got cancelled.
I've been very lucky,
working with some great guys over the years.
dtb: Do you have a favourite
character you've drawn down the years?
Jon: I loved drawing
Spider-Man and Dan Dare but my all time favourite has to be Tales of
the Buddha for Bad Press. Buddha brings a a fat grin to my face every
time I draw him. I hope Alan Grant's new UK comic, Wasted, does
well as I've drawn enough Buddha strips for a collection. Both Alan and
I really enjoy the Buddha work.
dtb: You started out
drawing junior characters, do you think that was a good training ground
before you moved on to Dan Dare and others?
Jon: Before my first
paid work, which was on Charlie Chalk for Postman Pat Picture
Weekly, I had worked for [UK independent publisher] Harrier Comics
on their anthology title Avalon, on Jane Wild and Diana
has the Power. I learned a lot drawing that stuff but Ii just hope
no one still has copies, as the work now looks well bad!
If you're an artist you
should always learn and grow. I still feel there is better to come (fingers
crossed). I was very lucky that I was allowed to draw Dan
Dare.
|
Dan Dare judges a beauty
contest in New Eagle, 8 September 1990. Art by Jon Haward. Miss Gandabal's
ambition is to be happy "and save my country's meteor-shower badlands".
No, really. |
dtb: What are your memories
of working on Dan Dare for Eagle?
Jon: My main memory was
that I didn't like Tom Tully's scripts: ''Dan is a judge for a beauty in
space contest'' (groan). I hate to admit it, but Don Lawrence was right
when I met up with him in 1990 -- I wasn't ready to draw Dan. Some of my
work isn't bad, but I guess you can't top Frank Hampson or Bellamy, or
Keith Watson on the art front.
I was only 25 yrs old
and I was pretty green but David Pugh was a great help and so was my editor,
Barrie Tomlinson.
Incidentally, a lot of my Dare art
was never sent back to me, and that includes a Mekon cover
and all the Mekon stories, which is a shame.
dtb: You've also worked
in the gaming industry, is there much difference between games work and
comics work?
Jon: Nope -- they both
have sharks who will take all your talent and not pay you! I was very surprised
how badly people get treated in the gaming biz. This was the 1990's though,
I hope things have changed for the better.
dtb: When you started
drawing Spectacular Spider-Man for Panini, it was selling 15,000
copies but by the end you reckoned it was 30,000, and at its height, 50,000.
What's the enduring appeal of Spider-Man in the UK, do you think?
Jon: As long as there
are movies, toys and cartoon shows you'll always have fans for Spider-Man,
now he's been around so long dads buy Spidey for their kids because they
liked him when they where children. He's a fun character with a big heart
and he tries with his job with his friends to do the best he can - plus
he's a wise cracking gag guy so he's fun to read as a fan and as a pro
drawing him, he's pure gold .
dtb: What's the best
thing about being a comics artist...
Jon: For me it's entertainment,
seeing the work in print. With a comic you can draw anything, see any amazing
world, draw fantastic women, dynamic heroes or humour.
I'm lucky -- I draw different
styles for different jobs. I like the fact I can draw different subject
matter (again, I've been very lucky).
Also, meeting fans who
have liked my work gives you a buzz, as most of the time your just sat
in your studio drawing the stuff never knowing what Joe Public thinks.
So comic cons are great to meet the people and fellow pros.
At my heart, I'm still
a fan too.
dtb: - and the worst?
Jon: Deadlines, working
for people who bullshit you, not getting paid for work, editors who say,
'Yeah, I'll give you work', and you get nothing or put in a pile of other
piles of stuff. You get no warning you're off a title that can suck.
Once, a Marvel US editor
sent me a style to follow for samples - this was, I think 1996 - anyway,
the sample pages he sent me were the worst Jim Lee knock off pages I'd
seen. The artist couldn't draw like Jim Lee, his figures weren't right,
he had no sense of depth in his work, it was crap. [I was so dispirited
at seeing them] I didn't send in any pages to the editor and gave up trying
to work for Marvel US.
[I haven't fared much
better for DC Comics]. One editor asked me to draw 16 pages of a Justice
League America story, for an annual in 1999. I got Kevin Gunstone to write
it -- Kevin was writing Marvel Manga for Marvel and The
Agents for Image
at the time -- and Tim Perkins inked some pages. I worked on it for three
weeks, the story was never used -- it was put on file -- and I never saw
any money from DC comics so I gave up trying to work for them.
dtb: Is it hard to break
into professional comics these days?
Jon: No. If you have
a funky web site and you checkout submissions the power of the Internet
can get you work. I got Spider-Man and Macbeth thanks to
my web site, so I think that if you have a good style, you have a good
attitude and work ethic, like Declan Shalvey, a great young talent I'm
art directing on Frankenstein for Classical Comics, you'll do ok.
Listen to advice and
work hard, plus be polite at conventions -- you'll get work. Editors have
no time for ego .
dtb: If you could offer
just one piece of advice to an aspiring artist, what would it be?
Jon:
"Follow your dreams, don't take crap from anybody and believe in yourself
''. Gene Simmons said that in 1978 and I've followed that advice since and
it's worked well for me!
dtb: Jon, thank you very
much for your time and the very best of luck for the future and with Macbeth.
Jon Haward's official
web site: www.jonhawardart.com
Special
thanks also to Clive Bryant and the Classical Comics team
• Buy Macbeth - Original Text
• Buy Macbeth - Plain Text
• Buy
Macbeth - Quick Text
|
Hell
Comes to Elf Town by
Jon Haward and Alan Grant |
On the launch of the second Classical Comics project, downthetubes caught
up with accomplished British comics artist Jon Haward to talk to him
about his work on Macbeth -- an adaptation which includes all the scenes
featuring the witches and their controlling goddess, Hecate -- and his
varied career... Interview by John Freeman
