Reply With QuoteI'm listening to it now and while EVS is an interesting interview, I think he's full of crap about artists wasting their time on non-DC and Marvel books.
From the songs to the quality of what has been said I loved this podcast.
Just like the one featuring Hickman before this one is very insightful.
Another great interview John !
I'm listening to it now and while EVS is an interesting interview, I think he's full of crap about artists wasting their time on non-DC and Marvel books.
it's fair and fine to disagree with EVS, but I would ask that you choose your words more carefully when characterizing what Ethan said.Originally Posted by ilash
ethan did not say the were wasting their time on non dc or marvel books.
and in most cases those guys are making less money (unlesss they own the books they're working on), and the books aren't reaching as many as the big two.
further he said maybe that's a failing of my perception.
I'm glad you think so. That was me voicing my own thoughts and doubts about my doing independent work next. I want freedom, but wonder if it's worth losing the wide audience. Will fans forget and lose track of me, the way I lost track of one of my favorite artists who left the Big Two?
It's something I worry about. As a fan myself, I like it when my favorite artists draw Batman and Captain America. So...
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OK, fair enough. And, yeah, sorry about my wording about this, I didn't quite mean to come out so aggressive. It's just that, as a guy who likes his fair share of indie comics, the whole line of thought does irk me quite a bit.
Again, I apologize if my wording was overly aggressive but, while I understand your problems, as a fan I don't really agree with them. I say "as a fan" because I get that a reader's concerns are probably significantly different from a creator's. Of course, it is entirely understandable that you would worry about how your overall career would be affected by moving away from Marvel and DC. This is how you make your living after all.
Personally though, I simply don't agree with those concerns when I look at some of those great indie creators running around. First we have those creators who work 90% of the time away from Marvel and DC. Brian Lee Omally's Scott Pilgrim is a huge comic book sensation and I don't think he has ever moved away from Oni press. Jeff Smith may have done a Shazam mini but that pales in comparison to the mega mainstream success of Bone. Terry Moore has done the odd thing for Marvel and, I think, DC but the read gold lies in Strangers in Paradise and Echo, which are entirely self-published and does pretty damn well anyway, as far as I understand.
Of course, you can always say that these guys are the exception to the rule but the fact is that you have a definite advantage over them in that you are a very well known and very well liked mainstream artist with a sizable collection of fans who probably will follow you where you go next. Darwyn Cooke and Robert Kirkman seem to have used their cache as well received mainstream writers/ artists to get their fans to check out their indie work. The guy who writes Walking Dead and Invincible is hardly forgotten and Cooke's Parker: The Hunter was one of the best received OGNs of last year.
You use the example of Gary Frank and while it is true that he did vanish from the "mainstream" for a while as he did Midnight Nation and Gen 13, his return to Marvel and DC hardly went unnoticed as he is as much the fan favourite artist as he ever was.
I also wouldn't take it as a given that all fans want their favourite creators to work purely on superhero comics. I'm a big superhero fan but I would much rather have creators like Brian K Vaughan, Jason Aaron, Darwyn Cooke, Terry Moore, Gabriel Ba, Brian Lee O'Mally and, while we're at it, Brian Michael Bendis work on their own properties and stuff that's personal to them than have them doing work for hire. Of course, on the other hand, I can't get enough superhero work from people like Mark Waid, Grant Morrison or George Perez. As it stands right now, I have no idea which group you would fit better in with - maybe you really are suited best for superheroes over anything else - but until you try it, it would be pretty hard to tell.
The only hitch that might come with you writing and drawing your own thing that I can see is that you are, to date, an unknown entity as a writer so, yes, it would probably be the smart move to prove yourself at DC before you go off on your own. I am one fan though, who would be very interested to see what you do come up with away from the relative comfort zone of established superheroes.
And, hey, you could always hope for good ol' Hollywood to option one of your creator-owned works. I hear there is some decent money in that.
It's beating a dead horse to say another great episode, but high praise is always worth repeating I figure. John, I don't know if I'd enjoy this hobby and artform as much as I do if it weren't for Wordballoon providing these excellent interviews with the creators whose work I admire and enjoy. It helps to remind me that they're human and have their own personal lives, and that they as well truly care about their work.
As for this episodes subject, I'll also say that I don't necessarily agree with everything Ethan says, but I respect him all the more for saying it. I always look forward to hearing his thoughts as I find him refeshingly honest and forthright, and I always enjoy a little of the behind the scenes picture at DC which seems harder to come by than from Marvel.
I was particularly interested in the health update. As someone who has also led a sedentary lifestyle, I'd let my weight go to the point where I was approaching 400 pounds. A couple weeks ago I'd finally snapped out of it and have been able to drop 12 pounds in two weeks by returning to the gym (which was a harder task mentally than physically) and working on my food choices. I've obviously still got a long way to go, but hearing Ethan's story serves as an inspiration at just the right time, and I salute him for making the necessary changes in his life!
Ethan is turning into one of my favorite interviews. He always has something interesting to say. I think his concerns about wanting to do an indie book are valid. Indie books are great, but they stand on the backs of the superhero books that carry the industry(at least in America). Indie books are a huge gamble, especially in today's market. Some of the mainstream books have a hard time making it even with a major push from their companies. If anyone yells at Ethan about Flash being late, they have no heart and no perspective. I do my fair share of bitching about late books, but in cases like this, it is completely understandable. A person's health and family should always come before their work. I understand where Ethan is coming from about artists not having as much power, but I don't agree with it. There are far too many artists that cannot meet deadlines, or don't seem to make doing comics a priority. The last time artists had a lot of power it didn't work so well. Not saying it can be better next time, but its a trust that needs to be earned back after what happened last time. Personal issues are one thing, but video games, and poor work ethics are something different. How is it that Frank Quitely can only do three books in a year? He is a name that helps sell a book. You would think he would be a little more motivated to get his work out an help out his collaborator and his company, not to mention his fans. I know drawing an issue is more time consuming than writing it, but the guys that can meet their deadlines on a consistent basis seem so far and few between. If an artist can only do a book every two months, than give them a bi-monthly book or a lot of lead time. Rotate artists. It isn't all on the artist, but it seems like a lot of it is. It seems like for every John Romita Jr. or Mark Bagley, there are four or five Frank Quitelys or Brian Hitchs. My other argument is that it also seems to me that a lot more of the writers today are looking for more of a collaborator than just an artist. Geoff Johns, Brian Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Mark Millar, and many other top writers in the industry seem very receptive to the artists input and interpretations of the stories. All in all, great interview. Ethan, I look forward to meeting you in Michigan in May. Good luck with your health and your future work. I look forward to seeing what you do next.
Last edited by Zac Goyette; 02-07-2010 at 06:51 PM.
"Brian Bendis is one of the most profane and potty-mouthed people I know. The saltiness of the language that comes out of his brain makes Scarface blush. I mean, you can't imagine the stuff he says. Stuff like "#$%^knuckle" or "Monkey #($*%&^%!" Oh and then there's "Your Mother's @#$%^% cystic #$%^%!" I mean who thinks of these things?"-Joe Quesada
John, fantastic job as always. The last two shows have been among the best in recent memory, good for you, my friend.
I certainly applaud Ethan's candor, it's rare to hear someone speak to openly about issues they're having, particularly when they have such a good seat at the table like EVS. Ethan could just tow the party line and keep getting big books thrown his way, yet he was willing to share some of the changing perspectives and questions that have beset him recently. Good for him.
Hearing his discussion of health was particularly timely for me. I too am 35 years old, and I too had let myself fall out of shape. I just lost almost 65 pounds (was 249, down to 184) in 7 months and know exactly what he means about weight gains just creeping up on you and all of the sudden you look at yourself in pictures and can't fathom that's actually you.
So I share a commonality with Ethan in that regard, and applaud him for taking his healthy seriously and being proactive about that.
Now to be perfectly honest, while I'm REALLY happy that he's taken his health seriously and is getting results, I did struggle with why his need to become healthy should be an acceptable explanation for late books. At the very least, I would have liked to hear EVS be a bit more appreciative of the folks at DC who ultimately tolerated the delays and less work product, so he could do what he had to do on the health front. Lots of people, in fact, the majority of Americans, need to be healthier and lose weight. Yet very few have the luxury of significantly changing their work deliverables in order to accomplish the weight loss. Most of us (myself included) had to find a way to change our lives AND keep on delivering at work, and as a father, and husband, etc...
Either way, hopefully EVS will stay healthy and can now really find a place artistically that satisfies the melancholy I seem to detect in him right now.
All the best, and congrats on another great episode.
Jason
Another excellent episode. Mr. Vav Sciver, I wish you all the best in your self improvement. Being healthy is important.
I thought your conversation about artists going it alone was very interesting. It certainly seems that, looking at a lot of modern work, the level of story telling chops has evolved in significant ways over the last 20 years among comics artists. I think fans today expect more in the way of "acting" from the characters and appreciate a very cinematic look to the books which is a result of the monster talents who have been springing up in the modern comic era. What your conversation made me think about was the way the artist/writer relationship has evolved and will evolve over the next few years. I can't think of a useful analogy here, but it seems that the medium has matured to a point where fans know what good writing is, what good art is, and how they should relate on the page. Fans are,perhaps, more discerning? The tools are being sharpened and the fans are becoming more savy. We certainly live in an era where the superstars seem to be mostly writers, but I think the truly great artists now are the ones who understand storytelling. It seemed in the 90's that the focus was on flashy, virtuosic drawings. This is not to say that those artists weren't good storytellers (they were and continue to be AWESOME) but I think the average reader expects the art to deliver at another level. Subtle things are more important like the ability to create a mood and even convey more subtle emotions.
All of this may just be a result of the general maturing and boundary pushing of the medium as a whole, but your conversation really got me thinking about the way the artists role has evolved.
It's also interesting to hear about how EVS relates to Johns and Reis and all three of them shape the broader story. Perhaps the future (or the present even) will be shaped by a blurring of the lines between writer and artist. More collaboration in new ways.
Alas, I feel that I am now rambling.
Thanks for the great episode. I look forward to more.
pronounced: Scott H. PDX
(should have thought of that when I registered)
My blog: If This Be Wednesday
thanks jason! i've seen the results of your weight loss, and i salute you!
regardless, before this weight issue was ever addressed , ethan, like some other high profile artists realized he can't maintain a monthly schedule. he has tried, but it hasn't happened for him yet.
every artist approaches their work differently.
there are guys like mike norton, mark bagley, and john romita jr who can deliver great books at break neck speed.
then there are the jim lees, mike mignolas, art adams and EVS who can't.
it is what it is.
fans have every right to be mad at late books, but i still at the end of the day would rather have a good looking book, versus a slapped together one that makes each monthly deadline.
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