Sequential Tart (Volume II, Issue 7, July 1999) (original) (raw)

Sequential Tart: What was your first exposure to art?

Dave Gibbons: I suppose nursery comics, Rupert Bear, that kind of thing.

ST: How did you get your start in comics?

DG: I was put in touch with Dez Skinn, who was publishing his own fanzine whilst working as a sub-editor at Fleetway. I drew stuff for Fantasy Advertiserand did balloon lettering for professional comics. After a few years, I was picked up by an agent and after one false start, have been busy ever since.

ST: You have both written and drawn comics. Which do you prefer? Why?

DG: After so many years of drawing, writing seems very attractive. Then again, after a few weeks of that, drawing seems like fun again. Ideally, I'd like to combine the two.

ST: Who do you consider to be influences on your art?

DG: In comics, practically everything I've seen. To pick a few: Kirby, Wood, Ditko, Infantino, Toth, Kubert, Elder, Bellamy, Hampson, Embleton, Giraud, Tardi, D'Antonio, Pratt... the usual suspects! Outside of comics, I'm fond of many of the classic American illustrators (Rockwell, Leyendecker, Dorne, Fawcett) and outside of that Degas, Ingres, Picasso, Rembrandt...

ST: Your writing?

DG: Almost ever writer I've worked with. I read a lot of science fiction when I was younger, so I'd have to say Bester, Clarke, and Heinlein. Later, I read more crime stuff, so Elmore Leonard, Jim Thompson and so on. I listen to the radio when I work, so I've probably absorbed a lot of Dickens, Austen etc!

ST: Watchmen was one of your most prestigious projects. In creating the looks for its characters, did you go by Alan Moore's descriptions or were they your own creation? Watchmen is considered one of the greatest comics of all time. How do you feel about that?

DG: The character designs were down to me based on the character notes Alan gave me. (They're printed in the back of the hardcover collection.) The original Nite-Owl had a costume I designed when I was 12 or so; the name was mine, too! As a dyed-in-the-wool comics fan, I'm pleased to have been involved in a piece of work that made such an mark on the medium.

ST: In Watchmen, did it bother you having to draw one of the main characters in the nude all the time? (Dr. Manhattan)

DG: Not at all! We were very careful about the way we introduced the nudity, though; it didn't happen in the bedroom scene but while the good Doctor was alone in the desert. I was careful to give him understated genitals, like a piece of classical sculpture, too. I'm sure some people didn't even notice he WAS nude for a page or two and by then, it was too late!

ST: Was it hard trying to express Rorschach's moods using only his mask?

DG: It was really his body language that gave his mood and the reader's own projection based on the dialogue. Even with the mask off, I largely left his face immobile...

ST: Has DC ever offered you and Alan the opportunity to write a prequel with the Minutemen? Have you ever considered it?

DG: I'm sure DC would be very happy if Alan and I wanted to do anything Watchmen related. We did toy with the idea of a prequel, but I can't see it happening. To their credit, DC has seen the sense of leaving well enough alone too.

ST: You spent some time pencilling Green Lantern. Who do you prefer--Hal or Kyle? Why?

DG: Hal, of course! The other guy isn't really Green Lantern, is he?

ST: Whose idea was it to combine Captain America with Superman for the two Super-Soldier comics?

DG: I think it was the late Mark Gruenwald who came up with Amalgam idea, then he and Mike Carlin fleshed it out. I was presented with the notion and asked to design a costume.

ST: What was the inspiration for Martha Washington? What is Frank Miller like to work with?

DG: We wanted to explore American society through the experience of someone ascending from the very lowest strata. Frank came up with the character. Frank is a great collaborator, very flexible, very professional and very easy to talk into having another beer!

ST: You created a graphic novel, as well as designed the background layouts, for the PC game Beneath a Steel Sky (from Revolution). Was it difficult writing a story to introduce a game? Did you enjoy it?

DG: I had quite a hand in the design and story of the game, too. We had the comic book intro in mind from the beginning, and I wrote it to fill in the back story, so that the player could go straight into the game. Although the whole process involved many long train journeys to Hull (and Back!) it was good fun and well paid.

ST: In The Dome: Ground Zero, much of the art was computer generated. Do you see this as the new look of comics?

DG: Not as THE New Look. We just wanted to see what we could do with the available technology. Some things worked well, others didn't.

ST: Such as?

DG: The sense of scale, the atmosphere and pixel-perfect detail were quite impressive, but the figures often lacked believability. It's the hardest thing to achieve, though the software is getting cheaper and better. It's also why the Hollywood studios started out with toys and bugs.

ST: Do you think that there are certain kinds of stories that are better told in one media than in another?

DG: Not to be facetious, but of course! My first love is still hand-drawn comic strips, though...

ST: Why?

DG: Comic strips have a directness and an economy of expression which enable a very strong link to be formed with the reader.

ST: You've worked with some of the best writers in the comics industry. Are there any that you haven't worked with that you'd like to?

DG: Oh, yes. I'm just doing part of a project with Evan Dorkin, who's a very funny writer. There are lots of talented people out there.

ST: Describe your work area.

DG: A long room, windows at one end and a bookshelf at the other. I have a fairly large drawing table, a computer set-up with scanner and graphics tablet. There are four filing cabinets, a sink, a stereo and far, far too many books, magazines and comics!

ST: What do you think you would be doing if you weren't doing comic books?

DG: I might have become an architect, maybe an advertising artist. But there's nothing else I'd rather be doing...

ST: What's the most rewarding part about working on comics?

DG: There's the joy of doing an honest day's work and ending up with something you've made; there's the opportunity for creative expression; the pleasure of practicing a set of skills; the communication with the reader; the sense of community. I couldn't really pick one!

ST: Who was the most important teacher you've had in your career as an artist?

DG: Myself! The only art teacher I ever had was for the first three years of senior school, name of "Ernie" Tanner. He was very tolerant and encouraging of my aspirations, misplaced though they seemed at the time. Really, I learnt everything I know by copying, reading and practice.

ST: As a writer?

DG: Again, I've really taught myself; although the opportunity to be behind the scenes with Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Pat Mills and others has given me good material to study!

ST: Do you have any upcoming projects you'd like to talk about?

DG: Other than the project with Evan, there's a self written one-off I'm hoping to draw for DC and some stuff for America's Best Comics. Further down the road I really must write and draw something all my own!

ST: In Alan Moore's recent interview with Wizard Magazine, he mentioned that you and he were having talks about a project. Would you care to elaborate?

DG: Alan and I will be doing an eight-pager for Tom Strong, for which I've already done a pulp-style cover. Beyond that, we're looking to do a one-off, possibly 48-pager, featuring new characters and situations. It's too early to tease you with any more than that!