Interviews 

Artist Alley: “Deadly Class” #1 with Wesley Craig [Interview]

By | January 22nd, 2014
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

Today on Artist Alley, we’ve got a very special artist to feature in Wesley Craig. He’s the artist of “Deadly Class”, an Image Comics title that debuts today from writer Rick Remender, Craig and colorist Lee Loughridge, and spoiler alert: this is one amazing comic. We knew we had to feature Craig, who was one of our picks for creators to watch for in 2014, and his work on this dynamite debut.

We talk to Craig about “Deadly Class”, how the book came together, what appealed to him about it, as well as breaking down a number of pages from the issue. Take a look, and share this with fellow art fans if you enjoy it.

When it comes to Deadly Class, what is it about this project that appeals to you, and what is it that you feel that plays to your strengths as an artist?

Wesley Craig: Well first off I’d say working with Rick is a big draw for me. I’m a fan of his work going back to his earlier indie stuff like Strange Girl and Fear Agent. He’s done his time in the trenches and I have a lot of respect for that, also he’s an illustrator so we speak the same language, not every writer has that perspective. Also I do a bit of writing myself and I feel like my ideas have value here, I’m not just a hired hand.

As for Deadly Class itself, it’s a great outlet for expressing what it was like for me to be a teenager. It’s fun to share stories with Rick and work in some of the best parts of our adolescence into this crazy concept of a school for assassins.

My strengths as an artist- I dunno, it’s hard to say what your strengths are sometimes. But I do know I like to experiment- panel compositions, timing, etc. I like to play with the language of comics. And whenever I do that Rick and our editor Sebastian Girner are fully supportive, so that’s great.

Rick Remender writing and Lee Loughridge coloring. That’s quite the combination for you to work with, and from what we’ve seen, it seems like you’re all in sync on this project. What is it about the both of them that makes your job easier, and how do you feel they help you reach a higher level in your work?

WC: Yeah – we’re definitely on the same page. There was some working out the kinks in the beginning to try and figure out exactly what this book was going to be, but now that we have it, it’s really exciting. I wouldn’t really say that any of us make each other’s jobs easier though hahaha. I’d say we make our jobs harder, but in a good way, we push each other to do better, to be more original, and that makes a better comic.

Part of what makes this book stand out is its existence in a very specific, very particular timeframe in the 80’s. How in-depth have you gotten in making sure that this book feels as period specific as possible, from clothing and hairstyles to architecture and furniture?

WC: Lots and lots of research, I mean it’s not hard to find, it’s the 80’s, not feudal Japan or something. But you still, want to nail that feeling of a decade, so I’m watching a lot of 80’s movies, listening to 80’s music (the good stuff at least), and making sure all the details are as accurate as I can make them. I’m sure there’s some car or gun in there that didn’t exist for another decade, but I do my best.

Two page splash from issue #1

First off, I just want to say this page is absolutely incredible. There is so much going on and so many repeated elements that a reader could get lost in it, but it’s so well executed that it is hauntingly beautiful and devastating as a piece of storytelling. For a splash like this, how did you and Rick and Lee work together? Is this a situation where Rick unleashes you and you do your thing, is it you working tightly off scripts and page descriptions, or some combination of both? I’m especially curious about the repeated box elements in both phases of the flashback, especially in how aggressively and raw the box element is as Marcus reacts to his parents death in the bottom left corner.

Continued below

WC: Generally I stick to what Rick gives me (which is scripts that are broken down into panels, and basic dialogue that he tweaks once the art is done, for anyone who wants to know) but for this page I veered pretty far from what Rick had described and when I sent it to him I was honestly a bit nervous, it was early in our collaboration and I thought I might have gone too far of course, but Rick loved it, I took that as a good sign.

Occasionally there’s things like this were Rick’s script really sparks an idea in my head and I have to be more specific to Lee and Rus about coloring and lettering to get it right. Generally I just let them do their thing because what they give back is always great- but here I wanted it to look a certain way so I gave them a lot of notes, using this very limited palette of red and greys, stuff like that.

For those repeating bottom panels – that’s a cool element of comics that doesn’t get used enough – manipulation of time; speeding it up and slowing it down. So I liked using these slowed down panels to show Marcus as he’s about to let out a scream. Actually, looking at it now it kind of seems like the sound would escape his mouth in the next panel but that isn’t shown, that works pretty well I think because then the scream happens in the reader’s mind. “Closure.” That’s another aspect of sequential storytelling we don’t use enough.

(For the newbies who want some more examples of manipulating time in comics check out Will Eisner, B. Krigstein, Jim Steranko, and Frank Miller).

The present story and flashback element have a definite change in art style, as the flashback – for the most part – is handled in a more cleanly lined, almost cartoony way…except the way Barbara Salinger is depicted. When it comes to a sequence like that, can you walk us through how your approach changes and what you’re looking to accomplish with that stylistic shift?

WC: Yeah I wanted it to feel like this is the moment when everything is perfect in Marcus’ life, before it all goes to hell in a second. So I drew it in this cartoony style, using watercolors, that reminded me of a storybook or a fairytale, this is how Marcus sees this moment in his mind.

Another part of it came from Rick checking out my personal comics – BlackHand Comics – and brought up the idea of using the style from those comics – which fit in here.

One other aspect is I get bored of using one style and I like to change it up, so this is an outlet for that. The idea being when we see something through a character’s eyes: a dream, a memory, an intense moment, etc, those moments are drawn in a more subjective style that matches to their personality. In issue #3 there’s a lot of that: a Vietnam picture that’s inspired by Harvey Kurtzman’s war comics, a memory of a crime that’s drawn in two different ways: something out of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, and another that looks something like David Lapham’s Stray Bullets to represent a more exaggerated and a more grounded view of the same event. I can’t wait to draw a flashback of our girl Saya so I can try my hand at a manga-ish kind of approach (Rick- hint hint…)

Page from issue #1

You mentioned on the previous page that for the most part you mostly leave Lee to making the best choices on the book, and this is a book that is certainly very dynamic from a coloring standpoint, especially when you see a page like this one. As an artist who is used to creating and coloring your own comics over at BlackHand, does that change how you interact with your colorist on a book like this? How closely do you and Lee work in terms of creating the look and feel of the book?

WC: Yeah I usually have a general idea for the colors of a scene but I leave it to Lee because A) for whatever reason- we’re pretty in sync with each other, and B) I like to be surprised and whenever Lee gives me something unexpected it’s usually better than what I had in mind. And when there’s something that’s not working he’s open to making changes.

Continued below

Lee’s color sense is the best in comics, so really, just let the guy do his job.

The only time I get really involved with notes is when there’s something very specific – a style change, a flashback, etc.

Page from issue #1

On this page, we’re given a lot of subtle moments to take in as a reader, as Marcus contemplates taking his life as Saya watches on, and the paneling is used for sharing small moments in time as we look on. We’re right there with Saya, breathlessly looking on even though we should know he’s not going to jump. Can you walk us through how you approach using paneling like you did on this page to express the passage of time, and just your approach on laying out a page in general? I really love the repetition of shapes to tie together similar perspectives on this page, and I don’t really see that too often elsewhere.

WC: I think image repetition is a really important aspect of comics- helps you convey subtle changes in emotion, and as a design element it’s pleasing to the eye.

When you repeat elements – images, panel shapes, etc, I think you can create a rhythm in the readers mind.

So that’s what I’m trying to do – create a rhythm throughout the comic – sometimes successfully, sometimes not, and here – I’m trying to slow things down and simplify everything so we can focus on the characters and what’s going on inside Marcus. You can see that through keeping the same camera angle and distance and just watching Marcus’ emotions change.

Page 14 from issue #1

Speaking of repetition, I love the open of this page in that regard, as Marcus rushes down the stairs and we get the feel of the chase by you showing us each step. In many ways, the first two layers of panels on this page feel like a film strip pushing us tensely through this make or break moment for Marcus. Can you talk about your usage of paneling to convey movement, as this page is pulsating with energy as Marcus spans from panel to panel in his efforts to escape, and I think a lot of that is in how you laid out the page.

WC: Yeah, well on the first tier, that’s a trick I learned by accident a while ago, where the character keeps overlapping into the next panel, hopefully pushing the reader’s eye along at an increased speed. I wish I’d made a smoother transition from tier one to tier two since they’re going in opposite directions, not perfect storytelling but hopefully it’s still fun to look at. Also obviously I used the diagonal panel borders to increase the feeling of movement. And the warm color palette helps too. Like I said I’ve filled sketchbooks with these ideas, I’m thinking about compiling them and making a book of the ideas one day. I think that could be interesting.

This book and its characters have a definite style to it, with Marcus, Saya and the motorcycle she’s riding having distinct flairs to them. When it comes to developing characters, do you create a style for each character visually? What kind of clothes would they wear, what kind of ride would they have, and what that says about them?

WC: Yeah definitely, that’s one of the best parts of this gig, really making it all up from scratch and trying to have everyone’s fashion and design choices tie into the kind of people they are. Also finding inspiration in the decade and place the story’s set in (1980’s San Francisco) and feeding that into the comic’s style.

Pencils, inks and colors of Page 14

In your answers, it really seems like art is something you’re constantly working at, as you’re filling sketchbooks with ideas and pushing your work in new directions wherever you can. What drives you to constantly be getting better and trying new things, and when you’re looking for inspiration, where do you find it?

WC: I think I’ve just always been fascinated with how comic book storytelling works. I mean, I’m always trying to improve as a draftsman, like any artist, but really it’s the actual storytelling that I find most interesting. I don’t think the language of comics has a big enough vocabulary yet. There’s some basic tools we use, and a lot of them are just borrowed from the movies, but I think there’s a lot more exploring to do.That’s what I find endlessly fascinating: trying out new storytelling techniques and seeing if they work or not.

Continued below

As for inspiration: I think alternative comics are trying out a lot of new things, that’s mostly what inspires me that’s current. I also like to go further and further back in comic book history, especially to stuff that was done before the invention of movies when comics were developing a language of their own. And music. Music really inspires me- taking music and rhythm and adapting them to comic books. Obviously not actual music but y’know- the feeling of music.

Art in comics is a funny thing, as it is the single greatest differentiator between it and other storytelling mediums, yet quite often it gets marginalized in criticism and general fan conversations, and some say that has to do with readers simply struggling to know what to talk about or pay attention to in art. For you as an artist, especially when it comes to your work on Deadly Class, is there something in particular readers should pay attention to? An aspect about your work that you personally pride above others?

WC: Well – that’s true. And I guess my answer is similar to what I was saying above: look at the storytelling: how the panels progress the story, which moment I’ve chosen to capture in the sequence of events, how the composition and way it’s been inked and colored influence the emotional content of the scene, stuff like that. But hopefully a lot of what I’ve done is subliminal and only noticed subconsciously. I have a tendency to be heavy-handed with some of my approach and that’s probably because I want people to see I’m trying something different.

You’ve been a busy man lately, but one of the coolest things that I personally wasn’t aware of was BlackHand Comics, “pulpy, weird” comics you create entirely yourself for the web. How did that project come together and what makes that something you feel compelled to do? Also, with Deadly Class running, does that dial back your ability to work on BlackHand?

WC: Deadly Class is a passion project and I love to work on it, but Blackhand Comics is my baby, my drawings style for that is a lot different but if you like some of the stuff in Deadly Class (especially the experimentation aspect I’ve been yammering on about) then please give Blackhand a try.

It came about because I’ve always written and drawn my own comics since I was a kid and this is the current place for me to do that, it’s something I’ll always do, in one form or another.

As for my ability to fit it in my schedule – on one hand yes, a lot of time goes into Deadly Class so it’s a matter off chipping away at it on weekends most of the time, but on the other hand, before Deadly Class I’d do some random job, then there’d be a stretch where I didn’t have anything coming in, and instead of being able to use that time to work on my own comics I’d be emailing editors, updating my portfolio and website, etc, trying to line up my next pay check. Now if I have time between issues I can just focus on my comics because I know where my next gig is coming from.

So right now I have the best of both worlds, I get to work on both of these things and I’m pretty excited about it.


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David Harper

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