Today on Artist August, we get to chat with one of our favorite artists currently working in comics: Chris Burnham. After working his way onto the comic scene with books from BOOM! and Image, Burnham really caught attention everywhere when he filled in on “Batman and Robin” #16, showcasing his art to a brand new audience who had never read “Officer Downe” or “Amory Wars” and reinventing himself for those that had. In turn, Burnham would go on to bring such a definitive stamp on the look and feel of Batman in the New 52 that his work is just as if not more so important than that of Greg Capullo over on “Batman” plain and tall.
But before we get into some of the more intricate features of the day that look at his process and artwork, lets talk with Chris about breaking into comics, the future of “Nixon’s Pals” and his time under Batman’s cowl.
Let’s start with an “easy” question: Chris, why comics?
Chris Burnham: I just never wanted to do anything else. I was born this way!
A more reasonable answer might be that while a cartoon or a movie takes hundreds and hundreds of people to make, the creative team of a comic book is rarely more than five people. Batman Inc is made by Grant, me, Nathan, and whichever letterer is free that afternoon. Comics is a pretty pure blast of creativity. The perfect number of cooks for the stew!
What is your background as an illustrator? Where did your initial interest as an artist come from?
CB: I took some life drawing classes in college but I’m basically self-taught. I can’t remember a time before I wanted to spend my life drawing. It probably came from watching cartoons like Battle of the Planets and Super Friends. One of my first memories is drawing The Hulk… I started with the feet, moving on up to the knees, waist and body, and kept running out of room for the head! My mom asked me why I didn’t sketch it out first and I looked at her like she was insane. What are you talking about, woman?
What was your first experience with comics as a reader and a fan?
CB: I think my first comic was Star Wars #81, the first issue after the Return of the Jedi adaptation. I didn’t like it very much… It’s basically just Han and Leia vs. a freshly resurrected Boba Fett, and I was really bummed out that Luke was only in it for like two pages. No Vader, no Obi Wan, no X-Wing, no Yoda, no light sabers… no nothing! (Really nice cover, though) I didn’t really get into comics until second or third grade.
You started a career in graphic design, but at what point in your comic-related life did you decide a career in comics was right for you?
CB: I only did graphic design because I needed a paying day job while I was trying to break into comics. I hope to never do it again. I admire the people that do it well, but I’m not one of them.
You’ve been working on comics since at least 2003 (at the earliest according to my research), but one of the first big breaks was getting two pieces in the long running “Elephantmen” by Richard Starkings. How did this opportunity come about?
CB: I met Rich in 2003 at a convention… maybe San Diego? I gave him a copy of an ashcan comic that I made with a buddy of mine and he liked it a lot. Years later, when I found out that he was doing Elephantmen, I emailed him out of the blue and asked him if I could do a backup story. He was game, and I did a story about The Silencer, the evil techno hit man of the book, for Elephantmen #9. I kinda became the unofficial Silencer artist for a little while, and came back for a full issue with him, #16, and a few more backups in 23, 24, and one page in 25. (Whoever edited my Wikipedia page missed a few spots. 😀 )
Continued belowYou and Joe Casey collaborated on two books, “Nixon’s Pals” and “Officer Downe.” How did this collaborative partnership come about, and how did you find the reaction at the time to these two pretty balls-to-the-wall titles?
CB: Joe was working with Rich on G0dland at the time I did that first Elephantmen story, and Rich showed it to him. Joe liked it and told me to give him a call, where he pitched me the idea of Nixon’s Pals – it’s about a parole officer for super villains; they’ve all got crazy comic book powers, he’s just a dude. I thought it sounded awesome and we were off and running!
One thing I particularly enjoy about both is how loose they feel, in terms of how the stories unfold and what type of characters they feature. Casey has often been open about how free-form the creative process is for him, so how did you and he work together on the series?
CB: Nixon’s Pals was pretty much Marvel style. He’d give me rough plots of a few scenes with a basic idea of how long each scene would be. When I’d get caught up, he’d have the next scene or two ready. We kinda made Nixon’s Pals up as we went. Officer Downe was a little more tightly plotted, but I still had pretty free reign to do what I wanted with it. Working with Joe is fun.
Some time ago, it was announced that there were plans to re-release Nixon’s Pals in a deluxe colored hardcover, similar to the Officer Downe hardcover. Is this still a planned thing, and is there any progress to it?
CB: It’s ALMOST done. I’m a halfway decent comic artist, but a colossally shitty project manager and editor. The coloring just needs tweaks on a few pages, a few more pinups need to get finished up, and I have to draw a new wraparound cover. I think we’ll get it out this year.
Another big series for you was working on the Coheed and Cambria comic adaptations, “The Amory Wars,” with Peter David, Claudio Sanchez and fellow Ten Ton Studios member Aaron Kuder. How did you end up working on a series like this, which features such a different prospect than most comics (being an adaptation of a concept album)?
CB: My agent/art dealer, Cadence Comic Art, showed my stuff to the Coheed and Cambria people, and they liked it. Easy as that!
Was working on a book inspired by music different for you than previous work? Were you a fan of the band before the comic series?
CB: Naw, I got a script and I drew it, same as every other gig. I’d never heard of Coheed and Cambria before, and it seriously took me weeks before I could remember the name. Calgon and… Carbide? I got into ’em, though, and I’d put it on while I was drawing. I was scared that I was going to get cornered by a fan and forced at gunpoint to name my favorite song, but it never happened. (My answer is probably Al the Killer). Anyhow, they’re great in concert!
Your most recent work was with Grant Morrison on his Batman epic, which you’ve been a part of since the big “Batman and Robin” finale. Coming into that as a lesser known name than the other two attached to the issue at the time, were you at all intimidated in joining such a lengthy endeavor?
CB: It was tremendously nerve-wracking, but the deadline was so tight that I didn’t have time to stress about it. The real stress came in when they brought me back to work on Batman Inc #4. I was a poster child for the Impostor Syndrome. I was convinced that everyone was going to wake up and realize that they hired the wrong guy and that I’d be laughed out of comics, never to return. Turning in pages on the same email chain as Yanick Paquette did not help. It was an absolutely miserable month.
Your work with Morrison on “Batman” continued after this, on both iterations of the “Batman Incorporated” series pre and post-New 52. Coming into this, were you a big fan of the Batman character?
Continued belowCB: Is the Pope Catholic?
In terms of a creative relationship, seeing as you’ve been working on the book and with Morrison for quite some time now, what is the give and take like between the two of you?
CB: He sends me a script with rough placeholder dialog, I draw it, and then he finishes the script off. There’s not much back and forth. Grant seems to trust that I’ll draw what needs drewed, and I trust that it’ll all make sense in the end.
With stepping away from the main storyline and writing your own issue in “Batman Inc,” did you find getting back in the writer seat difficult at all from being primarily a series illustrator? What aspect of that one-off issue did you find particularly memorable from a creative stand point?
CB: It was definitely tricky to switch my noggin back and forth between writer mode and artist mode. How the hell does that Jeff Lemire guy do it?
As it came to a close, looking back on previous work and your current role in The Bat-Epic, where do you see where you are as a creator today versus where you started from?
CB: Hell, I dunno. I’m a fair amount richer and famouser than I used to be, that’s for sure. And I think I draw Batman and women better than I used to. Beyond that, it’s tough to say. I’ve got another two and a half years of practice under my belt, so hopefully I’m a better artist for it somehow.
Given modern technology, do you stick with traditional pen/ink or do you experiment in the digital illustration medium at all?
CB: I do some Photoshopping to fix mistakes, and I’ll use Sketchup here and there to help out with vehicles and stuff, but I’m 95% traditional.
Where do your artistic influences, in comics and outside of, come from?
CB: Everywhere. Almost everything I see gets filtered into either the STEAL pile or the AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE pile. Comics, movies, TV, advertisements, paintings, weird shit on the internet, whatever.
Looking ahead at your career, do you have any plans of what you’d like to do? Do you have more DC work in the mix, or are you planning a return to creator-owned? Or even both?
CB: I think I’d like to bounce back and forth between creator-owned stuff and DC work. But who knows?
To top us off: you’re stranded on a desert island and can only bring one thing with you while you wait for rescue. What is your Wilson?
CB: The corpse of James Lipton.
