The wonderful thing about being an artist is that you can define yourself visually with ease – even more so than a writer can. It’s often possible to pick out an artist’s work from a distance if the artist a) has a discernibly recognizable style and b) is just damn good. Fortunately for Matt Kindt, he’s both – and he also happens to be a damn good writer to boot.
For today’s entry in the Artist August series, we chat with Matt Kindt, writer/artist of comic book staples like Superspy and recent wonders like The Tooth. Check behind the cut as we talk about Matt’s journey into the wonderful world of comics, his experiences as an independent creator, and the differences between working on webcomics and print comics.
Can you look back on your life and recall the single moment that made you want to work in comics? Or was it more of a natural progression that led you here?
Matt Kindt: When I read the first 3 issues of Eightball after a convention in Chicago — on the way home in the car, I was reading those issues — Like a Velvet Glove storyline and realized that comics could be so much more and I wanted to contribute to what they could be.
Your work is one of the most recognizable in comics, especially within the independent realm. How did you come about developing your personal style, including the way you ink and color your illustrations?
MK: I’m not sure I had too much conscious control of my style. I’d always been attracted to old 1940s style illustrations and also more painterly work so in a way I feel like I kind of mashed those two things together into what I’m doing now. I’m also very conscious of the amount of detail I put on the page — there’s a balance there that needs to be kept — too much and it slows the reader/story down and too little – and it won’t draw the reader into the story.
Who or what – both in and outside of comics – has influenced the development of your own art style?
MK: I think having a fine art background really helped me not be afraid of the brush and paint. I’m not so careful and obsessive with my brushwork due in part to a lot of drawing and painting classes that sort of loosened up my style. I think that was key and also just treating the page as art instead of an illustration.
You’ve been working within the realm of the creator owned with very minimal and brief for hire work mixed in, such as an entry into Marvel’s Strange Tales, a spot in Sweet Tooth, and design/cover work (all of which are still, arguably, creator owned). What is it about creator owned work that you find more rewarding as opposed to doing for hire?
MK: It’s just easier. No editorial approval needed really. I had a day job for about 10 years so having to have things constantly approved and talked about just ends up slowing down the entire process. To me it’s all about streamlining everything. And every part of the process from penciling to lettering and even design at the end all needs to driven by the story. The story and subject matter should dictate everything else.
As far as I know (from checking the credits of your books that I own), you are taking on all of the creative duties by yourself within your graphic novels – inking, coloring, etcetera. Do you prefer to work alone on your work? Would you ever be open to working with another inker or colorist?
MK: I would be open to working with another inker/colorist but it would have to be a project and story where that made sense so I knew going in what the end product was going to look and be like. The collaboration needs to be more than the sum of its parts and if it can add or enhance the story, I’m always for it.
Continued belowYou’re frequently both the illustrator AND writer of your titles, but recently you collaborated with Cullen Bunn and Shawn Lee on the Tooth, with them writing and you illustrating. How was the experience different, if at all, and how did the collaboration come about?
MK: We were all friends and traveling to cons together when Cullen told me about the idea for the Tooth. I was kind of burned out after Super Spy and was looking for something fun to sort of relax and just have fun with so it sounded like a fun idea. And it was. Just a nice change of pace for me where I could draw monsters fighting and then just cut loose on the design of the book and make the craziest looking hardcover book I could think of.
In the digital age, new tools are available to artists of all types. How does that affect and expand your work?
MK: It’s too early to tell. I have a system set up now with inking and painting so I’ll never go to digital art. I love the feel and look of art on paper too much. But I’m sure the delivery method for these books will be much different in the next 5 to 10 years and that’s fine. As long as readers get to read it, I’m fine with everything.
With your work on Superspy originally starting as a webcomic before moving to a print release, how different is it when illustrating a comic immediately designed for graphic novel release (such as last year’s Revolver) as opposed to the way Superspy was done?
MK: It’s a lot easier NOT doing the web comic first — because I needed the web comic to work well on its own as a web comic and take complete advantage of that format but then also work and take complete advantage of the book format — so as a result I really had two different books. One online and the other in print tell the same story but in slightly different ways. Juggling both of those mediums is just hard. I don’t really believe in just chopping up a book and throwing it up on the web or stacking up a bunch of web comics and putting a cover on it for a book. That’s a disservice to both mediums.
Does feedback (both positive and negative) with fans and critics via social media push you as an artist? How does that aspect affect your art?
MK: I read it all but I really don’t take too much of it to heart either way. The positive just gives you a big head, and the negative just makes you feel bad. I will say that if a few people are saying the same exact thing (positive or negative) there’s generally some truth in it. But you can drive yourself crazy trying to anticipate what people are wanting/looking for. At the end of the day I just try to make a book that I would love to find on the shelf and read.
In the average comic book criticism or review, artists are typically given a lot less hype than writers are, even though this is a visual medium. Why do you think that is?
MK: I think that’s been a shift from when I was growing up — following all the Image original founders from Marvel to Image — everyone followed artists. But I think what happened, not necessarily in that specific case but in general as I’ve gotten older is that comic book readers have started to figure out that good writing can save mediocre art but good art can’t save a bad story.
Comics, even with increasing acceptance amongst the mainstream, are still a niche medium. With that in mind, have your friends and family always been supportive of your pursuit of a career in this field?
MK: Oh yeah. From my parents growing up and my wife now it’s not ever been “what is this you’re doing?” — it’s always been “wow – this really makes you happy” — so I’ve always had the luxury of support.
Who are your favorite artists working in comics today?
MK: Jeff Lemire, Brian Hurtt, Gipi, Christoph Blaine, Chris Schweizer, and Sam Hiti (to name a few)
One of the things you sell through your site are prints of books made on actual pages from the novels, such as Time Traveler’s Wife, Watership Down, and Franny and Zooey. Where did the idea come from to do this?
MK: I was invited to an art show and thought it would be fun to draw on pages from some of my favorite books (Catch-22 was my first piece I’d done) — and I loved the look of the old yellowed pages with art on them so I just decided to do a series of them and choose some of my favorite books. A great excuse to illustrate some of my favorite novels really.
Desert Island question: one book, one album, one film and one comic. What do you take with you?
Book: Catch-22
Album: Beirut (any)
Film: Apocalypse Now
Comic: Cages
What projects do you have coming up?
MK: The Strange Crimes of Red Wheelbarrow published by First Second and an on-going series for Dark Horse called MIND MGMT. I’m also doing writing only on Robot Man for DC’s anthology “My Greatest Adventure” starting this fall.
