Interviews 

Artist August: Scott Kowalchuk (Interview)

By | August 24th, 2011
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

To coincide with the release of the final issue of Image’s The Intrepids, today we’re featuring its artist Scott Kowalchuk on Artist August. Together with writer Kurtis Wiebe, they’ve created a new world and team that hearkens back to another era (or retro Bond film) where jet packs and mad scientists didn’t seem like the whiz bang fantasy of yesteryear, but something palpable and on the verge. It is a rollicking good time of a book, and something we’ve been praising right and left thanks to Wiebe’s deft scripts and Kowalchuk’s incredible and imaginative art.

Check it out after the jump as we talk to Kowalchuk about the art of designing a cyber-bear, how Adam West and 60’s TV factored into the growth of his art, future projects, and a whole lot more. Also, stay tuned for a review of The Intrepids #6 in a bit as well as a look at many examples of his art and the process he and colorist Donna Gregory go through to bring a page to its finished look.

Is there a moment in your life you can look back on as one that made you want to work in comics? Or was it more of a natural progression that led you here?

Scott Kowalchuk: Since I was a little kid I always wanted to. My first comic was the mini-comics that came with my Masters of the Universe and SuperPowers toys. Beast-Man and Lex Luthor, respectively. I kind of new I wanted to draw comics after reading those — then DC had to go and put out their Who’s Who series. There was a Wayne Boring illustration of the Prankster (inked by John Byrne) that I copied furiously as a child. I must have drawn that sucker 6 times. I think that was a pretty defining moment for me and comics.

At Emerald City ComiCon, we briefly spoke about your influences when the subject of Adam West Batman came up. Besides that glorious blast from the past, what other influences have helped you develop the look for your art?

SK: Oh Adam. That dude has had such an impact on me. It was what he added to Batman that continues to keep that show alive for me. I could go into detail, but this answer would take an hour to read.

60s TV, strangely, influences my work a lot. 1960s movie and tv design seemed to be a version of the world that was bigger and brighter than what actually existed. I like that. The Batman tv show had that in spades. I mean, the Batcave just ended up being a series of interesting shapes, colours and silhouettes. It created an aesthetic, something that I think is important in comics. Darwyn Cooke does it better than anyone, everything in ‘the Hunter’ was so well designed. That man has an incredible eye for design.

How did you get hooked up with Kurtis to put together The Intrepids?

SK: A portfolio show my college put on. I was graduating and showing of my wares in the show, Kurtis was cruising the crowd in his white turtleneck and sweater vest trying to scores chicks. Parts of that are true. He peeked at some of my work, dug it, we hooked up a few months later on Intrepids. He has been a terrific partner on the series. Honestly, so much patience and creativity in that man.

With the sixth issue still yet to come out, the response overall has been very positive. How satisfied are you with the final product, and how has the response been from your perspective?

SK: I think we’ve had a good response. Critically especially. All our reviews have been pretty terrific, which has been gratifying. I’m hoping readers who haven’t leapt at the series will give the last issue a shot (best art of the series, without a doubt), or jump at the trade. There was a lot we couldn’t reveal along the way (just the nature of the script) which made it kind of difficult to market, so I’m hoping for a good response to the trade. The story reads really nicely as one big whole.

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All that said, this was my first ever book, it was a complete ride to get to work on. Getting to do this for a living, well, that 4 year old drawing the Prankster probably never saw this coming.

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first: The Intrepids, with their anti-Mad Scientist strike force nature, are given a lot of opportunity to square off against some rather inventive enemies (including Cyber Bear, a slew of combat baboons, and a massive robotic octopus). How much fun is it to design these new, more outlandish characters, and what was the process for that between you and Kurtis?

SK: The design is the most fun. I would get myself into trouble at times when designs would get so complex and then I would have to figure a way to make it work sequentially. That RoboSquid took some doing. Kurtis’ script called for Doctor Koi to be placed in an empty chamber somewhere housed within the Squid’s body. Come on, that is a hard visual. Wiebesy threw some challenges my way throughout the entire run which really were a blast to develop. Though, our big enemy reveal in issue #6 was my idea. Thank you, thank you. I don’t know, a giant cyborg struck me as really right for the book. In the end, it was nice having some freedom to just explore creating interesting looking characters — that freedom allowed me the space to learn a lot about storytelling, and myself as an artist.

On the same wavelength, each of The Intrepids were given very distinct and unique (especially for comics) visual personalities. What was the development process for the leads and how important was it for you and Kurtis to give the line-up a little diversity within this family?

SK: From the outset I really wanted them to have a GI JOE quality. I always dug the individuality given to that military unit — especially when it is counter-intuitive to the concept of military. The one re-accuring criticism I heard about my character designs was they all looked too old, which I think is reasonable. Based on their attire, I do think they looked older than teens. It was an aesthetic that Ditko and Kirby did a lot in the 60s (Ditko on Spider-Man, Kirby on X-Men) and I liked that. It felt right for our series.

In line with your interests in Adam West era Batman, this book had a very 60’s spy story feel. Was that a story choice from the get-go, or is that the flavor you had decided to give the art?

SK: Actually, initially the script was really dark. Lots of graphic violence. But the more I drew it, the less it seemed to fit. I mean, in issue #1 there is a grand explosion as Crystal and Doyle leave a Russia military facility — originally it was supposed to be a bloodbath with Crystal shooting their way out. It just didn’t fit. Kurt, the doll, was completely willing to change to tone to better fit my style. He’s a good man.

Donna Gregory was your colorist on recent issues, and she gave your book a vivacious feel that fit well to your style. How did get roped into the project, and could you elaborate on the transition of your art from your finishes to her colored finals?

SK: Donna. What can I say. She saved my ass. Our colourist for the first 2 issues just didn’t work out. It left me in a real bind, because I knew I didn’t have the time to colour the series myself, so I frantically searched for someone able and willing to take on the work. My good friend Riley Rossmo knew Donna through a friend and quickly put me in touch. Donna came on and just took off. There was a learning curve, sure, but after that, wow! I almost wish we had 6 more issues, because issue #6, Jeepers, she and I hit our stride in those pages. By about page 7, you’ll see what I mean.

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The actual process. It’s pretty simple. I send Donna line art, with some additional notes for light source, shadows and colour compositions — and then she waves her magic wand and ‘Taa-Dah’, colour! She’s fantastic. I’ve been recommending her to any artist willing to listen. She worked her tail off on this book. Such an incredible work ethic. (editor’s note: look for a colour process breakdown in a bit here at MC)

One of my favorite random things from the book was the intro page that led off every issue after the cover. The image of The Intrepids running into a maze with a bomb at the end. Was that something you came up with, or was it a collaboration with Kurtis? Why did the two of you decide to start with an intro page instead of just a standard credits box?

SK: Yeah, actually, something I came up with some time back. The series was originally called ‘Rat Bastards’, but we ran into a copyright issue with some dude who self-published a book of a similar name back in the early 90s. Originally, the maze had a rat on one end and a piece of cheese on the other. It was fun, and was a bit of hint as to what the Intrepids actually were. Rats in a maze. Lab rats. You know. But after the name changed I had to quickly come up with something new. I liked the maze, I didn’t want to lose that — after looking blankly at the rat in the maze for a while, I realized that if the rat was supposed to represent the kids, why not just use the kids? I was reminded of Scooby and Shaggy always running across screen on ‘Scooby Doo’ — and thus, the silhouette of the kids running.

The bomb was one of 6 designs I came up with to place over the second ‘i’ in the Intrepids masthead (if you turn the cover upside down, you’ll notice a skull at the center of the explosion! Easter Egg!). It didn’t make the final cut, but I liked it too much not to use somewhere else.

I always figured, if I were to do a comic I would design every element. It’s a lot of extra work, but it’s worth it to create a cohesive look, I think.

Now that the first volume is over, is it possible we could see more of The Intrepids from you and Kurtis in the future?

SK: It’s possible. It was a fun series to work on — and Kurt and I really learned how to become a team over the course of our year together. Ask me again in a year.

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?

SK: I was having this conversation with friend a number of months back. Right now, writers are hot. White hot! Readers gravitate toward writer’s names. They are the rockstars. Writers write a lot of books (like how Stan Lee’s name was on everything back in the 60s), and they deserve a ton of credit for that. I think that ‘hype’ is more ‘gratitude’ from fans than anything. I think it’s cyclical, Artists will get that hype again, like the Frank Miller’s of the 1980s did, or the Jim Lee’s of the 1990s.

You recently had a child, which we of course first want to congratulate you about! As a family man, how difficult is it for you to balance the attempts to release a monthly title with those other life responsibilities?

SK: Hey, thanks for that! Gwendolyn. My angel. Honestly, look on my blog, there are photos of here, she is the cutest baby ever! She is a baby that should be in commercials — that is, if I were an awful parent who put their baby in commercials. Honestly, the perspective you gain after the birth of your first child.

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Ha, well, as anyone paying close attention may notice, issue #6 of the Intrepids was late. It was all Gwen’s fault (that’s right sweetie, you are Daddy’s scapegoat). It’s a tough adjustment. My wife, Amanda, is on Maternity for the next year too, so the adjustment would be bigger if I was here alone with my baby. It takes time, I think. My day is split now. I used to work morning until evening (10-12 hours usually), now I work afternoon until evening, then late night to early morning. I’m getting close to the same number of hours, just at different times of the day.

What would be a dream project for you? Any particular writers you’re dying to work with or titles you’d like to take a stab at? Perhaps a personal project you just want to see come to fruition?

SK: Ooh, dream project time! I would like to do a Ted Kord Blue Beetle Year One. Seriously, that dude is my favourite character (thank you Charlton!). A swank 60s Doom Patrol. Something with Doctor Strange (I would go Ditko crazy on those dimensional planes). Maybe a Matt Wagner-style Batman mini-series with the Terrible Trio (I really dig drawing them). Plus, anything with Master of the Universe, She-Ra or GI JOE, I adore those properties!

Other than that, I have 5 properties of my own that I am ITCHING to produce. Just need to find the time to make a proper proposal.

Writers, you say? Lord, there are probably thousands. Jeff Lemire, Nathan Edmonson, Jim Zubkavich, Chris Roberson, Chuck Dixon, I don’t know, Judd Winick. Honestly, this list could go on forever.

Desert Island question: one book, one album, one film and one comic. What do you take with you?

SK: Book: Satan Was a Lesbian (never read it, just assume it’s sexy!) Album: B-52’s Cosmic Thing Film: Dick Tracy (the Beatty version, so good!) Comic: Detective Comics Annual #8 (Dixon and Dwyer’s Riddler origin, best damn comic ever)

Who are your favorite artists working in comics today?

SK: Hernandez Bros, Alex Toth, David Mazzuchelli, Javier Pulido, Paul Grist, Mike Allred, Steve Ditko, Rick Burchett, Bruno Premiani, Jack Kirby, Chris Samnee, and 4 dozen others!

Now that The Intrepids has wrapped, what other projects do you have coming up?

SK: I’m currently hard at work on a project for Oni Press with writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers. Without divulging too much, it’s basically an Elmore Leonard novel meets Kill Bill meets Animal House. It is SO good. Even if I wasn’t part of it I would buy it!


David Harper

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