The DC3 decided to take on the Herculean task of covering DC’s weekly books! Our coverage will rotate between creator interviews, issue reviews and annotations, and long-form pieces on featured characters. This, friends, is the DC3kly!
This week, we chat with one of the regular artists on the book, Patrick Zircher, about the process of putting out a weekly book, and what we can expect going forward.
Zircher is the solicited artist on a portion of #0, #1, #6, #9, #13, and #17
Patrick, you’ve been extremely vocal through social media regarding comic artistry, design, and production. When you’re working on a page, what are the primary goals you set for creating a worthwhile product?
Patrick Zircher: I want to make something I would enjoy reading myself– a story that the reader falls into, that realizes the script, emotes, is attractively drawn, has smart panel or frame composition. I don’t want the reader to step out of the experience because the art is confusing, have to rotate the page, decipher the content of a panel, or guess where they should look next.
Making a story flow smoothly and hit all the right beats is a thoughtful process. If readers appreciate the work afterward that’s great but mostly I want to entertain them.
“Future’s End” has such a sprawling cast of characters. Which ones have been your favorite to draw so far?
PZ: That changes a little as the cast expands. Part of the fun in drawing Futures End is the large cast itself– but Batman (Terry), Barda, Grifter, Deathstroke, Key, Frankenstein, Hawkman, Tim Drake, Lois Lane, King Faraday, Emiko… all of them, really.
It seems you planted a lot of teases in the scene in which Terry first arrives from the future. As there been much fan speculation directed your way? If so, are there any Easter Eggs that stand out, or any that fans have missed completely?
PZ: Some guesses have been thrown my way but, for the sake of the future, I haven’t said a word.
The Writers Four are doing a great job weaving in clues, foreshadowing events to come— I’d hate to spoil that.
Are you a fan of the weekly comic format? What challenges and advantages come from working with a team of artists where you each take about one issue per month?
PZ: As a reader I’m a fan of the weekly. It’s great getting more story delivered more quickly. As an artist, I have mixed feelings. It positively keeps you busy and being busy is how we make our living–but there’s no doubt coordinating efforts, making changes that tie stories together, places additional demands on the job.
“Future’s End” touts a group of writers who also have backgrounds on the art side of comics. What have they brought to the table on the visual side?
PZ: Keith Giffen set the tone early on by showing us samples of how we should all approach the series, more traditional layouts with clarity of storytelling so that the books would read well through the cycle of changing artists. Jeff, Keith, and Dan have an excellent sense of what fits on a page, where to break, and drawing may have helped that but Brian is great (really great) at it too so i don’t think it’s a necessary thing.
How much of the plot are you privy to, far in advance? How far ahead are you able to see as you work on, say, whatever issue you’re drawing today?
PZ: About a dozen scripts were finished before I started drawing the first issue and another half dozen or so plotted out beyond that. They’ve had the end goal figured out and in sight for some time. The writers have paced ahead of us, and scripts beyond the issues we’re working on been made available, the whole time.
It’s a fast and furious creative machine.
A series like this is so shrouded in secrecy. Because of your schedule of doing an issue every few installments, were there times that you were drawing things where you had no idea what was going on?
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PZ: Not really– or at least not any more than many of the other monthly assignments I’ve had. We have a ‘base camp’ where we can access designs, scripts, and the pages of art as they come in.
Can you tease anything from “Future’s End” that will shock and surprise readers? Anything you got to draw that made you say “I can’t believe we’re doing this?”
PZ: I could tease you–but I won’t. Surprise is part of the joy of reading comics. Don’t make me take the joy away.
Ryan Sook is doing covers for the entire series – since certain covers presumably get solicited ahead of you starting your pencils, are you ever in the position of using his cover as a visual inspiration for the book? Do you concern yourself, at all, with what is going to be on the cover?
PZ: Ryan and I have a little mutual admiration thing going, which is like Hercules telling me I’m strong too. His work is amazing. We see Ryan’s covers even in the rough pencil stages and they have been very helpful. More than that, they’re inspiring.
There’s a scene in issue #1 where Grifter guns down an entire family. Of course, said family is possessed by evil aliens, but the subject matter remains rather grim. Do you ever find yourself tasked with drawing scenes that are particularly troubling, psychologically or otherwise?
PZ: It starts as a blank sheet of paper (digital paper in my case) so it’s always a little flattering, no matter the controversy, when I’ve drawn something that has impact and the intended emotional effect. As far as crossing a line, I don’t think we have unless a PG-13 style of rating is too much for the reader. Everyone draws their line in a different place.
Here’s an extremely specific question. Most of the robots seen in Brother Eye’s horrific future were easily recognized heroes and villains. However, the bot that comes to the past with Terry isn’t so easily recognizable. The DC3 have debated internally the cyborg’s identity, or if there even is one. Care to set the record straight?
PZ: The identity of that cyborg will be made very clear soon and it plays a significant role in Futures End. That’s all I’m saying.
