MattBrady
12-06-2002, 12:15 PM
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/JennieOne_cover.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/JennieOne_cover_t.jpg" width="165" height="257" align="right" border="0" alt="Jennie One"></a>Yeah, so Christmas is only 19 days away and counting – the big holiday, at least according to Larry Young, begins in January, or, as he calls it, BWM2K3 - that’s Brian Wood Month 2003. As previously reported, January will see new works by Wood and collaborators set in the worlds of Couscous Express and Channel Zero. Newsarama.com caught up with Wood for a chat about the books, working on his own stuff with other folks, his work at Rockstar, and why he sticks with Larry Young through thick and thin…
First – Wood’s only writing the two books, <a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=000076" target="_blank">Couriers</a> and Jennie One. The graphic novels are illustrated by Rob (Teenagers from Mars) G and Becky Cloonan, respectively. While Wood has had a modicum of success outside of Larry Young’s AiT/PlanetLar (with Generation X at Marvel, Pounded at Oni, and the currently running Fight for Tomorrow at Vertigo), Wood and Young are sort of becoming the Butch and Sundance of comics – wherever one is, the other isn’t too far away – which begs the first question…
Newsarama: You’ve pretty much been one of the stalwarts in Larry Young’s arsenal since he began publishing books, both putting out your own work, and designing many other projects. Having since gained name recognition as well as having done other projects for publishers, why stay with Larry? Would you have been able to do what you've done with AiT/PlanetLar at any other publisher?
Brian Wood: I met Larry years ago, when he sent me fan mail about Channel Zero #1 when it was an Image book. We became buddies, I did some art for him, and as time went by and he started his publishing empire, he asked me to join up. Smartest decision I ever made. Channel Zero is now in its 3rd printing, Couscous Express in its second, and that sort of success has pretty much earned me a permanent free pass at PlanetLar. I published an art book. I got t-shirts, posters, and patches made up. I have my own MONTH, for f***'s sake, with two new graphic novels coming out. I'm sure if I turned to Larry and Mimi and said, ‘Hey, I know you guys have made the black and white graphic novels work like no one else has, but I wanna do a color monthly book now,” they would respond with a, "Sure, when do you want to start?"
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie1_t.jpg" width="175" height="241" align="left" border="0" alt="Jennie One, by Cloonan"></a>That's what I get from PlanetLar. I think it goes without saying that no other company would be that trusting or supportive. At least not at this point in my career. But it feels like me and Larry and Meems have this trust in each other and we are all on the same page in business terms. I'm a proven success to them, and they treat me like royalty. I can and will always work with other publishers, but PlanetLar feels like home to me. That’s why I always laugh when critics and naysayers give me a hard time, telling me I am making a mistake by "attaching" myself to PlanetLar.
I think the situation I'm in with PlanetLar, the deal I have, is something all creators probably wish they had as well.
NRAMA: That said, has Larry in a sense "ruined" you for other comics, specifically work for hire? Could you ever see yourself doing work for hire again on characters that you didn’t create at a larger publisher?
BW: If I were to do work-for-hire, it would have to be something really special. I wouldn’t say that Larry has ruined me for other comics, but I make solid cash off my own creations, and have made some good progress getting it turned into other media. Why would I want to waste a lot of time on other people's books?
NRAMA: Fair enough. Let's dance on this tightrope - you've got two books coming out from Larry in January, as well as a miniseries running at Vertigo currently (Fight for Tomorrow). Still, when people mention you, it seems always to be in regards to Couscous, Channel Zero, and your upcoming stuff in January - no one's talking about FFT. Any thoughts as to why?
BW: No one promotes like Larry. Everyone knows that. And as I said above, no one company cares about me like PlanetLar does. And it shows.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP15.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP15_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" align="right" border="0" alt="Couriers, page 15"></a>That said, I think Fight for Tomorrow is a tricky book for anyone to promote well. Its very specific, and its also very personal to me. On the surface, and in DC's PR, it comes off as a kung-fu action book, which it is, but when you read it all this other stuff comes flying at you. Its a love story at its core, but a very, very sad, dysfunctional love story about orphaned, abused, emotionally damaged children struggling to exist, struggling to love each other. It’s pretty burly. Hard concepts to sell.
I wrote that book because I needed to get all that out of me, not to rack up big sales numbers. I'm grateful that Vertigo, and specifically Heidi MacDonald, gave me that chance.
NRAMA: Have the response to and promotion for FFT affected how you see working for a large publisher?
BW: I would work with Vertigo again at the drop of a hat, and work with them to promote my next project more effectively.
NRAMA: Moving on to the projects coming our during Brian Wood Month, for both Couriers and Jennie One, what did Rob [G.] and Becky [Cloonan] bring to the
work that you either hadn't seen in your mental eye when you were writing the books or didn't know was there?
BW: Well, I wrote Jennie One specifically for Becky to draw. I had found her online and knew I wanted to work with her on something. I kicked a lot of ideas around and nothing seemed right. Then I thought of a Jennie 2.5 story, which she was into, and it went from there. She took that and drew a Channel Zero book better that I ever could have.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/NYC.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/NYC_t.jpg" width="250" height="189" align="left" border="0" alt="Rob G's NYC"></a>Rob G's skill in drawing action, in drawing New York, and his obvious unhealthy fetish for weaponry of all sorts really amped up The Couriers to a level I hadn’t imagined it would get to. I always wanted it to be my personal summer action movie fantasy, and Rob gave me that exactly.
NRAMA: Through either their art or talking to you, did either Becky or Rob contribute to the stories they were illustrating in any way once they got started, or was it all scripted and pretty much mapped out for them?
BW: Rob and Becky really added a lot to the book. I tend to like to script really loosely. I want the artists to bring personal touches to the work, so I give them a lot of leeway. My scripts tend to look more like a film director's shot list with dialogue added than anything else. It’s a lot more work for them, I know, but I hope the freedom it gives them makes up for it. And I know the final product is stronger for it.
Both of them would add entire new pages to scenes if they felt it necessary. And just before the book gets lettered I rewrite the dialogue to custom match the art, so it really ends up being a collaborative process. They do more than just pencil and ink the book. They fully illustrate the story, and are credited as such.
NRAMA: Gut level, between the two, does one project edge out the other for you,
personally?
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie2_t.jpg" width="165" height="221" align="right" border="0" alt="More Jennie One by Cloonan"></a>BW: Jennie One, only because its the first true character I created.
NRAMA: You've never made a secret that you work for Rockstar Games as your day job, which is arguable the hottest videogame company in the industry right now. What's the differences in the satisfaction between the two?
BW: Well, a day job is basically work-for-hire, and we all know how I feel about work-for-hire. In the case of Rockstar Games, its how I pay bills and survive. In general terms, though, I get an equal level of satisfaction from both design and comics, even though they can be very different in the details.
If I had to choose, I don't know if I could choose. I guess that’s why I try to combine the two as often as I can.
NRAMA: Backing up just a little, for those who don't know - can you explain a little of what you do at Rockstar?
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP16.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP16_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" align="left" border="0" alt="Couriers, page 16"></a>I'm a graphic designer. Rockstar is a videogame publisher, as opposed to a developer, so we don't actually make the games. We test them, and market and sell them. As a graphic designer, I handle everything for a given game except for the game itself. That includes the packaging, ad campaigns, cover and logo work and any incidentals like shirts, posters, and promo items.
I am designer on the Grand Theft Auto games and Midnight Club game franchises.
NRAMA: Given your day job, what's your work ethic/day like? Do stories, such as Couriers and Jennie One just sit and fester for a while as you're busy with other things, and then you get them all out at once, or do you have scheduled "writing" time to work on them?
BW: Rockstar takes up almost all of my time, so I write my comics anytime I have the energy to. Every night, every weekend, holidays, vacations, you name it. Its all potential comics writing time. Sometimes I even wake up early in the morning and write before I leave for work. Its hard, because a typical day at Rockstar is around 11 hours.
NRAMA: Would there ever come a time when you could see doing comics as a
full-time gig?
BW: It’s what I am actively working towards. But I have huge bills and right now I would probably have to write three monthly books to pay all the bills. So I have to work the day job and build up to it slowly. But every graphic novel I get out there pays me more and more royalties, and come January I will have six permanent editions on shelves. It’s only a matter of time.
NRAMA: Speaking of your books and plethora of announced projects, whatever happened to The Walk?
BW: The Walk was/is a Channel Zero book I started in a fit of depression after I ended a four-year relationship. It detailed the personal mental thought processes of a suicide bomber as he walks through the streets of New York City towards his target. Real upbeat stuff. I got about 25 pages done before I had to abandon it to go work on Pounded and Fight for Tomorrow.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP29.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP29_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" align="right" border="0" alt="Couriers, page 29"></a>I don't know if I will ever get back to it. I seem to have outgrown it on certain levels, and even though it has nothing to do with the current world attention on suicide bombers in Palestine, comparisons will be drawn and I feel a responsibility to be, well, responsible about it. That doesn’t mean I would compromise what I believe in to be politically correct, but I would want to be careful I wasn’t inadvertently trivializing real-life events.
So it may see print at some point. I can't answer the question for sure right now.
NRAMA: Given the scope of your work, in a perfect world's bookstore, where would you want your projects racked? Do you think they appeal outright to people who've grown up reading
comics and are looking for something new, or are they more welcomed by people new to comics, or lapsed readers who pick them up with a "I didn't know they made comics like this?"
BW: By genre, and by my name. I think my books fit neatly into one or in some cases more than one category. Pounded is a romantic comedy, The Couriers and Couscous Express are straight up action stories, and the Channel Zero books are social sci-fi/drama. I think they appeal probably more towards new readers, or lapsed readers. I have found that the stereotypical "comic book fan" tends not to care for my stuff as much. But that's ok with me. The further out into the mainstream my work gets, the better.
First – Wood’s only writing the two books, <a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=000076" target="_blank">Couriers</a> and Jennie One. The graphic novels are illustrated by Rob (Teenagers from Mars) G and Becky Cloonan, respectively. While Wood has had a modicum of success outside of Larry Young’s AiT/PlanetLar (with Generation X at Marvel, Pounded at Oni, and the currently running Fight for Tomorrow at Vertigo), Wood and Young are sort of becoming the Butch and Sundance of comics – wherever one is, the other isn’t too far away – which begs the first question…
Newsarama: You’ve pretty much been one of the stalwarts in Larry Young’s arsenal since he began publishing books, both putting out your own work, and designing many other projects. Having since gained name recognition as well as having done other projects for publishers, why stay with Larry? Would you have been able to do what you've done with AiT/PlanetLar at any other publisher?
Brian Wood: I met Larry years ago, when he sent me fan mail about Channel Zero #1 when it was an Image book. We became buddies, I did some art for him, and as time went by and he started his publishing empire, he asked me to join up. Smartest decision I ever made. Channel Zero is now in its 3rd printing, Couscous Express in its second, and that sort of success has pretty much earned me a permanent free pass at PlanetLar. I published an art book. I got t-shirts, posters, and patches made up. I have my own MONTH, for f***'s sake, with two new graphic novels coming out. I'm sure if I turned to Larry and Mimi and said, ‘Hey, I know you guys have made the black and white graphic novels work like no one else has, but I wanna do a color monthly book now,” they would respond with a, "Sure, when do you want to start?"
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie1_t.jpg" width="175" height="241" align="left" border="0" alt="Jennie One, by Cloonan"></a>That's what I get from PlanetLar. I think it goes without saying that no other company would be that trusting or supportive. At least not at this point in my career. But it feels like me and Larry and Meems have this trust in each other and we are all on the same page in business terms. I'm a proven success to them, and they treat me like royalty. I can and will always work with other publishers, but PlanetLar feels like home to me. That’s why I always laugh when critics and naysayers give me a hard time, telling me I am making a mistake by "attaching" myself to PlanetLar.
I think the situation I'm in with PlanetLar, the deal I have, is something all creators probably wish they had as well.
NRAMA: That said, has Larry in a sense "ruined" you for other comics, specifically work for hire? Could you ever see yourself doing work for hire again on characters that you didn’t create at a larger publisher?
BW: If I were to do work-for-hire, it would have to be something really special. I wouldn’t say that Larry has ruined me for other comics, but I make solid cash off my own creations, and have made some good progress getting it turned into other media. Why would I want to waste a lot of time on other people's books?
NRAMA: Fair enough. Let's dance on this tightrope - you've got two books coming out from Larry in January, as well as a miniseries running at Vertigo currently (Fight for Tomorrow). Still, when people mention you, it seems always to be in regards to Couscous, Channel Zero, and your upcoming stuff in January - no one's talking about FFT. Any thoughts as to why?
BW: No one promotes like Larry. Everyone knows that. And as I said above, no one company cares about me like PlanetLar does. And it shows.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP15.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP15_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" align="right" border="0" alt="Couriers, page 15"></a>That said, I think Fight for Tomorrow is a tricky book for anyone to promote well. Its very specific, and its also very personal to me. On the surface, and in DC's PR, it comes off as a kung-fu action book, which it is, but when you read it all this other stuff comes flying at you. Its a love story at its core, but a very, very sad, dysfunctional love story about orphaned, abused, emotionally damaged children struggling to exist, struggling to love each other. It’s pretty burly. Hard concepts to sell.
I wrote that book because I needed to get all that out of me, not to rack up big sales numbers. I'm grateful that Vertigo, and specifically Heidi MacDonald, gave me that chance.
NRAMA: Have the response to and promotion for FFT affected how you see working for a large publisher?
BW: I would work with Vertigo again at the drop of a hat, and work with them to promote my next project more effectively.
NRAMA: Moving on to the projects coming our during Brian Wood Month, for both Couriers and Jennie One, what did Rob [G.] and Becky [Cloonan] bring to the
work that you either hadn't seen in your mental eye when you were writing the books or didn't know was there?
BW: Well, I wrote Jennie One specifically for Becky to draw. I had found her online and knew I wanted to work with her on something. I kicked a lot of ideas around and nothing seemed right. Then I thought of a Jennie 2.5 story, which she was into, and it went from there. She took that and drew a Channel Zero book better that I ever could have.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/NYC.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/NYC_t.jpg" width="250" height="189" align="left" border="0" alt="Rob G's NYC"></a>Rob G's skill in drawing action, in drawing New York, and his obvious unhealthy fetish for weaponry of all sorts really amped up The Couriers to a level I hadn’t imagined it would get to. I always wanted it to be my personal summer action movie fantasy, and Rob gave me that exactly.
NRAMA: Through either their art or talking to you, did either Becky or Rob contribute to the stories they were illustrating in any way once they got started, or was it all scripted and pretty much mapped out for them?
BW: Rob and Becky really added a lot to the book. I tend to like to script really loosely. I want the artists to bring personal touches to the work, so I give them a lot of leeway. My scripts tend to look more like a film director's shot list with dialogue added than anything else. It’s a lot more work for them, I know, but I hope the freedom it gives them makes up for it. And I know the final product is stronger for it.
Both of them would add entire new pages to scenes if they felt it necessary. And just before the book gets lettered I rewrite the dialogue to custom match the art, so it really ends up being a collaborative process. They do more than just pencil and ink the book. They fully illustrate the story, and are credited as such.
NRAMA: Gut level, between the two, does one project edge out the other for you,
personally?
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Jennie2_t.jpg" width="165" height="221" align="right" border="0" alt="More Jennie One by Cloonan"></a>BW: Jennie One, only because its the first true character I created.
NRAMA: You've never made a secret that you work for Rockstar Games as your day job, which is arguable the hottest videogame company in the industry right now. What's the differences in the satisfaction between the two?
BW: Well, a day job is basically work-for-hire, and we all know how I feel about work-for-hire. In the case of Rockstar Games, its how I pay bills and survive. In general terms, though, I get an equal level of satisfaction from both design and comics, even though they can be very different in the details.
If I had to choose, I don't know if I could choose. I guess that’s why I try to combine the two as often as I can.
NRAMA: Backing up just a little, for those who don't know - can you explain a little of what you do at Rockstar?
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP16.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP16_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" align="left" border="0" alt="Couriers, page 16"></a>I'm a graphic designer. Rockstar is a videogame publisher, as opposed to a developer, so we don't actually make the games. We test them, and market and sell them. As a graphic designer, I handle everything for a given game except for the game itself. That includes the packaging, ad campaigns, cover and logo work and any incidentals like shirts, posters, and promo items.
I am designer on the Grand Theft Auto games and Midnight Club game franchises.
NRAMA: Given your day job, what's your work ethic/day like? Do stories, such as Couriers and Jennie One just sit and fester for a while as you're busy with other things, and then you get them all out at once, or do you have scheduled "writing" time to work on them?
BW: Rockstar takes up almost all of my time, so I write my comics anytime I have the energy to. Every night, every weekend, holidays, vacations, you name it. Its all potential comics writing time. Sometimes I even wake up early in the morning and write before I leave for work. Its hard, because a typical day at Rockstar is around 11 hours.
NRAMA: Would there ever come a time when you could see doing comics as a
full-time gig?
BW: It’s what I am actively working towards. But I have huge bills and right now I would probably have to write three monthly books to pay all the bills. So I have to work the day job and build up to it slowly. But every graphic novel I get out there pays me more and more royalties, and come January I will have six permanent editions on shelves. It’s only a matter of time.
NRAMA: Speaking of your books and plethora of announced projects, whatever happened to The Walk?
BW: The Walk was/is a Channel Zero book I started in a fit of depression after I ended a four-year relationship. It detailed the personal mental thought processes of a suicide bomber as he walks through the streets of New York City towards his target. Real upbeat stuff. I got about 25 pages done before I had to abandon it to go work on Pounded and Fight for Tomorrow.
<a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP29.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://classic.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/CSP29_t.jpg" width="175" height="263" align="right" border="0" alt="Couriers, page 29"></a>I don't know if I will ever get back to it. I seem to have outgrown it on certain levels, and even though it has nothing to do with the current world attention on suicide bombers in Palestine, comparisons will be drawn and I feel a responsibility to be, well, responsible about it. That doesn’t mean I would compromise what I believe in to be politically correct, but I would want to be careful I wasn’t inadvertently trivializing real-life events.
So it may see print at some point. I can't answer the question for sure right now.
NRAMA: Given the scope of your work, in a perfect world's bookstore, where would you want your projects racked? Do you think they appeal outright to people who've grown up reading
comics and are looking for something new, or are they more welcomed by people new to comics, or lapsed readers who pick them up with a "I didn't know they made comics like this?"
BW: By genre, and by my name. I think my books fit neatly into one or in some cases more than one category. Pounded is a romantic comedy, The Couriers and Couscous Express are straight up action stories, and the Channel Zero books are social sci-fi/drama. I think they appeal probably more towards new readers, or lapsed readers. I have found that the stereotypical "comic book fan" tends not to care for my stuff as much. But that's ok with me. The further out into the mainstream my work gets, the better.