MattBrady
05-05-2008, 11:44 AM
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/PfH01.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_PfH01.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a><i>by Chris Arrant</i>
Last week (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=155336), we spoke with <B>Pigeons From Hell</B> comics writer Joe R. Lansdale, and now we turn to series' artist Nathan Fox. Fox cut his comics teeth to speak on several issues of <B>DMZ</B>, but <B>Pigeons From Hell</B> marks the first series of his own for the magazine illustration vet.
For more, we talked to Nathan Fox from his home in Milwaukee.
<B>Newsarama:</B> <B>Pigeons From Hell</B> centers around the environs of Louisiana. Nathan, have you ever been there, or had any experience with the area?
<B>Nathan Fox:</B> I grew up on the outskirts of Houston, TX. So there were a lot of family trips and Boy Scout stuff to be had in east Texas. We also took road trips that cut though Louisiana. Most of my memories back then are of the countryside and traveling the RV's stopping in new places. I spent more time out in the open the older I got, especially at Boy Scout camp and the like which, I have to admit, always creeped me out.
I would have to agree with what Joe has said about Louisiana -- there is something truly otherworld about being out there. Probably where that little bit of superstition I still carry around came from. Louisiana was another affair all together. We mainly traveled through it to other destinations, but when we stopped or went to New Orleans, it was like traveling to another country. It probably sparked my first interest at other cultures, cities and countries outside of Houston.
Anyway, Louisiana always felt like another world and the times we did stop in random places along the way or ventured outside the tourist traps the landscape held some kind of foreign/jungle-y fear and excitement about it all. I haven't been back in a long time but from what I can remember and those experiences out in the open of East Texas, I tried to put a little bit of that creepiness and other-worldliness in the book as much as possible.
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/pfh1p1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_pfh1p1.jpg" border="0" align="left"></a><B>NRAMA:</B> This being your first comic series, how would you describe the story?
<B>NF:</B> A beautifully written Southern-Rooted Horror story of voodoo, folklore and history at its unapologetically goriest... And an amazing adaptation of one of the freakiest imaginative writers and short stories I have ever read. Growing up in Houston and camping/traveling around East Texas and Louisiana, the scenario and location alone was enough to get me creeped out. If you've ever spent any time out in the open terrain out there, there is something spiritually sinister and not of this world about the air. It freaked me out as a kid and made me jump at the opportunity to put some of that to pictures. I didn't really know about Robert E. Howard or Joe R. Lansdale up until I was offered the gig. I knew of [<B>Conan The Barbarian</B>], but that was about it. But once I got a-hold of both of their works I was in.
When the project got pitched as an updated adaptation of the original I must admit, I was nervous. But I ate my words once I got my hands on the script and found out what Lansdale did with the adaptation. I was blown away and honored to be handed such an amazing script my first solo shot out. I've been really fortunate to work with amazing writers so far comics wise. As a new Howard fan this past year or so Joe really did Howard's original work true justice and honored his own.
<B>NRAMA:</B> When I hear the words "Pigeons From Hell" I'm reminded of the classic Hitchcock movie <B>The Birds</B>. What'd you do to get in the right mind to draw what sounds like being some sinister pigeons?
<B>NF:</B> A lot of Tom Waits, Mike Patton, a little bit of Jameson and a lot of horror and suspense movies and games helped out. Hitchcock, Cubric, De Palma and other directors works were a big influence.
Kind of like my memories of Louisiana I wanted to try and set the story in its own world. Something real but not. So in terms of <B>The Birds</B> and other related movies, I tried to write down or remember as a kid what really freaked me out. Specific shots or angles I remember, quick flashes of suspense and shock after the quiet moment of feeling safe. Suspended moments of horror and great editing from those films and books were a great influence. I did a lot of research on specific characters or traits from the location. A lot of preparation reference wise. Music helped out a lot as well. Also, I tried to find old albums and some new ones that fit the genre or mood. Basically anything I could remember or get my hands on to try and get into the story and empathize with as much of what is happening as possible. I end up making a lot of faces or acting out poses and scenes while I work. Try to put some of that weight and character of the action or movement into the scene as much as I can.
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/pfh1p2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_pfh1p2.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a><B>NRAMA:</B> This is a story of a plantation house in Louisiana. When you were
dreaming up what it would look like, what did you reference or aim to show?
<B>NF:</B> The house really felt like a character unto its own. Even in Howard's original short story it read as if it were breathing some what. Joe's adaptation definitely played that up which was an exciting challenge to tackle. Perspective and size, angles and depth within the house are distorted in the comic. I'm not sure how blatant that is in the finished work. It was meant to, or at least I drew it to be a subtle jarring and distortion that would hopefully add to the suspense and awkwardness of the house. More of that "Living House" type stuff comes into play further along in the story as it all amps up in the end.
In terms of where the house came from structurally I did a lot of research on slave plantations in Louisiana and East Texas. Joe was influenced by the <B>Thriller</B> television show version when he was younger so I hunted down the episode as well and tried to pay homage to the set from that episode. The layout worked well as a starting point for how I wanted to design the house and the staircase was killer, so a lot of details from that episode show up in the final design I have. I got to smash up a piano as well as a lot of other minute details from Joe's writing and the original short story so hopefully all that research and detail/objects I cram in there will pay off in the end.
<B>NRAMA:</B> This is something I always ask when interviewing people in this genre, horror. Is it more difficult to properly do the horror and suspense elements of comic story since the pacing is so much up to the reader?
<B>NF:</B> Ever since I got this question I have been trying to figure out how to answer it. [laughs] If only page count and panel progression were up for grabs as needed...
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/pfh1p3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_pfh1p3.jpg" border="0" align="left"></a>I honestly don't know how to answer it yet. It has been something I have really struggled with in <B>Pigeons From Hell</B>. I am trying to push the boundaries of how I structure the page so that the flow and pace of the panel structure within each physical page reflects the story pacing as well. So when things get crazy or suspense starts to take hold, the panel structure on the page starts to reflect that kind of energy. Then it goes back to a more sound and calm structure as the story slows down and so on. Joe's script did a lot of pacing with each page turn and how he wrote the script per page, but as an artist, much like you just suggested, once the reader gets a hold of it and the book is opened its hard to hide what comes next aside from a page turn. You see it all. One major thing I did try and do was use objects and odd camera angles to aid in the suspense and pacing of it all visually. Getting right up to the characters and cutting out what they are looking at or panning through rubble or debris to keep the viewer wary of where they are at in their imagination and cropping the hero's from the danger and so on. A few characters aren't even visually seen until its a necessity. Especially in issue 4. The Shadow In The Corn and the truly horrific and brutal character climax's aren't revealed until there is no escaping it.
With every project I've had so far, because I am very much a new hack at all this, each one has been a huge learning experience. Hopefully as it goes and book by book my abilities can develop and progress along with the work. [laughs] So get back to me in 20 years on that one. Aside from the attempts listed above, if I'm lucky enough to keep contributing to all this I might be able to challenge your question with an experienced answer by then...
<B>NRAMA:</B> Your colorist on this is the phenomenal Dave Stewart. What's it like
working with him?
<B>NF:</B> Too amazing for words. I finally met Dave in person at San Diego Comic-Con last year and was a fan of his work for years before that. We had worked on some pitch stuff the year prior but collaborating with him on this book was insanely phenomenal. His color work has taken it above and beyond anything I could have expected. I would kill to work with him again in the future.
<B>NRAMA:</B> You're a freelance illustrator, with some work in comics .. most
notably issues of <B>DMZ</B>. This is your first series of your own, so how was that?
<B>NF:</B> Man, its exciting and more work and scheduling than I have ever been used to. The balance and transition in juggling illustration and comics has been a bit rocky at times but I'm hooked and happily addicted. I love illustrating and doing fill-ins but to have a chance like this was mind blowing. It has been an honor to work some really amazing writers and colorist's in all the comic work I have been doing and Joe and this story is no exception. The same with Fluorescent Black and M.F. Wilson. To go from single image problem-solving and story telling to developed page and narrative sequence was, for lack of a better cliche', a dream come true. Hopefully it's the beginning of many more to come.
<I><B>Pigeons From Hell</B> #1 (of 4) is on sale now.</I>
Last week (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=155336), we spoke with <B>Pigeons From Hell</B> comics writer Joe R. Lansdale, and now we turn to series' artist Nathan Fox. Fox cut his comics teeth to speak on several issues of <B>DMZ</B>, but <B>Pigeons From Hell</B> marks the first series of his own for the magazine illustration vet.
For more, we talked to Nathan Fox from his home in Milwaukee.
<B>Newsarama:</B> <B>Pigeons From Hell</B> centers around the environs of Louisiana. Nathan, have you ever been there, or had any experience with the area?
<B>Nathan Fox:</B> I grew up on the outskirts of Houston, TX. So there were a lot of family trips and Boy Scout stuff to be had in east Texas. We also took road trips that cut though Louisiana. Most of my memories back then are of the countryside and traveling the RV's stopping in new places. I spent more time out in the open the older I got, especially at Boy Scout camp and the like which, I have to admit, always creeped me out.
I would have to agree with what Joe has said about Louisiana -- there is something truly otherworld about being out there. Probably where that little bit of superstition I still carry around came from. Louisiana was another affair all together. We mainly traveled through it to other destinations, but when we stopped or went to New Orleans, it was like traveling to another country. It probably sparked my first interest at other cultures, cities and countries outside of Houston.
Anyway, Louisiana always felt like another world and the times we did stop in random places along the way or ventured outside the tourist traps the landscape held some kind of foreign/jungle-y fear and excitement about it all. I haven't been back in a long time but from what I can remember and those experiences out in the open of East Texas, I tried to put a little bit of that creepiness and other-worldliness in the book as much as possible.
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/pfh1p1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_pfh1p1.jpg" border="0" align="left"></a><B>NRAMA:</B> This being your first comic series, how would you describe the story?
<B>NF:</B> A beautifully written Southern-Rooted Horror story of voodoo, folklore and history at its unapologetically goriest... And an amazing adaptation of one of the freakiest imaginative writers and short stories I have ever read. Growing up in Houston and camping/traveling around East Texas and Louisiana, the scenario and location alone was enough to get me creeped out. If you've ever spent any time out in the open terrain out there, there is something spiritually sinister and not of this world about the air. It freaked me out as a kid and made me jump at the opportunity to put some of that to pictures. I didn't really know about Robert E. Howard or Joe R. Lansdale up until I was offered the gig. I knew of [<B>Conan The Barbarian</B>], but that was about it. But once I got a-hold of both of their works I was in.
When the project got pitched as an updated adaptation of the original I must admit, I was nervous. But I ate my words once I got my hands on the script and found out what Lansdale did with the adaptation. I was blown away and honored to be handed such an amazing script my first solo shot out. I've been really fortunate to work with amazing writers so far comics wise. As a new Howard fan this past year or so Joe really did Howard's original work true justice and honored his own.
<B>NRAMA:</B> When I hear the words "Pigeons From Hell" I'm reminded of the classic Hitchcock movie <B>The Birds</B>. What'd you do to get in the right mind to draw what sounds like being some sinister pigeons?
<B>NF:</B> A lot of Tom Waits, Mike Patton, a little bit of Jameson and a lot of horror and suspense movies and games helped out. Hitchcock, Cubric, De Palma and other directors works were a big influence.
Kind of like my memories of Louisiana I wanted to try and set the story in its own world. Something real but not. So in terms of <B>The Birds</B> and other related movies, I tried to write down or remember as a kid what really freaked me out. Specific shots or angles I remember, quick flashes of suspense and shock after the quiet moment of feeling safe. Suspended moments of horror and great editing from those films and books were a great influence. I did a lot of research on specific characters or traits from the location. A lot of preparation reference wise. Music helped out a lot as well. Also, I tried to find old albums and some new ones that fit the genre or mood. Basically anything I could remember or get my hands on to try and get into the story and empathize with as much of what is happening as possible. I end up making a lot of faces or acting out poses and scenes while I work. Try to put some of that weight and character of the action or movement into the scene as much as I can.
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/pfh1p2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_pfh1p2.jpg" border="0" align="right"></a><B>NRAMA:</B> This is a story of a plantation house in Louisiana. When you were
dreaming up what it would look like, what did you reference or aim to show?
<B>NF:</B> The house really felt like a character unto its own. Even in Howard's original short story it read as if it were breathing some what. Joe's adaptation definitely played that up which was an exciting challenge to tackle. Perspective and size, angles and depth within the house are distorted in the comic. I'm not sure how blatant that is in the finished work. It was meant to, or at least I drew it to be a subtle jarring and distortion that would hopefully add to the suspense and awkwardness of the house. More of that "Living House" type stuff comes into play further along in the story as it all amps up in the end.
In terms of where the house came from structurally I did a lot of research on slave plantations in Louisiana and East Texas. Joe was influenced by the <B>Thriller</B> television show version when he was younger so I hunted down the episode as well and tried to pay homage to the set from that episode. The layout worked well as a starting point for how I wanted to design the house and the staircase was killer, so a lot of details from that episode show up in the final design I have. I got to smash up a piano as well as a lot of other minute details from Joe's writing and the original short story so hopefully all that research and detail/objects I cram in there will pay off in the end.
<B>NRAMA:</B> This is something I always ask when interviewing people in this genre, horror. Is it more difficult to properly do the horror and suspense elements of comic story since the pacing is so much up to the reader?
<B>NF:</B> Ever since I got this question I have been trying to figure out how to answer it. [laughs] If only page count and panel progression were up for grabs as needed...
<a href="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/pfh1p3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.newsarama.com/DarkHorsenew/PigeonsHell/t_pfh1p3.jpg" border="0" align="left"></a>I honestly don't know how to answer it yet. It has been something I have really struggled with in <B>Pigeons From Hell</B>. I am trying to push the boundaries of how I structure the page so that the flow and pace of the panel structure within each physical page reflects the story pacing as well. So when things get crazy or suspense starts to take hold, the panel structure on the page starts to reflect that kind of energy. Then it goes back to a more sound and calm structure as the story slows down and so on. Joe's script did a lot of pacing with each page turn and how he wrote the script per page, but as an artist, much like you just suggested, once the reader gets a hold of it and the book is opened its hard to hide what comes next aside from a page turn. You see it all. One major thing I did try and do was use objects and odd camera angles to aid in the suspense and pacing of it all visually. Getting right up to the characters and cutting out what they are looking at or panning through rubble or debris to keep the viewer wary of where they are at in their imagination and cropping the hero's from the danger and so on. A few characters aren't even visually seen until its a necessity. Especially in issue 4. The Shadow In The Corn and the truly horrific and brutal character climax's aren't revealed until there is no escaping it.
With every project I've had so far, because I am very much a new hack at all this, each one has been a huge learning experience. Hopefully as it goes and book by book my abilities can develop and progress along with the work. [laughs] So get back to me in 20 years on that one. Aside from the attempts listed above, if I'm lucky enough to keep contributing to all this I might be able to challenge your question with an experienced answer by then...
<B>NRAMA:</B> Your colorist on this is the phenomenal Dave Stewart. What's it like
working with him?
<B>NF:</B> Too amazing for words. I finally met Dave in person at San Diego Comic-Con last year and was a fan of his work for years before that. We had worked on some pitch stuff the year prior but collaborating with him on this book was insanely phenomenal. His color work has taken it above and beyond anything I could have expected. I would kill to work with him again in the future.
<B>NRAMA:</B> You're a freelance illustrator, with some work in comics .. most
notably issues of <B>DMZ</B>. This is your first series of your own, so how was that?
<B>NF:</B> Man, its exciting and more work and scheduling than I have ever been used to. The balance and transition in juggling illustration and comics has been a bit rocky at times but I'm hooked and happily addicted. I love illustrating and doing fill-ins but to have a chance like this was mind blowing. It has been an honor to work some really amazing writers and colorist's in all the comic work I have been doing and Joe and this story is no exception. The same with Fluorescent Black and M.F. Wilson. To go from single image problem-solving and story telling to developed page and narrative sequence was, for lack of a better cliche', a dream come true. Hopefully it's the beginning of many more to come.
<I><B>Pigeons From Hell</B> #1 (of 4) is on sale now.</I>