STEALING 1602 SECONDS WITH ANDY KUBERT

[MattBrady]

You could tell Andy Kubert that with 1602, he’s entering a distinguished group of artists who’ve illustrated two or more blockbuster projects. You could tell him that, given writer Neil Gaiman’s record, the industry will be holding up 1602 years from now, as one of the industry’s best efforts. You could try to tell him both, but, deep into issue #6, he probably wouldn’t hear you.

Newsarama pulled Kubert away from his drawing table for a few minutes for a handful of questions about this summer’s most-anticipated comics project from Marvel.

Newsarama: First off, how did you get the gig?

Andy Kubert: I saw Joe [Quesada] at a con in Boston, and he had told me that after Origin, there was another big project he had in mind for me. He told me it was with Neil, and asked if I`d be interested. It took me about half a second to say "yes"...without even knowing what the story was about.

NRAMA: What was your reaction to being asked?

AK: I was completely floored, and flattered. Marvel had sent Neil copies of Origin, and he liked them. I loved Neil`s Sandman series. To have the opportunity to work with him is a highlight in my career. And after talking with him for the first time about the series and the characters, my thoughts about him as a person elevated. He’s just a nice, down to earth, easy to get along with talented person that really cares about the work.

NRAMA: That’s all well and good, and Neil’s renown within the industry fro being a nice guy, but what were your thoughts on reading the first bit of the story from him? Did you have an inkling going into this of what he wanted to do, story-wise?

AK: No, I had no idea what the story was about when Joe asked me to draw it. Joe just told me it would be very reference heavy, and he wasn’t kidding! When I heard what it was about, I thought it was awesome! I loved the time period, the costumes, and the castles. I just knew that it would be weeks of reference, sitting in a library, going to bookstores, and going through the Internet. The character designs would take time. The nice thing is that Marvel did give me that time. They are very patient with me, scheduling wise.

NRAMA: Speaking first of the characters, what were Neil's instructions like for the designs? Obviously, each had to have an Elizabethan makeover, but still keep elements of familiarity. How much latitude did you have?

AK: Neil and I had a long conversation about the characters. The look...the feel... As I was talking with him, I jotted down notes for each one. Basically, the ideas for the characters are all Neil’s, what they should look like, what they should be wearing. Their demeanor. I did the reference, and came up with the actual costumes. He had the whole thing in his head, and he knew exactly what he wanted. As we progress through the series, we’re still working on character designs, going back and forth. I can’t tell you how much fun this is!

NRAMA: Break down the design process a little more. Dr. Strange for example – what did Neil gave you, and what did you feel had to be in there?

AK: We wanted the characters to have similarities to their modern day counterparts, and Neil was really detailed in the look of the characters. Like I said, he knew what he wanted. With Strange, for example, he didn’t want him to be too superhero-like. He wanted him thin. The sketch that’s out was my first drawing of him, and Neil liked the costuming, but he thought he was too bulky. I thinned him down.

NRAMA: Aside from the characters, given that 1602 is such a period piece, how much research did you need to do going into it?

AK: I bought movies and watched them before I even started, just to get the feel of the time. On my computer, I can freeze-frame, and print out reference from DVDs. I bought books, went through them, indexing what I thought I would need. I got books on costumes from the period. Tons of castle books. Books on architecture from that time. If you saw my studio, you would think a tornado hit it. There’re piles of books and papers everywhere. It’s a real mess, but that’s the way I work. I love referencing. I get caught up reading about all the stuff that I’m drawing.

NRAMA: So then, for you, 1602 is a real chance to stretch and use some different muscles than usual, perhaps pulling in some more fine art influences than normal?

AK: Well, Marvel is being very patient with us as far as scheduling. They gave us a great lead time, so I had time to experiment. One great thing is that I worked with Richard Isanove on Origin, and we were real familiar with each other, and what each other could do. I knew what I could trust him with, which is just about anything. This is a brief side note, but working with Richard is just a sheer joy. He’s just so talented. We push and prod each other to try new and different stuff. We’ll talk on the phone about new approaches to the art. It keeps it exciting, trying to do different things.

1602 is drawn a lot tighter than Origin was, in terms of line and shading. I was able to do some texture, cross-hatching and so on. Richard also has come up with a few new tricks, which really work out well. When I see a page come in from him, I’m just amazed at what he’s done with it.

NRAMA: Since you’ve spent so much time with these versions of the characters, and had to build them up from nearly the ground, did any favorite characters come to light for you?

AK: I love drawing Fury. Even the modern day version, I really get a kick out of him. Dr. Strange is cool, also. The good thing about designing your own characters is that you can make them the way you want to draw them. So there aren’t any I really don’t like to draw.

NRAMA: true – That does make a lot of sense. Overall, given the amount of attention that's focused on this project, is there a greater fishbowl feeling for you than normal, that is, is knowing that a lot of people are going to see this - does that boost your confidence or slow you, making sure every line is just right?

AK: When I first started the series, yeah, I was nervous. I know a lot of Neil’s fans that read his novels and not the comics will pick this up. I wanted to make this very accessible to those people, and to everyone in general.

After I had put down the first issue pencils for a while, then saw the colors come in on it, I wasn’t nervous anymore. It’s a gorgeous package, the best we can do.

But - I’m still making sure every line is just right. I can’t do it any other way. It is a slow process - it takes me much longer to draw a page of this than a comic to be inked, but it’s very much worth it.

NRAMA: That said though, when do you just have to let go and draw?

AK: When the editors call and tell me I’m falling behind. That usually gets your butt in gear.

NRAMA: Speaking of that, and you had mentioned it earlier, there was some talk made about not wanting to schedule 1602 until a good-sized chunk was done. Was this your idea or Neil's?

AK: Both of ours! Neither of us wanted this to be rushed. But it is a painfully slow process.

NRAMA: That said, what issue are you currently on? Playing the devil’s advocate, is there any chance of an Origin scheduling problem occurring again?

AK: There shouldn’t be any problems. We have a huge chunk of the series done. I’ll have the sixth issue done by the time the first one ships. The series is eight issues, so that’s a pretty good head start.

NRAMA: You're one a small handful who know the story with all its twists and turns. In your view, how are fans going to react to the project as a whole? Will we still be talking about this five years from now?

AK: I know fans are going to love this story. To me, it will go down as one of the top stories in comic history. It’s pure Gaiman. Expect the unexpected...

NRAMA: For you, looking at the continuum of your career, where would you place 1602? Is it in the same area of an Origin, or does this, in your view, move your personal bar higher?

AK: I loved being part of and working on both projects. They’re both high profile projects, yet much different projects with different stories.

Viewing this from an art perspective, I like the way this is progressing. That’s not to say that I don’t like the way Origin turned out, I’m still very pleased with it. But as an artist, there’s always a drive to improve and do better with each project. I think we did that with 1602.

[stlfan79]

Can not wait for this book!

[Christian Otte]

Good job on that article... and man, am I looking forward to 1602! I also think that Andy's art has really improved since Origin (even though that wasn't exactly "bad"), and with Neil Gaiman on board I think it's safe to say that this'll be good....

[Contrabandolero]

It is good to see AK really involved in such a project.

And knowing he realizes this is not just for your average comics fan, really seems to charge him up.

Artwise, it looks awesome, better than his Origin work, and the colors have improved too.

Good luck to you guys. It really helped to hype this being ultra-secret, eventhough we all know Quemas can't keep their mouths shut....

[Absalom]

1602 is probably the book I'm waiting the most this year ! Neil Gaiman/Andy Kubert/Isanove. This project is a dream comes true !

[lemmer]

the amazing adventures of PETER PARQUARUGHA!

no, really, i can't wait for this book.

[Mr Wesley]

Okay, maybe it's just me, but when I heard that Grant Morrison was going to destroy the Marvel Universe before he finishes his run on New X-Men, the first thing I thought was "Wow, I wonder if this is how they plan on making 1602 in-continuity? He'll destroy the universe, and they'll just re-boot from 1602 AD."

Who wants to bet me, huh? Who? Who?

[Victoronehalf]

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
Okay, maybe it's just me, but when I heard that Grant Morrison was going to destroy the Marvel Universe before he finishes his run on New X-Men, the first thing I thought was "Wow, I wonder if this is how they plan on making 1602 in-continuity? He'll destroy the universe, and they'll just re-boot from 1602 AD."

Who wants to bet me, huh? Who? Who?

They could do that for about five months, see how low the sales are, and then write a reverse 1602 to put everything back into normal continuity

[gOgIver]

Anyone who knows about 1602 and passes on it has got to be either nuts or broke!

to save time, let's just assume I know everything

[jawaplumber]

I'm anticipating this more and more by the second. And I love reading about the collaboration between Gaiman and Kubert on this project. It seems like they really put their all into it. I wish them all the success

[MichaelCoughlin]

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
Okay, maybe it's just me, but when I heard that Grant Morrison was going to destroy the Marvel Universe before he finishes his run on New X-Men, the first thing I thought was "Wow, I wonder if this is how they plan on making 1602 in-continuity? He'll destroy the universe, and they'll just re-boot from 1602 AD."

Who wants to bet me, huh? Who? Who?

i'll bet you.

1602 comes out in august. grant stated he'd END his run with a big bang. morrison's last issue is still around 10 months away. my money please.

[Christian Otte]

Originally posted by Mr Wesley
Okay, maybe it's just me, but when I heard that Grant Morrison was going to destroy the Marvel Universe before he finishes his run on New X-Men, the first thing I thought was "Wow, I wonder if this is how they plan on making 1602 in-continuity? He'll destroy the universe, and they'll just re-boot from 1602 AD."

Who wants to bet me, huh? Who? Who?

Aah, end then it'll last untill 2061 (see what I'm doing here?)...

[Chris Hunter]

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

[Mr Wesley]

Originally posted by MichaelCoughlin
i'll bet you.

1602 comes out in august. grant stated he'd END his run with a big bang. morrison's last issue is still around 10 months away. my money please.

Uh... maybe it'll end up being a prequel... of sorts... uh.

[OcCaM]

Originally posted by gOgIver
Anyone who knows about 1602 and passes on it has got to be either nuts or broke!

to save time, let's just assume I know everything

You don't!

Not everyone loves Gaiman! (Blasphemy, yup!)

I loved Sandman sure enough. Since then, tried 3 of his novels. Neverwhere I "liked!" Stardust I despisedd, and American Gods was so predictable and dull I took over a half year to finish. Could have been a nice book, had a great concept. Just wish it had some surprises!

Anyway, 2 burns, one so-so and one excellent comic, not great odds....

So, I'm passing, with a look towards the trade IF this turns out to be at least as good as Neverwhere.

[AForceOfOne]

Well guess what people. I've barely read any Gaiman but this book continues to hold my interest the more and more I read about it. That and the fact it's already done up to about issue 6 so it will ship on time. I've hear good and bad about Gaiman but I'm going to not listen to the critics, like usual, go on my gut instincts, and most likely come out enjoying the book...like usual.

I loved Origin...but then many didn't. It's kind of like how people who love the old Star Wars trilogy can't stand the new one. Well I love the new one because yes I understand Lucas is a bad director but it's what's in the pudding. You gotta go a little deeper. I don't think we're getting anything as deep as 1602 this year. But then again...most fanboys don't like deep stories.

[phoenx]

Looks good. Can't wait to pick this up. I like the way Angel is drawn. It's almost like a flashback. I wonder what the X-Men are going to look like.

[Zig Zag Wanderer]

I'm in. Heck, it'll be the first Marvel mini I've gotten since Blaze of Glory.

[tyopot]

well,to tell you the truth,andy kbert has improved.i look at his work on x-men vol.2,which was really terrible!

he`s improved.butmost of his stuff today are uninked,mostly computer colored.what i want to see is the inked version.let`s see if he can show us his improvement.stop hiding behibd isanove andy.