JH WILLIAMS III TALKS DETECTIVE

[MattBrady]

Back in January, when DC Executive Editor Dan Didio confirmed that Paul Dini would be the new writer on Detective Comics following James Robinson’s eight part Batman-Detective spanning arc, Rags Morales was announced as artist.

Things change.

In this case, the change takes the form of two initials, a word, and a Roman numeral: JH Williams III.

We caught up with the artist to talk about his July debut on Detective #821, as well as why he’s been away from superheroes for a while, and his take on DC’s Dark Knight.

Newsarama: To begin with, how did you get on the book? Was this something you were looking for, or did it come as a call out of the blue?

JH Williams III: Going over to DC proper was a long term decision. I knew eventually I would do something over there besides seven soldiers. I just didn't know what or when. I did have my eyes set on the big gun characters and knew I should do something in that arena again because it had been such a long time, as long as it was something worth while. And then recently things sort of fell into place for me to go do this.

NRAMA: That said, what's the appeal here, Batman, Paul, the whole deal?

JHWIII: Oh, the whole deal. I'm really looking forward to seeing what I can do with this material.

NRAMA: This isn't your first time on Batman - what's the draw of the character for you? Is he something simple, something that, as an artist, you can nail and have figured out so that you can just kind of push the "Batman button" when you need to draw it again, or is Batman something that you're still discovering, and still finding nuances to that you didn't see before?

JHWIII: Batman for me will always be attractive from a creative point, as long as I have room to play with the character in ways that interest me. And yes there will always be nuances to be revealed in regards to this character. He is one of those characters that you can back to time and again to bring something new out of him because of the perspective changes that one makes over time. We all change through life. Therefore we can see characters such as Batman in numerous ways because of those changes. Reflect them with the sort of stories that the character can transform into some different perspective. Batman is a character that you can do this with because of his somewhat timeless nature. So every time you come at him you will see him differently depending on your current perspective in your own life. Hope that makes sense.

NRAMA: Something that can’t be overlooked with your work over the years is that, as an artist, you seem to have a group of A-listers that you've worked with - Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Dan Johnson, and now, Paul Dini. Has this been a progression for you, with you seeking out the specific artists, assignments from editors, luck of the draw...what?

JHWIII: I feel at first it was luck of the draw. But as i have grown over time I think I'm doing work that a lot of these writers can relate to or appreciate. I think this has happened for me because I really try to give the writer what they want but also inject something into it that
is sort of what I read between the lines. I definitely have a secret list though, of writers that I want to work with. The fact that I have managed to work with whom I have so far makes me pretty lucky. It also tells me that I must be doing something right creatively because I’ve been attracting some very good writers.

NRAMA: Going back to what you said about returning to DC proper, prior to this, you've mostly been on more...eclectic titles - Promethea, Seven Soldiers, Desolation Jones....and now, you can't get more commercial or "pop comics" than Detective with Paul Dini. From the career management side of things, can you explain the progression of your latest work? Is Detective something along the lines of "paying the piper," in that it gets your name and work out there among a crowd that may not find you in the pages of Desolation Jones, Promethea, etc?

JHWIII: There definitely is something beneficial to working on a character as “pop” as Batman. Yes it does boost your profile among a wider audience but doing a larger body of work with batman has always been something I wanted to do at some point. The more personal work such as Promethean and Desolation Jones certainly has it's own rewards but i have been doing that sort of material for seven years now and just feel like I need to stretch out a bit. I would like to think that my work on those personal projects will cause me to bring something new to the table on a character such Batman. Only time will tell. Also by doing something like Batman for awhile can't hurt in the big scheme of things. Raising one's profile in this way can be very positive for the personal work, and maybe you can even bring some of that wider audience with you for the next personal project.

NRAMA: In that vein, why have your trips to the superhero side of the coin been few and far between?

JHWIII: The main reason i haven't done much superhero stuff lately is because of the intense commitment I had to my more personal work. After all I was on some of that for a good seven years. But, as stated above, it's time for me to see what I can do with established characters now based on what I have learned about my views on how to tell a story. I'm sure after a period of time I will want to return to something more personal again. It's all cyclical for me.

NRAMA: Fair enough. So far, how has working with Paul been? Is his style a complete change from previous collaborators, or similar to someone you've worked with before?

JHWIII: So far I’m having a good time working over Paul’s script. He works in a rather detailed style so there is plenty of thought put into his stories. I'm currently in the middle of the first script. I'm sort of approaching it the same way i approach any story by any writer. By trying to give it what the story is speaking to me. As far as a comparison between writers...I try to avoid doing that as much as possible because every story has it's own voice and writers tend to shift depending on what story they are approaching.

NRAMA: Gut level, what about his scripts/stories strikes you? As was said when he was first named as the writer on Detective, he's the "Batman animation guy." In your opinion, will anyone be seeing him as that when these stories start coming out?

JHWIII: I do think Paul will be able to break away from the "animation guy" label if he still has it. He’s writing Batman comics, not animation. At this point I don't really have a sense of an overall direction because it's still early. However at this point the issues will have self contained stories each issue. Hopefully my approach to storytelling experimentation will blend well with his directness. I think the melding of our two styles will result in something interesting.

NRAMA: So - with the understanding that you're just getting rolling on your issues, and you can't say much about them....what kind of reference material have you been needing to pull out to tackle your issues? Any old comics? Any photo reference?

JHWIII: So far the only reference material needed has been for established things like the Batcave and the like. Everything else is fresh. Hopefully that will translate when people read it.

NRAMA: Finally, how many issues are you on for?

JHWIII: I'm not sure how many issues I will be doing. I think they are having me do the first couple. From what I understand DC wants to rotate artists because of the single issue story method. So I think they will have me do the first couple. After that I still have to finish up Seven Soldiers. This has turned into a juggernaut of a task. The script is still being worked on and has been expanded in page count from what I’ve been told. After it has been scripted it will definitely take some serious time to finish that due to what is going to be required from the art side of things. I know it is already late and it is going to be even later. But I think when all is said and done it will have been worth the wait. So anyway, when I’ve finished that I will probably be back on Detective. All the while I’ll also be preparing for a very big project to follow and that is all I can say about that.

[ColourMan]

WTF?! Rags Morales was announced as the artist!!!! It evens says that when you click on the link to January!!

[Ralph Mathieu]

This is fantastic news!

[Kevin T. Brown]

Originally posted by ColourMan
WTF?! Rags Morales was announced as the artist!!!! It evens says that when you click on the link to January!!

Yeah..... what the--?!?!

[razorwing77]

I haven't bought a Batman comic of any kind in 10 years, probably. I'll be getting this.

[Dave Fury]

Originally posted by Kevin T. Brown
Yeah..... what the--?!?!

I triple that! Morales not being on this is a huge letdown.

[God-Man]

QUADRUPLE! Where's Morales? I was really looking foward to his work on'Tec.

[The Chief]

Great news...BUT...what happened to Rags Morales (or is he one of the rotating artists on TEC)??

And what will happen to Desolation Jones? Is JHW still on that title of will Jones get rotating art teams as well....??

[bluebird]

I was more excited when I thought it would be Rags Morales. JH Williams is a great artist and all, but I've been diggng Rags since FORGOTTEN REALMS. His work is better than ever, he broke into the big time with IC, and I was really waiting to see him on high profile, in-continuity, ongoing work with a writer I love and on a character I love so this is disappointing.

And I don't get it...who wrote this article? I clearly remember seeing Rags announced as the artist. On Newsarama.com, no less.

[BillReed]

WHAT ABOUT DESOLATION JONES!?!?!?

Well, now I've got to buy this. I was unsure when it was Morales, but Williams is one of the best artists in comics.

[ColourMan]

And if Williams is doing this, then who is doing Robin??

Oh DC, you've really ****** up this time.

[wither]

JH Williams III is an EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT artist..i am very much looking forward to this

[OcCaM]

Not to slight Rags because he's definately in my top 25 artist list, but an artist of William's caliber and people are ocmplaining?

Well much as I hate Bats there's no way I'm passing this book up. I like the Detective aspect and single issue format anyway. Still waiting for the tpb though. I'm patient and not a big fan of Bats so waiting will be easy.

Still, awesome quality team! I think for the first time in 30 years I might actually break over 10 titles a month with DC. Good job DC!

[Kevin T. Brown]

Originally posted by ColourMan
And if Williams is doing this, then who is doing Robin??

Oh DC, you've really ****** up this time.

Wrong Williams. It's Freddie E. Williams II doing Robin.

[ColourMan]

Originally posted by Kevin T. Brown
Wrong Williams. It's Freddie E. Williams II doing Robin.

Oh jeez. Too many Williams with Roman numerals!!

Ohh..JH is the dude who did Seven Soldiers #0 and #1. That's his only work I'm familiar with.

[AndrewP]

JH Williams III is amazing, and I'm intrigued as to how his style will translate to Detective Comics...his work on Desolation Jones and the like cemented him in my mind as one of the top artists around, but I never imagined him as a super-hero artist...

As for Rags, WTF? This book is perfectly suited for him!

[SpyGuy]

J.H. Williams III will be great on DETECTIVE COMICS, but I'm really worried about DESOLATION JONES now. Issue #6 made no mention of an issue #7, so has this series been changed to a 6-issue mini?

Matt? How about a little help with this one...

[blankpoint]

I like Rags, But JHW3 is one of the best artists working right now. This is great news.

[Floyd Lawton]

Kicka$$ news. Except the part about 7 Soldiers being late. "Later" that is.

[blankpoint]

I believe DESOLATION JONES was talked about as a 30-issue series most recently (Five six-parters). Different artists for each arc?

[yenaled]

Excellent news, he is such a fantastic artist.

[BillReed]

Originally posted by blankpoint
I believe DESOLATION JONES was talked about as a 30-issue series most recently (Five six-parters). Different artists for each arc?

That was the original plan until William expressed interest in drawing the whole damn series, which I'd much prefer. He's that damn good.

[Jeremy Williams]

GREAT creative team.

I haven`t read Batman since 1990 and now i`m gonna buy two titles with Morrison/Kubert and Dini/Williams.

[ColourMan]

Originally posted by Floyd Lawton
Kicka$$ news. Except the part about 7 Soldiers being late. "Later" that is.

That's so annoying. I hate late comics, which is why I avoid DC's top sellers.

[sebzero11]

Rags woulda been great
Williams wil be great
but c'mon guys....DINI is writing!! A 5 year old with a crayon could be drawing this and it'd STILL be great!!