BIZARRO TALK WITH ERIC POWELL

[MattBrady]

by Vaneta Rogers

Weird and creepy.

They're not words commonly used to describe a Superman comic, but in a three-issue storyline starting this summer, Action Comics is going to be all about the bizarre.

Or, more precisely, the Bizarr-o.

And as writers Geoff Johns and Richard Donner craft a new Bizarro World -- the return of which was teased in the pages of this month's Action Comics Annual #10 -- who better to help create the creatures and images of that weird and creepy cube-shaped planet than artist Eric Powell?

Known best as the sole creator of The Goon, a comic book featuring a whole universe of monsters, ghouls and zombies, Powell has won three Eisner awards for the title, including the Best Humor Publication and Best Continuing Series awards in 2005 -- quite an accomplishment for a independent comic that was off most readers' radar. Published by Dark Horse Comics since 2004 (after Powell had previously self-published the book), The Goon follows the adventures of a muscular mobster, known simply as The Goon, and his sidekick Franky as they battle everything from aliens to ghosts, often in their ongoing struggles against their rival, the Nameless Zombie Priest.

Although some settings for The Goon resemble the United States, the comic clearly takes place in a whole separate and original universe of its own -- one with a distinctly macabre slant -- which is all the product of Powell's imagination. Add to that his work on several Marvel monster comics, and it's pretty obvious that Powell is no stranger to creating bizarre worlds.

As Powell prepares to take over as artist on Action Comics for three issues beginning with #854, Newsarama talked to the creator to find out more about his take on Bizarro World, how he approaches drawing Superman, and how he feels about being the go-to guy for the "weird and creepy."

Newsarama: This is the first time you've drawn interiors for a Superman story. How does it feel to get to draw Superman?

Eric Powell: It's pretty damn cool. He was the first character that I ever remember drawing when I was a little kid. It's neat to think that in a very, very small way I'll be contributing to the legacy of Superman.

NRAMA: Sounds like you were a Superman fan from a young age.

EP: Yeah, I was right there with all the other kids my age watching The Superfriends and Christopher Reeves movies. All the stories were good when I was a kid. He had a cape, he flew, and he shot lasers out of his eyes. Capes, flying, and eye lasers are important plot points to a kid.

NRAMA: So how did you get the Action Comics gig? Did DC approach you?

EP: They approached me. And ironically I had just vowed to cut back on my workload so I could focus on more of my own stuff. My first thought was, "Man, why didn't you guys ask me six months ago when my schedule wasn't so packed?" I initially thought I was going to have to turn it down, which was killing me. The idea they pitched me sounded perfect for me, and it's frickin' Superman. Luckily, I was able rearrange my schedule and make it work without conflicting with any release dates I had already committed to.

NRAMA: You said the idea pitched sounded perfect for you. Was that their reason for talking to you in particular -- because your style fit the story?

EP: I think they wanted me for this arc because they wanted a weirder, creepier take on Bizarro. They seem really happy with the sketches I showed them so I guess I'm going to be giving them what they want.

NRAMA: Weirder and creepier, huh? What is it about you and monsters?

EP: I'm pretty obsessed with the Frankenstein archetype. It seems to be a reccurring theme in the stuff I do and the stuff I'm attracted to. The lumbering, misunderstood monster. Other than that, monsters are just fun to draw. It's way more fun to me to draw some guy with crooked eyes and bad teeth than to draw a pretty perfectly geometric face.

NRAMA: Do you worry about getting labeled as a monster guy?

EP: No, I'm doing the work that I want to do. If it was really a goal of mine to become a mainstream superhero artist, I imagine with a little work I could do that. This is really my first chance to work with a costumed hero. I'm looking forward to showing comic fans that I can pull it off.

NRAMA: This will be the first time a lot of fans will be exposed to your work. How would you describe your style to them?

EP: Contemporary old-school.

NRAMA: Is that the effect you're going for as you approach drawing Superman? I mean, is there a certain "old-school" look that you're thinking about updating for him?

EP: I think I try to emulate the Fliescher cartoon version of the '40s. That version just feels right to me. I would like to convey the classic feel of the character with my version. I don't want to make him flashy or hip. I want him to feel retro.

NRAMA: Since you were a Superman fan all along, were you familiar with Bizarro?

EP: I always liked Bizarro. I thought he looked cool as a kid. Plus, there's a little bit of that Frankenstein element going on there.

NRAMA: How do you approach the Bizarro character as an artist?

EP: I want to approach him as an unfinished sculpture. Not put together quite right. Superman is the model of perfection and Bizarro is supposed to be his opposite. I think Bizarro would resent that.

NRAMA: And now we have the return of Bizarro World. That's got to be fun for you -- after all, you created a whole unique, monster-filled universe for The Goon. But how are you going to approach this big, cube-shaped planet of Bizarros?

EP: I'm going to try to be a little creative in my approach. I don't want to just do the predictable, "Look! this car has square wheels! It's crazy backwards world!" I want it to have a feeling of not being quite right. An uncomfortable feeling.

NRAMA: I read once that monsters in movies fascinated you when you were younger, but they didn't really scare you -- except zombies. You were afraid of zombies. Isn't a planet filled with Bizarros reminiscent of a world of zombies?

EP: I think the difference is that the Bizarros aren't mindless, brain-dead beings. They're dimwitted, sure, but I believe more sympathetic, and if done in the right way, creepier. Things that are foreign to our point of veiw make us uneasy. Deformity makes us uneasy. We might be drawn to it out of some morbid curiosity, but it isn't a good feeling.

NRAMA: Would you call it a horror story?

EP: I don't really know. I always think of superhero comics as pulp adventure stories. But I definitely want Bizarro World to be unsettling. I guess we'll have to wait and see what people think.

NRAMA: You know The Goon is often labeled as a horror comic, but it's actually more of a humor comic -- even your Eisner award categories acknowledged that. Do you think Bizarro World has that kind of humor?

EP: No, Superman has a straight forward universe. The Goon is pretty much any crazy thing I want to throw on the page. I'm not going to play Bizarro world for laughs. I'm going to approach the story with the intent of taking it very seriously.

NRAMA: Are you getting to draw Bizarro Lois? Or any other Bizarros of DC universe characters?

EP: There will be a lot of DC Universe Bizarros. I actually suggested one to Geoff and he liked the idea enough to incorporate it into the story. But I'm not going to tell you who.

NRAMA: Let the guessing begin. OK, but when Superman sees all these Bizarro versions of his friends running around, what's his reaction?

EP: Being who he is, I believe he would look at these creatures with compassion. But he is also a character with no real dark side. I think he would be pretty disturbed by being thrown into this world. But that is something that's going to be tackled more by Johns and Donner.

NRAMA: You've done a lot of your recent work as both writer and artist. Although you're only in the early stages of preparing for the project, how do you feel about collaborating with someone else on a story -- working with Johns and Donner as the writers and you as the artist?

EP: Getting to work with these guys was really the deciding factor for me. I have so much fun doing my own material that I would really have to be interested by the plot and know it was going to be well-written to take the time to do someone else's story. Not that my stories are all that great, but I do have fun drawing them. There are a handful of writers I would like to work with. Steve Niles and I keep saying we're going to work together at some point. But how often would I have to opportunity to work with the team of Geoff Johns and Richard Donner? I couldn't turn that down.

NRAMA: Are you still doing The Goon? There's a graphic novel coming up too, right?

EP: Yeah, do not be distressed, Goon fans. Everything is still on track. I'm finishing up the Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker graphic novel, the Satan's Baby one shot, and my return to the regular Goon series with issue #19. They are all still being released as planned. The one rule I set for myself was that the only way I'd take this job was if I didn't have to reschedule any of the Goon stuff I had already committed to. And I luckily was able to shift my schedule around enough to fit it all it.

NRAMA: Yeah, but does that shift in your schedule include any sleep?

EP: Probably not much for at least the next three months!

[jubilee]

as someone who doesnt read superman normally, im really excited for this

[SpyGuy]

Originally Posted by jubilee

as someone who doesnt read superman normally, im really excited for this

These days, even regular Superman readers don't get to read Superman normally. We have to wait for specific planetary alignments and hope for the best.

[superboy072]

Just glad Kubert's off this. Delays are kind of a sore subject lately. Give him and his brother some mini-series that has no urgency to get out. SG&LSH is spoiling this arc.

[EvilOverlord]

Eric Powell? Hmmm... may have to get these issues.

[samnoir]

I can't think of a better artist to reimagine Bizarro World.

His work on The Goon is fantastic. Looking forward to this arc.

___________________________________

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[Aaron Calimeri]

The blurb on the front page that links to this article is frickin' hilarious!

[Robb Welch]

Originally Posted by Aaron Calimeri

The blurb on the front page that links to this article is frickin' hilarious!

I gotta say, the only reason I even clicked it.

[ProNamor]

YES!

I absolutely love Bizarro. Easily one of the best characters in the Superman mythos.

Art looks nice too.

[Banana_Oil]

Originally Posted by samnoir

I can't think of a better artist to reimagine Bizarro World.

His work on The Goon is fantastic. Looking forward to this arc.

I hope we see these guys:



Note: Old photo. Batzarro later quit to form the Insiders. I wish I was joking.

[kiddae]

Powell's a great artist, and I've really enjoyed the (two?) issues of Action Comics from Johns and Donner so far, but by god do I hate Bizarro. Powell makes it sound cool enough - "creepy and not played for laughs" certainly sounds in keeping with the Bizarro we got in #2 - but the tease in the annual does not inspire much confidence. The "hilarious" backwards stuff seized upon by Loeb in his otherwise enjoyable Superman & Batman run (and the blurb for this article) is so juvenile it makes me want to cut my arm off.

[guitargod694]

Originally Posted by Aaron Calimeri

The blurb on the front page that links to this article is frickin' hilarious!

Yeah, but it is wrong. Bizarro never says "be" it is always conjugated to "am". It should say that "Eric Powell am not drawing...."

[stlfan79]

Not a Superman fan at all but Powell makes me want to entertain picking it up. Hopefully Satan's Sodomy Baby can make a crossover appearance!

[SuperFobby]

...in the olden days (for me, the 90's), i would have said "only three issues? you call that a run? you call that a storyline?"

...of course, in the 90's, three issues would have been out in three weeks (they would have done the story over ACTION, MAN OF STEEL, and SUPERMAN) and not had one artist. today, i guess we'll be lucky if all three of these issues come out before hillary clinton runs for re-election.

[MattBrady]

Originally Posted by guitargod694

Yeah, but it is wrong. Bizarro never says "be" it is always conjugated to "am". It should say that "Eric Powell am not drawing...."

yeah - I tried that, but it looked too weird. You had no idea who was talking...not that you do now, but...

MattB

[Lex]

Sounds like this is going to be a really good Superman arc with art that is right on. I can't wait!

[guitargod694]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

yeah - I tried that, but it looked too weird. You had no idea who was talking...not that you do now, but...

MattB

Fair enough. To me, I would use the one that's "right" since they both look and sound wrong; but it's not really a big deal.

After Loeb's last Superman/Batman arc, I actually got quite good at understanding Bizarro-speak. I'm not sure that's something to be proud of, though.

[jedifish]

Sounds like a cool arc. I love Powell's art.

[unmovedmover]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

yeah - I tried that, but it looked too weird. You had no idea who was talking...not that you do now, but...

MattB

While we're on the subject, I think "Goon destroyer Eric Powell..." would have been more correct than " Not Goon creator Eric Powell..." but I certainly understand not saying that on the front page:-)

[nikoli29]

Oh man, I am so looking forward to this. The Goon is one of the best books I've read in a while, and I always thought the character looked a bit like Bizarro anyway.

DC can keep up the filler issues if this is the quality we're going to get.

[GeorgeG]

Has there ever been a Goon/Batman or Goon/Superman crossover? I think using Bizarro for Superman or Grundy for Batman would make for a cool story.

[AngDawPac]

NRAMA: Are you getting to draw Bizarro Lois? Or any other Bizarros of DC universe characters?

EP: There will be a lot of DC Universe Bizarros. I actually suggested one to Geoff and he liked the idea enough to incorporate it into the story. But I'm not going to tell you who.

I really hope that he uses Batzarro. There wasn't an issue that went by in that arc that I didn't laugh at the fact that he just said everything exactly as it appeared in his thought box.

[batlash]

Love Powell. Love The Goon. I'll pretty much buy anything Powell scribbles his name on. I also love the Flesicher Superman cartoons with a passion, and Powell's Superman (the few images we've seen anyway) captures the same charm and texture I enjoy so much in the Fleischer cartoons. And while I am indifferent to a Batman/Goon crossover, I would be all over a Powell Batman mini-series. The only question now is: buy the individual issues or wait a trade?

[dadthedude]

[quote=AngDawPac]NRAMA: Are you getting to draw Bizarro Lois? Or any other Bizarros of DC universe characters?

EP: There will be a lot of DC Universe Bizarros. I actually suggested one to Geoff and he liked the idea enough to incorporate it into the story. But I'm not going to tell you who.
QUOTE]

Me not want to see Bizarro Luthor. Him be best buds with Bizarro Superman!

[TurdFerguson]

YAAAY

i love goon. powell's work on that is f**kin great. I've been waiting forever for satans sodomy baby. that sh*t will be great. Goon noir has been good so far. #3 is the best out of them in my opinion.

its nice to hear he'll be on action soon, though i like adams work. its brilliant but i love powells. hes perfect for bizzaro world.