PETE WOODS: TO INFINITY

[MattBrady]

He’s been around the DC horn, from Superman to Catwoman, Amazons Attack to Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime and Countdown, and in April, artist Pete Woods will move to Infinity Inc., working with writer Peter Milligan.

We cornered Woods for a few quick questions.

Newsarama: Pete, on your blog, you pretty well documented your run of work over the past year. What led to Infinity Inc? Were you pitching around to the editors at DC to do another monthly, or did they call out of the blue?

Pete Woods: There's a long story that lead me to Infinity Inc. Unfortunately most of it I can't go into here. Suffice it to say due to an editorial snafu I had a big gap in my schedule. Fortunately for all, my buddy Matt Idelson needed someone to come on to Infinity Inc. I was ambivalent at first, but once I read the pitch and saw what Milly was doing I was hooked. It's exactly the sort of thing I was hoping for after a year of drawing epic crossovers. A chance to settle in and concentrate my efforts on a clever title with a strong group of characters.

NRAMA: So had you been following Infinity Inc? What's your take on it? From here, is seems to have a small but devoted following...along with the requisite Milligan madness...

PW: I am woefully behind in my comic reading at the moment (I still haven't finished 52) so I hadn't caught up to Infinity until Matt called me. Along with the pitch he sent me the books they had completed so far. I think the concept is brilliant and it really has a lot of potential. A very "Milligan-esque" take on the superhero genre.

NRAMA: That said, how would you describe Infinity Inc to those who aren't following the book - something that you'll probably be doing a lot of in the con season to come... ?

PW: The premise is this: In 52, Lex Luthor gave people super powers and then he took them away. At least that's what we thought. It turns out the powers these people had are not gone, but suppressed and in the process of that suppression they got "twisted"- just like an emotion or desire becomes twisted when you bury it. These new powers are a doubled edged sword. On one hand these kids are back in the superhero game, on the other hand the only way they can use their new abilities is to dig down deep into all the dark, sticky, unpleasant stuff they have tried to keep hidden their whole lives. Every one of these characters has a power that is a hint into the darker side of themselves.

NRAMA: You mentioned that you've followed Peter Milligan for a long time - what is it about his work that you like?

PW: Milly has a very skewed take on the world- one I really enjoy. Darkly comic. I mean who else would have the cajones to resurrect Princess Diana and make her a superhero? In the end it – wisely - didn't happen, but who else would even think of it?

I have a special place in my heart for those UK guys. While other kids were reading X-Men and Teen Titans I was hunting down sci-fi comics of all varieties, and Milly had his hands in a few of them - 2000 AD, Tank Girl, and A1.

NRAMA: You also mentioned that you've been able to settle in and design much of the look of the book. Howso? The series was pretty well set and running when you came on...

PW: It's true that the characters have pretty much been established, but there are some changes coming. The most important of those is that the team members are getting costumes.

While most of the locations have been established for the book, we haven't seen much of them, so there's plenty of wiggle room as far as design goes. Steelworks is the most exciting of those. Here we have John Henry Irons- the Tony Stark/Reed Richards of the DCU- who knows what sort of weird bleeding edge tech he's got sitting around. The possibilities are endless...

NRAMA: With writers coming on to new projects, we often hear that certain characters are easier to get a handle on, or "reveal" more of themselves than others do. Is it the same for you artistically? Which characters were you able to get used to immediately?

PW: Yeah, that's as true for an artist as a writer. I have found that on a monthly book it takes about three issues before you can really get the feel for the cast. There's always somebody that is tricky to get your head around. In this case it's Natalie. It's just a case of finding a way to "see" her and I'm still struggling with that. I'm confident I'll get it though. I had some troubles with Lucia as well, but once my wife Rebecca suggested a certain hairstyle for her it all just clicked. Male characters usually don't present a problem for me. I usually get them pretty quick. Except Hal Jordan- my Hal Jordan sucks rocks. I must remember to tell Milly no GL guest appearances.

NRAMA: Artistically speaking, how is your work on Infinity Inc going to be different from say, Amazons Attack or other work that people may know you from?

PW: I'm still fiddling with that at the moment. I do know it will not involve long-shots with thousands of little tiny figures battling it out in a major metropolitan area. Between Amazons Attack, Superman Prime, and Countdown I think I've paid my dues as far as casts of thousands go.

Seriously though, I'm going to try injecting more energy into my work. For a book like this one you've got a lot of energy behind the characters - a bit of bounce and a little bit of sexiness. The trick for me will be getting that to the page those are areas that I feel have been lacking in my work in the past so it's a great challenge and I'm sure to learn a new thing or two in the process.

NRAMA: Okay – so your first issue ships in April - what can you say about that story?

PW: Some rather unusual new costumes, a new cast member or two- or three- depending on your point of view, and the Boogeyman!

[BornToRun]

Interesting. Is it just me, or do the new costumes look a lot like what the cahracters wore in Gareb Shamus's "Gatecrasher" series back in '99?

Woods is a terrific talent and this is an underrated book; maybe he'll give it a bit of a boost.

[Ovid]

Oooh! Pete Woods on a Pete Milligan book? I'm there!

[DaVeO]

Awesome! I'm so happy for Pete and Infinity Inc. fans. This garantees my getting this series in trade. Pete is so underratted and his work in Amazon Attack was beautiful. Great news. Good job DC.

[SpyGuy]

Pete Woods is a terrific artist and it's a shame he's being wasted on a title that already has one foot in the grave instead of on titles that could really use him like THE FLASH, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA or TEEN TITANS.

[nightwingoracle]

Agreed on all fronts.

I didn't think I'd like this book, as I loved the original Infinity, Inc....but I have really enjoyed it thus far.

And Woods is a great artist.

[J.D. Lombardi]

How is this title? I love Woods as well as Milligan, but this title just didn't interest me when I heard about it coming out...

[sebzero11]

I was already liking Infinity Inc., but now I'm liking it that much more!

[BornToRun]

Originally Posted by SpyGuy

Pete Woods is a terrific artist and it's a shame he's being wasted on a title that already has one foot in the grave instead of on titles that could really use him like THE FLASH, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA or TEEN TITANS.

Those books are all selling just fine. They can "use" whoever they want and still make a profit. A book like this needs all the help it can get.

[Carlos Javier]

Those are great looking costume designs. I really like the psychological aspect of the characters' powers and I think it will be interesting to see how it's further developed. Plus Steel is there, so that's a plus.

[SpyGuy]

Originally Posted by BornToRun

Those books are all selling just fine. They can "use" whoever they want and still make a profit. A book like this needs all the help it can get.

Yeah, I know sales on those books are fine. I'm just more concerned with improving the quality of the art.

[ShinAkuma666]

I never heard of the artist before but since Peter Milligan is one of my all time favorite, I will pick this up ! I'd rather see him on a Vertigo project but will give this a try, he's an amazing writer.

[I-Ching]

I love the costume designs...a little too Ultimatesy but really edgy and high ranking "cool" factor.

I don't know much about this book but the art is really tempting me to check it out.

[greenflameuk]

I love his art so i'll definitely be picking this up, but it does seem like a waste to me. imo he should be on a more high profile book.

With sales like these:

INFINITY INC #1 33,400
INFINITY INC #2 24,158
INFINITY INC #3 18,776

I cant really see this book lasting to long at all.

[BornToRun]

Originally Posted by SpyGuy

Yeah, I know sales on those books are fine. I'm just more concerned with improving the quality of the art.

Eh, all of DC's big books right now have pretty good looks. Im' not crazy about Freddie Williams on Flash, but he's leaps and bounds better for a mainstream superhero book than his predacessor. The Batman books look great, Action Comics is the best-looking Superman since Jurgens left the title and JLA is popcorn/eye-candy just like a big-budget action movie should be. I think up-and-coming creators are better used on selling books that might be targeted for cancellation without them, than making good-looking, top-selling books jus ta little better.

[shieldboy]

Originally Posted by SpyGuy

Pete Woods is a terrific artist and it's a shame he's being wasted on a title that already has one foot in the grave instead of on titles that could really use him like THE FLASH, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA or TEEN TITANS.

totally agree with you...

[Davy]

Originally Posted by J.D. Lombardi

How is this title? I love Woods as well as Milligan, but this title just didn't interest me when I heard about it coming out...

Agreed. When it came out on the heels of 52, I was already getting tired of this Infinitely Long Crisis, so I barely even gave this 52-spinoff a chance (it didn't help that I'm an old school Infinity Inc. fan who would have rather seen some of those characters instead).

But... when they were soliciting the book, had they described it like this...

PW: The premise is this: In 52, Lex Luthor gave people super powers and then he took them away. At least that's what we thought. It turns out the powers these people had are not gone, but suppressed and in the process of that suppression they got "twisted"- just like an emotion or desire becomes twisted when you bury it. These new powers are a doubled edged sword. On one hand these kids are back in the superhero game, on the other hand the only way they can use their new abilities is to dig down deep into all the dark, sticky, unpleasant stuff they have tried to keep hidden their whole lives. Every one of these characters has a power that is a hint into the darker side of themselves.

...then I might would have looked into it more closely, especially coming from Milligan. Unfortunately, I think (perhaps?) the desire to keep the plot of the first arc a mystery also led to them not really describing the series much at all beyond "steel watches over Luthor's Infinity kids as bad stuff happens to them."

Davy

[SMARTASS8]

Man I get a Marvel feel from this book, The Order in particular. Has DC ever had a team that wore matching costumes except for Challengers Of The Unknown? I've always hated the uniform look for a team. While it may be a tad more "realistic", it makes for a boring presentation. I will say that I love Pete Woods art! I just wish he was on a more popular book in order to help rocket his career.

[ManBearPig]

For the most part: DC is horrible about recognizing an artist's specific talent and matching it up with an appropriate book. I mean, this is the company that put Daniel Acuna on Flash -- and he's got talent, but shouldn't be anywhere near a book with superheroes.

I think DC has just ensured that even less people with see Woods art, which sucks because he's pretty good.

[qnetter]

Originally Posted by ManBearPig

I mean, this is the company that put Daniel Acuna on Flash -- and he's got talent, but shouldn't be anywhere near a book with superheroes.

Acuna was perfectly wonderful on UNCLE SAM. The issue isn't superheroes -- it's motion. FLASH is a book that needs a feel of constant movement, and Acuna is all about painterly composition.

[O.J. Flow]

Originally Posted by SpyGuy

Yeah, I know sales on those books are fine. I'm just more concerned with improving the quality of the art.

...actually with you on that.
I don't like when an A-list book has a so-so artist on it while a top flight artist is doing work on a book that's anything from B- to D-list (at least in terms of sales and exposure).

I love Pete Woods work, but not enough to jump on an Infinity Inc. book that feels nothing like the book I read and loved 20 years ago.
Sorry.
I loved the team as a group of Justice Society offspring, even though JSA seems to cover that aspect just fine these days.
Just my personal preference.

[target242]

I think that this move will really help this book take off. I liked the first arc, but to me the art was too dark and muddy. I am a big fan of the old school Infinity Inc and i think bright and spandex etc. I love milligan and now this artistic change and costume change can only help things. It does look a little like Marvel's the Order...but that isn't necessarily a bad comparison either. Here's hoping the numbers go up and this book survives!

-target242

[rtvu2]

Love PETE WOODS. I've been following this book and was going to drop it, but with Pete on board I will defintely stick around.

[EMeadow]

Originally Posted by greenflameuk

I love his art so i'll definitely be picking this up, but it does seem like a waste to me. imo he should be on a more high profile book.

With sales like these:

I cant really see this book lasting to long at all.

Well maybe Pete Woods will bring an upswing to the book. We shall see how it goes. Certainly his first issue will recieve a bump up from the retailers.

Sorry things didn't work out for Fumiara.

[tgail]

Originally Posted by SpyGuy

Pete Woods is a terrific artist and it's a shame he's being wasted on a title that already has one foot in the grave instead of on titles that could really use him like THE FLASH, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA or TEEN TITANS.

I think Pete Woods on The Flash would be the best news all year.