As with some other recent posts, the following is an interview I did with former Cable/ Deadpool artist Reilly Brown after NY Comiccon '08. I was a really big fan of his run on the book, especially when the Cable character left the book, leaving Deadpool unencumbered to be insane. Unfortunatly, the book was not a commercial giant, and was canceled with issue #50.
But as so often happens in comics, it was when the cancellation was pending that the creators were allowed to take the greatest risks. Writer Fabian Nicieza teamed with Brown, who actually took plotting duties the last two issues, made sure the book went down swinging. The last storyline interwove Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four, the New Avengers, Wolverine, T-Ray, Ka-Zar, and even symbiote-addled dinosaurs in a blaze of broo-ha ha in the classic Marvel style.
Anyways, the last story was probably the best of that entire run, and I had to talk to Reilly Brown about it. It wasn't published at the time, as intended, but given the new cache the character is enjoying via his Secret Invasion- assisted reboot, it is worth revisiting.
Brendan: So Reilly, you came onto Cable/Deadpool with issue #38 I think? What led to you landing that gig? Were you just the first guy who raised his hand?
Reilly Brown: Actually my first issue was #28, then I came back on after the Civil War tie-ins and stuck with it till the end with the help of Ron Lim and Staz Johnson filling in on a couple of issues.
The only Marvel project I'd done before this was the 2005 Holiday Special, and I think they chose me for C&D for the same reason the chose me for that, and that's my ability to draw both action scenes, and more light-hearted scenes. Some people's styles lend more to one type of story over the other, but I can move between both pretty seamlessly, and that was obviously pretty important when your stories switch from political espionage to binge drinking and Maude marathons every other page.
Brendan: Was there any particular challenge in taking on a two-star buddy book? Did Cable and Deadpool need separate trailers?
Reilly: They had separate trailers just to keep up appearances, but I swear they only used one. Usually Cable's because Nate couldn't stand Wade's taste in drapes. He can be a real bitch sometimes.
Heh, but no, other than that there wasn't really any challenge to it.
Brendan: Did you chose any particular artists takes as influences for your vision of each character? Each one's original design is so strongly connected to 90's sensibilities, I feel like they have both been reinterpreted an inordinate amount of times, was there much room for interpretation?
Reilly: Cable's had the most reinterpretation over the years. I think mostly because some artists were sick of drawing all his crazy sci-fi weapons, which are at the same time an unavoidable part of his character, so he's been through several character designs. I think my biggest influence for drawing him was John Romita Jr., because he gave him this larger-than-life, solid, blocky look that I think works really well for the character.
Deadpool's costume has barely changed at all over the years, with the possible exception of a green mini-skirt. The only things that changed about him were his weapons and belts and things, which he'd change depending on the situation he was in. For Deadpool my main goal was to give him smooth movements and and more animated attitude so that he'd be a good foil to the solid, grim Cable.
Brendan: Would you agree there is more Eastern influence in your work than other superhero artists? It seems like there is something about your economy of line that resonates that way.
Reilly: I definitely draw influence from comics from all over the world, not just America. Ever since Japanese comics became popular over here in the 90's we've been seeing more and more artists influenced by them, and honestly I don't think it's even a unique thing anymore. A lot of artists who've become popular in the past few years, such as Mark Brooks, who launched Cable and Deadpool, or Paco Medina, or Jim Cheung all have very strong Japanese influence in their work. As an artist, when you read something like Ghost in the Shell, or Bleach, or Air Gear it's difficult not to be influenced by it. You'll see more and more of this in the future as younger kids who are just learning to draw are reading things like Naruto.
So, to answer your question, I'd say I have more Easter influence than older superhero artists, but not not necessarily more than the newer guys.
Brendan: We talked a little about this, but I really just like that you kept the stocking look on 'Pool's hood consistent. It's just funnier when it looks like that!!
Reilly: Thanks! That's just the way he looked when I got him, and I liked it because it made him look a little more unique.
Brendan: Did you enjoy the move to a solo Deadpool book? It was pretty irregular to have the titular character on the book, y'know, lacking in the book, "X"ed out or not.
Reilly: Hah, yeah, honestly I kind of did! Deadpool was just a lot more fun to draw than Cable was, and I liked having the opportunity to flesh out his supporting cast a bit, since so much time had been spent on Cable's.
Brendan: So how did you come to write the last two issues of the series?
Reilly: Fabian was busy with a lot of projects and had to drop something, and since this series was ending anyway it just made the most sense to drop this one. So, since I knew that Nicole would be looking for a last-minute new writer, and since I knew more about the series than almost anyone, I figured I'd put a pitch together.
They seemed to like it, so we went from there! Fabian stuck around and did most of the dialog, which was good because it kept the characters sounding consistent.
Brendan: Judging just from the story, it seems like you enjoyed the pitching process. Seems pretty hard to not have fun in the Savage Land. Are you looking to do more writing?
Reilly: I am, but I'm not interested in writing a story that I don't draw. I'm not interested in being solely a writer.
I've pitched a couple of mini-series, which haven't really gotten very far. It's tough to fit new series' into the publishing schedule, and I expect that it'll be a while before I get the chance to write my own stories again, but we'll see what happens.
Brendan: Tell me a little about you story in Hulk vs Hercules: When Titans Clash?
Reilly: Well, it's all one story. There's just a bunch of different artists in it. The whole story is a flashback issue as Athena tells Amadeus Cho (is he still called Mastermind XLO?) about a meeting between Hulk and Hercules. As the story changes location, the artists change, so the visual differences aren't distractingly abrupt. My part of the story is the part that takes place in Olympus, which is about 20 pages or so, so it's the longest scene.
It was a really fun story to work on, Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente know how to write a fun, exciting story, that's for damn sure. And man, the script was brilliant! They referenced everything from classic Marvel character designs for the Olympians, to Ancient Greek weaponry, to YouTube videos of fighting moves-- I swear they spoiled me!
Brendan: Between that and Deadpool's world tour, you're drawing every character in the Marvel stable. You got anything coming up you want to talk about?
Reilly: Hah! Yeah, I think Ghost Rider's the only character I haven't drawn yet. Actually, I'd love to draw Dr. Doom or Magneto. Just a hint in case any editors are reading this.
Currently I'm working on New Warriors #13, which is a lot of fun. It's got a lot of big robots in it, which are always great. And I also have a short story in the Takes of the Starlight Drive-In OGN coming out from Image in June. We'll see where I'm off to after that.
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