So many highlights from this event. It was a brilliant
location and really well organised. Top work from Sha, Katy and the whole team.
Great to meet so many 2000ad boarders in person too. All top people.
And talented too, it transpired.
Learnt so much from the panels. The John Wagner writing lecture
was fantastic. Hearing him breaking down a script, why each panel was there,
what his thought process was in developing a story. It included a breakdown of Dredd story qualities
- Dredd as Hero
- Dredd as villain
- Powers of a judge
- Weapons/Tools of a judge
- Sci-fi future element
- The city as a character
- Action
- Humour
- Twist
It laid bare John's understated genius and I noted a couple of major things to apply to my own work.
- Dredd as Hero
- Dredd as villain
- Powers of a judge
- Weapons/Tools of a judge
- Sci-fi future element
- The city as a character
- Action
- Humour
- Twist
It laid bare John's understated genius and I noted a couple of major things to apply to my own work.
Fascinating insights into the work of Carlos Ezquerra and Alan Davis
too. Firstly the sheer fun they both have while drawing. They please themselves
first, and their exuberance powerfully transmits onto the page as Thrill power
personified. I'm always really thoughtful and methodical when I draw a comic
page, and it looks much more boring as a result. A bolder approach is in
order.
Secondly the sheer serendipity involved in creating great
work. Of course, it's the kind of luck you can only have if you happen to be a
visionary artist - a major talent waiting to happen like Ezquerra, Davis,
Wagner and Moore. Carlos got his first adventure strip by accident - it was
meant for someone else. Then his Dredd designs were nothing like what John
wanted, he just went with his instinct and took it in the seminal direction
we're still enjoying today. Similar story with D.R. and Quinch, two of my
favourite ever 2000ad characters. I asked Alan what he remembered from
designing them. It was a revelation.
Firstly the artistic approach to D.R and Quinch as written by Alan Moore was gritty and realistic. Knowing Moore's views on violence in comics I can
understand this. So Alan D got the gig for two reasons 1) He was the grim and
gritty artist of Harry 20 on the High Rock, the go to guy for a realistic take
on an outlandish situation 2) He was the only artist available who the editor thought
could make sense of Moore's scripts. They'd worked together on Captain Britain, though this counted against Davis as Tharg didn't want to pair them together in the same way. But simply finding someone who
could decipher and realise what Moore was writing was apparently a problem at this time - so it seemed Davis was the only option. (As anecdotal evidence, I offer Carlos's revelation
that he simply posted a script from Moore back to Tharg because he didn't want
to deal with any of those verbose panel descriptions. I suspect it was Skizz,
but there's no way of knowing for sure at this point. Carlos's view is that all
the peripheral detail in a panel is his job. And why not).
So Alan D had already successfully decoded The Hyper
Historic Headbang (another brilliant Future Shock) and was therefore to be
trusted with Moore's vision. But when he read the script he couldn't see how it
could possibly work in a realistic style. The events of Have Fun on Earth are so outlandishly over
the top that Davis decided it could only work with a much more cartoony
approach. But the gritty requirement does explain some of that murky cross
hatching you can see throughout the first Time Twister.
The characters as described by Moore were reptilian bikers!
So again we have a great artist trusting his instincts and going way off piste
as far as what was asked for in a character design. The stylistic caricature so integral to the brilliance of D.R. and Quinch seems to be
something Alan D developed in response to what he felt was needed to make the
story work. The talent and versatility of the man! The alien designs he came up
with are an amalgamation of his own artistic skills, Moore's notes, and various
aliens floating through the popular culture of the time. The Skrulls were
specifically mentioned in relation to D.R.
- which you can see now he's mentioned it - crossed with the biker quiff
from Alan Moore's description. The end result is something neither man fully
intended, but which is utterly magical nonetheless. The rest, as they say, is
history.
So churn out your best ideas, collaborate freely, and hope
the comic gods smile upon the results. God knows how many other characters died
on the vine in this collaborative melting pot. But so be it - it all sounds
like great fun to me!
