This week in Questionable Comics we’ve paired frequent collaborators Jason Copland and Curt Pires, the team behind some of our favorite indie series, including Pop and The Tomorrows, both published through Dark Horse. Up first is Jason!
What current projects are you working on?
I’m currently working on a comic for Stela with Fabian Rangel Jr called Santos. I’m also in the middle of doing the next volume of Kill All Monsters, coming out through Dark Horse. I’m also writing a comic called Full Tilt that I will also be drawing.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Messy.
What’s your workspace like?
Pretty messy. I have a drawing table I do all my inking at. I have a small table beside my drawing table that has all my pens/brushes/toothbrushes/ink/etc. I also have a computer and Cintiq that I do my roughs and final ink clean ups on. I have comic books and reference material piled all over. There isn’t much room to move around, to be honest.
What do you listen to when you work?
I listen to tons of different bands. I often get on a kick and listen to an artist of a few days and then switch to another artist. Recently I’ve been into Porcupine Tree and System of a Down. I have a pretty big music collection so I’m always listening to something.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Hit your deadlines. Editors love artists that can hit their deadlines.
Jason Copland’s work in Pop was heavily punk inspired, with Pete Toms’ coloring aiding in giving it an ’80s comics feel.
How do you get into art mode?
Turn on some music and sit at the drawing table. It’s that simple, really.
Is your work paper or digital based?
The final art is always on paper. I love to ink. All the pre-inking stuff is a mix of digital and paper, though.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
My dynamics. I feel like my pages should be more dynamic.
When’s the best time to work?
Lately 11 am – 5pm is working for me. I used to be a late night guy but it seems to have changed.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
I’m a huge fan of many comic artists. Seasoned veterans like Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Miller, Walt Simonson, Ashley Wood, Alex Toth, Al Williamson, Jack Kirby and John Romita Jr. New artists like Toby Cypress, Daniel Warren Johnson, Johnnie Christmas, Mike Henderson, Brian Level, Vanesa Del Ray and Riley Rossmo. Way too many to name, really.
Curt also spoke to us about his approach to comics scripting, as well as his moves towards film writing.
What current projects are you working on?
Finished The Tomorrows. Three other comics things unannounced on top of co-writing a screenplay I’m planning to direct.
Use one word to describe how you work.
Frictionless.
What’s your workspace like?
I can literally work anywhere. I use Google Drive for this purpose. I can literally log in and have my workstation be wherever I am ATM. I’m nomadic in that sense. My main rigs are an iMac from 2014 and a I7 Macbook Pro from 2012. Notebooks with me for when I can’t create electronically or it just doesn’t feel right. Usually not too far from good fiction or comics for when I need to mine the ideaspace.
What do you listen to when you work?
Entirely varies on when/what mood I’m in. Lots of Eno recently, Always Returning. I was listening to the score of Mistress America yesterday while I got some work done and that’s fucking excellent. It’s always changing.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
After Pop got green-lit I was going through a difficult particularly self loathing time where I was having a hard time understanding what the point of anything was. I was at a party, in my friend Ben Rankel’s kitchen (I name drop because I only feel like I want to attribute) and he basically said to me like, everyone goes through this, he went through it, and that I should really consider just stopping beating the shit out of my self emotionally and being self-destructive. It helped me a lot.
Mayday functioned as a Hollywood spin on Pop’s music biz shenanigans
How do you get into writing mode?
Wish I knew. It comes and goes and I have no control over it.
Full script or Marvel Method?
Hybrid. Sometimes Marvel Method is easier to understand/easier to give an artist control over how a moment plays out, sometimes full script works better, it’s just about knowing what’s right for when.
What’s the one thing you wish you could improve about your work?
Tough to say. I’m generally pretty happy with my work. I don’t put things out these days unless I’m happy with them–hence the Tomorrows #6 arriving in Feb/March 2016 instead of December of 2015. I threw out a whole script. I will say I wanted to try pushing myself into full formalism, and going 9 Grid for a whole project, and I’m doing that right now, so not really an improvement, but pushing myself in new directions.
When’s the best time to work?
Whenever the inspiration strikes/the art is flowing/whenever you can.
Who do you consider to be inspirational creators in your field (classic and modern)?
Grant Morrison, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Brian K Vaughan, Shane Carruth, David Lynch, Michael Angelakos, Alan Palomo, Bret Easton Ellis–I value so many creators from all different art forms, I could go on for days.
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