WHO’S YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH? - This Man, This Pete!

WHO’S YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH?

Small press comic writer & artist, co-founder of the Swansea Comics Collective, co-creator of Monster Kids, contributor to the Lakes International Comic Art Festival Podcast, Pete Taylor loves comics and has since forever.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST COMIC AND DO YOU STILL HAVE IT?

Well, yes and no. My first comic would have been bought for me by someone else, it would have been a Disney comic, I haven’t got that. I do have the first comic I remember buying. It was in a motorway services, there was a stack of comics behind a big basket of beach balls. Captain America #222, on the cover Cap is fighting the Lincoln Memorial, this big stone President smashing against his shield, awesome cover by Ernie Chan, then when you open it up, the first page has a VW Beetle crashing through the wall of an apartment building, art by Sal Buscema. Cracking stuff. Yep, still got it, still treasure it.

DO YOU BUY COMICS REGULARLY?

Oh yeah...

WHEN YOU BUY A TITLE IS IT FOR THE STORY, CHARACTERS OR THE CREATIVE TEAM?

Used to be characters, now it’s the creative team. It was probably John Byrne & Frank Miller that made me switch, I would read whatever they did regardless of who was in it.

WHAT WAS THE LAST COMIC YOU BOUGHT?

Last batch was Head Lopper, Harrow County, Black Hammer, BPRD. Dark Horse has been my favourite publisher for a years now, Image is a close second.

HOW DO YOU PREFER TO READ, DIGITAL OR PRINT?

Both. Some books I want on paper  but when you’ve been reading as long as I have it’s a real hassle to store so many comics which is why I have been really enjoying digital comics recently and if you’re OK waiting a month they’re much cheaper too.

YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST(S)?

Alex Toth
Jaime Hernandez
Howard Chaykin
Mike Mignola
Eduardo Risso
Gabriel Ba
Steranko
Walt Kelly
Jack Kirby
Eric Powell
Frank Robbins
Will Eisner
Darwyn Cooke
Sean Phillips
John Buscema
Andrew Maclean

Duncan Fegrado
Tyler Crook
Jason Latour
Stuart Immonen
Frank Miller
Butch Guice
Art Adams
Frank Espinosa
Bruce Timm
Jordi Bernet
Jose Luis Garcia Marquez
James Harren
Nick Dragotta
Scott Morse
Rob Davis

YOUR FAVOURITE WRITER(S)?

Grant Morrison, Ed Brubaker, Mike Mignola, Greg Rucka, Cullen Bunn, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Darwyn Cooke, Jon Arcudi, Jaime Hernandez

WHAT COMIC(S) HAVE PROVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL?

The Legend imprint from Dark Horse, early 90s? Hellboy, Sin City, Monkeyman & O’Brien, Concrete. Lovely and pulpy. Chaykin’s 80s work like American Flagg, Time Squared, Blackhawk. David LLoyd’s Nightraven. The Mignolaverse.

EARTH IS DYING! BUT YOU’VE WON A SPOT ON THE SPACE ARK LEAVING EARTH!

YOU’RE ONLY ALLOWED TO TAKE 5 COMICS. WHICH ONES DO YOU TAKE?

5?! Ridiculous! I’m going to assume this includes collected trades & graphic novels.

Hellboy: Strange Places by Mike Mignola

Two Brothers by Gabriel Ba & Fabio Moon

Cerebus, High Society by Dave Sim

New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke

Any 100 Bullets by Azzarello & Risso

YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST MEMORABLE COVER?

Apart from the aforementioned Captain America #222, Marvel Two-In-One #51 is a nostalgic old favourite. Rian Hughes’s logo and cover designs for DC’s Tangent books in the 90s really stood out on the shelves, love those.

WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER?

Back in the day, it would have been Ben Grimm, The Ever Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing! Now it would be one of my own characters, Monster Kids, Squid Eye Guy, Celia Phate, Silverbeard. I have a folder with over 200 sketch cards of my own heroes and villains that I want to see in my strips soon.

ARE YOU READING ANYTHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT?

LAPD ‘53 by James Ellroy and Murder is my Business by Brett Halliday. Got an awesome book on Maurice Nobel that I can’t wait to get to get into as well.

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO CREATE COMICS?

Putting a page together is a puzzle and a challenge and pushing yourself to do a better job than the last time is rewarding. And drawing stuff is fun.

DO YOU HAVE A CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP WORK? DO YOU DEVELOP STORIES WITH SOMEONE ELSE?

I’ve write for myself a lot, I’ve written stories for other artists and I work a lot with Ricky Webber and Adam Wilmot. I work up ideas with them and we go back and forth with scripts if it’s a shared idea. I also act more like an editor with them if it’s something they’re developing, I read the scripts and then give ‘em my twopenn'orth.

DO YOU WRITE A FULL SCRIPT? OR WORK FROM A PLOT?

If it’s one of my stories I tend to draw thumbnails alongside the plot, but I like to have a full script ready for the pencils stage so I can letter the strip before inking.

HOW IS YOUR ARTWORK PRODUCED? DO YOU USE TRADITIONAL TOOLS OR DIGITAL OR A MIX OF BOTH?

Bit of both, all my roughs and pencils are drawn on paper but I then scan everything in and work my pages up as Photoshop files, moving things around and editing before printing them back out as blueline (or more recently pink line) on Bristol and inking by hand.

WHAT ARE YOUR WORKING METHODS: DO YOU SET YOURSELF DEADLINES? OR DO YOU WORK WHEN THE MOOD TAKES YOU?

Different projects bring different deadlines, personal work is movable but if you’ve committed to a project involving other people you have to deliver when it was promised...

HOW DO YOU DIVIDE THE ADDITIONAL TASKS THAT INDEPENDENT  CREATORS HAVE?

I’m a bit of a control freak with my stuff so I’ll tend to do all the production work myself.

DO YOU GO TO CONVENTIONS? DO YOU ENJOY THEM? WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE?

Yeah, I enjoy ‘em when they’re busy and if I’m staying over and can go out drinking with the other creators. My favourite is The Lakes International Comic Art Festival in Kendal, I’ve made lots of friends through that con. It’s great fun, it takes over the town, everyone gets involved.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO INDEPENDENT CREATORS?

Geez, making money? Finding the time to do the work? Getting your work in front of the right audience? All of these but managing my social media properly is probably my biggest challenge...

WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT BETWEEN IVOR THE ENGINE AND THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE?

Good grief! That’s an easy one! One punch in the shuntings from the stocky Welsh dynamo and it’s all over for Thomas.

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND AMBITIONS?

Produce more books with my characters in them.

TELL US ONE THING WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU:

I’m very secretive...

WHICH COMIC CHARACTER DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?

Nick Fury. From the Steranko period.

AND WHICH WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE NOW?

Fury still works for me.

WHO IS YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH?

La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine.

Pete trades online as This Man, This Pete!
@thismanthispete Twitter & instagram
Thismanthispete.com           

The SCC is 9 Years Old!

This week marks the ninth anniversary of the formation of the SCC, we thought it might be fun to have a wander down memory lane and revisit the celebratory images (by logomeister Pete) of years con by.  

Year 1 before Peter Maggs decided to add the James to his name and leave us for Ghost Jones 

Year 2 Now with added Adam and Lee!

Year 3 was so Special It got two 'cards'

Year 4 saw the arrival of Copperopolis #1

Half a decade old and we were eager show off how far we had come.

Year six was the... year of... the robots?

Haig was our cake bearer for year seven.

Year 8 amazing we fought the Legion of Doom and the Masters of Evil until Galactus showed up

That brings us bang up to date 9 years old and unning our First Kickstarter to raise the funds to print Copperopolis #3! The Support has been amazing so far, but you still have a chance of appearing in the comic or even owning some original art and every Pledge of £3 or more gets a copy of Copperopolis #3 (digital copy for £3 pledge physical copy from £5). Don't miss out!

Copperopolis 3 Kickstarter

Who is Your Comic Book Crush With Mark 'Son of Ken' Hughes.

We have a busy few weeks coming up! First up some really exciting news, Copperopolis issue 3 is almost ready however we are going to need a hand to get it printed, so we have put together a Kickstarter project and sent it for review and will launch sometime this week. Next, Pete has a table at Thought Bubble just look for This Man This Pete on table 121 of the Comixology Marquee, you'll also find SoK and Ricky tagging along with Pete too. We are also going to be doing something at the Swansea Fringe Festival although we can't give any further details yet so watch this space. With so much going on we thought it'd be a great time for you all to get to know SCC artist Mark 'Son of Ken' Hughes a bit more with his 'Comic Book Crush' questionnaire.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST COMIC AND DO YOU STILL HAVE IT? 

I don’t really recall what my first comic was, but I should imagine I still have it, comics aren’t something I’ve ever really traded or thrown away. 

  

  

 DO YOU BUY COMICS REGULARLY? 

  

I used to buy every week when I was working in the local Comix Shoppe, now I’m illustrating full time I still buy weekly titles, but sometimes only manage to pick them up monthly. 

  

WHEN YOU BUY A TITLE IS IT FOR THE STORY, CHARACTERS OR THE CREATIVE TEAM? 

If I’m totally honest, I have always been a buyer for the art, if I don’t like the artwork on a title I don’t usually pick it up, even if it’s highly recommended. 

  

  

WHAT WAS THE LAST COMIC YOU BOUGHT? 

My last pick up was a few titles, so can’t really pinpoint the last comic. Here are the latest issues I picked up at the same time. 

Black Cloud #5 

I Hate Fairyland #15 

Rocket Girl #9 

Saga #46 

Outcast #30 

Grrl Scouts #4 

MAD’s Original Idiots ‘Jack Davis’ TPB 

Also picked up  

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina #8   

Bitch Planet Triple Feature #3 for the Mrs. 

  

HOW DO YOU PREFER TO READ, DIGITAL OR PRINT? 

Definitely print, but I do read digitally, I’m only fussy when it comes to collecting them, got to have the paper on the shelf. 

  

YOUR FAVOURITE ARTIST(S)? 

So many to list, I’ll have a crack though. 

Darwyn Cooke 

Bill Watterson  Jeff Smith 

Matteo Scalera  

Mike Mignola 

Jack Kirby 

Michael Lark  

Charles M Schulz 

John Cassaday 

Geoff Darrow 

Bruce Timm 

Brian Bolland 

Frank Quitley 

Brian Lee O’Malley 

Nick Dragotta  

Katsuhiro Otomo 

Jonathan Edwards 

Fiona Staples 

Sara Pichelli  

Skottie Young  

Pete Fowler 

Andrew Robinson  

Jim Mahfood 

Lorenzo Etherington 

Mort Drucker 

Jack Davis 

Sergio Aragones 

Jay Myers 

Andrew Maclean 

Ashley Wood 

Gabriel Ba 

Ian McQue 

Jay Fosgitt 

Jamie Hewlett 

Sean Galloway 

Loish 

Tradd Moore 

Michael Cho 

James Harren 

Humberto Ramos 

Al Jaffee 

Angelo Torres 

Albert Uderzo 

Alessandro Barbucci 

Herge 

John Severin 

David Lapham 

Stuart Immonen 

Juanjo Guardino 

Will Eisner 

So many others but I won’t keep going and going and going…… 

  

  

YOUR FAVOURITE WRITER(S)? 

  

Brian K Vaughn 

Garth Ennis 

Brian Bendis 

Robert Kirkman 

Alan Moore 

Grant Morrison 

Matt Fraction 

Rick Remender  

David Lapham 

Warren Ellis 

Charles M Schulz 

Bill Watterson 

Darwyn Cooke 

Jonathan Hickman 

Mark Millar 

Ed Brubaker 

Jeff Smith 

Katsuhiro Otomo 

Again this list could go on and on and on….. 

  

WHAT COMIC(S) HAVE PROVEN MOST INFLUENTIAL? 

When I was a kid I had comics, but the first title I remember buying myself and actually going out and hunting down, was MAD magazine, I would painstakingly copy the works of Drucker, Aragones, Torres along with the endless list of amazing artists they had working for them. The European titles like Asterix, Tin Tin, Lucky Luke etc had a massive impact on my influences, I read those books until my eyes hurt, I will still sometimes draw a hand and think ‘Yes! Looks  like I copied it straight out of an Asterix book’ Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness. Later on Tank Girl would have a big influence, I would attempt to lock away anything Hewlett drew to be recalled at a later date, when scribbling away. Although I loved reading the staple superhero comics like Spiderman, FF, X-Men etc, I was always more into cartoon strip style work. 

EARTH IS DYING! BUT YOU’VE WON A SPOT ON THE SPACE ARK LEAVING EARTH!  

  

WHICH 5 COMICS or COMIC SERIES DO YOU TAKE? THESE WILL BE THE LAST COMIC BOOKS IN THE UNIVERSE! 

Watchmen 

New Frontier 

Bone 

Asterix in Switzerland 

Calvin and Hobbes (Complete) 

 YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST MEMORABLE COVER? 

I’d like to say New Frontier Book Two of Six, but it’s more like Green Lantern #85 

  

  

WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER? 

Tough one, not sure I can pin it to just one, Hellboy, maybe? 

  

 ARE YOU READING ANYTHING ELSE AT THE MOMENT? 

As in books, not comics? Just finished ‘The Return of Tarzan’ after reading ‘Tarzan of the Apes’ by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I drew a picture of Tarzan and wondered how come he never had a beard, a friend told me it was explained in the book, sure enough it was. I’m not really much of a book reader, there’s no pictures in them! 

  

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO CREATE COMICS? 

I have always loved to draw, and comics are my favourite form of art, plus I get to collaborate with king nerd Pete Taylor and the other SCC clowns, why wouldn’t you want to do that? 

  

  

DO YOU WRITE YOURSELF OR YOUR WORK WITH A REGULAR WRITING PARTNER? 

Never really been a writer, always been too busy drawing to write, if there’s paper and pen in front of me, my natural instinct is to draw something, not write words, I leave that to the clever people, you have to know your limits, right? I would like to try it someday, create a strip all by myself from scratch. 

  

  

WHAT ARE YOUR WORKING METHODS: DO YOU SET YOURSELF DEADLINES? OR DO YOU WORK WHEN THE MOOD TAKES YOU? 

In my day to day work I have incredible bosses, I have work to complete but freedom to manage my own time, sometimes we have illustrations with deadlines but I’m always given enough time to complete the tasks. When it comes to working for the comics collective, we have deadlines, I’m pretty sure I’ve never hit one! Hahaha 

 Art fromThe Island issue 2

  

  

HOW IS YOUR ARTWORK PRODUCED? DO YOU USE TRADITIONAL TOOLS OR DIGITAL OR A MIX OF BOTH? 

A mix of both, depending on what it’s for, but mostly digital now. I use a Wacom Cintiq 22HD Touch with Manga Studio for my day to day, and for creating comics.  

  

  

FAVOURITE THING TO DRAW? 

Anything but backgrounds! 

  

  

WHAT’S THE WORST BIT ABOUT DRAWING COMICS? 

Drawing backgrounds hahaha. Also repetition, along with trying to get the likenesses of the same character right, over and over. 

  

  

DO YOU GO TO CONVENTIONS? DO YOU ENJOY THEM? WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE? 

I do, I can’t always manage to commit to going, due to family commitments and the grind of life, getting in the way. Last year I got to go to Thoughtbubble with Ricky Webber to represent the SCC, that was a blast and luckily I’m going to get to do it again this year. Weirdly after 8 years of being a part of the SCC, I’ll get to attend a con with Pete Taylor, where we don’t have to drive home at the end of the day, it’s going to be a full weekend of debauchery hahaha. 

I have also been lucky enough to become good friends with the amazing Justin Stewart (Colourist who has worked for the likes of Marvel and Image, with creators like Jim Mahfood and Skottie Young), who invited us out to stay with him and his wonderful family and attend the Lexington Comic and Toy Convention. I only attended the convention as a muggle, I’d like to go back one day and attend as a wizard. It’s a brilliantly run convention full of super friendly people and great guests, Steranko has a bone crushing handshake! We got to spend time with Skottie Young, Jim Mahfood, Nathan Fox, Rico Renzi and so many more great folk, proper meet your heroes event for me. We had such a great time we went back two years later, if flights weren’t a bazillion dollars I’d go back every year, I love it there. 

  

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO SMALL PRESS/INDEPENDENT CREATORS? 

As it’s more hobby like then a full time job, the hardest part is finding the time to get work completed, along with finding the funds to get the work produced. We are lucky to have dedicated members like Ricky who travel all over the UK, even as far as Europe, pushing and promoting our wares. 

  

  

WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND AMBITIONS? 

Hopefully to carry on working in my pants through the summer months and not have to get soaked walking to a job, that doesn’t involve me drawing. To be a good partner and father to my girlfriend and daughters. To improve my craft to a point where I don’t want to put a brick through my Cintiq. To create a body of work I can look back at and think ‘fair effort, that doesn’t look half bad’ 

  

  

WHO WOULD WIN IN A FIGHT, HOWARD THE DUCK VS. DONALD DUCK? 

Clearly Donald Duck, anybody with the confidence to spend their whole life walking around with no pants on, must be absolutely nails! 

  

  

WHICH COMIC CHARACTER DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER? 

Asterix the Gaul 

  

  

AND WHICH WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE NOW? 

I’ll stick with my first answer, eating wild boar with your best mate, punching Romans out of their shoes, why wouldn’t you want to be Asterix? 

  

  

AND FINALLY... 

WHO IS YOUR COMIC BOOK CRUSH? 

Jean Grey, it’s always Jean Grey.