Actually, I was an inker's assistant for Pam Eklund for a little while and she first introduced me to KC Carlson at the Chicago Comicon, but I don't think I made too big an impression since KC doesn't really remember it. :) Before that I pretty much took some work from Comico and I was working on some other stuff too.
Has working in comics always been what you wanted to do for a career, or is it something that just fell in your lap?
Working in comics is something that I've been gearing my career towards since high school. I would have a definite job working at my parents' restaurant so I thought I would try something different, and since I read a lot of comics at the time, I thought what the heck and went for it.
What are some of your upcoming projects you will be working on?
I'm still going to be working on Legionnaires and some trading cards for DC, then there are some covers, and sketches for fans which are long overdue to be done! :) Please be patient, I'm trying to get my list in order. Aside from that, I don't have much free time for anything else.
How did you get the job on Legionnaires?
I did what artist do at cons and made connections, stood in line for reviews, sent in samples, etc.... I met up with some of the guys at Gaijin studios at the Chicago Comicon, when they were getting together and kept in touch with them by sending out fun stuff that I was doing. Not expecting anything from them, I was really surprised when I got a call from Karl Story asking me if I wanted to send some samples in to KC for some work on Legionnaires. This was the big break! Now the rest was up to me. I sent sample in and KC asked for some sample pinups of some of the Legionnaires which led to my first work on Legionnaires #15, then work on that year's annuals. When it came time to reboot the Legion, I was asked if I was up to taking on the Legionnaires from issue #0. Not being stupid, I said sure! The rest you guys already know. :)
Was the Legion of Super-Heroes something that you had always wanted to work with? Are you a longtime Legion fan?
I read Adventure Comics when I was a wee laddie and really didn't rediscover them before Phil was reading the 5-year-gap storyline and they introduced the Legion kids again with Pearson and Immonen drawing the book. I really got into the book when Legionnaires started with Sprouse's and Story's art. From there I was hooked and it was one of the books that I looked forward to every month. So I considered myself very lucky to be working with some of my favorite characters and helping them come to life every month.
What is your all-time favorite Legion story?
Probably the introduction of Shadow Lass or the Space Stalag with Nardo. I was watching Hogans Heroes and this story was right up there.
Are there characters you feel more comfortable drawing than others?
Yes......... :) I like drawing the girls more than guys.
Do you use models when you draw?
Nope. I learned enough about anatomy so that I can draw a passable human being. :)
You have really given the 30th century a flavorful look with your artwork. How do you go about creating new technology, cities, even worlds, that need to look futuristic or different?
To everyone's disappointment, I don't consider myself very creative. Visions of the future are mostly inspired from what has been drawn before in the book, Star Trek, Star Wars, sci-fi movies, Syd Mead and some anime and manga. I really don't have the time to create something really cool, that I feel is my distinct style of technology, so I steal. So sue me, I'm a hack! :)
How much freedom are you given in redesigning old characters or designing new characters?
I get a lot of freedom when designing characters and the writers and editors also give me their ideas and I try and make up something that we can all be happy with.
People staying on the same books for a long time has become something of a rarity these days. Yet, almost the entire creative staff of the Legion books has been there since the "reboot" that happened with Zero Hour. Why is this?
It's mostly because Legionnaires is such a great book! There really isn't any other project that I want to work on. Also I think that it would've been a mistake if I jumped around too much early on in my career. I think another reason is that the fans enjoy my work. If they didn't, I wouldn't feel like staying on the book and just assume work at the restaurant. That's a nice fall-back position. :)
On that note, do you plan to work on Legionnaires for a long time?
I plan on being here for as long as I'm welcome by the fans and the other creative people that I work with, or until I have to draw 40 characters in every panel. :)
Are there plans to introduce any new characters or re-introduce any familiar faces soon?
We're probably introducing more new characters than old, but we may see more familiar faces soon.
How much longer is part of the Legion going to be stuck in the 20th century? Who else will they team up with?
They'll be back within the year. They'll be seen with the Metal men and Superboy and maybe the Marvel family.
To a comic book fan who has never read a Legion book, why should they pick up an issue of Legionnaires? (And what would be a good one for jumping on?)
It's a fun book with tons of characters that they would find very friendly. A good jumping on point would be the Mordru storyline or I would go back to Legionnaires #43.
Alternately, for all of those diehard, dispossessed Legion fans who could not stay with the books when the revamp started, why should these people come back to the Legion and give it another shot?
I can't really give them a reason, they pretty much have their minds made up. So what I do is concentrate on the fans we have now and try attracting new fans. It's like that whole Star Trek thing. I hope that the dispossessed fans will come back and see what we're doing, but I like to look to the future and how we can make this Legion better.
I think that would make everyone happy, Jeff. That, and your continued artwork on the Legionnaires. And by the way, that bit about Jeff Moy replacing Cosmic Boy was just a ruse...heh, heh.