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Comic Action 2003
Jim Lee Interview
Die Comic Action hat wieder einmal alle Comicfans und -freaks nach Essen gerufen. Und irgendwie befürchte ich haben dieses Jahr viel mehr Leute diesen Ruf vernommen als die Jahre zuvor. Voll war es, mega voll. Wenn man für 10 Meter Fussweg etwa eine Minute braucht merkt man das langsam. Und wenn es noch länger dauert, ist man in der Nähe vom Superstar dieser Messer schlechthin - Jim Lee.
Wer eine Zeichnung haben wollte musste aber verfluchtes Glück haben; Lee nahm sich außerordentlich viel Zeit für jeden und gab sich wirklich sehr viel Mühe. So dauerte eines seiner Werke in etwa eine Stunde. Sketch würde ich das nicht mehr nennen wollen. Etwas weniger wäre hier mehr gewesen denkt sich so mancher, denn so werden wohl in 4 Tagen Messe nur 50 Leute in Besitz eines solchen Werkes gekommen sein. Grob überschlagen.
Aber man kann nicht alles haben. Trotzdem haben wir jetzt etwas für euch - absolut schwierig zu bekommen, dennoch war es uns möglich den Meister zu interviewen. Was dabei raus kam könnt ihr nun lesen.
Nur noch eins: aufgrund der Lautstärke der Messe war das aufgenommene Interview recht schwierig zu verstehen, wie man hier nachprüfen kann.
Deshalb versuchen wir nach bestem Wissen das Interview so zu verschriftlichen, wie wir es in Erinnerung haben. Wenn allerdings sowas [...] hier kommt, dann verstehen selbst wir nicht mehr was auf dem Band zu hören ist, sorry.
Hier unsere ruhmreichen 15 Minuten mit Jim Lee...:
MF (Maurice Funken): Hi Jim, thank you very much for taking your time...
JL (Jim Lee): Your’re welcome…
NE (Norbert Elbers): Is there a difference between German conventions and conventions like the one in the USA or San Diego?
JL: […] Not actually. […] Fans are always really polite, so it’s a very similar experience, although then the language is different, the food is different, opposite cities are different, the fans are always, you know, enthusiastic and very passionate so… ehmm... it’s very fun. Do the people here take more photos and sketches here…? I don’t know….
NE: You’re doing a great job here. You’re very generous to fans… You take lots of time…
JL (lacht): I take lots of time?… I don’t come to Germany that often, so… it seems…ehmmm… it doesn’t seem like…. I don’t know what to say to that… thanks, thank you, you know, I try… can’t please everyone all the time, but it seems to be going over pretty well…
NE: Will we see you again in Germany, in Erlangen?
JL: I don’t know, I don’t know... hasn’t been decided…
NE: Do you want to see something special in Germany?
JL: I’ve been to Germany a lot of times, so I’ve seen a lot of everything. I just like… I like meeting people and I like eating local foot and drinking root beer. (grinst) But yeah, I’ve been to Germany many, many times, so it’s nothing that I…
NE: You’re looking for some special food in Germany?
JL: No, I’m not looking, when I go somewhere I try to eat something that’s typical of the area… […]
NE: Do you buy comics today? Do you have enough time to read comics? Or does the time only allowed to make comics?
JL: No, I read a lot of comics, I have to for my job, but although I read a lot just for fun. Not just DC Comics, Wildstorm Comics, Marvel Comics… I go to the store, maybe twice a month trying to check out as many different things as possible.
NE: The first comic I bought I was four years old and I still own it today. It’s in a horrible shape, but… Do you have got your first comic?
JL: I have a lot of comics…
NE: The first…?
JL: Yes… No, not the very first. No. The first comic I read, I read in a barber shop and they cut your hair and I couldn’t take it, so… But I have all the comics that I had when I was a kid. Yeah. The ones my parents threw away I still have…
NE: From Alex Ross we know he draws his figures from real persons. What kind of models do you use for Batman? Real persons? Friends?
JL: No, I don’t use a lot of books. I do, but only for body positions. Not for faces or anything like that. My style is not… it’s more exaggerated, it’s not supposed to look like real life. But I… I use photo references if I have to if I have to draw something that is kind of difficult to pose, some of the Batman stuff, …when I was choking Joker, I posed and took pictures, but, you know, I don’t draw what I see, I just use that to make sure I have everything in the right place.
NE: Such a big project like Hush - how it works? Who decided to do this? Who asked you? Who decided who is the inker, the colorist?
JL: Well usually it’s the editor… on this project Marc Chiarello….. was the editor… yeah, yes, so I was working with Scott so… they don’t really ask like “who do you want to take?”... Scott Williams & Alex Sinclair work on everything I do.
NE: Who decided how long Hush would run?
JL: I wanted to do twelve.
NE: That’s the reason.
JL: Yeah.
NE: Do you remember the first Batman Comic you read?
JL: Yeah, it was probably in a big book of collected Batman stories that I read in a library. Yeah, …ehm, but it was probably black and white but I don’t remember the exact story or anything like that.
NE: What do you see in the future of Batman? Will he marry…
JL: No. I don’t know, I’m not the editor, that’s an editor question. I just work on the book, I just read the character, I don’t own them, you know. So I …. I actually don’t know what happens after we leave…
NE: How do the editors see Batman? Do they deal with him like an economic thing and do they decide what happens to him like a product as Coca Cola? When they think sweeter Coke is sold more, they change the mixture. Is it the same with Batman? If they can make more money with another Batman, will it be possible that the editors change Batman?
JL: Well, you should ask an editor that question. I’m not the editor on Batman, but I’d say editors are there to create the best creative project possible. They’re not involved in marketing that much and that kind of decisions.
NE: I don’t want to see many changes made in Batman, at the moment he’s the best or a good character….
JL: Yeah, yeah. Because Hush has sold so well I don’t think there’s a need, you know…
NE: So the new run, Broken City…. It’s called Broken City…?
JL: I don’t know. I only drew the comic for one year, I don’t know who they are
NE: Superman will be six issues…?
JL: Twelve.
NE: Twelve. Also twelve? Ok, great.
JL: Ehm, I think six is to short. Yeah. Twelve is a good number, not too many, not too little and you can… A lot of times when I draw a character it takes me a lot of time feeling comfortable drawing them, so it’ll be five or six issues before I feel comfortable drawing the character. So, twelve is good.
NE: Is it possible to say something about the Superman story?
JL: I actually, I haven’t read a script yet, so… Brain Azzarello is writing it, you know, he’s trying to come up with a really different take on the character. And we wanna do something that’s very… sets the mood for the character… But I don’t know yet…
NE: Will we see you again on Batman?
JL: Jeph Loeb and I are supposed to do another run on Batman, later. But obviously that will be after Superman. So it’ll be a couple of years from now I imagine…
NE: In Wizard I read something about Batman & Robin, a six issue run…
JL: Yeah, that’s what it will be, yeah, but that’s couple of years away. Things change a lot in comics, so you never know. Especially two years away…
(Lee hebt den Sketch an, den er während des Interviews zeichnet und hält ihn gegen das Licht der Scheinwerfer.)
NE: What are you looking at when you’re holding it?
JL: To see if there are any mistake…
NE: You make mistakes?
JL: A lot of mistakes, a lot of mistakes. When you look at it backwards it’s like someone else drew it. You can see if things are wrong…
NE: Ok, it would be great to see you again, in Germany…
JL: Are you from here? Are you from Essen?
NE: No, from Aachen.
JL: Ah, yeah, right, the reference…
(Nobert hat Lee am Donnerstag eine Postkarte von Aachen mitgebracht.)
JL: I’ll use that as a reference. So, you know, the first issue’s story will take place in a church, so I’ll create a new church based on a lot of stuff…
NE: So if you want any more information, or pictures…
JL: No, thank you, I still have it. It’s good, ‘cause I usually get my reference from the internet, but it’s better to have pictures in the hand, so…
NE: Ok, is there something you want to say to the German fans?
JL (lacht): I don’t know… Well, I mean I heard that Batman is selling very well in Germany, maybe second to Spider-Man. That’s pretty good; they said it didn’t sell a lot before, so.. You know, it’s exciting to see America and superheroes become popular again, because they’re pretty popular now and they’re getting more popular in the United States. It seems like they get a lot more popular, so… I wanna thank fans whether German, American or whatever, I mean, for their support. You know it allows me to do what I love to do…
NE: You‘ve been to Italy?
(Lee war vor der Messe in Italien zu Besuch bei Panini.)
JL: Yes.
NE: Why? Can you tell us…
JL: No, it’s a secret…
MF: Ok, I’ve got some more questions. Next up some Marvel questions…
JL: Ok,…
MF: You started out working for Marvel, now you’re with DC. Is there any chance for you to come back to Marvel again?
JL: I’m exclusive to DC. So I don’t think so…
MF: What do you think about Marc Silvestri returning to New X-Men?
JL: It’s exciting, I’m looking forward to it, I’ve seen some pages already, all very good…
MF: Is it like some kind of competion…?
JL: No.
MF: You made Batman into the number one book in the States. Is there any character you want to take and do the same with it?
JL: I’ve lots, lots of characters. […] I’ve a lot of plans for a lot of work for the upcoming years
MF: So you’re more into trying out new things, like batman and next up superman?
JL: Than repeating myself? Yes, yes…
MF: Next up is the Authority I heard…
JL: Yes… Yeah, no it’s a special project that comes out in February called “Coup d’Etat”. I’m doing one issue, it features mostly the Authority but although characters from Sleeper and it’s written by Brubaker. So I sorted out it looks like a lot of fun. And it’s been a lot of fun so far…
MF: So you already started working on it?
JL: I’m in the middle of it now; when I go back home I’ll finish it…
MF: So when you’re at home, working, are you watching TV or listening to music while doing so?
JL: Maybe listen to music.
MF: Can I ask what the last CD was you bought?
JL: Last CD I bought? I don’t know, I download music from I-tunes. So I pay 99 Cent per song. I buy stuff from… I listen to music from all different periods of time. I listened when I was growing up to the lasted rap, rock, whatever. I listen to a lot of different things while working, try to pick different music that has a lot of energy…
MF: So you can use this energy for your art?
JL: Yes, yes.
MF: I wonder how you manage to run Wildstorm Productions and be an artist the same time…
JL: I don’t run the….
MF: I thought you did…
JL: I’m one of the people that own the company, yes.
MF: So how do you draw on the one hand and manage all the business stuff?
JL: I do less of the business stuff, more the creative stuff. I draw a lot of time, I talk while I draw, that helps… I try to be very organized.
NE: Some fans asked us to ask you about your political situation in North Korea. Can you say something about this?
JL: No. Sorry. Let’s talk about comics. Sorry, that’s... ehm... Less talk about religion, politics…
MF: Ok, actually this was the last question. Thank you very much for taking your time…
JL: Oh, that was it? Ok. Thank you.
MF: Thank you very much...
JL: No, I thank you.
NE: Hope to see you again. When will you leave Germany?
JL: Tomorrow morning, yeah. How about you guys, you’re heading back today or tomorrow?
NE: I’m driving every day, it’s no so far…
JL: Oh that’s right, yeah… Are you from Aachen, too?
MF: Yes... Ok, that’s it. Thank you very much...
JL: Thank you guys…
Betonen möchten wir hier nochmal abschließend wie nett Jim war, uns dieses Interview zu geben, trotz des ganzen Stresses auf der Messe. Vielen Dank, Jim. Auch danke sehr an Zille und die Jungs vom Panini Team, dass wir euren Topartist kurz belageren durften.
Lee war irgendwie auch gar nicht so, wie man sich das vielleicht vorher vorgestellt hat. Unscheinbar, aber dennoch beeindruckend, äußerst höflich, immer gelassen. Wirklich nicht der Superstar, den man fürchten müsste.
Und wer einen Sketch von ihm bekam und auch nur ein paar Worte mit ihm wechseln durfte konnte sich wirklich glücklich schätzen. Lee war wohl das Highlight der Comic Action 2003 - und es ist zu befürchten, dass Panini sich 2004 wirklich nur schwer verbessern wird können...
Das Interview führten in einem bemerkenswert deutschem Englisch: Norbert Ellers (NE) & Maurice Funken (MF).
Besten Dank auch an das Team um Bernd bei den splashpages! Und natürlich alle die ihre Sketche bzw. Photos an uns geschickt, damit wir unseren Artikel bildlich etwas aufpeppen konnten!
Maurice Funken
Norbert Elbers
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