Post by Achim on Sept 6, 2007 18:37:06 GMT 1
BY JENNIFER M. CONTINO
Giuseppe Camuncoli tells us what it's like drawing one of Galactus' heralds, Terrax in the Annihilation two book series.
THE PULSE: When you heard about the Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus - Terrax, what intrigued you the most as an artist and made you want to take this gig?
GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI: Well, you probably wouldn't believe it, but it's just because of Terrax! I love the character both visually and conceptually, I clearly remember reading his origin story in Italian, when I was a kid (it was drawn by John Byrne, if I'm correct), there was this tyrant becoming the newest herald of Galactus, and being struck by the fact that this time, it wasn't Silver Surfer, but a top-notch s.o.b. with an attitude. So, when Andy Schimdt approached me to offer me to work on one of these Heralds stories, I immediately asked him if Terrax was still available... Everybody was kinda struck by the affection I showed on the character, but it was clearly the kid in me speaking. He's so happy that he managed to draw a Terrax story after all these years...
THE PULSE: Do you like the idea of drawing a space type epic and having all those sci-fi elements in it? Why?
CAMUNCOLI: Yeah, I guess so... Sci-fi is not exactly my favourite kind of setting, but I love the freedom it gives you in creating new visuals, from alien races to spaceships, and I'm very vintage in that, I always end up thinking Star Wars (the classic trilogy, that is). Then, I love drawing asteroids, planets and explosions, and in Chris' story there's plenty of that!
THE PULSE: How is working in this setting different from your more down-to-earth type characters?
CAMUNCOLI: As I said, in some ways it's more inventive, you have less constrictions than the usual "realistic" scenario. I love changing, though, so every new setting is both refreshing and challenging to me.
THE PULSE: Terrax isn't as widely known as some of the other heralds in the Marvel Universe. How familiar were you with each?
CAMUNCOLI: Well, apart from Silver Surfer, not really familiar with the others. But Terrax is always the top dog to me. Hey, I suddenly remember that in that [John] Byrne story there was a shot in which Tyros (pre-transformation) was sitting on a throne with two half-naked handmaids on his side .... After him, no other herald was cool enough for me!
THE PULSE: Who or what were some of the things that influenced you the most when you were templating this series?
CAMUNCOLI: Nothing really, apart the immortal Byrne rendition of Terrax. I also basically followed all the references from the Annihilation series, I tried to be very classic, especially with Randau the Space Parasite, an old character from the pages of Hulk.
THE PULSE: What was it like for you working with writer Christos Gage? How did he compare to some of the others you've collaborated with?
CAMUNCOLI: It was great, he writes very cool scenes and dialogues, almost cinematic, I was immediately at ease with the pacing and the storytelling and the page composition. It's a very dynamic story, it was very fun to work on. I also liked a lot his characterization of the various protagonists in the book, every one of them has definitely his own different "voice". He doesn't need any more praise from me, but he's definitely a writer I'd like to keep on working with.
THE PULSE: I know you don't want to spoil anything, but what will you tell us about your Terrax story?
CAMUNCOLI: Well, it's basically about Terrax getting free from his "enslavement", and trying to get back some sort of dignity and proudness after such a humiliation.
THE PULSE: What other Marvel characters show up in these pages?
CAMUNCOLI: The Delinquent, Paibok the Skrull, and the Parasite, as I mentioned before. It was definitely cool getting to redesign the Parasite as the ruler of this deserted planet on which the trio crashes on from space. I came up with this kind of Conan the Barbarian/Jabba the Hutt kind of mixture, both Andy and Chris were really happy with the outcome.
THE PULSE: How did you decide the art style to illustrate these two issues in?
CAMUNCOLI: Well, this time is actually pretty different from almost any other work I've ever done. Since I didn't have so much time, I went for the first time for this experiment: I have basically done just the breakdowns, taking time to focus especially on faces and figures, and leaving the finishes to my buddy Stefano Landini, an artist who's been working for the Italian market so far. I am really amazed by how good these pages look - I mean, I knew he was good but since we had never worked together before, we were a little nervous: we both wanted the final result being good for both of us. Luckily enough, it is. We only hope the readers will enjoy it as much as we did!
THE PULSE: You always seem to have an eclectic mix of projects that you're involved with, what's coming up this year for you?
CAMUNCOLI: There's a Ms. Marvel Annual I did recently (with writer Brian Reed and inker Lorenzo Ruggiero) that should be out soon, and I also just wrapped up an issue of 52, namely week 41, which I'm also very happy with. Right now, I'm finally painting my issue of the Batman Europa miniseries, co-written by Brian Azzarello and my fellow Matteo Casali. I've already pencilled all the pages, now it's time to put some color on them!
Giuseppe Camuncoli tells us what it's like drawing one of Galactus' heralds, Terrax in the Annihilation two book series.
THE PULSE: When you heard about the Annihilation: Heralds of Galactus - Terrax, what intrigued you the most as an artist and made you want to take this gig?
GIUSEPPE CAMUNCOLI: Well, you probably wouldn't believe it, but it's just because of Terrax! I love the character both visually and conceptually, I clearly remember reading his origin story in Italian, when I was a kid (it was drawn by John Byrne, if I'm correct), there was this tyrant becoming the newest herald of Galactus, and being struck by the fact that this time, it wasn't Silver Surfer, but a top-notch s.o.b. with an attitude. So, when Andy Schimdt approached me to offer me to work on one of these Heralds stories, I immediately asked him if Terrax was still available... Everybody was kinda struck by the affection I showed on the character, but it was clearly the kid in me speaking. He's so happy that he managed to draw a Terrax story after all these years...
THE PULSE: Do you like the idea of drawing a space type epic and having all those sci-fi elements in it? Why?
CAMUNCOLI: Yeah, I guess so... Sci-fi is not exactly my favourite kind of setting, but I love the freedom it gives you in creating new visuals, from alien races to spaceships, and I'm very vintage in that, I always end up thinking Star Wars (the classic trilogy, that is). Then, I love drawing asteroids, planets and explosions, and in Chris' story there's plenty of that!
THE PULSE: How is working in this setting different from your more down-to-earth type characters?
CAMUNCOLI: As I said, in some ways it's more inventive, you have less constrictions than the usual "realistic" scenario. I love changing, though, so every new setting is both refreshing and challenging to me.
THE PULSE: Terrax isn't as widely known as some of the other heralds in the Marvel Universe. How familiar were you with each?
CAMUNCOLI: Well, apart from Silver Surfer, not really familiar with the others. But Terrax is always the top dog to me. Hey, I suddenly remember that in that [John] Byrne story there was a shot in which Tyros (pre-transformation) was sitting on a throne with two half-naked handmaids on his side .... After him, no other herald was cool enough for me!
THE PULSE: Who or what were some of the things that influenced you the most when you were templating this series?
CAMUNCOLI: Nothing really, apart the immortal Byrne rendition of Terrax. I also basically followed all the references from the Annihilation series, I tried to be very classic, especially with Randau the Space Parasite, an old character from the pages of Hulk.
THE PULSE: What was it like for you working with writer Christos Gage? How did he compare to some of the others you've collaborated with?
CAMUNCOLI: It was great, he writes very cool scenes and dialogues, almost cinematic, I was immediately at ease with the pacing and the storytelling and the page composition. It's a very dynamic story, it was very fun to work on. I also liked a lot his characterization of the various protagonists in the book, every one of them has definitely his own different "voice". He doesn't need any more praise from me, but he's definitely a writer I'd like to keep on working with.
THE PULSE: I know you don't want to spoil anything, but what will you tell us about your Terrax story?
CAMUNCOLI: Well, it's basically about Terrax getting free from his "enslavement", and trying to get back some sort of dignity and proudness after such a humiliation.
THE PULSE: What other Marvel characters show up in these pages?
CAMUNCOLI: The Delinquent, Paibok the Skrull, and the Parasite, as I mentioned before. It was definitely cool getting to redesign the Parasite as the ruler of this deserted planet on which the trio crashes on from space. I came up with this kind of Conan the Barbarian/Jabba the Hutt kind of mixture, both Andy and Chris were really happy with the outcome.
THE PULSE: How did you decide the art style to illustrate these two issues in?
CAMUNCOLI: Well, this time is actually pretty different from almost any other work I've ever done. Since I didn't have so much time, I went for the first time for this experiment: I have basically done just the breakdowns, taking time to focus especially on faces and figures, and leaving the finishes to my buddy Stefano Landini, an artist who's been working for the Italian market so far. I am really amazed by how good these pages look - I mean, I knew he was good but since we had never worked together before, we were a little nervous: we both wanted the final result being good for both of us. Luckily enough, it is. We only hope the readers will enjoy it as much as we did!
THE PULSE: You always seem to have an eclectic mix of projects that you're involved with, what's coming up this year for you?
CAMUNCOLI: There's a Ms. Marvel Annual I did recently (with writer Brian Reed and inker Lorenzo Ruggiero) that should be out soon, and I also just wrapped up an issue of 52, namely week 41, which I'm also very happy with. Right now, I'm finally painting my issue of the Batman Europa miniseries, co-written by Brian Azzarello and my fellow Matteo Casali. I've already pencilled all the pages, now it's time to put some color on them!