Madbadcat’s Note: The evolution of Jason Franks’ comic books, from ideas to print, is chronicled in this interview and accompanying images. His manifest passion for, and knowledge of, his medium permeates this article as well as his work. KAGEMONO #2 – the 2nd of his horror anthologies- will launch at Armageddon in Melbourne, November 1st and 2nd 2008.

::: Artist(s) Name:::
Jason Franks

::: Title of Works:::
One More Bullet, Rockstar Pizza, Hard Words,
Robots Are People 2.0, Kagemono #1 & 2,
McBlack (upcoming), various and sundry small press anthologies.

::: Publisher::: 
Blackglass Press

::: Website:::
http://www.blackglasspress.com

::: 1 ::: Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and Melbourne, Australia. I lived in the US for about five years, and that’s where I really got into the creative side of making comics.

:::::::::: When did you first realize you were an artist? Did you draw as a kid? Color outside the lines?

I’m a writer, first and foremost. Always have been, I knew that before I learned to read.

I’ve drawn since I was a kid, too, although with a bit less dedication. I love to draw, but it’s the scripting, rather than the drawing process that brings me the most joy.  The majority of my comic stories have been illustrated by other, better artists and that’s quite okay with me–at the end of the day I want to produce the best stories I can.

::: 2 ::: What comic book genres interest you the most?

I’ll try writing in any genre, but I guess the one I have the biggest affinity for is horror. I don’t mean monsters and gore–although I love all that–but I mean the general outlook of horror; that feeling that something is fundamentally wrong with the world. Every story ends with death and destruction, if you wait long enough: eventually, the lovers age and die, the hero fails, the sun goes out. Most of my stories, regardless of ‘genre’, share that outlook.

Who is your favorite comic book writer?

My favourite comicbook writers are Alan Moore and Garth Ennis. Moore is kind of an encyclopaedic genius; he can do everything. Every genre, every technique, every plot; if you look at Moore’s work you can see him trying something new every time. Ennis, Is a different kind of writer. He’s less concerned with formalist stuff that Moore seems to thrive on; he just likes to tell stories. He has very similar interests to my own and he writes the sort of characters I enjoy reading–I guess I just love his ‘voice’. Just about every story he turns in is perfectly paced; even when he’s phoning it in his stories are elegantly structured and natural. There’s never any pretension with Ennis: he just tells you the story and seamlessly as he can. And for my money, he still writes the best dialogue in the business.

Favourite comic book artist?

I love the work of Steve Pugh, John McCrea, Jae Lee, and Steve Dillon. None of them are really your glamourboy artists, but they’re my favourites. They’re all quite different, but I think they each have a singular ‘style’ and they’re amazing storytellers. I also love Simon Bisley; just the energy he brings to the page. Takehiko Inoue for that jawdropping rendering. Chris Ware for those amazingly engineered pages. Leonardo Manco for those gritty textures.

::: 3 ::: How did you get involved in comics? What was your first comic?

I messed around with comics a little when I was just out of high school, but I didn’t produce very much. I pitched a book to DC’s short-lived HELIX when I was 19–I was crushed when they turned me down, but looking back on it I think I did pretty good. The editor sent me back a 2 page letter explaining what was wrong with my proposal and asking me to submit again, but of course I never did. HELIX died and now I’ve never come that close again.

Anyway, I continued to mess around writing stories and drawing a bit, without seriously considering producing a comic. By chance, I came across an artist who was looking for an 8 page short story to draw, and I had just written one. I sent him the script and when the pages came back I was completely shocked by how well it turned out. After that there was no turning back. That was in 2003. The artist was J. Marc Schmidt and the story was "One More Bullet," which became the centerpiece for my first actual comicbook.

::: 4 ::: What is your favorite story you’ve ever drawn? Favorite character?

That would have to be McBlack, the eponymous, uh, hero of the graphic novel I’ve been working on for the last three or so years. I’ve improved quite radically as an artist on this project and I have an amazing inker, Dave Gutierrez, doing the finishes for me. McBlack is just a lot of fun to draw–not many pages go by without him shooting somebody or blowing something up. And there’s the challenge of trying to convey nuance when the character has a completely immobile face–McB has no choice but to grin at every situation.

Glad you didn’t ask me which character or story has been the most fun to write. They’re all fun, at least to me…

::: 5 ::: How do you come up with the concepts for your comic books ?

I get concepts from a lot of different places. The first story I ever sold came to me in a dream (yeah, for real!).  Sometimes I read some other work that sparks something–a different approach or a different outcome to familiar situation. Sometimes it comes at the behest of an editor or an artist: "I want you to write a story on the theme of Love and Sedition" or "I want to draw werewolves." I’ll take them from where ever I can get ‘em. Whatever other failings I have, I’m never strapped ideas.

::: 6 ::: What was the hardest part of creating your comic book?

Penciling, without question, is for me the most difficult part of making comics. (I don’t ink at all anymore, otherwise that would be my answer).
What hardware (computer, scanner, printer, etc) do you use? What software?
I draw with lead pencil on Bristol board at 11×17". Then I scan it up into Photoshop and work it over; how much rework varies page-by-page. I’m not shy about rearranging panels or rescaling objects, reusing backgrounds, anything I can do to make it faster and more consistent. I do quite a bit of redrawing–sometimes directly into Photoshop with a Wacom tablet, but quite often I will print a blueline of the problem and re-pencil it. Then I FTP the files across to Dave Gutierrez and he irons out the remaining problems when he inks.
I use an old version of Photoshop–7.0. I think. I use Illustrator CS for lettering. My scanner is a mass market Epson model, my printer is an HP Officejet Pro K850. I use a little Wacom Intuos tablet and a boring old mouse for input.

::: 7 ::: How have you handled the business side of being an artist?

Badly. I’m not gonna kid you, I lose money on every book that I make. But I think of it as an investment: building my skills and my profile into something I can hopefully turn into a career.
 How do you promote your book/website/comic?
I promote my books as best I can over messageboards, news sites and by taking them out on the road to conventions; I hand-sell them into comic stores and independent bookshops. It’s a tough business; getting proper distribution is the biggest difficulty faced by a small operator like me.
What’s the best and worst parts of being a full time, working artist?
I’m not a full time, working artist anymore. I did it for 6 months last year, but at present I just can’t make a living at it. It’s tough to juggle my avocation around a day job, but it’s forced me to be more disciplined. Now that I’m back in my day job I’m a more productive artist than ever.

::: 8 ::: Has the Internet helped your career as an artist? If so, how?

The internet has helped me immeasurably. I use it to I meet and manage artists, to network, to promote my work; I sell my comics online; I use it to transmit and artwork; I use it to set up print runs…
I couldn’t do this without the internet.

::: 9 ::: What is one stereotype about comic book writers/artists that is absolutely wrong?

You tell me. I’m a fairly normal guy; I drink in bars, I hang out with my friends, I chase women, I stay active‚Ķ I’m a bit of a workaholic, but I’m not an anti-social, obsessive-compulsive basket case, and neither are most of the other creators I know. I don’t even like Star Trek.

::: 10 ::: What one stereotype is dead on?

The truth is that we’re all fanboys. Regardless of how Indie and Alternative an artist claims to be, I’ve noticed that most of ‘em will jump at the chance to do a sketch of Wolverine or join in a nerdy conversation about Batman.