Here's the second part of my interview with creator Paul Little, Teddy and the Yeti colorist (he also does other stuff as well, I imagine). In this edition, Paul mentions that he is a secular humanist, and the only thing I can think of is a scene from Seinfeld where George talks about "the human fund!" Is it anything like that, Paul? Probably. Also, I ask Paul, a native of Niagara Falls, about the television show Wonderfalls, which people should totally pick up. Anyway, back to the interview - if you want to read part one, click here!
JM: Who are some of the colorists you admire - historical and contemporary?
PL: I'm certainly not alone in this, but I think Dave Stewart is the alpha and omega of comic book colorists. The guy creates some of the most beautiful color schemes I've ever laid eyes on, and he approaches each project with a sense of innovation, know-how and sheer gusto that most of us can only dream of one day possessing. I love Marte Gracia, who's doing a bunch of Marvel books at present, and who has one of the most vibrant and distinctive approaches to coloring that I've ever seen. The shapes this guy finds hiding in his artists' lines are as unexpected as they are wonderful. I like Matthew Wilson for making it look simple and easy especially when it isn't, Christina Strain for making me wonder how anybody could create such intricate detail on such a tight deadline, Moebius for his harmony, Matt Hollingsworth for having colored a single panel in Neil Gaiman's It's Only the End of the World Again that made me realize I had to at least try coloring comics instead of just writing and drawing them in my spare time, and Laura Martin for basically showing everybody how it should be done.
JM: What else are you working on right now?
PL: It might actually be faster to mention the books I'm not working on! (laughs) This summer you can see my colors over Joe Eisma's lines in "Notorious," a back-up feature running in the Image Comics miniseries "Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father."
I had the pleasure of being asked to color a few stories in "Fractured Fables," an oversized hardcover for all ages curated by Jim Valentino that comes out in July from his Silverline books imprint. Jimmie Robinson's always outrageous "Bomb Queen" returns to Shadowline/Image after a yearlong break this November, and I'm really proud of the work I'm doing on that new mini. I'm halfway through the third issue as of this writing, so fans can rest assured that this bad boy will ship on time! Jimmie's back in the saddle again and he aims to stay here.
I just finished coloring a Shrek story for Ape Entertainment, and I'm also inking and coloring the four-issue miniseries "Pocket God" for them at the moment. It's based on the popular iPhone app and will be out this summer. For Blackline Comics, I'm doing the forthcoming OGN "Assassin and Son", created by WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard, with some truly amazing art from newcomer Randy Valiente. There's a lot more in the wings, but I've been sworn to secrecy for now!
JM: I'm currently watching the show "Wonderfalls" on DVD. It takes place on the American side of Niagara Falls, and it makes the whole town seem like a bustling tourist trap.
PL: Oh geez, I remember that show, short-lived though it was! Thronging tourism is certainly the name of the game in this town - the government of Ontario owns the parkland surrounding the Falls, and directly adgacent to it are several square blocks of hotels, casinos, restaurants, bars, attractions and the like. Once you get away from all that, though, we're pretty much the same as every other Scranton-sized burg in North America. There's no bustle to speak of outside the tourist district, apart from some spillover into a few arterial roads that service that part of town, since tourists need gas and groceries too, I guess (laughs).
JM: How is it living near one of the Natural Wonders of the World? And how many times have you taken a ride on the Maid of the Mist?
PL: It's easy to lost sight of the majesty of the Falls itself when you've lived here your whole life, so I tend to stray a bit off the beaten path and enjoy the city's lesser-known geographical and historical sites of interest, of which there is a staggering amount.
The Niagara Gorge is a beautiful place to hike and picnic, Queenston Heights is alive with history, and even from my little apartment downtown I'm only a city block away from the historic Drummond Hill Cemetery, which occupies the site of the bloodiest battle of the War of 1812.
Along with much of the rest of the Niagara Region, it's supposedly one of the most haunted sites in the world, if you're into that sort of thing! Alas, I'm a secular humanist who doesn't believe in the supernatural (THE HUMAN FUND! - JM), so it's kind of lost on me. This is a pretty interesting town with a sometimes frustrating but never boring dual identity. Oh, and as for the Maid of the Mist, that tired old girl's got nothin' on the Whirlpool jet boats! (http://www.whirlpooljets.com/)
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My thanks to Paul for taking the time. Look for more of his work on Teddy and the Yeti soon! Once again, check out his deviantART page at http://zepsloan.deviantart.com.
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2 comments:
Well look at that, you got a readable and pleasant comment from the dot dot square square thing. Almost makes me want to click on the dot dots. Almost.
I deleted them all, but my favorite was "rain before seven; fine before eleven". What the heck does that even mean?!
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