The Artist_s Magazine 2016-03__

50 http://www.artistsmagazine.com

comic-book baby—Superman. An alien crash-

landed on earth, integrated into society

but still at the fringes, Superman has been

revisted time and again as a hero’s story in

which we can all i nd our own redemption.

h is is a superhero both Yang and Lemire

have touched during their careers. “Writing

Superman has been incredibly gratifying

and incredibly intimidating,” says Yang.

“Superman is one of the few characters popular

and powerful enough to have established his

own genre. Every superhero is patterned in

some way after Superman.”

“It can be fun to work in a bigger, shared

universe after spending so much time doing

more personal projects,” says Lemire of his roles

with DC and Marvel superhero comics. “I don’t

change my art style at all to draw characters

like Batman or Superman. h ese characters are

so recognizable that they can survive various

interpretations. I think seeing these characters

i ltered through dif erent artists’ styles is part

of the fun—I want my Batman to look like my

Batman.” Yang adds, “Superman’s legacy is rich

and varied. We think of him in this one way—

as everyone’s favorite uncle—but really, he’s

gone through multiple eras.”

He’s also

performed on

multiple stages,

including i lm, a

medium not unlike

graphic novels. “I

think I approach

comic storytelling

with a more

cinematic style,”

says Lemire. “I

was as inspired by

cinematographers

and i lm directors as I was cartoonists.

h e more I drew comics though, the more

I started to embrace the unique things that

page layouts and comic book storytelling

can do that i lm can’t.” Padua provides an

example. “When I started drawing comics,”

she says, “I’d draw a ton of panels, getting

a character from point A to point B in a

logical way, much like a i lm’s storyboard.

With comics, I realized that you just need a

panel at point A and a panel at Point B, and

the reader i lls in the rest.” Let’s rejoice in

that; the i lling-in part is not only where we

readers discover a novel’s secrets and intrigue,

ABOVE:Lemire’s 2016

release,Roughneck,

demonstrates his

careful use of color.

RIGHT:Ayoung

Chinese girl in Gene

Luen Yang’sBoxers

&Saintsencounters

astoryfromanother

culture—the story of

Joan of Arc.

Jeff Lemire recom-

mends Sumi ink

for its deep color

and because it’s

waterproof. He’ll

often use water-

color on top of the

ink, as he does

in Roughneck

(above). “The

blue evokes the

stark cold of the

novel’s Northern

setting and the

red represents

violence and inner

turmoil,” says

Lemire.

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